RTR 21-0

Thanks! Making a few notes for our trip as I'm sure we'll have that deer in the headlights look most of the time so if I see recommended restaurants, I won't be inclined to waste time questioning if it's any good.

Do you recall what the fixed rates into the central part of Rome are?

Which restaurant was this at? We are staying at a hotel in Piazza Navona next May and would like to try it. TIA

Would you mind if I sent you an email to discuss the cruise/ports? Completely understand if you'd rather not.

Thank you for letting me know how the tour went! Appreciate the info.

I know the Euro is not the currency for Croatia but is it generally accepted there?

In case there are newbies looking on CC for info. on FBC, just wanted to make a post to make sure they check directly with airlines for prices. I posted this info. in another thread but thought I'd make a new post. I booked my refundable premium economy tickets through AA in June and frequently check prices on AA and FBC. FBC is always all over the map on their prices. Some days $100 or $200 less but never more than that and usually a couple of hundred dollars more. Today the exact same tickets I've purchased are double what I paid and are non-refundable. For the amount they are charging I could move up to business flexible on AA. Yes, I couldn't defer my payment as I could have on FBC but the savings more than made up for it.

Curious as to how the OP handled it.

It was 200 extra pp for the refundable fare. During the time I was booking tickets I saw on CC several people were having delay issues getting ticketed after they made final payment. Others were finding out their flights had been changed but only after checking on their ticket (not being notified by FBC that flight schedule had changed). I will also add that I check regularly flight cost on AA and also Celebrity. Today, the same exact flight I booked in June is still the same price on AA. However, that flight is double through FBC (and nonrefundable)! These are premium economy seats. For the price FBC is showing today for premium economy seats I could book business flexible on AA.

Went through this decision making back in June for our flight to Rome next May. Had it booked through FBC but after reading some of the reviews didn't feel comfortable keeping it with them. Also, while booked on AA through FBC it was through BA which meant seat selection wasn't guaranteed. Ended up booking a flexible fully refundable fare directly with AA and got it cheaper than FBC. Then a month later ended up changing my departure city b/c the rate was over $1,000 cheaper. Had no problem cancelling the original and re-booking and received credit on my card 7 days later. I'll also add that while speaking with the AA rep I asked her some of the cons booking through a cruise line or other website. She said the biggest reason is if we were to make any changes last minute or issuess arrived, AA might not be as quick to help and could possibly charge a fee to make the changes.

Very cool! We've been on 14 but the majority of those were repeat ports and ships. We've enjoyed our time cruising and feel blessed to have taken what we have but wished some of those were to different ports. Trying to change that currently now that we're empty nesters. Some cruises in the past were taken simply because of school schedule and/or a great rate from a port that's within driving distance to our home.

Who is going to be using the balcony more? If your wife loves to enjoy the balcony more than you and doesn't like full sun, then get the balcony that's covered. If you share it equally, flip a coin!

Looking online at all of the many, many, many companies that offer tours with skip the line tickets to Vatican and Colosseum made me wonder....... since it's something that's so commonly preached online, "buy skip the line tickets", if just as many people have skip the line tickets with or w/out tour groups, wouldn't the line for those groups or individuals eventually back up just as much as the line to purchase tickets on site?

Having never flown internationally we've never experienced jet lag. I know a lot can change with our flight between now and next May but trying to figure out our time in Rome as best I can. We'll fly out Thursday morning, arrive in Rome Friday around 8:00 a.m. I've read it's best to stay awake once arriving, get some sunlight, etc. I was thinking we'd walk around city center, visit Pantheon, Spanish Steps, etc. for a little while on Friday before check in. Saturday morning we'd go to Vatican City. I thought it would be pretty cool to see the Colosseum at night and wondering if it would be best to book that Friday or Saturday night? Some of the ones I've seen offered run about two hours and start around 7 or 8. Would prefer Friday night but not sure if a nap after check in would screw up sleeping later that night. While I think it would be doable, trying to fit both Vatican City and Colosseum in during the day Saturday seems a bit much. I'd like to have a little energy boarding the ship Sunday. Thoughts?

I was recently looking at websites for RomeinLimo and Romecabs. Under the what's not included category for both transfers and tours it said, "Gratuities not included." Do I take that as a subtle, "hey if you wanna give it we won't give it back or tips are recommended" message or do we follow the no tipping standard for Italy?

Those photos keep drawing me back to that tour. My only hesitation is the price. Please let me know your thoughts when you return. Our cruise isn't until May of next year so have a little of time to narrow one down. Wishing you a fabulous cruise!

May 2023. Staying two nights pre-cruise. Still tossing around what we want to do post-cruise, whether to stay in Fiumicino the last night and take train into Rome for some last day exploring or stay somewhere nearby to experience a smaller city. Please let me know your thoughts on Navona when you return.

For me it's as normal as adding ma'am or sir after saying, "yes" or "no". I'm a Southern girl. I'm finding lots of valuable info taking the time to peruse CC in depth preparing for our trip next year. Learning about the tipping (or non-tipping) protocol is important. Want to be respectful of another country's way of life but also want to tip if they've done something over and beyond what payment was for. Adding this "tip" to my notes.

Looked up this company and curious which tour you would recommend for 1st time visitors. They have several that interests us - photography tour; perast/OLO Rocks your; hidden gems tour or best of Montenegro tour. Would love to see Perast but more so the Mountain view.

About how many miles is it to walk the entire length? You mentioned you took a cab to the cable car station. Are cabs readily available at the port, what do they charge? First time going there and sounds like cable car then going back and walking the walls on our own as opposed to an excursion might be a good option for us.

We’ve never purchased travel insurance for any of our cruises but are planning to for our Mediterranean cruise next May. I was reading over Celebrity’s insurance policy and seems pretty normal compared with 3rd party. Don’t think I saw any specific language for covid-type travel interruption. Is this language something we should look for or would “medical” cover any type of illness?Thought I read somewhere many months ago that could be an issue if not specifically stated. Any recommendations on choosing a travel insurance are greatly appreciated. I think my two main things to look for are price of policy and what type of medical/cancel coverage it provides. Beyond that I’m not sure of the most important things to take note of. Thanks in advance for your replies.

Thank y’all for this info. The message board and contributors have been so helpful in planning our trip.

Thanks for the info and congrats on your retirement 🍾 Thinking of staying close to the airport, dropping our luggage off then taking the train to Rome. I don't think we'll be using the train pre-cruise so it will be an adventure for us. And should we get off at the wrong location we'll have enough time to figure out how to get back where we started. Well hopefully 😄

Navona 49. I emailed quite a few hotels wanting to find out certain information and they were the only ones who answered each email and timely. We'll be using them for pickup from the airport and they do offer transportation to the port as well. Breakfast included in rate.

Did the same through American for our Med next year. Their fully refundable fare was cheaper than FBC and in the month since I’ve booked it I’ve changed it to a nearby city and saved an additional $1K. Received a credit to my cc with no problems.