SKSMIKE5

We used VRBO (vacation rental by owner) before our med cruise a couple years ago. Rented a small apartment a couple blocks from the dock and shared it with friends. Other friends used airbnb and had a nice apartment as well within walking distance and both were very reasonably priced. Our ship departed at 11 pm so we flew in to Venice the day before, spent the night and then went to the dock early to check in and drop off bags and then went back out sight seeing! Enjoy your trip!!!

I saw a price drop on my upcoming Oasis trip and called. They cancelled my current and rebooked us (three cabins). Gave us the exact same cabins, the price drop and the increased OBC.

Thanks! Do you know if the snorkeling is any good off the beaches there?

I just emailed him tonight and he replied in a couple hours. The price for next May 2017 is $119/pp for the 6 hour trip with lunch. Waiting to hear from other couple we are traveling with and then we'll be booking as it sounds wonderful!

Can you snorkel off the Grand Case beach? Friends traveling with us next May love to snorkel. I dont remember beach snorkeling at Orient either. THanks.

I was looking on the RCCL website and saw the clamshells for two for $35. The picture looks like they are very secluded. Does anyone know where they are and if they really are all by themselves or is it just a bad pic on RCCL website? Also how is the snorkeling off the beaches at Labadee? Thanks

How far away is DRF from Falmouth? We were there on our first cruise a LONG time ago and really enjoyed it. Going with friends on this cruise and it's their first one ever so would like to take them if it works out. Thanks.

Thanks everyone for the great responses!! We're getting excited! Have our plans for our three ports all we have left to do is buy our Premium Beverage Package!!

As far as laundry goes, we did a 14 day Med cruise last May and half way through they ran a laundry special....i think it was $25 for all you could get in the bag. If you roll the clothes you can get A LOT in the bag! THat saved us from packing two weeks worth of "casual" clothes.

We're on our first TA with Celebrity this April and are wondering how they adjust the time. I've seen some posts that say they did an hour a day and others that said they had a 3 hour adjustment at once! YIKES! We leave Ft Lauderdale this April and end up at South Hampton 13 days later. I've looked to see what type of ship activities they have for the 8 days we are at sea and it seems like there is quite a lot going on.I can't tell if there is a charge for some of it (dance lessons? Art Classes? ) Do they show movies in the theater and if so are they fairly current? Appreciate any additional information anyone thinks would be helpful! Thanks!

We are taking our first TA this April. Leaves Ft Lauderdale Fl and ends in South Hampton. How do the ships adjust the time? An hour every few days? I think I read where someone said they had a 3 hour adjustment in one day! We are on Celebrity. Also what types of activities are there to do ?

We will be in Lisbon from 0700-1700 and Berlenga Island looked like an interesting side trip. (Berlenga, actually named Berlenga Grande, is the main island of the Berlengas archipelago, a nature sanctuary located in front of Peniche, Portugal) Has anyone been there? Still want time to wonder around Lisbon. Thanks.

Thanks everyone! Website is confusing as it implied a per day charge. Glad to hear we'll definately be doing this!

We were on a Med Cruise last May with NCL. We bought bottles of Bombay Gin including the mixers for our room for $80. I have not seen that offerred on Celebrity. We are on a 13 day TA in April and was hoping to order a bottle or two for our room as we are simple Gin and Tonic, Diet and Whiskey kind of folks. Does anyone know if Celebrity offers this option? Thanks!

4774papa was there a way you converted the Hagia Sopha ticket site to English? When I click it's in Turkish and I don't see any conversion feature.

Thanks! Leaving from Venice in 24 day on NCL Spirit, can't wait!

Thanks everyone! Great advice! Totally excited about this cruise and now that Christmas is over I can get back to all my research. The group I'm with has pretty much decided to do Lucca and save CT for next time! Appreciate all the inputs.

Thanks for the great advice. Haven't decided for sure what we're doing. I really want to do Cinque Terre, but may save it for next time.. gotta have a reason to return. Plus we are doing multiple 8 or 9 hour all day tours and the hubby is leaning toward a more relaxing day. I'm looking into Lucca....

Thanks for the info on Vatican and Coliseum. One of the tour companies I was emailing asked if we were taking the train in to Rome from Civitavecchia. Has anyone done that? I haven't searched these forums yet for it, but I had not seen anything in what reading I have done!

Thanks for the great response regarding the trains. I guess I'll look into a tour.

I have read a review reviews here where people mention docking at La Spezia vs Livorno and then doing Cinque Terre from there on their own. We are docking at Livorno and I think I understood someone to say they took a taxi for about 15 euro from Livorno to the La Spezia train station and then went to Cinque Terre, is that correct? Thanks.

We're on the NCL Spirit May 2015 and are in Livorno from 8 am to 7 pm. I was wondering if anyone has made the trip to Cinque Terre from there? We were in Italy a few years ago and I took the train from Florence to Pisa and was going to continue to Cinque Terre but we were pooped so I'm pretty sure there are trains that will go there, just wondering about logistics and timing. Thanks!

One more thing ... when people say they did the Coliseum did that include the Forum?

We used Rome in Limo for two tours in early October. I chose them because of their excellent feedback on CC and TripAdvisor. There were eight of us and the group was formed by using the tour sharing sign-up option at the RIL website. I posted the availability of four places on the CC Roll Call for our cruise and had no problem getting others to join. Our first tour was out of Naples, “Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano”. Stefano was our driver/guide and he was excellent. As we drove down the coast to Positano he pointed out things and stopped for photos along the way. At one stop he pointed to his hometown crossed the way and talked about his life there. We were given time to explore Positano and then it was back up the coast to Sorrento for lunch at a very nice restaurant he recommended. After lunch we walked around and then were picked up and taken to Pompeii where we met our guide, Lena (I think that was her name). This was arranged by RIL at our expense. She gave us an wonderful tour including showing us some newly opened areas. Then it was back to Naples where at the end of the tour Stefano presented us with a bottle of Limoncello to enjoy later.

 

The next day we took the “Highlights of Rome” tour with Enrico, our driver/guide. He got us into Rome from the port in no time. I asked if we could see an additional church, St John in Lateran, and Enrico took us there first. Then he drove us around to the various sites with commentary about each one and plenty of time at each for exploring and picture taking. RIL suggests that you pre-purchase tickets for the Coliseum and the Vatican so at the Coliseum we were able to walk pretty much right in. After a quick lunch we went to the Vatican where we meet our guide, Federica. She was great, got us quickly inside using our pre-purchased tickets and somehow managed to get us round and through the hordes of people. She explained many of the museum's treasures to us. We saw the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. At the end Enrico was there to met us, took us to an overlook for great photos of Rome and got us back to port with time to spare.

 

I would highly recommend Rome in Limo. They are professional, provide everything they say they will and Jany in the office is a joy to work with. If you are going all the way to visit these ports do your touring with the best, Rome in Limo.

 

<<<Karen>>>

Karen,

How long were you in port? We are on the Spirit in May. We arrive at 8 am and depart at 7pm. My hubby and I have been to the Vatican and Coliseum but our friends have not and wanted to do both. I was concerned we couldn't do them both and make it back to the boat on time. Thanks! Kathy

You mention you left Sapphire and went to Maho, how long did that take via cab? Do you remember how much it was?