BlueBear4Travel

On 11/11/2022 at 10:19 PM, Pebbels said:

Long periods of the day with no food available. Not even a hamburger.

Coffee & cake for one hour (1630-1730) doesn't help my "hangry" kids. 

This has always been the case with Costa and is not a new thing. Hence the reason in our personal ranging we rate Costa the lowest.

We were in Istanbul in June, there was absolutely no problem walking around on your own. We took a free tour, which was great.

It´s not difficult to get in or out of the cruise port but the walk through the building itself is loooong and we found it annoying. They put up turnstiles and close glass doors so you can see people zig zagging through the building.

The tram stop is maybe 200metres /5min max on the main road after exciting the cruise port.

When using the tram you of course need to buy a ticket. Be aware that the machine only accepts credit card, smaller turkish banknotes or coins.

We just got back from our 14day cruise on the Costa Venezia where we booked this package. It was a good deal for us but not all excursions are included when using this package.

Pranzo&Cena is a package that will give you water, coffee and tea plus beer, soft drinks and wine for lunch and dinner.

We went on our first Costa Cruise june 19 and back then the buffet was not always open. During the day they would open the buffet for coffee and cake from e.g. 4-5pm and that´s when you could get water, coffee or tea for free. It was very crowded and sometimes they would start closing and cleaning the machines at 4:45pm so there was no more free coffee or even water to be had.

You can however buy a soda or water package which is what we usually do because we also don´t drink that much.

How interesting that you would love to go on Aida since we (both german) prefer the multinational or american ships for their diversity. I wish I could help you about booking from the USA but I can´t. However, if you somehow manage to book and need some translations, this is where I could help.

You have to be aware that a big part of the people on Aida choose Aida because there are still quite a lot (even younger) germans who do not speak english very well. All shows, all games, all talks, all entertainment will only be held in german.

We´ve long avoided Aida but will now travel with them in July since the price and routing are of interest to us.

Apparently -the way we understood so far- TUI Mein Schiff is the holy grail when it comes to german cruise lines and even better than Aida. We´ve been on Mein Schiff and it was very lovely but we hated the shows that were strictly german and not very good.

When we went to Belize 4 weeks ago, we did the snorkel tour at the barrier reef and stop at starfish island with the cruise company. It was a nice trip but one has to be aware that the reef is outside kind of in the ocean and the water can be choppy. Also there was not that much to see other than a starfish and one stingray.

Starfish island for us was kind of boring especially since there were only a few places that would offer some shade and the part where you were allowed to swim the water was not very clear.

We´d have loved to go snorkelling to Caye Caulker with a private company but they did not want to take us since we were with MSC (we had the same port times than another american cruise line at the same day).

We loved our tour with native choice! Will have to look up the name of our guide, I wrote it down somewhere.

We had a great time. At first we drove to Chacchoben and then onwards to Bacalan. For me the highlight was not Chachoben but Bacalan, while my partner says for him it was the other way round.

At Chacchoben we did not spend that much time. We first saw the big pyramid ( and were shown chards of pottery on the way) at the beginning and then our guide did a longer talk about history and meaning of the pyramids. We both aggree that we´d have loved the standing around for the longer talk in one spot to be shorter. We´d have loved to have the same talk but changing venues/ views in between by just walking on to e.g. the other side of the pyramid, telling the rest of the story,... I hope you understand what I mean.

Once this information was over we walked along the path to another ruin/ staircase and then saw more, smaller pyramids.

If you have problems walking you would be able to walk along the path to the first, bigger pyramid but getting to the smaller pyramids you´d have to climb the staircase and it´s not an even staircase but basically part of the ruin with uneven stones and debris.

The road to Bacalan was bumpy but I loved to see how pineapples and bananas grow. As a European I had never seen this before.

At Bacalan we were served lunch and then had time to go kayaking (free of charge) or swimming. They would continously serve drinks and bring them to you, even if you were just standing in the lake or swimming, which I thought to be very funny.

There were no lockers but changing rooms and you could also (if you paid for it) get a massage. Very little people there at the resort and no problems keeping your stuff unsupervised.

On the way home the guide handed round a bag of native mexican sweets from which we all got to choose one. I took a kind of caramel candy while my partner preferred some kind of chewing gum with tamarind inside.

You were constantly offered water and even when visiting the ruins there was a guide with us who would carry the water and immediately hand out a new one to you or take back the empty bottles.

At the end they dropped us of at the beginning of the port so we just had to walk a few metres from the beginning of the parking lot.

I can absolutely recommend this tour as we had a great time and the guides and drivers were very friendly, polite and professional.

That sounds fantastic. Thank you for the information.

Thank you. :-) We´re already really looking forward to this trip.

@JT1962: We will be doing the Extreme Tour next week.

Were there any lockers at the lagoon and did you have to pay extra when wanting to use the kayaks? Thank you.

I agree with Hlitner. I rate Ravello as one of my top ten places I've visited in Italy. It's a sweet small town with beautiful views , quaint shops and architecture and friendly people.We did a private tour in 2013, but darned if I can remember the name of the tour company. Son't even attempt to add Pompeii if you want to see the Amalfi coast. You don't want to miss wandering the streets of these villages/towns. You will miss the whole flavor of the place. So - either Pompeii, or Sorentto/Amalfi.

Also adding my aggree. From Amalfi we took a public bus up to Ravello. Once you´ve seen Ravello you can then walk down from there through the vineyards and lemon groves down to Amalfi again. It´s a lovely walk and I absolutely recommend it if you have the time.

Hi Tuffydog,

yes, I believe it was a number 20 or 50 bus. There are attendants at the bus station in Le Havre which you could also ask.

Once in Honfleur just get of the bus, keep right and you will walk straight on to the harbour.

Have a great trip,

BlueBear

I will certainly agree about the transport. We have driven those roads (day and night) and I once made myself car sick just driving

I absolutely aggree with this. We took the normal coach from Sorrento to Amalfi. Sunny day, not during the night but we were sitting further in the back of the coach. Had to get off in Positano ( with several others who were all green in the face) and wait for the next bus which then took us the rest of the way to Amalfi.

I tend to be a bit skeptical when it comes to shore excursions--will the guides herd us like cattle? Will we have enough time at each stop? BUT I also hate the thought of missing out on going to places that are further afield (I'd absolutely love to go to Positano or Amalfi when docked in Naples) and I'm a little nervous at the thought of trying to get there/back to the ship on my own.

 

SO...my question is, has anyone ever done one of the excursions from Naples that visits Sorrento, Positano, and Pompeii in one day? If so, is it too exhausting? OR--is it easy enough to get a bus to Amalfi or Positano on your own? (Bonus points if you can make a case for staying in Naples.)

 

Basically, I have absolutely no idea what to do with my day in Naples, and I just don't want to miss out on anything big.

We have been to a trip on the Amalfi-coast a few years ago.

In Naples you can go up to the castle and have a lovely view, seeing the spacca napoli.

There was a fantastic underground tour where you went to see the old catacombs. We loved that tour. https://www.napolisotterranea.org/en/naples-underground/

Also there is the famous archologial museum. When you visit the museum, check the timetable to see which exhibitions is open at which time. Sometimes one or the other exposition will close during the day.

https://www.museoarcheologiconapoli.it/en/

You can get from Naples to Sorrento very easily, using the Circumvesuviana, which is a local train. It will also take you to Ercolano which is similar but smaller than Pompeii.

To get to Positano you would have to take the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento and then take a bus (bus also goes further to Amalfi). There´s also a boat from Sorrento which will take you to Amalfi or maybe stop in Positano on the way. I don´t remember as we only took the boat back home from Amalfi.

Also from naples you could take the ferry and see Ischia or Capri.

I have no idea how much time you have on your hand but I´d either stay in Naples or only go to see Ercolano in the morning and then return to Naples for the rest of the day.

We really enjoyed Lisbon.

As to Honfleur, we took a public bus from right next to the train station in Le Havre. There were a lot of people there waiting for the bus and when it became clear that not all of us would fit into one bus, they brought a second one.

In Honfleur we just walked around and enjoyed the city.

Once we got back from Honfleur, we went to a shopping mall ( Docks Vauban) had a look around and went for coffee before continuing our walk to the city center and taking pictures from the bridge at Bassin du Commerce in Le Havre.

You can fly out the ambergris Caye, rent a golf cart and go up to secret Beach. You can fly out to ambergris Caye, rent a kayak and use the tie offs out on the reef and snorkel the Reef. there is a Heritage and Cultural Center just outside of Belize City called Old Belize that has a beach. Caye Caulker has a beach for swimming. Placencia has a great Beach for swimming.

I believe people were inquiring about swimming close to Belize port. If you fly somewhere I would not calling it as being close to the port.

To Caye Caulker you can either take a water taxi (check schedule before you go) or go on a snorkelling tour. We tried to sign up with Coral Breeze but they returned our deposit, stating they do not cater to cruisers from MSC.

So if someone can give us any advice what do to in Belize or how to get to Caye Caulker without missing the ship we´d love to hear about it.

Thank you. Will try to get into the middle seats. There´s nothing else we´re interested in doing in Belize so I will just have to face my fears. It´s ridiculous not to have a great time just because of this boat ride, especially if one can swim ( I keep telling myself).

We are thinking about going on the shark alley-snorkeling tour with Coral Breeze. I ´ve read some good reviews about the company but I am wondering about the 40minute boat ride to Caye Caulker.

We want to take this trip at the end of august and this is completely irrational but I am frightened beyond belief when there is a bumpy ride. Put me into the water right next to the boat and I am completely fine but sit me into the boat and it bumps with the waves I will try to claw my fingernails into the railing.

Did anyone ever take this trip before and how big is the boat?

Was it a bumpy ride or were you feeling safe?

Thank you all for your replies. So all we can do is hope for the best.

Will the sea grass affect the snorkeling on the reef, too? I mean appart from the stuff floating around you, does it also stink and deter you from going into the water at all?

Most likely stupid question but I live in Europe: What is the time of year for sewaeed? We´re going to Costa Maya end of august. Will it then be worse or better?

Hi Len,

we´re going on our third cruise with MSC this year and I will try answering some of your questions:

Do most of the crew speak and understand English?

Yes, I´d say most of them do at least understand a little bit.

Will most of the passengers speak English?

How is the ship, small, large, old refurbished?

Now, we rarely drink alcohol, so what does the Fantastica experience get us?

Did you buy an all-inclusive drinks package? Meaning you pay e.g. 23€ oer day and have all the drinks free on the cruise?

The fantastica experience itself does not include any drinks other than free water, tea and coffee which you can grab at the buffet restaurant. You can buy a softdrinks package (don´t remember the price right now) for let´s say 43€ and have 20 softdrink you can then drink / oder in the restaurants and bars.

Again, buy before you board the ship or at the day of embarkation to save another 15% (service charge).

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions,

Barbara

Thank you.

Yes, I already had a look at the bar menu. I was just wondering wether it´s too good to be true since at the other places at Burj al Arab they really charge a very high minimum spend.

This will also be my first TuiCruise, but the way I understand it, yes. Only if you want a special champagne or let´s say higher quality whiskey you´ll have to pay for it.

Also they will have nespresso-coffee makers in the cabin (2 of these coffee caps per day free) and water dispensers on all decks where you can "draft" your own water to take into the cabin.

There´s a new bar in Burj al Arab, called Gold on 27. Has anyone ever been there and do they really not charge a minimum spend? What happens if we really only go there for one cocktail each?