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Who's cruising "The Med" in 2006?

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hylasgirl

hylasgirl

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It is very easy to book private drivers and I HIGHLY recommend them. Here are a few...

 

It all depends on when you are going and what stops you are making. I highly suggest Marcello for Naples. Anyone will tell you that he is BY FAR the best guide for the Amalfi area. He is charming and VERY knowledgable. That said, he is extremely hard to book. We are going in September of 2006 and he had already been contacted about the exact date we were looking for. It was our luck that the first couple did not confirm with him and we did. He said that he books out 2 years in advance. But... I would definitely look him up if you are going to be in Naples. Find him at www.seesorrento.com or his email address is: marcellomaresca@tin.it and he responds very quickly. He is very professional. We have booked with "driver in rome" for our Rome tours... and that is the same company that we used last year for our Naples tour. They did a great job. We had a very large table at dinner and everyone was using private tours.... and NO one had a bad complaint about any of their drivers or tours. There is also "driver in Italy" www.driverinrome.com and www.driverinitaly.com these are both great web sites where you can look up rates... the cars they drive... and what kind of tours that they offer.

 

If you would like any other information, just ask away! You will have a wonderful time... no matter what you do

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sailnsee

sailnsee

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booked on the Galaxy(Celebration) in late Oct. because of the overnite in Istanbul and it's heavy Greek Islands-I know that it is an older ship-no "hump"cabins or afts...anyone gone on this cruise? Next week we are going on the Brilliance to the other side of the Med.- which is primarily Italy- for 12 days. Will be trying for more private tours next year-so anyone interested?

 

This year all of our tours are with RCCL-too late! Tried to start a thread but not much response,yet...

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sailnsee

sailnsee

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booked on the Galaxy(Celebration) in late Oct. because of the overnite in Istanbul and it's heavy Greek Islands-I know that it is an older ship-no "hump"cabins or afts...anyone gone on this cruise? Next week we are going on the Brilliance to the other side of the Med.- which is primarily Italy- for 12 days. Will be trying for more private tours next year-so anyone interested?

 

This year all of our tours are with RCCL-too late! Tried to start a thread but not much response,yet...

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zebra

zebra

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Anyone out there on the same cruise as us. We did this exact cruise last September and it was "out of this world". We're also looking for couples to share private tours with us. Come on...... JOIN US!!!!!!!

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Compass Rose Monica

Compass Rose Monica

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I'm just updating here. We're now going to book the June 12th - had to change from the May 22nd Galaxy cruise due to our nephew's graduation next May 31st from the AF Academy. Just waiting from one TA for pricing then will book this week!

 

Looking forward to all the planning!

 

Monica :D

 

I thought I'd update my message. My husband and I are booked on the HAL Noordam for May 11-21, 2006 cruise. We hope to spend 2-3 nights pre-cruise in Rome.

 

Monica ;)

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2003corvette

2003corvette

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I think i am!!!!!

I have narrowed it down to Sept. 28th 2006 Carnival Liberty.

I have been to Italy several times but DH has not. I have sailed with Carnival twice with the Elation going to the Mexican Riviera and was quite happy with Carnival. I am waiting patiently for the Liberty to sail to hear the first of many reports that will be comming in. I cannot wait!!!

I am thinking of booking though next week as i have settled on an a company that gave me a decent enough price.

:rolleyes: Carnival is now giving great discounts to past pasengers ,you might want to check it out ..we are going 09/28/06..sounds like a great cruise..
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lv2cruz

lv2cruz

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2003 Corvette-

I did book this a few weeks ago as a matter of fact. I hope i got a good price but i am getting shipboard credit.This appears to be a very good cruise so i look foward to going. Glad to hear someone else is going on it. Have you seen a roll call for it???

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Past it

Past it

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:rolleyes: Carnival is now giving great discounts to past pasengers ,you might want to check it out ..we are going 09/28/06..sounds like a great cruise..

Are you leaving from Barcelona,if so I will be right behind on VOS,can't wait to see all the other ships near us.

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canadiansnowbird

canadiansnowbird

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DH and I are on the Brillance of the Seas Western Med Cruise September 20th, 2006 from Barcelona to Barcelona. We are going early and spending three days at the Hotel International Barcelona. Also are booked to go with "Poohunderstands" and another couple on tours of Rome, Livorno (Florence/Pisa) and Naples.

 

We did a two week cruise in 2002, but one day in port is not enough to see everything! Going back for more.:D

 

Snowbird

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alinehu

alinehu

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Grand Princess, with husband and three kids. Venice to Barcelona, departing July 27th. Already planned most of it!

How early do you think I can book tours with the independent guides? I don't want them to think I'm crazy if I e-mail them now.

 

 

They wont think you are crazy believe me, I started emailing my private tour company in September or October of 2004 and my cruise was on June on the Grand also.Everything was perfect from the begining to the end.You have time to think all the possibilities and ask as many question as you like. After so many months of emails you feel that a friend is going to pick you up and it is more personal.Mine was a wonderful experience.:)

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NewCruiser1960

NewCruiser1960

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DH and are on on RSSC on the Voyager Monte Carlo, Ajaccio, Sorrento Taormina, Kusadasi, Santorini and Athens 10/14/06. We are doing two nights pre-cruise at Le Meridien in Monte Carlo and one night post cruise at Grande Bretagne. Boss is paying for the whole shebang in celebration of my 25th year of employment with him. Never cruised before. I did a week in France when I was a teenager but other than that we are complete novices in this part of the world. We are researching all ports for interesting shore excursions. As this is our first cruise, I'm a little worried about private tours. I would feel safer I think with RSSC sponsored tours (you know, not to miss the boat!!). Am I being a worrywart? Should I just throw caution to the wind and go with the private tours?

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alinehu

alinehu

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DH and are on on RSSC on the Voyager Monte Carlo, Ajaccio, Sorrento Taormina, Kusadasi, Santorini and Athens 10/14/06. We are doing two nights pre-cruise at Le Meridien in Monte Carlo and one night post cruise at Grande Bretagne. Boss is paying for the whole shebang in celebration of my 25th year of employment with him. Never cruised before. I did a week in France when I was a teenager but other than that we are complete novices in this part of the world. We are researching all ports for interesting shore excursions. As this is our first cruise, I'm a little worried about private tours. I would feel safer I think with RSSC sponsored tours (you know, not to miss the boat!!). Am I being a worrywart? Should I just throw caution to the wind and go with the private tours?[/QUOT

 

That was one of the first questions of many that I ask to my private tour co. His answer was that in many years of business they have never miss the boat.We did the private tour when we went to Livorno and Naples. Believe me they have everything cover and perfectly timed.You can do it with your eyes closed. it is much better than the ones organized by the cruise.

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alinehu

alinehu

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DH and are on on RSSC on the Voyager Monte Carlo, Ajaccio, Sorrento Taormina, Kusadasi, Santorini and Athens 10/14/06. We are doing two nights pre-cruise at Le Meridien in Monte Carlo and one night post cruise at Grande Bretagne. Boss is paying for the whole shebang in celebration of my 25th year of employment with him. Never cruised before. I did a week in France when I was a teenager but other than that we are complete novices in this part of the world. We are researching all ports for interesting shore excursions. As this is our first cruise, I'm a little worried about private tours. I would feel safer I think with RSSC sponsored tours (you know, not to miss the boat!!). Am I being a worrywart? Should I just throw caution to the wind and go with the private tours?[/QUOT

 

That was one of the first questions of many that I ask to my private tour co. His answer was that in many years of business they have never miss the boat.We did the private tour when we went to Livorno and Naples. Believe me they have everything cover and perfectly timed.You can do it with your eyes closed. it is much better than the ones organized by the cruise.

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Kate-AHF

Kate-AHF

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Our first Med cruise. We made the decision this weekend to book this cruise, with two nights pre-cruise in Venice. Flying directly home Rome (we'll go back to Rome some other time when it's not August and 100 degrees and smoggy).

 

Not as expensive as one might think, due to the fact with Seabourn you are eligible for special Club rates if you've sailed some of the parent lines, like HAL. They have special Club sailings that give you HALF off.

 

Done some research and thought I'd share what I've learned.

 

Found this outstanding site on Dubrovnik, Croatia. There is a great article in August 2005 Travel and Leisure online as well.

http://web.tzdubrovnik.hr/welcome.shtml

Got a highly recommended guide from Amazon to help plan our pre-cruise in Venice…AA Spiral Bound Guide to Venice:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1562515039/104-6045656-9632748?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance

And to quality for free shipping ;) had to get this guide as well…

Mediterranean By Cruise Ship: The Complete Guide to Mediterranean Cruising, Third Edition (Paperback):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0968838936/104-6045656-9632748?v=glance&n=283155&%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

Several reviews said that it’s a great book for 1st time Med cruisers.

Looking for a hotel in Venice, leaning towards this one (tripadvisor is a fantastic resource for this):

Locanda Sant'Agostin

http://www.locandasantagostin.com/

or:

Hotel Ca' Formenta

http://caformenta.hotelinvenice.com/main_en.htm?source=

or:

Palazzo del Selvadego

http://selvadego.hotelinvenice.com/main_en.htm?source=

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