Our Amazing European Adventure! Navigator of the Seas & Norwegian Epic Review w/pics

[Ocean Boy]

What are the differences between the Adventure and the Serenade? I is it just the itinerary or are the ships different too?

 

I'm just starting to research now so I haven't really had much time to look into it much at all.

 

Keith and I have spent some time in Puerto Rico, and I love Old San Juan! And we've been to some of the ports in the Southern Caribbean on land based vacations, but my parents and the kids haven't been to any of them.

 

The airfare to San Juan can be pricey though. It always bugs me when I pay more for airfare than the cruise!

 

The two classes of ships are VERY different. Some folks prefer one over the other. We are big fans of the Voyager class which Adventure belongs to.

 

Here is a quick comparison of the Voyager (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Navigator, and Mariner) and Radiance (Serenade, Jewel, Brilliance, And Radiance) class...

 

Either class of ship is great but the Voyager class is just incredible. It is my favorite class of ship though there are plenty of folks here that prefer the Radiance class.

 

Both ships have rock climbing, miniture golf, and a basketball court. The Voyager class has a Royal Promenade which runs down the center of the ship and has shops and pubs. They also have "street performers" here. It is hard to describe how it feels the first time you step onto the Royal Promenade. I think it is amazing. They also have roller blading and an ice rink. You will never see anything like the ice show on any other ships except for Freedom and Oasis class. The adult solarium does not have a retractible glass roof over it. They have a beautiful three level dining room. They have Johnny Rocket's which is an extra charge hamburger food venue. They carry somewhere around 3200 passengers but are designed to do so very well.

 

Radiance class has much more glass which allows you to see the ocean from just about any public area of the ship including the elevators. The Radiance class ships tend to have a very elegant look and feel. They have a very beautiful centrum. Their windjammers are beautiful and have outdoor seating which Voyager class does not have. However, it is pretty hot in the Caribbean so you might want to eat inside in the air conditioning anyway. They also have self leveling pool tables. The adult solarium has a retractible glass roof. Mostly it is kept closed and the air conditioned interior is a welcome relief from the heat. They have a very nice two level dining room but it doesn't measure up to the look of a Voyager class dining room. They carry around 2500 passengers.

[ace1zoe2]

If it's not too much trouble, I'd love to know the tour providers you used! It would be a great starting point for me!

 

Thank you so much!

 

Shelli,

 

I agree with Ocean Boy - definitely do the Voyager class ship from San Juan with your kids. We've done Voyager & Adventure and both were wonderful.

 

Here are the private tours we have done in the Southern Caribbean. We had a fantastic time on all of them. Some we did with our family only and a few we did with other CC roll call members.

 

Puerto Rico - East Island Excursions (Bio Bay) 787-721-6525 or eastwindcats.com

 

St. Lucia - Cosol Tours (fantastic tour!) 758-719-6697 or cosol-tours.com

 

St. Marteen - Joyce Prince Tours 011-599-526-5252 or joyceprince.com

 

Antigua - Adventure Tours 268=726-6455 or adventureantigua.com

 

Barbados - We took a taxi to Accra Beach & the guys played golf nearby at the Rockley Golf Course

 

St. Kitts - Thenford Gray Tour (he is such a nice guy) thenfordgrey.com

 

Aruba - Bully Tour - sorry could't find his contact info but bet if you search the port pages you can locate it, maybe thru aruba-lisa

 

Curacoa - Leo Platte - also couldn't find his info in my notes.

 

All of these are pretty much island tours with some great stops and they will let you pick where/what you want to do. In St. Lucia we toured the island then took a boat near the Pitons and snorkeled, in Antigua we took the Eco-Tour which was a speed boat, got off at an island climbed to the top, had lunch then to Hell's Gate to snorkel.

 

Hope this gives you some starting points in your research. We also got the Marriott Stellaris both times bidding thru price lines for "resorts" for $125/night plus resort fee (now charged, we didn't pay on either of our trips).

 

It's also easy to rent a car in San Juan and do the Rain Forest on your own. It's beautiful and there are some great waterfalls there too.

[ShellDil]

Shelli,

 

I agree with Ocean Boy - definitely do the Voyager class ship from San Juan with your kids. We've done Voyager & Adventure and both were wonderful.

 

Here are the private tours we have done in the Southern Caribbean. We had a fantastic time on all of them. Some we did with our family only and a few we did with other CC roll call members.

 

Puerto Rico - East Island Excursions (Bio Bay) 787-721-6525 or eastwindcats.com

 

St. Lucia - Cosol Tours (fantastic tour!) 758-719-6697 or cosol-tours.com

 

St. Marteen - Joyce Prince Tours 011-599-526-5252 or joyceprince.com

 

Antigua - Adventure Tours 268=726-6455 or adventureantigua.com

 

Barbados - We took a taxi to Accra Beach & the guys played golf nearby at the Rockley Golf Course

 

St. Kitts - Thenford Gray Tour (he is such a nice guy) thenfordgrey.com

 

Aruba - Bully Tour - sorry could't find his contact info but bet if you search the port pages you can locate it, maybe thru aruba-lisa

 

Curacoa - Leo Platte - also couldn't find his info in my notes.

 

All of these are pretty much island tours with some great stops and they will let you pick where/what you want to do. In St. Lucia we toured the island then took a boat near the Pitons and snorkeled, in Antigua we took the Eco-Tour which was a speed boat, got off at an island climbed to the top, had lunch then to Hell's Gate to snorkel.

 

Hope this gives you some starting points in your research. We also got the Marriott Stellaris both times bidding thru price lines for "resorts" for $125/night plus resort fee (now charged, we didn't pay on either of our trips).

 

It's also easy to rent a car in San Juan and do the Rain Forest on your own. It's beautiful and there are some great waterfalls there too.

 

 

WOW~ Such great information and SO fast! Thank you so much!!! Now....to figure out how to pay for this! :eek:

[ariannasstuff]

Shelldi, I loved your review. Although I have been multiple times to Italy, I am taking my three kids on a Med cruise this summer and I am a bit nervous. I have a daughter who is 13, a son who is 13(yes, twins) and a son who is 15. They are not too excited as they are typical teens and beach people. I have selected a 7 day itinerary that isn't too intensive(at least I don't think so). I would love your thoughts from your "motherly opinion" having travelled with your kids:

Istanbul- beginning here.

Athens-full day private tour

Mykonos- beach day

Valetta, Malta-not sure yet

Salerno-I was torn here. I have been to Pompeii 4X. Capri, Sorrento and the rest of the cost multiple times. I really wanted to see the museum in Naples which I never have, so I was going to take them for as long as they could stand then get pizza!

Catania- Mt. Etna and Taomina(this was a giveup for me...been to both, really wanted to do the Godfather tour, but thought they kids would be bored)

Rome-last stop and we spend three days. The only thing I am really hesistant on is the Vatican Tour. I would love it, but not sure about the kids. Did I mention two have A.D.D?

Your thoughts, suggestions and opinions would be appreciated!

Thanks.

[Buck1949]

Hi Ariannasstuff,

Maybe you should consider a cruise on the NCL EPIC. We are doing the 7 day cruise out of Rome on June 4th on the NCL Epic. (No kids with us but....)From what I have read it has lots of things/activities for the kids. Might work to keep them occupied a lot, while still getting to see a couple of the places you mentioned such as: Rome and Naples. BUT the down side is that it does not go to the other places you mentioned.

 

Just my 2 cents.....

 

Either way, sounds like a great trip, and hope you enjoy your vacation !!!

[ShellDil]

Shelldi, I loved your review. Although I have been multiple times to Italy, I am taking my three kids on a Med cruise this summer and I am a bit nervous. I have a daughter who is 13, a son who is 13(yes, twins) and a son who is 15. They are not too excited as they are typical teens and beach people. I have selected a 7 day itinerary that isn't too intensive(at least I don't think so). I would love your thoughts from your "motherly opinion" having travelled with your kids:

Istanbul- beginning here.

Athens-full day private tour

Mykonos- beach day

Valetta, Malta-not sure yet

Salerno-I was torn here. I have been to Pompeii 4X. Capri, Sorrento and the rest of the cost multiple times. I really wanted to see the museum in Naples which I never have, so I was going to take them for as long as they could stand then get pizza!

Catania- Mt. Etna and Taomina(this was a giveup for me...been to both, really wanted to do the Godfather tour, but thought they kids would be bored)

Rome-last stop and we spend three days. The only thing I am really hesistant on is the Vatican Tour. I would love it, but not sure about the kids. Did I mention two have A.D.D?

Your thoughts, suggestions and opinions would be appreciated!

Thanks.

 

Hi! Which cruise line are you looking at? I don't think it's so much the itinerary as it is the cruise itself. My son wasn't too excited about the cruise in the beginning, he has a bit of travel anxiety - but once we were on our way - he really enjoyed himself. They really don't have a lot of time on the ship - but when they're on board, I think if they do want to go off on their own, having places to go that are active is important. Both of my kids overall preferred the Navigator over the Epic. Which surprised us all. My son, who was just about 14 at the time of the trip went to the teen club nearly every night - it was good for him to have his own time and space after so much intense touring and together time for such a long trip!

 

As for the ports - we loved our Athens full day private tour, but it was a long day! Both kids were really into it though. There was so much to see and since we went to so many places, it was never dull. I think mixing a beach day in Mykonos is great - similar to how we did the snorkel day in Crete.

 

Salerno - that's tough - you've been to Pompeii - but it's a place the kids can really relate to. My kids loved the Amalfi Coast - just the drive and the food we had for lunch. Going down to the beach in Positano - the entire atmosphere there was amazing! It was like no other place we visited - so it's hard for me to compare doing something else. Have you thought about Herculaneum?

 

Catania - We loved Mt Etna! It had to be one of the most unique experiences ever to walk into a volcano crater! Definitely should be a hit with the kids! And Taoromina - a quaint little town. Can't be beat!

 

As for Rome - my kids weren't thrilled with the Vatican tour. And to be honest, of all that we did - other than the Sistine Chapel - which we did the early entry tour - it was the one thing I could have done without. It was so crowded and I felt like even though our tour was good, it was just a mad house! The kids - well, too hot, too crowded and they couldn't appreciate it with that combination!

 

If you have any other questions - let me know! I'd be happy to try to help out! :D

[hsaroya]

Once again - thanks for hanging in there! It took me awhile to upload the pictures from our day in Napoli and write up everything that we did from my notes! It's been pretty busy here but I managed to fit it in! I'm not sure if I'll get the whole day posted today but I hope to at least get the first half of the day done!

 

Tuesday, June 25th – Napoli

 

This is a day I had been so looking forward to! From the very beginning of the planning this port was one of the highlights for me. Not so much because of Naples, or shall we say, Napoli. But because by docking in Napoli we’d be able to not only be able to go to Pompeii but also the Amalfi coast! What could be better? All of this in one day?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We would be using Joe Banana Limo’s again and our port day was thankfully a long day. 7 am – 7 pm. We chose an “all inclusive” day with Joe Banana – the tour included our lunch as well as a guide in Pompeii.

 

 

 

 

Alex however was not too excited about our plans for the day. Sure, he was looking forward to Pompeii, but something seemed to be missing from our agenda. He could not believe we had a day planned in the place where pizza was essentially discovered, which is Naples – and yet we wouldn’t actually be setting foot in the city of Naples itself! How could we not be getting authentic pizza from Napoli? “Mom – you of all people? To not get the original pizza?” He was horrified! Well, it really didn’t seem quite right did it?

 

Anyway…we got off the ship and met our driver, Paolo, right on time at 8 am. Right away, we could tell this was going to be a great day. Paolo was one Italian who loved his job! Mimi mentioned to Paolo that maybe during our day if at all possible, could Alex get some authentic Napoli pizza here in this Pizza Capital of the World? Well – Paolo very enthusiastically accepted this mission!

 

We all got into his van and he explained his plan for the day as we set off for our first stop…Pompeii! He gave us some history on the way, which included some video clips he had on his dashboard iPad! He showed us some videos of the lava flow, eruptions, and pictures of Mt Vesuvius. This man loved the history of this doomed city!

 

I think I may have mentioned that prior to the trip, the kids and I had several “International Movie Nights” to prepare for some of the places we’d be visiting. Many movies were watched by just Megan and I. Alex thought they were a bit too “girly”. But we all watched a documentary on Pompeii. I think it may have been a PBS or National Geographic special. Alex had actually watched it in school before, but Megan had never seen it. It really was great that they both had such an in depth knowledge of what had happened there and what life would have been like leading up to the eruption.

 

Mt Vesuvius was looming at every turn during our drive. The crater had a few clouds around it, but the volcano was just huge!

 

I can not imagine living there with such an active volcano just waiting to erupt!

 

 

Wonderful review! It has been a wealth of information as I plan our Aug. Med cruise.

 

Do you recall how much the Naples tour, incl lunch, cost?

Was the restaurant lunch worth the price? Would a small cafe in town be better? I'm thinking just the views alone would have made the restaurant a number one choice!

 

Tough question, but what was your overall favourite day of the trip? I'm guessing it's a toss up between Naples and one of the Venice days?!

 

Thank you! I will have many more inquiries as my planning progresses. :)

[ShellDil]

Wonderful review! It has been a wealth of information as I plan our Aug. Med cruise.

 

Do you recall how much the Naples tour, incl lunch, cost?

Was the restaurant lunch worth the price? Would a small cafe in town be better? I'm thinking just the views alone would have made the restaurant a number one choice!

 

Tough question, but what was your overall favourite day of the trip? I'm guessing it's a toss up between Naples and one of the Venice days?!

 

Thank you! I will have many more inquiries as my planning progresses. :)

 

Thank you! I'm glad you can get some helpful information from my review! The Naples tour was 750 Euro for the six of us - but it was a totally all inclusive day. Included lunch, entrance AND guide at Pompeii and the full day tour. It was totally worth every penny.

 

The lunch that was included was incredible, both the view and the food. The meal tasted great, the variety was perfect and the quantities - just wow! Wine was included, as well as a little shot of Lemoncello for everyone at the end.

 

You're right - it's tough to pick a favorite day. I loved our day in Naples - it was a perfect combination of Pompeii and the Amalfii coast. And our guide was fantastic. I do wish we had a bit more time in Positano, but I wouldn't have changed that day for anything. It was all that I had hoped for.

 

We really went out of our way to spend time in Venice, and I was so glad that we did. I can't say that I loved our Doge's Palace tour - it was very hot and a bit long maybe, but I loved Venice itself. It was so colorful and so unique!

 

I really also enjoyed our day in Provence. We got to spend time at four different locations and each was so unique. A part of the world that I didn't expect to see, and yet now can't wait to return to!

 

Our Chianti Region tour was amazing. It was one of the more relaxing days we had and the sites were just beautiful. The wine tour and tasting was amazing and then going to the Tuscan towns, was the icing on the cake!

 

It's really hard to pick a favorite. I fell totally in love with the entire region and can't wait to return. As a matter of fact, my mom and I were just discussing that the other day - Italy is calling to both of us! Now - when can we make that trip!

 

Feel free to ask any other questions you may have....I'm happy to help if I can! :)

[hsaroya]

Thank you for the prompt reply! Based on your review, we are booking JBL for our 3 Italian ports, Rome, Livorno, and Naples. We are a family of 4 (we have a 14 yo DD and 16 yo DS). I will ask JBL to add in the guide for Pompeii as well as the lunch - we're all big pasta fans! Having only done Caribbean cruises (to escape the cold and snow of northern Canada for a couple of weeks), I have a feeling our off-ship food budget is going to go through the roof during this trip. I am so looking forward to real Italian food.

 

As you know, the cost of doing private tours with mainly your own family is through the roof, but we thought it would be the best way to make use of what little time we'll have in each port. We're going with private tours in Athens and Ephesus as well, albeit much cheaper - almost 30-40% less than in Italy. Post-cruise, we are two nights in Barcelona and 5 nights in London. Now if you'd only had a stopover in London, it would've saved me so much planning time! :D we are not doing tours in Barcelona as I was a teacher chaperone there last year with my students and got to know the sights and the metro quite well. We will do the HoHo busses and metro there. London, I haven't even started to think about! Pre-cruise, we have one night in Venice and I'm madly searching for a moderately priced hotel in Venice. I would really not rather stay in Mestre as I'd like to be in Venice, but the hotel prices are insane. I don't recall if you bought vaporetto passes or if you just got single tickets??

 

Also, do you remember if, in Athen, there were any guides looking for customers at the entrance to the Acropolis? I thought it might be cheaper to join a larger group to cut down the cost rather than getting a guide through JBL. My husband would love to see some of the countryside in Greece, olive groves, farms, small villages, etc. Is there an opportunity for that on the way to Athens from the port or on the way back?

 

Thank you for your patience - I hope I don't become too much of a pest over the next few months!

 

Harjinder

[ShellDil]

Thank you for the prompt reply! Based on your review, we are booking JBL for our 3 Italian ports, Rome, Livorno, and Naples. We are a family of 4 (we have a 14 yo DD and 16 yo DS). I will ask JBL to add in the guide for Pompeii as well as the lunch - we're all big pasta fans! Having only done Caribbean cruises (to escape the cold and snow of northern Canada for a couple of weeks), I have a feeling our off-ship food budget is going to go through the roof during this trip. I am so looking forward to real Italian food.

 

As you know, the cost of doing private tours with mainly your own family is through the roof, but we thought it would be the best way to make use of what little time we'll have in each port. We're going with private tours in Athens and Ephesus as well, albeit much cheaper - almost 30-40% less than in Italy. Post-cruise, we are two nights in Barcelona and 5 nights in London. Now if you'd only had a stopover in London, it would've saved me so much planning time! :D we are not doing tours in Barcelona as I was a teacher chaperone there last year with my students and got to know the sights and the metro quite well. We will do the HoHo busses and metro there. London, I haven't even started to think about! Pre-cruise, we have one night in Venice and I'm madly searching for a moderately priced hotel in Venice. I would really not rather stay in Mestre as I'd like to be in Venice, but the hotel prices are insane. I don't recall if you bought vaporetto passes or if you just got single tickets??

 

Also, do you remember if, in Athen, there were any guides looking for customers at the entrance to the Acropolis? I thought it might be cheaper to join a larger group to cut down the cost rather than getting a guide through JBL. My husband would love to see some of the countryside in Greece, olive groves, farms, small villages, etc. Is there an opportunity for that on the way to Athens from the port or on the way back?

 

Thank you for your patience - I hope I don't become too much of a pest over the next few months!

 

Harjinder

 

For the Naples day, the tour we booked included the guide and lunch, make sure you book that tour - there is a specific option for that one. I can go back and look for it if you want, but if you browse their Naples port day tours, you should see it.

 

Have you joined your roll call? In both Athens and Sicily we booked private tours, but then had a couple of people from our roll call join us so it cut down on our cost. This way we still had small group, private tours but were able to each save some money. And the best part is that I've made some fantastic friends through that roll call and am still in touch with them today! Maybe someone is looking for someone to join a tour they've already booked.

 

I would try to book your Athens tour ahead of time if you have something specific that you want to do. It's such a busy port and while I'm sure you could find someone right there, I myself, would like the comfort of knowing who I was going with and that they were waiting for me when I got off the ship. I can go back and find the guide we used. They seemed to have several options available for full day tours.

 

In Venice, we stayed at http://www.alpontemocenigo.com, which we thought was very reasonably priced, as compared to many of the other hotels we looked at. It's not right in the middle of everything, but we loved walking through the streets and over the canals. It's a great location. It's close to a vaporetto stop, but no, we didn't get a pass. For the 6 of us it was pretty expensive, and in the end, we only took the vaporetto one time. The weather was nice, and we preferred to walk. We did splurge and get a water taxi to and from the train station to the hotel. With the luggage and for 6 of us, it just made the most sense. We were very glad we did. The hotel has a water entrance on the canal.

 

Which cruise are you going on?

[hsaroya]

Thank, Shelley, for all the info. I will definitely look into the Venice hotel. Like you, I also like the idea of walking around the side streets as much as possible. We are on the yet to be finished Regal Princess, so am very much looking forward to being on one of the newest ships out there. I'm also glad to be sailing before Venice is closed to the larger ships. I was debating the Doges secret tour and the Vatican and then when re-read your review over the holidays, noticed that you had the same thoughts after the trip. The middle of Aug will be unbearably hot for the Doges tour and I'm thinking we might head over to Burano and Murano on the vaporetto, instead. Your thoughts? As well, I have already been to the Vatican (a life time ago!) and while my family has not, I'm thinking they might enjoy more time just wandering around Rome - spending more time around the Trevi Ftn, Spanish Steps, etc. Would it still be possible to drive into the Vatican area, get out, and walk around for a bit outside the Vatican? Or would there really not be much to see? Could we still see the Swiss guards without going in?

 

My husband would love to see some of the countryside, olive groves, lemon groves, farms, etc. I'm sure this will be possible during the Amalfi, Positano drive, but would these sights be doable on the way/from Athens or Rome?

 

Thanks!

[hsaroya]

Shelley, will the JBL drivers have water bottles for us or should we bring our own?

 

For the Positano restaurant lunch ( and I think many of the other posters are correct in that you went to La Tagliata), they offer copious amounts of wine with the meal price. Since we don't drink, would they sub in pop or bottled water or would that be a charge?

 

Is tap water available for meals in Europe or does one generally have to pay for bottled water? Want to be informed before I get there so I don't appear gauche!

 

Harjinder

[ShellDil]

Thank, Shelley, for all the info. I will definitely look into the Venice hotel. Like you, I also like the idea of walking around the side streets as much as possible. We are on the yet to be finished Regal Princess, so am very much looking forward to being on one of the newest ships out there. I'm also glad to be sailing before Venice is closed to the larger ships. I was debating the Doges secret tour and the Vatican and then when re-read your review over the holidays, noticed that you had the same thoughts after the trip. The middle of Aug will be unbearably hot for the Doges tour and I'm thinking we might head over to Burano and Murano on the vaporetto, instead. Your thoughts? As well, I have already been to the Vatican (a life time ago!) and while my family has not, I'm thinking they might enjoy more time just wandering around Rome - spending more time around the Trevi Ftn, Spanish Steps, etc. Would it still be possible to drive into the Vatican area, get out, and walk around for a bit outside the Vatican? Or would there really not be much to see? Could we still see the Swiss guards without going in?

 

My husband would love to see some of the countryside, olive groves, lemon groves, farms, etc. I'm sure this will be possible during the Amalfi, Positano drive, but would these sights be doable on the way/from Athens or Rome?

 

Thanks!

 

What is your Livorno port day going to be like with JBL? We did their Chianti Region tour, and definitely saw country side there. We did a winery tour and the Medieval towns. So that may be the day for your husband to see that. I know some of the tours can combine a countryside with Florence as well.

 

The Doges Secret tour was interesting but hot. It was long as well. The parts about Casanova were pretty cool, but it was the parts inside the palace where it started to drag on for the kids. By then they didn't really want to hear about the paintings and artwork. They wanted to be out and about in Venice. I was glad to have seen the Secret rooms - but could have done without the rest - given there was so much else out there! I loved the rest of our tour that day though! The afternoon was a private water taxi ride through the canals and then a walking tour through the streets, along with St Mark's.

 

As far as the Vatican, since we had the early entrance with our tour, just getting into the Sistine Chapel before the crowds sort of made it all worthwhile. And had the crowds been more bearable, the rest of the tour would have been better. But I think given it was day 20 of a 21 day trip, it was just so crowded and we were spent by then! I don't know if you can see the Swiss Guards without going in. Possibly!

[ShellDil]

Shelley, will the JBL drivers have water bottles for us or should we bring our own?

 

For the Positano restaurant lunch ( and I think many of the other posters are correct in that you went to La Tagliata), they offer copious amounts of wine with the meal price. Since we don't drink, would they sub in pop or bottled water or would that be a charge?

 

Is tap water available for meals in Europe or does one generally have to pay for bottled water? Want to be informed before I get there so I don't appear gauche!

 

Harjinder

 

I don't remember the drivers having bottles of water - some did and some didn't and I can't remember which did. I brought those collapsible water bottles from home and we carried them with us on the port days. We just filled them up on the ship and then in port as needed.

 

At the restaurant I do believe they offered soda, and they definitely had bottled water. There's no tap water anywhere - it's all bottled water, which will cost pretty much as much as the wine anywhere you go. They offer water with and without gas (fizzy water and plain water). You will always pay for water. That was something a bit difficult to get used to as my family are HUGE water drinkers!

[Buck1949]

.................In Venice, we stayed at http://www.alpontemocenigo.com, which we thought was very reasonably priced, as compared to many of the other hotels we looked at. It's not right in the middle of everything, but we loved walking through the streets and over the canals. It's a great location. It's close to a vaporetto stop, but no, we didn't get a pass. For the 6 of us it was pretty expensive, and in the end, we only took the vaporetto one time. The weather was nice, and we preferred to walk. We did splurge and get a water taxi to and from the train station to the hotel. With the luggage and for 6 of us, it just made the most sense. We were very glad we did. The hotel has a water entrance on the canal.

 

Which cruise are you going on?

 

Shelli....we have booked the same hotel for our 4 day stay in Venice before we take the train to the Rome port for our June 4th cruise. We are trying to figure transportation TO the hotel from the airport, and to get to the train station FROM the hotel for our trip to Rome.

 

Sounds like you were ok with the hotel and it's location overall. Any insight/suggestions for our group regarding the hotel and getting to and from?

 

Thanks,

[ShellDil]

Shelli....we have booked the same hotel for our 4 day stay in Venice before we take the train to the Rome port for our June 4th cruise. We are trying to figure transportation TO the hotel from the airport, and to get to the train station FROM the hotel for our trip to Rome.

 

Sounds like you were ok with the hotel and it's location overall. Any insight/suggestions for our group regarding the hotel and getting to and from?

 

Thanks,

 

Hi there! We took a water taxi from the train station to the hotel and back to the train station. With the six of us and luggage it just seemed to be the easiest way to go. We prebooked the water taxi before leaving. However the hotel is fairly close to a vaporetto station, so that's an option as well. We took the train coming and going, so I'm not sure about the airport, but I think you can take a water taxi as well - from what I remember when I booked ours there was that pick up option.

 

As far as once we were in Venice, we walked just about everywhere. We only took the vaporetto once. The weather was really nice, although hot! But we enjoyed the walk to and from the hotel every day.

[flyballdogs]

We are booked on regal princess june 2014 on med cruise. Came across your review and told my husband to read too, as you answered some of the same questions we have about the money, voltage...I am definitely a plan ahead type too - especially when it involves that much $$$$. Loved the pics - beautiful scenery!! Glad to see your honest opinion about the vatican tour-we are only in port for the day and as much as we would love to see it all, we have both agreed to skip vatican tour and enjoy the other sites and time to explore on our own. Your post confirms we made the right choice, so thanks. I love fettuchine alfredo, so can hardly wait to try a lot on the trip-along with the pizza and gelato!! Will certainly check back with questions. Ps - where do find packing cubes-new to me?

[ShellDil]

We are booked on regal princess june 2014 on med cruise. Came across your review and told my husband to read too, as you answered some of the same questions we have about the money, voltage...I am definitely a plan ahead type too - especially when it involves that much $$$$. Loved the pics - beautiful scenery!! Glad to see your honest opinion about the vatican tour-we are only in port for the day and as much as we would love to see it all, we have both agreed to skip vatican tour and enjoy the other sites and time to explore on our own. Your post confirms we made the right choice, so thanks. I love fettuchine alfredo, so can hardly wait to try a lot on the trip-along with the pizza and gelato!! Will certainly check back with questions. Ps - where do find packing cubes-new to me?

 

Hi there! Thank you for the compliments! I got my packing cubes at ebags.com, but I think you also could find them on amazon as well. I love them, and since I found them, I don't ever travel without them! Especially traveling when our family travels. It's so much easier to keep our clothes divided up, and if we have to combine suitcases for weight reasons, we still know who's clothes are who's just by the color of the cubes!

[Biscuit1970]

Thank you so much for this review - I am taking my family to the med in September - One quick question if you have time - On your day out of Naples do you think it was worth seeing both Positano and Sorrento or would you have preferred to have more time in Positano ? Also is Positano ok for someone not very mobile and maybe in a scooter? Thanks in advance for your help...

[ShellDil]

Thank you so much for this review - I am taking my family to the med in September - One quick question if you have time - On your day out of Naples do you think it was worth seeing both Positano and Sorrento or would you have preferred to have more time in Positano ? Also is Positano ok for someone not very mobile and maybe in a scooter? Thanks in advance for your help...

 

I did enjoy seeing both Positano and Sorrento, but of course I would have loved spending more time in both! :D What I liked was seeing the difference between the two towns. Positano was right there on the beach, once we walked down to it! Sorrento was all about the lemons and Lemoncello! We had a much shorter time in Sorrento.

 

For the part of Positano we saw, I don't know that a scooter would work out well, given the amount of time we were there. I can't remember if there were steps or if it was a walkway - but we chose to walk down to the beach and it was all downhill, and then back up. I do know there were some steps towards the end. If you didn't want to go all the way down to the beach, and maybe just browse the shops at the street level, it may be fine. Your guide could give you a better idea.

 

Sorrento however is flat and would be fine with mobility issues from what I recall. I would have enjoyed more time there!

[Biscuit1970]

Thanks again!

[lazygal]

Thank you so much for the wonderful pictures. I skimmed through your review for the umpteethned time today. Whenever I want to relive my come and gone Dream of a Lifetime

Europe trip (sept-oct 2013) I come back to your review. The pictures are astounding!!! So much better than any of the 4000plus I took! The picture of your son outside the Vatican says it all.

 

"By the time we walked through the Hall of Maps and the tapestries I had almost had enough of the wall to wall people. The crowds were unbearable. It was so crowded you could not take a step on your own – it was the feeling sort of when you are maybe at the most crowded concert and trying to exit with everyone at the same time out of one exit! We walked for nearly an hour this way. And as you can probably tell by now, I’m a very tolerant, patient – go with the flow type of person, but at this point, you couldn’t see anything – so it was just shuffling through to get from point A to point B hoping to not get separated from your group"

 

The Vatican was a complete blur for us - rushed ridiculously by our tour guide, who only seemed compelled to get us back to the ship on time. We went with Rome in Limo - highly touted, but sub contracts when they get full and it was awful in my experience. When we came to the Pieta, I wanted to cry - it was the highlight of the tour and the guide wanted to rush us, saying we would come back (absolute lie). We did not see anywhere near what you did on this trip, so again, thank you so much for your time and sharing your wonderful trip.

 

My favorite cities were Barcelona and Venice because we had no "rushed tours" booked and experienced these cities on our own.

[lazygal]

Oh - we also had Paulo in Our Naples day - BEST GUIDE EVER- I dream of going back, which according to my husband will be when I am a widow. I would gladly pay 800 euros to have Paulo be my private guide.

[ShellDil]

Thank you so much for the wonderful pictures. I skimmed through your review for the umpteethned time today. Whenever I want to relive my come and gone Dream of a Lifetime

Europe trip (sept-oct 2013) I come back to your review. The pictures are astounding!!! So much better than any of the 4000plus I took! The picture of your son outside the Vatican says it all.

 

Thank you so much! I love that picture of Alex outside of the Vatican too - you're right - it does say it all - I remember taking that picture and thinking to myself that he was crazy! But then when we got home and I saw the picture, it was exactly how I remembered that morning! :eek: It is a "pictures speak a thousand words" shot for me!

 

"By the time we walked through the Hall of Maps and the tapestries I had almost had enough of the wall to wall people. The crowds were unbearable. It was so crowded you could not take a step on your own – it was the feeling sort of when you are maybe at the most crowded concert and trying to exit with everyone at the same time out of one exit! We walked for nearly an hour this way. And as you can probably tell by now, I’m a very tolerant, patient – go with the flow type of person, but at this point, you couldn’t see anything – so it was just shuffling through to get from point A to point B hoping to not get separated from your group"

 

The Vatican was a complete blur for us - rushed ridiculously by our tour guide, who only seemed compelled to get us back to the ship on time. We went with Rome in Limo - highly touted, but sub contracts when they get full and it was awful in my experience. When we came to the Pieta, I wanted to cry - it was the highlight of the tour and the guide wanted to rush us, saying we would come back (absolute lie). We did not see anywhere near what you did on this trip, so again, thank you so much for your time and sharing your wonderful trip.

 

I'm so glad that you could see some of what you missed by seeing it through my review!

 

My favorite cities were Barcelona and Venice because we had no "rushed tours" booked and experienced these cities on our own.

 

Oh - we also had Paulo in Our Naples day - BEST GUIDE EVER- I dream of going back, which according to my husband will be when I am a widow. I would gladly pay 800 euros to have Paulo be my private guide.

 

If I ever get back to the Amalfi coast area, which I really, really hope too....I will definitely do what I can to get Paulo as our guide! My kids still talk about how great he was too! We all loved our day with him!

[troyandcarol]

Loved your review, read it from start to finish over a couple weeks and enjoyed every minute of it. We just got back from the Oasis and are having vacation withdrawals. Hope you can get back out on the oceans soon.

 

Thanks again for your review.