Italian flavours ports of call( thompson majesty)

[Chelseawolves]

For anyone who as done this cruise, would be interested to know which trips you did, did you take thompson ones, or arranged yourself?. Many thanks

[kruzseeka]

For anyone who as done this cruise, would be interested to know which trips you did, did you take thompson ones, or arranged yourself?. Many thanks

 

Will try to help if you let us know your ports of call. :)

[Chelseawolves]

Hi, we are calling at Valletta ,trapani,rome,sorrento ,and Messina :))

[joeholiday2]

In Trapani get the bus to the cable car and go up to Erice. It's lovely up there.

 

DIY will be a lot cheaper than the Thomson Shorex.

[kruzseeka]

Hi, we are calling at Valletta ,trapani,rome,sorrento ,and Messina :))

 

Sorry can't help you with Valletta or Messina

 

Trapani - easy to walk off as the ship berths in the old town. It's a kind of promontory and on the opposite side to the dock is a small beach which has a kind of breakwater so is quite sheltered. We did the Thomson trip to Erice which we really enjoyed. It was a short coach ride to the cable car which takes you up to the village on top of the hill. As you might imagine the views are spectacular. The village is really quaint - cobbled streets and an attractive square in the centre with a cafe culture. Lovely. We did the trip then had time to walk all round old Trapani in the afternoon. A good day.

 

I believe you can get a local bus to the cable car if you want to do it independently - or perhaps a taxi but you'd have to do some research to find out where the bus leaves from and which number you need. Just do a Google search for the cable car at Erice if you think of DiY and check its opening times. I have a feeling it's closed on Mondays - only a problem if that's the day you're in port.

 

We've done Rome a few times independently on the train - a ten minute walk to the station from the port entrance. Turn right and the station is on that road on the other side. It takes an hour to get to the city. It's easy enough but the only problem is making sure you're back in good time before the ship sails. It won't wait for you. So we find we end up leaving the city really early to be on the safe side. Also the trains get packed so I would recommend you go to the Terminii where the train starts to catch the train on your return. If you get on at St Pietro it will have had several pick ups by then and you might not get on.

 

More recently we've done the Thomson 'Rome on your own' trip which gives you longer in the city (no need to set off back early - they don't sail if their own trips are late!) Although it's more expensive it's less stressful. I'd advise you to get a map of Rome, decide what you want to see and plan your route to make the best use of your time. It's possible to see a lot in one day even on foot but there are also HoHo buses which start by St Peter's if you prefer that. It's a great city and easy to explore on your own.

 

Sorrento we did on a Thomson trip from Naples. But you are lucky to be going there directly (saves the excursion costs!) I think you are tendered in at Sorrento. It's a lovely place - no need to go anywhere else unless you want to. And do try the ice creams - they are very good!

[Chelseawolves]

Thank you both, lovely pics joe :), we was goin to take a taxi from port to where cable car is(12 euro,s). Then pay for return cable car ride(9 euros), as thompson trip 32 pounds each, so cheaper to do DIY here. However port day is a Monday , so will have to check if cables running. As for sorrento, there is four of us, two plan on visiting pompelli(40 pounds with thompson), other two either just wander around sorrento or take a trip to amalfi coast . Will splash out on trip to rome, as there is so much to see.

[hall4me]

Thank you both, lovely pics joe :), we was goin to take a taxi from port to where cable car is(12 euro,s). Then pay for return cable car ride(9 euros), as thompson trip 32 pounds each, so cheaper to do DIY here. However port day is a Monday , so will have to check if cables running. As for sorrento, there is four of us, two plan on visiting pompelli(40 pounds with thompson), other two either just wander around sorrento or take a trip to amalfi coast . Will splash out on trip to rome, as there is so much to see.

 

We did sorrento in the morning &pompeii in the afternoon but next we come we wil just spend the whole in sorrento :cool::eek:

[kruzseeka]

Thank you both, lovely pics joe :), we was goin to take a taxi from port to where cable car is(12 euro,s). Then pay for return cable car ride(9 euros), as thompson trip 32 pounds each, so cheaper to do DIY here. However port day is a Monday , so will have to check if cables running. As for sorrento, there is four of us, two plan on visiting pompelli(40 pounds with thompson), other two either just wander around sorrento or take a trip to amalfi coast . Will splash out on trip to rome, as there is so much to see.

 

Yes do check the cable car - I'm sure that's what I found before we left but when we got there the Thomson trip was running so we went on it and we used the cable car so I was a bit confused by that! Might have been out of date info I'd picked up on the Web. If there's a tourist information office in Trapani you could try emailing. I often write to them at places we're visiting with questions about bus services etc.

I almost always get answers even though I write in English.

 

Lovely pics joe - brought back great memories!

.

[Chelseawolves]

Thank you, will try and find info off trapani tripadvisor, or by googling cable car running times, as that seems much easier to do ourselves. When we are in Messina , only have just over five hours in port, so don't wish to go to far, and miss ship. So will either walk round Messina port, or take a thompson trip to mount Edna .

[joeholiday2]

Good luck with the Monday cable car thing, sometimes these places will open when they are normally closed if they know a ship is coming in.

 

We actually walked all the way up to the cable car station and then got the bus back, it's a long walk. It's quite steep in places up at Erice too.

 

We did the Pompeii shorex from Naples. We try if possible to do stuff under our own steam but sometimes do the shorex if the DIY looks a lot of faffing about with syncing buses and trains. When doing a shorex to a place like Pompeii or Ephesus you get a guide, this can add a lot to the experience as you find out loads of things you would never have thought of. EG. The gaps in the stepping stones over the streets in Pompeii are set to the correct distance to enable the carts to pass through.

 

It was our first time in Rome, so did the Rome on your own trip, it was good as you get ages there, next time will do the train into Rome and just not pack as much in the day.