Looking at this itinerary; what to do?

[perlgirlnj]

DH & I are looking at the itinerary below. A few of the ports we've been to, but others are new to us and I don't know what one does in those ports. Has anyone does this itinerary (or close to it) and can advise? I don't need specific excursions, just a general idea of what's the major draw in these towns.

DAY 0: September 09, 2019 Monte Carlo, Monaco (been here before so we're familiar with what to do)

 

 

DAY 1: September 10, 2019 Arrives 07:00 AM Departs 02:00 PM Portoferraio (Elba), Italy (also been here before and can't imagine how to fill another day here!)

 

 

DAY 2: September 11, 2019 Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 06:00 PM Amalfi, Italy (rent car and drive Amalfi Coast??)

 

 

DAY 3: September 12, 2019 Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 05:00 PM Giardini Naxos (Taormina), Italy (???)

 

DAY 4: September 13, 2019 Arrives 07:00 AM Departs 03:00 PM Mgarr (Victoria), Gozo, Malta (???)

 

DAY 4: September 13, 2019 Arrives 06:00 PM Valletta, Malta

DAY 5: September 14, 2019 Departs 11:00 PM Valletta, Malta (???)

DAY 6: September 15, 2019 AT SEA

 

 

DAY 7: September 16, 2019 Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 05:00 PM Golfo Aranci (Costa Smeralda), Sardinia, Italy (???)

 

DAY 8: September 17, 2019 Arrives 09:00 AM Departs 06:00 PM Saint Raphael, France (???)

 

DAY 9: September 18, 2019 Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 06:00 PM Sete, France (???)

 

 

DAY 10: September 19, 2019 Arrives 07:00 AM Barcelona, Spain (been here before so I know what to do here as well)

 

Any thoughts or advise on this itinerary would be most welcome. It's on the Encore, if that matters at all! Thanks.

[Roxburgh]

Lots to do in Valletta and Malta.

 

Valletta and Grand Harbour are very walkable and there is lots to see and experience.

 

You can also go to M'dina which is well worth the trip. Nothing is far in Malta so check out the local buses for a very reasonable means of getting about.

[Robroy]

Great itinerary. I'd be careful about renting a car and driving the Amalfi coast with a 6pm departure time - just in case of traffic tieups. Beautiful scenery but better to enjoy it with someone else doing the driving and ideally a ship tour in a small van or private car so in case you're late getting back due to traffic or unforseen circumstances you'd be covered. It is an amazing drive and well worth seeing.

[TxnAquarian]

Valletta Malta is very walkable. It's an incredible sail-in/out and a lovely town. Since you have an overnight, you might even want to add in a visit to the Blue Grotto after touring the town. It's all very easily done on your own.

 

As a previous person said, renting a car and doing your own drive in Amalfi is risky, with bad traffic. Amalfi is easily seen in one day and you don't need to venture far. If the cruise offers a tour to Pompei or Sorrento, those are interesting options as well.

 

Sete France is easily done on your own. Seabourn will shuttle you to town and the town is small and easily seen in a few hours. I recommend going to a street market and visiting one of the bakeries in town. It's lovely.

 

 

Michael

[marazul]

In Amalfi you can also take a taxi to Ravello or the ferry to Positano.

[cjjersey]

This is a great itinerary do the ferry from Amalfi, the shuttle bus will take up to Taormina which is lovely to walk around and also the amphitheatre is worth a visit. I hope you get a sail-in to Valleta that’s magic.

Hope this helps CJ

 

 

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[DC Traveler244]

We stopped in Sete France a few months ago. The wasn’t much too do in town (except enjoy excellent local shellfish), but SB offered an excursion to see part of Canal du Midi. We enjoyed seeing the canal.

[jozi]

We stopped in Sete France a few months ago. The wasn’t much too do in town (except enjoy excellent local shellfish), but SB offered an excursion to see part of Canal du Midi. We enjoyed seeing the canal.

We had a Sete itinerary and had planned the (long drive!) excursion to the castle town of Carcassone. Alas, weather, and they had to skip Sete and went to (interesting, but not the high school French flashback) Marseille instead.

[Roxburgh]

We stopped in Sete France a few months ago. The wasn’t much too do in town (except enjoy excellent local shellfish), but SB offered an excursion to see part of Canal du Midi. We enjoyed seeing the canal.

 

We took the tour to Aigues Mortes which was very enjoyable and then got back to Sete in time to go into town and walk about a bit. It was a Sunday so most things were closed. But if you like France and the south of France, then you will enjoy just walking around.

[ab21au]

To add to what others have said ...

 

Valletta: we pre booked Prestige Cabs. Guido our driver was brilliant. I’m guessing, but I think it was only about €105 for 4 hr tour to Mdina. On the way and after Mdina, we stopped at several other places, some we wanted and others suggested by Guido. Worth every cent.

 

https://prestigecabsmalta.com/

 

Sete : we were going to go to Carcassone but considered we did not want to sit on a bus or train for the hrs required to get to and from so we did the ships kayaking tour and it was good.

 

Taormina : I did the SB Mt Etna excursion and loved it. Others on the ship went to Taormina (shuttle provided by the ship to Taormina) or Castelmola, a perched village high on the rock outcrop, and walked around. Castelmola could be easily seen from the ship, so not that far from Taormina.

 

Amalfi : we planned to get the boat to Positano but could not tender and relocated to Sorrento so we did the SB excursion to Amalfi and Positano.

 

(There is always the chance the ship will not be able to tender which has happened a couple of times to us. The Encore for us could not tender at Amalfi.)

[Roxburgh]

To add to what others have said ...

 

Valletta: we pre booked Prestige Cabs. Guido our driver was brilliant. I’m guessing, but I think it was only about €105 for 4 hr tour to Mdina. On the way and after Mdina, we stopped at several other places, some we wanted and others suggested by Guido. Worth every cent.

 

https://prestigecabsmalta.com/

 

Sete : we were going to go to Carcassone but considered we did not want to sit on a bus or train for the hrs required to get to and from so we did the ships kayaking tour and it was good.

 

Taormina : I did the SB Mt Etna excursion and loved it. Others on the ship went to Taormina (shuttle provided by the ship to Taormina) or Castelmola, a perched village high on the rock outcrop, and walked around. Castelmola could be easily seen from the ship, so not that far from Taormina.

 

Amalfi : we planned to get the boat to Positano but could not tender and relocated to Sorrento so we did the SB excursion to Amalfi and Positano.

 

(There is always the chance the ship will not be able to tender which has happened a couple of times to us. The Encore for us could not tender at Amalfi.)

 

When we went to Mdina it cost us 49 cents each way on the bus.

[ab21au]

Here is some photos, I hope it helps.

 

Taormina :

 

Mt Etna

 

 

Walking around one of the crater rims.

 

 

View from the top of the crater.

 

 

Castelmola from our ship balcony.

 

 

 

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[Roxburgh]

Great photos!

[perlgirlnj]

This is all so very helpful. I think we're going to go ahead and book this! We will celebrate both our 35th wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday on this cruise. I assume Seabourn is good and making events like this festive.

[SKP946]

The first time we were in Sete we were lucky enough to catch a Water Jousting afternoon; great fun with (free) grandstands erected along the canal one block over from the port. https://en.tourisme-sete.com/joust-feast-popular-summer.html

Also the market is very interesting, we had a shopping-with-the-chef morning there.

Last time (on Encore in '17) we had a French friend who lives in Melbourne (but spends our southern winter at his family house in Sete) take us out for the day into the wild hills behind, where there are some amazing medieval hilltop villages. It was like going back in time.

There's plenty to see if you do your research. :)

Edited August 25, 2018 by SKP946

[jenidallas]

This is all so very helpful. I think we're going to go ahead and book this! We will celebrate both our 35th wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday on this cruise. I assume Seabourn is good and making events like this festive.

 

Yes, they most definitely are! Just be sure to fill out the “celebrations” portion of your cruise preferences profile to indicate both celebrations and confer, as necessary, with the folks in Seabourn Square to ensure they square away any special requests!