Aug 3rd rome to Venice... lots of questions..

[pixie.susan]

I've not even booked this cruise yet. I've cruised on the Windsurf 3 times, all with the previous owner and loved it. I'm a little nervous about some of the reviews I've read of the new owners.

 

I've never cruised in Europe before... The pre cruise hotel in Rome booked by windstar is $799. per person per night. Ouch. But it includes breakfast and transfers to the cruise port, which I understand is quite a ways away.

 

Is it difficult to get your own transport to the cruise ship from Rome?

 

If I book the hotel on my own its cheaper! Or I could find another hotel maybe, I'd like to spend a couple of days in Rome. Any suggestions?

 

I've never booked with an online agent... I've used a local travel agent and she is almost 300. more per passenger then some of the quotes I have gotten from online agents but when I google reviews of some of the online agents they are awful. How do I find a good one, can someone give me any hints with someone they are happy with? Or should I just pay up.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Susan

[6rugrats]

OMG - don't book this through the cruiseline! What a ripoff! Are you sure that price is correct?

 

Anyway, I highly, highly recommend, if you are planning a stay in Rome to check out a bed and breakfast located in Palestrina, about a 20 minute train ride out in the countryside called Anne's Place. Web address is http://www.byanne.com/.

 

She can pick you up at the port and take you back to the B&B at a very reasonable price. We stayed there after our cruise last summer and paid about 72 Euros a night total for both of us. She includes a very nice breakfast, will take you to and from the train station, etc. Read up on her place on tripadvisor. She was just fabulous and I would never consider staying anywhere else on my next visit to Rome. She can also take you to the airport after your trip. A wonderful lady.

 

If you are looking for an online agent, we aren't allowed to recommend them, but if you google the words cruise and compare, hopefully you will pull up a company where you type in the cruise you want to take and various TAs will send you quotes for what they would charge. It's a great service.

[Snow cat]

Hi Susan

 

We did the opposite cruise (Venice to Rome) last October under the new owners (it was fabulous) and have one booked leaving from Rome in 2009.

 

My TA booked us a nice hotel in Rome for much less than Windstar was offering and we managed to take the train from Civitavecchia to Rome quite easily and cheaply. There is tons of info on these boards about how to do that on your own or how to book a limo or tour if you'd prefer.

 

Have a great time.

[pixie.susan]

Is it possible for someone to email me with info about who they used as an agent to book their cruise?

 

bailey72@live.com

 

Thanks,

 

pixie

[irc2100]

Hi Susan

 

We did the opposite cruise (Venice to Rome) last October under the new owners (it was fabulous) and have one booked leaving from Rome in 2009.

 

My TA booked us a nice hotel in Rome for much less than Windstar was offering and we managed to take the train from Civitavecchia to Rome quite easily and cheaply. There is tons of info on these boards about how to do that on your own or how to book a limo or tour if you'd prefer.

 

Have a great time.

 

We're doing this cruise 7/6/08. Did you do any excursions. Any recommendations for any of the ports would be appreciated.

[Snow cat]

Hi

 

The ports going the opposite direction aren't exactly the same, but I believe some are similiar: the Taormina tour in Sicily was excellent - its a beautiful spot. We also enjoyed the tour to Pompeii from Sorrento, but I think you stop in Amalfi don't you?

 

On Corfu we just walked around, did some shopping and had some lunch but overall I wished we had taken a tour instead. In Dubrovnik we just walked around the wall which was easy to get to on your own and is highly recommended with spectaculer scenery.

 

Have a great trip.

[irc2100]

Hi

 

The ports going the opposite direction aren't exactly the same, but I believe some are similiar: the Taormina tour in Sicily was excellent - its a beautiful spot. We also enjoyed the tour to Pompeii from Sorrento, but I think you stop in Amalfi don't you?

 

On Corfu we just walked around, did some shopping and had some lunch but overall I wished we had taken a tour instead. In Dubrovnik we just walked around the wall which was easy to get to on your own and is highly recommended with spectaculer scenery.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Much Thanks. We're thinking of booking the Korkula Town and Taormina tours through the Windsurf, which our TA said were very reasonably priced. We were also told not to do the Dubrovnik tour, since it was easy to do on our own.

[yogagal47]

Just went on a SeaDream cruise. Korcula is lovely and you will want to stroll around on your own and save your $ for a nice lunch or snack overlooking the water(cafes on the north side of the old town)and some shopping(inexspensive stuff from street merchants of pricier but nice jewelry and other items from shops within the old city walls.

[Traval]

We did this cruse last August.It was fantastic.

We booked our own hotel in Rome and made our way to the port from Termini station.It's easy and cheap.We had first class carriage seats for a little extra---small compartments and your luggage is in there with you,not in a general luggage area at the end of the carriage .

In Amalfi we took the open top tourist bus up to Ravello which is beautiful.There are two villas to visit and it's a pleasant place to stroll around.We walked back down to Amalfi which is hard on the legs but so worth it for the amazing views.

In Taormina we had pre-booked a car with English speaking driver for the day.Mount Etna was our first stop and we were driven up as far as the cable cars which we then took to the top.

After some consultation with our driver he took us honey and olive tasting.This was great for gifts as they had small sizes of everything.We also bought a wonderful local wine made from grapes grown in the volcanic soil of Etna.We had that on board ship that evening with our dinner.

Finally we went back to Taormina to wander about the town.There's a Furla Bag shop at the beginning of the Corso Umberto so another puchase was made.Big sighs from husband!

On Corfu,we had pre-booked a hire car so that we could see some of the island.We drove across the island to Paleokastritsa,Lakones and Ano Korakiana.We met up with the Windsurf tour in a couple of these places but were glad we were 'doing our own thing'.

In Dubrovnik we walked the walls and wandered around the town calling in at the Franciscan Monastery to escape the heat for a while.

Next day we were in Hvar,a lovely island where we just walked,aroud the town and along the coast.

We finished with a couple of wonderful days in Venice.Too little time ,so much to see.We were fortunate to be there for the Historic Regatta which was some spectacle.

This cruise is a very easy one for making your own way around.There are so many possibilities for things to do and see.We hope to do a similar itinerary in a year or two as it was so good.

[upgrademe]

Hi,

Of course you can find many less expensive alternatives than their hotel package...and you should. Due to the amount I travel on business, I always have "Hotel Points" that I use.

 

I have then booked the transport (hotel to ship) through Windstar. This means you have to get yourself to the Windstar hotel, but then it's smooth sailing (lol) from there. The port of Civitavechia is an hour ride outside of Rome. I think, but can't be certain that there is (was) a train that goes from Rome to Civitavechia. The schedules were not conducive to ours, so we didn't pursue further.