erby2283

22 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Awesome on the flights!! What airline?

American. Booked directly with them. Paid extra for seats on the way home so we could get bulkhead - but it’s just main cabin. We could upgrade for $700 each to premium economy but that $700 will pay for all my exucursions. 😘

Looks like you are having some great weather! I had a very busy itinerary on my 2019 cruise in the Mediterranean - 12 nights and 9 ports - most days we docked at 7 so I had to get up by 5-5:30 most days. I was so exhausted I was asleep most nights by 9! 
 

oh - ps - flights finally opened up for our Sept 2024 cruise (same itinerary you’re doing now) and got non-stop roundtrip out of CLT to FCO for less than a grand! Stalking pays off. 🤣🤣🤣😳😳

1 minute ago, ninjacat123 said:

The crowd made it difficult to get great shots like this. Thx for posting ❣️

You're welcome.  This was actually the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. 🙂

I was always in awe when I walked into the different Basilica's in Rome.  The shear size and height of the ceilings in not something that can be captured in a picture. Let me see if I can find one I took on my last cruise with someone standing in the picture at the bottom - it gives somewhat of a reference. 
 

Edit: yes, I had the pictures on my phone still. The size is just mind blowing when you’re there. 

On 10/4/2023 at 11:09 AM, ninjacat123 said:

I liked that too!  I asked  DH about the stops Sandras Amalfi drive tour compared to the Carnival excursion we have scheduled.  He would rather go to Sorrento than Ravello, so we are sticking with Carnival.  Sandra is a smart cookie and I'm keeping her tour company on my go to list.  We'll see after Santorini🤞

So did you definitely book her tour for Santorini?!? Please let me know about it when you get back! Enjoy your cruise, you should be boarding any day now 🙂

16 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

There's also the X80 bus that runs from the port to Acropolis, May - Oct, 

I looked at it last yr when I considered a cruise that stopped in Athens, but I took a different cruise.

But it was only 4E for the day pass and IIRC it was  20-30 minute ride.

 

X80 Piraeus – Acropolis – Syntagma Express Bus Line – OASA

Not sure what happened to my original reply - thank you.  We usually book with a local tour company but it seems like we could just follow @cruisemom42 's advice above and make our own trip of it.  We do have one in our party who has some difficulty walking but whether it's on our own or with a tour, it seems like there's gonna be a lot of walking in Athen's either way. 

Has anyone recently traveled from port to Acropolis via taxi and can share an estimate of cost?

Just getting caught up on your review!  I so enjoyed your pictures of Positano.  When I went in 2019, it was the only place I wanted to go to....but our excursion time was cut short due to traffic and we didn't make it.  I've contacted the same tour company again (we stop in Naples next Sept - we are there 7-7) and asked if they can take us to Positano.  They do...with a stop in Sorrento (which I've already been to) but I just want to make sure I get enough free time in Positano as it's really the only thing I MUST do this time around.  Their prices aren't bad (209 eu for just three of us or 99 EU for a group of 6-8).  But I'd also consider a private tour assuming the prices aren't too crazy.  Would you mind sharing some more info about your guide and what they charged?

I wanted to cruise the Mediterranean again (have only been once) and scoured RC prices for a year.  Since I care more about the itinerary than the ship, I finally decided on a 10-day Carnival cruise next September.  Got an extended balcony for $1306 p/p.  I've sailed both lines before and while I think the food might be a tad better on RC, I don't mind cruising on either brand.  Would have loved for it to be on RC as my status is higher but oh well....I'll pay more for airfare than my cruise. 🫢

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

At CLT!! Lots of people traveling 😁

Checkpoint E used to be the shortest, now I think it's the worst! Thinking about getting TSA pre-check before we sail (I have a RC cruise in May and this same itinerary next Sept). 

I was on Vision a few years ago and tendered in Villefrance. We had booked a private tour and needed to be off the ship early. They passed out tender tickets 2 hours prior to arrival (5:30 am) and you can bet my butt was first in line bc I needed to secure that first tender. 😂 Then I went back to bed for an hour. 

@ninjacat123 this whole time we've been chatting on that Santorini thread and guess what....I live in Harrisburg, NC.... I'll be following your adventure. 

@cruisemom42 Is it just as easy to take a train from Rome to Florence? We may add an extra day and do Florence but we're working on logistics.  Plan to fly in Wed morning and cruise leaves Fri but we can move it up to enjoy Florence for a day.

@ninjacat123 Yes! Let's just hope we can get some reviews on their excursion before then!  I did like how on their webpage you can key in your sailing and it will pull up all their excursions available in each port for your particular sailing.

12 hours ago, kleibo said:

Ninja - I just read that some people have signed up for this - missing the up and down completely   https://www.sandrascruisetours.com/port.php?sid=79&pid=1010   I don;t know anything other that some passengers have booked it and I did see a wooden boat at the dock when we were there.

Thanks for link - I saved it in my favorites for a possibility for Sept 2024.  I currently booked a ship excursion but this could be another nice option. We arrive at 8 and it could be nice to enjoy a little extra sleep - then again, we'd be on our own to get off in time to meet the excursion. At the same time, having it start at 10 reduces the stress of having to get on the first tenders.

1 hour ago, bennybear said:

My only concern for you is that I have heard of numerous last minute cancellations for people who book early at an air B and B type place.  You are at the mercy of the third party.   My preference is to book directly or with a well vetted booking company.    Research carefully to see they are legit reviews. 

I had read one or two complaints about that on the internet.  I did make sure this VRBO had been in use for a while (first review was back in 2018) and it literally does not have a single review less than 5 stars - which you think could be fishy - but I do so much research that I hope I am good.

Your point is not without merit though and maybe I will try and book something else that does not require a deposit with free cancelation just in case. 🙂 

After scouring this board and researching, I booked an apt yesterday through a third party app. We are three adults and as a @cruisemom42 has mentioned in some posts, it can be hard to find hotels that accommodate three adults. Found a lovely penthouse (807 sq ft) with a large terrace right down the street from Colosseum.  I was hesitant about the area but it has over 52 5-star reviews (nothing less than 5 stars). Trip is Sept 2024 and cost is 620 eu for 2 nights.  I personally thought it was a great price. 

3 hours ago, mar214 said:

We are in Santorini this coming October 14 with the ship departing at 4 pm. There are 3 other ships there that day. Our ship is the first to leave. Any suggestions for when we should be in line for returning on the cable car? Thanks!

I've never been there before so I'm sure some others with more experience can give better advice.  Our ship leaves at 5, we have 5 ships in port that day and our cruise excursions ends at 1:30.  I pretty much plan to head back right after that bc I really don't want to deal with the headache of waiting around.  

Have you looked up the other ships to see how many passengers they hold? That too can be a factor..  If they're smaller ships only holding 800-1000 passengers, that's a big difference over ships carrying 2000k+.

@ninjacat123 9/11/24.  I looked - 5 ships in port that day.🥲

On 8/30/2023 at 8:22 PM, ninjacat123 said:

Book it now.  You can cancel later.  I booked the "Oia & Thira" one.  

I bit the bullet and booked the Oia & Thira one over the weekend.  Didn't want it to sell out and like you said, I can always cancel it.  Someone on our roll call (on another site) is doing this itinerary now and he said they had to head back to the ship around 1 pm to beat the lines at the cable car (for a 5pm departure).  I really hate that you have to forego half you day in Santorini bc they can't figure out a better alternative to get people back to the ship in a timely manner. 

An article regarding the fees.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/09/26/icon-of-the-seas-the-hideaway-daybeds

I was wondering about this.  I (luckily) purchased a Breezy Bay Full-Day Beach Bed Rental when it was @ $219.  It's now at $399. But I have never been to Coco Cay and I am looking forward to some lounging around time with two of my best friends.  I'm still hoping that the beach bed rental is the better option over this day pass as we just want to have a chill day - a bunch of rowdy people or loud DJ  is not necessarily my cup of tea - although I would enjoy some pool time.

3 hours ago, We-R-Off said:

From what I saw you can certainly use the local tour from Fira port to Oia port as mentioned.

I don’t know how many ships will be in port when you’re in Mykonos but we were tendered there too.

The only ship that was at the port was MSC mega ship the other 4 were tendering.

we were rendered to the new port & had to get a water taxi to the old port for €4 return. 

I hope they’ll be less ships when you’re there. 

Nope. 5 ships in both Santorini and Mykonos. 

7 hours ago, We-R-Off said:

We had our ship tour cancelled so we took the Oia & Fira on our own. We were the first tender to get off & see Oia. It was empty. Fira was quite empty, we walked straight into the cable car without queuing. The queue to go up was quite bad. By the afternoon it was long as there were 3 ships in port. Mykonos was far worse. There were 5 ships in port, 2 were mega ships. Around 12,000 people walking around. Really too many people to enjoy this very pretty port. 

Thanks for checking back in and posting. Still haven't booked anything yet at either Mykonos or Santorini.  

9 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Just curious why say a cruise costs this much . ...and only give 1 pax cost? It's not like you can book 1 person for that. I'm solo so of course assumed if someone gives a price that the total price. 

 

I for sure would have thought if someone says a cruise is $1400 that's the total price. Renee picked it up and asked, but I wouldnt have. $1400 not too bad total cost for a balcony I bet I wasnt the only one who thought that.  Idk ..confusing.  I know how much total my cruises cost. Total. Doesnt matter now, someone caught it. 

I guess because I am single and when I cruise, I book with friends so I am only concerned with what it costs me - not total price of the trip.  Didn't know that majority would think this was total price. Sorry - not up to date on the CC rules. I probably should have said P/P.