erby2283

It's per person.... 🫢 If it were a longer cruise then I'd probably be okay with it but that's just too much for a 7 day for me.

It's not just Wonder - I have been looking at Mediterranean cruises for next year (anywhere from July-Oct) and the cost of a 7-day cruise in a balcony is at least $1400-$1600. I know those cruises are more expensive but dang...... I finally booked on another line - 10 day - $1300 (balcony).

246 days till sail away. Won't be long now. She's looking great.

I just wanted to say I love the title of your post - not that you're a dummy at all - but it just made me laugh out loud.

@ninjacat123 Great! Thank you so much!

The two that I would like, Oia Village, Winery and Thera Town and Oia & Thira both say at the end, "The tour ends at Fira, the picturesque capital of Santorini perched on the volcano's caldera. Here you will have the option to either stay in town for further exploration or climb Fira’s narrow lanes to the cable car station and descend to the pier where water shuttles will take you back to the ship." I know we definitely want those picturesque views with the blue dome and white buildings. We are there from 8am-5pm and but two ships dock before us at 7. Thank you for sharing your experience. Hopefully I will research enough in the next year to feel comfortable and have a set plan in place. But should probably book something now to be safe.

@ninjacat123 Not until Sept 2024 but I'm a bit of a planner. lol I really am not liking any of our excursions - maybe they'll add some.

I took my first (and so far only) trip to Europe in Aug 2019. I booked a 12 day cruise packed full with ports because I wanted to see as much as I could! I booked 4 tours with ItalyTours.Eu. I would say they are very affordable - but then again, I was only paying for myself. I would say the average tour was around 90 Euros and I tipped on top that even though it's not required. In Kotor, we had an amazing day driving around and seeing the sights with our driver. Tour was around 6 hours - went to Our Lady of the Rocks, Perast, panoramic ride to Budva, photo break at St. Stefan and an hour or so to walk around back in the town of Kotor - wish we had a little more time to explore the town - but you could just ask for that. We had a group of 4 so it was 70 EU per person. mtours.me is the website address. And of course, the sail in to Kotor, which starts 2 hours before docking, is worth every minute so be sure to get up early. I can't wait to go back again one day. As others have said, try to find your roll call here - although it seems to be a bit slow on here lately for all roll calls. The planning is part of the fun!

We used ItalyTours.EU. It was part of an all-day excursion and we were in Pompeii for about 1.5 hours. The guide was very knowledgeable but barely scratched the service knowing how big it is. The 8 hour tour was 69 EU with an additional 15 EU for Pompeii - we paid the guide at the entrance and they got all our tickets at one time. Again, this was back in 2019 and I'm sure the prices have increased since then but wanted to give you an idea.

I agree - one or the other. And if it's Positano you want to see, make it Positano. It was really what I wanted to see in 2019 and booked a tour KNOWING I probably would only get a glimpse of it from above. I enjoyed my time at Pompeii and Sorrento but if it's Positano that's your #1, go there! I just booked a cruise last week back to Italy/Greece for next September. We stop in Naples for 12 hours and I don't care how it happens, but I am getting to Positano this time. 😜

#truestory Glad to hear they were compassionate and cut you a break.

How sad - prayers for the person overboard and the medical emergency.

Cross posting since not much traffic on the ports of call board. Haven't sailed Carnival since 2015 and have only been to the Mediterranean once but that was on RC. Can someone explain how the distribution of tender tickets works on Carnival since FTTF (which I usually buy) is not available for Mediterranean sailings? On Royal, you had to go down to get in line about 2 hours prior to port arrival time and get your tender ticket. Wasn't sure if it was similar on Carnival? Have heard stories about taking hours to get off the ship in Santorini and really don't want to purchase a ship excursion unless I have to. 5 total ships in port in Santorini - about 8k passengers. Thanks in advance.

Only because we are sailing on Icon and thought I might enjoy an empty ship. 😍

That's the price I booked - and I purchased like 3 months for May 2024. I was debating just staying on the ship, but it's a girls trip and we are all celebrating our big 5-0 so I decided to splurge and surprise us with one. Never been to Coco Cay and everyone seems to love it - was just gonna stay on the ship but now am excited to enjoy it.

Haven't sailed Carnival since 2015 and have only been to the Mediterranean once but that was on RC. Can someone explain how the distribution of tender tickets works on Carnival since FTTF (which I usually buy) is not available for Mediterranean sailings? On Royal, you had to go down to get in line about 2 hours prior to port arrival time and get your tender ticket. Wasn't sure if it was similar on Carnival? Have heard stories about taking hours to get off the ship in Santorini and really don't want to purchase a ship excursion unless I have to. Thanks in advance.

I am taking a girls cruise next year (three of us) and I just went ahead and paid for the deposit in full rather than having my TA collect credit cards from everyone. I always get CFAR because I have fur babies and am always worried I may need to cancel (over the years I have had dogs with cancer and have had to cancel vacations - luckily not cruises though). But I always get it for peace of mind. So I asked my TA (and friend) if he got payment from my two girlfriends for their insurance and he said it wasn't needed until they actually made a payment towards the cruise or booked airfare. We booked a refundable deposit with additional rate terms and conditions: Change fees are not assessed outside of the final payment window. Refundable deposit subject to cancellation penalties. Basically, full refund if canceling more than 56 days out. TA said if they needed to file a claim, insurance company will want to know the first day they made payment towards the trip, and since I made the deposit, they technically didn't pay for anything until airfare/balance of cruise. Can anyone think of a reason this would be inaccurate? Policy is with Travel Guard so will probably give them a call to be sure.

Just booked a cruise that stops here and am already anxious about how busy it will be with 5 ships in port (Sept 2024). I did go to Wiki and look up the max passengers for each ship and it will be around 8k. As first time visitors, would you all recommend a ship tour then? Chances are we'd still have to take the cable car back down (or walk the steps) correct?

We were a party of 5 and had a wonderful all-day private tour with Lisbon Riders. It was a little more for the private tour but we enjoyed being able to control what we saw and did. They also picked us up and dropped us off at my friends hotel. We paid 270 euros - plus we gave a good tip. We went to Pena Palace, Cabo da Roca, Sintra (where we had delicious local bafinas) and picked up local pastries, and had a few other stops. Our guide was great and we were all tired at the end of the tour. https://lisbonriders.com Enjoy your trip!

Due to the fact that I take comfort in having CFAR, I always purchase when I put down my deposit. When I spoke with my TA, I originally thought that if I cancelled before final payment, the only thing I'd be out was the price of the insurance (and airfare if I booked it already), but he told me that he can actually transfer the policy to another trip so I wouldn't even be out the price the insurance. However, since I'm looking at a Mediterranean cruise, I can't wait until final payment to book airfare so chances are I guess I would end up filing a claim???? Need to ask my TA about a situation like that.

Was this tour out of Naples or from another port? Trying to find one with Italytours from Naples that actually spends time IN Positano and Ravello.

Just be sure if you want to go to Positano, you ask if you actually get to go to the city or if it's just a view of Positano. When I toured there in 2019, time didn't allow for us to make the the drive so we only saw a view of it from up above. I know this going in so I wasn't surprised but still sad that I was thiiiissss close as I really wanted to go there. Thinking about a cruise next year that stops in Naples and already trying to research how to make my first stop Positano!

Thanks everyone. I will take all these suggestions and check them out. and btw, at least you got the brand right (Pepsi, not Coke). 😘 But I’ll also settle for virgin pina coladas or pain killers.

Loving this (as always). How long was your flight to Istanbul. When did you book this trip (I may have missed reading this). As always, worst part is leaving the fur babies.