eurodl

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 

We are liking nearly everything about your trip :).  A month is our kind of trip and two months is even better.  Your comment about taking a TA home is something we have done a few times.  We have also done a few trips when we were able to use cruises both to and from Europe with several weeks in Europe between the cruises.  I truly hate dragging our luggage on European trains (we also do not pack light)....not to mention the extra security we have to follow to protect our luggage.  We actually use a special luggage cable lock (similar to a lightweight bicycle lock) to secure our luggage together and to something on the train!  Just keep in mind that there will generally be nobody to help you with your luggage and in some stations you might have to drag luggage up and down stairs!  I still have some of the scars :(.

Hank

LOL!  Thanks for the cable lock suggestion.  We would have loved to take a TA both ways but could not find anything to line up with the Princess Mediterranean dates.  I have read on some other posts that they trains can be difficult to navigate and they also suggested just buying the tickets at the stations.  Any tips/tricks about the trains?  I haven't checked out Seat61.com as soundcruiser suggested by definitely will.

Thanks to everyone so far for all the help.  I like to plan but this trip is overwhelming me.  International travel is a whole other animal  🙂

1 hour ago, mapleleaves said:

Seems like your itinerary might be easier if you embarked the Epic in Rome instead of Barcelona.  Is that an option for you? 

Fly into Paris and spend a few days, then fly/train to Rome for the cruise.

Post cruise, Venice is just a couple of hrs away by train.  After Venice you would train back to Rome for the TA cruise.

 

Just a thought ....

 

 

We are cruising with 2 other couples so not really an option, but thanks throwing it out there.

Sounds good. Thanks again 🙂

So I'm back again to the Celebrity board.  We did decide to stick with Princess for the Mediterranean but are now considering a TA from Rome to Miami for the return to the US.  It would be on Celebrity Infinity.  Any comments about the OV cabins on deck 3?  I like the larger windows in the cabins next to the conf room but have read some reviews about some noise.  Wondering if the category 05 cabins are quiet.

Just to update everyone.  We decided to stick with Princess for the Mediterranean cruise.  We may end up with a TA from Rome to Miami but would be on Celebrity as this is the only one that fits within our timeline.  Thanks to everyone for all the information.  Hopefully we can take Oceania some time in the future.

Thanks for the tip.  I will take a look.  The trains sites I looked at weren't very user friendly.

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

You could certainly turn this into a "Grand tour"  :).  In your situation, subject to the time and money you can spare this is how we would plan the trip.  Fly directly to Paris and enjoy a few days in that fantastic city.  If you have the time, you might consider taking the TGV train from Paris to Avignon and spending a few days exploring this fantastic part of Provence.  Then continue on to Barcelona for your cruise.  After the cruise you can use the Italian trains to get from Civitaecchia to Venice (likely via Rome).  Keep in mind that this train line would make it relatively easy to stop over in Florence which is a fantastic city in one of the best regions of Italy!

The problem with this plan is Barcelona which is further from Paris then you might expect.  Using the train from Paris to Barcelona involves a 13 hour+ journey which is tiring and expensive.  An argument could be made to fly from Paris to Barcelona (cheaper then the train) although the hassles of flying cannot be overstated.  The flight is only about 1 1/2 hours and there are a few of the European budget airlines that do this route at low cost (checking luggage can cost more then the air ticket).

Adding Normandy to the mix does make it all more complicated and will take more time.   When it comes to traveling around Europe my personal preference (for the past 30+ years of extensive travel) is to simply rent a car and drive :).  This is particularly true in Normandy which is actually an expansive part of rural France with much to see and do.  Keep in mind that the D-Day beaches (and immediate region) is only one small part of Normandy.  And with a car, you can stop at Giverny (on your way to northern Normandy) and check-out Monet's home :).  We have done many long driving trips in Europe and at one time we would have suggested taking the time and just working your way to Barcelona via a rental car.  But these days, doing a one-way rental with a drop in another country has generally become price prohibitive.  If this idea gets your interest you might try telephoning either Kemwel or Autoeurope (these are sister companies that discount rental cars from major companies such as Hertz and Europcar) and ask if they have any deals that avoids the huge International one-way drop fees.

Hank

Thanks Hank!  We had not considered driving.  We've never been there before and not sure how easy it would be to obtain a car and navigate the area.  We would prefer the train over flying.  DH and SIL are not great flyers.  I realize we would be spending a day on the train but not a big deal.  We will have luggage that we will have to take with us whatever we decide.  Not all of us are great at packing light so this will be a learning curve.  This could turn into a month long trip!

9 hours ago, caripoo said:

I think I would fly to Venice, then take the train to Paris, do Normandy beaches and then train to Barcelona.

The train from Bayeux to Barcelona has connections, not high speed and takes almost 10 hours...The train from Paris is 61/2 hrs no stops and high speed..If you have not been to Paris, you might want to use that as a base camp and do Normandy for a day on the train, and also enjoy Paris. Planning is half the fun.

Thanks caripoo!  Unfortunately I don't think this would work.  Our cruise leaves from Barcelona and ends up in Rome.  The other couple want to do Venice post cruise.  We're not opposed to train travel.  It would give us a chance to see the countryside.  Not sure if 1 day is enough to see Normandy and the D-Day beaches, museum, etc.  We are still considering just a day tour from Paris.

And just to throw another monkey wrench into everything - we are looking at doing a TA cruise from Rome to Miami after the cruise.  We would have 8 days post cruise to check out Rome and Venice and return to Rome.  We could stop in Florence but the Mediterranean cruise is already stopping there.  Just so much to consider.  I'm very doubtful we will get a chance to go back to Europe so want to make the most of this trip.

Wow!  Thanks for the pic.  It is beautiful!

3 hours ago, dkjretired said:

AS an example I believe of what you are writing about, yesterday I went to the Celebrity Summit section of the Celebrity board and kept getting Carnival Ships. 

I had the same problem when going to Celebrity Infinity.  It sent me to Carnival Infinity.

When in the Celebrity forum - if I click on the link at the top for Celebrity Infinity it takes me to search results for Carnival Infinity.

Thank you.  I've seen this and also one for October 2018.  I was hoping for this year since we will be sailing in 2019.

I've seen conflicting information.  Some say October 2018 and then another says November 2020.  Can anyone confirm next dry dock for Infinity?

We actually don't sail until October 2019 so you will beat us to the punch.  Can't wait to hear your review.  We will be on Emerald Princess.  We are looking at doing Celebrity Infinity TA from Rome to Miami after our Mediterranean cruise.  This would be our first on Celebrity.

Agree with people not reporting back.  Sure would like to hear how things worked out.

44 minutes ago, mapleleaves said:

 

I've heard back from 3 vendors.  ItalyToursEU will NOT customize, but Aldo Limo and Joe Banana WILL..  Basically you're hiring a driver with a 6 pax minivan for 8/9 hrs at 400/450E.  They'll go where you want, but they're extremely mindful of the ship's departure time.  They shaved some time off my plans , but  I  understand and appreciate their need for wiggle room in case of accidents or any delay.  That's why I put Pompeii at the end .... if anything goes wrong, it's better to be 1/2 hr from the ship than 1 1/2 hrs  away in Amalfi.  

This was my proposed itinerary:  8am pick up at Naples port   9:30am drop us in Positiano,   11am ferry to Amalfi,    at 12:30 we meet the driver and drive to Pompeii, 2-4 Pompeii, then back to the ship.  

Hope this helps. Good luck with your plans!

This is great!  Thank you so much for this mapleleaves, this is VERY helpful.  Sounds like a great compromise.  I'd love to know which one you decide to go with and how it works out.  When do you sail?  I've turned off signatures since the update as some of them were very long and took too much time to scroll.

 

I was looking at their boat tours also. I only saw 2 options, both were under Private Tours; 4 pax on the 28ft boat or 12 pax on the 38 ft boat. I assume that if you choose the large boat you would need to use your roll call to find additional pax OR pay the full cost. But as Ketih suggested .... email the vendor for verification. Please let us know what you learn.

 

https://www.joebananalimos.net/Boat-Tours/Boat-tours-from-Naples/naples-boat-tour

 

I'm now looking at a different option. I like the idea of seeing the Amalfi coast by sea (I did so in Cinque Terra) but I also want to see Pompeii. So I've contacted a couple of vendors about a custom itinerary ......a driver would take us from Naples port to Positano, where we would take the ferry to Amalfi (1/2 hr, 8E ). We would have lunch then the driver would take us to Pompeii for 2 hrs, then back to Naples.

Mapleleaves - can I ask what vendors you have contacted and how long of a day this would be? This sounds like a great compromise. We too were considering this.

Hi everyone!

We are taking a Mediterranean cruise in Sept 2019. There will be 4 of us on the land portion/6 on the cruise (all first-timers). The group of 4 want to go to Paris/Normandy while we are there. I have a few questions.

1. Would it be best to do Paris before the cruise? Cruise leaves from Barcelona.

2. Would it be best to do Paris from Venice? Cruise ends in Rome but we will be taking a few days to go to Venice. We could extend a few more days and go to Paris from Venice.

3. We want to travel by train if possible. Time is not really an issue.

4. We would like to visit Normandy while in Paris. We can take the train to Bayeux from Paris. If we do Paris first, is there a train that will go from Bayeux to Barcelona? If we do Paris last we would take the train to Bayeux and return to Paris.

Any opinions/suggestions would be helpful. Also, feel free to add any other options that we may not have considered.

Thank you!

We enjoyed both Coral & Island for many cruises, but heard they ruined Island by adding more cabins. Sad, but so typical of that company.

So typical of all the Carnival Brands. We are lifetime Cunarders but no longer sail them. Too cheap, too many add ons, extra cabins added at each refit. Even on Seabourn there was a certain feel of the Carnival Corp. Sad to see the cruise industry following the airlines business model. I hope the best alternative (Viking) maintains its difference.:cool:

Sad to hear about the extra cabins. We've sailed on Island before. We are concerned about the crowds on Emerald but hoping it's not too bad. Looking forward to checking out Viking in the future.

Viking is a nice step up from the mass markets. But you must like ship tours to get value from Viking. Be aware the included excursions will be simple overview tours.

 

The comments about princess super grand class ships are spot on. Too many people. We still like princess for Alaska but we only do the coral princess. Sorry to hear ihow bad the food has become.

This was one of the reasons we decided to stick with Princess. We didn't think we would want to take the ship tours.

Sorry to hear about the food on Princess. We're not real foodies so hopefully it will be good enough for us.

Thank you for the information. This is reassuring.

Many Air BnB units are long term rentals that are between tenants. A lease ends and the owner puts on Air BnB unit they find a long term tenant. So they do not list them many months away from the rental date. Your selection will be better 6 to 3 months before the date.

 

As for safety yes you should be concerned but no more than when traveling to hotels, cruises etc. One of the reasons I suggested using a Superhost is a much higher standard and greatly reduce chance of problems. Superhost need to have a near prefect record with guests and need to have had many past rentals. But if you select a good area of the city and a Superhost with lots of reviews you should be fine.

Thank you Expat Cruise!

Use the Air BnB filters to narrow the choices, enter the number of bedrooms and baths rooms you want and the other things, washer dryer etc. This will greatly reduce the choices. Then if you enter Superhost into the filters it will give you only the best proven hosts on Air BnB Then use the map feature to check where places are. Contact the hosts and ask questions, you will be find. Lastly, many Air BnB listings do not appear over a year from the date. Closer to the cruise you will find more choices.

Thank you. I've found a few that match our criteria. I was not aware of some listings not showing up until closer to dates. I will keep checking.

Should we be concerned about safety when using AirBnB? I've read some horror stories (robberies, murder, rape, etc) but not sure how much to believe. I think I would be more concerned if traveling alone but there would be 4-6 of us staying on in Rome.

Palms2Pines2Sea- thank you so much for all the useful information and your suggestions. I've spoken to some of the others in the group (there are 6 of us traveling together) and they are concerned about safety in an AirBnb. Would you have any hotel suggestions for the areas you mentioned?

We have used AirBnB frequently. Yes, the choices can be overwhelming.

 

Have you been to Rome previously? And do you have specific things you wish to see and do during your post-cruise stay? Answers to those questions will help me give you a thoughtful reply.

 

It is highly unlikely that you will need AC in October. Even if the listing shows AC present, you should establish that it will be available to you if you definitely require it. There are locations where you can only use the heating/AC on specific dates!

:cool:

Thanks Palms2Pines2Sea. Never been to Rome, or traveled internationally before. So many more things to consider. Good to know about the heating/AC.

We are looking to see the usual - Vatican, Forum, Colosseum, etc. I've read on these boards to stay away from Termini. Not being familiar with the layout, we don't know what areas are good and which ones to stay away from. We've never used Airbnb before and are wondering if it is safe. Any tips/suggestions would be very helpful.

We are looking at Airbnb for 3 nights post cruise in October 2019. We've never used Airbnb but our son's friend recommended it. There are so many listings. Can you recommend an area to rent? Also, if you've stayed at one that you would recommend please let me know. I did find another thread with some info regarding Rome Airbnbs but most of the apartments/homes were no long listed on the website.

We would like a home or entire apartment

2 bedrooms

2 baths

AC

Washer/dryer would be nice

Elevator or ground floor - I don't think we want to carry luggage up stairs.

Thanks in advance!