leslierx

After reading reviews and seeing recommendations on these boards we booked Joe Bananas for a boat tour of Amalfi Coast from Naples. It was the best tour day of our trip. Here is my review :

We booked a private tour by boat to the Amalfi Coast. A driver picked us us at our ship in Naples. He drove us to the lovely town of Amalfi. I think the tour was in a different order than usual so they told us we could shop around the town a bit if we liked before boarding the boat. We grabbed a pastry and coffee at a little cafe and walked about taking pictures of the beauty around us. We met our skipper Alfonzo who showed us to our boat for the day. There were 5 of us. The boat was roomy with a leather seat up front and soft leather pads to also sit on. There was also a bench in the back as well as a bathroom down stairs. We sat up front. Alfonzo drove us a nice speed, not too fast (we could wear our hats without them blowing off) and we went along the coast marveling at the beauty. He also offered us beer, wine, soda and limoncello along the way. The next stop was Positano. Another lovely town. He let us off at the dock and we walked around looking in the charming shops. We bought a few things and took some pictures then back to the boat. We so enjoyed the boat ride and Alfonzo pointed out points of interest along the way. We stopped a couple times to swim. Once in a cave which was awesome. And he even took us into a grotto with the most amazing colored water. We saw a waterfall and got to swim in a natural pool and my husband even jumped off a small cliff. My mother in law was hesitant to get in the water since she doesn't swim well, so Alfonzo grabbed a little bucket and bathed her in Mediterranean Sea water. She thought that was really funny. We went to lunch at a great restaurant on the water only accessible by boat. We anchored out in the water and a little tender boat from the restaurant came to pick us up. The staff there were great. Our last stop was Sorrento where we met our driver to take us back to our ship. Naples was our last port on our cruise and definitely the best excursion we had. Instead of rushing around to see historical sites out in the heat, we were chillin on a boat viewing the unbelievably beautiful sights of the Amalfi Coast. It was just the relaxing day we needed after the previous weeks awesome but exhausting excursions.

We used RIL to tour Rome Highlights on our Symphoyof the Seas cruise July 1st. We are so glad we read all the great advice from cruise critic message boards. We had a family of 5 ranging from 18 years old to age 68. Pierre our driver met us as expected right at our ship. He took us to all the major sights of Rome and gave us a little history of each. The colliseum, Parthenon, Spanish steps, Trevi fountain etc. we had a lovely lunch sitting outside and then on to the Vatican. We had booked 2pm Vatican tickets and decided to also book a guide. Our guide Massimo met us at the car and wisked us right inside handling our tickets for us and led us thru showing us all the important stuff. We would have been bumbling about without his guidance. My mother in law was the only one who had been before, but it had been in a large group on a tour bus when she visited Italy on a land based trip a few years ago. She said she didn't see half of what we saw on our trip. The big buses just can't get you that close to the sights and the personalized service we got was amazing. I cannot recommend Rome in Limo enough. It was worth every penny! I hope to have time soon to review my entire trip. I cannot thank those on cruise critic enough for their recommendations.

I meant drink package - not drunk package - haha

I'm on Symphony now. We disembark tomorrow (Sunday) in Barcelona . We have a 2pm flight so don't want to go to airport too early. looks like they want everyone out of rooms by 9:30am. New people got on the ship at Rome so they will still be enjoying their cruise just like we were when they got on Thursday so I can't see how they can shut down any of the common areas and food options. I'm sure they would cut off drunk package for us though. I'm gonna get out of my room and try to hang as long as possible.

We are flying American so I'll look out for the airport restaurants mentioned. We have a 2.5 hour layover in Chicago so should be plenty of time to eat.

I've heard when you arrive you should go outside and get plenty of sun and try to go to bed at a bedtime in the time zone your in instead of taking a nap in the day. I'm sure we will be so excited that won't be a problem.

Thanks again everyone for the great tips.

We travel to St Marteen for land based vacations often. While Orient beach is the most popular beach, the water there can be a bit rough. Before the hurricane there were over 20+ food shacks with chair rentals, food and drinks and water sport rentals etc. A few have rebuilt but it's much quieter now.

My absolute favorite beach to visit though is mullet bay. It's a small cove with water clear and calm as a swimming pool. There are a couple vendors who rent chairs and sell food/drinks. My favorite being ribs and rum punch from Rosie's.

Another great day is to spend at Karakters beach bar on Simpson bay. It's a bar made from an old bus. They have loungers and tables and chairs for dinning. Great place. Lovely view.

Thanks so much for the great tips everyone! I'm really looking forward to our trip.

Hello

This is my first time traveling to Europe. Our flight starts in St Louis and goes to Chicago where we have a 2.5 hour layover then we leave Chicago at 10pm arriving in Barcelona at 1:30 pm the next day.

I wondered what type of meals to expect in economy class. I didn't know if they would serve dinner that late and if it was decent food, or if we should spend our layover grabbing a bite.

Any tips on long flights and what to expect would be appreciated. I've flown on American to the Caribbean many times,but never this long of a flight. Hoping to sleep most of the flight so any tips on accomplishing that are welcome as well! We are staying 3 days pre cruise in Barcelona so we don't have to get directly on the ship.

Thanks for any help

I downloaded the app for my Symphony sailing on July 1st. It looks pretty neat. It has a deck map for every deck showing where everything is. I think I'm gonna be using it a lot in a ship that big. I didn't use the app to check in as I had already done check in online before I got the email to download the app for my sailing.

Thanks. I guess it's probably nice and cool and the ship so pants shouldn't be a problem. We have been vacationing in the Caribbean for so long where you can wear shorts 24/7. We no longer go to all inclusive resorts, but when we did I could never understand the rule of long pants and closed toed shoes when it was hot and humid and hardly any AC

My cruise is in 2 weeks. I better check online again to see if I have option to print luggage tags. I did purchase air from Air2Sea. We are staying in Barcelona 3 nights before cruise so I only need to attach the tags before we board the ship. I will look again online. That RCCL website is so darn confusing!

Oh thank you so much for the detailed info. We are going in July and your description really helps!

I'm confused as heck at the dress code. It says casual but then says only shorts allowed at breakfast and lunch. My husband usually wears nice shorts and polo shirts at night on vacation and I hate the thought of him having to wear long pants every night. I certainly don't want to break any rules and possibly not allowed into a dinning venue. I guess we will take some pants and view what others wear.

I did online check in for my July 1st sailing and printed set sail pass but didn't see any mention of luggage tags. Is that something I should search for to print ?

Wonderful. Thanks for the info. I will watch out for the drink cards, should fit our needs nicely at the pool on sea day!

I like the idea of mixed drink and draft beer punch card. Where do you find these and about what day? We are taking a 7 day out of Barcelona and are not buying the drink package because we will be off the ship most days, but it would come in handy on our day at sea on the last day.

Is there a way to find out how many suites are still available online or do you have to call? We have 5 people in a 2bedroom grand suite on Symphony July 1st and would love to have more room.

We are sailing in a grand suite. I read somewhere that show reservations could be made on board with concierge. Is it necessary to book shows prior to cruise? I really hate having to schedule every night but also don't want to miss anything.

I thought I read somewhere that Symphony had 3 main dinning rooms with different theme/decor but basically the same food. Did I dream this? I only see mention of one main dinning room on the deck plans that encompass 3 floors.

I'm not on board, sail in about 90 days, but from my research I believe Sabor has been replaced by sugar beach (candy store) and playmakers (sports bar). They do have a new place called Loco Fresh though that is included with Mexican fare and a Hooked Seafood specialty restaurant.

Thank you for all the great pictures and wonderful information.

The solarium area looks lovely. Are those pools or hot tubs ?

We just paid our final payment for July 1st sailing as well. 3 months to go - so excited!

I have a few general questions. This is our first time on a "big new ship". I wondered if the activities have a fee? Things like rock wall, miniature golf, flow rider, laser tag, zip line, ice skating, the big slide that has the monster mouth - lol.

One question about the beverage package. Does everyone in room have to get the alcohol package and can you purchase later in the cruise. Our last day is a day at sea and would be nice to have but most days we will be gone off the ship and don't think the package would be worth it. We are also in a 2 bedroom grand suite and get to go to coastal kitchen where I read we get free beer and wine with dinner and I believe they also have a lounge with complementary drinks for a few hours each day. Anyone have experience with coastal kitchen? Thank you and sorry for all the random questions.

We love st maarten and have spent many weeks there on vacation. There is a great Facebook page "sxm or bust" that updates the recovery and what is open. A great place to spend the day would be either Karakter's beach bar on simpson bay or Mullet Bay. I also love stopping at the yacht club in simpson bay for a drink or lunch and to watch the yachts come thru the drawbridge. Poor orient beach lost almost every structure. There maybe a couple businesses that have opened in makeshift structures. It's so sad. From what I hear on various pages the people so appreciate visitors coming to support them.

So if we are staying in a 2 br grand suite on Symphony, does that mean we are allowed in a concierge lounge with free drinks? I know we are allowed in the costal kitchen lounge but hadn't heard of a concierge lounge.

Good to hear you are able to bring wine aboard. Is there a corkage fee you have to pay or only if want to bring to dinner. I would just like a couple bottles to enjoy on our balcony.