TheHawk1

Oooh, people I don’t know and will never see again talking about me behind my back. Yes, that will surely get someone to cave into peer pressure and follow the dress “code”. Are you sure you haven’t confused a cruise ship MDR with a high school cafeteria?

You mentioned Catholic Churches as examples of places that have dress codes. I just used the most famous one in my response.

The question was about the destination. Which place has more to see and do after the ferry ride?

Is taking the ferry to Sorrento more interesting than Capri or about the same? I'm trying to decide between the two as DIY trip from Naples for the day. Our ship is in port until 8:00 pm, so we have more time than OP.

One thing that bothers me about cruising these days are all the pretentious people who like to delude themselves that they're still living in the gilded age of travel while sailing on a mass market cruise ship. There are certainly luxury lines that still appeal to this type of dress code adherence... perhaps those people would find a better fit there?

So now we're equating guidelines for the MDR on Celebrity with the dress code at the Vatican?

Let me clarify. I'm not saying you should able to wear a wet bathing suit and flip flops to the dining room. But long pants vs shorts... seriously?

I am also a Buffalo, New York native. I agree completely with what you said. I have never found a beef on weck sandwich as good as we can get in Buffalo. If it's a choice between eating a good sandwich in Buffalo or a mediocre sandwich on a cruise ship, I know which one I would choose.

Clutch pearls, then inhale smelling salts... what is the world coming to? I don't see how someone else chooses to dress impacts the quality of your vacation? They paid the same fare as you did, perhaps even more. They should be entitled to enjoy themselves as they see fit.

If RCI's IT team would just re-enable booking show reservations through the cruise planner web site prior to boarding your actual cruise, then this wouldn't be an issue for anyone. That's the way it used to work pre-pandemic.

You mean there are young people out there who don't care about anyone besides themselves? I'm shocked!

Assuming you will be on Wonder, which I will be on in September? I have been reading reports from that other social media site that CC doesn't let us mention, because there isn't much information here. It appears that while the ship docks at 7:00am, many people are reporting they're not getting off until 7:30am. So I think the chances of making the 7:44 regional train are very slim. I'm hoping to make the 7:58 train, but have also adjusted my plans in case I miss that and have to wait for next train at 8:44 (not sure why there's such a long gap), which gets into Rome at 9:30. Because of that, I have picked a Colosseum tour group that starts at 10:00 to be safe. If I'm early, so be it, but better than missing the start.

So basically not worth the upgrade just to get to Emerald status. Got it.

I booked a cruise last year for this September when Royal was offering double points on all bookings. So I'm already entitled to 14 points for a seven day cruise. Now I've received the RoyalUp email offer. If I were to bid on a Junior Suite and get it, that would normally be double points for a suite. Would Royal also honour the doubling from the original booking on top of that, so that I'd end up with 28 points total?

Still trying to decide between the BIRG ticket or just paying separately for the regional train and metro. I don't plan to use the metro that much in Rome. I've noticed you can purchase regional train tickets in advance from the Trenitalia web site, but it looks like you need to pick a specific date/time? Do you know if these tickets are only good for the train time specified? I'd like to buy the ticket in advance, as it would save time of having to purchase one that morning. But, since I can't be sure that I can get off the ship in time to make the 7:44am train and may need to catch the 7:58am train instead, perhaps it would be better to flexible and wait to buy the ticket at the station?

Driving isn't the only way to get to Rome. The trains run very frequently and take less than hour. Once in Rome, there are several highly rated day tours (Walks of Italy, City Wonders) that are less than half of what the cruise lines charge for the same thing (or better). That's what I'm planning on doing this September.

I'm trying to figure out how risky it is to plan my own itinerary for a 13 hour port stop vs paying for an overpriced shore excursion. I know cruise lines promote the fear of missing the ship's departure time and I realize you shouldn't underestimate that problem. By the same token, is it worth paying more than double for an excursion that doesn't look as good as what I can get from a private tour group? Our ship arrives in port at 7:00 am. This will be in mid-September, so hopefully the tourist crowds are somewhat less that time of year. There is a local train that leaves Civitavecchia train stations at 7:45 and would get me to Rome Termini station at 8:50. The one day Rome tour I'm looking at starts at 9:30 at the Colosseum. Is that sufficient time to make the tour once getting off the train? How great is the chance the train could be late getting into Rome? The Rome tour lasts 7.5 hours, so it ends at 5:00 pm at the Vatican. There is a 5:30 train leaving S. Pietro station that arrives at the Port station at 6:15 or as backup another one that leaves 5:45 and gets to Port at 6:45. In either case, that should be plenty of time to be back on board before the ship departs at 8:00 pm? I've never been to Rome, so need to factor in the time it takes to find out where I'm going or stopping and asking directions. But I am a fairly seasoned traveler in other European cities and always prefer making my own travel arrangements. Would really appreciate feedback from others on whether this is reasonable or risky?