WI Badger Fan

My wife and I were in Athens in 2018 and used the Hop-on/Hop-off bus and did find it useful.  It saved us a lot of steps and we did frequently get off the bus to see points of interest.  As I recall, they also included a pretty reasonable map that helped us get to where we wanted to go.

It appears that our ship (NCL Jade) will be in Mykonos on the day of Easter for the Greek Orthodox Church, April 16.  Will much be open on the island?  Our prior visit was approximately 5 years ago and we had a great time renting a 4-wheeler ATV and driving around the island.  We're wondering if businesses like this rental location or other businesses will be open or closed on Easter.  Does anyone have knowledge of this?

I believe that you can walk a few blocks into town from the port and will be bombarded by taxi drivers wanting to take you for the day. The last time we were there, we decided to go with a guy who was less aggressive than most of the other taxi drivers and we had a GREAT experience! The main points are that you will definitely find English speaking drivers interested in giving you a tour (can include time at a beach or whatever) and that the drivers were kept out of the immediate dock area, but were easy to find a few blocks away.

It's been over 5 years since my wife and I were in Antigua. The last time we were there we had an excellent driver who took us all around the island. (Unlikely that we could get the same man, but he was a young guy (mid-20s at the time?) who lived in New York City part of the year and did tourism season in Antigua. Took us to his place to show off his newborn baby, too!) I remember being overwhelmed by the taxi drivers calling out to us, wanting our business, haggling prices, etc. when we walked a few blocks from the port. What should it cost a group of 4 for an island tour? Any other advice? We loved our last experience and wish I'd kept the name of our driver!

My wife and I enjoy snorkeling and have read that the Eden Rock/Devil's Grotto area is a good choice. Apparently it is about a 1 mile walk from the terminal. Do buses run in that direction? Is a taxi a better choice?

We recently got off a ship (a different cruise line) that had a musical entertainment venue on the floor directly under our cabin and we had trouble with the noise level until midnight most evenings. As luck would have it we are presently booked into cabin 8028 on the Divina, which is directly above the Pantheon Theatre. If you have stayed in one of the cabins in the fore area of deck 8:

1. Was there much noise in the cabin from the theatre below?

2. How late at night is there typically noise from the theatre?

We are trying to decide if we need to request a room change and would appreciate any input from those "in the know"!

I really, really appreciate your advice on these tours! I think the audioguide is the right way for us to go in the Vatican Museums. Do you have recommendations for getting into St. Peter's? If we went there early in the morning are the lines shorter? Or would you do the museums first and try to get into St. Peter's after?

Also wondering if you have recommendations on getting a tour guide for the Colosseum and other sites of Ancient Rome. I'm thinking it would be more enjoyable to have someone giving us the background and anecdotes rather than reading from a guidebook, but perhaps I'm wrong.

Thank you for the excellent tips that are coming our way! I checked out the official Vatican site and found that tickets, including options with audio tours or tour guides are much less expensive than using other sources. As a follow-up question to those who have been to the Vatican Museums, do you think it is better to go with an organized tour or an audio guide? I know the areas are typically very busy and I'm trying to decide if it would be better to go at our own pace with the audio guide or have a bit more personal touch with a live guide that goes to a limited number of areas in the museums.

On a separate note, I am also thinking we might purchase a Roma Pass that will help us with transportation around the city and includes admission to two museums. One of the included museums is the Colosseum. Does that serve the same as a "skip the line"?

Again, your advice is truly appreciated by these Rome newbies!

First trip to Rome here. We are spending 4 days prior to our April cruise in the city and want to see the standard places. We are presently thinking of spending a day in the Vatican area (St. Peter's, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel) and a day in the sites of Ancient Rome (like Colosseum, Parthenon, etc.). I am overwhelmed with the many tours out there and want to plan wisely.

1. Are "Skip the Line" tickets really helpful for these sites? Should they be purchased prior to our trip or when in Rome?

2. I'm thinking a guided tour would be very beneficial for Ancient Rome sites and that using an audio tour for the Vatican would be fine. Do you agree?

3. We have two days that have nothing planned for the moment. Any advice on things we MUST see while there? It might be nice to have some variety from ancient history since that will be the focus of most stops on the cruise.

Thanks again for any and all advice!

Jim

After reading further, I did decide to book a room at the Hilton Garden Inn. Thank you to Hank for the idea. I read a little more about Fiumicino on Trip Advisor and it looks like it could be a fun town to walk around. The fact that we'll be there on a Sunday probably will limit some of our options, but I'm sure it will be fine. Anyone with personal experiences from Fiumicino?

Thank you for the tips on getting to the airport and hotel options. Another option we could consider is to stay in Civitavecchia on April 30 and going to the airport on the morning of May 1. Our flight leaves at 11:05. Would it be difficult finding a taxi to the airport on the morning of May 1 (it's a Monday)? Is there a town to walk around in Fiumicino?

Thanks again!

We will be disembarking from our cruise on the morning of April 30 and scheduled our international flight back to the US on Monday, May 1. I've done some reading, but am still confused and undecided about plans. Could really use some help with the following:

1. There do not appear to be very many hotels near the Fiumicino airport. We are trying to decide whether to book one there, in Civatavecchia, or in Rome.

2. What is the easiest (would prefer it be reasonably priced) way to get from the port to the airport? Is it best to go into Rome and then back to the airport?

3. We will have some extra time to do a little exploring, but don't want to go far off track on our one day. Any suggestions, especially keeping in mind that we have to deal with our luggage.

Thank you!

Jim