euro cruiser

On a far less serious note, I can report that the longest axis in my cabin is nine steps, starting with my butt against the door and ending with a near face plant against the opposite wall. I lost count of how many times I did it, it's like swimming laps in a kiddie pool. Two stokes, turn. Two strokes, turn.

It's not that there's anything deeply or inherently wrong with Civitavecchia, I'm just heavily biased toward Rome.

(insert deep sigh here) Okay. Most of what you'll find in Civitavecchia are B&Bs or guest houses, but here's one hotel to take a look at: Porto di Roma – Hotel a Civitavecchia (portodiromahotel.com)

Could you be persuaded to go to Rome, even for just one night? Civitavecchia is perfectly serviceable but Rome is, well, Rome! Even just one night there allows you to have a fabulous meal and an evening stroll in one of the most fabulous cities on earth.

I can only offer perspective on the Italy ports. Florence/Pisa: Florence requires about a 90 minute bus ride each way from the port, and once there it will be literally shoulder-to-shoulder people and beastly hot. You could instead go to Pisa and Lucca, which are much closer to the port. Each will still be crowded but not like the crush of Florence. Portofino: To me this is primarily a shopping and eating stop. This would be a good one to limit, perhaps head in just for a leisurely lunch on land and then back to the ship. Messina: Most folks head right for Taormina or Mt. Etna from here. In July I would opt for Etna, it will be marginally (and I do mean marginally) cooler as the altitude where the road ends (Rifugio Sapienza) is quite a bit higher than sea level. If you're tired you can sit and have something to drink while your family explore or you can ride up the cable car with them. Taormina is another shopping and eating location that will be, like Florence, shoulder-to-shoulder with other tourists. Brindisi: The port city itself doesn't have a whole lot to recommend it, but within a relatively short distance you can get to Lecce, which is relatively flat or Ostuni, which is quite hilly.

I just thought of what HAL really ought to offer if the goal is to keep sick people in their cabins and not out infecting everyone else, free internet. Given how much time so many of us spend with our faces in our phones, there must be interesting stuff out there that everyone is looking at, so give us access! I had already paid for the basic internet package, so I've played dozens of games of Canasta online, but the high-speed access that allows for video viewing would be nice. Maybe they could toss that my way as an incentive to be/do good?

I'm truly NOT picking on Mar214 but since I already admitted to being pedantic I might as well continue/explain my point. A guide in Italy is an educated professional. Calling a driver a guide is somewhat like calling an orderly in the hospital a doctor. The orderly does have to meet minimum requirements for his/her job but that does not entitle them to the professional designation of doctor any more than a driving license entitles a car service operator in Italy to the title of guide. (Feeling protective of the highly educated, hard working guides I've hired over the years.)

I guess it is a sign of the times, that Covid is now considered "normal", but in a confined space like a cruise ship I would suggest that slightly more restrictive protocols might be appropriate. Since I'm traveling alone I decided to try my first inside cabin for this trip. The upside is that whenever I shut the door, it's dark in here so sleeping comes easily. SanDiegian, as no one from HAL actually cares whether or not I have Covid, I won't be enjoying any benefits I'm afraid. I was vaccinated a week before I left for Europe so I actually feel fine, just a stuffy nose.

I'm feeling a tad pedantic here but I feel compelled to point out two things; one, this is a driver, not a guide; and two, tipping is generally not done in Italy.

We are five days into a two-week Atlantic crossing on the Nieuw Statendam. Yesterday I had a slightly runny nose, this morning it was a bit worse so I went to the medical center to see about a Covid test. As background, I should note that on another Atlantic crossing this past April (2023) on the Rotterdam my roommate had similar symptoms and she also went to the medical center. She was administered a test by the medical center staff which came back positive, so they also gave me one, which did not. Neither of us were charged for these tests. She was confined to the cabin for five days while I was allowed to come and go at will, even though my roommate was sick. They never asked to test me a second time to see if I developed it later. Fortunately, I did not. So I was a bit taken aback this morning when I asked to be tested and they handed me a self-test, then charged me $38 for it. No one asked me to report back the results, no one has called to check on me, and I was not asked nor told to stay in my cabin. I doubt that they allow each ship's medical staff to decide their own protocols, so I'm assuming they have changed throughout the line. Therefore, I advise anyone heading off to bring a couple of your own tests with you as well as some masks. Even if you have to buy them at CVS/Walgreens/RiteAid it will be a lot cheaper than buying one from HAL. I'm hunkered down in my cabin, held here only by my own conscience. I'm trying to think positively and assume that I was infected by someone who didn't know they had Covid, rather than by some selfish (fill in the blank with your preferred descriptive noun) who figured if HAL didn't care, neither would they.

As far as I know there are no bus options to the airports from Civitavecchia. There are shared shuttles, or buses offered by the cruise lines, but no regularly scheduled buses.

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "penny wise and pound foolish", which I'd encourage you to consider for this decision. How much could you possibly save over the 18 euros (less than $20 US) and is the aggravation worth it to you? A taxi directly to your ship will be more than 18 euros. If you can get one to take you to the free port shuttle stop at Largo della Pace (one mile, as noted above) you will be charged damn close to the 18 euros anyway (remember that each piece of luggage put into a taxi carries a charge, in addition to the fare itself). If all of the luggage for three of you does not fit in the trunk they will tell you that you need a second taxi. They really do not want these short fares.

You do not need to reserve a regionale train in advance, there are no seat assignments and the train cannot sell out. Do note that the Lazio regional tracks, from which these trains to Civitavecchia depart, are three blocks away from the main track head at Termini. Once at the Civitavecchia train station you have a few options. The easiest is to take the 6 Euro direct bus from the train station to your ship. You can pay the driver directly for this bus. These buses are designed to facilitate luggage, more information available here: Shuttles | Port Mobility Civitavecchia Or you could walk from the train station into the southern pedestrian entrance to the port, where you can pick up the free port shuttle bus (see above link for more on this option). Finally, you could take the public bus from the train station to the Largo della Pace entrance to the port, where you can transfer to the free port shuttle. This option is the most complicated, as you have to first buy a ticket for the bus (from the newsstand inside the train station), then wait for the bus, then get on with your luggage (these buses are not designed to facilitate luggage) get off at the right stop on Via XIV Settembre, then walk about 150 meters/500 feet to the Largo della Pace shuttle bus stop, wait for a shuttle bus and load your luggage on that, then disembark with your luggage at the correct cruise terminal. The ticket for the public bus is, I believe, 1,50 euro, so you save 4,50 euro per person with this route, but you need to weigh that savings against the cumbersomeness of the route.

Yes! Waiting in line holding a bag from Italy, The Netherlands, Scotland etc. often leads to an interesting conversation with the person behind me.

I've been using my own bags in Italy for more than two decades, it's definitely the "done" thing. The really high end stores will want you to carry their bag but for market or small store purchases, your own is preferable. I probably have a dozen or so small bags (like this one from Ikea: SKYNKE Shopping bag, gray-blue, 17 ¾x14 ¼" - IKEA) that fold up into their own pocket, I leave them in each piece of luggage or handbag that I carry so there's always at least one available.

It would be such a shame to be in Rome and not see at least something, even if it's only for a day. No time in Rome is ever wasted.

You are much, much too early to look at trains in August 2024. Just look at a similar day of the week in the next week or two to see the schedule, it may change a little bit but it never changes dramatically. Note that you'll have to go through Rome and change trains there, no matter what you do. I would look for connections that include a seat assigned (IC or Frecce) train for the Rome to Civitavecchia segment both for comfort and to avoid the three block walk with luggage from the main track head at Rome Termini to the Lazio auxiliary tracks, where the regional trains to Civitavecchia leave from.

Venice is pretty compact and the key sites are mostly all within walking distance of one another. It is easily done DIY with a small amount of up-front research and planning (such as purchasing tickets in advance for certain visits, like the Doge's palace).

Washing machines are easy to find in rental apartments, but not dryers. They are slowly becoming more common in Italy, but space concerns in city apartments, and the extremely high cost of electricity, cause them to be fairly rare in rentals.

Confusing yes, but not necessarily contradictory. There are two shuttle buses at the Civitavecchia port, the free one that brings you to Largo della Pace, or the 6 euro one that brings you to the train station. Sad to hear that Livorno is still such a mess.

Just to be precise, you are hiring a car service, not a guide. The many companies that cater to the cruise business, including the one noted above, hire English speaking drivers who will offer a running commentary, but they are not guides. They cannot leave the car and escort you anywhere historic, but there isn't much/any of that along the Amalfi coast anyway, so no loss.

It's impossible to say, it depends on how long it takes to clear the ship and how easy or difficult it is to get transportation to the train station. If there are taxis available at the port it will be expensive, but it's the fastest option.

Yes, it's certainly possible. You can avoid the lines by prebooking: Deposito Bagagli KiPoint Roma Termini (kibag.it)

I tour hardly seems necessary: Venezia Nuova District in Livorno | Visit Tuscany The starting point of the walking tour detailed in the link above (Ponte di San Giovanni Nepomuceno) is only about 220 meters/one-tenth of a mile from the place where the cruise ship shuttle buses drop off at Piazza del Municipio in Livorno.

Ostiense is a little bigger, but basically the same layout. You'll be fine.