biksgirl

8 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

Going from Siracusa adds another hour going and returning.

I'm disappointed to be honest. May never be in Sicily again..wondering if it's worth still going to Mt. Etna?

I'm on the July 18th sailing of Rhapsody and kinda bummed we are not going to Catania. I had already booked a tour of Mt. Etna and Taormina. We are in port from 8am -6pm, I'm guessing the time it will take for us to get there from Siracusa is not worth it right?  The kids were so excited to be going up the volcano...ugh

On 5/3/2022 at 9:15 AM, marazul said:

Plain admission tickets are bookable 60 days in advance.

Most tickets that involve a guided tour are available many months in advance. I just checked October and they are all there.

 

The real problem is getting tickets to tour the Colosseum, especially the arena and underground tours.  They are available in the official website (www.coopculture.it) 30 days in advance.  However, there are "bots" that scoop up all the tickets the nanosecond they become available.  These tickets are then used by the many tour companies that sell tours for a much higher price.  There is a work around if you are willing.  The tours are also given in other languages and the bots tend to leave tickets available to the public. You can buy your tickets for the Italian or Spanish tours and if you don't speak either, there is a free app you can download and use during your tour.  I know. I booked my Spanish tours this morning. 😱

Oh man!! I have a reminder set on my phone to book the colosseum tickets 30 days out,  but now it seems I'm going to have no hope of getting them. That really sucks!  I was hoping not to pay the crazy prices of the tour groups. 

On 4/17/2022 at 5:18 AM, rebmevon said:

We went on a great tour to Ephesus with Ephesus Shuttle in April 2022 and I would recommend them to anyone. We booked a group tour - up to 10 people but we were the only two on the tour. I was impressed that they still ran the tour for just two people. We got to Ephesus before the tour buses and our guide Orkan was excellent. Communication was quick and easy via WhatsApp and we paid at the end of the tour. All in all highly recommended and at a fraction of the cost of the cruise company tours. https://www.ephesusshuttle.com/categories/kusadasi-to-ephesus?id=1

Good to hear...we have them booked for a tour in July!

the only reason I was considering this is because we are there July 24th. I figured it would be busy and hard to get sunbeds?  

If this is not the case, then your suggestion is perfect. @marazul  thanks 🙂

has anyone used this site to book a sunbed on a beach in Mykonos?

I was looking at Kostantis Beach Restaurant...has anyone been there?

20 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

We did a tour that included Pompeii and up the coast ro Ravella, Positano and other towns, back to Sorrento and a ferry back to port.  It was wonderful.  We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

It was with an independent operator though, not the cruise line.  We set it up with several others on these boards.

Do you recall the tour operator?  

thanks

Thanks, makes sense now LOL. 

Literally never had a cruise fare go down so in my excitement I didn't even think to ask. 

I'm not even sure LOL. It may have been from booking early...I booked in October 2021, cruise leaves July 2022.  

The price drop was more than the OBC, I just didn't realize it would be lost. I went to book Izumi thinking I could use some of the OBC and it was no where to be found. 

Thanks for the response. 🙂 

I had some OBC and realized it's now gone since I called to reprice my cruise after I noticed it had gone down.

The agent never mentioned anything.

@marazul great advice. Much appreciated.

I ended up booking a cruise only and plan to book the Eiffel Tower when it's available. So much cheaper. The ticket I booked for the cruise is for any time so that'll work for our plans.

Super excited 🙂

@Hlitner appreciate your response.  I think I'll go with your suggestion and book the cruise and tower on my own. Less crowd the better. Thank you

I was looking for a tour that would take me on a Seine River cruise plus up the Eiffel Tower.  I found one on Gray Line tours for a good price in Canadian funds, but I have no experience with them.    Has anyone used them before and found them reliable?

Any other recommendations for a similar tour?

TIA 🙂 

11 hours ago, notentirelynormal said:

I see I posted on this thread way back in 2013.  I wanted to update my comments though.  This is what I posted on my current cruise.  I absolutely love this company.  I know that if I am cruising and we are going to Italy, this is where I start.  I don''t even need to read their website because they are masters at creating exactly what you need.  We are sailing again in June/July and the first place I went was their email.  I don't need their website.  I've read it before and the only thing I need is the capable hands of their office manager, Jany.  Amazingly, this is one company that actually listens to what you want and how you want it.  In the nine years since my original comment they have only gotten better. 

 

Look up the RomeInLimo website.  All the tours they have arranged for me – and this cruise makes six more in total – they have been awesome.  If you let Jany know exactly what you want, she will build a tour that meets all of your expectations.  That is one of the things I love about them.  Most tour companies tell you to check out their website and leave it at that.  Not RomeInLimo.  You tell them that what they sell isn’t exactly what you are looking for and they will customize it for you.  If you want it and they can get it – you will be amazed.  As I’ve stated before, every port with them has been totally customized for the kids.  Since we are hitting Naples twice we are doing two completely different things.  The kids don’t want scenery.  Not like an adult would.  So in this port they have arranged a private pizza making class.  This is the reason I love them.  I have never had an issue that they haven’t resolved.  Jany has worked there for years and she knows what she is doing.  I also found that their prices are competitive with everyone else.  The difference is – they offer a top quality tour.  This will make our fourth time in Italy and we used them every time.  Even when we did three days pre-cruise in Rome.  They met us at the airport and did two different days in the countryside, plus the day in Rome with a private guide at the Vatican.  We used them to transfer to the ship also.  That was another "day" trip.  It is hard to forget going up a windy mountain road to a teeny weeny "village" at the top.  When I say mountain, I mean carved out of the rocks.  Here is an example: both days at lunch the guide quickly went inside to talk to the restaurant to tell them to treat us well and what kind of food we were looking for.  I would say tell them NotEntirelyNormal sent you but they don’t know who that is LOL.  Tell them Mary-Lynn sent you.  That name they will know.

 

thank you so much for this update! I'm using them for a tour in Amalfi and Sicily and transfer from Rome to cruise port.  I'm encouraged to email them to make a few changes to personalize the tours since you say they work with you. Got me all excited 🙂  and for sure will mention your name!

@samavarcruiser Thank you for your response. Do you mind explaining what you mean by booking online? Am I booking a lounger or is this an entrance fee to the beach?  Thanks

okay thanks, that makes sense. I guess I'll contact Rome In Limo and see what my options are.

Again, appreciate your time and knowledge! 🙂 

@Kathscof @eurocriuser I really appreciate the time you took with your detailed replies. I had no idea about the driving and all the time it we will be sitting in a car. 

the reasoning for lunch in Sorrento makes sense now with the long drive. Ugh, seems like I have a lot to think about. Perhaps I can reach out to Rome In Limo to see what other options we have. 

Is it possible to drive from Pompeii to Positano directly? or is it just the one main road and we would be passing Sorrento anyways? 

another thought...is it possible to take a ferry from Sorrento to Positano? Then perhaps another one back to the Port?  Would this save anytime?

thanks

hope it's okay to tag on a question of my own...

we will be in Salerno port in July from 7am-6pm on RCL cruise.

Here are our plans.  Using Rome In Limo:  pick up at port at 7:30 and go to Pompeii. Then on to Sorrento and Positano, then back to the port.   

I really really don't want to miss Positano. I don't know much about Sorrento.

Is this plan doable? should we just skip Sorrento and go straight to Positano?

The Rome in Limo tour says it stops for lunch in Sorrento then a bit of free time, then on to Positano. 

Thanks for any insight and tips/recommendations. 

well I emailed Saint John Hotel and was told they do have day passes, at 100Euro each, includes transportation to/from the port and breakfast and lunch.  

Anyone have any other recommendations...hopefully cheaper?

hello, my family of 4 (including teens aged 15 and 17) will be in Mykonos on July 24, 2022 (DH's bday) and wondered if anyone has recently gone to a beach resort with a day pass?  

I read about Saint John hotel but I don't see anything about a day pass on their website. 

@cruisemom42 @slidergirl Thank you both for the recommendations. I will look up these restaurants. I can't wait 🙂

Thankfully the whole family loves pasta and seafood, so we are very much looking forward to gaining a few pounds on our trip! LOL

Hello 🙂

My family and I will been on a cruise to Italy and Greece in July (fingers crossed)

We will be in Venice for a few days before hand, then travelling to Rome for a few before we get on the cruise. My favourite food is pizza!!!  Tell me some amazing places to have delicious pizza in Venice and Rome.  In Rome we are staying in the Damaso Hotel for an idea of where  we will near. 

TIA

9 hours ago, nini said:

We LOVED Hotel Damoso. The location was wonderful and my Aunt and I had the BEST coffee we have ever had in our life... Regular and decaf. Hubby drinks hot cocoa and it was the best he has ever had. We walked everywhere.

Awesome!! This has me even more excited now! Thanks for the personal review 🙂 

On 3/14/2022 at 8:33 AM, maggietaggie said:

Stuck between deciding on Albergo del Senato and Damaso Hotel.  Staying five nights so any opinions would be greatly appreciated. 

 I've booked Damaso for my precruise 2 night stay in July.  Reviews and location look great.

I have purchased my tickets as they were available on the Italotreno website for July. thanks again.