seaofwonder

I've heard that about Pisa....but we want to do the super touristy thing.

Thanks for the info Fab :) we just want a leisurely day (after the craziness of Pisa).

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We just play slots. Couple bucks a pull. We're just perennial losers....but have fun doing it :)

We don't gamble on land and don't drink, go to spas, but pictures, etc. so gambling is our fun onboard :)

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Ah, I see on the map that combining Siena and San G makes sense.

How long did you spend in each place?

Also, was there close parking in Pisa?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Fab - thank you! I'm assuming you rented a car?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hello,

We are planning on renting a car and avoiding Florence (have visited before). We would like to see Pisa (super quick stop), but are not sure where else to go.

Lucca?

San Gimignano?

Pisa would be on the way to Lucca, whereas San G is the opposite direction.

Any other suggestions?

We were thinking of stopping early at Pisa for a quick peek and pictures and then heading to another town. We'd like to stroll, eat gelato and pasta and then slowly make our way back to the port.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Don't mean to be disagreeable, but Spring Break is a very popular time for short cruises , 5 days or less. I have been on several. And they do not go with Mom or Dad. Mom and/or Dad may pay for the cruise, but for the most part they do not accompany them. The last day or two most of them are out of money, so they pool their resources and proceed to party on.

Well, most short cruises are this way...regardless of time of year. I was just reporting on my experience teaching college students. In my years working with undergrads I've yet to meet one who went on a cruise during spring break without a parent.

As others mentioned, they need to be 21....which is often junior/senior year. Senior year they typically head off on senior trips.

Perhaps other regions of the country are different....where the students don't need to fly to get to the ship. Galveston prices are too high for the ones out here.....but maybe florida students are cruising.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Yea, college kids are not on cruises. The ones I teach are heading to Florida or Mexican beaches. The adventurous ones head to Europe or Africa for land trips.

Cruising isn't really a popular thing for college kids, unless mom and dad drag them along (they never turn down free trips).

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Visby - just walk into town.

Copenhagen/Stockholm/Helsinki - there are hoho buses. We tried them for the first time and hated them. Too crowded with cruise passengers, took too long, and very boring.

Copenhagen - canal boat tour was enjoyable

Helsinki - just walked around after catching shuttle

Russia - book a private tour. More intimate and less people on the bus. Check out port of call board for companies and reviews.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Andrew was the diamond concierge.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Planning a vacation is fun :) why stress? Everything always gets done :)

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Thanks! Does anyone know how long the new shuttle will be running? We'll be there in early June.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Thank you for the detail!

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Just returned from the Med where we rented cars in both Livorno and Civitavecchia. Avis and Hertz both had booths on the pier in Livorno. We rented a Fiat500 from Fabio at the Avis booth for 90euro which included a gps with preloaded destinations which was great. Drove to Lucca and then Volterra spending a couple of hours at each and made it back to the pier 1.5 hours too soon.

 

We reserved a car from Hertz in Civi b4 we left. The Hertz agency is beside the train station which is about a 20 minute walk from the new shuttle drop off point. The avis/budget agency is across the street from the drop off point.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ken

Thank you so much ken! This is great information!

I will be looking for avis/budget for civi as my hubby can't walk far.

Did you reserve in advance or just on the day of arrival in Livorno?

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

They had little tags on brilliance this summer. We were picking those things off our clothes for weeks!

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

I post what happens and my opinions. They are simply that: opinions. Reviews are meant to be critical....have you read a movie review or restaurant review? They are not always all sunshine and lollipops.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I just did a few refunds about a month ago and had no issues. All refunds were back on my credit card within a week.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

There is also a 20% discount or flat rate. If you are going for one of the bigger plans it makes more sense to get the 20% off. However, the system wants to give you the flat rate. We had to call down several times for them to sort it out.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We're doing the same with NCL next summer. Looking forward to seeing if it is better somewhere else.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I wish it was a month!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks!! We'll be in Italy a week before so are arriving in venice a day early.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Really dumb question...

We are booked on the spirit next May departing from venice. On the itinerary it shows:

Sunday embark on venice

Monday depart venice at 1 am

So this means we really only have the full day/evening on Sunday to be in Venice, correct?

So essentially Monday is a day at sea....we just start sailing at 1 am.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you all for the information!

I agree re the rebate. We usually take it in cash and just dump it back into the machines. We don't gamble on land (no time and nearest casino is 90 minutes away), so we splurge on the ship (we don't drink or do much else on board....for us the ship is just a floating hotel that gets us to the next country).

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Currently there are no tier levels that I know of in Club Royale. Club Royale said their new Player's Club program will be very similar to Vegas casinos and will have different tier levels.

 

 

 

I was talking about how the land based and Vegas casinos have different tier levels and may be similar to what Club Royale will roll out March 15 2015. Examples of Player's Club would be MLife, Total Rewards and others. Maybe their new program will be similar to NCL (Casinos at Sea).

 

 

 

http://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/casino-cruise/players-club

Ahhh, I thought I read some saying they were CR VIPS and I was thinking that was different.

Question: if you book through a TAX can you call CR for discounts? Or do you need to book through CR?

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Thanks! We'll be on this cruise in May!

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app