Maverick!

We docked at 7AM and thought the same to avoid the crowds by heading out a little later towards 11AM. We had no choice but to take donkeys up since it was pretty chaotic at the cable car station and the wait was long. There are kiosks for boat tours in the line-up area trying to entice those heading to Oia to bypass the cable car to Fira by taking the motor boats directly to Oia for 30 Euro pp. Otherwise, there is no other way up aside from the stairs and donkeys, and no way to anticipate how long the cable car would be. We heard mention onboard that on occasion the cable car is under repair/nonfunctional which may add to the chaos but I think the chances in high season would be remote.

Youngest was In utero 🙂 lol - then after than 7 months each. We didn't have twins though 🙂 but our 2 were 2.5 years apart. A double stroller would be tricky in port to manage unless you can collapse with one hand. We did bring a collapsable lightweight single stroller in the early years that I was able to collapse with one hand and had a strap to mobilize easily. Don't forget if you are tendering in Greece (in Santorini, Mykonos), you may want to be as lite/mobile as possible. I don't know what your itinerary is but if port intensive then stroller would depend on what you were thinking of doing in port. I found a baby carrier+ a lite single stroller worked well in many cases in Year 1 when a double stroller was cumbersome. There are other perspectives in the Family section but I think they would probably converge towards similar.

About 5-10 minutes between cable station and top of stairs depending how fast you walk and what the crowds look like. There were 3 ships tendered that day and it was about 40'C last week with no cover from the direct sun when we were there and walking up those 600 steps with limited drinking water was likely the last option on everyone's mind cause the cable car line-up was about 2 hours long :). Oh, and the donkeys (with blinders) going up and down were scaring some of the brave ones climbing (and some changed their mind and came back down). But if you're there in September or later, maybe the heat wave will have died down somewhat and fewer people all crowding around the Fira center.

There are ample other cost-effective options, which cater mostly to cruisers that don't have a ton of luggage and non-ambulatory dependents 🙂 - in our past life before young kids, it was easy to hop on a train with carry-on size luggage back and forth. Shuttles, taxis, cruise-organized transfers, share rides and DIY options for the majority also exist in great numbers. We happen to be in the minority that can benefit from a more direct/easier solution - so, because of supply and demand, there is a premium to be paid to take the complication out of the travel equation. You are right though - the cruise will be worth it ! We just came back on the Celebrity Reflection to Greece and Turkey and we had a blast. Enjoy !

We didn"t do Civitavecchia directly to airport (not sure if you're arriving to Fiumicino or Ciampini) but the rate was slightly less going to Rome from each way - cruiseport and the to/from airport. But sounds about right if going from Civita to one of the 2 airports cause mileage would be a bit further. i agree car service good way to go as baggage + kids not easy combo when doing rideshare or trains+cabs+walk which comes to same or more even when added up (if you include headaches to make it happen :)).

We just came back from a Celebrity cruise that brought us to Istanbul and Kusadasi - we are Canadian and even for US residents, no VISA required. If it were, the cruise line would have advised you.

We just returned from Rome and ate at Armando this week. The coda di bue (oxtail similar to osso buco) was also to die for, as for the pasta cacio e pepe, spaghetti with tartufo, and anything off their menu really. I would agree with not limiting your dining choices to Termini, which I found attracted first-time visitors, students, and budget-conscious travellers. Better restaurant options are available in the Trevi, Pantheon and Trastevere areas, all easily accessible by foot.

Gole dell'Alcantara (Alcantara Gorges) could be interesting. Or Giardini Naxos and the Sicilian Blue Grotto.

Interesting question - as the recent heat wave (which seems here to stay for the whole summer) has had an impact on what would otherwise be considered appropriate dress for restos in Rome. Just back from Rome and it is a sauna. Since the pandemic, we were told by locals this was the busiest summer yet with more visitors expected throughout August. The city was certainly very busy with crowds of visitors of all ages from all corners of the world with different appreciation of appropriate wear. Most venues have indoor and al fresco (outdoor) seating. There are also different categories of eateries with varied price points - osteria, trattoria, ristorante, pizzerias. I would say most non-locals were dressed for comfort, trying to manage not overheating, over-sweating, dehydrating while enjoying and taking advantage of the delicious and savory dining/wining the city center has to offer. Most of the restaurants in the city center are geared to accomodate tourists. We ate at a number of "nice" restaurants trying to avoid those that attract the first-time visitors. Unless the question is related to a Michelin-rated or 5* high-end venue, to which the comments offered above would apply, then I would recommend dressing according to your perspective of good taste in consideration of the heat. Men were in t-shirts, shorts, and ladies on average in the least amount of clothing possible- short-sleeve, sleeveless short or maxi dresses, tops, tanks, some younger set in crop tops, bra tops, and almost all in sandals and summer foot attire. During out stay, i noticed people everywhere were occupied with eating, drinking, making merry and hoping this would be the start to a return to normal travel rather than formalities & what everyone was wearing, even within the prevailing bella figura standards.

which factors in a hefty commission for booking.com - best to contact a car service directly

Hi, we just came back from Rome and an 11-day cruise leaving from Civitavecchia. We're a family of 4 (including 2 young kids) and we travelled extensively - from Fiumicino to City Center, to cruise port and back to airport from Rome. We also added another week to our vacation after the cruise travelling with car service back and from Naples (3 hours each way from Civitavecchia and back to Rome). We used Rome-Chauffeur and not only was this service consistently on-point for each transfer (we did a total of 5 transfers with them this trip and the drivers arrived at least 30 mins early each reservation), but the pricing was the most competitive out of about 10 other cabs and car services I researched, including those named above. We also used them our last trip to Rome prior to the pandemic. The service and drivers are exceptional and communications were always quick and responsive. Rome-Chauffer is definitely our go-to going forward and I would highly recommend for your trip with 2 babies. I know they have car seats as one driver had one on hand for his next client. Happy to answer any questions.

On an MSC cruise, I put down my prescription glasses (in the case) for one moment while we took a photo at one of the pop-up booths on Dress Up Night and when I looked back it was gone. We flagged security, tracked videos, the photog knew who it was but didnt want to give him up. Once the culprit was "given heads up" we got my glasses back about an hour later. Still, who does that ? On all other cruises with HAL, Princess, RCL never a problem, and have seen purses, bags, cameras, phones, tablets put down to reserve buffet tables, chairs, pool area.