ConnieInNewJersey

Thank you!!

I have never taken a Costa cruise but am looking at one with an itinerary I like. It starts in Trieste, Italy. How could I get there from Venice?

On our port day there DH and I had a great time just walking around and admiring all the plazas and buildings. We liked it so much we want to go back on a future cruise or land trip. :D

Cartagena, which I visited earlier this year, is probably one of the easiest ports of call to explore by oneself...

 

 

It is compact and generally flat which makes a walking tour very easy.

 

Cruise ships berth almost at the heart of the Cartagena and apart from 'The Punic Walls'...

 

 

 

Nothing is too distant.

 

Opening times of the various attractions are not always conducive to ship visits, especially week days. However, a pretty comprehensive list of times and attractions can be found on a recent review I have written...

 

http://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2015/08/07/one-way-to-do-cartagena/

 

Don't forget to use the Panoramic lift to El Castillo de la Concepcion...

 

 

to get a great view of your ship...

 

 

Enjoy.

Thank you!!

I stayed at the Rossio Garden Hotel - a room not an apartment - a short block from the metro. I thought the location was excellent . :)

Thank you all!!

Can anyone suggest a good private tour guide for Sicily (Palermo), Italy. We are there from 7 am to 2 pm. Or is there something else to suggest since we are only there for a limited time.

I used aroundsicily.com and was very happy with them. They are flexible and will arrange the tour to suit your needs and time frame.

http://www.around-sicily.com/Cat.asp?IdTours=SE

I don't like heat and thought April or October might be the best time to visit Istanbul and Ephesus. Would November be too cold? I would love too hear from people that have been there at those times. I like it around the high 60's and hate humidity.

Montserrat if you only have half a day. Girona is wonderful but you really need a full day and take in the Costa Brava also.

I used Spanish Trails and they were very good.

http://spanish-trails.com/#_=_

Unfortunately they are already full booked on the day I want to use them. Are there any other good alternatives in Barcelona that are similar?

I used Spanish Trails and they were very good.

We just got back from our cruise.One of the ports was Lisbon. David,from Lisbonhosts took us around for the day.We had a van for 8 with 6 people.It was very comfortable and allowed for good viewing while we were driving to Sintra.David speaks excellent English and was very flexible...he would accomodate all our interests.We are planning on returning to Lisbon and using David again.

My two friends and I used David in April and were delighted with his Sintra tour.

Hi Michelle,

Not the voice of experience here but your itinerary is very similar to what I am planning in July.

 

On your embarkation day, if you are doing the tour with BDT, ask them if you will be in a vehicle that can take your luggage as well. We are doing this and BDT will take our luggage with us and drop us off at the port. Gives us a little more time and saves the cost of a taxi to the port.

 

Cheers

Steve O

I think Steve makes a good suggestion. My two girlfriends ( I already did it) used Barcelona Day Tours for a full day of Montserrat and Barcelona city tour and loved it. :)

Just returned from a trip to Lisbon and Barcelona. For Lisbon we used David from Lisbonhost for two different full day tours - Sintra one day and Fatima the next. He was great! There were three of us and his fee was a total of 250E per tour/day.

(http://lisbonhost.com/ )

Hi,

 

If I buy ticket online, I need to specify time. Does this mean, I just need to show up at the specified time, there will be no line at all?

 

If I miss the specific time, can I still get in? How long is the grace period?

 

Thanks,

April

Just came back from Barcelona. For Sagrada Familia you cannot get in prior to the time on your ticket - I tried a couple of times but was refused. For Casa Mila I was a half hour early and they let me in. I would not take the risk of trying to get in after your time slot ended. Both places were awesome!!

Hello. We just booked ncl Epic out of Barcelona for this summer. We would normally fly out of Orlando, but decided to check Miami and see that Tap Portugal is approx $250 cheaper per ticket. Multiply that x4 and it's a cool 1k savings.

 

I'm unfamiliar with this airline. Has anyone ever had any experience?

I just came back from a Lisbon/Barcelona trip. I used United but used TAP for a less than two hour trip from Lisbon to Barcelona - they were fine - no problems.

Try

Aspasios Rambla Catalunya Suites

Hi,

 

If I buy ticket online, I need to specify time. Does this mean, I just need to show up at the specified time, there will be no line at all?

 

If I miss the specific time, can I still get in? How long is the grace period?

 

Thanks,

April

I booked a guide tour and told to arrive 15 minutes early.

We are doing a 7 day NCL cruise roundtrip from Rome. We are arriving a day early (Tues 7:35am) and will be staying near city center the night before the cruise leaves on Wed at 7pm. From the airport to the hotel, the hotel to the cruise and the cruise to the airport, is it necessary to pre-arrange for transportation? Can you simply get a taxi at the airport, from the hotel and from the port? If its highly suggested to arrange for transportation beforehand, do you have any suggestions on who to use?

I used Bob's. They were reasonable and reliable.

I feel absolutely safe in Turkey. Turkish people are the friendliest, most welcoming people in the world.

 

I have not been to Ankara, the place you are reffering to, not many tourists go there. What exactly will you be visiting there?

Sorry - not Ankara but Antalya - tour of the city, the Antalya Museum and Hadrian’s Gate.

Thanks Cruisemom you made my day!

My friends and I were thinking of doing a land tour of turkey. One of my friend's friends just came back from Turkey and she felt it was unsafe. I don't know what part of Turkey she came back from. Is the capital safe?

Thank you. I think so too!

That's actually not true if you are doing a private tour and want to customize what you are doing.

 

I highly recommend Barcelona Day Tours. Eight of us on our Roll Call used them this past fall for a full day tour that I had organized. Because my spouse and I had been to Barcelona before, but not Montserrat, we wanted the part of our day in Barcelona to include an inside visit of La Sagrada Familia as well as Parc Guell, and we worked with BDT to customize their normal full day tour so we could do that. They were easy to deal with by email, and our guide was one of the best we've ever had. (We visited Montserrat first, and then returned to Barcelona where we stopped at La Sagrada Familia for time inside, then a visit to Parc Guell, and still had a bit of time left for a drive past other highlights, including La Pedrera and Casa Batllo.)

 

Even if you aren't looking to "customize" anything, you should get what you are looking for from BDT. They were really terrific.

 

Have a great trip!

Yes you are correct. When doing a private tour you can customize it how you like. BDT will certainly work with their customers. I am sure they can advise how much one can fit in the day and present options and opportunity costs ( if you do this for x amount of time you might need to skip this or that). I will be in Barcelona in April for the third time and it will be my first time inside Sagrada Familia. My choice. I wanted to wait until I have 2-3 hours to devote to it ( I also wanted to do a tower).

http://www.barcelonadaytours.com/info-for-cruisers/

You will only see Sagrada Familia from the outside due to time constraints.