llarsen

Hi, We have this cruise booked for September and are very excited to be on this ship!

A couple of the ports are new to us (Ajacco, Cagliari and Valletta)

This is what we have planned so far, if this helps: 

We are staying in Barcelona 3 days prior to cruise and booked a tour to Costa Brava and another to Sagrada Familia through GetYourGuide.

Villafranche - We are considering Italy.Tours Best of French Riviera https://www.italytours.eu/shore-excursions/french-riviera-shore-excursion/ or just staying in port and taking the train to Nice. We have been to Eze and Monte Carlo in the past and really loved Eze!

Ajjacco - we plan to just walk around and enjoy a restaurant and drinks.

Cagliari - I booked a boat tour because we really love white sand beaches and turquoise water. 

https://www.viator.com/en-ZA/tours/Sardinia/Guided-excursion-to-the-Sella-del-Diavolo/d24293-354267P2

Valletta - I booked a private driver for 6hrs to see Mdina and a couple other places, but wondering if we really need it? https://www.viator.com/en-ZA/tours/Malta/Private-Experience-Discover-Maltas-Treasures-with-a-Local/d4141-121450P11

Messina - I booked "Celebrity Beautiful Taormina by Land and Sea". We usually don't do ship excursions but I booked this on a sale and like that it also goes to Isola Bella. We have been to Taormina on a private God Father Tour in the past (which was wonderful!) so just wanted to go back to Taormina and see something new (Isola Bella).

Naples - We've already done Capri, Amalfi, Ravello and visited Sorrento and Positano in the past. We booked the Naples, Sorrento and Positano Tour through Italy.Tours with a couple ship mates through our Roll Call. You can go on the Roll Call for your cruise and see if anyone is interested in joining some tours. 

Civitavecchia - We have been to Rome many times (and loved every visit) but this time we are just spending the night near the FCO after disembarking, and visiting Ostia Antica and relaxing by the pool for the day before our early flight the next morning.

Hope you have a beautiful cruise!

On 1/28/2024 at 2:49 PM, LBShell said:

We are hiring a private driver for touring Malta after arrival on NCL Epic. Where should we request meeting our driver? 

Hi,

We will be in Malta for our first time in September and are interested in hiring a taxi once we arrive, or a driver in advance to take us around the island. Can you give me the name and website of your driver you hired in advance?

Thank you!

@euro cruiser Good info! Thanks again for your quick reply!

Thank you so much for your reply!

Wow, that pic of Lombardis looks awesome, we will definitely try and eat there! 

Thanks again for the info! 🙂

@bennybear Hi, I saw your post mentioning the Royal Palace of Caserta in a topic on Ischia, and hoped you can help me with a couple questions, as there is little information regarding getting to this palace.

We arrive in Naples in September on Celebrity Ascent on a Sunday from 7:00am-6:00pm. 

Can you tell me how you got to the train station from the cruise terminal? (taxi/metro/bus?)

We hope to grab a taxi to the train station and catch the 8:06am train, do you think this is doable or too early?

How many hours did you stay at the Palace and Gardens?

Do you recommend any one place for great Neapolitan pizza? (I have been trying to master my Neapolitan pizza dough, and looking forward to tasting the real deal :-)

Thank you! 

For others that may have information...any useful advice, directions or input is appreciated.

On 1/21/2024 at 5:43 AM, euro cruiser said:

The underground entrance from the port (Molo Angioino) to the line #1 metro is now open, after years of construction.  As often happens in Italian cities, as soon as they started digging, they started running into artifacts, so the process took a long time.

 

Now you can walk to the metro station, or simply get to the other side of Piazza Municipio, without having to cross the busy street.  This will cut the time to get to the station in half.

 

Hi, thank you for posting this new information! 

I have a question if you or anyone else can help....

We will be in Naples this September on a Sunday, on Celebrity Ascent from 7:00am - 6:00pm

We would like to take the train to the Royal Palace of Caserta.

We planned to take a taxi from cruise terminal to Napoli Central.

With this new underground entrance to line #1 metro now open, would you recommend taking the metro line #1 to the Napoli Centrale train station, or is a taxi still the easiest option? (prefer easiest over cheapest).

I also planned to purchase our train tickets online prior to our trip. I hoped to catch the 8:06am train.

Do you think we would have enough time to catch the 8:06 train either via the new underground Metro entrance or taxi, if our ship docks in Naples at 7:00am?

If taking taxi to Napoli Centrale is best option, do we just walk through this new underground tunnel to the other side to get taxi or are taxis located outside cruise terminal above this new tunnel?

Thank you!

Our Roll Call for Ascent in September is also very quiet.

I find the boards pretty quiet in general, compared to years ago. 

Sad because they were so full of information and I loved reading reviews and tips from others who shared information about a port or ship.

Years ago we took a cruise to French Polynesia and actually met so many fellow CC members at the airport just waiting for our flight. It was fun.

@marazul Thank you, my husband agrees that we should always try something new. We have been to Pompeii, but not Herculaneum.

I will look into it, thanks again! 🙂

@euro cruiser When we visited Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi Coast we were on Oceania cruise line and were tendered in. I dread the drive from Naples...that's my hesitation. We've had some wonderful small group tours in the past with cruise mates, but we had longer hours in port and there was no rush. I'm feeling maybe it's best to keep those memories as they are, instead of risking a rushed day which could be unpleasant. 

Thanks for your input, it really helped! 🙂

@euro cruiser Thank you so much for the detailed information! 

I'm torn between going to the Palace of Caserta on our own, or joining others from our cruise for a full day ItalyTours.eu tour to Positano and Sorrento. We have been to Positano and Sorrento in the past, and enjoyed them very much but have only seen photos of the Palace of Caserta which reminds me of Versailles. Any thoughts on one verses the other? 

@marazul Thank you for your reply. It sounds like an hour or so in the Palace and a couple hours in the Gardens will be adequate. We did not have time for pizza the last time in Naples and really must try it on this trip 🙂

Do you have any thoughts on doing a full day tour with Italy.Tours.eu to Positano and Sorrento with a group verses the Palace of Caserta on our own? It's that view looking toward the Palace that reminds me of Versailles and makes me want to go there.

Hi,

We will be in Naples on Celebrity Ascent in September from 7am - 6pm (on a Sunday)

We have been to Capri, the Amalfi Coast, visited Ravello, Positano and Sorrento in the past on private excursions. All very beautiful and enjoyed every minute.

This time we are considering taking a train to the Royal Palace of Caserta (not to be confused with Royal Palace of Naples).

It appears 8:06am or 9:00am would be the earliest trains we can catch (not sure how long it will take to get off the ship if we are not on a ship tour?)

The trains take approx 40mins to get to the Palace, so we would be arriving at the Palace around 9:00am or 10:00am (depending on which train, prefer the earlier one if possible).

We will probably want to take the 2:22pm or 3:30pm train back to Naples Central arriving a little after 3:00pm or little after 4:00pm, giving us approx 5hrs at Palace.

I'm a little nervous about taking a bus (there are many and we do not speak Italian).

Questions:

Has anyone been to the Royal Palace of Caserta, and can you tell me if you had any problems?

Should we take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the Naples Central train station or is that too short a trip for them?

Is 5hrs at the Palace too much time? (We would like to have time for some Neapolitan Pizza in Naples)

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you!

On 1/4/2024 at 3:02 PM, Karysa said:

Thanks for the replies. I found a private operator that offered a longer excursion than those of the cruise company so I booked with them. The idea of the taxi was to make it a more go with the flow day but I gathered from reading the replies that the likely hood that it would end up being a carefree day was going to be slim so I decided to go with a tour. Thanks again for the help. I am really looking forward to the day now that it’s all set so that’s certainly worth something.

Hi Karysa, We will be in Messina in September and like you, hoped to just do our own thing getting there and returning when we wanted. Transportation was a problem. 

I was wondering if you can share the name or link for the private tour operator with me?

Thank you!

13 hours ago, hcat said:

Not planning a full live from Ascent

(1/28) but would like to share a few pics and thoughts that may be of interest..re dining, art collection, shows  and the  new Metallic Deck Party!  Hope no Creaking!

 

Wish me luck...I try my best!

Happy New Year!

We are booked on the Ascent in September! Looking forward to seeing your pics and thoughts. 

Have a great cruise! 

Thank you everyone for your replies!

Very good info and some new ideas too.

I know many people put their phones away on vacation to relax and that is understandable.

But we have children and grandchildren at home that we like to stay in touch with, and they enjoy us sending a few pics of our day.

To each his own. 

I just needed to know if my thinking (that phones can connect to the ship cell tower) was outdated, and apparently it's not.

Thanks for clarifying 🙂

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

I use a pre-paid service Visible which doesn't have international service.   I have bought travel esim to be able to have data while off the ship.  They have ones that work globally, regionally or per country.

 

I recently used the Europe regional one which is $13 for 30 days and 3 GB and works in most European countries.  www.airalo.com

Thank you! Nice to know...:-)

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

Yes. If you need to use your phone on the ship and/or in port, it’s best to decide how to do that ahead of time. Ship only, can use wifi. In port only you can use international day pass. Using both will cost quite a bit. Roaming is outrageous, don’t do that. But it’s important to know what you plan to use; if you want to use an international plan you have to turn on roaming to connect. If you don’t want to constantly worry about roaming; use wifi

I do have a Verizon international plan that I have used when we have traveled to Italy. It's $10 for a 24/hr period (can't remember how much data) but it was enough for me to check in with my daughter at home and send some photos 🙂

Thanks!

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Just a heads up if have your phone in Airplane mode with wifi on and buy a wifi package you can do WiFi calling where you won't get charged for calls. Wifi calling does need to be enabled ahead of time. 

Thank you, I didn't know that. Good info, thanks!

I am wondering if it is still true in this day, that cell phones can connect to the ships tower and rack up unwanted roaming charges?

We always put our phone in Airplane mode and turn on wifi when we board a ship if we purchased an internet package. If not, we just turn them off and put them away.

I'm just wondering if that is still true about cell phones connecting to the ships tower and getting a surprise bill from your carrier if you forget to turn them off, or put in airplane mode?

Thanks!

Hi,

We will visit Cagliari next September from 9:00am-7:00pm

I have always dreamed of swimming at Sardinia beaches....but now that we will be there I am having a hard time deciding what to do.

Has anyone taken a good boat excursion they can recommend or spend the day at a nice beach? (must be white powdery sand, not the pebble type)

Any advice or recommendations for this port are appreciated!

18 hours ago, rdu420 said:

Hi. My wife are travelers and lived in Malta for 8 months. We lived in Vittoriosa, better known as Birgu to the locals and people like us who lived there.  With an 8a-6p timeline I would get off the ship and right there you will find those cool colored little skiffs that will take you over to Birgu for a couple of euros per person, or also right there you can get on the ferry for about 4 euros.  Either way its no more than a 10 minute ride. You will go by billionaire (think Russian) and millionaire yacht row. Beautiful boats to see up close. We lived in St. Angelo Mansions right beside Ft. Saint Angelo used by the Knights of St. John to fight off the Ottoman Turks in the 1500's. The town of Birgu is not large but does have some wonderful scenery.

 

From there I would get back on the ferry or skiff and head to the elevator that will not be crowded by the time you get back after seeing Birgu (it can be a 20-30 minute wait with the rush of passengers). The elevator will take you from the water up to Valletta.  From there you will find the main bus depot if you go more left where you can catch a 30 minute ride Mdina (a must see and former capital of Malta centuries ago.) It is a walled town and is an excellent place to visit. From there I would go back to Valletta. This two place experience will take about 4 hours but well worth it. After that you can do some of the suggested water activities but honestly we're more into the history of the island so we didn't get much out of that.  Valletta itself is a worthy 2 to 2.5 hours. Walk down the main street, 'Triq Republic'.  Its a tourist walk but halfway down you pass the courthouse with a large outdoor Cafe. there are also several museums of medium size that house a great deal of Malta's history up to and including WW2.  Have fun!

Thanks so much for the itinerary and directions! It sounds perfect. One question....how do we get back to Valletta from Mdina? Are there taxis available or is the return bus easy to find? Thanks again!

6 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We were in Malta last month on the Apex and our private tour got canceled due to the guide getting Covid the day before we arrived. We ended up hiring a private taxi for a 4 hour tour, there were many of them at the pier for hire.  We also used Uber to go to the Hypogeum after our taxi tour. Ubers were very inexpensive too. We used Tours By Locals for the tour that was canceled. Unless we have OBC to burn we do not book sip sponsored shore tours anymore as we are so tired of being ripped off by the,.

 

Here is another private tour group we use all over the world for shore tours, usually 30-50% less than ship sponsored tours. 

The BEST Valletta Tours and Things to Do in 2023 - FREE Cancellation | GetYourGuide

Thanks so much, great info! I'm also checking out the GetYourGuide tours! 🙂

9 hours ago, Easterncommand said:

Hi

It been a couple of years since we were in Malta. Assuming you are docking below Battery Gardens,take the lift up €1-2,walk through to the main thoroughfare and turn left. A10 minute walk will get you to the main bus station from there you can take the bus(approx 45 mins) or there is a taxi rank and I believe it approx €20 to Marsaxlokk. 

Thank you so much for the information! 🙂

17 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

I have only been to Malta on a land tour and travelled everywhere by local bus so can not answer your questions about taxi tours or shore excursions but I might be able to help with what is worth seeing. 

 

We really enjoyed the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk and they are in the southern area of the island so you may be able to take a taxi tour to these together. At the Blue Grotto the view from above is lovely but also definitely do the boat tour where you enter the caves. We were there on a really hot day and the boat cruise was a wonderful relief from the heat.

 

 

Marsaxlokk is cute to walk around looking at the boats but we only spend about an hour there.

 

 

Mdina is lovely but is in a different direction to the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk from Valletta. You could do all three with a taxi tour but you could be a bit rushed particularly with the time spent if you do the boat cruise of the Blue Grotto and also want to have some time to see the old city of Valetta. We enjoyed walking around Mdina and spent about an hour there.

 

 

It is very easy to get a ferry from Valletta across the harbour to Vittoriosa which is easy to walk around and enjoy the narrow streets and views across the harbour. 

 

Valletta is also lovely to walk around. The St John's Co-cathedral is magnificent and it is great to walk through the streets and enjoy the views of the harbour.

 

If you have never been to Malta before I would consider the shore excursion or a taxi tour to the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk and then spend the rest of the day exploring Valletta. Or if you want to DIY you could get a taxi or bus to Mdina and then on your return to Valletta get a ferry to Vittoriosa and explore then return to Valetta to explore.

 

Hope this helps a little and have a great cruise. 🛳️

 

Yes, this does help! Thank you for including the lovely photos. It's going to be a hard decision because they all sound like places we would enjoy.

I'm thinking we could probably hire a taxi for Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk for less $$ than the Celebrity tour and wouldn't have to deal with a crowded group. It should also give us more time to get back to Valletta and enjoy the rest of our day. I just hope there are plenty of taxis waiting when we get off the ship, 🙂

Thanks again!

Hi,

We will be on new Celebrity Ascent next September and visiting Valletta.

I couldn't find the info I need in the Malta forum, so I'm hoping someone here has visited Malta in the past or is visiting on upcoming cruise and can offer suggestions.

We've never been to Malta.

We normally do private/semi private tours instead of cruise ship excursions, but are having a hard time finding anything.

We enjoy photography and picturesque villages.

There are 2 Celebrity shore excursions we are considering:

Blue Grotto Boat Trip and Marsaxlokk 4hrs $108pp

Seaside Towns of Vittoriosa and Marsaxlokk 3.5hrs $93pp

I understand there are taxis you can hire for a private tour...but I really don't know what is best to see? Mdina & Marsaxlokk for sure?

I was hoping to do a catamaran to Blue Lagoon but they leave from a different area and are 6-7hrs long.

Questions:

1.Has anyone taken a Blue Lagoon boat trip that departed from Valletta instead of other bays?

2.Is Blue Grotto worth the time?

3.Have you hired a taxi for diy tour and what places did you find most beautiful?

4.Have you taken either of the Celebrity tours and what did you think of them?

Thank you for any input or suggestions!

17 hours ago, dreamer321 said:

 

The sample menus on the website are the day 1 menus updated 9/12/23 and are the same for all Edge class ships. If you want to see what the other days look like check out the current sailing for Beyond.

Thank you! It's been years since we've sailed on Celebrity. I thought that was the menu every night in that particular restaurant. Thanks for the info!