NCteacherlovescruising

3 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Why do you need a tour boat for this?  You can simply use the public ferries.

 

Schedule here:  Visit the Amalfi Coast - Travelmar Fast Ferries in Amalfi Coast

Because the boat tours make stops where we can get in and swim for a bit. I watched a video where a lady said it was the best day they had on the Amalfi Coast but I can’t find it again, nor do I recall who she used. Would you get the same view from the ferries?

We will be spending 3 nights in Amalfi. Can someone recommend a good boat tour of the coast?  Something similar to below but not private so we can keep the cost down. We want to see the AC from the sea and make stops along the way. 

15 hours ago, bellaone said:

We were 4. 

 

How much was it?  

2 hours ago, edinburgher said:

No tour is actually need, because if you google something along the lines of "self guided walking tour of GOT locations Dubrovnik", you should find several options you could either take with you or access them when there. (gypsmycity being one of them)

 

And if you google without the words "self guided" you should find several companies offering the tour. You could then look at their reviews to help you decide which one, or if you would be better with the ship shorex..

 

On that topic, as your question is specific to NCL, consider cross posting on the NCL forum where NCL passengers who did this tour would be more likely to see it and reply.

Thanks!  I had considered asking there but assumed they would just move it here. However, since you recommended I do so, I did. Hopefully someone that’s been on it will chime in. 

Has anyone done this Game of Thrones tour with NCL?  Our friends want to do it but it’s much more expensive than the one with get your guide. If you have been on it, was it worth the money?

In Ravena they want to do one of these, but someone else recommended just staying in Ravena to see the mosaics. Has anyone tried either of these tours?

I have already asked in the Europe forum but would like to hear from someone that has done one of these. 

Our friends are interested in booking the NCL GOT tour in Dubrovnik. Is this worthwhile or could someone recommend a private tour company that does it better?  

Our cruise changed Venice tender to a stop in Ravena. We are staying in Venice two days post cruise so aren’t interested in traveling to Venice from there. Has anyone tried either of these excursions?  NCL doesn’t have any reviews for them. 
 

7 minutes ago, Dgshooter said:

We booked a cruise on the World Europa Jan 11-18, 2025. it will be my wife's first trip to Europe. We're planning to take some kind of excursion in each port.

I hope you tell us all about it!  We are going to Europe for the first time this summer. I’m super excited!  

11 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Cruisedeckplans.com is your friend.  EM

I looked there before posting this but didn’t look at enough decks.  I didn’t realize they would be so far away!  They are on decks 19-22.  Last time we sailed we were on the same deck as Top Sail Lounge and the concierge desk, but on a much smaller ship.  I realize there’s an elevator so it’s not a big deal. 

19 minutes ago, orangemini said:

As Essiesmom said, lots of good information on that website, including this video of your cabin. I was on World Europa in November in 18016 and found it to be a little bit of a long walk to the YC elevator. Maybe I missed a shortcut? No biggie, but on my next cruise in July I chose 18009 on the other side of the ship.

Thanks for sharing!  Since we just booked this I hadn’t even looked for videos yet. Actually, it wasn’t considered a “new booking”. We had booked onboard last summer for this summer but we moved it out to next summer. Our TA had to jump through some hoops to make this happen but she’s amazing and got it done at no cost to us. I didn’t choose the room, she did, but we won’t mind the extra steps. 

12 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

 

We are travelling in our 2nd MSC ship in 21 days, World Europa out of Barcelona cant wait tbh. 

 

 

We just moved out our World Europa cruise out of Barcelona from this summer to next, but very much look forward to it. I hope you will post a review. 

We just booked this ship for June 2025. Can someone tell me what floors are yacht club and where the YC sundeck, restaurant and lounge are? Our cabin is 15018. Is that in the 15th floor?  

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

 You should include the cash value of the point used as well.

We’re looking at it strictly from what we have to pay. This trip is costing us a fortune so saving on airfare was a huge bonus!  The points wouldn’t have had that big of a cash value had we chose to fly economy, but we want to be able to hit the ground running when we arrive in Rome so we didn’t.  

On 3/6/2024 at 11:11 AM, RocketMan275 said:

Most booking via NCL are doing so for the cost savings.  The question is, how much of a savings remains if one  has too book a room in Vancover, a tour, plus other expenses for the day?

I agree with the point about the availability of flights. Many destinations from Vancouver require routing through Seattle.  I recently cancelled our second Alaska cruise because of the terrible flights.  

I wouldn’t necessarily look at that as a con. They have the bonus of enjoying a beautiful city an extra day. That’s worth a lot IMO. 

On 3/8/2024 at 11:46 AM, mistertomatoe said:

I'm finding it's not really free or not even 50% off for 2 or 1 in the case of a solo fare. It's more like 33% off based on the flights I can find. Anyone find the same?

We scored on ours. We used miles to book our air to Europe but using them to fly from Venice to Clt for both of us was only $1,000 total. 

19 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Bottom line. You have another chance at making restaurant reservations on embarkation day. If any of your party is boarding early, they can go to the reservation desk (Teppanyaki restaurant on big ships), and make reservations for the group. There are no reservations if you embark early at any port other than the embarkation port, Athens. I have been on cruises where Cagney's was sold out for all nights all times by 1 pm on embarkation day. 

 

There is no penalty for no showing to Cagney's. But, as a courtesy to your fellow passengers, especially since you have a big group, cancellation would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Restaurant reservations open 120 days prior to departure at 12 midnight eastern time. Folks who would like the best time or have larger groups like yours will log on the minute reservations open at midnight to get their tables. (Suites reservations open 130 days prior to departure, Club Suites and top tier Latitudes members can make reservations at 125 days). Most reservations are for 2-tops and 4-tops and there are not that many larger tables in any of the specialty restaurants. 

Yeah, I don’t want to risk not getting a reservation there. I’m sure my husband and I will make it on time for the 5:30 reservations. If our friends don’t, I will just let them know it will only be the two of us. If they don’t make it, we wouldn’t be opposed to joining them another night if they can get reservations. We’ve only sailed NCL once before but I recall liking it. With it being al a carte, how much is our free dining voucher worth?  

10 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

There are no penalties for no shows. 
even if the whole party misses the reservation, you will not be charged. 

Good to know!  I assume we’ll be able to make it. My husband and I will have been touring Italy for 9 days and Athens 2.5 prior. We will be ready to sit in air conditioning, relax, and not pay for food and drinks!  lol

9 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Did you book on the app or did you call NCL?  I would give them a call or use the chat to see if you can change to another date and time. Failing that, I would do it once onboard. 

I booked on the app. 
 

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

in practice, there is no penalty for a no show, particularly on embarkation day and particularly if it's only one or two members of a larger party. but NCL's actual rule about restaurant reservations is that they require 24 hours notice to cancel and that you will be charged if you don't show.

 

"Cancellations of dinner reservations must be made 24 hours prior to the scheduled dining time. If cancellation occurs with less than 24 hours' notice, the full price of the cover per guest will be charged. We strive for excellent service; therefore, we can only hold your dinner reservation for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the unclaimed reservation will be released and the full price of the cover per guest will be charged to you. In the case of pre-paid reservation, no refunds will be issued for cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice."

 

 

I will share this with our friends. 
 

7 hours ago, gizfish said:

Don't settle on going on embarkation day if that's not what you want.  You will almost certainly be able to get a reservation on some other day.  Just make the reservation on board asap.  Worst case you go the day you want and wait till they can accommodate you, or you keep an eye on the reservation screens throughout the ship that show availability at that specific time.  

I just want to make sure we can get reservations there and we won’t want to embark early at one of the ports to do so. 
Normally I enjoy starting our cruise this way but I’ve never been to Athens. 
 

7 hours ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

I would like to know how they charge something if you are a no show if the place is a la carte. For a place like Teppanyaki I understand, they could just charge the cover. So in other words = for a la carte restaurants they definitely do not charge anything. 
 

I just yesterday needed to change a restaurant reservation and chatted with an NCL agent about it. As we are 3 I asked her to book for 4. She gave me this big lecture that as soon as we get on the ship I must go to the restaurant and tell that we are only 3. Otherwise we will be charged for a fourth person. That restaurant being Le Bistro. Didn’t start to argue with her but just laughed in my mind of the thought that if someone would try to charge something (they don’t)  I’d point towards the empty chair and tell the waiter ”…and for my friend over here, he will just get some ice water, thank you”. 
 

 

Best response!  😂

31 minutes ago, itsnotjustme said:

If someone misses, have that person pay a la carte.  They ordered nothing.

 

p.s. If someone misses, they have bigger problems than a missed dinner.

I made reservations for 5:30. We don’t leave until 10 PM so I believe we have until 8 to board. Since we will be in Athens, I’m not sure if everyone will make it on time. 
 

29 minutes ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

@NCteacherlovescruising

 

Remember that they only put about 30% of the placings on the internet and the rest are available on board.   When you board you will be able to find that there is a place to make your booking.

 

I wasn’t aware of this. 

29 minutes ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

That will have places at all times but some will go very quickly

But I wouldn’t want to miss out. 

17 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

 

@NCteacherlovescruisingNo worries.  Just book for the 6 people and show up with 5.  We've done that exact thing multiple times since they only show even number reservations.

You will not get charged.  The host will ask if each of you plan on using a specialty meal credit or if you are paying a la carte when you check-in for the reservation.

Enjoy.

What if we don’t make it at all or if only part of our party does?  Unfortunately, this was our only option before 9:30. 

It’s been years since we’ve sailed NCL. We are traveling with friends, each of us have one free dinner with the free at sea offer. The only date I could book earlier than 9:30 was the day of embarkation. Reservations were only available for even numbers and there will only be 5 of us. Is it ok to just tell them there’s only 5 when we get there or will we be charged for the 6th person?  Also, if some or all of us don’t board in time to make the reservation will we be charged?

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

You’ll have to go to the Scavi Office website.  There are no other resellers of tickets and you must purchase them yourself.  Marisa cannot do this for you and only official Scavi tour guides will conduct the tours. 

Ok, I’ll ask her what time we could plan on. 
 

1 hour ago, marazul said:

You can only book here:

www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/prenotazione.html

Thank you!

8 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

What has been excavated is a Roman street, multiple necropolises, the original church built upon the spot where Peter was crucified.  You will also see his tomb and a glimpse of what is believed to be his bones.  That is the Scavi tour.  It is extremely limited in the number of people allowed per day and well worth the trouble of booking.

That sounds like something I’d enjoy!  Thanks!

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If your tour ends in the vicinity of the Colosseum, I think either one of these sites (in close walking distance) would be a nice addition:

 

The Basilica of San Clemente -- it's not just a church, it's a time capsule. You can explore the 3 different levels, starting with the Roman era (1st c.), a second layer built in the 5th c. and destroyed in the 11th c, and the "newest" layer, which is still nearly 1,000 years old and has beautiful mosaics. This video gives you a good idea. Darius Arya, a leading expert on ancient Rome calls it the best underground site in Rome. It really helps you understand the long history of the city and why modern Rome exists on top of ancient Rome.

 

You need to book a reservation in advance here.

 

They do close daily for a long lunch break (12-2), so if your Colosseum tour is in the morning, look for a place to eat lunch (I can recommend the Taverna dei Fori Imperiali, but you probably need a reservation.)

 

Baths of Caracalla -- These are probably the best preserved ancient Roman imperial baths that I have ever visited. Imperial = built in the time of the Emperors, but also they are imperial in size and scope. You can easily walk there from the Colosseum/Palatine Hill area. (They also offer a great audioguide or, for more $$ you can rent their VR headset and have the opportunity to see virtual footage superimposed on the existing site that shows how it would have looked in antiquity. As a plus, you can also visit the vast underground area where slaves would have been busy stoking the furnaces and doing other maintenance work for the baths. Video here. 

I had forgotten about the Baths of Caracalla. We had watched a video about it and thought it looked like a cool place to see. I will watch both videos you linked. Thanks!

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I agree with others that you should plan to see St. Peter's while you are there. It sounds like you've already booked your tour, but there are tours offered that include St. Peter's as well as the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel.

 

Getting back -- since you're staying at Albergo del Senato, the metro isn't super handy. I would just get a taxi. It won't be very expensive maybe 12-15 euro plus or minus. You can find taxis at the bottom of the colonnade around the Piazza in front of St. Peter's. If for some reason you're ending at the museum entrance, you can often find a few taxis there but it's not an official taxi stand.

 

 

I emailed Marisa last night. Our tour includes the museums, and Saint Peters. She said she will email us in May with more details. Would that be too late to book the scavi tour?  I’m sure Marisa will tell us where we can locate a taxi. We’ll plan on using one, especially since we will need to bring our passports. 
 

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

St. Peter’s is a must and if you have time you should consider the Scavi tour and the Sistine Chapel.  There is an ancient Roman street and necropolis under the Basilica as well as St Peter’s tomb.  The Scavi tour must be booked in advance directly through the Excavations Office in advance and one must be appropriately attired.  The Scavi tour is the most fascinating thing I’ve ever done in Rome and I’m neither Catholic nor religious. It would also be a shame to be in Rome for 5 days and not see The Pieta.

 

 Metro or taxi will work.

The Sistine Chapel is grouped with the Vatican tour, Saint Peter’s is not so we’ll have to do that on our own. I will look up the Scavi tour, as I have no idea what it is.  Thanks!

18 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I read the description -- looks like a nice tour. Only odd thing is that they don't tell you which catacombs they're taking you to (there are many around Rome including 3 on the Appian Way...)

 

I didn’t realize that but I’m sure we’ll enjoy them wherever they take us. 
 

Any suggestions on things to see on our way back to our hotel day 2, following our tour?  We’re starting at the Colosseum. We plan to take a leisurely walk back, enjoying Rome, and lunch, along the way. 
 

Also, I understand the Vatican is far from where we’re staying. Should we plan to see Saint Peter’s Basilica while we are there?  Are they within walking distance?  Anything else we should do before heading back?  What’s the best mode of transportation there and back?

We’ve made more plans for Rome. Updates or additions are in blue. 

Day 1 - We’re staying at Albergo del Senato so thought we’d visit the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, walk around whatever is near our hotel and go out for a nice dinner Going to try to get dinner reservations at Armando Al Pantheon. 
 

Day 2 - We have a private tour of the Colosseum, forum and Palatine Hill 

Day 3 - Private tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel

Booking a Roman Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere Food Tour with Dinner with City Wonders for that evening. 

Day 4 - Thinking about doing a wine tour to Tuscany. Sounds nice to have a relaxing day after 2 days doing a lot of walking. 
Booking this with City Wonders as well. 

Day 5 - day trip to Florence or stay in Rome?  I’d love to visit Florence but are there any must sees in Rome we would have to miss to do this?  Also, isn’t Florence where they make the nice, leather bags?  I’d like to purchase a purse, belt, and perhaps gloves while we’re there.  
We decided to book a third tour with City Wonders, The Original Crypts, Catacombs & Roman Underground’s Tour. Just debating on morning or afternoon. I’m leaning toward afternoon assuming these sites would be a welcome relief from the hot afternoon heat. 

 

13 hours ago, RobInMN said:

We've become fans of City Wonders. 

Day 1: Arrived, checked into our airbnb.

Day 2: Wandered Rome on our own. Did not enter anywhere. Started down at Circus Maximus (since that was not included in any of our tours), then by the Arch of Constantine, the Colosseum, outside the Forums, along Via dei Fori Imperiali up to the Alter of the Fatherland. We then made our way to the Spanish Steps where our evening tour began, which was 'Illuminated Rome Night Tour with Wine and Appetizers'. We thought this ended up being a great introduction tour and included Trevi fountain, Spanish steps and Pantheon.

Day 3: Borghese Gallery. Unfortunately, I bought tickets only. I would highly recommend booking a tour guide. Later, we did the Colosseum by night. This included the underground area.

Day 4: Took the high speed train to Bologna, and then caught a city bus to Sant'Agata (1 hour each way) and went to the Lamborghini Factory and Museum, then reversed that and went back to Rome. Tis was a 12 hour day, but totally worth it. But book the factory tour, not just the museum.

Day 5: 'Extended Vatican Museums', and then 'Crypts and Catacombs'

Day 6: 'Colosseum Belvedere with Roman Forums'. This tour did the 4th & 5th levels, then the Forums, which included Palpatine Hill. This whole place could easily be 3 or 4 separate sites. You can spend hours wandering around.

Day 7: Checked out and went to the port for the cruise.

 

Yes, 2 different Colosseum tours and walked around it on the outside another time. I'm a bit fascinated by the Colosseum. I have the Lego set with a framed collage photo next to it.

 

We are going on another cruise out of Rome in October, and going in 3 days before. For that, we've booked:

Day 1: Arrive, check into our airbnb, then that night we'll do the 'Dark Heart of Rome: Ghost and Mystery Walking Tour by Night'. This is the tour that started the whole City Wonders company.

Day 2: 'Semi-Private Ostia Antica Half-Day Tour: An Ancient Roman City Frozen in Time'

Day 3: 'The Official Angels & Demons Tour'. This tour is supposed to be very, very good, and Castel Sant'Angelo is part of it. Later, we've booked the 'Roman Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere Food Tour with Dinner'

Day 4: 'St. Peter’s Basilica Tour with Dome Climb & Papal Crypts'. Not 100% sure we'll do this or not. It's from 7:50am - 10:50am, and we have to checkout of the airbnb by 10:00 and then head to the port.

 

So, plenty of options. Take your pick. 🙂 

Thanks!  You've given me some ideas and I'm very interested in some options with CityWonders.  

On 12/2/2023 at 7:27 PM, RobInMN said:

When we did the Western Med (Symphony's inaugural season), we specifically chose to do it out of Rome (Civitavecchia) so that we could spend a week in Rome before hand. And that still wasn't enough time.

You will either need to pick a single thing to do in depth (like the Vatican), or do a "Rome in a day" quick drive-by of Rome's most popular attractions. Keep in mind that there is a a 1+ hour drive each way, so you have to account for that.

Because there is so much and your time is limited, I would second what @Norwich Cruiser recommends. If anything, you will not be limited by slow or late people.

Oh, and pre-book "skip the line" tickets for everything you can.

What all did you do?  We have a private tour booked for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum one day, and a private tour of the Vatican the next.  First day there we just plan to walk around, see the Trevi fountain, Spanish steps and Pantheon. What else were your highlights?  I’m trying to figure out what would keep us occupied there another full day.  We should have plenty of time for shopping the three days we’ve already planned out.