NCteacherlovescruising

I will check this tour out. Thanks!

We have an overnight in Livorno. We have a tour for the first day visiting Siena, a steak lunch, and a wine tasting that includes some really good wines. My husband and I are into good wines so it’s a priority for us. However, it’s expensive and so far we haven’t found anyone to share the excursion. I thought about just taking the train but it sounded like getting to the train could be an issue. What was you transport to the train and back to the ship from the train station? Another option for us is to take a day trip from Rome. We will be staying there 5 nights post cruise.

You used a private tour company? Which company?

They move her around a lot. We will be on the Barcelona to Rome in June.

Just did a quick search on the HE and the Paddington area. We would definitely need an elevator and A/C. How would we get to the main attractions (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, etc.) from here? How much more difficult is it to get to LHR if we stay near closer to the sites we would like to see?

We are not overnighting in Florence, but accommodations we have booked are refundable up to so many days prior. I appreciate your advice though. Thank you! I like this option. It sounds like it would be faster and no need to find a way to our hotel from the train station. Are they just there or do we book this ahead of time?

Can you recommend something? Since it’s for one night, just something comfortable and clean but budget friendly. I have no idea what prices are there, but in the $150-300 range would be preferred. Same question as above. Also, I have yet to research London at all so I don’t know the difference between the Elizabeth line station and the Heathrow Express.

Piazza Novana is what I forgot the name of! The transfer from the ship to our hotel would be at least €160. I will have to figure out the cost of everything else to see how it would compare to see if it’s worth it. I do appreciate all your help! 🙂

I know there has been some co fusion with the trains. Is this in local (Rome) time?

When is the Equinox moving to Europe?

Charlotte doesn’t have direct flights to Barcelona, so we are considering flying into London overnight, spend the day touring, spend the night and flying to Barcelona the next day. If we do so, would we be better off staying near the tourist sights or LHR?

Thanks so much!! How much time would we save using the private transfer from the port to our hotel in Rome verses using the bus and taxi?

I have a binder with everything and plan to bring it with me. Thank you! I am enjoying the planning process. I am very thankful that dh finally sat down with me today to discuss the two days in Livorno. I had several possible options so it was nice to get his input so we could make final plans for that port.

We have our plans set for the Celebrity cruise. We are using nearly all Celebrity excursions, but most of that was purchased with OBC. Input is welcome, but we would like to mostly stick with our Celebrity excursions since we booked most of them with OBC. Barcelona - flying in 2 days prior, staying at H10 Catalunya Plaza Hotel. plans aren't firm, as we have not bought plane tickets yet, but we are planning on booking this excursion day two: Barcelona Explorer Full Day Tour - Spain | Spanish Trails (spanish-trails.com) Hopefully we have time day 1 and 3 to see whatever we miss with this tour. At Sea Marseille - Destination Highlight - Aix-en-Provence Villefranche-SurMer - Nice and Eze Discovery Santa Margherita - Cinque Terre without lunch Livorno day 1 - We are doing a private excursion with Rome in Limo: Siena, Fiorentina steak lunch, and wine tasting- hoping to get another couple to join us from our roll call, but will do it even if it's just the two of us. https://www.romeinlimo.com/exclusive-day-trips-from-florence/siena-fiorentina-steak-lunch-and-wine-tasting-experience-from-florence.htm Livorno day 2 - Historical Florence and Accademia Museum (this hits most of the places we wanted to visit) We decided to go with a X excursion because we had a little OBC left to offset a little bit of the cost, but quite frankly it just seemed easiest by completely avoiding the trains. Overview Discover magnificent art, historic sites, and authentic Italian cuisine as you tour the exquisite city of Florence. Kick off your adventure at the Accademia Museum, where you'll discover renowned works of art, including Michelangelo's famous statue of "David." Next, you'll head to the Cathedral Square to view the Duomo, the baptistery, and Giotto's bell tower, dating back to the 14th-Century. Other stops include the iconic Ponte Vecchio Bridge and the Church of Santa Croce (exterior visit only). Highlights Admire an array of classic artistic masterpieces at the Accademia Museum. Gaze out over the magnificent Arno River from the spectacular Ponte Vecchio, a medieval stone arch bridge. Savor an authentic Florentine lunch at a local restaurant and enjoy free time to explore the city. At sea Naples - Capri on your own -This is $84 each. I'm sure we could do it cheaper without X. Here's the description: Spend a day on the popular island of Capri, which teems with tourists during the summer. From pier side in Naples, you will walk to the nearby marina to board a boat for your scenic 50-minute cruise through Naples Bay to the Island of Capri. On the southern edge of the Gulf of Naples lies the island of Capri, often called the ‘Island of Dreams.’ Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius found peace and beauty here, as have the many celebrities who have visited the island. When you see Capri's impressive cliffs and brightly coloured villas, you will understand the island's universal appeal. Upon arrival at Capri pier, Marina Grande, your escort will point out the main sights to visit in Capri and you’ll have approximately 5 hours to explore this delightful town on your own. Rome - Head to Albergo del Senato where we are spending 5 nights. When we get off the train in Rome from Civi, will there be taxis there waiting for people or do we need to prearrange something? We plan to explore Rome most days, and plan a day trip probably in the middle to break it up. Still working on the plans here, as some of you have suggested we not use a small, independent tour guide. We want to see all the major cites here (Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill, Capitoline Museum, Pantheon, Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, (climb St. Peters?), and Castle Sant'Angelo. Am I missing anything? I recall someone mentioning a shopping area for high quality leather goods, but I can't find my notes on that. Is this doable in the 4 days we will have or should we not do a day trip to Tuscany? From Rome, we head to the Hotel Residence in Amalfi for 3 nights, before heading back to Naples to catch our flight to Athens. We plan to see Pompeii between Rome and Amalfi. Joe Banana seems to be our likely choice, as they will pick us up at the train station in Naples, take us to Pompeii and then to our hotel in Amalfi. Thanks to those of you that suggested this! I think at one point I was confused, as our plans continually changed. I think my biggest confusion stemmed from we had planned to do the Amalfi Coast first, then head to Rome, but Albergo del Senato didn't have availability those nights, which required another change in plans. The upside, I think it will actually makes things a bit easier since we won't have to change trains in Rome. While some things are still up in the air, all the pieces are starting to come together. Some just a little slower than others.

Has anyone done this tour with Celebrity? Just wondering if it includes tickets to the Accademia. It doesn’t say if it does or not, nor does it give a time we would need to buy them for. Overview Discover magnificent art, historic sites, and authentic Italian cuisine as you tour the exquisite city of Florence. Kick off your adventure at the Accademia Museum, where you'll discover renowned works of art, including Michelangelo's famous statue of "David." Next, you'll head to the Cathedral Square to view the Duomo, the baptistery, and Giotto's bell tower, dating back to the 14th-Century. Other stops include the iconic Ponte Vecchio Bridge and the Church of Santa Croce (exterior visit only). Highlights Admire an array of classic artistic masterpieces at the Accademia Museum. Gaze out over the magnificent Arno River from the spectacular Ponte Vecchio, a medieval stone arch bridge. Savor an authentic Florentine lunch at a local restaurant and enjoy free time to explore the city.

Oh. We will only be there briefly, going from Civi to Naples.

Are you referring to taking a different shuttle? There are real food options at the station? Such as what? This is confusing. I’m scared we’ll end up with tickets for the wrong time. I have turned this whole train thing over to dh.

Our passports don’t expire until 2025, I’m not concerned about them. We have read the site but haven’t signed up for notifications. Will do so.

Yikes! This is like 1,000 per night! Any suggestions for under $500 per night?

Is it always like this? That’s very confusing since we will be on local time while we are there.

You’re welcome. By the way, this is with George’s taxi.

We got an estimate for the following: the “ Taste of Athens & Corinth“ tour (9hours) is 380 euros (not per person), valid for the Mercedes Van vehicle with an English- speaking driver and for pick up/drop off at your hotel/accommodation in Athens city centre. Plus an extra 300 euros for a tour guide. There will be 5 of us and we think it’s very reasonable.

We won’t let ourselves run out of clean clothes. We will have some clothes cleaned on our first cruise and can hand wash some items as well. I don’t plan on packing real light either. I’m sure I will have one large suitcase and a carryon, as will dh.

Our cruise is nine nights, not 7, but we will be in Europe 3+ weeks before we even embark on our cruise, so yes we will need laundry done most likely as soon as we got on.

The Italians would much prefer cruise passengers sleep on land. That ensures we spend more money there, with hotel and food expensive just the most obvious.