Insignia Nov. 2010 Med Itinerary Tips

[~Fianna]

Hey all - DH and I are booking this fabulous itinerary very soon and have started thinking about the ports of call.

 

I've been browsing the Europe section, but wanted some feedback from other O cruisers since a lot of these ports are smaller enough that the big lines don't get there and I'm also figuring that O passengers are probably more likely to have the same travel profile that we do. Unfortunately the RC for this sailing is somewhat slow - not surprising since mid-November is definitely off-season for the Med (which is about 80% of why we're doing it. ;) )

 

We're both pretty DIY when it comes to travel, so I prefer to do public transit and get a local flavor rather than ride around in a bus all day. Both of us are foodies and are very in to wine, so if anyone's been to a fantastic shop, winery or restaurant/wine bar please point us in that direction!

 

Most of the ports have pretty obvious things to do (ie, we're definitely going to Pompeii from Naples and going in to Provence wine country from Marseilles) but there are a few where the obvious things either don't appeal or I haven't seen anything that makes me go Yes!! That's what I want to see. Any must-sees and things to avoid in the following?

 

Hvar: Anyone been here yet? It's a relatively new port for O and almost no other ships seem to be stopping there, so I've not had much luck finding info. I'm curious as to whether it's easy to get out of the town and in to the countryside. There's supposedly some nice vineyards and I'm always excited to taste in new areas!

 

Corfu: This one's completely open. I haven't seen anything that really makes me think "gotta do that"... Thoughts?

 

Messina: Maybe out to Taromina?

 

La Spezia: The hike sounds fabulous (at least doing part of it) but the weather might make that a non-starter.

 

Monaco: I'm from Vegas, so if I want to see a big casino, I don't have to fly to Europe to do it. This is the one that if we totally skipped it or another port was suddenly substituted, I wouldn't be disappointed at all. How difficult is it to get out of the city and in to the countryside without hiring a driver? What do people who don't do casinos and don't really care about Princess Grace do here?

 

Now I'm counting down the days... *sigh*

 

Thanks for any pointers!

~Fi

[HawkeyeCruisr]

Hire a taxi at the pier (no advance reservation needed) and take a 4-hour tour of the island. Your driver will take you over to Paleokastritsa Beach and stop at Achillion Palace on the way back. When he drops you off in town, find Pizza Pete's right on the waterfront (and within sight of your ship) and have a lunch of Greek salad and the wonderful Mythos beer.

 

We had no expectations of Corfu so we were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked it. The island is very scenic. You won't see the type of architecture here that you think of as being typically Greek (like the blue and white of Santorini). There is very much a Venetian influence on this island.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

By all means, go to Taormina. When you get off the ship there will be lots of taxis waiting for your business. Hook up with one or two other couples to share the cost and negotiate a price. When we were there in 2007, taxis gave us 2 hours in Taormina before taking us back to Messina. We were given a short tour of Messina and dropped off at Piazza Duomo (beautiful clock tower, cathedral, Orion Fountain). It was an easy walk back to our ship from the Piazza and we arrived back on board in time for lunch at Waves.

 

Taormina is totally charming - we were sorry we didn't have 4 hours to spend there. Be sure to see the Greco-Roman Amphitheater. The view of Mt Etna from the Amphitheater gave us one of the best photos of our cruise.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

Cinque Terre is one of my favorite spots in Italy! If this is your first visit to this area you'll want to take some time to explore the utterly charming little towns. Save serious hiking for a return trip.

 

Go to the train station in La Spezia, pick up a schedule for the CT trains and board a train to Riomaggiore. After checking out this small town you can do the 20 minute walk to Manarola. You might want to eat lunch at Marina Piccola right on the waterfront.

 

Here's where it's important to read your train schedules. While all trains stop at Riomaggiore, Manarola and Monterosso, they don't all stop at Corniglia and Vernazza. You have to do some time management in order to make it to all 5 towns. If you only have time for one additional town, it should be Vernazza. This is the only one of these towns that has a real harbor and the piazza at the harbor is filled with restaurants (hopefully still open in November).

 

In order to gain access to the hiking trails, you'll have to buy a Cinque Terre Card, valid for the entire day. In addition to the trails, the card gives you a free elevator ride to the top of the cliff in Riomaggiore and free bus shuttle from the train station at Corniglia to the town (400 steps up!).

[pacheco18]

Monaco - skip it and take the bus to Nice.

[Andee]

In Corfu, we did a self-guided historical walking tour of the Old City that I compiled from several guidebooks. In the middle of the day, we took a little trolly that looked like a train to some areas of the city that were beyond walking distance. Great day.

[Paulchili]

Only 2 comments to add to the above discussion:

1 In Cinque Terre, try to go by train one way and take a boat the other way - you'll see the towns from the water (very impressive). Must do good research re: train/boat schedules, but well worth it.

2 Skip Monaco if you wish (although the Palace is well worth the visit, skip the Casino). You may consider visiting Eze (unforgettable) and/or Nice - both can be done easily by public transport (again, do research).

I hope this helps.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

Only 2 comments to add to the above discussion:

1 In Cinque Terre, try to go by train one way and take a boat the other way - you'll see the towns from the water (very impressive). Must do good research re: train/boat schedules, but well worth it.

 

Paulchili is right. Seeing Cinque Terre from the sea is a great experience. We were in CT for 5 days last May when we did an Italy land trip and we took the boat from Vernazza to Portovenere one day.

 

Check out this web site: http://www.cinqueterre.it/info.php.

It says the boats run in the spring and summer so that option might not be available in November. If it is, it will take some logistical planning to accomplish this. One scenario might be to take the train to Riomaggiore, walk to Manarola, take the train to Corniglia if there's time, take the train to Vernazza, and take the boat from Vernazza to Riomaggiore.

 

Best place for lunch would be Vernazza. There are more restaurants there and the majority are located right at the harbor. There are also some restaurants on the street that runs from the train station to the harbor.

 

You might notice that I didn't mention Monterosso. I hate to diss any CT town, but if time is short this would be the one to skip. The old town area is a 10-15 walk from the train station and the new town area is more touristy than the other CT towns.

[~Fianna]

Hire a taxi at the pier (no advance reservation needed) and take a 4-hour tour of the island. Your driver will take you over to Paleokastritsa Beach and stop at Achillion Palace on the way back. When he drops you off in town, find Pizza Pete's right on the waterfront (and within sight of your ship) and have a lunch of Greek salad and the wonderful Mythos beer.

 

We had no expectations of Corfu so we were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked it. The island is very scenic. You won't see the type of architecture here that you think of as being typically Greek (like the blue and white of Santorini). There is very much a Venetian influence on this island.

 

Thanks for that tip. About how much should we expect to pay for the taxi if we do that?

 

I've never hired a taxi for anything other than a point-to-point before.

[~Fianna]

Taormina is totally charming - we were sorry we didn't have 4 hours to spend there. Be sure to see the Greco-Roman Amphitheater. The view of Mt Etna from the Amphitheater gave us one of the best photos of our cruise.

 

Awesome. I was hoping to see a bit of Etna, but I'm afraid that the weather is going to make spending time on the mountain colder than I'd enjoy.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the Amphitheater. Both of us are very in to the history of places that we visit, so seeing ruins is always high on the list. It's usually a toss up as to whether we have more pictures of ruins or more pictures of food when we come home from a trip! :D

[~Fianna]

Cinque Terre is one of my favorite spots in Italy! If this is your first visit to this area you'll want to take some time to explore the utterly charming little towns. Save serious hiking for a return trip.

 

Go to the train station in La Spezia, pick up a schedule for the CT trains and board a train to Riomaggiore. After checking out this small town you can do the 20 minute walk to Manarola. You might want to eat lunch at Marina Piccola right on the waterfront.

 

Here's where it's important to read your train schedules. While all trains stop at Riomaggiore, Manarola and Monterosso, they don't all stop at Corniglia and Vernazza. You have to do some time management in order to make it to all 5 towns. If you only have time for one additional town, it should be Vernazza. This is the only one of these towns that has a real harbor and the piazza at the harbor is filled with restaurants (hopefully still open in November).

 

In order to gain access to the hiking trails, you'll have to buy a Cinque Terre Card, valid for the entire day. In addition to the trails, the card gives you a free elevator ride to the top of the cliff in Riomaggiore and free bus shuttle from the train station at Corniglia to the town (400 steps up!).

 

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you so much.

 

It's a shame that we can't pack you in the suitcase, you'd be a fantastic guide! How many times have you done this itinerary?

 

Venice and Dubrovnik are the only repeats for us. I'm looking forward to spending more time in Venice on this trip... and actually spending some time in Dubrovnik proper. Last cruise we did an excursion to the countryside to taste wine and olive oil, so this year we're going to just see the city.

[~Fianna]

You might notice that I didn't mention Monterosso. I hate to diss any CT town, but if time is short this would be the one to skip. The old town area is a 10-15 walk from the train station and the new town area is more touristy than the other CT towns.

 

That seems to be common from some of my research around the interwebs.

 

I'm not expecting to see/do everything there is to do in a port on the day we're there. It's sort of like a sampler plate so that we can see where we want to go back for more in-depth visits. On short stops, I'm just as likely to skip the major tourist site (if I have 8 hours, I don't want to spend 2 of them in line) and come back and see it again later. (Ie, we were in Venice in 08, and the only time we were in St. Marks was walking back from dinner at about 10:30. It was fantastic. A group of teens were playing hackeysack, there was a guy playing an accordion, you could faintly hear the sounds of a nightclub and the moon in the sky was huge and bright and right over the palace. It was amazingly beautiful and for a minute I felt like I really got to see the soul of Venice. One of my best memories from that trip).

 

We're on a schedule that I quite like of doing a cruise one year and a land trip the next. In Nov. of 08 we did Splendor of the Seas' Venice - Lisbon trip and then spent some time in Portugal when we were done with the cruise. We wound up falling madly in love with Portugal and went back for an extended land trip last December. New Years in Sintra was amazing.

 

Thanks everyone for the help with planning. Keep the suggestions coming. :)

[~Fianna]

Monaco - skip it and take the bus to Nice.

 

Yeah, that was basically my thought. It's also the port we're in the longest... There was almost part of me that was thinking of heading over to Provence and meeting the ship there the next day and spending more time in the Rhone.

[~Fianna]

In Corfu, we did a self-guided historical walking tour of the Old City that I compiled from several guidebooks. In the middle of the day, we took a little trolly that looked like a train to some areas of the city that were beyond walking distance. Great day.

 

That's definitely a thought. Need to flip through a Greece guidebook next time I'm at Borders.

[pablomontoya]

Hey all - DH and I are booking this fabulous itinerary very soon and have started thinking about the ports of call.

 

I've been browsing the Europe section, but wanted some feedback from other O cruisers since a lot of these ports are smaller enough that the big lines don't get there and I'm also figuring that O passengers are probably more likely to have the same travel profile that we do. Unfortunately the RC for this sailing is somewhat slow - not surprising since mid-November is definitely off-season for the Med (which is about 80% of why we're doing it. ;) )

 

We're both pretty DIY when it comes to travel, so I prefer to do public transit and get a local flavor rather than ride around in a bus all day. Both of us are foodies and are very in to wine, so if anyone's been to a fantastic shop, winery or restaurant/wine bar please point us in that direction!

 

Most of the ports have pretty obvious things to do (ie, we're definitely going to Pompeii from Naples and going in to Provence wine country from Marseilles) but there are a few where the obvious things either don't appeal or I haven't seen anything that makes me go Yes!! That's what I want to see. Any must-sees and things to avoid in the following?

 

Hvar: Anyone been here yet? It's a relatively new port for O and almost no other ships seem to be stopping there, so I've not had much luck finding info. I'm curious as to whether it's easy to get out of the town and in to the countryside. There's supposedly some nice vineyards and I'm always excited to taste in new areas!

 

Corfu: This one's completely open. I haven't seen anything that really makes me think "gotta do that"... Thoughts?

 

Messina: Maybe out to Taromina?

 

La Spezia: The hike sounds fabulous (at least doing part of it) but the weather might make that a non-starter.

 

Monaco: I'm from Vegas, so if I want to see a big casino, I don't have to fly to Europe to do it. This is the one that if we totally skipped it or another port was suddenly substituted, I wouldn't be disappointed at all. How difficult is it to get out of the city and in to the countryside without hiring a driver? What do people who don't do casinos and don't really care about Princess Grace do here?

 

Now I'm counting down the days... *sigh*

 

Thanks for any pointers!

~Fi

In messina try on the god father steps togeter with Taormina :D if you have time

[yarramar]

Thanks for that tip. About how much should we expect to pay for the taxi if we do that?

 

I've never hired a taxi for anything other than a point-to-point before.

 

We had a day in Corfu in april 08. On disembarking at the pier we were rushed by taxi drivers asking if we wanted their services. We had never done a tour other than ship excursions and were a bit reluctant at first, but there was another couple standing with us listening to one of the taxi drivers explaining his services. My wife said that it sounded OK and we should do it whilst the other couple (who I thought might share) walked away.

 

It turned out to be the best day ever. The cost was 40 euro per hour and the driver was a photographer for the Corfu tourist authority so took us to all the "best" spots. He also took us for coffee (his treat) overlooking a spectacular monastery perched on top of a mountain. He dropped us back to the town after our tour which lasted longer than we actually paid for. We are going to be in Corfu again this September and are going to try and use him again.

 

His name is Vangelis Koulouris. I am not sure if you can book him direct but you could try to contact him through the taxi company at http://www.corfutaxi.gr

[HawkeyeCruisr]

Thanks for that tip. About how much should we expect to pay for the taxi if we do that?

 

I've never hired a taxi for anything other than a point-to-point before.

 

We paid 150 euros for the Taormina trip . . . but that was nearly 3 years ago. There were 4 of us and we selected an SUV-type taxi so we wouldn't be scrunched in the back seat. I think that was close to the going rate. Everyone was bargaining like mad.

 

Taxis are often used as pseudo guides. This is more true of taxis you can pick up at the port than those you'd encounter within a town or city.

 

Nancy

[HawkeyeCruisr]

. . . It's a shame that we can't pack you in the suitcase . . .

 

Believe me, if you COULD put me in your suitcase, I'd go in a minute!

 

We've been to Italy twice. The first time was a Venice to Rome cruise on the Regatta in May, 2007 and we did a 5-day post-cruise stay in Tuscany. Just as you're going to do, we sampled the ports and fell in love with Italy. Last May we returned for a 20-day land trip with stays in Venice, Vernazza, Assisi and Sorento. We did all our travel in Italy by rail. It was a wonderful experience and we're hoping to go back next year for another land trip. Italy is my favorite place on earth!

 

Nancy

[pablomontoya]

Thanks for that tip. About how much should we expect to pay for the taxi if we do that?

 

I've never hired a taxi for anything other than a point-to-point before.

we did pay 280 but fir the 8 of us

[~Fianna]

Believe me, if you COULD put me in your suitcase, I'd go in a minute!

 

We've been to Italy twice. The first time was a Venice to Rome cruise on the Regatta in May, 2007 and we did a 5-day post-cruise stay in Tuscany. Just as you're going to do, we sampled the ports and fell in love with Italy. Last May we returned for a 20-day land trip with stays in Venice, Vernazza, Assisi and Sorento. We did all our travel in Italy by rail. It was a wonderful experience and we're hoping to go back next year for another land trip. Italy is my favorite place on earth!

 

Nancy

 

That's exactly what we did in Portugal. 16 days, Lisbon to Sintra back to Lisbon, up to Oporto and then back to Lisbon and home. Rail for all intercity trips and public transit for everything else. One thing I love so much about Europe is that it's easy to navigate mass transit. We haven't ever rented a car abroad, and I don't see much need to.

 

The only thing we're wondering is what to do on our post-cruise in Spain. We want to see a lot of the wine country, so we're going back and forth between renting a car and hiring a driver for trips out to the countryside. I'm leaning towards driver - I don't believe in drunk driving at all, and I'd nervous about even having a drink and driving in a place I'm not familiar with the driving styles or where I'm going. But then I look at the price and figure that the small tastes you get at a vineyard are not going to get either of us drunk anyway combined with lots of chat and wander time between drives is the better way to go.

[LILynn]

Hey all - DH and I are booking this fabulous itinerary very soon and have started thinking about the ports of call.

 

I've been browsing the Europe section, but wanted some feedback from other O cruisers since a lot of these ports are smaller enough that the big lines don't get there and I'm also figuring that O passengers are probably more likely to have the same travel profile that we do. Unfortunately the RC for this sailing is somewhat slow - not surprising since mid-November is definitely off-season for the Med (which is about 80% of why we're doing it. ;) )

 

We're both pretty DIY when it comes to travel, so I prefer to do public transit and get a local flavor rather than ride around in a bus all day. Both of us are foodies and are very in to wine, so if anyone's been to a fantastic shop, winery or restaurant/wine bar please point us in that direction!

 

Most of the ports have pretty obvious things to do (ie, we're definitely going to Pompeii from Naples and going in to Provence wine country from Marseilles) but there are a few where the obvious things either don't appeal or I haven't seen anything that makes me go Yes!! That's what I want to see. Any must-sees and things to avoid in the following?

 

Hvar: Anyone been here yet? It's a relatively new port for O and almost no other ships seem to be stopping there, so I've not had much luck finding info. I'm curious as to whether it's easy to get out of the town and in to the countryside. There's supposedly some nice vineyards and I'm always excited to taste in new areas!

 

Corfu: This one's completely open. I haven't seen anything that really makes me think "gotta do that"... Thoughts?

 

Messina: Maybe out to Taromina?

 

La Spezia: The hike sounds fabulous (at least doing part of it) but the weather might make that a non-starter.

 

Monaco: I'm from Vegas, so if I want to see a big casino, I don't have to fly to Europe to do it. This is the one that if we totally skipped it or another port was suddenly substituted, I wouldn't be disappointed at all. How difficult is it to get out of the city and in to the countryside without hiring a driver? What do people who don't do casinos and don't really care about Princess Grace do here?

 

Now I'm counting down the days... *sigh*

 

Thanks for any pointers!

~Fi

 

 

I have been on a couple of Med cruises and will be going back again in September on the Insignia.

 

Here are some of the things I have done in the ports you mentioned:

 

Corfu - Both times I have been to Corfu, we rented a car at the port with another couple we were travelling with. It is very easy to drive in this area. We really wanted a relaxing day so we drove to Paleokstrista both times. The first time we went, we drove up to the top of the hill that overlooks the area - the view was spectaular and then drove back down and parked (there are lots) at the beach. You can rent chairs and unmbrellas for the day for a few euros and there are tons of places to eat in this area. The first time we went, we saw that they were offering little motor boat rides around the coast - I think it was 5 euros a person. It was well worth it - the views from the shore were fantastic and the boat even went into a few caves. The second time we drove back to this same place and there were a ton of bees - my mom got stung and we decided to leave - you could not sit out - the bees were swarming all over the place. We drove to Glyfida Beach and rented chairs for the day there. We all went swimming and relaxed and had a great time. There were bars and restaurants on the beach here as well.

 

Messina - Last year we docked in Catania. A group of us that met on the roll call for the cruise had made arrangements with a local company to pick us up at the pier. We did the Godfather tour. We went to some of the small hill towns first and got to see the church that was used to film the wedding scene in Godfather II. We were then taken to Taormina where we had 2 hours to tour on our own. We walked around for awile and then we went and had pizza at a lovely little place where we could sit outside and people watch. We found a bakery that had the best cannoli I have ever had. We skipped the Greco Roman theater - some of the people that were with us did go to see it and enjoyed it though. We had a great day and I think we paid about 75 euros a person for the whole day.

 

 

Monaco - I have been here three times and I LOVE this port. All 3 times we headed out of Monte Carlo immediately. The first time we took the local bus to Eze. This is such a charming town perched high in the hills. It is over 1000 years old. There are shops and restautants to see and when you get to the top there is a botanical garden with the best views of the sea. After spending a coupke fo hours in Eze we got back on the bus and went to Nice. We walked around the old section - there is a market in the morning that we just got to see the tail end of - they sell incredible flowers, fruits and veggies and other local products. Great olives too! This is such a pleasant area to walk around. You can walk down to the Promenade and walk along the med. I think you can rent chairs and sit on the beach too.

 

Last year we took the bus to Nice first - we wanted to see the market, walked around for awhile and then took the bus to St. Paul de Vence. This was one of my favorite places. The town is over 1000 years old and is know for being an artist colony. Marc Chagall is buried here, Picasso painted here as well as lots of other famous painters from that era. The are beautiful galleries in the town. When you first get to the town, there is a small museum. They offer a walking tour of St Paul. It is just a few euros and was well worth it. We saw a lot that we would have not missed if the guide had not pointed it out. When I go back in September this is one of the places I am most excited to go back to.

 

Hope this helps..

[~Fianna]

Hope this helps..

 

It definitely does, especially the Monaco suggestions. Thanks!

[HawkeyeCruisr]

 

Monaco - I have been here three times and I LOVE this port. All 3 times we headed out of Monte Carlo immediately. The first time we took the local bus to Eze. This is such a charming town perched high in the hills. It is over 1000 years old. There are shops and restautants to see and when you get to the top there is a botanical garden with the best views of the sea. After spending a coupke fo hours in Eze we got back on the bus and went to Nice. We walked around the old section - there is a market in the morning that we just got to see the tail end of - they sell incredible flowers, fruits and veggies and other local products. Great olives too! This is such a pleasant area to walk around. You can walk down to the Promenade and walk along the med. I think you can rent chairs and sit on the beach too.

 

Last year we took the bus to Nice first - we wanted to see the market, walked around for awhile and then took the bus to St. Paul de Vence. This was one of my favorite places. The town is over 1000 years old and is know for being an artist colony. Marc Chagall is buried here, Picasso painted here as well as lots of other famous painters from that era. The are beautiful galleries in the town. When you first get to the town, there is a small museum. They offer a walking tour of St Paul. It is just a few euros and was well worth it. We saw a lot that we would have not missed if the guide had not pointed it out. When I go back in September this is one of the places I am most excited to go back to.

 

Hope this helps..

 

Thanks LILynn (Long Island Lynn?) for that great info on Monte Carlo. Now I'll be excited about this port stop . . . when I get around to booking a cruise that includes it, that is. :D

 

Nancy

[tropicalkerry2002]

St. Paul de Vence was my favourite place on Venice to Barcelona cruise, just incredible! A step back in time. Lovely shops, great little streets that twist and turn. I left a piece of my heart there....

[JoePDX]

I second (or is it third) the recommendations to skip Monaco and head for Eze and Nice. Eze is magical, but skip the Frogonard perfume factory - tourist trap.... The views of the Cote d' Azur from high atop Eze are magical. Nice is a great wandering city. Take in the market there if you can which I believe happens most mornings.

 

I'm jealous. :o

 

Joe