General Questions

[Pather]

Hi - European cruise questions:

1. Understand that Nice port to St. Paul-de-Vence involves taking #100 bus to end of line and grabbing #400 bus to SPDV. How long will that take?

2. How hard from Livorno to Florence on own? Some say should definitely take ship excursion. We won't stop at Pisa, only to Florence.

3. How hard to get to Pompeii on own from Naples?

4. We have Cirrus ATM card. Will it work in Europe?

5. Tried to get Visa card with a chip but told not available. Will we have problems with Visa (will also take an AE card) at restaurants and hotels (pre- and post-cruise) or only if buying tickets from machines?

Thank you!

PS Also posting this on Italy board

[sippican]

Hi - European cruise questions:

1. Understand that Nice port to St. Paul-de-Vence involves taking #100 bus to end of line and grabbing #400 bus to SPDV. How long will that take?

2. How hard from Livorno to Florence on own? Some say should definitely take ship excursion. We won't stop at Pisa, only to Florence.

3. How hard to get to Pompeii on own from Naples?

4. We have Cirrus ATM card. Will it work in Europe?

5. Tried to get Visa card with a chip but told not available. Will we have problems with Visa (will also take an AE card) at restaurants and hotels (pre- and post-cruise) or only if buying tickets from machines?

Thank you!

PS Also posting this on Italy board

 

I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful information on the Italy board too.

Be aware that when using public transportation you may experience long waits, some members on our recent cruise felt they lost valuable time in France waiting for trains.

As far as ship's excursions, you can usually find many more cost-effective options from private tour operators who will customize your day and not subject you to the bus tour mobs. Research your options carefully, and you'll find what suits you best. The TripAdvisor website is another valuable resource.

Happy planning!

[hubofhockey]

Hi - European cruise questions:

1. Understand that Nice port to St. Paul-de-Vence involves taking #100 bus to end of line and grabbing #400 bus to SPDV. How long will that take? We took #100 bus from Monaco to Nice. I think it was roughly 40 minutes.

2. How hard from Livorno to Florence on own? Some say should definitely take ship excursion. We won't stop at Pisa, only to Florence. Is "on own" driving or taking the train? The train would involve a taxi (and added fare) to the train station and the train ride is close to 90 minutes.

3. How hard to get to Pompeii on own from Naples?

4. We have Cirrus ATM card. Will it work in Europe? It will work and the foreign translation and ATM fees will vary by what your bank charges you. Many here (I followed this advice) open an online account with Capital One for both debit and credit cards. Neither charges foreign translation or ATM fees.

5. Tried to get Visa card with a chip but told not available. Will we have problems with Visa (will also take an AE card) at restaurants and hotels (pre- and post-cruise) or only if buying tickets from machines?

Thank you!

PS Also posting this on Italy board

 

Good luck and have a great cruise.

[KirkNC]

3. Not hard, you can take a cab, a bus or the train. We walked (about 20 minutes) to the train station and it was a 30 minute train ride to Pompeii.

 

5. The only time we have ever had a problem is with unmanned kiosks like at a train station. (Don't worry for #3, the train station is manned).

 

Kirk