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 France board

[hylasgirl]

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 France board

 

 

2. If you've never been to Florence, I highly suggest a private tour and never a ship tour (NEVER a ship tour anywhere in the Med really)

 

3. Lots of information on this on this board. Another stop I highly recommend a private tour. Pompeii is a must for sure, but other sites are amazing along the Amalfi Coast.

 

4. Your ATM card should work fine. We've never had an issue.

 

Check out the Romeinlimo thread on the Italy boards. There are many recommendations for amazing days in ports! If this is your first Med cruise (or 5th or 6th:) you cannot go wrong)

 

5. USA does not have chip/pin cards.

[euro cruiser]

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.

It's quite easy to get to Florence on your own; a quick taxi ride from the ship to the station (25 Euro, but you can share this with others you meet at the taxi line) followed by an 80-90 minute train ride. The station in Florence is right in the middle of town, only a few blocks from the Duomo and other key sites. If you are a DIY traveler and enjoy doing your own research, this is an easy port to handle on your own.

 

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

Again, very easy. You can get a bus that leaves Molo Immacolatella Vecchia (three tenths of a mile from the cruise port) or a train from Porta Nolana (1.2 miles from the cruise port). Both the bus and the train leave you right at an entrance to the ruins at Pompei. You can pick up a guide or an audioguide, whichever suits you better, at the entrance where you buy your tickets.

 

 

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

Yes, but be sure to let your bank know ahead of time.

[CruiserBruce]

I wouldn't take AMEX card. Not widely accepted in Europe. Take two Visa, or a Visa and a MasterCard.

 

It is fairly easy to get to Pompei by train.

 

Doesn't like general questions. Sound pretty specific!:D

[riffatsea]

Your Cirrus ATM card will work fine!. Cirrus is part of the Mastercard ATM system. You MUST inform your bank that you are traveling!

Bring your USA Visa card. It will be fine and also inform them you are traveling.

AMEX is useless in Europe except in some hotels or high end restaurants.

In general places in Italy like cash instead of credit cards. I always buy some euros at home to start out so I don't have to deal with airport ATMs. Don't buy from airport money exchange desks!!

 

Naples to Pompeii is easy. You can get a taxi at the port which has a set rate for going to Pompeii,givving you time there and taking you back to the port. All the official taxis have white plastic cards on the back of the seat listing the price.

You can also take the local train called the Circumvesuviana from the central station.

Romeinlimo is not the only private company out there!

I always wonder how they get sooo many recs on here??

I have just used a more local company called

Private Tour in Italy which can arrange anything you like as well. Domenico is absolutely delightful!!

e-mail:

info@privatetourinitaly.com

[texancruzer]

Well, I hate to disagree, but I will.

 

1 we took a bunch of ships tours our first trip ......they were all wonderful. We were a bit more adventurous our second trip and did more DIY and a few private tours...... But the ships tours were great our first time.

 

And.....we used our American express both trips in a bunch of places. Hotels, restaurants and shopping. It is our first choice and always ask if we can use it first. We will be taking it again next month.

[riffatsea]

texancruiser--I guess you shop and eat at more high end places than I. I would agree that bringing more than 1 card is always a good idea!

During my trip this past week in Naples and Rome only my Rome hotel took ANY credit cards. I was only able to use cash everywhere else!!

[euro cruiser]

I use my Amex in Italy as well, especially with Trenitalia. Works just fine in the machines.

[cruisemom42]

texancruiser--I guess you shop and eat at more high end places than I. I would agree that bringing more than 1 card is always a good idea!

During my trip this past week in Naples and Rome only my Rome hotel took ANY credit cards. I was only able to use cash everywhere else!!

 

Would love to hear more about your trip....:)

[riffatsea]

cruisemom--Will write more later in week. Fell and hurt left arm so am typing with one hand!!

[Pather]

Thanks everyone! I called my bank and they said that they'd clear our ATM cards. Glad I called as they said that they had blocked European transactions for all cards unless notified of dates and countries prior to travel. Not sure why they do that but we'll now be ok. We've already signed up for an excursion to Florence with a 2 1/2 hour guided walking tour and then 3 1/2 hours on our own. Should have asked these boards first as others have said trip to Florence involved shuttles, buses, and trains. Oh well - will do Rome, Naples/Pompeii on own. My wife and i share a Visa card and have separate AE cards. Hope they work. Otherwise a lot of trips to ATMs for cash. Thanks again.

PS To protect their personal accounts, the couple we're traveling with has been advised by their banker to set up and use two separate debit card accounts with only enough money to get through the trip. Seems odd to us - anyone see any reason to do this??

[riffatsea]

The banker is protecting them in case the ATM card is compromised. My husband is always home watching our account so we don't worry when I am in Europe but if you don't have computer access to check then having a separate travel account is not a bad idea.

[Langley Cruisers]

...I highly suggest a private tour and never a ship tour (NEVER a ship tour anywhere in the Med really)

 

Sorry you feel that way. Many of us who have never been to Europe are simply more comfortable with ships' tours. Please respect that and understand the reasons why some of us do take them.

 

 

..we took a bunch of ships tours our first trip ......they were all wonderful. We were a bit more adventurous our second trip and did more DIY and a few private tours......

 

Completely agree with you. Next time to Europe, we may venture out on our own but for the first time, we were safe and secure knowing we would be well taken care of, and would get back to the ship in sufficient time. :)

[D4]

I am very security minded so we also set up 2 checking accounts at 2 different banks that we use only when traveling. We estimate how much money we'll need in Euros and then add a buffer. We calculate the USD of the total and put that full total in each account so if we have problems with one account, the other account also has enough money. Since our last trips have been 2+ week stays in Rome where we pay the hotel and almost everything in cash, this ends up a significant amount. When we return, we move the extra money back to wherever we took it from.

 

I also contacted each bank and had them set a $0 maximum for using the ATM cards as a debit card. That way, it only can be used to take money out of an ATM machine and the PIN# is always required.

 

During our 1st Med cruise, an ATM in Greece ate one of my cards near the beginning of our trip. It paid off to have redundant accounts. We've also sometimes had an ATM reject cards from one account when it will accept one from the other account.

 

I don't want to carry a card for our main account because it has our direct deposits and many of our bills are paid automatically from it. We travel for several weeks at a time.

[aohkay]

We took 3 ship tours while in the Med last year...they were all wonderful! Be wary of posters who tell you to "ALWAYS" do this, or "NEVER" do that, just based soley on their own experience.