Reflection 9-day French & Italian Riviera Barcelona to Rome

[papemelroti]

hello @Jazzbo we are a family of 5 traveling with extended family members. we are 20+ all in all and looking to do the destination highlights of taomorina. would you think this works for a 4,7 and a 1 year old?

 

[Jazzbo]

On 11/16/2023 at 6:04 PM, papemelroti said:

hello @Jazzbo we are a family of 5 traveling with extended family members. we are 20+ all in all and looking to do the destination highlights of taomorina. would you think this works for a 4,7 and a 1 year old?

 

@papemelroti, I would think they have life jackets for the kids and they would probably enjoy the boat ride. If all 20 of you go, you would be on 2 boats.

[papemelroti]

Thank you so much for responding. We are first time cruisers and I have never been to messina. I booked the same excursion with celebrity but other family members were not able to book as it is sold out. Hopefully they can find something similar but based on your report, you really enjoyed it! What would you say is your next favorite shore excursion?

[Jazzbo]

Sorry about the long pause, but work…

I had just written a very long post on

my MacBook Air and lost it! Oh well, the phone it is.

Disembarkation in Civvitavechia went smoothly. We had a bit of trouble meeting up with our CabRoma driver, but we texted with him (on WhatsApp, I think) and met up with him. We booked a van because of our luggage.

I had booked a 2br 2ba VRBO apartment in Rome City Center, Parione Apartament. Silvia is the host. Check in time was 2:00 (or maybe 3), but we would arrive there about 10:15. I texted Silvia and she said it would be 11:30 before we could drop our bags at the apartment, and she gave us the address of a luggage storage place near the apartment. Our driver dropped us there and we stored our bags. We walked to our apartment (about 2 minutes), then around the corner to a cafe. We sat outside and had coffee and pastries (and maybe an Aperol spritz).

We headed back to the luggage storage place about 10:15 and started taking the luggage to the apartment in stages. The apartment is in an old building with a small elevator. It took us several trips in the elevator to get it to the 3rd (4th to us) floor. The elevator landing was on a step and you had to be careful not to slip down the to the next step. The location is great — shorty walking distance to Piazza Navina, Campo Fieri, the Pantheon, etc.

We changed into cooler clothes (it was hot) and comfortable shoes and took a taxi to our Colosseum tour. Our meeting place was the Colosseo Metro station where we met our guide, Alice. My cousin booked the tour with Liv Tours — highly recommend!

Only the 4 of us were on the tour. We were able to skip the lines. We had been to the Colosseum on our own many years ago, and I had been with my family as a teenager, but Alice gave us so much history. She took us all around the Colosseum (we opted not to do the tour that included the underground). I did not know that they used to flood the Colosseum for naval battles. Even though we know about the gladiators, slaves, Christians, and animals, Alice’s explanations of what went on where we were standing brought home the brutality that ancient Romans treated as entertainment.

 

[Jazzbo]

Alice, our Liv Tours guide, recommended a couple of places to go for a drink before we headed back to our apartment. We decided to go to the American Bar rooftop bar at the Hotel Forum. What a lovely place to rest after our busy morning and afternoon. I highly recommend it!

[hcat]

On 11/16/2023 at 6:04 PM, papemelroti said:

hello @Jazzbo we are a family of 5 traveling with extended family members. we are 20+ all in all and looking to do the destination highlights of taomorina. would you think this works for a 4,7 and a 1 year old?

 

sorry to jump in.. but I think it would be a long day..boat trip could be fun if a  smooth ride but there are lots ot steps and walking in Taormina..nice for adults.. maybe boring for kids.  long bus ride back to ship??,  They might be happier with something closeer to the ship and a great pizza lunch!

[papemelroti]

We want to do taomorina. I get what you mean, i have 3 young kids but if i stay close to the port for the entire 11 day cruise, i would be resentful on why I took the trip in the first place which is to hang out with the rest of our extended family. They are mostly doing the full day trips and we are staying close to port except for this one and maybe malta. 

[Jazzbo]

We headed back to the apartment. We stopped by a grocery store to pick up a few things to take back to the apartment.

Our apartment was located on Via Corallo, and right next to the entrance was the Corallo restaurant. It had excellent reviews. We headed down there and there was a wait. The owner, a lovely lady, brought us Prosecco while we were waiting.

We sat outside. The tables were set up on the street. I don’t remember what everyone had, but I remember my stuffed fried  zucchini blossom. Larry enjoyed his fried calamari and shrimp! My pasta did not photograph well, but it was delicious. Porcini mushrooms were in season; the pasta with fresh porcini was to die for! We couldn’t resist the tiramisu and after dinner coffee. We were served complimentary limoncello too. The street is so narrow that cars and vans drive within inches of the outdoor tables! I highly recommend this restaurant.

 

 

[Jazzbo]

1 hour ago, papemelroti said:

We want to do taomorina. I get what you mean, i have 3 young kids but if i stay close to the port for the entire 11 day cruise, i would be resentful on why I took the trip in the first place which is to hang out with the rest of our extended family. They are mostly doing the full day trips and we are staying close to port except for this one and maybe malta. 

I suggest you check out Ports of Call on Cruise Critic and see what others say. Also, you should check out independent tours. Trip Advisor has a lot of reviews. Our second favorite was probably the Tuscan farmhouse tour. I think kids would like the horses, but sitting around the tables eating and drinking would probably be boring for them. But they can run around outside on the farm. We did not see many families with kids on the cruise, probably because school had started weeks before. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, papemelroti said:

We want to do taomorina. I get what you mean, i have 3 young kids but if i stay close to the port for the entire 11 day cruise, i would be resentful on why I took the trip in the first place which is to hang out with the rest of our extended family. They are mostly doing the full day trips and we are staying close to port except for this one and maybe malta. 

you know your own kids! 

our dtr and sil are waiting to cruise with them til they are older..the 7 yr old would love kids  program,  stem and all museums,   but the almost 4 yr old is  too much on the run!  Enjoy!

[Jazzbo]

Day 2 in Rome: My cousin and her husband had a tour of St. Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel. We had been before, and I visited with my family when I was a teenager; the Sistine Chapel had not been restored and we could actually touch Michelangelo’s Pieta.

Larry and I took the opportunity to walk around. We wandered to Campo du Fieri, then looked for a place to have a cold beer. After waiting to be served in a couple of places at the market, we left and found a cool little bar on a side street where they played vinyls. The young woman who was working there was in Rome to study singing. She got the job when she played a gig there. She plays guitar and ukelele and sings, of course.

[Jazzbo]

We walked back to our apartment and decided to have lunch at the cafe where we had coffees and pastries the day before. We aren’t vegetarians, but Larry loves eggplant (melanzane) in any way. Our server recommended the special, a spinach dish. I’m not a huge fan of spinach, but I’m glad I listened to our server’s recommendation. It was delicious! There was a fabulous gourmet store right across the small plaza. 

[Jazzbo]

[papemelroti]

8 hours ago, Jazzbo said:

I suggest you check out Ports of Call on Cruise Critic and see what others say. Also, you should check out independent tours. Trip Advisor has a lot of reviews. Our second favorite was probably the Tuscan farmhouse tour. I think kids would like the horses, but sitting around the tables eating and drinking would probably be boring for them. But they can run around outside on the farm. We did not see many families with kids on the cruise, probably because school had started weeks before. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.

We will. You have been very helpful:) thank you for the trip report

[papemelroti]

8 hours ago, hcat said:

you know your own kids! 

our dtr and sil are waiting to cruise with them til they are older..the 7 yr old would love kids  program,  stem and all museums,   but the almost 4 yr old is  too much on the run!  Enjoy!

I wish I can wait, Next reunion would be 5-7 years in which case my nephew and nieces would be  22+ 😳

 

on the plus side, i have traveled with my 3 kids to japan and hawaii for a few weeks without any family help. We will survive. Thanks!

[Jazzbo]

Late that afternoon it was time to pack. After 2 weeks and a few purchases, it was more like unpack everything and repack with the luggage scale at the ready. At my cousin’s suggestion, I had bought a lightweight duffel bag that folds and zips into a small square. We stuffed that with clothes as an extra checked bag. Fortunately, I had not used all my Delta credit from my Amex, so the $99 extra checked bag fee was credited back to my card.

My cousin and I went to the gourmet food store around the corner from our apartment. We both bought parmigianno reggiano; they vacuum packed and sealed it for us. My cousin bought some wine and we both bought pasta. My cousin said the gluten free pasta in Italy was outstanding. Side note: menus in Italy are marked for allergens: gluten, dairy, nuts, etc. 

Our last night in Rome — we walked to another great trattoria with outdoor tables. I had stuffed zucchini flower again (like the night before, stuffed with buffalo mozzarella and anchovies), and the best pasta I have ever had (and I’m half Italian). It was pasta Gricia — spaghetti, pecorino, black pepper, and guanciale. As you can tell by the photos, everything was delicious. The next morning, we had  a car from CabRoma pick us up at 4:30 am to drive us to Fumincino airport for our flights home. I don’t remember the name, but the Priority Pass lounge near our gate was good. There was plenty of seating and lots of food choices. We said our goodbyes as we went to our gates for boarding. We all agreed it had been a fabulous vacation!
 

 

[cruisequeen4ever]

Loved hearing about your experiences! We did a similar cruise last summer. Out of Genoa, we did a boat excursion that took us to Camgli, Santa Margherita, and Portofino. After reading about your long bus ride, it further cemented how much better the boat transport was; it was so cooling and relaxing to be out at sea between each port and a great way to enter each port. That is such a shame you only had a comfort stop basically in Santa Margherita. We too used CabRoma; our driver went above and beyond for us. Speaking of above and beyond, holy cow does your Genoa tour guide deserve “guide of the year”! Thank you for taking us along! I miss Europe pretty much about 2 weeks after we return each time. lol