Cooking class in Taormina

[cruznurse]

Hi all,

I am going on the 10 night Epic cruise the summer (Rome-Rome) and was looking for something different to do on our port stop in Messina, besides the Mt. Etna tour. I saw this on Viator and was wondering if anyone has ever done it?

https://discovermessina.com/tour/cooking-class-sicily-in-taormina/

 

thanks

Joanne

[edinburgher]

On 2/27/2024 at 4:35 AM, cruznurse said:

am going on the 10 night Epic cruise the summer (Rome-Rome) and was looking for something different to do on our port stop in Messina, besides the Mt. Etna tour

Have you previously visited Taormina itself? That would be the usual #1 choice for first time visitors, with Mount Etna on a second visit, or a combo of the two on a first visit.

 

We visited 4 times in total, and our most recent visit was actually an excursion to "Godfather Villages", with stunning scenery throughout, so you might want to consider that one if it is offered. 

 

There have been a small number of past threads mentioning it, and you can read them here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=godfather villages&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=464&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=and

 

You mentioned Viator, which is not itself a tour company.  There are a few drawbacks with Viator, frequently mentioned on boards.  Not that they are bad, and many visitors  have good experiences with them,but there are a few issues to consider before booking through them.

 

They are a middleman and you won't know which company they are booking your tour with.

 

Any questions, queries, complaints or anything else will need to go through Viator, not the tour company.

 

Their TCs and Cs are quite difficult for cruise pax as they require 24 hours notice of tour cancellation for a refund, and passengers do not always know 24 hours ahead of time that an arrival will be late or the call cancelled.

 

[cruznurse]

11 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

Have you previously visited Taormina itself? That would be the usual #1 choice for first time visitors, with Mount Etna on a second visit, or a combo of the two on a first visit.

 

We visited 4 times in total, and our most recent visit was actually an excursion to "Godfather Villages", with stunning scenery throughout, so you might want to consider that one if it is offered. 

 

There have been a small number of past threads mentioning it, and you can read them here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=godfather villages&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=464&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=and

 

You mentioned Viator, which is not itself a tour company.  There are a few drawbacks with Viator, frequently mentioned on boards.  Not that they are bad, and many visitors  have good experiences with them,but there are a few issues to consider before booking through them.

 

They are a middleman and you won't know which company they are booking your tour with.

 

Any questions, queries, complaints or anything else will need to go through Viator, not the tour company.

 

Their TCs and Cs are quite difficult for cruise pax as they require 24 hours notice of tour cancellation for a refund, and passengers do not always know 24 hours ahead of time that an arrival will be late or the call cancelled.

 

Thanks for the information, I have been to Taormina twice a few years ago so was looking for something a bit different. My daughter as been to Mt. Etna as well so we were looking into other experiences

[edinburgher]

16 minutes ago, cruznurse said:

hanks for the information, I have been to Taormina twice a few years ago so was looking for something a bit different. My daughter as been to Mt. Etna as well so we were looking into other experiences

If your cookery session doesn't work out for some reason,do consider the Godfather Villages excursion as the scenery really was beautiful although you need a head for heights!
😀

Edited February 28 by edinburgher

[cruznurse]

26 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

If your cookery session doesn't work out for some reason,do consider the Godfather Villages excursion as the scenery really was beautiful although you need a head for heights!
😀

Thanks will look into it