CM2J2R2S

.................... aaaaaand.... we booked the Conquest!

We are trying to choose between two Caribbean cruises. Same price. Same departure. We have done both itineraries and both are fine to repeat.

We like the food and shows/games on Norwegian.

We like the party atmosphere of Carnival.

Leaving out of Tampa, with NCL, gives us the possibility of Universal and Diagaon Alley.

Leaving out of Miami with Carnival means a trip to South Beach, not as exciting.

Called the PCC at NCL and he said no can do - do it yourself when you get onboard. I have paid for four - hope they can still fit five in by the time I get there!

I did try our PCC and he suggested booking on board as he could not get in. Maybe I will try him again today.

I chose Tempanyaki more for the experience than the food. I think if we were going for food, we may have tried La Cuccina.

Thanks for the help :)

We were able to book a spot for four people for this restaurant. It seats 18. We went back in under another reservation to book the rest of the group and the time we have booked is now unavailable. Do you figure the time is sold out or they hold back some seats to sell once you are onboard?

Thanks!

This has totally helped. We have done the online check in for the whole gang but we are arriving separately so very good to know.

If anyone else has anything to add - feel free. All good for me to know as this is a total surprise for one member. Thinks he is going out to lunch, so the more I can plan, the bigger the surprise.

I posted this on our roll call board and also on the board for the cruise 2 weeks prior to ours and no responses yet and it would be helpful to have an answer.

So here's the weird question.

Our documents now say boarding is at 13h00. I assume this is because of all the Tampa debarkation problems over the past few months.

It also says to board no later than two hours prior to sail away at 16h00, which is 14h00.

Are they truly intending to process 3000 pax in one hour?

I would plan the port wedding at the beach. Find out the refund policy of the group you work with, just in case the ship does not dock - but usually it works out fine.

I have seen a few food tours for Rome offered - some that include Campo de Fiori. We have done the cooking classes with Chef Andrea three times now - and would do it again over a food tour. Just saying.

Have you been to Domus Romane yet? That is a worthwhile venture.

Ostia Antica is a full day, for sure.

Have you ever done a cooking class? Chef Andrea, with Cooking Classes in Rome is fabulous.

If you have even a little fear of heights, you may want to rethink the towers.

I went up the elevator with kid one and dh came up next with kid two. I hopped back in that elevator and went back down. Just the windows psyched me out.

He tried to talk me out of it, said I would be fine - but afterwards, when he came back down (and he has not got any fear of heights at all) he said that I made the right choice.

100% buy the tickets online. We were there in off season and the lines were long. Not around the block, but long.

If you go up the tower, get to the tower (know where the entry is) about 5-10 minutes before appointed time.

You can go into the basilica any time before and spend as much time before and after the tower, as you like.

If you have a tour of Sagrada Familia, that is a little different.

You can probably do just fine with the audio head piece, though. Have you seen the funky

We just did this.

We went from the Port to the Océanografic by cab. I had the bus route mapped out and knew that we could easily manage it; however, the cab was quick, easy, not expensive and gave us more time to enjoy the day at the aquarium. We spent the whole day here and did not see any more of the City of Arts and Sciences since this place was fantastic. We asked the desk girl to call us a cab but she indicated that there were and abundance of taxis waiting outside to take us back to the port.

You won't need a guide. A cab. A camera. Good to go.

I would also consider an alternate plan in case the weather does not cooperate.

We went out to the far end of the island and did the cave tour. I would recommend doing the non Jules Verne caves.... but even if you ended up in this one, some of the stuff is just plain strange, but the caves are fabulous.

We also hit a mall across from the Port and did some shopping...

We docked in Ville Franche instead of Monaco due to weather. Took the city to Monaco-ville but should have stayed in Ville Franche. Charming little spot, nice to roam around in, have a nice little lunch ... low key, non rushing day.

Hotels are likely to be more expensive in Monaco and the proximity to the airport in Nice is a plus. I find Nice to be a nicer place to Roam than Monaco-ville. I would head to Nice.

Skip Monacoville/Monte Carlo. Head to Nice.

1000 percent - Noureddine! We had an excellent tour with him. We organized through our roll call. 52 people - but 14EU per pax.

He was great, totally loved him.

WE are still looking for NEW Tunis reviews.

I cannot find any posted on Cruise Critic.

Has anyone who's been there recently have any comments?

We did an excursion in November 2013. There is not a lot to see and do in the Port area. I did a fair amount of research and was not confident that we could train it on our own, with our kids, into the city.

We did a tour with a man named Noureddine. There were 52 on our bus and we arranged it all together through Cruise Critic roll call. I think we paid 14EU pp. We spent the day touring the Carthage ruins, visiting the Souk, lunch in La Goulette and then a short visit out to Sidi Said. It was the perfect amount of time in each place becaue we had the two teen girls with us. If it were me on my own, I would have loved more time in the Souk area but that's just me.

Melissa

Our situation is quite similar. We are a family of nine with an international departure out of Tampa at 14h45.

At $20 per person, for two hours, we are not sure we want to do that and eating seems pointless since we will have just had breakfast.

I think we will be at the airport for noon - with just two hours - do we just go and sit at the airport or do we aim to walk somewhere for a bit?

Following.

Bump. Following.

bump

Can you rent a car at this port?

I have been to Pisa and other than the required photos - I am not sure we need to do this again but I might like to take in one of - Lucca, San Gimi or Sienna and Florence. Maybe this is too ambitious for a short day....

We, too, have been following and been inspired to do a similar quest.

Enjoy every single second of this amazing adventure together.