BlueCattleDog

I didn't have anyone come by and take my drink order, but could have been my location. You can see in this photo how close the snack shack is to the beds. The snack shack is on the right and the beds on the left.

OK! I made a couple template sheets in Google Slides you can save and create your own itinerary from: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nzREXbDpCK7ePgEZEHf197UCIOErdA0KIOO9ZJ2xGJ4/edit?usp=sharing You can't find this template on Google because I made it from a blank sheet. You can look back at my original post in this thread for examples of what you can put on each page. For Driver in Rome, the website is https://www.driverinrome.com/ We did a pre-cruse tour of the Vatican with transport to the cruise port: https://www.driverinrome.com/tours/pre-or-post-cruise-tour-vatican-museum-st-peter-s-basilica

Hi! Let me see what I can do to share a blank version you can use, may take me a little bit after work. Would 100% recommend Rome cabs for transfers in Rome, they were great. Id also recommend doing the golf cart tour with My Best Tour, was an awesome way to see a lot in Rome. Was such a great start to the trip. Driver in Rome was OK. Id do it again because it was a super convenient option to have a pickup with all our luggage and still be able to tour before we went to the ship (and not worry about luggage after hotel checkout or a separate transfer to the ship). The driver wasn't the nicest, but wasn't a big deal. We had a separate tour guide for the Vatican. Italy Tours was good for Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. I was worried about how long and far sone of these were, but they were super knowledgeable and planned things to esnure we had no issues being back on time. I see theres a typo - we used Barcelona Day Tours in Barcelona. They were good, the only issue I had was that I didnt realize we weren't going inside Sagarada Familia. I would have skipped other stuff on the tour to do that. Montserrat was an absolute highlight of the trip for me, so I was glad we did it. So if I were to do this again I'd make sure it was included We did a lot of the longer scheduled tours early in the trip and towards the end did more on our own, like the train in Palma and the ferry in Cinque Terre. This was a great strategy, as the cruise went on we started to get pretty tired. This gave us a lot of flexibility. Doing both those on our own was easy and fun. We ended up taking the ferry out and train back in Cinque Terre because the train was faster. I'd recommend that.

We did use several different companies for tours and in some cases were doing it DIY (for example Cinque Terre, we just walked to the feery terminal and bought tickets) I did a lot of research online, read reviews on Cruise Critic and other places, and used many of the resources that mapleleaves suggested. You're welcome to email me michelle.x.drake@gmail.com if you have specific questions and I can try to help!

Hotel Damaso was great! Great location, easy to walk to several sights. We especially loved going to Piazza Navona in the evenings for drinks or dinner. Hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. They also have a breakfast included, simple.but was convenient not having to figure out breakfast plans every day.

Right? I specifically looked for one that night because I knew we weren't going to make it late after that flight and the time change.

Google Sheets. I created the layout and made these.

Hi All, I am an experienced cruiser, but until now my cruises were all Caribbean, Mexico and Panama Canal itineraries. This year I decided to try a Mediterranean cruise for the first time. I have done a lot cruise planning, but this trip was really a challenge to plan! I (43F) took my Mother-in-law (76F) and her two friends (74F & 75F) and so spent a lot of time trying to plan a trip that wouldn't be too much for them to handle physically. We spent two nights in Rome first and then boarded Symphony of the Seas in Civitavecchia for a seven day western Mediterranean cruise. We just got off the ship 9/28, and everything went great! Maybe someone will find this helpful, so I've attached my detailed itinerary (I deleted a few details such as confirmation numbers). Happy to answer any questions you may have. Hope this helps you in your planning!

I came here to ask this exact question. Was wondering if we just Uber to Aix-en-Provance, would we be missing some "experience" aspect not taking the train?

Yes there are several bars, including the floating bar! In the picture looking to the left from the South Beach day beds you can actually see the floating bar if you zoom in. This isnt my video, but gives a good walk through of just South Beach specifically

Glad it was helpful to you! I personally wouldn't book Breezy Bay because it felt like it was in the middle of all the activity to me. My preference would be quieter, less busy areas. (I actually took a nap in my beach bed lol) If you WANT to be close to things, with a snack shack right behind you, some people might like this location like the commenter above.

Glad its helpful to you! I was so frustrated trying to find this info before I left, I made sure to go look at all the beach beds while I was there so I could report back haha

They include two loungers, umbrella, two floating mats, and a cooler with waters.

I brought towels off the ship, but I do recall you could change them for fresh towels at the check in kiosk if needed.

Thanks for sharing your perspective! I tried to be careful to say my selections were based on my personal preferences. And I would certainly rather be farther away from things to be in a quieter area. I'm certain their are some who would prefer Breezy Bay for exactly the reasons you have said. There is food at South Beach, but it's certainly farther away from other things and activities.