CCJack

yes, it looks like the same Tram on the website... this is the first I had heard of Goldbelt. Perhaps a recent name change.

I assume the Tram excursion is the Mt. Roberts tram. I remember it as being very stable, no swaying at all. It was very close to where our ship docked - no more than a couple blocks, however, if there are multiple ships in dock, then I am not sure if you would be further than that. The trails at Mendenhall are flat and easy to walk. However the main trail takes you from the visitor center towards the glacier but not all the way. You need a more extensive excursion if you want to climb on the glacier, etc. In short I think both the tram and the glacier trail are easy excursions for most folks. I hope you enjoy your time there.

Your ship is overnight in Livorno, correct? You could possibly do both but it would be a busy 2 days. Personally, I would prioritize Florence over Cinque Terre... Florence is full of history... Also, we really enjoyed our day in Siena - very well preserved smaller city. Does Celebrity offer an overnight excursion to Florence with a hotel stay? I would consider that and try to do Florence and Siena.

Have a meal at the rooftop restaurant at the Grand Hotel Baglioni... I think the restaurant goes by the name of B-roof. Fantastic views of the city and our meal was very good.

Agree...We took the troll road excursion offered by the cruiseline and it was a really good excursion. Did not have high expectations based on the excursion description on the cruiseline website, but turned out to be a beautiful experience.

We found the taxi fare from ship to downtown was about the same price as the cruise shuttle (for 2 people that is.) So the taxi worked well. I asked the driver where to catch a taxi for the return and they said either at the taxi stand below, or they would be circling the park (with the founder statue, etc.) there were not as many taxis as you would see in a larger city, so it was good to know where to look when we wanted to return.

a photo from our bike trip down from Myrdal to Flam.

Yes, we booked a one way train and had reserved bikes at the Cafe as Hallasm suggested. At the time we went, I saw no other bike rental options besides the cafe. Maybe it is different now. The biking down was fantastic. However, note the first part after leaving the cafe is a little difficult. Most people walked their bikes for about the first 30 minutes due to the large stone gravel path. However, the path gets smoother as you go, and most of it is paved asphalt. Endurance / stamina is not an issue as it is all downhill !

Our whale watching in ISP was fantastic..... I would guess whale watching excursions from Juneau would have similar success rates, as they are pretty close to each other and they may go to similar waters. However, there are more things to do in Juneau besides whale watching, thus some people choose to do the whale watching in ISP for that reason.

How important is it to you to stay in an air bnb rather than hotel? If you switch to hotel, you could leave the bags at the hotel bell hop and retrieve them when you are back from your tour and before you go to the ship....

We took the whale watching... It leaves right down the dock from the ship, and easy walk. Unfortunately we did not have good weather, cold and wet. However, I have been on other whale watching (Alaska) which was really fun and great weather. Whale watching is hit or miss, but generally I think it is a good shot you will have a good time.

We also had a stop there on our RCCL land tour (one night if I remember correctly). We never left the resort, and enjoyed it very much. It was a beautiful hotel (hard to find in Alaska) - and we did the tram ride, day hikes on trails on the resort property, and the pool / hot tub overlooking the window to the outdoor scenery. Granted our plan did not have much local sightseeing but sometimes a relaxing day is good. You won't have a nicer hotel property on your trip.

While in Flam we did the train up and biked down... it was really beautiful and fun. (also in Flam I would recommend getting up early - maybe real early when the ship enters the Fjord to enjoy the cruise into the deep fjord on way to Flam.) We also did the Trollstigen as a cruise excursion. My expectations were not that high, but it turned out to be a great excursion, I thought. Lots of inland scenery... sweeping views of the valleys, etc. ...a great day. I have not been on the Geiranger excursion, but that sounds awesome too ! Good luck !

We took the tram up, then hiked from there going further up, then hiked down to the top of the tram again and then took tram down. So we only hiked above the top of the tram. We spent a couple hours up there and didn't have time to make the complete circuit, there are a lot of trails above the tram. The views are spectacular (better than at the top of the tram). It is pretty open up there and was breezy, few trees, but we had warm weather when we were there. So we did not hike from street level to the top of the tram - that appeared to be more wooded and would also be fun. I do not recall if they offered one way tix, we bought and used round trip. Have fun !

Agree with all the responses, I don't think it is necessary to stay near San Marco. I have a comment / suggestion on timing... Venice is so much more pleasant after 5 pm when the crowds leave. You are fortunate to be there for an evening. Unfortunately if you are arriving from N. America at 9 am, you may be dead tired at 6 pm in Venice, when it is the most pleasant to wander. You could take a nap at noon (if room ready) and avoid the crowds (although from a jet lag standpoint, napping on arrival is usually strongly discouraged). In this case, I would probably violate that rule to enjoy Venice from 5 -10 pm. Early next morning would also be a great time to stroll before you head to ship.

We hired a private individual guide to walk us through the museum and it was well worth it. However, we did not have the before or after hours as you suggest. So the chapel was very crowded for us. I think having just a small group in there would be well worth the money as you suggest.

We had a driver only and stopped at Sorrento and Positano (we did not go to Pompeii). I think Sorrento and Positano we easily doable on your own without a guide. They are both beautiful but not large and easily walkable. If I was going to Pompeii, I would want a guide as you suggest.

Indeed. We found Venice (and St. Marks) so much more enjoyable after 5 pm (as well as early morning.) We successfully stayed away from the $10 coffee at St. Marks square , but fell for the $30 ice cream sundae... The fact that I remember it 5 years later indicates it was probably $30 well spent !

100% Agree..... Once in Venice (I can't comment on getting there as we docked in the city), pick out 2 or 3 "destinations" (restaurants, museums, etc.) then just walk and wander to find them. If you don't get to them all no worries. I would not concentrate on St. Mark or a Gondola ride. Both are good if have time, but I wouldn't hang out at St. Marks long, too crowded... if you are in Venice for only one afternoon, I would not go to Morano or Burano, it would take most of an afternoon..

We went with Captain Duane and Icy Strait Whale Adventures about 5 years ago. Had a blast, can highly recommend. At the time his nearly new boat held about 14, perhaps they have upgraded to a boat that can hold your group. We ran across a group of transient Orcas that were feeding on a seal. Some rammed our boat, I could have easily reached over the railing and touched them (but did not !). Some on our boat were scared with the whales contacting the boat, but I looked to Duane and he seemed cool and calm, so I figured it was cool ! He did say it was highly unusual..... Have fun...

We went on the Celebrity Apex to Iceland / Ireland out of Amsterdam this summer (2022). The Apex was our favorite and most beautiful ship of our 20 or so cruises. The trip was great. We had previously done a Norway only cruise (Cunard) - so we didn't plan to add Norway to Iceland. However, I can say Norway is a more beautiful cruising destination than Iceland. Iceland is more interesting from a volcano / geology standpoint once on land. If you have never cruised to Norway, I would consider a Norway / Iceland trip. May be doable in 12 days. Try to get a deep fjord port in Norway. I prefer Amsterdam vs. Southampton for departure.....

We have not stayed at these two but the location of Damaso looks better. Easy walk to Pantheon and P. Navona. Medium walk to vatican. We stayed at Albergo Abruzzi and loved our view of the Pantheon from our room.....

We took the train up (booking on our own) and biked down. It was a great day. Very beautiful bike ride. As others have said train boards very close to the ship. However, note that we were late getting off of the ship. Our ship docked and only let passengers on a cruise excursion off, then it backed out and everyone else tendered. Another ship took the dock. I still don't know why they did this, but we were a little later and expected off of the ship.

I agree, this new plan sounds great.. you have added some hassle with hotels / luggage, etc in Barcelona and Rome, but I think well worth it. Rome, especially, takes some pre planning as it will be crowded. If your budget allows consider a private local tour guide to take you through the Vatican Museum. Perfect time of the year to go to Norway, those northern stops will have near 24 hour daylight in June and I think that is fun in itself. Small suggestion if possible.... I would prefer to do Med first. Med cruise is all about the cities and it can be more "work" with the big cities, crowds, traffic, etc. whereas Norway is very beautiful from the ship and most ports are small (maybe very small) cities. For us it was just a much more relaxing cruise, and would be good to do the relaxing portion last, IMO. Not a deal breaker though. Have fun planning.

Nothing wrong with either of the proposed 2 cruise trips above, they all sound fun. We were on a Norway cruise with the exact same ports and it was a great cruise. Flam is in a deep Fjord.. However, - If I were planning a 23 day trip and only allowed 7 hours in Rome (considering drive time from port) , I think that misses the mark. I do like sea days to unwind but I would trade a couple of those sea days for 2 hotel nights in Rome - too many historical bucket list sites in Rome to do in an afternoon. I would begin or end the Med cruise in Rome, even if it means shortening the med cruise by a couple days. Then take a Rome to Amsterdam flight for the Norway departure. Amsterdam airport is a very easy and short trip to downtown where the ships dock (Southampton is a bit of an effort from Heathrow). Plus Amsterdam is more interesting than Southampton. Adding a flight is a hassle, but in this case, I think it is well worth it.