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@cruisemom42... I'm with you! Have you ever used a site such as Fakespot? I started using it to evaluate reviews on Amazon, but am now using it with TripAdvisor and Yelp. It's results are eye opening for sure.

I understand now; however, why not inform those scheduled to book excursions or dining via email in advance. A workable option might be to schedule maintenance on weekends and access to excursions and dining on weekdays. A warning in advance via email would have been much better than the site not responding while attempting to complete bookings. With the website's booking process so slow anyway, it was difficult to determine whether it was its normal operation or something else.

Help me understand why maintenance could not be scheduled to be done overnight or our excursion booking date and time moved up or back a day or two? With notice, of course!!

@steamboats... I do have photos of our Passports, USA Global Entry Cards, and Drivers Licenses, in the Notes app on our iPhones and iPads if needed. I know they will not replace the actual documents, but may be of value if one or more were lost, stolen, or misplaced. As you can surmise, I'm a belt and suspenders guy... 🙄

We have used the common sense methods and heeded the recommendations you mention for traveling in Europe for many years and have never experienced a problem. Also knocking on wood as I write this. Carrying our passports in hidden travel belt wallets will keep them out of sight, safe and available if needed. As for obtaining a replacement passport, it's not the way I want to spend time on a trip. However, if it should ever be necessary we bring printed copies of our most recent passport applications when traveling internationally to facilitate the process.

This site claims to be official...

We've cruised out of South Florida many times and have never paid for a hotel. We always decline the included lodging and find picking our own and using a taxi or Uber much more convenient. We always stay at a Hyatt on points...transferring what we need from our Chase Sapphire Reserve account to Hyatt. Last winter we stayed three nights at Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami before boarding the Splendor and it worked out very well. We're doing the same again in January 2024.

Have an excellent cruise! We're doing this itinerary as well as the previous one next September / October on Splendor. She's a beautiful ship...enjoy. I would be interested whether you booked one of the chateau tours with dinner in Bordeaux and your opinion if you did. Thanks...

According to my new friend Perplexity AI... A US passport is not considered a national identification card. While the US passport can serve as identification, there is no official "national identity card" in the United States. The most common national photo identity documents in the US are the passport and passport card, which are issued by the US Department of State to US nationals upon voluntary application. By law, an unexpired US passport (or passport card) is conclusive proof of US nationality and has the same force and effect as proof of United States nationality as certificates of naturalization or of citizenship, if issued to a US citizen.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the Viking board, @Antarctica24. Thank you for your contribution.

Celebrity's description...

Here's a link to a page on the Rome Toolkit site devoted to Naples....

We embark in Civitavecchia on October 6th and disembark in Fort Lauderdale on November 30th. Which segment(s) will you be sailing?

We'll be in transit through Fusina next month on Viking Sky. Below is an email I received from Viking. It doesn't apply to us, but it may be helpful to the OP...

Yes, you'll need to process through U.S. Customs and Border Protection upon arrival.

We always have the boarding passes for our TA available when we check in at the airport. We've been asked for proof, but mostly not.

The SUMMER23 code offers various discounts up to 20% until September 21, 2023. Our booking is in October 2024.

Since many have answered the question not asked, I won't pile on... 🙄 We sailed on the Edge last fall embarking in Civitavecchia. I can tell you nobody will care whether you check in at your scheduled time. Our arrival a bit beyond our scheduled time caused no issues for us.

A quick update on the 15% discount I received when booking at H10 Metropolitan... I learned this morning the 15% discount is an H10 Club birthday discount. I haven't seen it advertised...it just happened that I booked on that day. If you're a club member and have a birthday before your arrival date, it's worth a try.

@cruisemom42... This is the first I have heard of Roma Shuttle...a search here turns up no mention. I'm thinking you've used Roma Shuttle or you wouldn't have mentioned them. We have used RomeCabs for years, but Roma Shuttle's rates got my attention. @CalLuvsCrusingToo... My recommendation would be to use a transfer service from Hotel Smerlado to FCO. Roma Shuttle's rate would be €65 for four while the train would cost €56 total for 4 plus the cost of a taxi to Termini. The shuttle would cost less in the end and is much more civilized. I also suggest you forego having the hotel setup the transfer. We're staying at Hotel Smeraldo in October and their quote for a transfer was much higher than self booking.

Your confidence in my ability is much appreciated. However, since international phone use has been discussed to some extent on just about every board on Cruise Critic it might be best to reference a couple I have found to be beneficial. Here are two...a thread and a board. On the Viking Ocean board: Cheapest way to use your smartphone internationally The Cruising Technology board

Certainly...

My recommendation would be to purchase a SIM card or eSIM for use in Europe. If your phone is a newer model, an eSIM is the way to go. Check out the eSIM database here.

We missed Livorno on our first Med cruise back in September 2007. The sea that night was the roughest we have ever experienced. We anchored in the bay off La Spezia and tendered in. We had a ship's tour to Cinque Terre booked for the day, so it actually worked out very well for us. Tour buses were diverted so those going to Florence did go, but for a shorter time.

That's a 14½ hour layover if your times are correct.