AndyB

Oh, man, I didn't even think of that, heathen that I am, LOL.  Well, so much for hitting that whole complex as early in the morning as possible.  Oh well, nothing to be done about it but adapt.  Thanks for the reminder and advice!

Thanks, all!  I've got the St. Mark's ticket website open on my computer, just waiting for the reservations to open up for the day I'm there (looks like they don't let you book more than 60 days in advance).  My full day in Venice is a Sunday.

Thank you both for the confirmation!

On 8/11/2023 at 10:33 AM, redwings1958 said:

Celebrity has a FREE shuttle to/from the port.  That being said, we walked the entire city in about 2.5 hours.  Had lunch at Alice Pizza, and Gelato just down the street.  The Mercado de Ravenna also has some neat shops as well as a supermarket [ water for only 0.50e]!!

@redwings1958 Was this the Constellation 7/23 cruise in your signature?  I am on Connie departing Oct 30 this year (may or may not be exactly the same itinerary).  Did you have the first 2 days in Ravenna?  Was day one just about embarkation, and you visited Ravenna on the second day (on my sailing we leave Ravenna at 2 pm on that second day), or did you check in and then visit Ravenna on day 1?

@cruisemom42 also interested in your thoughts/experience.  For some reason this 2-day embarkation is throwing me off.  🙂

I'll be in Venice for 2 days in late October.  I'm trying to decide between just booking timed entrance to these two sites and viewing on my own, and booking or joining a private tour.  Are there areas that are only accessible via private tour?  I saw a You Tube video that mentioned only being able to see the Golden Altar and the museum upstairs via private tour, but then again, they were selling private tours.  So I take that with a grain of salt.  I tend to prefer just doing things on my own, at my own pace, but am willing to pay for a tour if it will really enhance the experience.  Would love to hear recent experiences of either kind!

Thanks in advance!

Andrea

Can anyone recommend a reputable tour operator that does small private tours, 6-8 people?  Will be on Celebrity Equinox next spring calling at Cadiz, Malaga, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, and Barcelona.  Probably looking for the private tours in the first three.

I am inquiring with Spain Day Tours, but want to see if there are others worth considering.

Many thanks!

Would love to get some feedback from the experts.  I'll be staying in Florence for 4 nights the last week of October.  Of the 3 full days, one of them will be a day trip to Siena.  For my 2 full days in Florence, I'd like to see a little more of the city than I did on my only other visit, which was a cruise stop.  I am thinking of one day (maybe plus another morning) in the historic center (my hotel is a few minutes walk from Piazza della Signoria), and the other day (or part of it) on the Oltrarno side.  I'm travelling solo, so I can be flexible. But I like to at least start with a plan (however much it may change when I get there).

I do want to spend some time in the Uffizi, and that would be the only thing I expect to pre-book for a particular time (David will have to wait for another trip - I can be satisfied with the replica this time) - would you suggest booking right at opening time or closer to closing time?

Here are the things I would like to see:

Historic center (in order of importance):

• Uffizi Gallery
• Santa Croce
• San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapel
• Mercato Centrale (maybe around lunch time for a short, or long, rest?)
• Duomo and Baptistry outside only 
• Bargello Museum

Oltrarno:

• Ponte Vecchio
• Pitti Palace / Boboli Gardens
• Piazzale Michelangelo (for sunset view)
• Lunch or dinner - restaurant recommendations?

As I'm looking at the lists it seems like I could move Uffizi to the second list and do that in the morning before crossing to Oltrarno.

I know this will be a LOT of walking, and I'm wondering if there will be an opportunity to use the bus lines to give me a break (I thinking particularly about up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo - I see buses 12 and 13 go up and down that hill and seem to go back to the main bus station).

I would also love any recommendations for the evenings - I'm pretty much an early bird so I'm thinking nice strolls ending with a dinner, back to the hotel by 10.

Really appreciate your feedback!!

Andrea

Adding to the inquiries here as I will be on a Celebrity cruise that will stop in Dubrovnik on Nov 1st - it will be my first time there, and the ship will be docked from 9 am to midnight.  How do your recommendations above hold up for later in the year?  Would you change anything?  

Really appreciate your sharing your experiences to help fellow travelers!

Andrea

On 3/7/2023 at 12:04 PM, mapleleaves said:

 

The easy answer is to trim down to one 22" case and the backpack.  That's all I've needed, even for a 3 week trip. Just plan on a trip to the laundromat some rainy afternoon or evening. 

But without knowing the location of your hotel, no definitive answer, other than storing your extra luggage for 10E per piece at the airport or at Piazzale Roma.

I can empathize with "needing" more luggage than the carry-on and small backpack.  This will be the first time I'm trying a 2 week trip without a larger suitcase.  And the reason I'm doing it is not just getting to the hotel in Venice, but because I'll be responsible for getting my luggage around in 3 cities before my cruise, plus having a connecting flight to get to Italy in the first place. 

Thanks for the tip on the luggage storage at Piazzale Roma.  That could be a good solution for @Sonata10.

Thank you both!  I will check out some videos, too, that's a great idea.  Just wanted to get a comfort level.

I'll be arriving in Venice by train at Santa Lucia, and my hotel is not in the Piazzale Roma area (staying at Pensione Accademia for 2 nights pre-cruise from Ravenna).  I've seen some advice to NOT take the vaporetto if transporting luggage.  I will have just a small roller (airline overhead size) and a small backpack.  For those of you with experience on the various transportation modes in Venice, any advice on whether or not to use the vaporetto?  I'm traveling solo, which makes a water taxi kind of pricey.  I'm prepared to do that if necessary, but just wonder how the vaporetto would compare.  There looks to be an Accademia stop which is not far from the hotel.  I'm more worried about getting in and out of the boat than walking the difference to the hotel.  And of course I'll have the reverse trip a couple of days later to get my transfer to Ravenna.  This will be in late October, if that makes any difference.

What do the experts say? 🙂

Thank you, @cruisemom42, that tour sounds very interesting.  I will check it out!

I will be visiting Venice after Florence for 2 nights before the cruise.  

Happy New Year, all!

I'll be spending a week in Italy in advance of a Ravenna-to-Rome cruise on Celebrity this October.  Flying into Florence and spending 4 nights there.  I am thinking of taking a day trip one of those days to a nearby town of interest.  Any recommendations?  My first thought was Siena, but on these boards I've been seeing lots of enthusiasm for other places - Lucca, San Gimignano, etc.  I'm really just looking for a pleasant day in a smaller town, learning something of the history, admiring the views, enjoying a nice lunch.  From Florence I would hope to be able to travel by train or bus and then walk the town.  Appreciate your thoughts!

Andrea

I set up my Traveler information first on my laptop, then once I was "established" on the app, I uploaded my docs from my phone.

Yes, it is Celebrity, I should have mentioned that.  I think, given the distance to Ravenna, I'd opt for spending that night in the city and boarding on "day 2".  Plenty of time to decide, I was just curious how others have done it.  Thanks for the replies!

I recently booked a Venice-to-Rome cruise for next year, and this is my first cruise that starts with a day in the embarkation port.  Day 1 - Venice (Ravenna), Day 2 - departing at 2pm.  How does this work?  Is the embarkation process on Day 1, and then I can sightsee, etc. and the ship is my hotel that night, and Day 2 is sightseeing in the morning and ship leaves at 2?   Or is embarkation on Day 2 and I should just have a hotel in Venice the night of Day 1?  Is there a longer window for embarkation?

I do plan to arrive in Venice a couple days early, as I've never been there.  Just curious how others have managed that Day 1 that's technically part of the cruise.  Transportation between Venice and Ravenna, etc.

Thank you!

Andrea

So excited for you on your first European cruise!!

Make sure to join the Roll Call for your sailing.  For European cruises in particular, it's a great way to build up your excitement for the cruise, meet others, and find tour shares - for when you don't want to be tied to the cruise line's excursions but maybe are nervous to do it on your own.

I'll also echo JB's advice about having some cash in hand.  Yes, most places do take cards, but you don't want to be at the shop that has the one thing you want to buy, but their machine is down or whatever.

A few port notes:

Brussels/Bruges - Like the Paris stop which is actually a good ways from Paris, you'll spend a lot of your day on the road if you choose Brussels.  We spend a lovely day in Bruges, with just a half hour ride to get there - joined up with a few from our roll call to book a private van with a timed pickup to get us back to the ship.  Bruges is very walkable and also offers canal tours for a different perspective.  It's an easy "DIY" town.

Dublin - also very easy to do on your own; the HOHO bus is a good option here; will get you to all the major sights and you can linger at the places that interest you.

LeHavre - if your heart is set on being in Paris, you can certainly see a few major sites, but as others have noted, it's a lot of bus/car time to get there.  If you're not taking a tour, HOHO bus works well in Paris too.  It's doable, but it's a long day. But, you've got a sea day afterwards to rest up.  Lots to see in Normandy as well, though - Caen, Rouen, Bayeux, etc.

Always remember, you can do each port differently - ship tour, private tour, just exploring on your own.  You've got plenty of time to plan, and that will only increase your excitement.  Have a wonderful time!!

On my recent Millennium cruise, I dined solo at all the specialty restaurants (including Le Petit Chef, which I really enjoyed) and the MDR.  I got great service at all of them.  

Does LPC offer small tables for solo diners?  Will be on Millie next week, solo, and having never tried LPC thought it might be a good solo meal, since there is a show. 

I'll be on Summit Oct 30th, can't wait, and your report is making it harder than ever!  I'm glad to hear Silent Disco is still happening!

On 9/17/2021 at 9:16 AM, zamgwar said:

Love to. Pre Cruise In Athens 8 of us booked a private tour thru viator, with a customized agenda. 
 

...
 

Both tours were highlights of our trip and well worth it. Both buses were Late Model Mercedes Mini Buses. Moving as a small group, with an itinerary we choose, was worth its weight in Gold.

 

John

Office of Satisfied Customers

The Zamgwar Institute 

 

 

Thanks so much for the detailed descriptions!

On 9/14/2021 at 2:50 PM, zamgwar said:

 

 

We booked private shore excursions with Viator which kept us ahead of any crowds and took us to places we might have missed. We have used them before and would not hesitate to use them again.

 

Could you share some details on your Viator excursions?  Which sights on which Islands?  Anything a newbie to Greece should know about them?  (planning for Edge Italy, Greece and Turkey next year) - thanks!!

Thank you all for the suggestions - this is great information!  I will be looking to our roll call to see if others are interested in joining, and I do remember seeing some mention on these boards about tour guides who use the tram to get to Sultanahmet - I definitely don't want to spend my time waiting in traffic.  And absolutely not interested in carpet shops or obligatory lunch as part of a tour.

@cruisemom42, you had me at kofte!  I'll definitely consider that place.  I was thinking my dining on those days would be street food, but getting off my feet in a cafe is probably a good idea.

Well, you all have given me plenty to think about over the next year, LOL.  I'm so looking forward to this trip!  Thanks again!

I'll be in Istanbul next year on a Celebrity cruise - the ship docs at 11 am Saturday and departs at 1 pm Sunday.  This will be my first time in Istanbul, so I want to see the "must-see" sites - Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, maybe Topkapi palace.  I've read many threads on here suggesting this should be easy to do on my own, without a tour.  But I'm looking for advice around timing.  Which places would be best to cover early in the morning - putting them on the second day's itinerary?  On day 1 if I'm starting mid-day, is everything going to be super crowded (relative to early morning or late afternoon)?  I'd like to get the most out of my time there, and don't mind paying for a tour if that will help me do that.

Thanks in advance!!

Andrea