PurpleTraveller

There are a number of trains each day from Venice to Ravenna. You will need to change trains at either Ferrara or Bologna. Check the Trenitalia website https://www.trenitalia.com/it.html I don't know about NCL but check to see if they have transfers from Venice to Ravenna on embarkation day. Celebrity have stand alone transfers without hotel packages from Venice Airport, Venice City, Bologna Airport and Ravenna Train Station on embarkation day so possibly NCL have something similar. Another option is to get a private transfer but it would cost a lot more than a ship transfer or the train. You could spend a couple of nights in Venice then get a train to Bologna to spend a night then train to Ravenna on embarkation day or possibly spend the night in Ravenna before embarking.

Thank you for doing this "Live". I will be onboard in June and look forward to seeing your review of the ship and ports. Hope you enjoy Rome which is one of my favourite cities and that you have a wonderful cruise! 🛳️

I went on the 11 day roundtrip from Vancouver Alaska cruise on Crown Princess in June 2023. I did a review of the cruise and the Princess Patters are on page 9, Posts # 216 and 217.

I have only seen 2 public restrooms on my two previous visits to Oia and Fira. The one at the local bus stop at Oia mentioned by bonsai3s, is a western restroom and was clean when I used it. The other was just outside the bus station in Fira and was dirty with a hole in the floor (admittedly a few years ago and may have been upgraded since then). Your best bet may be in a bar or restaurant or possibly a museum. I will be there again in June and would be interested if anyone else has any extra public restrooms to add to these as I won't be going to Oia.

Thank you for your wonderful review. I do enjoy reading about your travels. I look forward to your next review as I will be on Infinity in June for the Greek Isles cruise followed by Italy and Croatia on Constellation. Tanks again and happy future sailing. 🛳️

Your plan seems feasible. You will need to get a tender from the ship to the Old Port where you can get the boat to Ammoudi Bay. You may have to wait a while as they wait until the boat is full before leaving. Once at Ammoudi Bay there is a bus that takes you up to Oia which was included in the boat price. Once you have finished in Oia you can get their bus back to Fira which also was included in the boat price. Make sure you get instructions of how to use their buses and the timings when you buy your boat tickets. If you decide to use a local bus to go somewhere they only accept Euros in cash and they like you to have the exact or close to the exact change. They will for example not be happy with a €20 note and may not accept it. The views from Oia are wonderful though it will probably be very crowded. We had some fantastic gelato there a few years ago but I can't remember the name of the shop and there are some lovely shops and bars and restaurants. Once back in Fira there are lovely views if you walk along the cliff path, plenty of shops and also many bars and restaurants. Sorry, I don't have any recommendations as I can't remember where we have stopped previously. I have walked down the stairs twice with no issues at all. It can be very hot so wear a hat, have water with you and you need to watch out for donkeys coming up the path. When the donkeys come just move to the side of the path so that they can get past you. The steps can be slippery so wear decent shoes and watch your step. The views are great as you go down the path and you can go as fast or slow as you like. It takes us about 30 to 40 minutes but we like to stop to take photos. We find it better than waiting in a long line to get the cable car. Hope you have a great cruise! 🛳️

I am so sorry that you have had this happen to you! Unfortunately these thieves are experts and can catch out the best of us despite our precautions. I am sure you are beating yourself up but consider how fortunate you are that you were not injured physically as can sometimes happen. Thank you for your words of caution so that we can all take precautions and be aware. I hope you were able to enjoy the remainder of your cruise. 😊

I would seriously consider doing a ship excursion so that you don't have to deal with having to get up the cable car to Fira which may have a very long line depending on when the various ships arrive. On a ship excursion you will be tendered to the Athinios ferry port (rather than the old port which has the cable car but no road access), which has road access for you to get on a bus to go wherever your excursion goes. You will almost certainly have to deal with the cable car to go down to the old port (unless your ship has an excursion that takes you by bus back to the Athinios port) to get on a tender back to the ship or you can walk down the stairs. There can be a very long line to get the cable car down so leave plenty of time. Visiting Oia with the beautiful blue domes is very popular when at Santorini.

As an Australian if you sail anywhere in the world other than Australia you will be charged daily gratuities/crew appreciation in USD to your on board account unless you prepay them before your cruise in AUD. Plus and Premium packages do not include gratuities/crew appreciation for Australians as we pay less for the packages. For example AUD65 (converts to approx. USD43) per day for Plus compared to USD60 per day for those in the USA.

The St John's Co-Cathedral is magnificent and not to be missed. The Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens are lovely with the Upper Barrakka Gardens having particularly wonderful views over the harbour. There is also the noon day firing of the cannon at the Saluting Battery which you can watch from the Upper Barrakka Gardens. The St Elmo Fort and Siege Bell War Memorial can be visited. The old city of Valletta is lovely to walk around looking at the old buildings, narrow streets and shops. There are many cafes and restaurants to stop for a drink or a bite to eat. You can also get a ferry across the harbour to Vittoriosa to wander around the narrow streets and get fabulous views back to Valletta. Valletta is lovely and very easy to wander around.

I received an unwanted upgrade on my Royal cruise in December despite having my booking marked "No Upgrade". I received the email after the close of business on a Friday night and by the time I could speak to someone (my PVP does not work on the weekend) at Princess on Saturday morning, I was told that my booked cabin had been allocated to someone else and I couldn't have it back. On the email I was not given a time frame or option to reject the upgrade. I went with the flow but some would be very upset. I don't understand why Princess thinks this is a good business practice. Are we supposed to be delighted with a free unwanted upgrade?

You could pop into the M&S Foodhall on York Road to pick up pastries, fruit and juice like we do when we stay at Premier Inn County Hall.

In December 2023 on Royal the CC meeting was in the Wedding Chapel on Riviera deck as we were only a small group of about a dozen. Half a dozen officers attended and we were able to get drinks from the Concierge Lounge next door. The location would probably depend on how many are going.

On my NZ cruise in December we were instructed that no food could be taken off the ship other than chocolate, confectionery or biscuits and no liquids other than commercially bottled drinking water.

Have your booking marked "No Upgrade" for your best chance of not being upgraded, though it doesn't always work. I had a carefully chosen cabin booked for a year for my last cruise. A week before the cruise I received an email that my cabin had been upgraded even though my booking was marked "No Upgrade". When I rang to try and get my booked cabin back I was told that it had already been allocated to someone else and I could not be moved back.

A few years ago we arrived at Heathrow and got the National Express coach directly to Southampton where we stayed for a few days before a cruise. On day one we got the train to Winchester which is a gorgeous town with a magnificent cathedral. On day two we hired a car and drove to Dorset. I went to Lulworth Cove and walked the coast path to Durdle Door while DH went to the tank museum at Bovington. On the way home we drove through the New Forest to see the ponies. On day three we got the train to Portsmouth. We had been to the naval museum previously so we went to Southsea Castle (where Henry VIII watched the Mary Rose sink in 1545) and walked along the ocean front to the Spinnaker Tower stopping for a fish and chip lunch at a cafe along the way. We had a lovely relaxed three days before our cruise and it was all very easy to do. Southampton is also nice to walk around and has a few museums. Alternatively you could go by National Express coach from Heathrow to stay in Winchester and travel from there by train to sightsee and then to Southampton on the day of your cruise.

On my Constellation cruise that ends in Ravenna in July there is not a Celebrity transfer to Rome. There are transfers to Ravenna train station, Bologna train station, Bologna airport, Venice airport and Venice city centre.

Thanks so very much for the link. Neither my husband or I got the email so we have done the survey via your link. 😊

@gddo In June 2022 when on a Celebrity cruise the port shuttle from the dock into Livorno was free. We just got off the ship and got a shuttle from the dock just outside the ship to Piazza Municipio in Livorno. To go back to the ship we waited at the same place for a returning shuttle. The Livorno port is an industrial port and there is no pedestrian access.

I was in Katakolon in June 2022 where we docked. We had planned to get the train from Katakolon to Olympia but the train was not running that day. We paired up with another couple who had also wanted to get the train and we went to Olympia by taxi. It cost €80.00 (€20.00 each) to take us to Olympia, wait for two hours and then take us back to Katakolon. The drive there and back took 30 minutes each way. Once at Olympia we bought tickets which cost €12.00 each and gave us entry to the ruins and the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games which was close to the entrance. We had plenty of time to explore the ruins and visit the museum. We went early in the day to beat the afternoon heat. On our return to Katakolon we went to our new friend's yacht (they happened to be sailing around the Greek Islands) and then browsed the shops in the very cute town. There are also lots of lovely waterfront restaurants. It was a wonderful day! There is a bus that also goes to Olympia but we did not see it and on the day of our visit there was no booth at the port exit but that may have been because we were early. It is possible to have a DIY day in Katakolon.

Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed the review. To be honest you would see more of New Zealand on a coach tour, particularly the areas away from the coast which you won't see on a cruise. Fortunately New Zealand is fairly small so a coach tour would let you see a lot of the country. The big advantage of a cruise is the unpacking once, not having to be up at the crack of dawn each day to move on to your next destination and not having to think about dinner each night. So much more relaxed! On a cruise you can see some of the natural beauty of New Zealand and cruising through the Fiordland National Park is wonderful which you wouldn't see as much of on a coach tour. Personally I love a New Zealand cruise. As for Australia, it is a big country and a coach tour would only show you a small portion. It is easier to fly to different places such as Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. You would have to pick what you wanted to see most. There are cruises that go to Tasmania from Sydney and others that go to Queensland. It all just depends on what you want to see and how much time you have. You could read my review of my 2018 New Zealand cruise (link is in my signature) where I went to different places at each port to help you decide on whether a New Zealand cruise is for you. Happy planning and if you have any questions please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them. I hope you do come to visit us. 😊

Thank you so much for your lovely comments! I write these reviews to try and help other cruisers with providing information that I am interested in knowing before I go on a cruise to that location and also hopefully make reading enjoyable with some nice photos. I also enjoy reliving my cruises when writing the reviews. I wouldn't do YouTube because I am a bit "old school" though I do occasionally watch for something that interests me. I am of a similar age as I (now don't tell anyone) am turning 60 this year. Our children are grown and don't have pets so have no restrictions for travelling. We don't just do cruises though we like to do a couple each year. We are off to India later this month which should be great. I've always wanted to go to the Taj Mahal. Have you read any of my previous reviews? They are all on my signature. I did one of my 2018 New Zealand cruise when we did go to Wellington and it also has some information at the end of the review about my 2016 visit to Wellington when I answered another cruiser who asked about Wellington. I wrote my first review in 2017 and you will see that my reviews have changed a lot in the time since then, hopefully for the better. 😊 If you have any other questions please ask as I am always happy to try and help. Thanks again and happy Cruising! Allison

Thank you for reading my review! The notice about the port change from Wellington to Picton said that the change was due to cruise ship congestion. Fortunately there was plenty of notice and we had been to Wellington twice before. Wellington has a lot to see and do, particularly for a first time visitor but Picton is also lovely. I checked the next two Royal Princess cruises to New Zealand and they are going to Wellington. I have also read of some cruises that have been to Wellington since my cruise. I did not have a port change on my two previous New Zealand cruises in 2016 and 2018 so hopefully this is not a common occurrence. Hope you have a great cruise and get to Wellington. 🛳️

Any cruise leaving Australia at Christmas will have a lot of children as it is the school holidays. I was on a Royal Princess cruise that finished in Sydney on December 15, 2023. The next cruise was going to have the same number of adults plus an extra 500 children. There is a tender system on all Princess ships where independent passengers (those not on a Princess shore excursion) have to get a tender ticket and wait until their ticket is called to get on to a tender. If you want to be off the ship early you need to line up at the place where the tickets are handed out before the time they start handing out the tickets so that you get an early ticket. Instructions for the where and when will be in the Princess Patter the night before the tender port.

I have been to Naples many times on cruises and land tours. There is a lot to do in Naples or nearby so choosing will be up to your personal interests. The big ones are Pompeii, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. If you want to go out of Naples bear in mind that during summer the traffic is very heavy and places crowded particularly on weekends. It is possible to go to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast by yourself by train, bus or ferry but consider how long it may take. You can do private or shared tours through local providers. For the first time in five cruise visits I am doing a ship excursion, the Celebrity "Sorrento and Amalfi Coast by Boat" in June as I will be there on a Saturday and the traffic will be terrible and I thought it would be nice to be on the water for a while. Valletta, Malta is a fabulous port. It is very beautiful to sail into the port and you can stay in Valletta to sightsee by yourself. There is plenty to see and do there such as the St John's Co-Cathedral, Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens, the Siege Bell War Memorial, St Elmo Fort and lovely streets, shops and restaurants. You could get a ferry across the harbour to Vittoriosa to explore and enjoy the great views. Or you could go to the Blue Grotto, Marsaxlokk fishing village or Mdina either by local bus, taxi or on a tour. Messina, Sicily does not have a lot to do though it does have a lovely Cathedral and Bell Tower. Most cruise passengers go on a ship or independent tour. Taormina is a gorgeous town with an ancient Greek theatre, great views of the coast, wonderful shops and restaurants. Mt Etna is also a popular tour and the villages where scenes from the Godfather movies were filmed.