rnMom11

On February 5, 2019 at 11:17 AM, Hlitner said:

ROFL :).  I think of it as a labor of love.  I would again emphasize that there is a lot of info on the CC Ports of Call Boards and plenty of us willing to answer very specific questions such as about how to use trains, get to the stations, etc.  One personal tip.  Rather then getting completely hung-up on planning a detailed port itinerary, try studying each port and listing all the reasonable options that might be of interest.  You can then look at various combinations that might fill your days, or even wait until the last minute to actually decide what you will do.  For example, I remember one visit to the port of Naples (Italy) when DW and I decided we would return to Pompeii (we had been there a few times) and then spend our afternoon in Naples.  But the day we got to Naples there was an awful heat wave (very hot and humid) and there was no way we wanted to trek though Pompeii in that heat/humidity.  So we simply walked off the ship, over to the nearby ferry terminal (Molo Beverelo) and grabbed a high speed jet boat over to Ischia.  If we had gotten to the terminal a few minutes faster we might have taken the boat to Procida….and if we had been much later we likely would have gone to Capri.  Knowing our options made all this easy, without any anxiety.  We also will sometimes talk about a "rainy day" plan which might mean visiting a museum or having a long lunch in a fabulous restaurant.  

 

Hank

Thank you Hank! Super helpful, I'm so glad I decided to make a board for help! The kids have voted for Pompeii so I think that will be our 1st choice but now I know what to do if that doesn't work out!!

On February 6, 2019 at 9:36 AM, lamchops said:

In Marseille, we took a shuttle to old port and watched the fish mongers and took the public bus to Notre Dame dela Garde. We have been to marseille when museums were free so we’ve also taken advantage of that. For your group a cab may be a cheaper alternative.

In La Spezia the only choice is cinque terre unless you want to spend a lot of time traveling. It is a 15 minute walk straight down the Main Street from the port to the train station. Buying the cinque terre card is what I would do. Take the train all the way to Monterosso and hike to vernazza. Spending time and hiking the 2 villages should take 4 hours. As many of the trails are closed, I suggest taking the train from vernazza and stopping at Corniglia, manarola, and riomaggiore on your way back to la Spezia.

As Rome is over a hour away from civitavecchia I would consider a excursion from a local company or cruise line to maximize your time in Rome.

 We’ve been to Naples multiple times and diy for Pompeii, and  Herculaneum. Depending on your comfort zone you can diy as well. Friends have taken excursions to Pompeii and they were reasonably priced. On our last visit, we just visited the town and worked our way to the 2 oldest pizza restaurants and had a slice at each. My suggestion is to do what you can afford and not too much so that you can experience the trip and not just “see things”.

Thank you for all this info, super helpful!!! We have booked a private excursion for the Rome trip by Aim Limo. I know everyone suggested Romeinalimo but you had to arrange seperate tours for the Vatican, where the other one did it all. Had great reviews! Doing the cinque terra with the trains and then I think we will just DIY with everthing else! 

Thank you! I looked at the roll call but I'm not seeing one for our cruise.  We sail on June 9th-June 16th. Should I start one? Have decided though not to do Pisa and Florence since our port is Le Spezia, will do the Cinqueterra for the day. I think for Rome I'm booking a limo and the no waiting tours for the day.

Thank you everyone! I'm checking out the train sites, don't know why I didn't realize you can switch languages;)I'm realizing that planning our excursions is like a second job!!

Thank you! My husband would prefer smaller groups so I'm thinking the DIY option. I will look at the Port of Call forums and see what I can figure out. Do you know how you can book train tickets early? Everything is in Italian! I would be nervous to wait till we got there with the crowds in June!

Thank you! It is La Spezia, so I will look into Cinque Terre. 

Please help! My family, which includes our 4 children ages 17-24 and my husband, are taking our first cruise on the Oasis of the Sea this June. 

This is our iteniary: BARCELONA, SPAIN/PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN/PROVENCE(MARSEILLE), FRANCE/FLORENCE/PISA(LASPEZIA)ITALY/ROME (CIVITAVECCHIA), ITALY/NAPLES, ITALY, Then back to Spain where we have a beach house for 3 days to relax! I'm very overwhelmed trying to plan our excursions at each port. Should I use the cruise excursions or plan my own. Obviously, its expensive traveling with 6 of us and I don't mind spending money on things that require it. Thanks for any help:)