marazul

Yes. Taxis are fine. Your should plan work well.

The trains are very reliable in normal circumstances. Hopefully, the current upheavals will be over by the time you go.

Too bad. Just curious. Where are you staying?

I doubt all taxis will be booked. Very few people stay in Civi before a cruise. And even so, the taxis can pick up locally and return to service in half an hour. Tou can also book a taxi for the next day when you arrive at the hotel. And you found another good reason to book directly with the hotels.

That's a ripoff. These are probably for transfer companies out of Rome that would have to drive to Civi and pick you up for a 5 minute ride. You need a local taxi. Most taxis are allowed in the port. The best thing you can do is get in touch with your hotel. They know what to do. They live there. They can book you a minivan taxi or, at most, two regular taxis for your group of 6.

A taxi from central Civi to the cruise port should not be more than 8-10 euros. When you are there ask your hotel to call a taxi for you.

We showed our passports to the agent in Rome. No scans. It may have changed in the six months since. But we were still through immigration, customs (green), and out of the building in less than one hour. And, yes, the scans at LHR has made it almost tolerable.

Ask if they would pick you up at the cable car port. Also search for day cruises to the volcano that leave from there.

You haven't been to Athens. Please, take this advice from someone who has been there many times. It is really impractical to stay at the Sofitel and go into Athens and come back for the night. Athens is more than half way between the airport and the port. You would be backtracking (wasting time and money) for no good reason. There is NOTHING to do at the Sofitel. There is NOTHING around the Sofitel except the airport terminal. It only makes sense to stay there if you are arriving very late at night or if you are leaving very early in the morning. It seems you are arriving in the daytime (after flying all night) and in all likelihood your boarding time is the following afternoon. You may not want to do much, but you are much better of staying in Central Athens and enjoying the city, walking around, looking at shops, having lunch and dinner at a taverna, etc. It would be a huge mistake to stay at the airport for your one full day and morning before your cruise. Stay at the same hotel you are going to at the end of your trip. It will be cheaper and more convenient than the Sofitel. They will call you a taxi to the port the next day. The drive from the airport to the port is about one hour. The ride from Athens city center to the port is 20-30 minutes. Look at this map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Athens+International+Airport+(ATH),+Attiki+Odos,+Spata+Artemida+190+04,+Greece/Acropolis+Museum,+Mousio+Akropoleos,+Dionysiou+Areopagitou,+Athens,+Greece/Piraeus+Harbour,+Greece/@37.9553469,23.7850838,12z/data=!4m20!4m19!1m5!1m1!1s0x14a1901ad9e75c61:0x38b215df0aeeb3aa!2m2!1d23.9484156!2d37.9356467!1m5!1m1!1s0x14a1bd173f46e4e1:0xb00fb46a2c010a3c!2m2!1d23.7285227!2d37.9684499!1m5!1m1!1s0x14a1bbda6f0d2661:0x5fb5818ce4535dda!2m2!1d23.6333333!2d37.9405556!3e0?hl=en

We flew into Rome last August. We also had an early arrival, but we were out of customs in less than one hour. It would be good to hear from others about their experience.

The problem is that the cruise lines only tender excursion people to Athinios. Independent travelers are tendered to the other port. Very few excursions are taken back to Athinios to be tendered back to the ship. Most excursions are dropped off at the cable car and do not returne from Athinios. The exceptions might be for special tours for impaired persons, such as walking impaired. But you can ask your cruise line . . .

Good plans. Try to book directly with the local company, not through a consolidator like Viator or Get Your Guide.

I would not book through Viator. They are a consolidator and do not have local offices in any of those places. Search this board for tour recommendations in each location. Or google "excursion [name of town]" or "[name of town] tourism" for local agencies. Book directly with them after looking at reviews here, trip advisor or other sites. We travel often to Greece, but we tend to rent cars or stay with friends.

Yes, there will be taxis. The rates are higher at night. For peace of mind after midnight, I would book George's Taxi, Welcome, or one of the other reliable transfer companies. It could be an extra 15 euros or so well spent.

There are thousands of taxis. You can flag them at the hotel door. The best way is to tell your hotel desk when you check in and they will book a taxi for you for whatever time you want to check out. They do it all the time. It will be a regular taxi at regular prices. Any of the hotels in Central Athens is in an easy "connection" to the port.

The drivers of all reputable transfer companies will be waiting for you as you come out of the customs secure area. They will be carrying a sign with your name on it. They will also keep track of your flight for any delays, actual landing, etc. That is their job. Reputable companies have done this hundreds of times. Also, hotels that arrange for pick-up do so through a transfer company or private driver. They do not have their own shuttles.

Always book from the hotel's own site. You get better prices and better rooms. You seem to want only US hotel chains. You can get really good independent hotels in better locations than those.

Just a thought. You do have two days before the cruise. Why don't you go straight to Civi the day you arrive. Leave the bags at the hotel and go to Tarquinia. This is easy to do and you can turn in early after your long flight. The next day when you are rested, take an early train to Rome and spend the day sightseeing. You will have more time to sightsee and you will not have to deal with your luggage.

Not clear what you are doing. You say you are staying in Civitavecchia, but Termini station is in Rome. The ho-ho buses are in Rome too, not in Civi. This would make more sense if you were to stay in Rome for two days. Are you planning to land in FCO, take the train to Rome and go sightseeing for the day before going to Civi? Or are you staying in Civi and taking public buses to Tarquinia? In any case, wherever you are, go straight to your hotel. They will keep your luggage at the desk. This happens all the time. In fact, when they know you are there, they will tell you if you can check in early later in the day.

You could still go to Fatima on Sunday and sleep in the car. 😉 Probably your best bet for Fatima is your plan to go on Monday. Of the Tuesday excursions, the Sintra, etc is by far the better one. On your current plan, since you get in at 8 am, you could go to Jeronimos first (it opens at 10) and go on the tuk-tuk tour after lunch. You will still be back at the hotel early. Jeronimos is closed on Mondays.

Busy day, but you can do it. Arriving at the cable car at 8:30 should be plenty of time. There are many tavernas and restaurants in Oia. You will have no problem picking one.

The question is what are you planning to do on Sunday? You can easily do the Pena palace and Sintra tour on Sunday. Then on Monday you have time to see the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon early and then take a tuk-tuk tour through Alfama. Even after you embark you could go back into the city. Tuesday, take the excursion to Fatima, Nazare and Obidos (which is a fabulous place). Another alternative is Fatima on Sunday. Lisbon on Monday, and Pena, etc on Tuesday. BTW - do go to the Regaleira. It is close to the Pena Palace and it would be a shame to miss it. On the way back, they can drive you through Cascais and Estoril. Ideally, you could fly in a day earlier to give you more time, but it is probably too late to change your tickets.

The drive along the coast road to Marbella (not on the Autopista) is a traffic nightmare. The area is completely overbuilt and full of apartment buildings. Have you been to Granada to see the Alhambra? That would be far better that going to Marbella and Puerto Banus. If you want a drive along the shore, it is better to go East to Nerja and maybe also see the Nerja caves.

Check taxigreece.com. This is the original George's Taxi. We, and many others, have used this company numerous times. 100% recommend it.

JB is right. Go to Cinqueterre. The Calanques are very pretty, but it is basically a boat ride to see some cliffs and coves. There are much better things you can do out of Marseille. Search for Cinqueterre on this board for a lot of info on the ferry that goes from town to town. If your excursion uses the ferry, you might want to do a DIY.