marazul

There is no terminal in Cannes. It's a tender port. You can buy champagne in many shops in town, including supermarkets, traiteurs, wine shops, etc. It will definitely be a lot cheaper than in Oz.

You can take a taxi from the hotel to close-by Fiumicino for dinner. Lots of good restaurants there on the water and a pleasant town to stroll around. Your restaurant will call you a taxi to get back to the airport. It's a 8-10 minute drive.

Lucca is a medieval village on flat land. The only climbing is if you decide to walk the city walls.

Iconic, beautiful, historical.

For your first time, Les Baux and Avignon.

You can easily include both Avignon and Saint Remy on a tour to Les Baux. The Luberon villages are beautiful, but it is best to go when the lavender is in bloom. That would be from the last week in June to early August. Peak is early July.

Do try to stay awake Tuesday before the tour. Otherwise you might not get over jetlag very easily. Yes, the tour mentions seeing the Casa Batllo from the outside. The hotel is about a 10 minute walk from Casa Batllo or 20 minute walk from Picasso. If you want the museum, make sure you get tickets ahead of time. For Batllo, you can go before it opens and get in line, actually, you can get your tickets on the website for the next morning after you see the outside. Anyhow, you have good plans. Barcelona is a really lively city with great food and wine.

That tour sounds really good. A word of warning. Dinner in Spain starts at 8:30 pm at the earliest. That means, do the food tour Wednesday night, not Tuesday. Some tapas places might start earlier, but that is tourist time. You might not be awake at that time on Tuesday to really enjoy the food tour. You will have plenty of time on Tuesday to tour on your own in the afternoon, maybe a Gaudi house (I know, I am pushing it, but it is worth it), or the Picasso Museum, or walking Las Ramblas (watch your purse). And then ask at your hotel where to go for something to eat early. You will crash that night and be ready for a long, full day on Wednesday.

Proto Fish Restaurant. It's off the Stradun. Ask to sit on the terrace. Fabulous seafood.

The best way to avoid jetlag is to stay awake and in the sunlight as long as you can. Go get some coffee and panini after you drop your bags. Depending on your hotel location, walk around to nearby landmarks, maybe the Trevi fountain, piazza Navona, etc.. But, yes, you can book an early afternoon tour to an outdoor location such as the Colosseum. Then check in to your room, but do not take a nap. By 6 pm you will be really tired and you can get dinner and go to bed early. You will be glad you did it this way. Do not book a tour for that night. You will not be able to stay awake that long. If you take an afternoon nap and then go for a tour, you will have jetlag for days.

Yes. I wasn't familiar with that tour company, but they have really good tours. I think the "Ultimate Barcelona" sounds great. It includes the Gothic Qiarter, inside of la Sagrada Familia, and Parc Guell. You can visit the inside of Casa Batllo or La Pedrera on your own on your half day there.

Whichever line has the best itinerary for you. They all go to the same ports in different combinations at different times. They all depart from Athens if you want only Greece. Some may start or end in Venice if you want to go to Italy too. Some might start or end in Istanbul if you are interested.

OK, I have one last day at home before I am rid of the plague, so here are some comments on my favorite part of the Med (I lived in Nice for a while). Yes, you should tour out of both ports. They are in an outstandingly beautiful and historic area. Nice is the main city of the Riviera (Alpes Maritimes) region. Marseille is the main port of the Provence region. Although adjacent to each other, they offer some very different experiences. All my comments are geared to first time travelers who want to see the main sites and think they will not be back. (You will be back 😉😁) For what I understand, most cruises have long days at both ports. To see the most, it would be best to take a private tour out of both places, which of course you can share with others. Ship tours tend to go to just one or two places, while there is really plenty of time to see a lot more on a private tour. Villefranche-sur-Mer is just East of Nice and it is used by large ships as a tender port. It is a very pretty town, but the main attractions are centered around Nice. West of Nice are Saint-Paul de Vence and Cannes. East of Nice are Eze and Monaco. Right next to Villefranche is Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat. Eze and Saint-Paul are "perched villages" - medieval towns on top of a hill. They are gorgeous. And those are the best-known name places. It is a beautiful region with lots to see. https://www.google.com/maps/@43.6457305,7.2343295,12z?hl=en For your sightseeing out of Villefranche, I would recommend to start with Nice in the morning to visit the Flower Market and the old city. Then you have two main options: 1. Nice-Saint-Paul de Vence-Tourrettes sur Loup-Antibes (Leave Cannes for your next trip. Tourrettes if there is time.) 2. Nice-Monaco-Eze. On a very, very long day, you can actually go Nice-Saint Paul-Monaco-Eze. Don't spend too much time in Monaco - see the palace and cathedral and then a drive by of the Casino. At the end of a shorter tour, either ask to be left off at the Villa Ephrussi-de-Rotschild in St Jean-Cap Ferrat (you can actually walk back to Villefranche), or simply spend some time in Villefranche. Marseille is a gateway city. Yes, there are things to see there and it has been vastly cleaned up in the last few years, but do go to other places in the Provence region instead. The towns are somewhat spread out: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Marseille,+France/@43.6170149,4.7821638,9.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x12c9bf4344da5333:0x40819a5fd970220!8m2!3d43.296482!4d5.36978?hl=en There are some basic circuits that are quite doable in a private tour out of Marseille: 1. Les Baux de Provence-Saint Remy-Avignon (Skip the light show in Les Baux if they offer it. It is in a dramatic setting, but I am sure you saw the Van Gogh light show in Charlotte. You can better use the time in other live places.) 2. Arles-Pont du Gard-Nimes 3. Arles-Les Baux-Saint Remy 4. Aix-en-Provence-Cassis-Le Castellet For a first timer, I would choose the first one. There are many good tour companies in the area. Check this board and tripadvisor for recommendations. Google the places I mentioned, see what you like best and go from there.

You are resting Day #12. You can go to the Alhambra on #13. Reserve the Alhambra excursion now. You can always cancel it. You will not be able to sign up for it mid-cruise because it will be sold out for a very good reason. It is a must see.

Second vote for Siena.

Great! You will have a wonderful day. You can always change it to drop off in Florence if you get someone to share the expenses. Are you planning to take a ship's transfer to Florence for Day 2 if you return to the ship on Day 1? Just curious. Which winery are you going to? Did you have that winery in mind or did you pick one out of a list they provided?

Rome Cabs is a limo/transfer company, not city taxis. You book them ahead, but pay the driver. We use them every time we go to Rome. Extremely reliable. There is a thread on them here. I am glad you are getting good feed back about Marissa. The Vatican tickets also become available about six months ahead of time so you can decide then. Wow! We have "talked" a lot today! Nothing like being stuck in the house with a positive test! (At least, only minimal symptoms.)

Sagrada Familia has tours. Here is the website: https://sagradafamilia.org/en/tickets The tour is one hour. You should arrive at the site half an hour before and you might add a little more time at the end. You can also add going up to the towers. But it is safe to count on two hours from arrival to exit. BTW - taxis are reasonable and all over the place. The timing is reasonable. Don't forget you also have the morning of embarkation. And you might want to go back in the future.

It's very much a drive by with photo stops. It's ok if that is all you want. Tickets to Park Guell and SF are extra and you can do that on your own easily. Make sure the ticket to SF includes a guided tour. I would use Spain Day Tours for a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter. They would also be good for a trip to Montserrat if you want to get out of town.

There are pickpockets like in many other tourist areas. Just be smart about your belongings and your surroundings.

Those were two private houses designed by Antoni Gaudi, the architect of Sagrada Familia. They are amazingly creative. The rooftop chimneys of La Pedrera (Casa Mila) are the inspiration for the troopers in Star Wars. Casa Batllo is a gorgeous mansion. La Pedrera is a luxury apartment house. One very large apartment is on exhibit with original furnishings They are both located on Passeig de Gracia, one of the great avenues of Europe. It is really worthwhile to visit at least one of them. The Palau de la Musica is a concert hall. The architecture is beautiful. https://www.palaumusica.cat/en

Book a transfer with romecabs.com

Check out these two Gaudi houses. They are within 3 blocks of each other. https://www.lapedrera.com/en https://www.casabatllo.es/en/visit/ You can get tickets in the website and visit on your own.

That reputation is grossly exaggerated. You can tour by yourself, especially get your own tickets to la Sagrada Familia. If you want a tour company for everything else get Spain Day Tours. Viator is a consolidator that subcontracts tours in many countries.