marazul

Great. Amy is an excellent guide. We had a full day tour. Enjoy. E

I recommend this company: http://www.guidedtoursmalta.com/

Using public transport to Monserrat would be too time consuming on a port visit. It would be doable if you were in the area for a few days and have extra time. This is a place where you are better off with an excursion.

Same in Spain.

The only way to avoid this hassle is to fly to Santorini for a couple of days before or after the cruise and skip any cruise that goes to Santorini.

The best excursions will be from Marseille. Any tour operator that takes you to lavender fields from Nice can also take you there from Cannes. There are some fields near Grasse, just north of Cannes. However, most fields are north of Marseille, actually, north and east of Avignon. Lavender starts blooming in the lower elevations in mid-June. Peak season is mid-July. By August the fields are harvested although a few villages may leave a couple of unharvested fields for the tourists. Here is a map. Cannes is the red dot at the lower right-hand corner. "Floraisson à partir de" means "bloom from." "Récolte à partir de" means "harvest from."

Taormina.

chora=town or main place. Frequently the main town in an island is simply named Chora. In Greek it is χορα, pronounced "hor-a"

Ask at your hotel. They will know. The online schedules may change sometimes.

The roads to Taormina are a little winding. But no h8g deal. (I am acrophobic.) I have been to Castelmola and loved it up there, but I did close my eyes a couple of times on the way up.

Le Meridien is in the perfect location to see Nice. It is right across the sea on the Promenade des Anglais. If you can, stay there two nights. Short walking distance to everything - restaurants, flower market, old Nice, Place Massena, etc. The little tourist train starts right across the street. You are a little far from the train station, but just rightfor everything else. You may want to take a taxi to the train station for about $8 or it is a 15 minute walk. There is a line of taxis outside the door or the doorman will get you one. No need to reserve.

Based on transportation arrangements you are ok. The closest you stay to the sea and to the Nice flower market the better it is for sightseeing. A taxi to the airport is about $20. Trams are about $2 pp. It's only two nights. If you are active and fit you are ok. If you consider other places, I will offer my 2 cents. If not, enjoy and have a wonderful time.

Yes. Stay in Nice for two nights. It is easy enough to train back to Monaco. You save two transfers and checking in and out. Plus there is a lot more to do in the evenings in Nice than in Cap d'Ail. The Holiday Inn you picked is not in the best part of Nice. Do you have other options to use your points in?

Try https://www.friend-in-france.com/ for your transfers.

L'Antica Salumeria is directly across the piazza from the Albergo. Great porchetta sandwiches and many other things.

It was 4 years ago. I don't remember.

Shouldn't miss Valletta, Mdina and Hagar Qim. I recommend this company: http://www.guidedtoursmalta.com/

Tours provided by your cruise (SB?) line will be available because they have contracts with local providers. If you want to book with a local tour operator, do it NOW.

These are the areas open to the public now. The third level of the Colosseum is currently closed to the public. If you want a guided tour choose "Full experience ticket with access to the arena and underground with didactic visit". I suggest doing a couple of dummy bookings on the website so you are familiar with how it works. The Palatine and Roman forums are adjacent to each other. Actually, they are two sections of the large area of ruins next to the Colosseum. Yes, get that ticket and at least walk around there some. Read about it too. There are some very interesting structures you can visit there. Also consider visiting the Domus Aurea which requires a separate ticket. You can walk from your hotel to the Colosseum in about 20 minutes, but these are very busy streets with lots of traffic. The taxi is only 10 euros.

None of those are issues. 748 is a great location.

It is very expensive if you try to hire a taxi for a full day tour. If you take a taxi between Villefranche and the Villa Ephrussi, it is $10-15. Between Villefranche and Nice it is $25-30. That is for the ride not per person.

If you are so inclined, you can do a 9 hour private tour that would have you back on board by 5 pm the latest. Spend a good amount of time in Florence and just ask for a quick stop to take pictures of the tower of Pisa. Lisiamc is right in that there is quite a bit to see in Pisa, but for your first trip you should concentrate on Florence. There is so much more to see and enjoy there.

Google! There are many sites, just google "ships in port"

How many hours in port?

That's good. A little less traffic and all the museums are open.