Travel To Be Free

6 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

I don't believe the tickets you buy to visit on your own include any map or headset.  Perhaps a map, but I didn't bother picking one up.  You could bring your own guide book to read if desired.  I would allow at least 45 minutes (excluding any wait in line) to visit the Colosseum and 60 minutes to leisurely walk thru the Forum. 

Are the tickets purchased on the Colosseum’s direct site for a timed entrance, skip the line?  If so, do the run close to schedule?

Thanks for your help!!!!!  

16 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Yes-- you can of course visit on your own. I believe they sell combination tickets that include both the Colosseum and Forum. It's been since 2018 since I was there so I'm not sure if they are timed or not. Our hotel concierge took care of getting them for us but I'm sure someone has a website. 

About how long did it take you to go through?   Did you use a headset or a map?   

2 hours ago, borninrome said:

considers that in mid-June schools close for the summer holidays, until early September. In summer the traffic drops drastically in the morning.
It is about 90 Kms, and Rome has typical car traffic of large European cities, consider 1h30 to reach the historic center of Rome

So if we leave at 7 or 8, is it about the same for the traffic?  Or do you feel 7 is better?    I really appreciate your insight.  

19 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

Best case is an hour and a quarter but at rush hour two hours wouldn't be out of the question.

Born in Rome and Euro Cruiser:

If we leave the port at 8 a.m., then we would be getting near the city at 9 a.m.  Do you happen to know if their rush hour is over by that time?

Does anyone know of a tour company who does a "Very Brief" tour of the Colosseum and Forum areas?   I have been through one of the longer tours and am now going with family in August, which will be warm.  I'm trying to find a tour that may just point out highlights and not go into long explanations of what buildings may have looked like, etc.  In fact, are you able to get tickets to do this on your own?

I've always been off the ship at 6:30 or 7:00 so I believe transport was about an hour into Rome.  (I'm not exactly sure of this as I'm going from my memory.)  We will be there overnight this cruise, so we're thinking of maybe leaving at 8:00 a.m. to head into Rome.  Does anyone know if this will slow the drive down due to possible rush hour traffic with people heading to work?  Does anyone have an approximate time estimate for Mondays at 8:00 a.m.?

Yes.   This is great information!!!

This has been very helpful!!!!   Everyone that had helped answer my questions, a huge thank you!!!!   

7 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Not related. 

 

As soon as you board, use the touch screen kiosks at elevator lobbies to request a tender group number. It only allows you to "join the line" for general tendering. Some NCL Shore Ex will be giving priority on tender boarding. And everyone not on a NCL ShoreEx will be wanting to join the line, regardless of their tendering group number. 

So is joining the line better than getting a tender group number.  (This is such helpful information!!!)

Casofilia,

We are leaving from Barcelona and Cannes is the very next day.  This makes us unsure of how to request the early tender tickets.  We are higher up with Royal, Celebrity and Princess, however, haven’t went NCL for a very long time.  So we’re not going to have much luck with the latitude perks.  (Are they associated with any of the other Cruise companies?)

22 minutes ago, casofilia said:

@Travel To Be Free

 

I hope that they will change the order of Shorex departures so if you are intending to do one to Monaco create a fuss if they are not first off!!!    We went there last week and were 90 minutes late getting back.

 

It was extremely quick as they used some ship tenders but also a local one that carried 250 guests.   As we were on a tour I don't know when open tendering happened but be prepared for the last passengers to be off by 11am.

This is very concerning as we were going to go to Monte Carlo and Eze on our own.  If we don’t get off until 11, we wouldn’t have enough time.    So you were on a NCL shore excursion?   Which one?  How long were you at each place?   

Will be tendering in at Cannes. The ship lists 8:30 as the time there.

Approximately how long would a Norwegian Ship take to have the majority of guests on shore?

Yes.  I probably should post this on NCL.   

Thanks for your assistance.  

Have you tendered in at Cannes before?  If you're not on a ship's tour, how long does it take to go through the process?  We get in at 8:30, so I'm trying to figure out what time we could actually get to shore to either plan a taxi driver or to get to the train station.  

Edinburgher,

So if I decide to do Saint Paul De-Vence, which is much closer, what would be a favorite of yours to pair with this?  Antibes is close.  We’ve not been, but from pictures, I’m not sure  it’s a must see.  
 

TTBF

Hlitner, Edinburgher and anyone else that may have insight,

We are also docking in Cannes mid-August.  Taking my sister and BIL for their first experience on the French Riviera.  We've been there on land tour and cruise stops.  Our favorites stops were Eze and St Paul De-Vence.  Both of those villages are similar, so I'm trying to pick just one; probably Eze.  Then possibly Nice-Old Town and a little Monte Carlo just so they can say they've been there as it's so iconic.  We are there 9 hours, so I was going to try to hire just transportation between the sites and not an actual tour.  Is this too overzealous?  Any ideas of how much time to spend at each and what to target in Monte Carlo and Nice?  

Thanks for your insight.

Hllb-I do pretty good, but one of our friends gets very motion sickness.  But we may try this excursion as it seems like a great one!

Oaktreerb-Will check Holland's itineraries.  

Ferry Watcher - Bears and Otters sound much better than moose and elk.  So what type of excursion would we need to take to see them and at what ports?  This is so helpful!

Don--- now that may be a good idea.  

Edinburgher-This is great information.  Skagway sounds like a great stop.

Hllb-So the inside passage is more scenic.  That's great information.  Whales, seals, moose, elk, eagles....  these would be exciting to see!!  I think 7 hours in a small boat could be a little scary...  and possibly not good for sea sickness.  But I'm going to look into it because it seems like a great adventure.

Thanks for this information!  Yes, I see that Princess doesn't have the same routes in 2024.  I believe Celebrity was the same.  2023 seems like it would have been a better year, but our friends have to put in ahead of time for vacation.  

What ports are best to have a scenic railroad excursion and ones where you can see wildlife?  When I look at the port towns/cities, they don't look too impressive to me, that's why I thought we would focus on what Alaska seems to be known for...  glaciers, wilderness and wildlife.  

Trying to find the best 7-10  day cruise.  Would like to see Glacier Bay National Park, take a scenic railway trip, and see wildlife in their natural habitat.  The friends we'll be traveling with will not have enough vacation time to take a cruise AND land trip, so we’re trying to fit in the best experience on just the cruise portion.  We won’t be going until 2024.  Would love suggestions.  

Is the ferry normally crowded?  Are you able to get it from Genoa directly to Portofino?  Does it go along the coastline or are you further out in the water?

Will have a stop in Marseilles on our September cruise.  We have been there before and not a fan of the city.  Not real safe or clean.  We are planning to go to Avignon.  Have also been there and it is very nice.  Very good representation of Medieval France.   Does anyone know the easiest way to get from the Cruise Port to the train station and how long it takes to get to the train station?  Your help is so greatly appreciated!!