samavarcruiser

Vito for Naples, Almalfi coast was great, cute too!!:D

It's good to know :D

Venice Cruise Terminal

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruise-terminal.htm

These numbers are very reasonable. Even they are not necessary or mandatory in any way but can be a nice sign of appreciation.

The huge numbers given in the other post before are far to high for most European standards.

In Italy there is no commonly accepted percentage for tips as in the US. When eating out it is common to leave up to 10 percent of the cost of the meal as a tip, but no more. The situation with cab drivers is similar. If the cab ride costs you 8.80 in euros and all you have is a 10 euro bill let the driver keep the change, but no large tips are expected. For private, or smaller, tours things are a little different. A driver for a long private tour (4 or more hours) should be tipped at least 20 euros. In hotels it is important to remember that a typical housekeeper tip is 1 or 2 euros a night. Italians may at first refuse your tip, but this a common courtesy, not an indication that you have offended them.

We will be in Rome on Sept 30th, a Wednesday.

After the first night opening of the 24th of July, every Friday of September and October 2009 the Vatican Museums will open their doors after sunset, from 7.00 pm to 11.00 pm (last entrance at 9.30 pm). Visitors will be able to admire the Upper Galleries of the Vatican Museums, the Octagonal Court (Cortile Ottagono), the Raphael's Stanze, the Sistine Chapel and the Galleries of the Apostolic Library.

Booking online on the official web site of the Vatican Museums is obligatory.

Full Ticket € 14,00 + € 4,00 Reservation fee

Reduced Ticket € 8,00 + € 4,00 Reservation fee

The tipping etiquette in Europe is pretty similar from country to country, but here is a short breakdown. There are three or four situations where tipping comes into play; restaurants, hotels, drivers and guides.

France:

* Restaurants: If you see the words "Service Compris" on your restaurant bill it means that the tip was included. The rest of the time, leave 10% in coins. Tipping at the bar is not expected.

* Guides and Drivers: Professional guides get about 25 Euros per person per day which would include the tip. A driver who takes you around would get about half of that plus the car fare if any. Give a Euro or two for a taxi driver - more if they are really helpful.

* Hotels: One Euro per bag, one or two Euros for a housekeeper, a concierge would get 5 to 15 Euros per task depending on how difficult it was to perform. For restaurant reservations or tickets to a show, pay them half when the service is performed and the other half when you return from the event.

Germany:

* Restaurants: Ten to 15% to the bartender or waiter.

* Guides and Drivers: Private tours tip 25 Euros for half day and 50 Euros for a full day. A taxi driver would receive 10% of the fare - more if they are really helpful.

* Hotels: One or two Euros per bag, one or two Euros for a housekeeper for one night more if you are staying for three or more nights, a concierge would get 5 to 15 Euros per task depending on how difficult it was to perform; for restaurant reservations or tickets to a show, pay them half when the service is performed and the other half when you return from the event.

Greece:

* Restaurants: Round up the total on the bill to the nearest 5. If the bill is 22 Euros, leave them 25 Euros and call it good. If the service was better or totally over the top, you could add another 5 Euros.

* Guides and Drivers: Private tours tip 20 Euros for half day and 50 Euros for a full day. No tip expected for taxi drivers. If you tell them to keep the change, they are happy.

* Hotels: One Euro per bag, one for a housekeeper, a concierge would get a small tip if they really did something difficult to perform.

Italy:

* Restaurants: Ten percent and nothing more.

* Guides and Drivers: Private tours tip 20 Euros for half day and 50 Euros for a full day. A taxi driver can keep the change.

* Hotels: Three to five Euros per bag, one Euro for a housekeeper for one night more if you are staying for three or more nights, a concierge would get 5 to 10 Euros per task depending on how difficult it was to perform.

Turkey:

* Restaurants: Ten percent or a tad more. You can't add the tip to the credit card bill so have a little cash.

* Guides and Drivers: Private tours tip 20 Euros for half day and 50 Euros for a full day. A taxi driver can keep the change.

* Hotels: Two Euros per bag, a concierge would get 10 Euros per task depending on how difficult it was to perform.

* Turkish Baths: Masseur would get 10 Euros or 10% whichever is greater.

Our driver/guide was Michele, who was great, and worked hard to make the tour fun for our kids. We stopped at several scenic outlooks, and he was very knowledgable about the region.

The van was very comfortable--all in all, a great tour ;)

Here are a few pix from the tours:

Vinny (in the suit, 100 degress outside) taking us into the Coliseum:

Vinny's van and the kids near the Pantheon:

Lucia (in the hot pink) in Pompeii talking to my parents:

getting into Rafaele's van in Sorrento:

Our amazing lunch spot in Sorrento:

Rafaele (in the suit, also very hot outside) and my dad:

Great pictures. Keep them coming!!! Sounds like you were having a great time.

We used RomeinLimo for Rome with a total group of 8 people two weeks ago. My in-laws were on the tour and were very impressed, as they way more of Rome in that one day tour than they had seen in a previous 3 day tour to Rome. The catacombs were great.

 

We didn't opt for the provided Vatican guide, and by the time we got there there was only about an hour left before we had to start heading back to the ship, as the driver didn't want to encounter any traffic delays. While we were waiting in a long line to get in the basilica, a private guide approached us and offered to get us into the sistine chapel and museums much quicker for 48Euro each.

 

Six of us opted to take that option and spent the next hour sprinting behind a guide as she navigated through the backrooms and into the sistine chapel. If we had arranged a guide through rome in limo, it would have cost us 1/2 of what the impromptu guide cost. We have no regrets, since we never would have seen the sistine chapel on our own.

Thanks for your review - several options to tour the Vatican City ;)

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-Info/MV_Info_Servizi.html

While I agree with you that "doing it on your own" can be significantly less expensive than doing either ship arranged or private tours, I think the one thing everyone who tries it needs to keep in mind and that is "make sure you get back to your ship on-time (i.e. before it sails to the next port)".

 

I also do a lot of research before we take any trip or cruise. And as my wife can verify, I like to save money as much as anyone. But we have decided on most of our cruises to take organized tours of some sort especially on our first visit to a port, area or country. It allows us to get oriented and to better understand where we need to go and what we need to do in that particular environment.

 

Please don't consider this a "flame" of your endosement of independent travel. I just feel everyone needs to be very aware of the fact that the ship will not wait for them if they are late getting back from an independent tour where it will for the ship arranged tours if they are late.

 

Hopefully we will try more excursions on our own on future trips to the Med or other areas.

 

Have a great next cruise.

Ditto :)