euro cruiser

If you want to see the Amalfi Coast you can do it on your own, from the water, thereby avoiding the traffic jams and hairpin turns on the road. You can do it entirely using public transit, or do a both/and solution and use a transfer from the port at Naples to the Concordia dock at Salerno, where you pick up the ferries along the coast. Toward the end of the day you can take a ferry from Positano to Sorrento and change there for a ferry right back to the cruise port in Naples. Or, going in the other direction, use a transfer in the morning to get to Positano and then use the ferries along the coast from there. You could return to Naples from Sorrento by ferry or by train from Salerno.

It sounds like you don't necessarily need to go to Tuscany, just something that isn't Rome. Do I have that right? If so you might consider Umbria instead. Just as beautiful but closer so you'd spend more time actually there, vs. getting there and back.

You can purchase straight train tickets on the regionale train, which are euro 4,60 each way. There is no discount for round trip, they simply sell you two one-way tickets. There is also a ticket called the BIRG, which is good for round trip train fare as well as use of public transit in Rome through the day (metro, bus, trams). This ticket can only be purchased at the newstand as it is not sold by Trenitalia but by ATAC. The 5-zone BIRG ticket (required for Civitavecchia-Rome) costs 12 euro. Info here: BIRG (atac.roma.it)

It's really not reasonable to go to Cinque Terre from Livorno by public transportation (trains), you waste too much of your day getting there and getting back, leaving little time actually there. As to the crowding, it's much like Venice but crammed into a smaller area with fewer options. They do need to do something but no one can agree on what that something should be, so the place is being destroyed while they discuss it.

Cinque Terre is only about 20 minutes from La Spezia by car, or less than ten minutes by train, I'm not sure how much closer you're going to get than that. Have you been to Porto Venere? It's close, a nice small town with an old church out on the point.

You cannot reasonably make a day trip from Palermo to Taormina, it would take about four hours of driving time each way. Are you looking for an organized group tour, or a private tour?

How far in advance you can buy the tickets depends on the tour you choose. The more expensive ones go on sale sooner, the entrance only tickets are more limited. You can book the more expensive tours now through the end of the year. Admission only tickets are available today through the end of March, so about nine weeks out. MuseiVA (museivaticani.va)

This is a tough one for me, if indeed you are in Mestre it's not as simple as it sounds to get back and forth and it's not at all like staying in Venice. I understand the economic benefit, but rooms can be found in Venice proper at all price points and it's really a very different experience to stay there. I liken it to staying in Secaucus NJ when you want to visit New York City. Yes, you're only a few miles away on the other side of the river but it's light years away in terms of the experience.

Yes, they are reliable, with the exception of weather that makes a crossing impossible. That's highly unlikely in the summer, and if the weather is that bad you probably wouldn't want to go over anyway. I always recommend taking the next to the last transport back that will get you there in time, or anything before that. Choose what makes you comfortable, but do purchase your return ticket in the morning, don't wait until the afternoon because you will risk getting shut out. A couple of times I've stopped at the ticket office on Capri right after arriving to purchase my return ticket, if I didn't have time to do it in the morning at Naples.

I've done it several times. There are two different ports for ferries from Naples to Capri. The port with the fast ferries is Molo Beverello, adjacent to the cruise port. The port for the slower, larger ferries is Porta di Massa, about a third of a mile further up the port from the cruise terminal. The fast ferries all take the same 50 minutes or so to make the crossing. Simply pick the one with the departure time that best suits your arrival. There is no need to purchase the return on the same line, again pick the time that works best for you. There is no financial benefit to purchasing both from one company, they are sold as two individual tickets. Normally I suggest waiting until you're there to purchase the tickets as they are difficult/impossible to change or get refunded if you miss the ferry or don't go at all. However, passenger loads last year were enormous so purchasing in advance is something to think about. If you do it, buy directly from the ferry operator, not through a third party. The current schedule can be seen here, but more crossings will be added as the season approaches: 2023 Capri ferry schedules: from Napoli to Capri - Book online Here are the web sites for the two primary operators between Naples and Capri: NLG » Official website (navlib.it) Naples - Capri | Snav

I would not bother spending an hour getting over there and another hour getting back if you're only going to stay for an hour or two.

I spent a little less than a week in Taormina a few years ago, the town itself is quite small and the only real "site" is the Greek theatre, which takes about an hour to see thoroughly. The rest is shopping and views, so I think five and a half hours would be fine.

What do you consider affordable, in euros? We may define that term quite differently. In general, I've found Best Western hotels in Italy to be quite nice and generally on the lower end of the cost scale. You might look at some of them. We stayed at Hotel Cavalletto & Doge Orseolo several years ago with a family good of 15, it was very nice and what we considered affordable at the time. Hotel Cavalletto & Doge Orseolo Venice Official Site | Hotel in Venice St. Mark's Square | 4-Star Hotel Venice Centre (hotelcavallettovenice.com)

It will be an absolute zoo, so prepare yourselves. Could she be persuaded to pick one of the two and be happy with that? A six hour port day stop is just a tasting in any case. In other parts of Italy tickets are issued even for free days but I don't see a way to do that on the official ticketing website, so you might try e-mailing them for clarification. Accademia: Home - Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze (galleriaaccademiafirenze.it) Uffizi: The Uffizi Galleries

Maybe sharing the cruise line will help, so that a member who has sailed on that line can offer experience? I haven't sailed the entire coastline but from what I remember there really isn't a place that's deep enough for more than a small boat to land unless you go south to Giardini Naxos.

We have this discussion several times each year on this board. Some people are unwilling or unable to behave in any way different from what they know at home, and they will never be convinced that what they are doing isn't anything but right. We can tell them it's not done but they will always have a reason, great service (as if they wouldn't get that without a tip), or a really nice driver, etc. and they reinforce that by saying it's always appreciated. As if the driver would rudely throw it back in your face even if they were insulted. Tipping is not the custom in Italy. It's rude to export your country's norm to another country, no matter how uncomfortable it is for you to behave differently. Tipping is a crude way to compensate someone for their labor. Nevertheless, many will continue to do it and nothing that is said here will change that.

What does your itinerary say? Is it Taormina (Giardini Naxos), or something else?

The official gondola rates are published on the city's website here: Tariffe, orari e stazi Servizio Gondola | Comune di Venezia. A daytime ride (between 9 AM and 7 PM) fare is 80 euro for 30 minutes. A nighttime ride (between 7 PM - 3 AM) fare is 100 euro for 35 minutes. Up to five people can be in the gondola for this fare.

The following is the official web site for the Basilica San Marco: Basilica San Marco If you click on "booking" it will take you to the official site for tickets. It's very easy to do this for yourself.

Rather than use re-sellers, it's safer (in terms of purchase price as well as ability to make changes, get refunds if necessary/possible) to purchase directly from the train operators. There are two long distance train companies in Italy, the state run Trenitalia and the private competitor Italotreno. IT - Trenitalia Italy high speed train tickets| Italotreno.it - Official website

The appropriate tip is $0, as tipping is not the norm in Italy.

It's important to note that you cannot drive in the center of almost any city in Italy, as well as in many smaller towns and villages. Read up on ZTLs before driving anywhere in Italy and know what the signs look like to avoid large fines.

No, that's the Civitavecchia Express train. The Frecce trains go non-stop from Civitavecchia to Rome Termini. The last minute fare is 16 euro.

LOL, very descriptive.

According to their web site, the Sit bus departs from Largo della Pace, which is the same place that the port bus drops passengers off: Sit bus shuttle The train station is about a mile away on foot but there is a public bus from Largo della Pace. Sometimes there is also a bus from the ship direct to the train station but you can't count on that always being available. They say it runs every 20 minutes on days when ships are embarking/disembarking: Civitavecchia Servizi Pubblici Srl - Portlink (civitavecchia-servizi-pubblici-srl.it) There is now an elevator at the Civitavecchia train station so there's no need to drag luggage up and down stairs, but I would suggest spending a little extra money to take a Frecce train with an assigned seat rather than the regional trains. In all, the Sit bus seems like the easiest solution.