euro cruiser

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.

If you are physically able, walking is the best way to see the real Venice. Everywhere around San Marco will be wall-to-wall people (unless you travel in winter, but not during Carnevale), to see Venice you need to wander away from that area. With only one day I'd pick just one or two places (Doge's Palace and either the basilica or the campanile) to tour and spend the rest of the time wandering.

Personally, I would stay closer to Piazzale Roma, buses pick up either there or at Tronchetto. Piazza San Marco is lovely and important, but in my opinion there's no need to stay there, or near there, to get the full experience of it. The Sofitel Hotel Papadopoli is close to Piazzale Roma and quite nice: Hotel Papadopoli

There is only one ferry port on Capri, at Marina Grande.

La Spezia is the easiest option and offers you more alternatives for transport. The port bus drops you off at the cruise terminal (located at Largo Michele Fiorillo, 19124 La Spezia SP, Italy if you want to see it on a google map), from there to La Spezia Centrale is 1.9 km/one and a quarter miles on foot. You can sometimes get a taxi to take you, or there are public buses across the park on Via Vittorio Veneto (Piazza Europa), the google map location for the bus stop is here: 4R5H+32 La Spezia, Province of La Spezia, Italy At La Spezia Centrale you can buy an all-day train ticket that allows you unlimited use of the trains between the villages as well as access to bathrooms. You can read about the Cinque Terre cards (one includes trains, the other does not so read the details carefully) as well as purchase options on the national park's website here: Cinque Terre Card | Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre (parconazionale5terre.it) Additional information on the train card is available on the Trenitalia website here: Travel around 5 Terre - Trenitalia Another option from La Spezia is to travel by ferry. It's a beautiful way to get there and more comfortable, in my opinion, but it's slower and more expensive. More information here: Navigation Golfo dei Poeti - Visit the Cinque Terre from the sea (navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it) There used to be a ticket that combined ferries and train but I don't see it on the site, although I only took a quick glance so you might find it with more diligent research.

Santa Margherita Ligura is a tender port but there is a train station within walking distance for those in reasonable physical shape. It's about 1 km/six-tenths of a mile from the port area where the tenders will drop off. From there to the villages of Cinque Terre is about 45 minutes - one hour by train (Trenitalia), depending on the train and the village chosen. It's easy to do on your own.

If seeing the Sistine Chapel is important to you, I would consider one of the before- or after-hours tours that allow you to be in there with very few others. I did it with Italy with Us years ago, when they first started these tours, and it was an amazing experience. Very expensive, but to me worth it to be in the chapel with just our group of twelve for a half hour. My first visit to the museums was a few weeks after 9/11 and it was crowded, but nothing like it was a year later and subsequent visits. I had no idea how good I had it the first time but even that was overshadowed by the private tour.

It's really hard to say, since you have one bus to the port exit, then another to the train station, unless the direct to the station bus happens to be running. You cannot count on that. The actual bus rides are short, each one is only about one mile. To make your life easier with luggage I would book Frecce trains for both segments, which limits your timing quite a lot. There are only a couple of Frecces from Civitavecchia to Rome each morning, at 9:16 and 11:16.

Regarding the on your own part, Venice is very easy to see DIY once you get there. I believe the OP is on NCL, which means porting in Trieste, 160 km/100 miles from Venice. I'm sure NCL will offer a transportation only package, then you can get around on your own.

I've been to a few of those glass blowing demonstrations on various trips, it's all the same thing. You get to watch them make a small horse (or something similar) and then the hard sell starts. You can imagine how excited the glass blower is to be making the 30th or 40th little horse of the day. Unless you are deeply into the art of glass blowing ...

The cruise ship shuttle drop off is at Piazza Municipio, a one and a half mile walk from the train station. NCL also charges for the shuttle to the drop off point, it was $10 round trip several years ago.