euro cruiser

I don't know if I've ever heard of a ship's excursion using public transit so I'd be surprised if it's anything other than a hired coach. There are only a couple of direct trains per day between Carrara and Florence, all of the others require a change at either Pisa or Viareggio. It might be worth your time to post on the roll call for your sailing to see if you can find a few others to share the cost of a private car/minivan. That would give you the most time, more than a bus that has to build in pad time for a few of the 50+ passengers to be late, get lost, need a bathroom, etc.

The marina at Carrara is pretty small, is this a tender port? It's certainly less expensive to go on your own but Carrara is almost as bad a marketing ploy as calling La Spezia a port for Florence. From the port area to the train station is a pretty straightforward walk of 2.4km/one and a half miles. For most people that's at least a half hour. It's not a big passenger port, without regularly scheduled ferries I don't know that I would count on a lot of taxis available at the port, but I could be wrong. The train trip takes 2 - 2.5 hours.

The new drop off point isn't far from the old one, just further into the port rather than the town. How much time it adds to the walk depends on whether they do anything to make the walk easier, right now you have to cross traffic in a couple of places that weren't designed for pedestrians. There is security fencing preventing you from taking the most direct route, following the roadway adds 350 meters/two-tenths of a mile to the walk to the station. From the current drop off point at Varco Vespucci to the train station the walk is now 1.8km/1.1 miles. It looks like this is only an issue for those on the really big ships that need to dock at 25, smaller ships at 10-13 should be able to walk out of the fort exit. It will be good to hear more on-the-ground experiences as the season ramps up.

This is right across the street from the station in Mestre, so easy to get a bus or taxi to the airport, has great ratings and 48 (!) restaurants within a third of a mile. LEONARDO ROYAL HOTEL VENICE MESTRE $75 ($̶9̶5̶) - Updated 2022 Prices & Reviews - Province of Venice, Italy (tripadvisor.com)

Yes, if you might need access to shops or delivered food, stay in Mestre.

Our kids were a few years younger than yours when they visited the Time Elevator in Rome but they loved it. I waited outside as I can't abide sustained loud noise. Spettacoli | Time Elevator - Rome Multisensory Cinema (time-elevator.it)

Yes, you can do a one-stop on the vaporetto to get across the canal but it's an expensive way to get over there. Years ago there was a one-stop ticket but it's no longer on the price list so you'd have to pay 7,50 euro per person. Vaporetto pricing info: Venice Urban Services | ACTV (avmspa.it)

The taxi and bus service to Vesuvio is located in the piazza in front of the Ercolano Scavi Circumvesuviana station. Here is their web site: Vesuvio Express Bus shuttle per il Vesuvio | Visita al Vesuvio | Gran Cono del Vesuvio |Visita al Cratere del Vesuvio |

It's so easy to get to Herculeneum on your own. You can get on the #1 tram on the street directly in front of the cruise port, this tram drops you right in front of the Porta Nolana starting point for the Circumvesuviana regional rail line. You can take any train going to either Poggiomarino or Sorrento, both lines stop at Ercolano Scavi, the stop for Herculeneum. The walk from the station to the park ticket office is about a half mile in a dead straight line. It's very easy. Just reverse the process to return to Naples, but get off the train at the penultimate stop, Garibaldi, and switch to the #1 metro line to get quickly to the historic center of town. You'll likely get back to Naples at lunchtime, perfect to enjoy a pizza in its home town.

Just a heads-up about the museum, many of the key pieces of the collection are out on loan to the Tokyo museum through the end of 2022. A Japanese media company is paying for the restoration of the Alexander mosaic and the exhibition is part of the deal. Il MANN arriva in Giappone con una grande mostra su Pompei - Arte Magazine

Yes, they generally run through the end of October, weather permitting. From the FAQs on the ferry website: Generalmente la stagione inizia il 1° Aprile e termina il 1° Novembre. I think that's pretty straightforward even if you don't read Italian. Link here: Navigazione Golfo dei Poeti - Biglietto Cinque Terre online e altre domande frequenti

What time does your ship arrive in Naples?

If you're going in by train I'd get on the first one possible to give yourself as much pad as possible. The metro does work for this transition but it's a bit of a walk from the basilica to the nearest stop (900 meters/one half mile to the Ottaviano stop) and you have to change lines at Termini. I think you may be underestimating how long this will take, I would assume 40 - 45 minutes and be pleasantly surprised if it takes less. Bus would take about the same amount of time but you'd also have to make a change (bus #64 to Largo Argentina followed by #87 to the Colosseo). It's a little less walking as the bus stop is quite close to the basilica. I know that google maps estimates this two and a quarter mile walk taking 45 minutes but that doesn't reflect the reality on the ground, the traffic, the crowds on the sidewalks, the time to cross streets, etc. And all of that assumes you don't make any wrong turns. I would assume an hour if you want to walk and again, be pleasantly surprised if you get there faster.

Why limit yourself to the ship's tour to Herculaneum? It's so easy to get there on your own and not be limited.

What interests you most? It's not realistic to cram both the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum into one six hour time frame, you really need to choose one or the other (or neither, if they don't interest you), then build on that.

If you can get there earlier, I would. The line at St. Peter's is just for security and it moves along but it can be long. You can walk the entire basilica and get a good overview in an hour. How are you planning to get to the Colosseum from St. Peter's? That will determine what time you'd need to leave the area to make your 10:25 booking.

Last week Trenitalia posted an update on the Civitavecchia service for 2022. The timing doesn't work for most cruise passengers unless their cruise ends in Rome but here it is. There is one morning CE train departing Civitavecchia at 9:07, arriving to Roma S. Pietro at 10:00 and Roma Ostiense at 10:10. There is one afternoon run departing Roma Ostiense at 16:30 (4:30 PM), stopping at Roma S. Pietro at 16:43 (4:43 PM) and arriving to Civitavecchia at 17:20 (5:20 PM). The fare is 10 euro each way, or 15 euro if you purchase both tickets together. Children up to 12 years of age ride free with an adult. This press release doesn't specify it but usually that means one child per adult. There is no fee for baggage. You are guaranteed a seat on this train, they only sell as many tickets as they have seats, but seats are not assigned. Note that this means if the train is sold out, any children under 12 will not get a seat. Trenitalia hasn't gotten around to updating the English language page on this topic but you can read the information here using google translate, if necessary: Ferrovie dello Stato (trenitalia.com)