mapleleaves

Port Valet - Enjoy Seattle Luggage Free! | Port of Seattle (portseattle.org)

The most economical option would be train which would be about a 30 minute journey. The train station is about a 15-20 minute walk from the pier. The easiest option would be a cab or driver. Email for the cost. But given the large crowds coming off the ship looking for a cab, you'd need to have a ride reserved. We waited quite awhile for cab when we ARRIVED to Trieste by train. It was pouring down rain which added to the problem, but we waited an hour !

Without knowing your budget, mobility, #of people, and preferred areas, it's difficult to make meaningful suggestions. ie if you can't easily manage your luggage you might prefer to stay near the train station, OTOH maybe you pack light and can stay anywhere. If you are a couple with 2 kids maybe you'd be happier in an apt for 3 nites in Venice. We don't know ...... Use tripadvisor or booking.com to narrow your search by area and budget, then come back to request feedback when you've found a few options that interest you. I think this Venice site is a great resource, for hotels and everything else: Venice for Visitors | In-depth travel advice since 1997 (europeforvisitors.com) As for Florence, the historical area where all the sights are, is quite small. I was there 2 weeks ago and wanted to be near the Duomo and the SMNovella station but didn't want to spend over $150. Booking.com was great!

Your flight is considered domestic, so ignore the sign for PASSENGERS WITH DIRECT FLIGHTS TO USA. If you have no luggage to check and have a boarding pass, you can go directly upstairs to SECURITY. What time is your flight? I've flown out of VCE several times (always domestic, never w/checked luggage) and it's usually chaos. Even their website says to arrive 3 hrs prior. I've been ok with 2 1/2 hrs tho. Having said that, in Oct I had a 6:20am flight to London on a Monday morning .... I was thru security and at the gate within 45 minutes. So perhaps the time of day and day of the week make a difference. Afternoons are probably bogged down by busloads of cruise pax.

Since it was your TA who said a passport was required, why not ask him/her to show you the source of that requirement ?

You're probably not getting many responses due to the fact that dealing with jet lag is such an individual thing. Based on past experience, a morning tour would be better for me; if jet lag is going to catch up with me, I will start to fade late afternoon. But I wouldn't schedule a tour before 9am. At home you can throw yourself together in 20-30 minutes but now you'll need more time because you're living out of a suitcase.... you need to remember what you've packed, where it is, find your adapter, find a restaurant for bfast and all that entails. As to adapting to the time change, I find that it depends on what time I arrive at my destination. 2 weeks ago I landed in Pisa at 7pm .... went to a bar, had a stiff drink and a couple of appetizers and was in bed at 9. I felt rested for the rest of the trip! But when I arrive before 12 noon, I find that I'm dragging by dinner time and have to force myself to stay awake until 9. It's more of a struggle.

The Ravenna Tourism Board has info about a shuttle to the pier. It appears to leave from popular hotels so find one that's closest to where you are or where you want to be. There is additional transportation information under PLAN. Shuttle bus - Ravenna / Porto Corsini Cruise Terminal - Ravenna Turismo

From what I've read, trains and roads around Ravenna are open today or tomorrow at the latest. ( people have called their hotels to get current updates on the situation). Today looks to be the biggest issue and that's for people who were to board the RCI ship in Ravenna but it was diverted to Trieste.

In the blue banner near the top of the page you'll see LIVE CRUISE REPORTS, These reports are usually very detailed with lots of useful info about what to see and do, hits/misses, tours and DIY options. Look back 5 or 6 pages for an itinerary similar to yours, not necessarily the same cruiseline, but similar ports. Also, buy or borrow a travel book to read up on various locations to learn about the history, sights, activities, etc.

We had to vacate our cabin by 8 but were allowed to hang out in the MDR for bfast until 9.

Cruiseline transfers run about $60 pp. It might only be available from the airport, or they might pick up at Tronchetto parking lot in Venice. You can take the train from Venice SLucia station or from Mestre (on the mainland). Some runs are 2 hrs, some are 3 so be mindful of the schedule. No transfer is needed. (Last summer I read that some people had to stand from SLucia, so I boarded in Mestre. Better yet, I travelled Business Class with a reserved seat, and coffee/snack on a high speed train. Booked a month in advance for 20E pp ) Post cruise, I wanted to go to Venice airport so I took FlixBus. Again 2 hrs, about 20E pp. FlixBus has runs to Venice, Mestre and VCE. So again, be mindful of the schedule. The train station and bus depot in Trieste are within a block of each other, but are about a 15-20 minute to/from the cruise pier. Or you can take a cab.

By best do you mean most convenient ? If so that's probably the cruiseline transfer since it will take you right to the ship. Around $60pp. Some cruiselines only pick up pax at the airport, others will also pick up in Venice, at Tronchetto parking lot. PreCruise I took the train TO Trieste. 2 hrs, 18E pp Post cruise I used FlixBus from Trieste to VCE. 2 hrs, 20E pp. The train station and bus depot in Trieste are within a block of each other, but are about a 15-20 minute walk from the cruise pier. Or you can take a cab.

Borrow or buy Rick Steves book " Med cruise ports'. It provides info on history, sights, activities, tours, restaurants, and DIY options at each port. Encourage the kids to read the book so they can participate in discussions about what to see and do. Watch the various cruiseline sites for trip reports; NCL, RCI, and Celebrity visit many of the same ports as MSC. The reports will provide a wealth of information. Also, in the blue banner at the top of the page you'll see LIVE CRUISE REPORTS. These sometimes get bogged down with too much detail, ( like photos of every appetizer and drink for every meal ! ) but if you skip over the minutia, you'll find some great info.

The Ravenna Tourism site has info on local beaches as well as transportation. If you decide on a specific beach, email them for info on the correct bus route. The Beaches of Ravenna - Ravenna Turismo And there's this free shuttle on weekends: Navetto Mare - Shuttle to the Sea - Ravenna Turismo

Thx for the explanation! I never travel w/ checked luggage so I would have headed to Security. I don't I'll ever fly direct to the US, but it's good to know what the proceedure is. Sounds like VCE is as chaotic as ever. Too bad. When I flew out in Oct I was at my gate in less than an hour, so I hoped it was due to process improvents, but apparently it was just due to having a 6am flight. Thx again for the info.

On my last flight from VCE I noticed an overhead sign for 'pax with direct flights to the US '. It seemed to direct people down a hallway on the ground floor, yet Security was upstairs. I always fly to London first, so I went to security and then my gate. What's the process for pax with US flights? how is it different?

You're getting a private water taxi for 80E ?? That's an amazing price. Typical cost is 150E. I'm a budget traveller, so I always use the ATVO airport express bus from Piazzale Roma. 10E for the 20 minute ride. There's a bus leaving every half hour, so super convenient. Linea n. 35 (atvo.it) You're wise to take an early flight. VCE is pretty chaotic after noon-time but early morning is pretty easy. In Oct I had a 6:30am flight; was at my gate in less than an hr. Have a smooth flight home!

The area around Placa Catalunya and Las Ramblas is a great location to stay. It's a 5 minute walk to the famous Boqueria Market, the HOHO bus stop, bakeries/restaurants/bars, a supermarket, and of course Las Ramblas. The Hotel Jazz is in this area, so go to booking.com and use the map feature to find the Jazz and look at the surrounding hotels. The Jazz is lovely but out of my price range. I stayed at the Hotel Lleo for half the price; a simple hotel but very clean and comfortable and a great location. We took the Aerobus Express from the airport to Placa Catalunya then walked 5 minutes to the hotel. The bus ride was about 30 minutes and cost about 6E.

Excellent review. You sure packed a lot of sights and activities into this trip. Well done !

There is no train service between the airport and Venice! If you fly into VCE, you will take a taxi or the ATVO express bus into Venice. Both take 20 minutes. A taxi will cost about 45E. The ATVO is 10E pp. Both will drop you at Piazzale Roma, which is the last point of land travel in Venice. It's basically a big parking lot for buses, taxis and cars. It's also only a block from the Grand Canal ! and there is a vaporetto stop there. You can be at St Marks in 30 minutes! Venice is pretty small. The Santa Lucia Train Station is on the OPPOSITE side of the canal from P Roma, so you would need to cross a large bridge to get to the station. PRoma is a popular area to stay for cruisers due to the convenience factor. There are a few hotels right on the square, or if you can manage 1 small bridge and a block or 2, there are several more hotel options. 'How Many Bridges?' hotel listings for Piazzale Roma | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com) If you want to avoid the bridge to SLucia train staion, you could catch the train from Venice MEstre instead. Mestre is on the mainland, as you approach Venice; about a 15 minute cab ride, 30E. I took the train from Mestre to Trieste in Sept. I wanted to ensure that I got a seat so I booked a high speed train, Business Class with seat selection and a snack/coffee for under 20E.

You mention train station and hotel location ..... is that because you will take the train to Trieste?

We have no idea about your interests, budget or physical abilities so it's difficult to say what you should do at each port. Your best bet is to buy or borrow from your library, Rick Steves book "Med Cruise Ports". The book provides information on each port; the history, sights, activities, tours, and DIY options. Figure out what you want to see and do, then come back to this forum for assistance with specifics.

With a flight at 11:35am your only option is a private transfer, OR, you could bluff your way onto the first airport shuttle by telling RCI you're on Flight ?? to PHL at 12:15pm. ( but find a real flight#) My guess is that those shuttles will leave at 7am with the intent of arriving to the airport by 9:30am. NOTE: When you arrive at VCE prior to your cruise, take the time to check out the airport. When I was there in Oct I noticed overhead signage directing pax with nonstop flights to USA to a location on the ground floor. I was going to London and no bags to check so I went to Security which is on the floor above. So get that sorted out ahead of time .... you don't want to be waiting in the wrong line!

Funny, I felt the opposite.... loved the Epic, the Gem was just ok. Maybe I prefer larger ships

With a private tour you can make your own itinerary, within reason. Just don't jeopardize the company's ability to get you back to port on time. So give it some thought and decide what YOUR FAMILY wants to see and do. Our group of 4 wanted to see Pompeii but wanted the Amalfi Coast more, so we made the tough choice to skip Pompeii. We also had no desire to spend time in Sorrento as it would take away from our time on the coast. We visited Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, probably 1 1/2 hrs in each town. To maximize our time, the driver asked to meet earlier in order to get a head start on traffic so we met at 7:30am. And since we had a long port day I pd for an extra hour so we had a 9hr tour day.To avoid retracing our steps and getting caught up in the AC traffic jam, we took the back way home, thru the mountains. We got to spend time in each village and it broke up the day nicely so that we never sat in the car for more than 1 1/2 hrs at a time. We didn't use ItalyTours .... there are lots of recommended companies that provide the same tours.