mapleleaves

The US Embassy web site will answer your questions re: testing positive, quarantining, etc https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/#:~:text=Entry Restrictions to Greece Relaxed,SARS-CoV-2 infection.

I looked at this option a few months ago but Ljubijana is an hour's drive from Trieste. Any savings on the airfare would be gobbled up by the cost of a taxi or car/driver. The train was very long and didn't match up with flight times ..... no interest in overnighting. But now I see that Flixbus is an option and economical. Maybe worth re-considering. Thx for re-newing this idea !

We were in Naples 7-7. I checked my notes, and our driver picked us up at 8am and dropped us off at 5pm ( I paid for an extra hour). Good price when shared among 4. The vans hold 8, but I think more than 6 could get uncomfortable. I'm sure you could find others on your roll call to share the cost, since the Pompeii/Amalfi combo is so popular. Whatever you decide, it will be a wonderful cruise! We loved every moment of it. Enjoy!

Where do you board the boat? Actually, the description makes it sound like the entire day's travel is by boat. Is this a 7-8hr day? Since this is a Celebrity Tour, you might want to ask on the Celebrity forum to see if past travelers have done the tour. I used Aldo Limo, but nearly all the car/driver vendors offer private tours.... italytours.eu, joeBanana, italytoursharing, and recently read great reviews of PleasantTravel.com. In 2019 they were about $40- an hr. Nice that your tour includes time in Amalfi. Many of those tours go to Sorrento then stop briefly at the Positano overlook before heading back to Pompeii. We really struggled with skipping Pompeii, but in the end, all 4 of us agreed the Amalfi Coast was the priority; so we had time in Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, plus the ferry.

It would help to see the details if you want feedback. We had a private driver for our day along the Amalfi Coast ( $400 for 8hrs) . I find the views from the water to be spectacular (Cinque Terre experience) so we took the ferry from Positano to Amalfi ( maybe $1o for a 20 minute ride). Fantastic day and so glad we took the ferry. We were a party of 4 adults so the Mercedes minivan/driver was affordable. You might want to consider this option. We could have posted on our roll call for additional pax to share the cost but $100 for a full day was a great deal. Plus the ability to stop where and when we wanted was such a bonus.

How about a happy medium? For now, write a brief report on the cruise.....ONE paragraph outlining your overall opinion of the cruise, highs/lows, and activities at each port. Fill in the details when you get home, when you add info about the rest of the vacation.

the dress code is posted near the end of the FAQ's . https://thevaticanmuseums.com/faq/

You're looking for a shortcut, but you need to do your research, just like the rest of us have done ! Research is the only way you can discover which cruiseline is best for YOUR needs, or which countries to visit, or which sites are most appealing, etc etc. Learn as much as you can about the cruiselines, ships, and itineraries. ie as I compared itineraries I found that port times can vary widely between cruiselines, so if you find an itinerary you really like, be sure you're in port long enough and at the right time of day for planned activities. And if there's a site you REALLY must see, pay attention to their hours of operation. ie some museums are closed on Monday. -Go to each cruiseline forum and read trip reports as they come in. Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, MSC, Costa, Celebrity. There have been 3 or 4 excellent reports on NCL and RCI recently. -In the blue banner at the top of the page are LIVE CRUISE REPORTS. - Borrow travel books from your library .... there are even books specific to Mediterranean cruises. I have Rick Steves' " Mediterranean Cruise Ports' and Ann Vipond's " Mediterranean by Cruiseship'. I prefer RickSteves. The books discuss popular destinations, sights, activities, tours, etc. - youtube is another good resource. ie Do a search on Corfu Cruise Port and you'll find dozens of recent video from people's recent visits to Corfu. Check out what they did/saw and see if it appeals. Have fun with your research !

Be sure to check the expiration date of your passport .... must be valid for 6 months beyond sail date. Look halfway down the page to TRAVEL Documents Check List: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise

Thx, I remembered from my visit to Split several yrs ago that vendors only accepted Kuna, but with Croatia converting to Euros in 2023 I thought perhaps some places were already accepting euros.

In dubrovnik did the cab drivers accept euros? stores/restaurants ?

Interesting.... I thought it would be the other way 'round. I expected that everyone would rush off the ship this morning at 8am to catch the train, whereas on the ship's departure day people would have been arriving at different times thoughout the day. Thanks for taking the time to write this report. Greatly appreciated. .

Euros. Otherwise the waiters have to pay fees/exchange rate to change those dollars to euros.

https://www.portseattle.org/page/port-valet-enjoy-seattle-luggage-free

Take advantage of the Luggage Valet program so that you don't have to drag your luggage around as you visit. And keep in mind that Seattle traffic can be brutal.

I was hoping to read more about the ports; activities, highights/disappointments, DIY or tour, tour operator, how you got from port to town if you tendered, etc. Perhaps you'll do this as a summary at the end? Enjoying the report so far though. Thank you!

That link only applied to Norwegian and Holland America cruises. Does not apply to your cruise with Costa, which still requires testing. It appears that VCE airport still offers testing, but 8am - 1pm. Check the website for details. Also, the RedCross site at St Marks is still accepting reservations. https://crivenezia.myprenota.it/

I just read on a Roll Call that someone just rec'd their flight info for a cruise out of Italy on July 24. They had been quite frustrated at the delay but were VERY pleased with the flights they rec'd !

Check out the Italy forum .....this question is asked and answered many times, along with shuttle recommendations.. (the most common response is that FCO is chaos; arrive 3 hrs prior; 10:30/11am is the earliest flight time recommended)

Just wondering .... did you catch the train in Mestre ? was it crowded with cruise pax ?

We only used a driver while in Naples; a 9hr trip along the Amalfi Coast. AldoLimo. I chose them because they were willing to adjust their itinerary to meet our sightseeing requirements. We had a very long port day in Livorno so we did Pisa and Florence as DIY ... took the train to Pisa, then a cab to see the Leaning Tower where we spent an hr, a cab back to the train station to catch the train to Florence, had lunch at the Market, wandered around for a few hrs, then train back to Livorno. The only regret in Florence was that I didn't take a cab to the Piazzalle Michaaelangelo for the city view ( we spent too much time at the Market).

Great trip report ! Thanks for taking the time to write. And especially thanks for not doing a paragraph a day like some of the live reports that drag on for weeks. This is wonderful. Could you please indicate the names of any tour operators that you use. Many of us are still in the research and planning phase so this info would be very helpful.

there are many other vendors that have been highly recommended. When I was researching for my 2019 cruise I created a list of 8 or 9 reputable companies. Sorry but I tossed the list after the cruise. I found them by reading trip reports every day in the NCL, Celebrity, RCI forums. Pretty easy research! Besides italytours, the only companies I remember are joebananalimos, romeinlimo, and aldolimo. _ Also ItalyTourSharing from JoeBanana, which offers people the opportunity to start a tour share group or connect with an exisiting one that needs more people) .

No prices on their menu. https://www.volcanoblue.gr/sites/default/files/2021-07/VOLCANO-GR-EN-2021.pdf

I looked it up on Facebook (nothing interesting) but was able to access their web page from there. Maybe give that a try.