kprice1218

thank you very much!!

This is for a one way transfer to connect with a Viking River Cruise departing Avignon on 11/10/24.

Looking for the best option to get from the Port in Marseille to Avignon in November.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We are driving to Fort Lauderdale  to board a Princess cruise for 10-nights.  Looking for a hotel option that offers parking and shuttle to the port.  Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, I am new to HAL, we are traveling round trip inside passage from Seattle this month.  Does anyone know if HAL offers post cruise, ship to airport luggage service?  

So....how bad is the HOHO in Rome? We have mobility issues and want to see as much as we can without doing a lot of additional walking, any thoughts?

I had all of the same questions for our recent Med cruise. I ended up booking a "Small Group, Skip the Line Vatican Museum and ST. Peter's Basilica" tour through Viator (on Trip Advisor). I know many people dislike Viator (because they are simply a broker and you don't always know whom your tour is actually booked with). Anyhow, I rolled the dice and we had an excellent experience!!

 

The tour actually ended up being with City Wonders, our group was approx. 12-15 people. The tour guide, Francesca, was awesome!! She really made the tour, she also did a great job at keeping the group together, keeping us moving through the sometimes difficult crowds. I felt like I got great value on this booking....

This is great news because I booked with Dark Rome (aka City Wonders) as well, I'm happy to hear you had a good experience.

If you're being picked up at 8:00 you should be at your hotel (if in central Rome) around 9:30. In most hotels your room will not yet be ready, but you can likely check-in and then leave your luggage. I'd allow an hour -- in case you want to get a coffee, freshen up in the lobby bathroom, etc. By now it's 10:30. By taxi you can be at the Vatican museum entrance in a half hour, so 11:00 would be the soonest I'd book a tour. Most times they like you to arrive a few minutes early to get through the line and to the proper meeting point.

I have found several companies offering Vatican Museum Tours and I am confused on which companies are recommended. Is the tour that is available through the Vatican website any different?

In Rome it's best to book directly through the hotel rather than on an aggregator website.

 

Prices are quite high in central Rome in the peak season!

 

Some hotels I've stayed in that are within the OP's desired area include: Albergo del Senato (expensive); Albergo Santa Chiara (a bit less expensive), and 9Hotel Cesari (less expensive). A hotel near Piazza Navona with some good rates is Hotel Navona, situated in an old building but with updated rooms.

 

Keep in mind that rooms are generally small in Europe, especially in hotels in the city center. But the convenience of being centrally located is worth it -- how much time will you actually spend in your room, when you're in Rome?

I am considering a NH Hotel hotel near the Vatican, however, it seems like most people stay near Trevi Fountain, Colosseum etc. Are there pros and cons with regards to location?

Looking for advice....We are confirmed for transfers from Civitavecchia to Rome post cruise with a pick up at the pier around 8:00 am. We have a Necropolis tour scheduled for 3:15, will there be enough time to get to Rome, drop our things off at a yet undetermined hotel, and go to the Vatican in time to do a Museum tour before the Necropolis tour?? If so any idea what time I should book the tickets for?

We'll be there in September and plan to take the Aegean Traveler speedboat...There is not a ferry operating, but several transfer "boats"

Thank you for this information, we will look into this.

Does anyone know if the ferry from Fira Old Port to Oia Ammoudi Port still operates? We will be there in October 2018.

Thank you very much, you made my day :)

Can who has recently sailed on a Celebrity Cruise (specifically the Celebrity Reflection) if they are offering the express baggage service. I recall they offered the service 2 years ago when we sailed, but when I called Celebrity they said they discontinued the service. Any input would be appreciated.

Tuesday was St. Maarten day. We visited the island on our last cruise and had booked an off ship excursion with Captain Bob. It was a great tour, taking us around the island by boat, stopping in different places to snorkel and beach visit. Captain Bob was great and had helped set up for my son to propose to his then girlfriend, now wife and made it even more special for them. The problem with that tour is we saw nothing of the island itself. Although we did not plan a tour, last minute booked the Island Tour excursion and set off with a group to visit different spots. The tour included a stop in Marigold which was all too short, but our tour guide was great and gave us a good history of the island and it's people.

 

We returned to the ship and spent the bulk of the afternoon relaxing. DW had another spa visit while I caught up on my reading and enjoying the improved weather.

 

For dinner that night, we booked the Tuscan Grill. Really enjoyed it. Had their Bacon w/Pepper as a starter which is the one thing I did not enjoy. I love bacon in general, like most people, but this just felt like an undercooked piece of fat. DW had calamari which was good. It got a lot better though. For an entree, I went with the Grilled Bronzino and a half order side of Ricotta Gnocchi, both of which were delicious, the fish cooked perfectly, and DW Short rib Pappardelle Ragu which she didn't like, but I loved the bite or two I had. For dessert, had maybe my favorite thing to date on the cruise; a simple fig gelato that was divine. Service was excellent and I definitely would go back here, maybe go for a steak next time.

 

We were tired afterwards so skipped the show. Wandered around a bit to check out some music then called it a night. When we got back to the room, had a surprise. There was a form for luggage valet. I had heard through Cruise Critic that the Eclipse (I believe) was testing it out so had no expectations for it to be here. It is. $25 per guest, bags picked up and checked through to your airline. Sign me up! We filled out the registration and are set up for pickup. We have a late flight so dumping the bags sounds good to me.

Wow, this is good news, I called Celebrity last month because I have a late departure in April and they said they discontinued this program, I was really bummed as I was planning on shipping my luggage off and spending the day at the beach....

Thank you for the unbiased review, we will be traveling on the Gem on March 12, it will be our first NCL Cruise and I am a bit apprehensive, so I was pleased to read your review. I am a firm believer in "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" and some people tend to dis one cruise or another because of a single bad experience. Your honest review pointed out the good and the not so good, yet you still put a positive spin on it, thank you.

Hello, my husband & I are new to NCL and will be sailing on the Gem 3/12/16. We do not have the UBP or UDP, instead we are going to purchase the 5-meal package. How does this work in the restaurants that are "ala carte"? Also, does NCL allow you to bring bottled water and/or wine on board? (Some of the other cruise lines allowed us to do so but limited the amount we could bring). Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the review, beautiful pictures and very eye opening as we are doing the Western Caribbean sailing this week and have the classic beverage package..I guess we will have to wait and see how it all works out.

Thanks for the review, we are sailing on the Reflection 3/28/15 and are really looking forward to it, it will be our first cruise on Celebrity.

Has anyone had any experience with this excursion? We are planning on trying in when we are there on the Reflection in March