cruisegal415

Following as we are also considering our first Alaska cruise (but not first cruise by any means!). Wondering which cruise line offers the best trips in terms of scenery, ports, etc.? I've heard Princess but don't know why.

Can you share your experience?

We are arriving in Mykonos via Oceania Riviera next month. Our ship is there until 10 pm so we have plenty of time. We'd like to take a beach day, and have been researching both Ornos Beach and Platis Galios. I've looked at Santerini Dave's website along with a few others. What we are looking for is a place to rent two loungers and an umbrella, a place that has some good local food for lunch, and has some shops within walking distance of the beach when we need a break from relaxing. It seems that both Ornos and Platis Galios are the best for this type of activity. It's just my husband and myself, late 60's, early 70's, would prefer not somewhere with a lot of loud, pulsing music or screaming kids. Which would you recommend, and how would we go about renting lounge chairs and umbrellas?

Thanks Hank for the detailed explanation. I’m anxious about booking an excursion that requires us to meet at the top of the cable car because I’ve heard it can take up to an hour due to the crowds. Also Oceania boards the tenders first with pax taking their own excursions so we will likely not even get the tender for at least a half hour (it took us about an hour when we were in Amalfi last time). So the excursions that say they leave at like 9 or 9:30 don’t sound plausible.

I called Oceania and asked where the tenders drop us off, they said it was the "old port." She didn't know what that meant. Am I to understand that from there, the tenders ferry you to either Athenios or Skala? So if I take the excursion that says "meet at the top of the cable car" we need to tender to Skala, and if we take the excursion that provides a mini-bus, we should go to Athenios? Do they really give us a choice when we get off the ship?

The Vatican. Viator did let us know that our non-refundable tour was cancelled which we were thrilled with since we ended up getting the Vatican tour, and would have lost money on the Viator one.

I did email them to confirm that it would be open for our August 12 tour but never received an answer so I'm assuming they would have let us know if it was cancelled.

If anyone will be in Rome on Sunday afternoon, are you interested in sharing a golf cart tour of the city?

Update-I had booked a so-called Scavi tour through Viator, only to have received (3) different emails from the Vatican because I inadvertently sent three requests for the Scavi tour because I didn't think it went through. I got three responses from the Vatican offering the tours! I took one, and felt bad that I had the non-refundable one booked through Viator for the 24th. Then, lo and behold, got an email from Viator saying the non-refundable tour we booked on the 24th was cancelled! Apparently the Vatican is shutting down the Scavi tours from August 19th to sometime in September I think. So we didn't lose out on that $ after all!

I'm confused about Santorini and its surrounding places. We are coming in on the Oceania Riviera, and will be tendering in. Where does the tender drop us off at? I know that you have to take a cable car from that point to Fira (?) and from there you can go to Oia and other places. But what, exactly, is there where the tender docks? Is that Santorini? Is there a town there to explore? Our ship is in Santorini from 8 am to 10 pm. I've looked at excursions that take us to Oia, Firostefani, Megalochori, the Black Beach in Perivols and/or Profit Ilias, but the tours I have looked at are only about 4-5 hours. I'd rather not have to take the tender back and forth to the ship, I'd rather stay in Santorini, but I really have no idea whether that means Fira, or where the ship docks. Can anyone clarify this for me?

Following. I read there are not many taxis available at the port, is this true? Also read that there are a number of cafes and restaurants on the beach, do they provide lounge chairs and umbrellas?

Two words. Thigh rub. Lol

I found a couple of knee length skorts on Amazon that should work along with a couple of flowing linen capris. Found a flowy lightweight midi length white skirt that should go with everything. I just don’t feel comfortable in a dress or a skirt without something under it so I’m looking for a lightweight pair of bike shorts.

OK well, I emailed them (Scavi tour) and filled out the form on line (twice, two different days) and then I found this tour from Travel Advisor (through Viator): https://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Scavi-Tour-to-Tomb-of-St-Peters-in-Vatican/d511-115257P8 I checked it out and called and confirmed it did include the Necropolis as well as St. Peter's tomb, so I booked it for August 12 which is when I needed it. It was non-refundable, but I knew that's when we wanted to go. The next day, I got an email saying that my tour had not been confirmed. When inquired, they said it was alI sold out, so I found one on August 24th at 9 or 11 am. We were pulling in to port at Civitavecchia on the 24th, but not disembarking until the 25th. I figured we could disembark early and stay in Rome overnight. I quickly realized that this wouldn't work, but if we took a train from Civitavecchia in the morning directly to the Vatican, we might make it. That would necessitate spending the day in Rome, then returning to the ship, then taking another transfer the next morning to the airport, but it was ok. Then when I started figuring out what time we'd have to leave the ship to get to the train, take the train ride into Rome, and walk from the station to the Vatican, I started to panic that we wouldn't make the 10:45 meet time. Since my reservation was still "pending" I tried to contact the tour operator to say I misjudged the time and asked if I could cancel since it hadn't gone through yet. Viator said I'd have to contact the tour operator, so I went on the website and found an email address for the actual tour operator, and sent them an email. The response the next day was from Viator, saying I'd have to contact the tour operator! I sent back the email saying that's who I sent the email too, but by that time, the reservation had gone through and I'm now stuck with it. I'm kicking myself because (1) I NEVER (except for this!) purchase non-refundable tickets for anything, and (2) I read the reviews on Travel Advisor and Viator and they are not good. My husband says, just chalk it up to a bad decision and let's just take the other tours that offer a tour of St. Peter's tomb and not the Necropolis, on one of the three days that we are there pre-cruise. I'm inclined to agree. It sounds like a lot of stress and aggravation for a tour that doesn't seem worth it.

I'm no skinny minnie either...lol

We are going to Italy and Greece in August this summer. We know it will be very hot (and crowded). We are doing things like visiting Pompeii and the Herculaneum and seeing the insides of many cathedrals. Given that cathedral visits require covering shoulders and knees, but getting there will involve walking around in very high heat, I was thinking that maybe some lightweight linen capris might be the better idea. I have a pashmina I could use to cover my shoulders, and I guess I could bring one of those sarong things you use to cover up a bathing suit if I wore shorts or a sundress that is too short. Do you dress for the weather (shorts or sundresses) and just bring something to cover up when going in to a church, or wear long skirts or capris to sightsee in even when not going in to a church? (Some tours we are on will take us to a church as part of a larger tour to other places). Any ideas where to find very lightweight capris? Even though I live in south Florida, and you'd think we'd have a lot of that type of clothing, we don't. I'm usually pretty conscious of making sure my shoes match my outfit, and I have some neutral comfy walking sandals to wear (other than to Pompeii) but DH thinks i should forget fashion and just wear a comfortable pair of sneakers. But I usually prefer sandals in the summer, my feet get too hot! Suggestions?? TIA

New question, and if it was previously addressed, forgive me. I looked through this entire thread but didn't see it specifically. We are arriving in Civitavecchia on August 24th. The ship overnights there and disembarkation is August 25th. We were going to do an early disembarkation on the 24th, take a transfer to Rome, spend the day in Rome, and stay at an airport hotel that night to catch our 10:40 am flight back to the us on the 25th. However, although we are staying in Rome for three days pre-cruise, we really wanted to do the SCAVI tour in St. Peters/the Vatican and I was only able to get tickets for an 11 am tour on the 24th, the day that we arrive in Civitavecchia and stay overnight there. They are non-refundable so I have to work around that. I don't think we will be able to do a full embarkation on the 24th and get a transfer to our hotel near the airport, then find our way to the Vatican in time for an 11 am tour. So, we have re-thought this and decided to just take a train into Rome on the 24th, and return to the ship then do the regular early debarkation on the 25th. Having said all that, here is my question. I think the easiest and most economical way to get from Civitavecchia to the Vatican on the 24th in time for the 11 am tour is by train. There are direct trains from Civitavecchia to the St. Peter's stop (it seems) that would get us there by 10 am. I'm pretty sure we can be off the ship by 8:30. So, the questions are: (1) Do we have to buy a ticket in advance or can we just purchase one when we get to the train station in Civitavecchia? (2) It looks like there are direct trains from Civitavecchia to a stop near St. Peter's. Am I seeing this correctly? How far is it from that stop to St. Peter's itself? (3) I also see there is a BIRG ticket that we can purchase that allows us a round trip to and from Civitavecchia as well as using public transportation while in Rome. Can we purchase those at the train station in Civitavecchia or do those need to be purchased in advance? (4) It appears that it's about a mile walk from the port to the train station, or there's a shuttle that we can take. Since I'm worried about time, I think it may be quicker to just walk. How much time should I allow from the time we get off the ship to get to the train station in Civitavecchia? (5) what is your best recommendation from getting from the ship to St. Peter's in time for an 11:00 tour by train?

Can I hijack this thread and ask about a 10:40 am flight from FCO? We are overnighting in Civitavecchia so fortunately we don't have to wait for ship clearance, which usually slows down the disembarkation. I'm told we can disembark as early as 5:45 am. What time would you suggest we have our transfer pick us up to get to FCO about 8:30 am? Should we plan on walking off with our luggage, or leave it out overnight since the ship will probably have staggered disembarkation times depending on what time we pick? Also, if we use the ship's transfer, does that make it easier to leave on time?

Having considered all your helpful suggestions, I think we will just stay on the ship in Civitavecchia overnight and take a train in to St. Peter's that morning. The train only takes an hour, which would give us plenty of time to get there and find the meeting point for the tour. Another question, about the train, do we have to/should we book it in advance, or can we just buy the ticket at the station? Hard to decide in June what time we would want to return in August.

Our upcoming cruise in the Riviera has us getting into Civitavecchia at 8 am on August 24th. We stay there overnight and the next day, the cruise ends and we disembark, get a transfer to the airport and fly home. Since there was nothing we wanted to see in or near Civitavecchia, we thought we would just disembark on the 24th, transfer to Rome, spend the day there, and return to a hotel by the airport that night so we can catch our flight early the next morning. I spoke with someone at Oceania, who said, yes, we can disembark a day early, we just have to let the front desk know when we check in. However, I didn't ask what time we would be able to disembark. There was a tour that we really wanted to take in Rome that was booked up during the pre-cruise days that we will be in Rome, but is available on the 24th, at 11 am. Now I'm worried that will not give us enough time to complete the disembarkation process, get to the hotel to drop our bags, and make our way in to Rome for the tour. Does any one know, if you disembark a day early, how early in the morning they let you leave?

Actually just got notified that my tour was cancelled, apparently they were full when Viator took my reservation. GRRRRr

Got this from Rome Transfers:

I actually found one through TripAdvisor, and I wasn't sure if it was the actual Scavi tour but it is tickets through Vatican tickets and I called to double check.

We are returning from a cruise and looking for a place to stay for one night in Rome. Our flight out the next morning is at 10:30. The Hilton Garden Inn in Rome is 10 minutes from the airport, and offers free shuttles, but if we stay there, we'd have to pay about $100 in cab fare (RT) to go in to Rome for the day. Hilton Rome is located in the terminal, it says, does not offer a shuttle, but is a 10 minute walk to the terminal, according to their website. However, they offer a free shuttle from the hotel to downtown Rome, which would save us about $100. Our concern is, we are not youngsters and do not travel "light." Each of us will have one large suitcase, one carry on and one personal item. Does anyone know if the ten minute walk from the Hilton (not the Hilton Garden Inn) is do-able? Are there suitcase trollies available to use? Is it a straight ten minute walk, or will we have to navigate steps? Alternatively, if we opt to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn, which does not offer free shuttle service to downtown Rome, is the train station nearby?

Great! Booked a SCAVI tour and the Galleri8a Borghese. Thanks!