bonsai3s

I would allow 30 minutes to get from the port to the train station in Civitavecchia, plus an hour and forty five minutes for train travel and another fifteen minutes to walk from the train station to the check-in desk for your airline. To that I'd add another half hour of "pad" time, totaling three hours.

 

Therefore, if you can be off your ship and on the way to the airport by 8:30 AM you should have no problem making a 1:30 PM flight to London (which will leave from one of the main terminals, not T5).

Great and accurate advice. Outside the ship, there will be a free shuttle that will take you to the port gate. Just outside the gate, you can purchase your tickets (tobacco stand or store...you'll hear them selling the tickets) thus avoiding the lines at the train station. Turn right and walk approximately 4 blocks to the train station. Simply follow other passengers if you are lost. Inside the train station, check to see which platform is designated for Rome. Don't forget to validate your ticket before you board the train. (yellow validating machines) Italian trains are notorious for being late...perhaps plan your flight later if you plan on leaving the ship later. Agree..no problem on the 1:30 pm flgiht to London.:)

We've done many cruises and many A-Is all over the Caribbean. They are very similar and those that say the food isn't as good at an AI as on a cruise or that top shelf liquor isn't included are not all that correct. It's just like a cruise.....You get what you pay for. If you stay at a more expensive AI, you get top shelf. If you stay at a budget, the food and liquor quality goes down.....just like a cruise.

 

There are a few things that differ. At most AIs, the nightlife is minimal. There is usually a "show" of some sort (similar to a cruise with a different theme each night) and there is usually a disco of some sort. But the nightlife is usually pretty tame.

 

At AIs it's absolutely awesome to not have to carry around a card and have it swiped every time you want something to drink. If you want a pina colada, you just order one and walk away. It's a very freeing feeling to not have to worry about "extra costs" like you do on a cruise. There are very few "extras" you have to pay for at an AI. In fact, I think I've only had a bill at the end of one stay and that was for an upcharge of $10 for lobster at one a la carte restaurant at one resort.

 

AIs have an entertainment staff that keeps everyone going during the day with activities just like on a cruise, although there is usually only one or two things at a time, not five or six like on a cruise.

 

If you like a lot of "classes" like martini making, how to draw and towel fold or carving veggies, well you will not find much of that at an AI. You will find beautiful pools, gorgeous beaches, great service, friendly people and a lot of relaxation.

 

I do get bored at an AI once in a while, and rarely do i get bored on a cruise. I also like to see different islands, so that's nice on a cruise. But there's nothing like walking the beach looking for shells as the sun's coming up. That's one of my favorites things to do at an AI. We do go off resort and take excursions which are available almost every day of the week, so that's a plus for the AIs.

 

They are different, yet the same. We do both. We love both.

Agree...we do both and love both. Perhaps the most significant and noticeable difference is the size of the room compared to a ship's cabin...:)

:mad:

Just wanted to share our recent incident on the Sapphire Princess. I was taking my wife's photo inside the Solarium when a lady ask: "Would you like for me to take your picture together?" Not having very many photos together, I said: "Yes! thank you".

The lady took one shot then told us she wanted to take another shot. She moved location and while walking, she tripped on one of the lounge chairs and...dropped my camera. My camera is a Nikon D90 with an 18-105 lens. We all gasped after hearing the loud thud when the camera hit the solid wood deck floor. Other passengers looked shocked but didn't know what to do. The lady (never got her name) said: "I better leave you two alone...and hope to God your camera is ok". We subsequently discovered a few broken pieces after removing the lens. Regrettably, the camera stopped working. Fortunately, it was the second to the last day of the cruise. It was an accident...and we learned a valuable lesson. Don't let anyone borrow your camera, and if you really must...place the strap around their neck. Note: The last photo she took came out nice. :)

Reading everyone's post makes you feel good...lot's of great memories. There are so many, but our top 3: (my DW may have other ideas)

1. Visiting a motu (small island) in Bora-Bora and had it for ourselves for swimming and snorkling. My wife cut her knee cap snorkling and the scar often becomes a nice topic of conversation.

2. Doing DIY from Civitavecchia to Rome. I took 10 of my family members...all senior citizens, on a train ride to Rome. They thought I was crazy. We managed to walk close to 6 miles around Rome and barely made it on the last train back. (My ankle got caught while the train door was closing...I had the old folks running to make the train!) My mom and mother-in-law both endearingly talk about how far they were able to walk. They are unable to walk anymore.

3. Hiring a rickshaw driver for the day in Na Thran(sp), Vietnam. Using simple hand signals to communicate, we managed to visit a local fish/poultry/vegetable market, swam the China Sea, a church and massive Buddha statue, a monastary,...all the while traveling carelessly between buses, motor scooter, and car while on a rickshaw being pulled by a bike! The driver only wanted $10...we gave him $50 instead.

I only said 3, but I have to include our trip to Ephesus and the house of Virgin Mary. My dad had always wanted to visit the House of the Virgin Mary. While there, he wanted a local souvenir but couldn't find anything he wanted. He whispered to me and said, "Could you help me find a small rock?" The grounds were immaculately clean but I managed to find a small rock and handed it to him without even looking. During our dinner, my dad was teary-eyed and asked all of us to really inspect the small rock we found. Without hesitation, the rock appeared to look like the figure of the Virgin and the child. My dad made a wish to live a few more years. He did. That was in 2000, he passed away in 2005.

That is great. I am a total believer in DIY. I have built/am building a website about doing cruise ports on your own and would love your input on the ports I haven't been to when you get back if you are willing. And yeah, that bridge was brutal. We each had a travel backpack weighing like 30 lbs a piece because we were boarding in Barcelona. Our dining partners later brought it up like "oh my gosh, we saw these people walking over that huge bridge today with backpacks from our cab." We got a big laugh out of it. :)

Yes, I will definitely get back to you after our cruise! That's funny about the bridge. We did the same thing (20 years ago) and walked from downtown Nassau to Paradise Island across the bridge...hot, humid, and embarrased...but we learned from this mistake. :)

I am not Hank, but I can help :)

 

 

Those are the ones I knew about, I hope it helps a little. :)

KayAnnie, that sure helps...thank you for the great information! (We love to walk, late 40's and early 50's, but we can genuinely imagine your walk over that bridge in Barcelona. We'll take the shuttle to town.) Perhaps, I should mention that we are planning on doing most of our shore excursions "DIY", take photos, and post them later. We are open-minded and expect mistakes...just as long as we make it back on ship on time. :)

Hank, we have a few questions:

Messina to Taormina: Train or bus? Ship is docked from 10am to 7pm. We wanted to see the clock "perform" at noon in Messina, do we have enough time to go to Taormina and make it back?

Kusadasi: What company would you recommend to visit Ephesus? Any thoughts on "ephesusshuttle"?

Livorno: Ship is docked 7am to 7pm. Is the train station walking distance from the ship? Per your advice, we plan on visiting Florence first then stop in Pisa (via train), only if we have time. This is the one DIY we are apprehensive about because of the distance...

Toulon: What are your thoughts of visiting Aix? Any suggestions for shore excursions?

Barcelona: Is Las Ramblas walking distance from the ship? Are there shuttles we can take from the ship/port to town? Are the local bus/subway/train easy to navigate and use?

Cartagena: What would you do here? We plan on perhaps simply walking around town.

Azores: Our last stop before heading back...what would you recommend here?

Hank, thank you in advance for all your thoughts and answers...:)

We were in Souda and Chania, Crete on 5/20. They outdid themselves with hospitality. We were quite impressed.

 

Literally as we walked off the ship in the morning, there is a huge tented reception area with free Greek pastries, juice, and bottled water.

 

Then, a few feet away are 3 ticket booths that sell the roundtrip public bus tickets to Chania for 6Euros per person roundtrip. The buses are continuous, and I mean another bus is waiting to load while the one in front of it is loading up. They have a coordinator both at the pier and in the center of Chania (at the "agora" park) helping passengers on and off.

 

When we returned they had a guest satisfaction survey for us to fill out, and then gave us a goodie bag as a thank you. Post cards, and orange, and a bottled drink.

 

Chania was a lovely, especially the old waterfront area with shops and restaurants. The views of the sea were beautiful. The old fort was interesting, too, and walking up there was worth the views!!!

Thanks for the post! It looks like they'll be providing the bus service for the remainder of the year...woohoo...we plan on getting rid of some calories by walking around Chania...thanka again. :)

I just got home from the 3/27 of the Mariner of the Seas and we stopped in Souda on 4/2. We were the first cruise ship to stop and they pulled out all the stops for us. There was a canopied area with samples of the local specialties: orange juice, cheese, olives, etc. The best surprise was the bus service. They brought the buses right to the dock and ran it continuously for us. It was 3 euros for a round trip into Chania and they dropped us at the market building. When we bought our bus tickets, there was an info. booth right there with very good maps of Chania. The harbor was beautiful, so make sure you walk all the way over to the port. The bus was EASIER than using a ship transport and definitely a bargain.

dce85, that is great information. We will be on the Navigator of the Seas this October and hope that the port will also provide the same service. Thanks again! :)

Can anyone tell me the distance from the pier to the center of Tallinn?

Also can one get from the town center to the amphitheater without being on a tour?

It was a short walk for us (40's and 50's) but it can be a slight problem for those that are not walkers or disabled. :)

Good question and DW and I both think its probably too much of the same for a port day. On port days its nice to get some variety. I will admit that we did do both on the same day, but it was when we were spending a week on the Amalfi Coast (we had a car) and I decided to surprise DW on Mothers Day and do both ruins (we had been there on previous trips). And for a first time visitor we would recommend Pompeii over Herculanium because of its historical importance. Unfortunately, the Italian government does not seem to appreciate its importance because they have failed to do even basic maintenance at Pompeii (this is a big issue in Italy) and they have had a few structures simply collapse from erosion.

 

Hank

Hank, we have scoured numerous message boards and could definitely use your help on several ports. We plan on doing most, if not all, of the ports DIY...via buses or trains. We will be on back to back cruises this fall on the Navigator of the Seas...the second being our first Transatlantic. Please kindly email me at: bonsai3s@yahoo.com Thank you!..Efren:)