NCteacherlovescruising

I didn’t witness any unsupervised children on the cruise, but we were in the yacht club. While there were several families in there, all children were with their parents and well behaved.

We were in the Seaside. The jungle pool has open access. We walked by it a couple of times.

It doesn’t look like many are using cruise critic for roll calls anymore, especially for MSC cruises. It never hurts to try though. My husband and I will join this sailing in Naples on the 15th. We will be celebrating our 30th anniversary. This will be our first time in Europe so to say I’m excited is an understatement! It will also be the first time we’ve been on a cruise where people have been able to embark at any port.

I don’t recall which one this is. I typically just goggle, in this case for instance “Santorini cruise port schedule”. Cruise mapper is a good one.

We’ve tried a variety of roses and have not liked any of them. We tend to buy our wines in wine stores and vineyards, not grocery stores, although we do on occasion. Our preference is a dry red. We also get free wine classes once a month due to our status with Total Wine. We have one this Saturday, “new wines from the old world”. The best rose we ever had in one of those classes was a sparkling rose, but didn’t like it well enough to purchase. Our quote for this tour was 710 euros. It’s not worth it to us. We will just do a group tour in Tuscany. We have found wine tastes better in a beautiful setting! Wine is kind of our thing. We like to make splurges on fine wines, and love traveling to different vineyards in and around NC. Georgia has some really beautiful vineyards with descent wines. As always, I greatly appreciate your input! Btw, how do you get the accents over your letters? Duolingo gripes at me because I leave them off but the aren’t on my keyboard.

We were in the yacht club, but most in our Facebook roll call were not. Someone reported on there that there was a man in the kids pool with a GoPro under water filming kids while touching himself! He ran off when someone caught him. Others jumped in saying they saw or heard about it too.

I have a feeling my answer will be different next year. We are doing two cruises in Europe for our 30th anniversary. 😜 My guess is that cost and convenience are the main reasons why most of us do the Caribbean cruises so frequently. For me personally, the air is the main reason. I’m terrified of flying so we tend to cruise out of ports that we can drive to. I will have to be drugged up, legally of course, for those long flights next summer.

I’ve never been so spoiled in my life! Of course, it was also our first time sailing in a suite with benefits.

I wouldn’t call it huge, but it was much larger than typical balconies. The yacht club rocks! We spoke to a lot of people that preferred it over the haven and retreat. Can’t wait to do it again!! Next summer we’re doing the NCL Pearl followed by the MSC World Europa. I’m sure my answer for favorite port will change!

Port - Toss up between Bermuda and Tortola Ship - I’ve only been on one NCL ship, and while the Getaway was a lovely ship, my favorite was the Oasis of the Seas. Cabin - I have to go with the deluxe balcony in the yacht club on MSC’s Seaside. It was the biggest cabin and baloney we’ve ever had. ❤️

Did you sign up for one of these tours? When is your cruise? Our quote was quite a bit more than expected, because it's too far out and he quoted us for a private tour. I'd be willing to pay that for Chateauneuf de Pape, but I don't know if it's worth it for these. However, at this time I haven't found a tour that will pick us up at the Marseille cruise port to take us there. It looks like it's about 90 minutes so I would think someone would offer it. We do not like rose wines. We love a good Bordeaux (which is way too far!) and Chateauneuf de Pape. Do you recall which wineries you went to? Were they pretty?

Great! I just sent one as well. Fingers crossed we both get the response we want!

Thank you! I just sent her an email. I will update if and when I get a reply.

Thanks for the information! It gives me a place to start.

That’s really surprising! We would be getting off in the exact same port though, just a day early. I would think the Italian government would be happy because we’d be spending more money this way. I really don’t know how to go about getting this approved since my PCC can’t help me.

We’ll, that’s what my PCC said. I also plan to go to customer service once on the ship to try to prearrange

My PCC told me they don’t allow this but they don’t hold you hostage. I take that as we can do it unofficially. Our plan is to walk off with all our luggage. In our case, we are getting off at the same place we would the following day. I don’t see how that could be an issue. Is your case the same?

How did you go about upgrading?

It is! lol Dh signed off on it so that's our plan. I'm giving him several options for lodging, and letting him choose where he wants to stay. We are doing this all in one trip because we aren't typically the type to fly this far for vacation. I'm terrified of heights and flying so we love to take cruises from ports we can drive to. I love the beach and dh the mountains so we do that quite a bit, and we both love cruises! Next year, all our vacation budget will go to this trip, so I'm sure we won't do the beach, and if we go to the mountains it will be brief. He says this will be a one and done for this area because there are places he would like to see as well, like Australia and Iceland. Our children are young adults so it will just be the two of us, except the first cruise we will be with friends. After that cruise we're all going our own way. We realize July isn't the best time to do this, but with me being a teacher our options are limited. You're vacation sounds amazing too I've seen some beautiful pictures of Bologna! Congrats on becoming an administrator!!

Thank you! This response is very helpful. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize my questions were time consuming to answer. You all have been very helpful. My plans have changed several times. Some of those changes have been because of suggestions that were made here. For instance, I didn’t have time to see Tuscany and Rome between cruises so I switched it so that we’re doing Rome at the end. I wasn’t planning on spending the night in Venice, but after hearing reasons why, I decided it was worth it and now we’re staying 2 nights. Other times plans changed because I listed OUR priorities and made adjustments accordingly. I also have other people to consider in my decisions as we’re traveling with friends on the first cruise so lots of people to take into consideration. Then there’s my dear husband. I want him to enjoy this as much as I do, even though it’s my dream vacation, not necessarily his. So as I run things by him, if he doesn’t seem thrilled I adjust. I don’t know what happened to the quote, but I know you’re referring to the comment my dh made. I shouldn’t have even included that since none of you know my husband. He says things like that, but I’m the end he generally does whatever I want. I had told him I thought 3 weeks would be sufficient, but I was mistaken so he was a bit surprised. So yes, we have the time (I’m off all summer and he gets 29 days of PTO, he’s just never had to use so many at one time before), money, and his buy-in. Once I finished making an estimate for each day of the trip and shared it with him, I knew he would. ❤️ Again, I’m sorry I have wasted your time and others. I hope you realize your efforts weren’t in vain as we have agreed on the itinerary I posted, which gives me all the places I most wanted to see, as well as what he wants to do and where he wants to stay. As I mentioned yesterday, I was planning on taking a step away from planning our vacation because I have to start planning for the next school year tomorrow. I wanted everything planned out as much as possible before then so I could focus on my job. I don’t think many people realize that while teachers aren’t paid over the summer, most of us still have a lot of work to do. I have a new subject to teach next year, one I’ve never taught before, so I’ll be starting from scratch. That takes a lot of time. I also schedule my annual doctor appointments over the summer and I have a surgery later this month. My days of having time to sit at a computer for hours on end are over. I have reached out to private tour companies and hotels. The quick responses from Hotel Rialto have impressed me, which I believe I’ve mentioned as well. We have made decisions jointly. I dig around and present options to him. I cut and paste things you all have recommended here and dig through them to see what appeals most. I know I’ve mentioned more than once that he will chose our hotel in Venice and that he’s the one that wants the Pantheon view in Rome. I would have loved the extra space in the junior suite Hotel Smeraldo but it’s not all about me. I would love to get to the Amalfi Coast as soon as possible, but he would like to see Pompeii so I added it. Again, I’m sorry you feel like I have wasted your time. I greatly appreciate all the help you, and others, have provided. I finally feel like I can relax and that everything will fall into place as bookings begin to open and we can make this dream vacation a reality.

This is what I would like to do.

You're correct. Dh said the steaks were almost ready so I hurried and worded that terribly! Should I book that package she listed for 580 Euros or book this https://www.romewithmarisa.com/tour-item/ancient-rome-extensive-tour/ whichs includes the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the forum for 240 or just the basic tour for 180, which is just the Colosseum and forum for 180 https://www.romewithmarisa.com/tour-item/ancient-rome-basic-tour/. Do we need a guide for all these places? Is it worth the extra money to have a private guide? I heard she's really good! I didn't know if we even needed a private guide for the Vatican. But when I handed dh my "ideal itinerary" for next July, "Are you kidding me? Twenty-five days?? How much is this going to cost?" sigh Obviously I can't give him an accurate total because many of the hotels aren't showing prices that far out. I want to schedule our pups for the kennel/day care asap since we will be gone over a holiday weekend and the place they go books up quickly! It's also an extra expense he brought up. I'm trying to provide him as much of a bottom line as possible. What would your guess be for a superior double at Albergo del Senato for 4 nights next July?

Oops! Thanks! Yes she is!! I will contact both for quotes. Thank you! I'm sure you are correct. Fingers crossed this works out! lol It was quite a bit, but you are right. Nice!

I'm trying to figure out what we would want a private tour guide for and where it's not necessary (to save some money). Below is a private tour we're looking at: The cost of the tour (Ancient Rome with Palatine and Vatican +breakfast) is I've included the Colosseum and Vatican tickets 580€ (so It's a all-included price) We're also looking at hiring her for the Colosseum, forum, and Palatine Hill. Her rates are 180 Euros for a half day tour. Alone we would do the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, shopping and wondering around. Her qualifications: She is an archaeologist and qualified guide of Rome. Born and raised in Rome (a real local!)I’ve dug for a long period as a archaeologist in the Roman Forum, my second house. I attended the Specialisation School in Archaeological Heritage, an Italian post-degree diploma, and in the meanwhile I started studying to fulfill my dream, becoming an professional tourist guide with a regular certification. . . basically to do what I love (walking around Rome) as a job! My second love is photography, you can see my shots on my Flickr account. MY QUALIFICATIONS I’ve passed the examination, published by the Provincia di Roma (Roman Provincial Administration). I’m a qualified tourist guide of Rome and a Museum Educator at the Vatican. So I’m 100% certified guide, and this is my full-time job. We will have 3 days. Is this too much? Am I missing something we could get in those three days? We are now staying 4 nights, but I want to do a day trip to Florence on one of them. Stay overnight on the 22-25 and fly home from Rome on the 26.

I think I do too. It makes it much easier to fit in Florence and we could get a Pantheon view room at Albergo del Senato since we'd be staying an extra night, which dh really wants. I like that idea. So this would be Venice to Rome and then a private transfer to Pompeii and then on to our hotel, wherever we decide to stay? Cruisemom had also suggested hitting Pompeii on our way to the Amalfi Coast. Do they just sit in the vehicle and wait for us to tour Pompeii? Like RomeInLimo or someone else? Either of those times would work. I'm waiting for hotel bookings to open to decide which place we are staying. If it's a big price difference, we'll stay in Sorrento, otherwise on the AC. I like the idea of taking the train to Rome, then get someone to take us to Pompeii and our hotel. Good! So this shouldn't be an issue? I could save money by booking nonrefundable rooms. I'm torn. We're going to buy travel insurance through our TA, I need to see if it would cover these hotel rooms. I know she said it would cover flights and the cruise(s). No. We live just outside of Charlotte in Union County, which is where I teach. Is your friend the reason you visit Charlotte frequently?