BubbaBoat

Glad to see this topic. We're sailing on an 11-day cruise in May on Escape and don't plan on hopping off to see all the ports. We'd like a day pass to the Thermal Spa for two or three days. Is it possible, or do you need to book a pass for the entire cruise? Also, if a day pass is available, what's the daily rate? Thanks!

I'm such a goofus...I did not mean disembark as in the cruise is ended. I meant, as well float into the port to visit. We are scheduled to arrive at 6am. Can we walk right off the ship at 6am to catch a train to Saint Peters? My bad.

We will arrive in Civitavecchia at 6am. We've never been early risers on our cruises. How early can we hop off the ship? We were in the port 18 months ago and took our time heading to Rome. This time, we're heading to the Vatican. It's been 20 years since our last visit, and we want to get there as quickly as possible. Thanks for the help.

Bumping this up with a new twist. We, too, would like to visit Taormina. We want to take the train. Booking one way from Messina Centrale to Taormina Centrale gets us to the heart of town by having a booked spot on the bus from the Taormina train station. However, when we tried to get a proper return, there wasn't a good option utilizing the bus/train option. We either had to leave too early and not get sufficient time in the village, or too late and watch our ship sail away without us. Looking at a one-way return, there are plenty of departures leaving Taormina station that get us to Messina in time. So, it appears that the crux is getting from Taormina central to the Taormina train station. Are taxis readily available to take us from the central village of Taormina to the station? If so, do you have any idea about the cost? The train and bus combo to Taormina is just 6,30 PP. The return train is just 5,50PP. It's pretty cheap ...depending on the taxi, that is. Also, I do not know what to expect. Is Taormina anything like Cinque Terre? We were at the five tiny villages 18 months ago, and it was worse than Disneyland. It was a major turnoff due to the flood of cruisers visiting the little towns all at once. I'm sure the villages are other worldly after say 4p but otherwise it's a humanitarian crisis. Thanks for the help.

We will arrive in Livorno on May 8th via the NCL Escape. We plan to drive up to Lucca and then, on the return visit, Pisa before returning to port. We are looking for a car rental recommendation in Livorno. Something that isn't too far from the port. Thanks for your help. Bubba

I've looked at the site and it's almost cryptic. No ship information. Regardless, why buy when you can sail on plenty of cruise ships for more than likely LESS. Looking at NCL, I can bag as a single cruiser, a 10 day Panama Canal cruise for less than $60 a day, in a balcony cabin.

We will be stopping in Le Havre on October 2nd and would like to find a car rental that's close to the cruise port. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I'll hit the bar every day, I'll dine or have room service from the Haven dining room almost every meal outside of my 3 Specialty Dining credits. I'll hit the gym every other day. I'll hit the dance club a few times. I'll hit the casino a few times. I'll hit the Thermal suite a few times. I'll take the Behind the Scenes tour once. I'll play putt putt once. I'll hop on the carts once. I'll hit Syd's once. I'll watch DS once. I'll watch Price is Right once. I'll watch a comedian once. I'll hit the virtual thing once. I'll probably dip into the Infinity Pool. I'll probably take part in some of the informal activites. But most of all, when I'm not trapsing around the port cities, I'll be laying around the ship. Seems to me that I'll have a great time...Pretty much 12 days of no worries. Perfection doesn't exist. People just need to Take a deep breath, inhale peace, and exhale happiness.

We arrive in Motril on October 9th via NCL Prima. We are looking at hiring a car at about $65 (plus cab fare from port to the marina to pick up the car, unless we can walk 🙂). We're headed to Frigliana which is only 30 to 40 minutes away and a great alternative to the long haul to Alhambra.

We hopped off our ship last year and drove straight to Tossa de Mar. Absolutely beautiful. So much so that we're going to hop off our ship in October a meet with a real estate agent there. It does start to get sleepy there in October but there's still plenty to see and do and theirs tons of shops and retaurants that I'm sure will be open even in later October. Cadaques is another town on the sea we visited. It's a bit further north but still dreamy.

I'm sure I am missing something but is there a page for each specific ship in addition to each cruiseline? For instance, NCL's Prima.

Hi Roger, Last year you provided advice for our day trip on Mallorca. Absolutely loved visiting St. Elm!! We want on to Deia and it was nice, as well. We are headed back on October 11th and really looking forward to it. Should we rent a car to visit Valldemossa and Soller? Considering we have 10 hours in port are there any other sites we should stop at along the way?

On the Thermal Suite...Is it only available for the entire cruise or can we purchase daily passes?

Not expecting that at all.

This is super helpful! I'll give them a call.