QuattroRomeo

We did an anniversary cruise in December; the ultimate dining package wasn't available at the time. But we did go often to the specialty restaurants, and also did the chef's table and jazz brunch. (Review below if interested in the details).

We also prebooked the anniversary package, which we really enjoyed. Our cabin was BA and it was certainly very comfortable, but then we have not had a penthouse to compare it to! I think I would be scared to try it because then nothing else would compare!?!

All the best wishes to you for your anniversary!

Hi drvalo! Yes, we enjoyed a great cruise; the Sun staff are wonderful and the ship is, as you said, the right size to be able to meet people. Hopefully we will meet again!

Yes, I see what you mean. Well, we can also read through cruise reviews as they get posted for the Med and see if anyone used them . Not everyone posts in the ports of call area. But for now, rather unproven!

I was quoted 280 euros for a full day Almafi tour. Didn't give a lot of description but said it would be a lot of fun. I am hesitant because there are so few reviews for them.

 

I am definitely questioning this company. I feel that their reviews were written by them. Yesterday there was another response in this thread, which is now gone. Also, if you look at #18 in the Naples advice thread it sounds more like an advertisement than a review. This company might be great, maybe new, but I'm gonna pass.

 

Hi Masim, yes I noticed the disappearing response because my response to it also disappeared!. There aren't any reviews on TripAdvisor either, so maybe they are new. How did you find them? Just a straight forward internet search?

Thank you very much for taking the time to find the name!

Hi Jennifer, there are many companies to choose from that do this tour. Unfortunately the search function on CC is down for maintenance but when it comes back you can do a search here. Also use just an internet search for tours in Tuscany or from Livorno. One company is romeinlimo dot com. Then post your tour on your roll call to get others to join you! It is a much better experience than a ship tour. You will definitely not want to miss Pisa and Florence!

They do look interesting; may I ask what you were quoted for a day tour? I didn't see any prices posted on their site.

I can't remember drive time but would think it was about an hour. Best to ask tour company. It was lovely to walk around and see town. We started up high and walked down to the sea. At the end of one street, we were able to go out to a rocky area and take pictures. I got some nice pictures in Cefalu. I can look up tour company if you wish. It was organized by another couple and we joined them.

 

Thanks again. It does sound like a good day. If you have time to find the tour company that would be very nice. I could find a few names searching, but of course it's always better when somebody can recommend them!

Thanks 2ptu, you are right there are so many churches on most itineraries that you just want something else to see! When I looked at a few sites, Cefalu seemed like a beautiful town to wander in and explore . Do you remember how long of a drive it took to get there?

Thanks for your review! We have found that bingo prices are high and payouts low, on all the cruise lines we have tried, so we don't spend much time with it. Agree that the beds are a little firm, not as luxurious as we've had on say HAL, but still okay.

Everything else was pretty nice!

Trying to decide between a couple of very different itineraries if we book a private driver out of Palermo.

 

One we would like would be a morning trip to Monreale, to see the Duomo. Not sure if there is much else to appreciate in Monreale? After that, we would want to see the art nouveau architecture of the Liberta district in Palermo, and the beach house at Mondello.

 

Alternatively, we also like small medieval towns, so exploring Cefalu for the day is appealing too. Possibly combine that with a morning run to Monreale first, if that's not too ambitious.

If you have done either of these, what did you think? Was it an enjoyable day without too much of just travel time?

 

Appreciate your comments!

If I were limiting myself on desserts, the most memorable ones on our December cruise were: Le Bistro's chocolate napoleon and the creme brulee, and La Cucina's affogato!

These were 'worth' the calories to me!

Thanks TJW, yes we did consider Buffalo airport, as we always use JetBlue for our Florida cruises. The transatlantic flights do not seem to be nearly the time or money saver though, that the FLL flights are!

 

We have decided to try British Airways this trip and are almost even looking forward to the flight! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.

Thanks to all for your help regarding layovers! I have re-checked all the airlines that I could. Air Transat club class timetable is not available for Oct-Nov. The ones that seem okay for the dates and arrival times, plus better seating, have longer, sometimes much longer, layovers:

 

Air France = 19:40-8:05-13:25-15:30 thru CDG

British Airways = 19:40-6:25-10:35-14:05 thru LHR

KLM = 19:30-7:45-9:50-12:05 thru AMS

 

Return is a different story, but I might just book a different airline than the one heading out, for optimum times. At least I feel much more comfortable with this as a short-list for heading to Rome!

Thank you all very much, it has been quite a help to sift through all of the search sites I've been on!

Of the flights available for our dates, there is an Air France premium from Toronto with a 1hr 40 min layover at CDG. Will this be long enough? I've read so many reviews that say they detest CDG, but I don't know why!

I've never had a complaint about Air Canada's seats, much better than Air Transat.

 

As far as Lufthansa I've flown some of their smaller planes in Europe and found them OK but no better than AC. Pay attention to any Lufthansa booking you are looking at however as they have many code share flights with Air Canada.

 

Unless I'm mistaken you should also be able to get direct flights from Toronto to Rome which would definitely be better than any layover in Frankfurt (just my 2 cents).

 

Thanks! I have been on Air Canada's site and there are no direct flights from Toronto, plus the connections are all Lufthansa! Just checked Montreal, and it isn't direct either. Is it too early?

 

Well, I would be surprised if you can't find a better connection on BA thru LHR... In 2012 we did YUL-LHR-FCO in BA Premium Economy - and vowed never to go across an ocean in anything less!

 

Air France also offers premium economy, and Air Canada is slowly introducing it at well - worth a look-see.

 

I am glad to hear that the premium for BA is worth considering! What do you mean by a better connection? Is it not enough time between Heathrow and Rome? There are flights with longer layovers in Heathrow but they arrive hours later in Rome.

(I am searching Oct 29-Nov 14). Thank you.

We've only flown to Europe twice- once in 2004 on Alitalia to Milan/Genoa, where we found the economy seats to be completely devoid of any cushioning.. very uncomfortable. Then in 2012 we flew Air Transat to Barcelona..the seats were terribly cramped, no leg room and awful when the seat in front of you reclined.

I've been pouring over seat guru and other sites trying to find a better alternative to Rome this time. It appears that Lufthansa has a good following for coach, and British Airways for premium economy. Does this sound correct to those who have more TA experience?

We go in November. Lufthansa has a 2hr layover in Frankfurt while BA has a 1 hr in Heathrow. Or have I missed better options? Any opinions appreciated!

Thank you for taking the time to post these really fun, surreal photos! Now if your camera could manage to capture our 'outside deck' at home here with the same dramatic change in 24 hours, I would be most grateful!!

The only specialty restaurant consistently full on our December cruise, was the Teppanyaki. So you might want to reserve that one. As I recall, they have seats around an hibachi table, so not separate tables as such. You may want your friends to also reserve, unless you are comfortable footing the bill for all of you.

Any more updates for us yet about the group excursion/activity dedicated web pages for roll calls?!?

 

The new roll call and price drop tools are great! Looking forward to this one too.

We booked a balcony on the spa level. Looking forward to it!:D

 

We have sailed the Caribbean 10 times in December with a balcony-no problem with St. Thomas or San Juan temperatures at all! You will love it.

Maybe book the Honeymoon/anniversary 'romance' package online before you go; we had it on last month's cruise, and it was really nice!

Thank you for your review, we were just on the Sun in December. Like you, we found the staff to be wonderful, and the shows were very good. We tried several specialty restaurants and enjoyed that very much!

We tried it on the Sun last month, not sure what you have had before. It was our first experience with Chef's Table. If you click on my review line in the signature, I described there what we had.

We too just tried NCL again, after several years on others lines. We had a wonderful cruise on the Sun in December; quite impressed with the service and attention from staff and crew!