kpd21880
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Posts posted by kpd21880
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On 2/21/2020 at 11:07 AM, Nancycat said:
Beautiful pictures! Are they from Burano? Any chance you remember where you had lunch? Food is our favorite part of travel!
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Thank you all for explaining. That makes a lot of sense!
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7 hours ago, euro cruiser said:
Often the return time you want is on a different line than the outbound trip, so check this before just buying both segments from the same company. In the past I've always discouraged people from purchasing on line in advance, but the increase in tourism in Naples (up 20% in 2019 vs. 2018, according to data recently released by the region of Campania) has me rethinking that perspective. The cruise lines use the public ferries for their greatly marked up excursions so the popular times in the morning and afternoon can sell out, so I'm now more open to the idea of buying these tickets in advance.
Hi there - we are also thinking of DIY-ing a Capri day. Just wondering why you discourage from purchasing in advance? I follow your logic on the increase in tourism and therefor maybe considering it... but am wondering what about advance purchase makes you hesitant in the first place?
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16 hours ago, Hlitner said:
While not commenting on the pros/cons of staying on Murano I do want to correct another post. The vaporettos between Murano and Venice take as little as 10 minutes! It is a matter of choosing the proper vaporetto and direct routing. What does take a much longer time is taking the Vaporetto out to Burano.
Hank
11 minutes? Wow! That's not bad at all. Hmmm... rethinking again now :) Thank you for all the information.
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Thank you, everyone. Your insight is so helpful. An hour ferry ride and shortened evening schedule sways me to forego the cost savings of a points stay and we’ll look for something on Venice proper.
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19 hours ago, Hlitner said:
You have done a good job with your homework. Taking the vaporetto over to Venice will be a minor hassle and might involve some extra time. You certainly would want to take advantage of your location to walk around Murano where you will also find a decent number of cafes/restaurants and plenty of shops. You can purchase a Vaporetto Pass which will get you unlimited use of the entire vaporetto system. Another island worth exploring is Burano which is also linked to Murano via the Vaporettos.
Hank
Thank you Hank. Is there a way to get to/from Venice/ Murano in the evenings that I am missing? Maybe I am reading the Vaporetto maps incorrectly? It seems they stop that route after 8:30pm? We’d love to have dinner and walk around Venice at night.
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Thinking through some options for one night pre-cruise stay in Venice this July. Plan is to fly in, arriving Saturday morning, overnight @ a hotel, board ship on Sunday, ship overnight on Sunday, depart Venice on ship on Monday (so we have 2.5 days in Venice, but split between hotel and ship). We have a bunch of Hyatt points that would make a stay at the Hyatt Centric in Murano free, which is always enticing on an expensive trip. I see that they offer an included, private water taxi ride from the airport to the hotel on Murano, and that the hotel is located very near the Museo Vaporetto stop, connecting us to Venice proper (the hotel also has a limited private water taxi shuttle). I've been reading and trying my best to look at Vaporetto maps and it also looks like there is a line from Murano to the cruise ship terminal (Marittima?). We are young-ish and travel light, so walking and luggage are not a concern. Without ever having been there, it's difficult for me to understand how much of a hassle all of that is.
Knowing that we don't actually plan to spend time on Murano - we would spend the day we arrive, after dropping off luggage, wandering around Venice, does it make sense to stay at the Hyatt? Or will we regret that cost savings because the Vaporetto between Venice and Murano is more of a hassle than it looks? Also - if I am missing that we SHOULD spend time on Murano, clue me into that too! We do not have any desire to visit a glass blowing demonstration with a pushy sales pitch, though.
Thanks for any experience and advice you can provide,
-Katie
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1 hour ago, John Bull said:
Hi Katie,
The gorgeous perpendicular views from on high are on the other (southern) side of Capri.
And I'm pretty sure that no ferries go that way.
You could search the web for boat tours out of Capri harbour which cruise that southern coast of Capri.
We've driven the Amalfi coast, that too is on the south side, not visible from the Naples to Sorrento or Capri ferries.
We've also taken the small ferry from Amalfi to Positano and on to Capri.
But you won't have time for that Capri - to - Amalfi Coast ferry on a Naples port-of-call visit.
And, like the Amafi coast, IMHO the views down from on high are far more impressive than the views up from a boat.
There are perpendicular southerly viewpoints just a couple of minutes walk behind the town of Capri.
JB
45 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:Katie, if you look at this map, you can see why you don't get views of the Amalfi coast from the ferry between Naples and Capri:
Thank you both! That now makes perfect sense. Hmmm, what to do, what to do! Glad to have a few months to figure it out before July. What an abundance of fabulous options in this port.
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32 minutes ago, John Bull said:33 minutes ago, John Bull said:
Same routine,same place alongside the cruise berths (different ticket booth), roughly same crossing-time.
IMHO Capri has waaaay more to offer than Sorrento, and from the town (which is accessed by funicular).some amazing panoramic and vertigo-inducing views.
JB
JB, you kind of have me sold on skipping Sorrento and instead spending the whole day in Capri. Since we only did Amalfi by land last time and very much want to see it from the water this time... does the ferry provide those amazing water views? I do see multiple companies offering private/ semi-private boat "tours" of the bay and drop off in Capri, which are 5-10x the cost of the ferry. Would that be worth considering, or do you get the beautiful views from the ferry anyway?
Katie
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Following!
ML, I am searching for the same thing. We’ve done Pompeii with a Joe Bananas tour 3 years ago that included some time in Positano and Sorrento. We’d love to spend more time in Positano & Sorrento &/or visit Capri and the Blue Grotto when we return this summer.
It seems a lot of money to spend to do a shared tour to these places when you’re really just getting transportation to them and then “free time” to explore. We want that free time to explore and eat! I was looking at the Ferry schedules between Naples/Capri, Capri/ Sorrento. Would love to hear from anyone who has done it that way? Wondering if we do the ferry if it’s best to pick one and just do that place for the day? Or possible to do Capri and Sorrento? We are in port 7am - 6pm.
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Thank you for all the info. We are really looking forward to our trip!
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Hi there! March will be out first NCL cruise after more than a dozen with Royal. The specialty dining options are exciting and we are looking forward to trying some with our 3 SDP included in the Free at Sea. I have a few questions...First, the cocktails in a few of the restaurants (especially, Q and Margaritaville) look great, but they probably won't be the ones we choose to dine in. That smoked peach margarita in Q looks absolutely delicious, but we are not big BBQ fans. Is there a bar area in them that we could stop in and grab a pre-dinner drink from, using our beverage package? Or are the drinks only for dining patrons?
Secondly, it seems like there are three separate MDRs. Am I interpreting that correctly? Do they each have a different menu? Or is the food the same in each?
Thanks!
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Hi there! Question for all of you that have used the military discount: when we have tried in the past, it has then nullified the associated “perks” (like the drinks package and OBC). Is this your experience as well? Because the perks have a higher value than the $200 discount, we have never chosen to use the discount. Am I doing something wrong when booking?
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And here is my trip report! It should look pretty familiar to you! :)
So cool! Thank you for sharing - I loved reading it:) Glad you had a wonderful trip.
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I know this is an older thread, but I have found it to be extremely helpful - I am using it to plan our summer 2018 land and cruise vacation. Without seeing it, I would not have added Matanuska glacier to our itinerary. We are also stopping at Hatcher pass/independence mine while in that area.
Aw! Thank you! I’m so glad you found it helpful. It was exactly one year ago this week that we were in Alaska. It was an amazing adventure and we hope to return again in a few years. Have a wonderful trip this summer! ~Katie
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Thank you all for your replies. This time, it is really to our advantage for several reasons to go with Celebrity. Unfortunately, this particular cruise does not include Glacier Bay. However, I am sure that we will still have a great trip, and we will see beautiful scenery and wild life. Again, many thanks to all and happy travelings!
Hi there! We had the same decision to make last year and chose Celebrity as well. The dates, timing, pricing, added value of “perks”, etc, made it the right choice for us. We had a fabulous trip, with many glacier experiences and, while I don’t know what we missed at Glacier Bay, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about our adventure. Have fun!!
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Hi there! We did the same thing with our 6 year old. A great mix of excursions and “run around time” during the day. Two recommendations: in Ketchikan we took him to the Grant Street Park/ Playground. It was a very easy walk from the port.
If in Skagway you’re doing the drive to Emerald Lake, be sure to stop at Carcross Desert. Not technically a “playground” but the huge sand dunes to run up and roll down were a highlight for our little dude.
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Hi there :) Our favorite day of our whole land/ cruise vacation was our day at Mantanuska Glacier. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Anchorage and simple to navigate. You can take a guided tour ON the glacier with crampons and poles and it was thrilling!! It is active, but not strenuous. We did this together as a family with our 6 year old son. We used Mantanuska Glacier Adventures for our tour but there are a few companies out there that do the tours.
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Hi there! We traveled with our 6 year old son last year, so I can help you out with a few of your questions...
First, I second the recommendation for Juneau Car Rental and a minivan. We rented a sedan from them in Juneau and it was super economical. I think we paid @ $45 total. Juneau is easy to navigate on your own with Google Maps or the like. This is by far your least expensive and easiest transportation option, and give you maximum flexibility.
I can’t help you on the Mendenhall hiking trails - Mendenhall was closed the day we were there because of criminal activity in the park. It completely messed up our plans :)
As far as DIPAC - go!! The kids will absolutely love it. And it’s the least expensive and most fun kid activity we did in the whole two weeks. Our son watched the jumping salmon for almost an hour! And the touch tanks inside are great.
I would NOT recommend walking back from DIPAC with the kids. The road (it’s pretty much one road the whole way) is busy, with lots of cars and tour busses. I can’t specifically remember if there are sidewalks, but my intuition would say there are not for most of the way.
That being said, if you rent the minivan and drive back, stop before the port as the water & rocky beach are on your right hand side and you can sit and watch the float planes and helicopters take off and land. Is magical - AND FREE!! Lol
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Hi there! Fellow Midwesterner and leggings loving gal here :) I wore both leggings and jeans on our June trip last year, depending on the weather. There will likely be days they’ll be perfect for, and others you’ll be glad to have the extra wind protection of jeans. Every day, we wore the same top layers: short sleeved t, long sleeved t, and a sweatshirt. We peeled off and added layers in our backpack all day. Happy travels!
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Ok, sorry for the delay! I think I got everyone who asked - emails should be in your inboxes. If you have questions, please just email me back - I don't check CC that often now that we aren't in trip planning mode :) No cruises booked for 2018 at the moment - we have to fix that soon! LOL
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We sailed last month. There was always the “drink of the day” special and the cards were sold on Days 4 onward. We also noted that the drinks package price in the cruise planner fluctuated quite a bit in the 6 months leading up to the cruise (price and various combo packages). We bought when happy with the drinks + Voom combo price and were happy we did.
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Oh my goodness! Sorry! I don’t check CC very often. I will send out our planning spreadsheets to everyone who requested tonight or tomorrow. I also did a trip report when we got home that’s linked in the 2017 folder of both our Land & Cruise trips.
~Katie
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Whoops! Sorry! Wasn’t quite done :) Just one tip on the land portion that made the travel and hotel changes easier: we packed ONE bag that was for all of us for the land portion. You wear the same things every day anyway: jeans/ T-shirt/ sweatshirt/ rain coat/ boots. We lived out of that one bag for those 6 days and the other bags stayed stored in our rental truck. It made the check in/ check out so much easier. Lastly, our cabin in Healy had a washer/ dryer so we could do laundry, which was a lifesaver, traveling with a mud magnet little boy.
Have so much fun!
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Venice: Hyatt Centric Murano?
in Italy Ports
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Thank you! I love this plan, actually. Especially if our flights get in early enough to enjoy a full day island hopping. Still trying to figure out flights from the US and routes that will help us maximize our time.