tribeagle

We were on the Rhapsody in the fall and they had some pretty good Indian dishes in the Windjammer.  

On 8/10/2019 at 3:25 PM, Norwich Cruiser said:

Come October the Italian government has proposed moving large cruise ships from the Marittima cruise basin and San Basilio pier to distant terminals on the Italian mainland.

Exact details are sketchy to say the least but with nearly 500 ship departures and over 700,000 cruise passengers per year it unfortunately seems to be only a matter of time.

This wouldn’t affect the smaller and mid size ships.

Not sure what category Rhapsody would fall into.

I’m sure RCI will keep us updated.

 

I was worried about this when I first read this last week.  However, from what I've read it is just a proposal with no real implementation plan or even agreement between all the governing bodies.  I understand the need to protect the city but I don't think it can happen quickly.  From what I've read these other proposed ports are for industrial/commercial type shipping and don't have the necessary infrastructure to receive cruise ships and their passengers.  I'm on the Rhapsody in October and am continuing to makes plans as though we are departing/arriving from the Marittima basin.  I'll adapt if need be...

There was a thread here in the "Ask a Cruise Question" board and one on the Italy board on the Rick Steves' forum.

This definitely sounds like something that was necessary and that it was only a matter of time.  However, any guesses how/when we will be informed of impacts to cruises this fall out Venice?   I assume it will take some time for city officials and the cruise line reps to figure out how to adapt to the new regulations.  I'm sure I'm not alone in having made most of my plans and arrangements based on the current docking locations/times.  Just want to be able to make changes if necessary (or to not panic unnecessarily)...

Our first was our honeymoon cruise in June 1997; Majesty - western Caribbean 

Or Naples ??

Nope Salerno. The OP is going to Naples. Is there anyway to fix that?

I'm so embarrassed!!

I think your memory is a little off here, it's not possible to go to Pompei from Livorno in the same day, the train ride alone is a minimum of six hours.

 

Possibly you were ending your cruise at Civitavecchia and went from there? This is a four hour train ride, so it's possible to get to Pompei in time for an afternoon visit if you're spending the night, but not a day trip.

I'm in Taiwan currently so I'm blaming jet lag!!!

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Sorry to chime in a little late...

DH and I did Pompeii as a DIY day two years ago. I can't comment on how best to get there as we were docked in Livorno (we took the train - quite simple from there). However, I would suggest if it is possible to buy tickets ahead of time to do so. We entered from the lower entrance (because of where we were coming from) and even there we had to wait in line to buy our tickets. I don't remember it being an overly long wait time, but I suspect that the main entrance has even longer lines.

We used the Rick Steves' walking tour that I had downloaded before we left. I think it would be hard to grasp what all you were seeing without some sort of commentary. We supplemented that with the maps that we got with our tickets and a few things I had printed out ahead of time. We had a great day and really enjoyed ourselves.

I just saw something about this on another board this morning. It sounds like they are doing some sort of refurbishment work during the second half of September which is limiting the tour availability.

From the Italian website:

"lunedì 21 agosto per il mese di settembre 2017 (in vista di una migliore fruizione dei Sotterranei, le prenotazioni del mese di settembre saranno straordinariamente aperte solo per i primi quindici giorni)"

Google Translation:

"Monday 21 August for the month of September 2017 (in view of better utilization of the Underground, the reservations of the month of September will be extraordinarily open only for the first fifteen days)"

When we were there it was listed as a tender port, but we docked at the new port (It's probably a mile from town). I didn't see a free shuttle. We took the water taxi. It wasn't very expensive and was very convenient especially if you are intending to hop on the ferry to Delos.

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When we were there last year, we took the first ferry over to Delos and spent the morning there. We really enjoyed it and the views from the top of the "mountain" were spectacular. We really liked just being able to explore on our own (I had the Rick Steves' guidebook and the map they gave us when we bought the tickets so we knew what we were looking at).

Then we came back on the 12:30 (I think?) ferry, had lunch in Mykonos town, wandered around, and saw the windmills/pelican (he is surprisingly large!). Then we headed back to the ship. It was a very nice day!

We stayed at Hotel Reding Croma before our cruise last May. It's not far from Hotel Jazz, but less expensive. It was not fancy, but we found it to be conveniently located and the people at the desk were very helpful (directions, restaurant suggestions, etc). It's sort of in between Placa Universitat and Placa de Catalunya. Convenient to get to from the Aerobus, easy access to the metro, and an easy walk to Las Ramblas.

To get to the ship, we walked down to the waterfront and caught a bus from there, but I'm sure they would've called a taxi if we had asked for one.

We did a 12 night out of Barcelona last year. I had almost as much fun planning it as I did on the cruise. We are mostly DIY folks.

My advice is to remember that you can't see everything. Spend some time reading about the ports, decide what you most want to do, and then figure out how to do that. The ports of call board is a great resource!

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We did a Western Med cruise last May. I really enjoyed the planning aspect and although we didn't hit those particular ports I think I can make some suggestions.

First, check out the link that Bob posted. Read about the ports and see what others have done in those locations. Think about what appeals to YOU and your group. What kind of things do you enjoying doing - do you want to see historic sites, museums, pretty scenery, or do you want to try to pack in as much as you can? Also think about your comfort level with excursions. Are you someone that's comfortable figuring out how to get around in a foreign country? Would you rather someone do all the legwork for you? How big is your group? Would you be willing to join a group from your roll call?

Then, once you have an idea what you would like to do, you can figure out how. Read through the ship's excursion descriptions and compare that to the tours that you can find recommended either in your roll call or through the ports of call board. The roll call can be a great way to find alternatives to the ship's tours usually with a smaller group and often cheaper than a ship excursion.

In our case, (just my husband and myself) we prefer to do our own thing, so I used mostly the ports of call boards to figure out how to get where I wanted to go. We also chose to focus on one major thing and not try to pack in everything in one day because that is what we were comfortable with doing.

Enjoy it whatever you end up doing!

We were there last May and stayed at the Hotel Reding Croma. It's pretty close to the Jazz Hotel, but a little cheaper. It worked out great for us - easy to get to from the Aerobus, conveniently located near the metro, and only a short walk to Las Ramblas. We would stay there again.

http://en.hotelreding.com/

I was wondering if the maine lobster that they sale $30 at the MDR is good or not. I know I will get lobster tail on the second formal night but I was wondering if the one they sale is better or not.

 

Thank you

My husband tried it when we were on the Brilliance in May (Mediterranean cruise so no lobster night like in the Caribbean). He said it was OK, but wouldn't spend the money for it again.

I'll play... I was 26 and my husband was 29. We did a 7 night Western Caribbean on the Majesty out of Miami for our honeymoon. Somehow that was almost 20 years ago!!

We used the X80 bus when we were there on 5/30. It was very simple. From where we docked, we walked out through the terminal/parking lot onto the street. There was a kiosk with a person selling tickets (4.50 Euro each round trip). The guy in the kiosk pointed us and another couple to the bus stop across the street, but that's apparently not where the X80 bus stops. When we saw the bus, we waved at it and the driver pointed us back across the street (near the kiosk where we bought the tickets).

I'm pretty sure the bus starts running at 7:00am. We got on a little after 7:30am and it was only us and one other couple on the bus. The driver was very helpful - he told us how to validate the ticket and where to get off. He also pointed out where the stop for the return bus was. I would say it was ~20 minutes from the port to the stop for the Acropolis.

For the return, it was MUCH more crowded and it wasn't clear exactly what time it was coming, but it all worked out. I would definitely recommend the X80 bus.

We were just on the 5/26 sailing out of Barcelona and had a great time. Ship was beautiful, staff were all friendly and accommodating.

We are scheduled to visit Rome on a cruise in October. In our group we will have an 81 yr old and a 2 yr old, so we definitely can't handle strenuous walks, etc.

 

We are booked on a tour with RomeinLimo, taking us in Vatican City in the afternoon for a couple of hours.

 

For those of you that have been there before - can we visit St Peter without going to the Vatican museum? Is there a gift shop outside of the museum?

We don't mind paying the entrance fee, it's the long lines we want to avoid and I'm reading that you will be pushed through like on a conveyor belt once inside of the museum.

Will there be restrooms with easy access?

Thanks in advance!

I just wanted to chime in on the restrooms... We were there recently (6/4). We did not do the Vatican Museum, just the basilica. On the way out, we noticed a big long line of people (on the right hand side facing out into square with the basilica behind you). Turns out it was the line for the ladies' room! As usual, there did not appear to be a line for the mens' room!

Think your plan is doable but always have a planB On June 4 we were on the 8:33 to Rome from Civi when some type of breakdown occurred on the track in front of us. Sat for an hour before they elected to route us in on an alternate track. Skipped San Pietro, ok for us a we were headed to Ostiense but added even more backtracking for those on way to Vatican. Things happen out of your control. I might not push to the last return train

We were also there on 6/4 and experienced this (we were on the 8:42 train). Our day got off to a much later start than I intended but we still did what I had wanted to do.

We got off at Ostiense and took the metro to the Colosseum. We did go inside, but not on a tour. From there, we just started walking toward Trevi fountain stopping for lunch along the way. We tossed our coins in the fountain (LOTS of people here) and then went to see the Pantheon. From there, we walked through Piazza Navonna (sp?) and on to St. Peter's. We did go inside the basilica. After that, we walked to the San Pietro train station and caught the very crowded train back. I stood the whole way back.

I still think your plan is doable as long as you are open to improvising if need be. I think we got a pretty good look at some highlights and now know we want to go back to see more!

We just did something pretty similar for Rome. As long as you keep an eye on the clock, it sounds like a reasonable plan. I can't speak to Florence as we just went to Pisa when we were docked in Livorno.

Just curious about your walking cast - do you have a thing for the other foot to even out the height difference? They make a rubber(?) thing that attaches to the bottom of your other shoe so that your hips aren't out of whack. I was recently traveling with a business colleague who had a stress fx in his foot and having that thing to even out his gait made a HUGE difference. He was not slowed down much at all when wearing it, but without it his knee would start to bother him after a day of standing around.

ETA: My colleague had a walking cast on one foot and the even-up thing on the other.

Thanks for the info can you give me a time frame on how long it took you to get to the tower from stepping off the ship. Was the shuttle price round trip or per direction? Did you buy return train ticket or one ways? Which station did you use in Pisa?

1. Shuttle (yes the 5 euro/person charge was for round trip) - I would say it was a 10-15 min ride to where it drops you off.

2. Walk about a block. Buy bus ticket at a tabacchi (not those free standing newsstand looking things). They were 1.20 Euro/person each way. I bought the return tickets at the same time. (I think I could've gotten the train tickets here too, but I didn't ask). Bus stop is across the road near an H&M department store.

3. Take bus 1 or 1R. The bus ride was probably 10-15 minutes as well. We were there on a Sunday so we had to wait maybe 10 minutes for the bus to come. I think the buses run more frequently on Saturdays.

4. The ticket window and ticket machines are right inside the train station. We bought our return tickets at the same time. (2.60 Euro each). We had to wait about a half hour for the train, but the ride to Pisa Centrale is only 20 minutes. To get to Pisa San Rossore, you would have to change trains (don't know if that changes the cost or how long you would have to wait for a train that stops there).

5. Walk from train station to tower. I would guess this is a little over a mile. I'm sure there's a bus or you could take a taxi, but we just walked. We were following a Rick Steves' walking tour and stopped occasionally for pictures, so it took us probably 30 minutes.

Total time - I would guess maybe 1.5 hours, but a lot of that depends on how long you have to wait for each thing (shuttle, bus, train).

I was under the impression that you weren't allowed to walk out from the industrial area. I don't know that for sure, but I did see someone who looked like he was heading out on foot get stopped and turned around. The shuttle here was free and simple (unlike Livorno where it was 5 Euro per person!). Maybe you'll be lucky and be docked in the new area.

IF HAL docks at the "newer" port, there is a watertaxi, operated by the same company offering the Delos Tours. And increase the number of ships when there is a higher demand. So don´t worry.

We were just there last week (6/1) and this is exactly what we ended up doing. Our itinerary also said we were supposed to tender but we were docked at New Port. The water taxi was very convenient - it was 2 Euro per person (each way) and dropped us off right at the pier where the boats to Delos leave from. It worked out perfectly - we got off the water taxi and went right to the ticket booth for the trips to Delos. Then we turned around, walked past the water taxi, and got on the ferry boat.

I think this is the video the OP is referring to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5sv1Al2LDg

We were just in Salerno on Friday 6/3/16 on the Brilliance of the Seas. We most definitely still docked in the industrial area (though the video shows some fairly large looking ships in the newer area). There was a free shuttle bus that took us to the edge of a grassy square in town. We walked from there to the train station (maybe a mile?). I'm sure there was a public bus we could've taken but it was a nice day and we weren't in a hurry so we just walked.

It looked like vehicles for private tours were being allowed to drive right up to near where the ship was docked. I don't know this for sure though as we did a DIY trip to Pompeii.

We did not go to the cathedral in Salerno, but the video footage in that early part of the clip looks consistent with Salerno. The video has captions for most of the sites it shows, so I assume those are correct (they looked right...).