2ashevillesailors

I posted this on another thread to help with some ideas when visiting Liverpool for a day. As Liverpool is becoming an increasingly popular cruise destination I thought I'd give it its own thread. It's my home city and I'm very proud of it. I'll be glad to answer any questions concerning Liverpool as best I can. In the meantime, here are some suggestions:

 

First of all, I am not a tour guide. I’m just someone that loves the city of Liverpool. I have lived and worked here virtually all of my life. I am also passionate about cruising and hope to help some of my fellow cruisers to enjoy my city. There is a good informative website at http://www.visitliverpool.com/

 

I am working on the basis that your ship docks at 7am, but that you won’t come ashore until at least 8.30 to 9am. Remember that Liverpool is a working city and that you’ll be arriving on a normal work day. The Pier Head where you dock is in the business district, so when you come ashore there will be lots of people arriving for work.

 

I am pretty sure that the first ferry tour is at 10am (before then it’s just a working ferry) and the Maritime Museum doesn’t open until 10am. I’d suggest that you enjoy the waterfront, which is a world heritage site and hopefully the building work that has scarred it during the whole of 2008 will be completed by July.

 

If you look around you will see the Titanic memorial, on which can still be seen signs of bomb damage. It doesn’t have Titanic named anywhere on it. http://www.titanic-titanic.com/titanic_memorial-liverpool_engineers.shtml

 

The three buildings you see are called the ‘Three Graces’ and I believe that you can access the entrance hall of each. Don’t worry in case they are not open to the public. This is England. If they ask you to leave they’ll be very polite. The Liver (pronounced Lie –ver) building is my favourite. Check out the Liver birds on top. Legend says that if they fly away then a great catastrophe will befall the city. They’re still there despite Hitler’s best efforts.

 

For anyone, like me, with an interest in history, there’s an interesting plaque, built into a wall on the left of the Pier Head as you look towards the buildings. It commemorates more than a million American soldiers who passed through the port during the second world war on their way to free Europe. We owe those boys an immense debt and I often wonder how many of them didn’t make it home. The plaque is relatively small and you may have to look for it, but stop by, take a photo and remember what we owe them.

 

Although the Maritime Museum doesn’t open until 10am the buildings surrounding it are worth a visit themselves. This is the Albert Dock area. For anyone interested there is the Tate Art Gallery in the dock. This is one of the finest modern galleries outside London, so I’m told. Admission is free, but again it doesn’t open until 10am. Those of you more interested in art can substitute the Tate for the Maritime Museum. Or do both! http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/information/

 

After taking a look around the Pier Head and Albert Dock buildings, it should be time for the Maritime Museum to open at 10am. Again, admission is free, and inside you can find information and exhibits tracing the maritime history of this great city from its earliest beginnings right up to the present day. My favourite exhibit is the Titanic exhibition (remember Titanic was registered in Liverpool, the home of the White Star Line) or the ‘Liverpool in WW2’ area. You can spend up to two hours in here quite easily. There are also outside exhibits such as the Harbour Master’s house and many boats are open to the public. I suggest you stay here for an hour or so. For those who like the Beatles there is a Beatles Museum (entry fee applies) at the Albert Dock. There are also tours which leave from around here. Be aware that this is a tourist area so it will get busy in July. You can get more info, and even book a tour online at

 

http://www.albertdock.com/

 

After you have finished at the Maritime Museum, you should walk back to the Pier Head (you’ll only be a couple of hundred yards away) and take the Mersey Ferry tour. Check out the timetable, so you’re not waiting too long. You can find this and even buy your (cheap) tickets online at: http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/

 

The tour will take you about an hour. You can get a snack lunch onboard. After the tour you can then head up into Liverpool proper. Don’t forget you will still be right in front of your ship, so you can even go back on board, freshen up, have lunch and still have a full afternoon ahead.

 

A taxi up into the city centre will cost very little, as it’s only half a mile or so right up to say Lime Street Station. However, it’s much more interesting on foot. Remember that you are walking in the footsteps of your forefathers when you walk through Liverpool, as something like nine million people passed through the port en route to the new world.

 

Also look around you and try to imagine it as it was in 1941 after the German bombing campaign reduced the city’s buildings to rubble, but couldn’t crush it’s spirit. Just google ‘Liverpool blitz’ and you’ll see what I mean.

 

For an interesting walk into the city you should walk up Water Street. On your right you can see India Buildings, which housed the offices of some of the world’s biggest shipping lines. At the top of the hill, just before Dale Street, you can see the Town Hall. This is an interesting building. I’m not sure if it’s open to the public or not, but I don’t think so. Worth a photo, as it was built in 1754.

 

Carry on up Dale Street until you get right to the end. Stay on the right hand side of the road so that you can navigate your way across the roads around the entrance to the Mersey Tunnel. You want to cross over to the bottom of William Brown Street to see the magnificent buildings there. If you want more art galleries or museums then you have two of the best here. The World Museum would take you hours to get around as would the Walker Art Gallery (entry to both is free). Visit these if you wish, but DO NOT MISS St George’s Hall, which stands proudly at the top of the hill. The entrance is actually at the other end of the building in St John’s Lane. Go into the Heritage centre and follow the (free) guided tour through the law courts and the magnificent hall itself. It’s a real unmissable building. See what I mean at: http://www.stgeorgeshall.eu/

 

By now it will be mid-afternoon and I think your ship sails at 7pm. You can now decide between two alternatives. Those of you who enjoy shopping can head into the centre (a couple of hundred yards away) and visit the shopping centres in Church Street, Lord Street and the new ‘Liverpool One’ Centre.

 

Those of you still craving culture should jump a cab up to the Anglican Cathedral (no more than £2-3) and visit the first of our two cathedrals. After visiting the Anglican Cathedral, take a walk back along Hope Street to see the magnificent Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ The King (Paddy’s wigwam to the locals). This was finished in 1967 and mass was said here by Pope John Paul II in 1982.

 

After shopping or visiting the cathedrals, you will probably be ready to go back to the ship, hopefully with a hatful of memories of a wonderful city. I should know, I’ve been here over 50 years!!

 

All the activities I’ve scheduled for the morning are within a few hundred yards of the ship and are within easy, flat walking range. Everywhere I’ve mentioned is wheelchair accessible. Have a fantastic visit to my city, then go and tell the world!!

We did a British Isles cruise last fall and took the train to Chester, had read about its history and various places to visit in the city. From the cruise terminal we walked to the train station, it was not a long walk and went to Chester for most of the day. We really enjoyed it and the people were great. So much history in Chester. We returned to Liverpool and wandered around the city for awhile.

I just want to thank those of you who have posted your experiences in Santorini. We have two stops there on our upcoming cruise, and your posts will help us decide how to plan our time there. Thanks again.

We rent a car, lots of fun, very easy driving and inexpensive. We are rentig from Tony's Car rental. Not far from cable car at top. Be sure to go t Santos Winery and also Akaratoris ruins, some say it is the lost city of Atlantis.

You are not likely to find anyone with very recent experience since very few cruise ships go to Santorini in the winter months (much of the island's restaurants and hotels close for the season). While there have been some small boats that previously would take folks between the small port below Fira and Oia, it never really became what one would call a "ferry" service. Whether this will again happen in the next season is a question that one will just have to wait and see. Many ship tours are tendered into a different port (Athinios) where they can directly board tour buses. Those that do not take these tours will be tendered into a small port that sits just below Fira. From that port you can take the cable car, donkeys, or hike up the hill to Fira. While you might find a boat willing to take you over to Oia, we would not recommend basing all your plans on that possibility. We will be back on Santorini in late March (which is still somewhat pre season) and will try and remember to post info as to whether anyone is routinely running boat transfers over to Oia.

 

Hank

If you could get a boat to Oia, you still have to go up the steep mountain. Have been there before, the cable car is the best way. Mary

You need to find out what is the absolute "all aboard" time for your cruise, and then work backwards from that.

 

If this is the primary embarkation point, the ship may want all passengers onboard an hour or even 90 minutes ahead of departure.

 

Next, figure out the latest train from Rome that will get you to your ship on time. Currently, there are regional ("regionale") trains from Termini to Civitavechia at 3:12 pm (arriving 4:18 at Civitavecchia); then at 3:42 (5:05), and a fast regional ("regionale veloce") that leaves at 4:12 and gets to Civi at 5:13.

 

Not sure you'd want to cut it any closer than that; keep in mind it takes a good half hour to get from the train station in Civitavecchia to the port entrance and then to the ship.

 

Also keep in mind that the regional trains leave from a FAR track in Termini Station, it's a good long walk from the station entrance.

 

One other option to consider is the Inter-City train that leaves Termini at 3:57 pm, arriving Civi at 4:45. The tickets cost more but there are two big advantages: 1) you are guaranteed a seat, and 2) you don't have to walk the looooong way to the tracks where the regionals depart from.

 

(The above times reflect a weekday; if you are arriving on a weekend, timings may be different.....)

I am thinking 90 to 120 minutes onboard before sailingon embarcation day. I may be wrong, every cruise line is different.

Do you print out the whole port section and take that with you? We are going so many places it will be like carrying a novel with me. What is the best way you found to use it.

Do you have an I Pad? If so there are directions on how to save the pdf in the I books area. There are areas that show how to download a pdf to different notebooks. What is nice about the downloading is that you do not need wi fi to read the download in my I Pad. I love it.

You also are able to copy and paste.

Can you please tell me how to get Tom's guide? Thanks

http://www.tom'sportguides.com When you get on the site just go downward on the screen and you will find an area which tells you how to download, also download onto I Pad in the I books area, for when you do not have wifi, you will have the downloaded port to read maps and other info on that port.

There is a day cruise to the small islands of Aegina, Hydra and Poros from Athens that was awesome! We enjoyed it so much we are doing it again.

 

Andrea

How do I find information on the day cruise to the small islands? Sounds interesting.

Hello, we are sailing on Celebrity Reflection May 27 - Jun 7, and we are interested in touring Santorini on our own after visiting Fira. I am scheduling with a rental car agency and am trying to estimate the time that we would want to rendezvous with them.

 

Because we are not taking a cruise-blessed excursion, we will have to tender after the privileged class :-). Can anyone provide me with an estimate on when we can reasonably expect to be able to disembark and then cable our way up to Fira?

 

Many thanks.

 

 

Rick A.

Pleasanton CA

When in Santorini before the people with ship excursions got off of the other side of ship and were tendered at the other end of the island to the buses. They never in the past, that I have seen, departed to the cable car.

Hi, Can someone advise me on what I would be able to do in Santorini without the use of a tour company?

 

I've read that most tours end up at Fira which means a cable car back to the Ship? Is there anyway i could avoid this, surely if people can get transport ie coaches from the ship they can get them back to it and not have to rely on the cable cars

 

Thanks ☺

Cable car is the only way for us to get back onto the ship!

As discussed here frequently, the only way back to your ship is via the cable cars, walking down the donkey path, or taking the donkeys down to the tender dock. Everyone gets back on board via the tenders at Fira.

 

There are many threads here about renting cars and touring the island, or going to Oia (by ferry, bus, taxi or foot), and many other activities that can be done on your own, with an organized tour, through the ship or a private vendor.

Our first trip to Santorini we had researched and found out how to go to the bus station in Fira to go to Oia. We went there and took lots of pictures, had lunch then took the bus back. We wandered to see the shops, churches and took fantastic pictures. Really enjoyed our first visit there. Since then we have rented a car and had a great time. Once you get out of town, there is no traffic and it is lots of fun stopping in the small villages. We are doing the same thing in October, we take our GPS and mark it as an away spot, that way we can find our way back easily to the car rental shop. Just research online and decide what sounds interesting, then go for it. Yu can take a bus Akrotori ruins, many say it is the lost city of Atlantis. It is not far from town, just ask at the bus station which bus you need to take to get there. Look it up, it is very well preserved, so much to see. I can hardly wait to get there again. Santorini is one of my very favorite places to visit in the world.

we will be going on jewel of seas next month and our first stop will be santorini

what is the best things to do/excursions/tours in santorini

 

i want to go to OIA

we booked with vacation outlet and their excursions arnt that great and are expensive

one i was looking at goes to oia for the full day on a tour but also goes on a wine tour which i do not want to do, really want to see the sunset but idk if that will be to late to get back to our ship in time which leaves at 10pm

 

so any help would be appreciated, thanks

I am thinking that you definitely don't want to be there for sunset, might miss your sailing of your ship.

we will be going on jewel of seas next month and our first stop will be santorini

what is the best things to do/excursions/tours in santorini

 

i want to go to OIA

we booked with vacation outlet and their excursions arnt that great and are expensive

one i was looking at goes to oia for the full day on a tour but also goes on a wine tour which i do not want to do, really want to see the sunset but idk if that will be to late to get back to our ship in time which leaves at 10pm

 

so any help would be appreciated, thanks

Take the local bus to Oia, very easy to get there. People in a shop will tell you how to get to the bus station. Go left out of Cable Car to first street Turn right it is a couple of blocks and then turn left and go maybe two blocks and you are there. Short streets. Coming back allow plenty of time to get back in case a bus is full, and you have to wait and get the next bus. We did that one year and enjoyed our bus ride, it is very reasonable. You can ask at any shop and they will tell you the exact turns to get to the bus station, it is not far and it is easy to find.

I am only familiar with this place. Hope that's the one you are looking for. https://santorini-carhire.com/

Tony's Car Rental is also there, we are using it in October. Just google it for Santorini and you will find the web site.

I am only familiar with this place. Hope that's the one you are looking for. https://santorini-carhire.com/

Tony's Car Rental is also there, we are using it in October. Just google it for Santorini and you will find the web site.

While we are on our cruise we are using tours no affiliated with the cruise line. We will need to bring Euros with us but I am concerned that we may need to go to a bank in Greece. Is it easy to get money from an ATM using our US debit card?

Let your bank know you might be using a ATM in Greece to get Euros.

We always use ATM machines to get Euros when in Europe. You get the best rate. No matter what country you are in when you use your card at ATM you get the currency of that country. We are then charged only $5 bank fee from our bank.

The x80 is back running as of May 10. It's like 4.50 now and it's a day pass that includes return + it can be used for the metro.

What time doe i start at the pie? Also Pier 1 or Pier 2?

We used it in late May. Worked as described. Tickets from driver. Day pass 4Euro. Depending where you are docked it may be a little difficult to find the dock stop. We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam so just walked out the gate in the fence, which is closed later as passengers have to exit Athens through the port authority terminal. Walked to the road, crossed over the road and grass median,walked a short bit to the left and saw the sign. The sign was not prominent. There were only 4 people using the service the day we went when we left the dock and 2 coming back. We did the drop-off for the Acropolis Museum .

 

I hope people discover and use this service as it was great. We have used the metro before and this was so much nicer and more stress free. Of course since the ticket is a day pass for all transport in town you aren't limited to using the service both ways.

 

See you Soon

Which pier were you at 1 or 2?

When I was there two years ago there was over an hour long wait in the afternoon for people wanting to take the cable car down -- many standing out in the hot sun. So glad we walked down. Check to see how many ships are in port the day you are.

What is the site to see about ships in port the same day as we are??

Lots of discussion about flying home directly to the United States from Rome airport. Is it correct you have to go to Terminal 5 to go through security, customs, etc. Then take shuttle to Terminal 3 to depart with your airline?

I would not recommend this plan. You won't get to see that much and the HoHo can take some time waiting for the next bus.

 

You might just walk to Las Ramblas and stroll down looking at the sites, then around to view the Cathedral. If you don't want to walk, take a taxi.

 

If your flight arrives at 1000 you probably won't be at the ship until 1100 and you don't want to push the drop dead time.

Hello Papa, hope you are doing well. We will be sailing to Rome in April, have you been there? We are trying to figure out how to get from airport to our hotel near the Spanish Steps? Do you have any advice? Thanks Mary and Jim from Asheville

Bringing back one of these fake Rolexs into the USA will probably not be a problem for you, unless you have large quantities of the item.

 

http://ask.metafilter.com/45277/US-Customs-and-Chinese-knockoffs

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replica_watch

Just saw your post, we will be in Kusadasi, Turkey in September and looking for a tour guide to Ephesus and was wondering if you have done this. We went several years ago and want to return and do a small group, any ideas? Hope you and Ginny have a Happy New Year, Jim and Mary in Asheville,NC

Man I will get this right yet, going into Rome is for a couple , whose hotel apparently is very close to the Spanish steps. My husband and I are travelling with a small group and 2 of them are staying in Rome after they get off the Celebrity Silhouette on Sept 24 th. sorry about the confusion

You are getting off Celebrity Silhouette on Sept 24, 2016 and we are staying at the Marriott near the Spanish Steps and will be getting onto Celebrity on the 24th 2016. Would love some help, wondering about the train?

What is the best wat to get to the train once off of the ship in

Civitavecchia? I read that taxi drivers didn't want to take people on such a short ride, it said approx 1 mile. Is this correct?

Hi everyone,

 

I'm very excited to be sailing to Naples for a day with the Norwegian Spirit in June 2015. I'm leaning towards getting a private tour (probably RIL) for either a Herculaneum (with guided tour) plus Positano and Sorrento or the same tour with a guided tour of Pompeii instead.

 

I've been to Naples before and visited Pompeii without a guide. I also have a pretty deep interest in archaeology. I'm traveling with my mom who hasn't seen Pompeii yet but doesn't really have a preference. I'm kind of leaning towards Herculaneum myself, but I would like to see what others have to say about the subject. Also has anyone been on a RIL Herculaneum and Amalfi Coast day? Did you regret your choice because Herculaneum is a lot smaller, or do you feel that you were able to cover everything because of the smaller site? For anyone who has been on both tours, which one would you pick?

Pompeii definitely!!! We went to Herculaneum and we like Pompeii better. We have been to Pompeii 2 times with tour guides. Love it!!

From Civitavecchia onSept 24 the Celebrity Silhouette into Rome to or close to the Spanish steps

Sept. 24th this year or next year?