Three hills

In Malta there's a lot of beaches and the water is so beautiful. Most of the beaches are rocky not sandy. A very popular beach is Ghadira Bay in the north of the island, in the village of Mellieha. It is about 45 minutes away from the Valletta cruise terminal. You can either catch a bus or taxi. This beach is a long stretch of sand with a lot of restaurants, with umbrellas and deck chairs and water sports for hire. Beaches on the sister islands of Gozo and Comino are much nicer and quieter but it's a longer way to get there because you have to catch a ferry.

When we visited St Croix we went to Carambola beach Resort, on the suggestion of the tourist info kiosk at the port. Take an open taxi to the resort and ask the driver to come and pick you up at a given time. At the resort you can use their deck chairs, umbrellas, bathrooms, gazebo, hammocks, a restaurant on the beach with wifi and there was even a dive shop.

I know that this question pops up frequently on these boards so I decided to post this info for cruise critic members. This past June we were on an 11 night cruise from Rome to Barcelona on HAL Zuiderdam and Mass was celebrated everyday, some days at 5PM and other days at 8AM (Check the Daily Newsletter). The American priest onboard said that HAL is the only cruiseline that offers the daily of Mass on all their ships every day all year round. He mentioned that the Apostleship of the Sea makes it possible that there’s a roaster of priests on every HAL sailing and at the same time it’s a vacation for the priest.

We arrived in Milan (MXP) at the same time on Emirates this past June. When we collected the luggage we got out from Exit Door 4 and were exactly in front of the buses that takes you to Central Milan train station. There are several buses leaving every 10 or so minutes. The cost is Euro 10 per person and Euro 5 for the kids. It took around 45 minutes to get in the center of Milan in front of the train station. There was no traffic at that time of day. From there you can take the train to Venice. It is highly suggested that you go online http://www.trenitalia.com and buy your train ticket to Venice. Print the ticket and just show it on the train, no need to validate. The seat will be assigned to you when you buy the ticket and it will show when you print. I’m assuming that you’re arriving in Venice a day prior to your cruise, otherwise I’m afraid you’re cutting it too close!

We were in Palermo a month ago, and I can confirm the aggressiveness of the taxi drivers. We got out of the ship early since we wanted to catch a 9AM train. The quay was full of taxis but nobody wanted to work (I think it was their early coffee morning hour). We only wanted a ride to the train station. When we found some taxi drivers that seemed to be willing to start the day all they wanted was to take us for the day and I refused. We kept walking out of the port and finally found a taxi driver outside and accepted to take us to the train station for Euro 15. We took an hour train ride to Cefalu, it’s a quaint seaside town. Some people call it Little Venice. There’s the beach but when we got there it started to rain. There’s several antique and souvenir shops lining the narrow streets and the Cathedral is further walk up town.

We visited Mykonos once again this Summer. This time there were public buses waiting by the ship to take you either to Paradise Beach or to Mykonos town. We took the bus to the beach. On the way back the bus stops in town, but there was also a public bus service to the pier (ship). The schedule was posted in the bus terminus and by the ticket booth. It was not that frequent if I'm not mistaken every 2 hours. There was also a ferry transferring passengers from port to Mykonos town for Euro 2.

If it’s your first time visiting Malta I do suggest to stay in Malta and visit the sites there. Mdina is the old capital, you can reach it by taxi or public transport. In Valletta there’s St John Co-Cathedral a must see. There’ s also several museums and many find Upper and/or Lower Barraca Gardens very enjoyable. Personally I love roaming the narrow streets of Valletta filled with Auberges and its Baroque architecture when visiting. Many tourists find it a must to visit the Hypogeum and Hagar Qim. Please note that for the Hypogeum you need an advanced online reservation.

With regards to Gozo it’s a smaller island in the Maltese archipelago. I grew up there. It’s more quant and quiet. In Gozo there’s the oldest temples called Ggantija but in Malta there’s more history if your more into it. Gozo is surrounded by quant beaches, the most famous is Ramla Bay.

Here are some links to help you plan your visit in Malta:

http://www.visitmalta.com

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/malta

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g190320-c131957/Island-Of-Malta:Malta:Visiting.Malta.Things.To.Know.html

http://wikitravel.org/en/Malta

We were cruising Bahamas last week. In Nassau we went swimming in Paradise Island. The water is so clear and the beach is very quiet. It is very close to the ship by taxi. You can rent a chair and also there's jet ski and parasailing rentals. There was no bar in the area where we were(it's over a mile long).

We just returned from a 5 day cruise in the Bahamas out of Port Canaveral and on the day of disembarkation we spent a day at Kennedy Space Centre. Prior to this visit I made several searches how to get to the Centre and the biggest concern was where to leave our luggage since Kennedy Space Centre does not allow any luggage inside their complex only back packs and their lockers do not hold luggage either, so the luggage was a headache. We solved our problem by hiring Cocoa Beach Shuttle (http://www.cbshuttle.com). They were very professional and on time. They replied to all my e-mails instantly. They picked us up from the port and drove us to Kennedy Space Centre and then they held our luggage at a locker at their offices and then they picked us up at the agreed time towards the end of the day and drove us to the airport. If you mention CruiseCritic they will give you a 10% discount.

While in Rome 2 years ago we booked a 3 bed room at Hotel Sant'Angelo, and we had a great experience. We booked through booking.com but you can check it our here http://www.hotelsa.it/en/default.html

The hotel is situated within walking distance to the Vatican and Castel Sant'Angelo (hence the name). You can take a bus from nearby Piazza Cavour to all important sites in Rome. The hotel was very clean and had an A/C which is very important if visiting during the Summer months.

We've been to Venice too but stayed overnight on the cruise ship, therefore we didn't need hotel. If you're going to Venice my tip to you is travel light because it's very hard to maneuver on the foot bridges with heavy luggage.

Have fun both cities are a ton of fun!

We cruised the Greek Isles this

Summer. Heraklion was one of the ports visited. It is very easy to DIY. The town provides a shuttle bus free of charge from the ship to the cruise terminal since it’s quite a distance. As soon as you exit the terminal on your left hand side you’ll see a big sign for public bus that takes you to Heraklion town. You can walk too it’s about 20 mins walk. Towards town there’s the fort where a lot of tourists go to take pictures. The town is filled with important buildings and lots of souvenir shops and museums. You can also choose to go to the Palace of Knossos. You can take a public bus to the palace too. As you exit the terminal you walk to your right for 4 minutes and can take a bus from that terminal. Crete is a very big island. Most travellers rent a scooter or a car. If you have a very long day you might want to consider going to Chania. It is a very nice port town. It takes over 2 hours by bus to Chania from Heraklion. The buses leave every hour and you can take it from the same terminal where the Knossos buses are situated. We enjoyed Chania so much. Spent 2 days there when cruise ended.

With regards to Katakolon, we’ve been there 2 years ago. We went to Olympia, took the E10 bus from the port. There’s a small beach right next to the ship if you want to consider swimming close by.

We’ve just returned from a 7 day Greek Isle cruise. One of the islands was Kos. The ships docks right in town and as you exit the ship there’s a tourist info kiosk. We asked them for a map and some beach suggestions. We decided on going to Mastichari beach, it was over an hour drive out of town but I don’t highly recommend. There’s lot of seaweed and there were lot of waves. There were plenty of deck chairs and umbrellas for hire and several restaurants. If you eat from the restaurant from where you rented the umbrellas then you don’t pay for rental. Friends from our dining table chose Paradise beach, and they were astonished how beautiful the beach was. Paradise is a longer drive out of town but I guess it’s worth it. We took a public bus to the beach. The buses run efficiently and are inexpensive. They run every 2 hours or so, make sure you have a timetable which you can get from the info kiosk too. The bus station is in the middle of the town and if you ask locals for direction they will be happy to help you. After our time at the beach we spent some time in town, which I found very cute. There are several old important buildings and a lot of shops. The stroll along the water is charming too.

In Kos, right next to the ship there were several boat companies that offers day trips to Bodrum Turkey for only Euro 10 each way and I believe the trip takes under an hour. Those who had been to Kos before and would like to do something different I think it would be a good idea. In order to go to Turkey you would need to take a passport with you. For day trippers no visa is required.

We were in Mykonos last August. We took the bus to Paradise beach. Buses are reliable and cheap. The only down part is that the buses are not very big and get full immediately but other than that everything is fine. Walk up to the windmills and keep walking on your left hand side and you'll get next to the bus depot. When we were there it was very windy but the water in Paradise Beach were calm

Indeed you do need Kunas.

As soon as you get out of the ship, next to the public buses there's a place where you can exchange money without any fees. If you exchange money in town you'll have to pay a fee. We visited Croatia last Summer and even to ride the bus you need their local currency.

Enjoy your trip.

@kkon

Santorini is very easy to do it on your own. We were there last August and we really enjoyed ourselves. We got out of the ship early. The tenders takes you right next to the cable car or if you choose you can climb the stairs up it's about 400 steps and also there's another option you can ride a donkey up. Then it's a nice walk in town, you can't get lost because it's very small. Keep walking the main road on your left until you can get to the bus depot. Most of the locals speak English, so they can help you with directions. Take a bus to Oia. It's a very small town but wonderful. White painted houses with blue rooftops. Take lots of pictures. Go early because buses tend to get crowded later on the day especially if there's more that one ship anchored. Buses run frequently every 20 or 30 minutes. Then you can catch a bus back to Thira. Since we had a long day in Santorini we took another bus to a black sand beach, spend a couple of hours there and took another bus back to Thira. All in all I really enjoyed Santorini and am planning on visiting again this Summer.

@ Otto 2

A quick search revealed the following ships all stops in Valletta in 2015:

Holland America Ms Zuiberdam makes its stops in Valletta on July 13, August 26 and September 17

Princess Cruises Emerald Princess stops in Valletta on July 1, July 29 and September 2

Celebrity Equinox visits Valletta on June 24, July 22, August 12 and August 24 and September 5 and 13

Celebrity Constellation pays its visits in Valletta on June 11 and September 9

Norwegian Jade stops in Valletta on July 22

Oceana Cruises has several ships that stops in Valletta

Oceana Insignia stops on Septemebr 2, Oceana Nautica goes on Septemebr 27, Oceana Marina stops on September 21 and Oceana Riviera stops on June 13

Seabourn Sojourn also makes monthly stops in Valletta, and also pays another visit to the sister island Gozo. These are the stops

July 4 in Gozo and July 5 in Malta, August 1 and 2 also both islands, August 29 and 30 and September 26 and 27

MSC Divina is stopping in Valletta on October 3.

MSC, Costa and Tui cruises stops in Valletta weekly but the schedule for 2015 is not out yet. Disney cruises also stops in Malta

Hope that this information helps. Malta is a wonderful island rich in history and beauty. Enjoy your trip next year.

@ Twin A

Two favorite beaches that are accessible by ferry are Point du Bout and Anse Migan. Take the ferry from Point Simon in the middle of town. Ferry leave every 30 minutes.

@gardiner 41

We sailed on MSC Musica. It's an Italian Cruise Line. There are also ATM's along the way to town. But if you want to be safe order some Euros at your local bank before you start your holiday:)

@ Island Dreamers

The ferries to the beach are within walking distance from the cruise ship. Always follow the blue line painted on the road it's about 10 minute walk. Close to the ferries there's not much all I saw was McDonalds. We went to a beach named Anse Migan. There's a lovely bar overlooking the beach and there are several restaurants within walking distance.

@mydreamvacation

Check out this website. http://www.maltatourguide.com

Joan Sheridan is a very good and reputable guide. Highly recommended by cruise critic members.

You definitely need Euros. Martinique is ruled by France and therefore Euro is their currency. We exchanged money on the ship. They gave us Euro 70 for every $100. You can exchange money at a bank in the US too before you leave for your vacation. There were some ATM's along the way to the city center too. Most of the stores, taxis, buses etc, only take Euros.

@MIcruiser99

We got back from St Pierre to the town of Fort de France on a different accompanied taxi(Not the same van and driver that drove us from Port de France to St Pierre). We stayed in St Pierre for about 2 hours. There is always a taxi waiting on the stand. As soon as there are 4 or 5 people on it, it leaves. You don't have to worry there are several taxis in the span of an hour. Please note that if you are in Martinique on a Sunday the accompanied taxis do not operate.

The ferries for the beaches leave from an area called Pointe Simon. There was a big sign with the different beaches and timetable. There was also a gentleman (who I suppose work for the ferries or the tourism authority who was giving directions, and helping out with questions). We went to a beach called Point du Bout. It was a minute walk away from where the ferry docked. The beach was small but nice. We could have walked for some more minutes and ended at a nicer beach called Anse Migan.

For every beach there's a different ferry. You pick what beach you want to go and pick the ferry accordingly. So sorry for you that you happened to be there on a Sunday and everything was closed. We were in Martinique during the week.

We took the boat to the beach. We spent Euro 20 for 2 adults and a kid round trip. There's a big sign in town and another big sign when you arrive at the beach with the timetable of the boats. We were told to go to a beach called Anse Migan but we didn't want to wait half an hour for the next boat and we took the next boat to a beach called Point du Bout. It's a small beach with a hotel and a bar and restaurant. We used their deck chairs and umbrellas and were never asked for money. There was wifi on the beach too. Anse Migan beach was 5 mins walk away and we could have walked because it looked bigger and nicer but we decided to stay at Point du Bout. There were a lot of French tourists all over the island. All in all Martinique is very beautiful and although I didn't find a lot of information how to do this port on our own we managed to do it easily. I must say that my French is very basic but with the help of the tourist guides I managed to get wherever we wanted.