tiggrbaby

A taxi is the best alternative for a port to airport transfer. The taxi fare T4 was created this year and is a 39 euro fixed price for up to 4 passengers and baggage to the airport.

 

The transfer will not be your problem as the trip can take between 20 and 30 minutes and there is little traffic on Sunday mornings. Leaving most ships prior to 0830 usually means very little wait time for a taxi.

 

There are going to be some new flight routes for next season that are not announced yet and some should offer later connections for long-haul flights.

 

Currently many successfully make the 10:45 Non-Schengen flights. A passenger could possibly make as early as 09:45 for a Schengen European zone flight.

 

Current airport recommendations are for arriving at the airport 3 hours prior to non-Schengen and 2 hours prior to Schengen.

 

This actually only becomes necessary on dates when they have implemented 'enhanced security' meaning that those on long haul flights go through 3 levels of security. The problem is you never know when one of these days or periods will happen.

Is the fare still the same this year? I am trying to decide between the ship transfer and doing it ourselves. It seems like we could get off the ship about 8:30 and still make a 12:30 flight.

No, the petit train is not hop on hop off. It takes you directly to Notre Dame. You can spend as long as you like up there, it's a frequent service. I think it stops for an hour at lunchtime though. They also run a separate short tour of the old city, but I don't think that stops anywhere. We enjoyed the journey up to Notre Dame.

Thanks for the info!

Yes, it's good fun, all the best, Tony

 

[YOUTUBE]aNsFktA9o58[/YOUTUBE]

So is this a hop on-hop off type of transport? Or are you limited to a certain amount of time at each stop? Do you have enough time to visit both the Notre Dame and the fort?

Thanks!

Think I may finally and belatedly have figured out how to post more pictures. These are from Herculaneum, showing the depth of lava that the town was buried under, our lovely and informative guide, and some of the original artwork

Great pics! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks so much for your detailed review...I am going to read it over and over prior to my October cruise. By chance do you have copies of the Freestyle Dailies??? I can't find them for the west med 7 night anywhere!

Found this on another thread:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g7mbp7vyv1cavky/AADY9WZrVxJiCmRoxARxbqiFa/Daily%20Freestyles.pdf?dl=0

Loving your review! We are staying at Hotel Curious before our cruise, so I was glad to hear that it is nice.

And thanks sooo much for the dailies! I love to study those ahead of time!

Hope you had a fab time!

We will be on the ship in October. Was wondering what time boarding begins and if there is a better time to avoid long lines. Also, what transportation works best to the port?

Do you happen to have copies of the dailies?

Thanks!

Thanks for the info; looking forward to hearing more!

Would you suggest a later arrival to the port to have less of a wait boarding? Would the port bus be an option with large luggage?

Just hand the bottle to the waiter and he/she will put it into a container of ice and pour as much or as little as you wish during the meal.

If you have wine left in the bottle at the end of the meal you can either take it back to your cabin or have them store it for you. If they store it they will give you a ticket so that you can give that ticket to any bar or restaurant and they'll retrieve it for you.

Thanks for the info! That makes it much more convenient.

So if I bring on my own bottles and pay the corkage fee, how does that work in the restaurants? Do I have to chill it in my room and drink the entire bottle at one meal? Will they take it for me and bring it out when requested? Will they store the unfinished portion for the next evening? I think I might feel weird walking around with a partial bottle of wine (just imagining taking a swig as I sit waiting for a show...).

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience! We will be aboard in October, and this is very helpful.

Thanks, all! This is extremely good info and very helpful to me in my planning.

 

Regarding Haleakala, we are not early risers and no one seems to want to wake up for the sunrise. Is it still worth it to take a drive up there during the day and maybe catch the sunset instead? LOL

 

Also, my daughter requested that we do a luau. Checked the Hale Koa, but when I called, they said military only. Any other options that you liked? Would like to do it on Oahu if possible prior to the cruise since we have all our meals/dinners paid for once we get on the ship; however, I do see that Old Lahaina Luau on Maui seems to be very popular.

We did the road to Hana and then drove up the mountain for the sunset. It was very cold (we wrapped ourselves in towels) and the sun went down quickly, but was very pretty (and didn't involve getting up at crack of dawn). We were there three years ago, and at that time we were back too late to park in the lot and we parked at the 24 hour pharmacy and walked to the ship.

Since you have a AAA membership, you can get a decent guidebook from them.

If you have a Costco membership, bring your card. Gas was way cheaper, and they sell souvenir items such as macadamia nut Hershey Kisses and Kona coffee. I remember I picked up Christmas cards and a nice set of tropical teas.

If you can book a tour ahead of time for Pearl Harbor, spring for the audio guide. I think it was worth it. I know the day we went, they did not have any availability for the boat for anyone not pre-reserved.

Definitely check out the port boards; I know back then I found lots of info that helped save money!

The Vatican rules about the size of allowed bags are here: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-Info/MV_Info_Consigli.html. And it's not that they won't let you in, it's that they will require you to check your bag.

 

From the Vatican website mentioned above:

"It is obligatory to deposit in the cloakroom suitcases, backpacks and containers with dimensions larger than cm 40 x 35 x 15."

It is technically about 1/2" to long. If by "about" you mean longer, I would choose to take a smaller bag. If you mean it is not quite 16" you should be OK.

Thanks! May have to take a smaller bag and have DH take something as well.

My crossbody camera bag is about 16" x 8" x 6". I wear it in front, not back. will I have problems getting it into the Vatican, Colosseum, or Pompeii?

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip! We will be on the Epic in October as a group of five couples. I will definitely share with everyone to prebook the shows and tender.

Definitely rent your own car! Do you have any reward points you can use for the rentals? That's what we did.

If you have a Costco membership, their gas prices are way cheaper than others. There was one island that didn't have one, but there is a station that offered a discount with a AAA card.

We got sandwiches for take-out the night before and stored them in the fridge. We had a soft-side cooler bag. We brought a case of water and granola bars with us (from Costco).

Check out guides from the library to find places you can go on your own.

Have a great time on the cruise! Looking forward to hearing about your further adventures.

We spent our Tortola day at Brewer's Bay. $8/pp each way in a van taxi. Just ask and they will direct you. Driver stops for quick photos out window. Everyone agreed to a pick-up time for the driver to return. Lovely cove. Lounges and umbrellas available to rent $5/ea. Was rather wavy the day we were there so we did not snorkel. Birds diving from the cliffs to get fish was very entertaining. There was a bar (didn't use). When the driver returned, two passengers decided to stay longer, so he just found two more. We found it to be a very relaxing day as the beach was quiet and not crowded. My husband raves about it still!

I agree with others to check out the port boards. That is where we learned about this hidden gem.

We were on the Escape last month. It was not a full cruise, but we did see some staff going around to put stickers on chairs one morning. I will say that they had more chairs set up in the shade on the pool deck, but that meant that the loungers were set touching in groups of 6 - 8, which made climbing onto one a challenge. Also, there was no place to put your beverage. DH and I tried to choose chairs that had the small space in-between.

We are leaving in a week out of Miami for a 7 day cruise. Ideally, we would like to get a hotel the night before where we can leave the car and take a shuttle. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

There is one other possibility if you're a bit of a gambler. We are on the Getaway April 3, and with Spring Break, hotel rates were really, really high for Saturday night. I ended up using Hotwire, and got a really good deal on the JW Marriott (the one on Brickell, not the Marquis). If I remember correctly, it was at least $150 less than any of the "top" hotels in the area (including the JW Marriott itself) were charging to book with them directly.

 

Obviously, you won't know where you are staying until you commit, but if you restrict to the neighborhood you want to be in and the star rating you want, you should be able to narrow it down to a handful of likely choices. In my case, I was pretty sure I would be OK with most of the likely hotels, so I took a chance. Your results may vary.

What neighborhood and star rating did you put in? Do they offer parking for the week you are on the cruise? We are driving down and would rather not pay for both a hotel and port parking.

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip. I was very happy to read about your positive experience.

Subbing in! Glad to hear that you were having a fun trip. We are heading out on 4/16, although we will be in an inside cabin with no freebies...

Thanks for taking the time to post! DH and I are heading out on 4/16 and this helps us plan!

Subbing! DCL is my fav, but we can't afford them anymore (I just retired!). I do like NCL, and we areheading out on the Escape in a few weeks, so you are helping me to get ready!