Splendour questions about Med cruise

[Mazzie]

Hi Spottydog1,

 

At the moment, we still haven't booked any tours yet, but I'm definately going to book the "Taste of Sorrento & Excavation of Pompeii" (hope it's not booked up!).

I think we shall also book a tour in Livorno (Pisa), but we're undecided which one yet.

We have been to Rome before, so I don't fancy booking another all day tour that day, so again I don't know what we're going to do that day.

In Villefranche and Marseille I think we'll just please ourselves on the day, I'm getting quite a few tips of where to go from everyone on here and I'll print it all off and take it with me!

Have you any ideas what you're going to book yet?

[va boy]

I have a question , did you have to provide copies of your shot records to enter any of the ports ? just curious , we will be on the 9-17 sailing on Splender

[PETRA4U]

quoted from Jan in Harrisburgh PA to me in an email:

We booked Paolo through through Claudio (http://www.limoinrome.com), but Paolo owns his own vehicle and works for himself. These driver/guides basically work through networking with each other and passing on bookings when they are booked for a day; Claudio has a good reputation for providing excellent drivers. I'm not sure if anyone other than Paolo would take people to the castle, though, since he has a personal connection. Go to the "Shore Tours" link on the left side of the homepage

(Rome Limousine Tour and Travel) and then to Livorno to see the basic suggested itinerary (since it's your private tour, you can make any changes you want - and the castle was a wonderful surprise for all of us!). The rate for four to six passengers is 540 Euros (which works out to 90 Euros per person for six) - considering what the ship charges and the limitations of the large groups on the busses it's a bargain in every way!

 

There are links to all of our tour providers on my Cruise Critic review posting:

Cruise Critic Message Boards - Splendour Med Reviews - 5/14/05 cruise

-----------------------------

We are leaving on Splendour on 7/16...I have hired Paolo on Jan's reommendations, driverinrome for Rome with Daniele or his father, Remo,

and Francesco Marrapese at http://www.francescomarrapese.com for Naples.

will let you know how it goes when I get back. We are very excited

 

so check out Jan's recommendations. We are also spending several pre-crusie days in Barcelona...

 

 

 

 

:)

[jcanino]

I have a question , did you have to provide copies of your shot records to enter any of the ports ? just curious , we will be on the 9-17 sailing on Splender

 

No immunizations are required for US citizens on any of the Splendour's ports.

[stateparent]

We were on SOS June 18....you have so much to look forward to!! We have been on many other cruises, but this was by far our favorite destination. The ship itself is fine, clean and what you would expect from RCCL....the ports were what really made the trip memorable. It is a wonderful way to experience Europe.

We used a couple of private guides that I have not really seen talked up as much on the boards, but they were both simply the best. Sandra errichetti of romearound.com is a licensed guide...she arranged a driver to transport us to Rome, then we spent the day on a walking tour of Rome...she has a degree in history, and was a fabulous guide and companion, we shared not only history with her, but felt like we were family....took us to the House of Nero, which you will not see listed on the ships' tours, but a fabulous underground excavation (requires advance reservations, but Sandra arranged ahead), also took us to a very small, quaint trattoria for lunch, which was excellent. We were able to bypass the lines for the coloseum by having our own guide with us as well. She had the driver meet us at 4:00 in the afternoon so that there was plenty of time to ensure we would be back to port....we were back by 5:30, and all-aboard was not until 6:30, with departure at 7pm.

Another guide we used in Marseille who was also excellent was Catherine D'Antuono of provence-travel.com....She took us to the Provence area, about an hour outside Marseille, where we went to Tarascon, a 14th century castle, then to a working olive estate, where we had an olive oil tasting (including wine!) and tour, followed by a picnic of provencal food (and more wine!!)that Catherine had made....then back through the countryside to St. Remy de Provence, where Vincent van Gogh spent time.....It was a very unique and wonderful day, and as we compared notes with our fellow shipmates, I can assure you that we were glad we did go the private guide route...not only did we have more unique experiences, we had wonderful off-the-cuff conversations with our driver/guides that made for a cultural experience my kids won't soon forget.

Whatever you do, read as much as you possibly can in the coming months, and enjoy the anticipation....

[Debbierpof]

stateparent - I'm so glad to hear your comments about Catherine! She will be our guide on July 24th. She has been very responsive and our itinerary sounds alot like yours (we're doing the wine tasting but I'm not sure if it's at an olive grove). It just sounds heavenly. I will also now contact Sandra to see if she's available for Rome (we were thinking of doing Rome on our own -- group of 4).

[Debbierpof]

stateparent - how much was the tour with Sandra? Thanks!

[Mazzie]

I've had a read through all your posts Suntanzi, thanks for all the info - I'll try not to forget to take some binoculars!

I think I'll read through some guidebooks, Stateparent, so I don't miss something I really want to see!

[stateparent]

Debbierpof---Sandra's charge for the guide service was 340 Euros, and the driver was 150 Euros. (That was for four of us.)

 

I know you will have a wonderful day with Catherine, too!

[Debbierpof]

stateparent - did Catherine have a special interest in anything over here in the US or perhaps any hobbies or collections? I ask because on these boards I have seen various members discuss bringing a special item to the private tour guide. From our e-mail exchange I haven't really been able to catch anything that I might be able to bring to her. Just curious. Thanks!

[stateparent]

Debbierpof,

I really didn't catch anything in particular....but it couldn't hurt to ask her! :)

[PETRA4U]

which private tour did you take in Rome...can you suggest one for Florence and Naples? and what price should you expect with a group of 6. thanks

 

We just got back from Splendour on 7/23.

I highly recommend Francesco Marrapese

 

Very funny, informative, great guy. our family vote it as one of the best days we had on the trip. contact him on his website below. He was very reasonable and kept us right on time. the place we went for at lunch in Ravello was like walking into a postcard. Wish I was still there.

 

website: http://www.francescomarrapese.com

 

 

 

:) :)

[goldenprincess53]

Would anyone remember what times they disembarked at the various ports and what time you had to be back at the boat. We are booked on the RCLL bus for Florence and Rome and wanted to know what time/where we are dropped off at these places and what time/where we have to meet/leave them as well.

[momamea]

We were on the Splendour 7/9. It was an amazing trip. Ship was great--not too big. The ports were wonderful. We did a 1/2 day ship tour to Les Baux de Provence, which is a quaint village in the country. We loved it! In Villefranche we wandered around and then took the train to Monaco. We rushed through to make it to Nice, but we were disappointed with Nice. I would suggest stopping in Eze-another quaint village. We never made it there and we regret it. (Next time!) The best thing we did was arrange a private tour with limoinrome.com for all three ports in Italy. We used the ship tour's itinerary, but did it on our own terms & timing. Plus the drivers knew all kinds of time-savers and we waited on no lines! It was well-worth the money, which was a little more than the top-of-the-line ship tours when we factored in a tip. The drivers also had a cooler of cold water bottles for us. Plus, it was nice to have a place to leave our purchases while we continued to shop/walk around. Our driver in Florence was David, and in Rome & Pompeii/Sorrento/Positano was Carlo. I highly recommend both, through limoinrome.com.

[rumba]

We were at the Splendour last September and had a blast. We took private tours of Naples, Rome, Villefranche and Florence and it was well worth it.

 

Here are some photos of the trip that I would like to share.

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/205667903OkpFiI

 

For those who are just going, have a great time!

 

P.S.

 

Don't forget to claim your VAT tax refund before you go home!

[Debbierpof]

Just back! My husband's favorite day was our stop in Marseilles because of the great job Catherine D'Antuono did for us (and he's a tough critic since he was leary about the tour before we left on our trip). It was spectacular! We did a nice tour of Marseilles, then off to a winery in St. Remy for a wine tasting experience (along with learning how they make the wine), tour and lunch in St. Remy, visited the asylum where Van Gogh lived, toured Les Baux and then did a scenic route return to the ship. Amazing! And we got back to the ship early! The vehicle she brought was very comfortable (Benz van, dual-air - there were 8 of us touring) and she sure knew her history. Great time! Oh, Catherine's e-mail is [email="tour.designer@provence-travel.com"]tour.designer@provence-travel.com[/email] (she's the Provence Tour Designer, website is [url="http://www.provence-travel.com/"][color=#0000ff]www.provence-travel.com[/color][/url]).