Canceled shore excursion-panicking over Last Supper tickets

[Cafabi]

I had an excursion through Princess from Genoa to see the Last Supper in Milan. My son is an art history nerd and this was to be the highlight of the trip. There was free time included and so I booked independent tickets to the Duomo. While going over my credit card statement this morning, I saw that Princess canceled this excursion 3 weeks ago, and didn’t even notify me. Even if I were brave enough to attempt this on our own, the Last Supper tickets have been sold out for weeks. Any suggestions on how to make this happen? We will be there June 6.

[slidergirl]

I'd start searching for 3rd party vendors to see The Last Supper.  It'll be a premium, but your son will appreciate it.  A quick 'net search showed the usual 3rd party vendors advertising.

[Cafabi]

Yes, doing that now. No workable times so far and transportation is an issue. Can I trust the train?

[anthonyy7]

You need to check daily specifically Wed @ 12p (local time).  I do believe vendors have to return tickets they can't sell or get cancelled which opens up time slots.  Also they have increased the number of people allowed to visit as of March 1 and each Wed they are opening up slots for the following week per their website...  We went in Sept and I was able to purchase our tickets a few weeks prior by checking daily.  You need to be persistent....it's worth it.  Make sure you have the correct website and register account ahead of time.  Good luck!

 

https://cenacolovinciano.vivaticket.it/index.php

 

The experimentation to gradually increase the number of visitors allowed inside the Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano continues: starting on Friday, March 1st, the number of visitors has been increased to 40 for all time slots, with an additional 105 daily tickets available (for a total of 215 additional tickets each day since the beginning of the experimentation).

Each Wednesday at 12 pm the additional tickets for the following week go on sale.
At this still experimental stage, it is essential to observe the utmost punctuality and adherence to the timetable and procedures for entry and visit. We therefore renew our request for cooperation from all visitors.

[Cafabi]

@anthonyy7 Thanks for the tip! 12 pm Milan time I assume?

Edited May 15 by Cafabi

[euro cruiser]

As for getting there, you can take the train from Genova Piazza Principe station (walking distance from the cruise port).  There is an IC train at 8:19 (arrives Milano Centrale at 10:00) or another at 9:18 (arrives 10:55).  From Milano Centrale to the Last Supper museum you can take a taxi (around three miles but due to traffic and one-way streets will take 20 - 30 minutes) or the metro (line #2, direction either Assago or Piazza Abbiategrasso to the Cadorna stop, followed by a walk of less than half a mile).  

 

It's easier than I make it sound, but if you're not comfortable with mass transit the taxi is probably a better option.

 

For the return, there are IC trains from Milano Centrale to Genova Piazza Principe at 14:05 (arrives 15:44) or 15:10 (arrives 16:44).  

 

There are other trains in between but they either take longer or require a change en route.

 

Milan metro map:  

Edited May 15 by euro cruiser

[Cafabi]

@euro cruiser Wow thanks for the detailed instructions and map. I feel like we could pull that off, but the limiting factor right now is ticket availability. I plan to check the week before as I hear they are releasing more. 

I had one very disappointed young man when I broke the news to him. I guarantee that he wants to do this more than anyone on the entire ship. We usually make independent arrangements, but I was content to let the cruise line handle the logistics on this one—with hard-to-obtain tickets and a 2 hour drive from the port. They try to justify their higher prices with the promise of reliability, and obviously, the vast majority of people do get that. But for me, lesson learned. I can tell by all the disclaimers in their tour descriptions that they’ve gotten various complaints about things that seem trivial or obvious to me e.g. “It may be hot” or “You may have to walk more than 50 ft.” OK, I am exaggerating, but some of them are almost that bad. But it is not in their interest  so say “This has a very real possibility of being canceled due to lack of ticket availability.”