Luci - we are doing these ports in august on the Destiny. Am really looking forward to the Monte Carlo stop- what did you do or see at that port?

The first time we went we arrived on the practise day of the Monaco Grand Prix! You could hear the roar of the cars as soon as you got off the train and the atmosphere was electric. A great experience, but we didn't see much as all the roads were closed.

The second time we took the road train tour which was good and gave us our bearings. I think it starts outside the Oceanographic Museum. We wandered outside the Palace and also went inside the casino. You can get into the slots area with shorts on, but if you want to visit the main casino you need to wear long trousers, not jeans, and pay €10. I couldn't get over how quiet it was in there compared to the noise of the casinos in Las Vegas.

Monte Carlo is extremely hilly, but there are lifts in a couple of places.

Beware the prices in cafes. We went to one in a side street and as the sandwiches for sale were at a reasonable price, decided to go in. The sandwich may only have been €3 or so, but a coffee was €4.50 and a 1/2 litre of beer was €9.
luci

Sorry peeps. I've had second thoughts and decided these posts would be better in the DIY excursion topic. Hope I haven't confused anyone!

luci

Has anyone done a recent DIY in Messina? Its our first port of call and Im struggling to find much information to do on.

Cheery

Messina is easy to self explore on foot, however most people going there for the first time would tend to go to Taormina, a beautiful quant little town set on a hillside. You can DIY by taxi, would not recommend public transport for this one. I recall being there a year ago and asking a taxi driver how much to go to Taormina, cannot remember how much he quoted but do remember thinking it would have cost little more to do the ship tour for the two of us. Obviously if three or four in party it would be more cost effective to taxi.

If you are interested in seeing Mount Etna, the volcano, then your ship tours will offer a full day giving ME in am, picking up Taormina in pm.

Thanks, that's really helpful

The Daily Telegraph have a Cruiser's Guide to Rome which may be of interest http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/759353/Rome-port-guide.html

Thanks so much for this - it's great!!

We are sailing from Civitavecchia but are staying a few days in rome prior. Can anyone offer any advice about getting to and from airport and getting to the port from Rome on the morning of the cruise
thanks in advance

Which airport in Rome are you flying into. When we did this it was Ciampino (maybe wrongly spelt) and it is a breeze from there.

As far as getting to Civitavecchia on sailing day, it is incredibly straightforward, and particularly simple if your hotel is close to the Terminii rail station.

Let me know and I will give a full response.

havent booked the flights or hotel yet but are concentrating on hotels close to the termini rail station. how often do the trains run to Civitavecchia and cost, how far is it to to walk from there

Trains run every 30 minutes and cost is incredibly cheap, about 10 euros each. Best thing to do at Civitavecchia is get a taxi to the ship for 15-20 euros. Walking time to port entrance is 5-10 minutes depending on walking speed. At the port entrance there is a free shuttle bus that will take you to ship, but for the sake of 20 euros better to "arrive in style".

Try http://www.trenitalia.com for timetables. The link to the English version is at the top right hand side.

luci

Can anyone tell me how close to town centres the ships dock in Sicily (Messina), Ephesus (Kusadasi), Athens (Piraeus) and Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete. any info appreciated thanks in advance

Messina, very easy 5 minute walk.

Kusadasi and Pireaus are some distance away, probably 10 miles or thereabouts.

Heraklion, probably about 10-15 minutes flat walk.

Hi Am on Ocean Village Olives & Ouzo 22 05 08 leaving from Heraklion Crete

Limassol Cyprus

Rhodes Greece

Kusadasi Turkey (for Ephesus already been there)

Mykonos Greece

Santorini Greece

any tips would be appreciated the trips look expensive and i'm quite happy just wondering around locally

Chris

Rhodes is a beautiful town to wander around, particularly the old town inside the old walls.

Santorini you simply get the funicular up to the top, and wander through the narrow streets....Beautiful place, and buildings are generally a striking blue and white. You will have seen them on many photos advertising the Greek Islands.

At Kusadasi, we did Ephesus. One of our table companions got a taxi to the local beach and said it was a beautiful area to relax and swim. Would not be our choice, but something you may consider. Kusadasi itself is fine for a wander, but only for an hour or so and locals are mildly aggresive in trying to sell you things, and get you into a taxi etc.

Mykonos never been, but understand similar to Santorini.

Limassol, no idea!

Hi Hamrag

Thanks for the info looks like I will be ok to go off on my own for a look around without too much trouble

Chris

We have just booked on Thomson Spirits Med Renaissance, sailing next Fri 16th May so in a bit of a panic trying to think in advance which trips we would like to do.
Firstly, we have booked outside cabins deck 3/4 - with they be a porthole or picture window? Also are we likely to suffer engine noise on that deck? We were on the Spirit last May and had an inside cabin deck 3/4 which was fine, but they were all fully booked this time.
We sail from Palma, Villefranche, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Olbia, Mahon then back to Palma.
We would like DIY to Monte Carlo from Villefranche and its the week before the grand prix, are the streets likely to be disrupted yet? Also is it easy enough to look around Villefranche itself?
Livorno - think we might do the official trip to Florence/Pisa to give us peace of mind - does anyone know how long a day it is? Also the cost with Thomsons?
Rome - not sure whether to DIY, again I dont want to be clock watching, we are docked at Civitavecchia 17.00 - 18.00 - is it a pretty port or industrial?
Olbia, Sardinia, think we could easily do DIY here - any suggestions please?
Mahon - again we will DIY
Palma on last day - not flying home until late evening, did the long walk to the cathedral last year in a heatwave so interested in the road train if I could have more details please?