Questions about a Med cruise

[monkeydawn]

Went on my first Med cruise in 2018. I had kept the original bottles with rx labels as well. I actually used a small packing square to the place them in, but carried it on my carry on bag. My family and I had booked excursions through DCL, but we did like going to the Amalfi Coast. There was on port day with Rome, where we picked an excursion that was way too long (8 hours +). We still enjoyed a lot thought, since it was our first time Europe visit. My sister and I did some onboard sea day activity (Stem to Stern was our favorite).

If only my meds fit into a small packing square. Well, I guess the strictly meds would but what about the vitamins...that's what really takes the space.

Luckily we embark in Rome so we have an extra couple of days there and we wont have to try to fit everything into just a port day. That was in large part why I choose the cruise I did, so that we could be based out of Rome because I knew that's where we wanted to see the most. I still expect I will overschedule us though LOL

Thank yo very much for the reply!

 

[slmoy1016]

If only my meds fit into a small packing square. Well, I guess the strictly meds would but what about the vitamins...that's what really takes the space.

Luckily we embark in Rome so we have an extra couple of days there and we wont have to try to fit everything into just a port day. That was in large part why I choose the cruise I did, so that we could be based out of Rome because I knew that's where we wanted to see the most. I still expect I will overschedule us though LOL

Thank yo very much for the reply!

I actually used an old pill bottle from Walgreens and wrote vitamins on it. I did remember packing one whole bottle of ginger capsules and left them in their own bottle (Spring Valley version). No issues at customs or through TSA.

 

[monkeydawn]

I actually used an old pill bottle from Walgreens and wrote vitamins on it. I did remember packing one whole bottle of ginger capsules and left them in their own bottle (Spring Valley version). No issues at customs or through TSA.

Thanks!

I'm not prone to seasickness so Ive no idea if this would help anyone with that kind of nausea but I get all kinds of nauseous from Crohn's. Ive put a few drops of spearamint oil in a nasal inhaler (like a Vicks tube inhaler) and it works wonders for me. Just in case there are people reading with other nausea issues!

 

[StarSeven7]

OP, it looks like you might’ve dropped Pisa from your list anyways, but if you need to choose between Pisa and Cinque Terre, I would HIGHLY recommend CT, having been to both. My DH and I stayed in CT in 2007 in Manarola and we loved it! You can easily take the train between all the towns (they come every few minutes) but we hiked each section as well. It’s beautiful!! We stayed in Pisa for an afternoon/evening to catch a flight and saw the leaning tower and it was pretty underwhelming.

 

[monkeydawn]

I have a new question. My mom very generously got my husband and I new iPhone 11 Pros. My husband used a nice but not high profile pay as you go before and I had an iPhone 6S. I wasnt all that concerned about theft with our old phones but just how vulnerable are we with these newer phones? We have a money belt for my husband and a larger belt for me to hold passports and Credit Cards and probably some cash too but I doubt I would want to put the phones in that larger belt because it would make it really bulky and it wouldnt be easily accessible for taking photos, which was a big part of why mom chose those phones. I do have an anti slash/ anti theft crossbody so I'm hoping that is considered secure by most. My bigger concerns are in Rome and Barcelona but I assume I should be pretty vigilant everywhere. Is there anywhere else I should be more careful?

OP, it looks like you might’ve dropped Pisa from your list anyways, but if you need to choose between Pisa and Cinque Terre, I would HIGHLY recommend CT, having been to both. My DH and I stayed in CT in 2007 in Manarola and we loved it! You can easily take the train between all the towns (they come every few minutes) but we hiked each section as well. It’s beautiful!! We stayed in Pisa for an afternoon/evening to catch a flight and saw the leaning tower and it was pretty underwhelming.

Thanks! I know some of the trails are closed. When we are closer I am going to look at what specifically is closed and we should plan to use trains for. Waiting in case things change again before our trip.

 

[StarSeven7]

Thanks! I know some of the trails are closed. When we are closer I am going to look at what specifically is closed and we should plan to use trains for. Waiting in case things change again before our trip.

Bummer! Looks like it's gotten more popular in the past 13 years since we went!

 

[Intr3pid]

OP, what exactly is your ship itinerary?

 

[monkeydawn]

Bummer! Looks like it's gotten more popular in the past 13 years since we went!

They are using this time to fix up the trails. I am hoping since it will still be May that it wont be full on summer crowds but I do have my expectations set to it being pretty crowded. Hoping that our order of starting in the middle and working our way down will have us moving against the majority of traffic.

OP, what exactly is your ship itinerary?

I'm going to give our full itinerary in case anyone has suggestions for non port stuff too. *Times are given as arrivial and all aboard (half hour before posted leaving time).

Thursday-land in Rome, drive to Tossica/ Termo/ Pinella (any suggestions for these small towns?), hotel in Capistrello

Friday-drive to Sorrento, park for the day, hopefully find lemon grove to tour (suggestions?), bus to Amalfi coast, bus back, drive to Salerno for hotel

Saturday-drive to Pompeii, park at Camping Spartacus, tour Pompeii with AirBnB tour unless I get a suggestion for a different guide, hopefully lunch at a vineyard (suggestions?), drive to Herculaneum, park either on street (free) or underground, tour with no guide, drive to Alvito and have a dinner, continue on to hotel in Frosinone

Sunday-drive up to Persiceto (Bologna area), hopefully stopping in Tuscany for a couple of hours (suggestions?), laundry at hotel tonight so hope to be in a little earlier

Monday-drive to Lamborghini factory, tour at 9:30 (already have tickets), drive back to Rome and return car. Hotel Trevi Elite, maybe just walk around the immediate area that evening.

Tuesday-We plan to walk to the Zoo, the Capuchin Crypt, The Colosseum, The Pantheon and back to the hotel

Wednesday-We board the Seaview. We have priority boarding so will likely want to get on board as soon as we can. Our suite comes with two free massages that cant be booked in advance. Hoping the sooner we get on, the more likely I will get the days/ times I want.

Thursday-Cannes, France 8:30 a- 5:30 p, Walk around the festival area

Friday-Palma De Mallorca 1 p- 11 p, hoping to maybe go to a beach, need to research the specifics. Another possibility is the ebike through AirBnB. Any input?

Saturday- Barcelona- 7 a- 5:30 p, take 5 Euro pp shuttle to Mirador de Colom, walk to the Mercat de Boqueria, grab stuff for a picnic, walk past Casa Batllo on our way to Park Guell, walk around park, picnic there, walk back or maybe taxi to La Sagrada Familia (not going in), continue to Arc de Triomf to look around (zoo if time permits which I am doubting), continue on to Mirador de Colom, take shuttle back to ship. Ive heard the taxi force is decreased by about half on Saturdays, hoping that wont affect our ability to grab one if wanted.

Sunday-Ajaccio noon- 6:30 p, walk to Trottel Beach, walk back

Monday-Genoa 7 a- 5:30 p Do the HOHO...does anyone know if you need to walk to the ticket office to get on or can you get tickets at the port stop and get on there? Do the HOHO for one "loop". Ive designed a walking food tour that is between stops 1 & 2 so do that, then potentially hop back on bus to see more or head back to port

Tuesday-La Spezia 7 a- 6:30 p, Train to Vernazza, train to Manarola, walk to Riomaggiore through mosiac tunnel, train back to port. May bus to Corniglia between Ver. and Man.. Ive written down a few suggestions for snacking but am welcome to other suggestions.

Wed-Rome, we debark this day. Thinking of doing a Rome in Limo tour from port to other sites in Rome, ending at about 3 pm for our hotel check in to Trevi Elite. Then one last night in Rome

Thursday-Flight out of FCO at 10:45 am-suggestions on timing and how to get to the airport are welcome.

The reasons for going to Alvito, Pianella, Teramo and Tossica is that is where our families are from so we thought it would be nice to see those towns. All are very small and I dont expect anyone here to have suggestions for those towns but if there are suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Ive really struggled and not found anything really to do on that first day in any of those places so we may just be taking a couple of pictures with "Bienviendos a..." signs and walking around grocery stores to get a feel for the places. LOL But visiting these places important to our heritage is a big part of why we are doing this trip so as much as part of me is saying to just skip and have an extra day in Amalfi or Rome, I just cant bring myself to do it.

 

[StarSeven7]

They are using this time to fix up the trails. I am hoping since it will still be May that it wont be full on summer crowds but I do have my expectations set to it being pretty crowded. Hoping that our order of starting in the middle and working our way down will have us moving against the majority of traffic.

We went in May as well and the weather was perfect! We stayed in Manarola and I'm pretty sure we took the train up to Monterosso the first day and hiked from there to Vernazza, and then later took the train down to Riomaggiore and did the walk back to Manarola. We woke up early in the morning to do the hike from Manarola to Corniglia and onto Vernazza. This was the most strenuous hike and it was deserted in the early morning and it was nice to hike in cooler temps! Enjoy your trip and hopefully you get to experience everything!

 

[monkeydawn]

We went in May as well and the weather was perfect! We stayed in Manarola and I'm pretty sure we took the train up to Monterosso the first day and hiked from there to Vernazza, and then later took the train down to Riomaggiore and did the walk back to Manarola. We woke up early in the morning to do the hike from Manarola to Corniglia and onto Vernazza. This was the most strenuous hike and it was deserted in the early morning and it was nice to hike in cooler temps! Enjoy your trip and hopefully you get to experience everything!

Thank you!

I am thinking the bus to Corniglia (at least one way). I can walk and walk and walk for miles without issue but my knees can have issues with stairs (up or down).

 

[StarSeven7]

Thank you!

I am thinking the bus to Corniglia (at least one way). I can walk and walk and walk for miles without issue but my knees can have issues with stairs (up or down).

There weren't any stairs on the main trail but lots of hills, especially the sections around Corniglia! The only flat section was between Manarola and Riomaggiore. We didn't take the bus at all when we were there so I can't give you input on that (not even sure if there was one then?) we just hopped the train between towns since they came every few minutes! We loved Cinque Terre so much, I'm sure you will enjoy it!

 

[kiford]

Does anyone have a lemon grove tour they would recommend?

We didn't do a "tour" precisely but we were staying in Sorrento for a few days and there is a lemon grove right in the middle of the town and you can buy their lemoncello there. It's not very big though. We went near the end of the day so mostly just walked into to buy the lemoncello. I can't think that it would take more than a few minutes to walk around it. Perhaps there are larger ones in Amalfi where there's more to see. (BTW, it was one of the best lemoncello variants we had and we had quite a few in our 4 days there).

If anyone has a guide (and way to contact) that they would recommend for Pompeii, I would appreciate it. We dont need a guide as a part of a larger tour, just for Pompeii. airbnb seems to get high marks for their guides but I think a personal recommendation is always nice too.

A guide is nice, but not really necessary. We had a guide the first time because we did a tour through the ship and it included other stops and the bus. But it's eminently do-able on your own. Just pick up the map when you purchase tickets and walk through at your own pace. There's lot of information in English as well as other languages and there are even some people who work there who were happy to impart additional information to us. Same is true for Herculaneum.

We will need a place for lunch in between Pompeii and Herculaneum.

I wouldn't drive to Herculaneum if you can possibly avoid it. We took the Circumvesuviana (basically a local commuter train) from Sorrento (end of the line) and got off at Ercolano Scavi. You then just walk down the hill for about 2-3 blocks and Herculaneum is right in front of you. It's not very expensive. In fact, if you are not going into Naples for other than Pompeii and Herculaneum, I would suggest the Circumvesuviana especially if you are staying in Sorrento. It also stops at Pompei Scavi which is a couple of stops away from Ercolano (just make sure you stop at the stops that say "Scavi" as there were either two Ercolano or two Pompei - don't remember exactly but one is at the excavations and one is not). I would not suggest trying to do the winery though we've done one on the slopes of Vesuvius on our first trip and it was great. But this last trip we spent the entire day at Pompeii (~8 hours) and we've been before and half a day at Herculaneum. We would have been there longer but we had hiked up to Vesuvius that morning and were tired.

About halfway down from the train stop at Ercolano Scavi on the right hand side is a place called Pizzeria Luna Caprese. It got fairly good reviews on Google so we stopped there. It looked a little dark, cramped, and kind of dodgy but our friend insisted. It was actually quite nice. Very little English spoken there but we were able to make ourselves understood and were able to understand them. Very different kind of pizza from what I'm used to - they add olive oil onto the pizza after cooking so the crust is soggy and you have to eat it with knife and fork. I now get why people say you have to have pizza in Naples. So delicious - it makes me think that a crispy crust is overrated. They do a delivery service too (empty boxes piled to the ceiling) and they were doing non-stop fulfillment of those while we were there so obviously the locals like it too which is always a good recommendation. They pretty much make mostly pizza so it can be fairly quick if that's what you want.

 

[kiford]

I am thinking the bus to Corniglia (at least one way).

Take the train. You can get a 1, 2 or 3 day (IIRC) pass for the trains that go from Riomaggiore to Levanti. They go quite regularly - it's pretty much like a commuter train. Even paying for each trip separately is quite inexpensive but the pass is really convenient. I think we figured that, if we did 3 one-way trips per day it was cheaper. It takes only a few minutes from end to end so it's very amenable to just deciding on a moment's notice that you'd like to go to Monterosso when you're in Manarola and takes very little time out of your day. Tickets are pretty much on the honor system so they only check randomly which makes it very quick to board (but fines are high if you get caught without a ticket so don't take the chance).

Also consider taking the boat at least once. The views are amazing from the water.

There weren't any stairs on the main trail but lots of hills, especially the sections around Corniglia!

We decided to do the hike from Corniglia to Vernazza one drizzly morning. Took about 1.5-1.75 hours and it's quite a bit uphill (then downhill) including steps and rough pathways. I have some knee issues so we were perhaps a little slower than we could have been but it's not a walk in the park even if you don't have knee issues. Views are spectacular. There is a little bar about 3/4 of the way up from Corniglia and a little (very little) place right at the top that serves a fresh lemon slushy with fresh orange juice on top of it. One of our most favourite memories of Cinque Terre.

 

[StarSeven7]

We decided to do the hike from Corniglia to Vernazza one drizzly morning. Took about 1.5-1.75 hours and it's quite a bit uphill (then downhill) including steps and rough pathways. I have some knee issues so we were perhaps a little slower than we could have been but it's not a walk in the park even if you don't have knee issues. Views are spectacular. There is a little bar about 3/4 of the way up from Corniglia and a little (very little) place right at the top that serves a fresh lemon slushy with fresh orange juice on top of it. One of our most favourite memories of Cinque Terre.

Huh, I don't remember stairs at all! But it was 13 years ago so I'm probably not remembering correctly!

 

[kiford]

Huh, I don't remember stairs at all! But it was 13 years ago so I'm probably not remembering correctly!

They've had a lot of issues of erosion and rockfalls in the last 10 years. Some of the pathways between towns were not open when we were there (Oct 2018) and we'd heard that there were some contentious issues about the funds to repair them so there was no schedule as to when they'd eventually be open. Could be open now, but I don't know. At that time, I think that only that path and maybe one other one between two of the towns (don't recall which) were open. All others were blocked off.

The stairs seemed somewhat random. Mostly close to the towns but there were some crude stairs in other parts between. I was quite glad we'd started in Corniglia rather than Vernazza because there are a lot of stairs in Vernazza which were OK to go down but I wouldn't have wanted to climb them; Corniglia had a much gentler beginning but I believe Corniglia is higher than Vernazza. You do have to climb a lot of stairs from the train station to get into Corniglia to begin with but we stopped for breakfast after getting into Corniglia so I don't count those as the beginning of the trail. And the stairs in Vernazza were steeper whereas those coming up from the train station into Corniglia were shallower (of course, there were a lot of them).

 

[monkeydawn]

There weren't any stairs on the main trail but lots of hills, especially the sections around Corniglia! The only flat section was between Manarola and Riomaggiore. We didn't take the bus at all when we were there so I can't give you input on that (not even sure if there was one then?) we just hopped the train between towns since they came every few minutes! We loved Cinque Terre so much, I'm sure you will enjoy it!

That its flater is why I want to walk the trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore. That and the pretty mosaic tunnel.

I must be very confused about something as I was under the impression that there was no train to Corniglia, I thought hiking or the bus (free with the train/ trail/ boat ticket which we do plan on getting). So I guess I have to figure out where my notes went askew unless someone here knows what I am talking about! LOL

We didn't do a "tour" precisely but we were staying in Sorrento for a few days and there is a lemon grove right in the middle of the town and you can buy their lemoncello there. It's not very big though. We went near the end of the day so mostly just walked into to buy the lemoncello. I can't think that it would take more than a few minutes to walk around it. Perhaps there are larger ones in Amalfi where there's more to see. (BTW, it was one of the best lemoncello variants we had and we had quite a few in our 4 days there).

I think it would be amazing to go to a larger grove and see the process, there are tours but they either start too early in the day for us to make ot or arent listed for the day we are there. I am hoping as it gets closer I will have better luck but thank you very much for the HU about this smaller grove, it will be better than nothing!

Take the train. You can get a 1, 2 or 3 day (IIRC) pass for the trains that go from Riomaggiore to Levanti. They go quite regularly - it's pretty much like a commuter train. Even paying for each trip separately is quite inexpensive but the pass is really convenient. I think we figured that, if we did 3 one-way trips per day it was cheaper. It takes only a few minutes from end to end so it's very amenable to just deciding on a moment's notice that you'd like to go to Monterosso when you're in Manarola and takes very little time out of your day. Tickets are pretty much on the honor system so they only check randomly which makes it very quick to board (but fines are high if you get caught without a ticket so don't take the chance).

Also consider taking the boat at least once. The views are amazing from the water.



We decided to do the hike from Corniglia to Vernazza one drizzly morning. Took about 1.5-1.75 hours and it's quite a bit uphill (then downhill) including steps and rough pathways. I have some knee issues so we were perhaps a little slower than we could have been but it's not a walk in the park even if you don't have knee issues. Views are spectacular. There is a little bar about 3/4 of the way up from Corniglia and a little (very little) place right at the top that serves a fresh lemon slushy with fresh orange juice on top of it. One of our most favourite memories of Cinque Terre.

We were planning on the all day multi use pass. If we somehow have extra time, we will do a boat ride. Ive heard about that lemon/ orange slushy. It *might* be part of the reason I am considering Corniglia. (I am very food motivated.) Thanks for the reminder!

 

[kiford]

I must be very confused about something as I was under the impression that there was no train to Corniglia, I thought hiking or the bus (free with the train/ trail/ boat ticket which we do plan on getting).

The Cinque-Terre Express train goes: La Spezia-Riomaggiore-Manarola-Corniglia-Vernazza-Monterosso-Levanto. We arrived in La Spezia from Florence and took the train to Riomaggiore where we were staying (7 minutes I think it took). When we left, we took the train from Riomaggiore to Levanto to catch a train to Milan for a connection to Venice. So it gives you a lot of options if you're travelling to other parts of Italy by train. Through the 3 (4?) days we stayed there, we booted up and down from Riomaggiore to Monterosso on that train several times. There were buses but they were not very frequent and I suspect the train is much more efficient.

The hiking trail from Riomaggiore was boarded up that I do remember so unless they've opened it recently you can't walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore. However, you do walk through the mosaic tunnel when you get off the train and go up to Riomaggiore. And IIRC there was a fabulous little (very little) restaurant near where the walking trail is closed off that we enjoyed very much.

I am hoping as it gets closer I will have better luck but thank you very much for the HU about this smaller grove, it will be better than nothing!

If you drink enough lemoncello you will think you have been to the groves! Or at least it will ease the disappointment

 

[monkeydawn]

The Cinque-Terre Express train goes: La Spezia-Riomaggiore-Manarola-Corniglia-Vernazza-Monterosso-Levanto. We arrived in La Spezia from Florence and took the train to Riomaggiore where we were staying (7 minutes I think it took). When we left, we took the train from Riomaggiore to Levanto to catch a train to Milan for a connection to Venice. So it gives you a lot of options if you're travelling to other parts of Italy by train. Through the 3 (4?) days we stayed there, we booted up and down from Riomaggiore to Monterosso on that train several times. There were buses but they were not very frequent and I suspect the train is much more efficient.

It was my understanding, and I could have it wrong, was that there was a shuttle bus of sorts that just ran up to Corniglia. That is the only bus I plan on taking, trains or maybe a boat ride for the rest of that day.

The hiking trail from Riomaggiore was boarded up that I do remember so unless they've opened it recently you can't walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore. However, you do walk through the mosaic tunnel when you get off the train and go up to Riomaggiore. And IIRC there was a fabulous little (very little) restaurant near where the walking trail is closed off that we enjoyed very much.

That's great news that we will still see the tunnel even if we cant do the walk between towns.

If you drink enough lemoncello you will think you have been to the groves! Or at least it will ease the disappointment

LOL

 

[ninergrl6]

Has anyone gone to Cinque Terres from Genoa on a port day, we would have 12 hours and are OK with this being a very long day. I've had one person warn me off of this plan but I am still curious if anyone has tried it and just how it was. We are also OK with only seeing one or two of the towns.

I went on a Port Adventure to Cinque Terre from Livorno in June 2018 (from Genoa I went to Portofino) and it was my FAVORITE day of the cruise! We took a smallish boat along the coast and stopped at two of the towns (can't remember their names off the top of my head) -- one for about 30 minutes and the other for a couple of hours so we could have lunch and explore. I had one of the best meals of my life at a cafe there, but honestly the scenery alone was worth the trip.

I also highly recommend the Amalfi coast -- particularly the town of Amalfi -- although it's tricky to get to. I went there on my first trip to Italy (not a cruise) about 20 years ago and it's still one of my favorite places I've ever been.

 

[Intr3pid]

We were on Seaview (in YC) last summer to kick off our Grand European tour. Pretty easy to research most of the stops on your own, but here are some notes from that part of our trip.

Cannes: Rented a car and drove two of the Corniche's on the way to/from Monte Carlo/Nice. Keep in mind that you will tender into Cannes - and into the heart of the town. Be prepared for some measure of chaos.

Palma de Mallorca: Nikki beach in Magaluf if you want to make it a beach day, or one of the several waterparks near Palma. We rented a car near the port and hit the public beach in Magaluf in the morning and then Katmandu Park in the afternoon.

Barcelona: Wasn't our first time, but we hadn't been to Montserrat before. That took up our morning, and then some city sightseeing in the afternoon. Park Guell, La Sagrada Familia (just a walk-by), and the Jewish Quarter. Pre-arrange your Park Guell tickets for a skip-the-line entry.

Corsica: A walk into the town in the morning to the beach and around Napolean's statues in the old town. Spent most of this day on the ship, trying out the zipline, bowling, pools, simulators, etc.

Genoa: Used this day for Cinque Terre and Portofino and hired a cab for a good part of the trip. The driver dropped us off at the start of the commuter train in CT, and we took the train one way and the boat back. Spent time primarily in Vernazza and Maranola. It was all in the sweltering summer heat - amidst crazy crowds - so I'd tone down my expectations. The pictures you see are either at the sunrise/sunset or in the fall/winter season. A stop in Portofino on our way back was more relaxing. (I would skip the Genoa HOHO, mind you.)

La Spezia: Rented a car and drove all the way to Florence with a Pisa stop on the way back.. Used Rick Steve's self-guided Renaissance tour in Florence - and it was pretty efficient. You could also use this day for a Tuscan drive.

In most of the ports, you need a shuttle bus - or a long walk - to get out of the gates and into the town. Factor that into your timing.

Other notes:

Rome. You can do Rome in a day if you do it on a Friday when the Vatican Museums re-open for a night/evening tour.

Naples. The big three in Naples - Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Pompeii - need two days because of the distances involved. Amalfi Coast is breathtaking - and you want to do both the drive and the boat cruise. You can take the boat over to Capri from Amalfi, but the real gem is the town of Positano on the way - don't miss!