Questions about a Med cruise

[kiford]

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.

There is one. It just didn't seem to run nearly as often as the train. And since the train is just a couple of euros and we got the multi-day pass, we didn't bother with the bus. The train stations were very conveniently located to where we wanted to go and with having monitors for the schedules and ETA/delays it seemed more efficient plus less subject to the road conditions and traffic. We never actually saw the bus, just lots of people waiting every time we passed by.

 

[tidefan]

Checking in here...

We are doing the DCL Med this summer and are thinking of doing the St. Tropez excursion from Cannes. Any thoughts?

 

[monkeydawn]

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.

First, thank you so much for the breakdown of what you did in all the ports!

There are two parts to Parc Guell, the free parts do not require tickets...correct?

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.)

Ah, finally someone that's done CT from Genoa! Did you hire the cab in advance or just grab one at port? What was the cost? Why skip the Genoa HOHO?

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.

A walk of 0.5 -1 mile wont bother us or take us too long. I had the impression that most ports werent too bad. I knew Barcelona was longer and built the shuttle into my plans there. Where else would you say was a long walk?

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.

We have no interest in the Vatican so that simples Rome up for us quite a bit. Since Wednesdays are the days you can see the Pope does that mean that the other sites in Rome might be a little less crowded? Or is everything still really crowded since that is a big port day? Trying to decide if there is a better way to split our sites since we will be there on a Tuesday and a Wednesday (and another Wednesday morning).

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!

Yes, we plan on doing Sorrento/ Positano/ Amalfi in one day and Pompeii/ Herculaneum on a second day.

There is one. It just didn't seem to run nearly as often as the train. And since the train is just a couple of euros and we got the multi-day pass, we didn't bother with the bus. The train stations were very conveniently located to where we wanted to go and with having monitors for the schedules and ETA/delays it seemed more efficient plus less subject to the road conditions and traffic. We never actually saw the bus, just lots of people waiting every time we passed by.

Ah, see I had the impression there was no train to Corniglia...that it was only accesible via bus or hiking. I wonder if the TR where I read that was just wrong or if the train was *out* for some reason that day. I verified that it wasnt a misunderstanding on my part/ bad note taking. Not many TRs discuss Corniglia and that specific TR mentioned it was less crowded because it wasnt as easily accessible. Obviously I've got more research to do on that area.

Checking in here...

We are doing the DCL Med this summer and are thinking of doing the St. Tropez excursion from Cannes. Any thoughts?

I hope you get some replies! If you dont see any replies it may be that its because the question is burried in a thread that is hitting on a lot of different points. If it were me and I didnt see a reply in a couple of weeks, I'd make my own thread in hopes that the more limited question might get noticed.

 

[Intr3pid]

There are two parts to Parc Guell, the free parts do not require tickets...correct?

That's correct - although all the more noteworthy parts of the park are ticketed.

Ah, finally someone that's done CT from Genoa! Did you hire the cab in advance or just grab one at port? What was the cost? Why skip the Genoa HOHO?

We had a rental car arranged but needed to take a cab to get to it. Our driver recommended a cab for the day instead, so we hired one through him. Can't remember the exact cost, but it wasn't a whole lot different from the rental.

Genoa is a port city. It has a great arts scene, but you won't see any of that on a HOHO bus.

A walk of 0.5 -1 mile wont bother us or take us too long. I had the impression that most ports werent too bad. I knew Barcelona was longer and built the shuttle into my plans there. Where else would you say was a long walk?

Other than Corsica, most of the ports required some walking/shuttling around and about. We probably also underestimated the summer Med sun.

Since Wednesdays are the days you can see the Pope does that mean that the other sites in Rome might be a little less crowded? Or is everything still really crowded since that is a big port day? Trying to decide if there is a better way to split our sites since we will be there on a Tuesday and a Wednesday (and another Wednesday morning).

Rome is crowded in the summer regardless of the cruise ships or the events at the Vatican. We did the Colosseum and Forum in the morning, central sites (Pantheon/Trevi/Spanish Steps/etc.) on a walking loop after lunch, and St Peter's and the Vatican in the late afternoon/evening.

Other than to enter the Basilica, we didn't have to wait anywhere thanks to the pre-purchased/skip-the-line tours/tickets.

 

[kiford]

Ah, see I had the impression there was no train to Corniglia...that it was only accesible via bus or hiking.

Check the Trenitalia website. You can prebuy tickets there if you want but it's easier to just buy while there. There's no assigned seats so no worries about it selling out. In fact, the trip is so short, we never bothered sitting down. You'd barely be seated before having to get back up again.

 

[monkeydawn]

That's correct - although all the more noteworthy parts of the park are ticketed.

Other than Corsica, most of the ports required some walking/shuttling around and about. We probably also underestimated the summer Med sun.

Rome is crowded in the summer regardless of the cruise ships or the events at the Vatican. We did the Colosseum and Forum in the morning, central sites (Pantheon/Trevi/Spanish Steps/etc.) on a walking loop after lunch, and St Peter's and the Vatican in the late afternoon/evening.

Thanks, I will read more about Parc Guell to determine what I think we are more likely to enjoy!

We are from a sunny, hot and humid area so I am hoping that we will be OK in the climate but we may be shuttling more as the cruise goes on. LOL

That's what I figured about Rome but I had a tiny hope that Wednesdays might be slightly more empty due to the special Vatican stuff those days.

Check the Trenitalia website. You can prebuy tickets there if you want but it's easier to just buy while there. There's no assigned seats so no worries about it selling out. In fact, the trip is so short, we never bothered sitting down. You'd barely be seated before having to get back up again.

Thanks. Someone in one TR said that the line to buy tix was quite long (about 45 minutes) and that prebuying would have been better so that is on my list to investigate. I think the earlier we get going that day, the better of an experience we will have.

 

[monkeydawn]

So we had to make our choice as today was the last day to cancel with full refund. Our decision was to go for it and keep the cruise booking. Basically research has halted the last couple of weeks for me while we were watching what the Corona Virus did and deciding if we wanted to go ahead with the cruise or just do a land based vacation. I am still wondering about...

Lunch recommendations between Pompeii and Herculaneum. Any place knock your socks off? Wished you had went somewhere else?

I am also still looking for guide recommendations for Pompeii. I can do a airBnB booking if no one has a guide recommendation.

How hard is it to get ice to fill a small cooler in Italy? This isnt an on ship question but for the land based part of our trip. I am guessing it isnt easy.

Any recommendations for dinner in the Modena/ Bologna area?

Has anyone done both the night and day Colosseum tours? I am leaning towards the night one.

Any specific recommendations for the Cinque Terres would be appreciated. I have a few things written down but havent cross checked them against when we will be there (since I wasnt sure until today when we would be there) so that part of the trip is still in the planning stages. Food, places to see and, as always, gelato and pasteries.