Just returned two week Medit. cruise & two weeks in Italy.
 

My wife and I just returned from a two week Royal Princess cruise in the mediterranean and an additional two weeks on our own in Italy (Rome, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Venice and Milan) Any Questions?

Hi,
WE are booked on the Grand for June 7th.We hope we do not get cancelled again.Could you tell us what tours you recommend?Also what things did you do on your own that you enjoyed.Did you find it hard to exchange your money?Was Naples affected by the mudslides they had in Italy?Thanks for posting!!

Val, sounds like your itenerary will be different than ours
because we did not stop in Capri but instead Civitavecchia ,an hour outside of Rome. What I do recomment is that you go for the tours in the ports where the sights are not easily accessible or in ports where you will be there for half a day or so. For example, We decide to do a tour in Euphesus, Turkey because we knew the sights to see were quite a ways from port. Also, somethimes the ship will dock in cities like Civitavecchia, as far away as 2 hours and will have to get to the sights own your own unless you take the tour in which case they will bus you. In Instanbul we did not take a tour because the ship docked in Instanbul and all the sights we wanted to see were within walking distance from each other. We actually saw more here but we did have to take a taxi back to the ship for $10 . Keep in mind that tours will add up and sometimes you don't see as much because the time is really structured. The good side is that you won't have to worry about getting around. As far as money, you can exchange money at the purser's desk on the ship but you will quickly notice that the rate will not be nearly as good as if you do it in town. Locals want you American dollars. You will get an even better exchange rate if it's cash. Don't carry too much cash though. My advice, take some cash, some traveler's checks and credit cards(you get a pretty good exchange rate on your bill) and do not put all your eggs in one basket.

hi <BR>I'm taking my first cruise (italian renaissance) <BR>we are stopping in Palma, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, Valleta, Cagliari <BR>any places that your recommend that we not miss?

We're booked on the Royal Princess Istanbul to Rome. We're leaving home on Saturday. Did you go to Santorini, Dubrovnik, Taormina? We don't have shore excursions booked there. Hoping to do them on our own. Is that practical there?

Hi,We are sailing on Royal in Nov,2000, Rome to Buenos aires. What was the ship like,food,service ect. I agree with you on doing as much as possible on your own. We did the Med last year, and depending on the port, went on our own. You see more of what you want. The purser does not give a good exchnge rate. You can do much better using ATM or your credit card.