So while we were on the Mariner with our Hugh-David group we decided to sign up for their next cruise which is on the Navigator. This takes us full circle--our first RSSC cruise was on the Navigator, then the Voyager, then the Paul Gaugin, most recently the Mariner, and back to the Navigator.
It is June 23, 2007 and the ports are as follows:
It leaves from Piraeus (Athens) Greece
June 24 in Kusadasi (Ephesus) Turkey from 8 am to 11 pm
June 25 in Santorini Greece 8 am to 6 pm
June 26th cruising
June 27th Naxos (Taormina) Sicily, Italy 8 to 6
June 28th Sorrento 8 to 6
June 29th Civitavecchia (Rome) Italy 7 to 6
June 30th disembark in Monte Carlo
Isn't Civitabecchia a long way from Rome? We've been to Rome before, is there something to see or do around the port?
What's Naxos, far from Taormina?
Is the ship leaving too early? Sounds like all the little tavernas in Greece will be opening just as we are leaving. Is it far from Athens to the port city of Piraeus?
Just a few of my thousands of questions for now!
Love, Elena :banana:

Don't know about Taormina. But Rome is about an hour and a half from Civitavecchia. I also don't know what there might be to see in Civitavecchia, as we disembarked there and transferred immediately into Rome.

Sorry, I wasn't much help was I?

Civitavecchia - we had a day there and it was Sunday - we found a pretty church and attended Mass - in Italian, of course, two young girls sang during the service and they had beautiful voices - very moving - found great place for lunch and vino and just walked around - we enjoyed it - Joanna

Elena,

Civitavecchia is a long way from Rome. I don’t think there is anything to do or see within walking distance of the port gates there. There are some tourism sites outside of Rome and closer to Civitavecchia, but would still require a car or a tour, etc. See our journal entry for our day of Rome. Given the amount of time you have there and the unreliability of traffic/transport/strikes etc in Italy, it is always a hard choice there. We were happy with the money that we paid RSSC for our short day in Rome. We thought this was a good option, if you had been to Rome before and would comfortable returning on your own to see only one or two things. http://journals.aol.com/dfriia/West...06/04/13/day-106---thursday-april-13/314

Naxos has a small port and train station. It is not walking distance from Taormina, but not more than 10 miles, only it is almost straight uphill to get there. I have not been there on a cruise (by train) but someone here may know if RSSC ever provides a shuttle. It would still take an hour or so probably because you cannot travel between the coast to uphill in a straight line. (We stayed in a beachfront hotel and after one van ride between, we took a cable car up and down from the beach in 2000.) Taormina is a great place to stroll for a day or if you are ambitious to go up Mt. Etna and see Taormina. Again, would require a car or a tour unless RSSC is offering a shuttle service to Taormina.

Piraeus is probably 20-30 miles from downtown Athens. I believe that you can walk to a Metro station from the port and get into downtown though.
http://www.athens-today.com/e-metro-network1.htm

Sounds like a great itinerary, Debbie

RSSC usually provides a shuttle from Naxos to Taormina (but, as I recall there's a small fee--maybe $15 round trip). The shuttle drops you off at the bus stop/parking lot and you can walk to the sights in Taormina from there. The ride takes about 30 minutes.

Hi Elena,

We took RSSC's tour of Taormina, The Roman Theatre and Mt. Etna. The tour included lunch. I recommend this tour very highly. We had a great day. Taormina is beautiful. Our guide, Maria, was wonderful.

Joanna,
We must be related!!!!! We have many things in common!
Seriously, could you tell me more about what to do in Citavecchia? I will be going also on a Sunday, and am not enchanted about going into Rome on Sunday. If you prefer, feel free to email me.
Thanks Lynn

Lynn: As I recall, we were dreading a day in C as we had read such negatives (we had done the C to Rome thing twice?) - what to do in C? I think we were on b2b and people got off and we stayed in on in C!!! Took Regent shuttle to town - 5 minutes - 10 am?? Just hit an 11 am Mass by accident just by walking - 1 pm walked around, many places closed on Sunday, but found hole in the wall (keep bad notes)for lunch (great!!) and back to ship by 3 pm - loved it - no agenda - turned out to fun day - Joanna

The port is not far from Athens..less than 1/2 hour.

We spent the day in C too on our last cruise. It's a charming Italian town. There is a main street with some nice Italian shops e.g. Furla.
There is also an outdoor market that sells houehold goods/clothes/fruits and vegetables.
It wasn't tooooo exciting but we spent a pleasant half day wandering around and then back to the ship.
For Taormina, we got there in August 2003 when those terrible heat waves killled hundreds of Europeans. It was 115 degrees!!!!! We went up to Mount Etna (lunar landscape - I didn't find it too interesting) where we wore a sweatshirt for the first time in weeks. Nobody went up to Taormina because of the heat. Most people got off the tender and got right back on and went back to the ship because of the heat.

Elena, Our next Regent cruise is on the Navigator June 15-23. We will miss meeting you. :mad: Darn! Hope you enjoy your cruise.

Julie - same way we felt about C - I think finding the church on Sunday with the gals singing was highlight - not bad way to spend 5 hrs - Joanna

Julie and Joanna,
Thanks for the info.
Lynn