Barcelona to Civitavecchia on the Voyager leaving on 14 May!!!!!

Thanks to each of you for giving us great advice on the previous thread "Hunt for a New Cruise".

Of course, now is the fun of the specifics of the cruise and the excursions.

We are planning the following:

Fly out of DC on 13 May, arriving in Barcelona the morning of 14 May. Other considerations will prevent us from doing a pre-cruise in Barcelona.

In St. Tropez, we'll relax, maybe down at the water or find an open-air cafe and people watch under the French Riveria Sun. Suggestions on where/how best to do this are more than welcome. How fun it seems to us to recover from jet lag in one of the neatest places in the Med.

In Monte Carlo, we're still open to suggestions. A bit more research is in order, but a self-guided walking tour is probably what we are looking at. Again, suggestions? Not big gamblers, but going in one of the casinos might be fun.

In Florence, our TA has an excursion set up for us which sounds delightful; Full-day Visit to Lucca with Lunch and Wine.

In Corsica, I'd love to dive in Golfe de Porto-Corse, but we won't be there long enough. We're probably walk through the port of Ajaccio. May take up an excursion here if one is strongly recommended.

In Sorrento, its all Pompeii on the second day as we find the excursion "Explorations of Pompeii and Lunch on the Amalfi Coast" too alluring to pass up. Not sure what we will do on the first day when the ship sails in at noon.

In Rome, we are planning on doing a 2-night post cruise to explore Rome. We are looking strongly at Hotel Bernini Bristol Roma through Regent. The Hotel Majestica is another opportuntiy that we are looking at.

For touring options, the Regent's "Exclusively Rome!" looks like what we are looking for. (Does Consierge Choice indicate that its a seperate vendor from Regent.)

If we are doing a tour the day of embarkation, is there a way that our luggage can be dropped off at the hotel and we meet up with it at the hotel?

OK...lots of options still. But we know we will be drinking champagne and watching Barcelona begin to fall behind us as we sail out at 6:00 pm on the 14th of May.

Now, for those you have done these ports before, what must we know to make this the perfect vacation? We followed your advise 18 months ago with PG and it was a magical experience. I know the value of your collective wisdom.

Thanks in advance...

Jan and Tracey

Hi Jan and Tracey,

Congratulations on selecting what looks like a lovely cruise!

I would be curious to know what restaurant your T/A is reserving for you for your excursion to Lucca. Last summer I spent 2 weeks in Lucca ( it is a delightful city) and had the opportunity to sample some of them. I'm sure you'll love the city. Also, Pisa is very close . I don't know if you have already been there, but if not it would probably be totally doable in combination with Lucca.

Jan,
Looking forward to meeting you on the cruise.

Merril

Lucca is a wonderfull town. Did a tour there a few years back and three years ago rented a villa outside the city with friends for a month.

If you have an interest in wine there is a great wine store. Address is as follows:
Enoteca Vanni
Piazza del Salvatore 7-55100 Lucca

This is on modest plaza. Wine store is near the corner of Via Calderia and via Buia
It does not look large from the outside but ask if you can go down into the cellar. Fantastic. The cellar goes forever and loaded with wine.

You've made an excellent choice! Voyager is a wonderful ship and the itinerary is great! Plus, that's a Spotlight on Music cruise!

Enjoy!

Jan and Tracey, only thing I would add would be a visit to some of the old towns outside of Monte Carlo in the morning, and then visiting Monaco in the afternoon. Not much to see right in MC, I think the museums are not within walking distance of the ship. But I haven't been to them in years, so not sure.

Jan and Tracey - we did the Hotel Bernini Bristol thru RSSC last year, and it was fantastic. We loved the location, could walk everywhere, even though some walks were longer than we thought, the concierge at the hotel gave us wonderful restaurant recommendations every night, we loved being right on the Via Veneto, and our room, had been nicely refurbished, but still had the feel of an old hotel, back in the old days so to speak.

We did not book any excursions in Rome, just did our own research and walked everywhere and saw more than we had anticipated for a first visit.

We also did Pompei in Sorrento and it was very interesting, but now we want to go back and do something different. We did our own roaming in St. Tropez and Monte Carlo and just found our own places to see, eat, enjoy the atmosphere, etc.

Sounds like a great cruise and will look forward to hearing more about it from you, before, during and after!

We booked the Hotel Bernini Bristol Roma through Regent for a pre-cruise stay in October. It is convenient and the cost is reasonable considering breakfast and transfers were provided. We arranged our own air but we were met at the airport gate and escorted to a limo that delivered us to the hotel. The accommodations were very comfortable. We had balcony accommodations overlooking the piazza. Finally we had transfers to the ship. Total cost was within $50 of making our own arrangements and assuming the hassle and risk that goes with it.

The hotel itself is within walking distance of many sites of interest - Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Lamborghini Dealership, Ferrari Store, etc. You may want to consider an additional night since 2 days is simply not enough time to visit the major sites, let alone the other side of the river. The transfer between ship and hotel requires a half a day depending upon traffic and the skill of the driver.

Wow. We're getting excited!!

ua549,

We'd love to spend additional nights in Rome. However, fiscal restraints (having Uncle Sam as an employer can only go so far) and having the mother-in-law watching the terrors...I mean, the kids will drive 2 nights in Rome being within our means.

Maria,

I believe the restaurant is the Buca di St'Antonio. Can't wait.

Merril,

We will absolutely have to meet when we go. We will be the ones that look incredibly relieved that we were able to ditch our children for a week and-a-half.

djw521,

Address is written down and we will bring it with us. We are still neophytes as wine conisseurs(sp) go, but are more than eager to work to correct that.

For everyone,

I understand that the cruise is country-club casual and informal (bringing a suit with me), however, I'm sure that what I saw on the PG is not what I'll be seeing in the Med. What type of wear do most men wear in the Med? Slacks and polo shirts?

Ok...thank to everyone. We have so many questions. Luckily, we have nearly six months to get them all answered before we leave.

v/r

Jan

Thanks Jan,

Yes, Buca di San Antonio is very nice! After lunch you should head to the top of the walls for a nice walk to aid your digestion! :)

In Monte Carlo, just outside the rail station upstairs, there is a Hop On Hop Off bus, cost 3.60 euros each. Can't remebmer the color of the route we did, but it went up by the Castle. Changing of the Guard is at 11:55 daily.

There is also a 30 min Tourist Trolly you can board near the Castle. There are headphones with recordings in 12 languages. It was about 7 Euros in Oct.

Our ship was anchored at Villefranche, and the train was 18-20 minutes.

If you take the train from Monaco back to Villefranche, and the tell you Platform C, you have to walk way down the platform, as it doesn't stop that close to the walkway from the terminal. We almost didn't get the train back to Villefranche.

Casinos don't open until mid-afternoon. You need a passport to go in, and Formal attire to go into the main casino. There are apparently some slot machines in the lobby, but we didn't go in.

Architecture was interesting. Didn't have enough time to do much.

One warning -- there is a restroom in the back of the block of shops by the Castle, but you have to pay to pee. A lady takes your money and gives you a few sheets of toilet paper.

Have fun!