Rome, Italy on Grand Princess Nov 2009

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ShelbyAD

Guest
Hello everyone,

My husband & I have booked the Ageagan & Med. cruise in November 2009 on the Grand Princess. I have quite a few questions about staying in Rome. I hope this is the right place to ask these questions.

Has anyone stayed at the Jolly Midas? This is the hotel in which Princess picks up passengers. If you've stayed there, what did you think? I know it's out of the way from the center of town - but they do offer free shuttle to town.

How much does it cost to go from the hotel to the airport? How long does it take? What is the Leonardo Express? We have booked the hotel (refundable) - what happens if/when the exchange rate changes? For example - the room is 125 Euros.

When we booked it the exchange rate was $165, now it is $158 (USD). Will we be charged the rate when we booked it or actually stayed there? I would assume that you would be charged the rate when you actually stay there. Sorry for sounding ignorant, but we have never been out of the country (well, we spent 1 night in Vancouver, Canada in 2003 - that's it).

Also, when we do go, where can I get Euros (in USA)? Or should we wait until we get there and get them from the hotel. Does the hotel exchange currency? I know the hotel in Vancouver did. Heck, we still have 12 Canadan dollars.
 
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Conniemc

Guest
Okay, so I'm on the same cruise (hanging my head in embarrassment)

All of those questions can be answered by calling Princess. I have my transfer arranged by them direct to and from airport - around $160 I think for both transfers pp. All of their prices are in US dollars. Most everyplace takes your credit card, and you can get Euros if you need them on board. But again, just call Princess, for accurate info.

Princesses - WAS booked on Oceania - same itinerary.
A few things swayed me back this Princess sailing
1) unlike most cruises, where I primarily book for the ship itself, not the ports, this is very port intensive and I won't be spending much time on board - so it would be a waste to take a luxury line. I think a luxury line should be savored when one has the opportunity to really enjoy all it has to offer and for me, the ship will just be a place to sleep and change clothes.
2) smoking - I want the more liberal policies on Princess where I can smoke in my cabin and in various areas throughout the ship
3) price - this sailing wasn't there when I booked O - I had only choice of Solstice (no WAY IN HECK) or no name cruises - OR Oceania or Regent for top dollar
The markups on wine, excursions, etc. on Oceania, plus base price - compared to Princess - yes Oceania would have had KILLER cuisine and service - but for this particular sailing of so many fascinating ports, did I really care enough to spend the extra $3K? - BTW, I still say you will NEVER see Oceania or Regent prices this low again!! But for that $3K, I can take another sailing next April for a week in Bermuda.
4) and oh yeah, I was actually able to get a great cabin, and normal MAIN DINING....none of that anytime crapola. So, I made a list of pros and cons...

So, yes, Connie will be on the Grand doing a MARVELOUS European sailing in early Nov. Never say never.:cool:
Oh yeah, one more thing...they have Korbel Brut...:thumb

BTW Shelby - I've never trotted around alone in Europe either, or for a cruise, so I was a LITTLE more comfortable that Oceania would "take care of me" (fewer pax and excellent service), but I'm sure I'll somehow get to the ship by myself, even with Princess.
 
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Conniemc

Guest
Beryl said:
Connie...you're not pulling my leg are you??? :grin
Click to expand...

SMARTYPANTS :)P)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm in a mid ship port veranda on Emerald Deck - looks the same as (ick) Ruby - but 600 or so LESS pax! With no pool weather, I hope that still translates into more ROOM. Wish me no children :baby

Last thing on my "bucket list" - see Santorini, Venice and Verona
 
T

Ted_D

Guest
Shelby,

The Jolly Midas is a decent, but not outstanding, tourist hotel. You can get pictures of it and reviews from other
travelers at TripAdvisor.com. It is located about 10 miles due west of the Rome airport. I have no idea what a
taxi ride to the airport would cost, but it wouldn't be an enormous amount. The time the trip would take depends
a lot on the time of day you're going. Rome traffic is horrible during rush hour and things slow to a crawl. In
non-rush hour time, the ride is fifteen minutes or so.

You asked where you can get Euros, and whether to get them in advance. You can get them from Wells Fargo
Bank, American Express, or almost any large US financial institution. And, you can convert unused Euros back
to dollars after your trip the same way. It can all be done either over the phone or by the internet, and the money
moves by UPS or FEDEX. It is quite safe. So far as waiting and exchanging money at the hotel, be aware that
they will charge you 4-5% more than the official exchange rate, so they would be the last place to get Euros. You
can also get them from European ATMs using your credit card, just like at a US ATM. Check to see what your
credit card company may charge for using an overseas ATM, though. It may or may not be a good move, depending
on the fees.

The Leonardo Express is a Rome express train. It can take you to the port or into Rome, among other places.

Good luck with your trip.


Ted
 
C

Cruise cutie

Guest
CONNIE!!!!!!!!!..OH MY..=blush.. you are BACK on Princess. :grin take advantage of your =welcome back to Princess Captains' Cocktail Party Soiree...:lol.they serve Korbel..!!..
and we have BF's on their 3RD cruise on Grand.next January for her 14 dayer...and adore her.. she has some 'twists".. but they think she is a classy Dame indeed...
at any rate. the sailing for islands is lovely..
please enjoy..and yes 3K is outlandish overspend.. for Europe..
we have 2011 for Baltic/Russian.DH Is so wanting to get to his homeland of Sweden.. so he gets first.. and
:grin THEN I get to go BACK!! to Rome, Florence, Sorrento, and Pompei.....I was there on a 10 day land cruise back in the Dark Ages of 1976...and so we plan on 2012..sigh so many cruises..Mark has only 6 weeks off a year..=eek.. it gets parceled out fast!!..
..enjoy it all..=hug Joanne
 
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Conniemc

Guest
Cruise cutie said:
CONNIE!!!!!!!!!..OH MY..=blush.. you are BACK on Princess. :grin take advantage of your =welcome back to Princess Captains' Cocktail Party Soiree...:lol.they serve Korbel..!!..
and we have BF's on their 3RD cruise on Grand.next January for her 14 dayer...and adore her.. she has some 'twists".. but they think she is a classy Dame indeed...
at any rate. the sailing for islands is lovely..
please enjoy..and yes 3K is outlandish overspend.. for Europe..
we have 2011 for Baltic/Russian.DH Is so wanting to get to his homeland of Sweden.. so he gets first.. and
:grin THEN I get to go BACK!! to Rome, Florence, Sorrento, and Pompei.....I was there on a 10 day land cruise back in the Dark Ages of 1976...and so we plan on 2012..sigh so many cruises..Mark has only 6 weeks off a year..=eek.. it gets parceled out fast!!..
..enjoy it all..=hug Joanne
Click to expand...

I'm NEVER going to hear the end of this, am I? :p
I wouldn't be caught dead at the cocktail parties, but Oceania only had $50 a bottle ASTI!!! Holy Crap!! I was like, wait a sec, ASTI FOR $50??? Swill!! The cheaper, but decent stuff was marked up to close to $100 per bottle (Korbel quality), so yes, on boards were certainly a part of my decision, so were the $180 excursions, but really wrestled with this. It's only a few thou for fine cruising - in the end, spending so much time on land (which you know I never do) was the real cincher. Just no point in taking my lux cruise now. I booked Summit (another never say never) for Bermuda in April. Was going on HAL, but it was nearly TWICE as much as poor old Celeb. Again, we're hard docked most of the time, so just transport and room and board.

Here' s my intineary - looks great, huh? Booking excursions now. Also don't trust them with my air, so I'm doing my own, $300 less and only one connection. I got round trip from PHL both ways for $800 on Expedia - I won't be the first to board - probably won't get to the ship until 3pm or so, but it's a good "sleep" flight and I can pick my seats, etc now and not take a chance on getting stuck in the middle of 3 people in the back of the plane for 12 hours. I called them to check if my flight times would work for them, and they're perfect! I'll be able to go straight away to the ship and straight to the Rome airport without all that waiting around nonsense.

1 Venice, Italy
2 Venice, Italy 1:00 PM
3 Dubrovnik, Croatia 9:00 AM 6:00 PM
4 Corfu, Greece 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
5 Katakolon (Olympia), Greece 7:00 AM 4:00 PM
6 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00 AM 5:45 PM
7 Mykonos, Greece 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
8 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 8:00 AM 5:00 PM
9 Rhodes, Greece 8:00 AM 5:00 PM
10 Santorini, Greece 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
11 At Sea
12 Naples/Capri, Italy 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
13 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 4:00 AM
 
S

Sea B

Guest
Connie...looks like we are on the same cruise. I'm an X fan so be careful...course I also like Princess.
 
C

Conniemc

Guest
Sea B said:
Connie...looks like we are on the same cruise. I'm an X fan so be careful...course I also like Princess.
Click to expand...

Hey there Sea! Are you on the official roll call yet?
Puleease!! I was the biggest X cheerleader for over a decade!! Only started protesting them a year ago. But this cruise, we'll hardly notice the ship or service, we'll be too busy seeing Europe every day, me thinks.

New to Cruise Addicts or cruising in general?
NEWS ON MY AIR - JUST BOUGHT FOR $650 ON EXPEDIA....WOW...NON STOPS and I get in Venice at 11am and leave at 11:30am - PERFECT for me. Princess wanted $1200. So, now this cruise is REALLY CHEAP.:)o
 
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