Good comments--We got to Barcelona about 2 days before picking up the cruise
so we had plenty of time to get around. I think that taking the hop on-hop
off tourist bus is the best idea along with doing Ramblas.
In Venice--You can do it all on your own. Walking around and taking the
vaporettos (water buses) will let you see and get to where ever you want to
go. If your stop is more than one day (usually two days) buy a 2 day
vaporetto pass. Also, let yourself get hustled to the Murano factory via a
free water taxi ride. If you don't buy anything you kinda get left on our
own to get back to where you started--that's one time the vaporetto pass
came in real handy. The sales people hang on you like a coat and get a bit
pis****d if you don't buy--the prices are outrages. In summary--Skip the
ship's tours in Barcelona and Venice.
MLD
"D Ball" wrote in message
news:4g278cF1kcudlU1@individual.net...
> Hi, Rosann,
>
> We did that cruise in June 2004. What a great itinerary! It is hard to
offer
> specific advice without knowing a little more about your travel experience
> and interests. The most important thing for you to do at this point (and
> fast!) is to check out some travel guides from the library to learn about
> each place you are visiting and determine your priority "Must See's."
Then,
> you can pick and choose excursions based on what you want to accomplish.
>
> To get things going, I will assume this will be your first visit to this
> part of Europe and you want to see the highlights. I will offer a few
> suggestions I think are appropriate for first-timers. If you've been there
> before, or are an experienced traveler and prefer independent
explorations,
> let us know--we did the entire itinerary on our own & highly recommend it.
> Note, when I refer to "excursion" below, I mean through Celebrity or
through
> a private tour operator. You can learn LOTS of helpful information about
> excursions and tour operators in these ports at
> http://www.cruisecritic.com -- go to the Ports of Call>Europe boards.
>
> Barcelona - Recommend the hop on, hop off tourist bus
> http://www.tmb.net/en_US/home.jsp to get you to the major sites, plus a
> several-hour walk on the Ramblas pedestrian boulevard of shops with
fabulous
> people-watching
>
> Villefranche - Excursion to St. Paul de Vence, Eze and Monaco or some
> similar combination
>
> Livorno - Excursion to Pisa (leaning tower) and Florence (the Accademia to
> see David + one other major site, e.g., the Uffizi Gallery or the
> cathedral/climb to the dome + lunch, strolling and shopping, incl. the
Ponte
> Vecchio bridge). This is a busy day--the alternative is a trip to a Tuscan
> town, e.g., Lucca.
>
> Civitavecchia (Rome) - Most excursions can get you inside for a full tour
of
> the Colosseum + Vatican City (museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's
> basilica), as well as drive you by/make short stops at several popular
> landmarks, e.g., the Forum, Circus Maximus, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain,
> Spanish Steps, the Via Condotti and area "5th Avenue" shopping, etc.
>
> Naples - Excursion to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast
>
> Mykonos - beach/city walking day on your own
>
> Santorini - beach/city walking day on your own; highly recommend excursion
> (or negotiate a roundtrip taxi ride or take the city bus) to Oia village
for
> sunset.
>
> Athens - excursion to Acropolis, original Olympic stadium, museum + time
in
> the Plaka for lunch, shopping and strolling
>
> Dubrovnik - city stroll, lunch and shopping on your own, including walking
> the walls -- you can spontaneously join a walking tour, also refreshing to
> charter a small boat ride at the marina where you tender
>
> Venice - book the Secret Itinerary tour of the Doges Palace (just Google
> it), otherwise, plan to walk all over and use the vaporettos (water buses)
> to get around and also visit Murano and other islands
>
> These are just some ideas to get you started.
>
> The Millie is a lovely ship. There are many reviews of her Mediterranean
> voyages at the Cruise Critic site.
>
> Have fun researching & planning. I recommend you move quickly, as
> availability on popular tours could become an issue.
>
> Diana Ball
> near Houston, TX
>
>
>
> "SunnyFL" wrote in message
> news:1151063377.016575.69320@b68g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> > Hello,
> >
> > Has anyone been on Millenium's Barcelona to Venice cruise? Looking for
> > opinions on shore excursions and also would appreciate ideas on what to
> > do pre and post cruise (we have 2 full days each in Barcelona and
> > Venice). We leave 8/15/06.
> >
> > Any comments on the ship itself?
> >
> > Thank you.
> >
> > Rosann
> >
>
>
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