Arcadia J615

Cruising destinations in Europe
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screwy
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Arcadia J615

#1

Post by screwy »

Hi All,
We are soon 14 weeks...off to the Med on this cruise, does anyone know if any of the following can be done DIY ?

Cagliari, Messina, Salerno,La Spezia,Elba and Toulon.

Thanks
Mel

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kaymar
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Re: Arcadia J615

#2

Post by kaymar »

There are four of us also on J615 in early October and, like screwy, would prefer to avoid the P&O excursions wherever possible.

If anyone who has any experience of the ports he listed and ideas on DIY trips, we would be most interested.

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Raybosailor
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Re: Arcadia J615

#3

Post by Raybosailor »

Cagliari, Sardinia
The shuttle bus drops you opposite the main part of town and there are numerous mini buses and horse drawn carriages touting for your business so a bit of bartering wouldn't go amiss.
We visited the port on a Sunday and despite warnings from the excursion team that the shops would be closed there were plenty open.
If you want to go DIY I don't think you will have much of a problem at this time of year, we just had a walk around the narrow back streets which are quite pretty in places.

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kaymar
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Re: Arcadia J615

#4

Post by kaymar »

Thanks, Raybosailor, that sounds like the thing to do.

From Salerno we will probably take a taxi, or maybe a boat, to Amalfi and from Messina will probably head to Taormina.

It's a longish trip from La Spezia to Florence but Pisa looks like a better bet.

Presumably a taxi tour is a possibility in Elba but we would welcome any ideas on Toulon and Cueta .

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Manoverboard
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Re: Arcadia J615

#5

Post by Manoverboard »

La Spezia is a nice enough place to stroll about but a good option is to take a boat trip to the Cinque Terre or Portofino.

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/liguria/laspezia.html

+++++

Messina is DIYable but it's basically a dump, albeit with a nice Douro and a less nice fountain ... save up and go to Taormina.
Keep smiling, it's good for your well being

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screwy
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Re: Arcadia J615

#6

Post by screwy »

Thanks Manoverboard, interesting.
Mel

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qbman1
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Re: Arcadia J615

#7

Post by qbman1 »

I agree with Moby, Messina is frightful, although Gino D'Acampo managed to make it look quite good in his last series!


daib GC
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Re: Arcadia J615

#8

Post by daib GC »

Manoverboard wrote:
La Spezia is a nice enough place to stroll about but a good option is to take a boat trip to the Cinque Terre or Portofino.

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/liguria/laspezia.html

+++++

Messina is DIYable but it's basically a dump, albeit with a nice Douro and a less nice fountain ... save up and go to Taormina.

OK M O B is Taormina any good for me in my scooter as most of the photos I have seen warn me against it.

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Manoverboard
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Re: Arcadia J615

#9

Post by Manoverboard »

daib GC wrote:
... OK M O B is Taormina any good for me in my scooter as most of the photos I have seen warn me against it.
It was a few years ago Dai and I didn't view it with ' somebody on a scooter ' in mind ... my recollections however of this wondrous place was the very steep hill, the broken lift, the uneven walkways and cobble stones plus the very tricky manoeuvres that were required to get into the inner section of the Greek Theatre plus my need to stand on a surrounding wall to capture a superb pic of the Theatre with Mount Etna ( with a blue sky and a fluffy white cloud ) in the background.

Times have moved on of course and access generally is far better now days but you need to talk to somebody who has actually done it on a scooter ... my own opinion is that it would not be a realistic option for you unless it was available from a specialist operator.

:wave:
Keep smiling, it's good for your well being


daib GC
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Re: Arcadia J615

#10

Post by daib GC »

Manoverboard wrote:
daib GC wrote:
... OK M O B is Taormina any good for me in my scooter as most of the photos I have seen warn me against it.
It was a few years ago Dai and I didn't view it with ' somebody on a scooter ' in mind ... my recollections however of this wondrous place was the very steep hill, the broken lift, the uneven walkways and cobble stones plus the very tricky manoeuvres that were required to get into the inner section of the Greek Theatre plus my need to stand on a surrounding wall to capture a superb pic of the Theatre with Mount Etna ( with a blue sky and a fluffy white cloud ) in the background.

Times have moved on of course and access generally is far better now days but you need to talk to somebody who has actually done it on a scooter ... my own opinion is that it would not be a realistic option for you unless it was available from a specialist operator.

:wave:

Thanks that just confirmed what I had thought. It is not a major problem for us but it would have been nice to visit somewhere different.

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