Messina

[Quizzical Bob]

Hi MicheleW,
Yes it's J315 for us.
I emailed a private tour company at Messina for details and they replied all their cars are booked up.
So not sure what to do as yet - see what transpires when disembarked or book the ship's tour?
We dived in (is that a pun?) and plumped for the ship's (expensive) trip at Venice. However we did get 5% off - wowee!
The thinking being that we haven't gone all that way and not missed out on any sights by doing DIY.
Hello to Quizzical Bob:
We were wanting a September/October trip and were watching out for Getaway prices but none kicked in and booking was closed.
Not too disappointed as this left some time for us to put the garden to bed. It would have been nice to be on the Oriana (I think it was) as we have been on J315's Arcadia and also Adonia (yes we are seasoned cruisers - 2 under our belt!)
We liked the 'smallness' of Adonia and it's friendliness but you can stretch your legs more on the bigger Arcadia.

So we saw a Getaway price a couple of weeks ago for a balcony on J315 and plumped for it. I had been told that the cruise into Venice is spectacular especially if you have a starboard balcony cabin - which we were allotted!
On the Adonia (another Getaway) we had an outside cabin and were quite happy with that (low down, aft).
You say not to check the latest Getaway prices - of course I was then tempted to do that, but resisted.
Thanks for the link.
I have packed my Hawaiian shirts only to see that there isn't a tropical night.
So I need volunteers to join me and we will make our own

Be nice to get away from the present miserable weather
We are on countdown (no, not the telly)
Fenman

Hello Fenman, see you on board!

I'm taking my tropical shirts so that'll be at least two of us. And why do they bother with the 60s and 70s night? We were there and we don't want to go back.

[fenman]

Thanks Q Bob,
That's two of us in Tropicals
Anyone else??

Do you think that we should nominate a night for it?
How about the 27th?

No doubt we will get harassed for photos on Halloween's?

[MicheleW]

We are also packing our tropical outfits - so count us in There weren't tropical nights listed in the pre-cruise information for out last 2 cruises, but they had them on both - so we are going prepared!

As long as it's not on 28th October as we are planning to dine in one of the select dining venues that night for hubby's' birthday. Don't think I will feel comfortable looking loud and garish in MPW or Orchid

Right - best go and get on with some ironing

Michele

[Quizzical Bob]

Halloween sounds fine, no need for us to dress up in the scary costumes!

[MicheleW]

Oooh! Now I'm feeling scared

[fenman]

So Q Bob we will be able to spot you from day1.

If a tropical night is on the agenda then that's fine.
If not then I will wear my garish shirt on the 27th if I remember.
Must also remember to put on trousers as well!!

Michele... happy birthday to hubby on the 28th ...drinks on him?

[MicheleW]

Fenman - I'll put that to him and let you know the response



Michele

[Islander]

Messina will be a new port for us on a cruise in 2014 and have found all your advise and views very helpful in trying to plan what to do. Son and DiL were not impressed with Messina when they were there in August and said if they ever went there again they would do an organised tour. Would be interested to find out more about the Greek Theatre if anyone can help.

[Quizzical Bob]

Messina will be a new port for us on a cruise in 2014 and have found all your advise and views very helpful in trying to plan what to do. Son and DiL were not impressed with Messina when they were there in August and said if they ever went there again they would do an organised tour. Would be interested to find out more about the Greek Theatre if anyone can help.

I assume you're talking about the greek (later roman) theatre at the north end of the main street in Taormina?

[Islander]

Yes, think it must be. MoB. Mentioned it in an earlier post. We would like to see as much as possible while we are there. I'm quite partial to historical sites so thought it would interest me.

[Quizzical Bob]

Yes, think it must be. MoB. Mentioned it in an earlier post. We would like to see as much as possible while we are there. I'm quite partial to historical sites so thought it would interest me.

Old ruins are my specialist subject The theatre was originally open to the view in greek times but the romans built a big brick stage backdrop that blocks this out. There's a great view of Mount Etna from the seats but not whenever we are in town so for your sake I hope you pick a different day from us. You can get there on an organised tour with P&O but post #17 earlier in this thread demonstrates that you can do it by train and bus. I suppose it all depends on how adventurous you are and how long you are in port. On our visit it was only a morning but later this month we have an extra few hours.

[Islander]

Thanks for that QB. Usually it's DIY for us but suppose it will depend on time in port. May have to bite the bullet and pay P&O. Looks like it will be Taormina and the Greek Theatre and anything else I can dig up in my "homework". My specialist subject is convincing "himself" we can fit in another cruise!

[fenman]

Well, been and come back safely!
Messina ...... definitely a no IMHO.

[Quizzical Bob]

Well, been and come back safely!
Messina ...... definitely a no IMHO.

We were on board with you and did the San Michele wine tasting tour and quite enjoyed it. I would have liked longer to look around the town but I did have enough time to buy a big slab of Pecorino vecchio and a few slices of prosciutto. I also got a couple of cannoli to take back to the cabin and have with our coffee but they were a bit disappointing, not as yummy as they looked.

[fenman]

Really enjoyed Dubrovnik - terrific.
Clean, quiet, friendly.
Exact opposite of Messina.

A lot of people were not happy with Corfu cancellation.
I think more could have been done...

[MicheleW]

After all the re-arranged times of ports I am glad that we booked the P&O transfer to Taormina! Once clear of the traffic in Messina we had a great run to Taormina and had 2½ hours free time there. On arrival at Taormina we headed straight up the main street and made our way to the theatre. The entrance fee was 8 Euros each and we spent over an hour there taking loads of photos - none unfortunately of the elusive Mount Etna! We then had a leisurely wander back down the main street of Taormina, stopping for a delicious ice-cream on the way. This and Dubrovnik were our favourite ports on this cruise.

Michele