Extending a Cruise Holiday
Quite often cruise holidays around the Mediterranean and Europe are reached by flying to a European city. many holiday makers are now extending their stay getting more out of their holiday, and exploring the city your cruise ship departs from. This is also quite handy when flying from regional airports from around the UK where flight times don't quite match up with cruise departure and arrival times. Also by adding on an extra night or two – it may mean you are not flying on peak days of the week and could reduce the cost of your flight.
Most popular cruise ports in Europe.
BARCELONA
This is a great place to stay with lots of things to see and do for everyone. The airport is situated South along the coast from central Barcelona . The city centre can be reached in 25-30 minutes depending on traffic – taxis cost approx 25-30 Euros. The only place to stay is centrally as close to Las Ramblas area as possible. Las Ramblas is a 1.2 Km pedestrian avenue full of shops, bars and restaurants – this is the equivalent of Leicester Square in London . At the end of Las Ramblas is the monument to Christopher Columbus which marks the entrance to the Port area. The nearest cruise terminal is about 10 minutes walk from here & there are 7 cruise terminals in total. In fact the Blue Bus Shuttle departs from this monument and can take you directly to your ship for just 2 Euros.
Sightseeing musts in Barcelona are the Sagrada Familia Cathedral - they started building this in 1882 and it is still not finished. To satisfy hubby perhaps try the Barcelona FC museum . There is also the Picasso Museum and the Magic Fountain of Mon Juic for Nightly light , water and Music extravaganza's. The last thing to mention about Barcelona is Port Aventura theme park about an hour outside of Barcelona . This is Spain's answer to Universal Studios of Walt Disney World in the States – with it shows, roller coaster rides and themed areas of the Med , Imperial China , Aztec Mexico , Wild West and Polynesian Jungles.
ROME
There are two airports for Rome - Ciampino and Fiumicino. Fiumicino is likely to be the airport used for cruises – served by Easyjet and BA. Fiumicino is also known as Leonardo Da Vincci airport and is situated approx 16 miles from Rome City centre. Rome is an incredibly busy city and is more for those who want to see the sights. The best place to stay is as close to the train Terminal as possible as it is easy to get to all of the main attractions from here on the Metro. You can buy a metro ticket for just 4 Euros riding for up to 6 hours to all of the main sights for this price. Whilst in Rome you must visit the Colosseum, The Roman Forum ruins (which is the old heart of the Roman Empire), the Trevi Fountain , the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. All of these are easily reached by the metro. Civitavecchia Port is situated 50km north west of Rome .
VENICE
A wonderful place to stay for style , scenery , history and romance. There are two airports for Venice - Marco Polo (approx 20 minutes drive) & Treviso (approx 1 hours drive). We recommend always using Marco Polo ( used by BA , Aer Lingus , Easyjet & BMI) as it can sometimes be difficult to get a taxi driver to take you from Venice to Treviso airport. We would recommend two areas to stay in Venice . Piazalle Roma which is literally the end of the road for cars , taxis and buses. This terminus type square is also only 10 minutes walk from the cruise terminals plus restaurants and bars in this area are cheaper. The square is also very well connected by all to all areas of Venice by waterbus – which is the cheapest way of getting around (from here to the Rialto Bridge the cost is approx 5 Euros). It takes approx 30 minutes to travel by waterbus to the Rialto Bridge and it is a great introduction to the wonders of Venice . There are some great restaurants by the canal next to the Rialto Bridge . From the here you can walk through to the most famous part of Venice - Saint Marks Square (Piazza San Marco) which is our second choice for accommodation. The restaurants and bars lining Saint Marks Square are the most expensive; but whilst in Venice you must at least have a drink here to watch the world go by. Top souvenirs would be Venetian Glass or the famous and incredibly flamboyant masks. There are lots of museums to visit and it's a great place just to get lost and wander through the alleyways, over the bridges and by the canals – utterly charming. When the cruise ships are in a water bus connects Saint Marks Square to the cruise terminal. For those on a budget we even found a Burger King between Saint Marks Square and the Rialto Bridge !!!
AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam – it is kind of like a bigger more modern version of Venice . With wonderful tree lined canals , picturesque buildings , great shops and very friendly locals. The Airport is situated 9 miles South West of Amsterdam and is easily reached by train which takes you to Central station (journey time 15 minutes). This is in the heart of Amsterdam and is only 5-10 minutes walk to the cruise terminal. We would recommend the 4 star Movenpick hotel at the cruise terminal or any hotels in the centre for longer stays to enjoy the excellent nightlife. Amsterdam city centre is contained within a series of interconnected concentric canal rings and so its great to explore the city by boat. Whilst in Amsterdam you must visit the red light district (of course just for a topic of conversation on your cruise), Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum , Rijksmuseum and the Magere Brug for an iconic shot of the double leaf Dutch draw bridge connecting both sides of the River Amstel. Everything is within walking distance of central station or alternatively trams are a quicker way to get around.
GENOA
Christopher Columbus airport is situated 6km from Genoa city centre passing the port on the way. This may be a bit of an obscure place to stay - but Genoa is steeped in history, has lots of low price cruises departing from here and is the gateway to the Italian Riviera including Portofino - just 15 miles away. Genoa is a dense and fascinating medieval warren of alleyways where Christopher Columbus grew up. Steeped in history Genoa has always been a city of merchants where tiny grocers, textile workshops , and bakeries jostle for position with boutiques, design outlets and goldsmiths. The rejuvenated Old Port area is a great place to stay with its celebrated architecture and lots of things to do. Perhaps explore the maze of narrow streets in the historic centre and marvel at the juxtaposition of late Renaissance style palaces next to humble houses on Via Garibaldi. This is a seventeenth century street with lots of museums and gardens to visit. Nightlife can be found along the waterfront , there are also two theatres, an opera house and even the Britannia Pub.
Questions and Answers
Once upon a time cruise holidays were reserved for those people who wanted nothing more from a holiday than to be told what to do and where to go, and to be taken there, – all in a pre-arranged, pre-paid, pre-packaged agreement. Nowadays, many thousands of people have realised that cruise holidays are about much more than just picking the cheapest option and being dragged along to unexciting sites and eating bland food.
What could be a better holiday vacation than a cruise holiday?
If you have never been on a cruise holiday before, you probably have lots of questions. We at Tour America have put together a selection of some of the more popular questions and answers below. If you have any additional queries about your first cruise holiday, we have many more answers on our frequently asked questions.
The history of cruise holidays dates back over a century to 1904 when the first commercial cruise ship passengers set sail
Within the last decade, cruise holidays have experienced a tremendous growth explosion! Enjoying a cruise holiday has never been so popular! Beautiful new state of the art ships are been built to accommodate your every want and need. Choices for holidays for family are abundant and choosing a cruise holiday is one of my top choices for that perfect vacation!
It's never too late to enjoy cheap cruise deals in time for the holidays. And what better way to spend it than to see the world with your loved ones through cheap cruise holidays.
How do you want to treat your special one? Would you prefer to go to an exotic location and spend some quality time? Well, for all those who are planning to take a vacation in Dubai there are a lots of places to visit and lots of activities and sports to get involved in.
When boat owners are shopping for a new engine or parts for their boat, it is likely that they will have a number of questions for the dealer to make sure that they are making the best choice for their needs.
Port of Marseilles holds an interesting location in relation to France as a whole and has always been an important gateway for African immigrants into the country.
Since the ancient times, Dubai has been known as a very famous port and so there was frequent visit of many different traders from different parts of the world. So the culture was very varied of this part and it did not take much time for it to become a famous holiday destination.
A sailing holiday is one of the best experiences in the world. The warm sun which welcomes you at the deck is something you will enjoy the most during the entire holiday.
With the current economic climate hitting the world, we are all currently looking for a bargain. Buying a holiday would be considered by many as luxury spend but with all of the doom and gloom –people are still booking holidays and especially cruises to cheers themselves up. It could be argued people are forgiving other day to day essentials to get a way for two weeks of the year to relax, unwind and destress.
Following the recent severe weather and snow falls, now that Christmas festivities feel like a life time ago, it's a popular time for year for people to turn their attention to their next holiday.
A transatlantic cruise from Southampton harks back to the golden era of ocean liners before jet travel. They have rather romantic connotations of casting off from the hum drum UK on wonderful worldy adventure.
This is a rather cheeky look at things to do on board a typical Cunard cruise to get your imagination going. These are written with tongue in cheek and present things for you to have a laugh at or to do on board that you may not have though of or have thought of but have never said !!!!
For a holiday with a difference the perfect choice is an exotic cruise to the Far East. Take in the sights and sounds of the Far East and sample the wonders of China, Cambodia and Thailand. You will marvel at the sheer pace and sense of vitality abundantly evident in the ultra modern cities, whilst in stark contrast life in the many picturesque villages continues unchanged as it has done for centuries.
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