Jewel of the Seas Greek Isles 2019 Travel Part 2 - Arriving in Rome
We booked our round trip flights through Air2Sea for $700 each!
In April I received an email from Maurizio that he was no longer offering ride services but he referred me to another company that ended up being even cheaper for our 4 transfers AND has an easy online reservation system: www.civitavecchiashuttleexpress.com
Their website is super easy and I actually got our rides cheaper than they would have been with Maurizio. I made sure to post in my roll call and let everyone else know.
In July I decided to check what seats we could get for our DEN-ORD-FCO flights (BA operated by AA). I logged onto AA and picked us our typical aisle for him and middle for me. In August I decided I wanted a little more comfort and checked to see how much an upgrade was. $107 each for 6 more inches foot room, free alcohol and preferred boarding. Hmmmm I thought....I texted Nate and he immediately agreed. woohoo! I’ve never upgraded before...find out next how that experience went.
I had prepurchased the soda package for myself at a pretty good deal. $107 after the fees...well Labor Day rolled around and they had an even better sales I canceled and rebooked for $96 total.
We “I” packed our bags on Sunday, Sept 29, since we were both working the Monday before our flight.
I will never be the gal that can pack in just a carry on...this photo is just my luggage alone.
We dropped the puppy off at our friend's house Monday night and it finally felt real...vacation is here!
We left the house at 7:45am on 10/1 and got to ParkDia around 9:15. I had prepaid online $65 for our 13 days! Such a crazy good rate.
We wandered the parking lot waiting for the shuttle. so cold! We finally got to airport and the construction had all bathrooms closed!!! literally everywhere. We eventually found one far away from the check in counters (getting those steps in early) n then went to baggage check only to have the passport kiosk reader not work . I had to manually type everything in (which took forever and everyone was staring at me like I didn’t know what I was doing) We finallyyyy got to security and they wanted to check my purse!This took a 20 minute wait!!! they said my keychain from the dealership set it off...ugh!!! It was a very frustrating start all around to our morning.
(“Patience is a virtue” my mama always said)
We got through passport control at FCO relatively quickly and straight to baggage claim. I still hadn't received confirmation from Marco so sent him a quick what’s app and he responded the driver was 10 minutes out. I truly think it’s just a communication/customer service difference between what we’re accustomed to and how they do things in Italy. Our driver showed up and we made the trek to the mercedes van. Antonio, our driver, has been a driver for 25 years. “many many kilometers” he said. It rained really hard while on way to hotel and we couldn’t really enjoy the sites but oddly it stopped when we got there around 12:30.
In November 2018 I reserved our room at Hotel Navona for 201euros prepaid. Over the course of the next several months I regretted my hastiness and wished I had booked us at Palazzo Navona Hotel instead but the rate I booked was non refundable if I cancelled. The reviews for Hotel Navona were mixed and it started to give me panic but in the end I am happy I stuck it out. I would not recommend this hotel for anyone with mobility issues though.
Our room wasn’t ready so we left our bags and went in search of a restaurant recommended by a friend of ours. On the way to the restaurant we stopped for a snack tho. We were both still wearing our jeans and the humidity from the rain started to kick in...yuck. Let’s not even talk about my hair.
the hotel:
the reception desk is located on the 2nd floor of the building:
In April I received an email from Maurizio that he was no longer offering ride services but he referred me to another company that ended up being even cheaper for our 4 transfers AND has an easy online reservation system: www.civitavecchiashuttleexpress.com
Their website is super easy and I actually got our rides cheaper than they would have been with Maurizio. I made sure to post in my roll call and let everyone else know.
In July I decided to check what seats we could get for our DEN-ORD-FCO flights (BA operated by AA). I logged onto AA and picked us our typical aisle for him and middle for me. In August I decided I wanted a little more comfort and checked to see how much an upgrade was. $107 each for 6 more inches foot room, free alcohol and preferred boarding. Hmmmm I thought....I texted Nate and he immediately agreed. woohoo! I’ve never upgraded before...find out next how that experience went.
I had prepurchased the soda package for myself at a pretty good deal. $107 after the fees...well Labor Day rolled around and they had an even better sales I canceled and rebooked for $96 total.
We “I” packed our bags on Sunday, Sept 29, since we were both working the Monday before our flight.
I will never be the gal that can pack in just a carry on...this photo is just my luggage alone.
We dropped the puppy off at our friend's house Monday night and it finally felt real...vacation is here!
We left the house at 7:45am on 10/1 and got to ParkDia around 9:15. I had prepaid online $65 for our 13 days! Such a crazy good rate.
We wandered the parking lot waiting for the shuttle. so cold! We finally got to airport and the construction had all bathrooms closed!!! literally everywhere. We eventually found one far away from the check in counters (getting those steps in early) n then went to baggage check only to have the passport kiosk reader not work . I had to manually type everything in (which took forever and everyone was staring at me like I didn’t know what I was doing) We finallyyyy got to security and they wanted to check my purse!This took a 20 minute wait!!! they said my keychain from the dealership set it off...ugh!!! It was a very frustrating start all around to our morning.
(“Patience is a virtue” my mama always said)
We got through passport control at FCO relatively quickly and straight to baggage claim. I still hadn't received confirmation from Marco so sent him a quick what’s app and he responded the driver was 10 minutes out. I truly think it’s just a communication/customer service difference between what we’re accustomed to and how they do things in Italy. Our driver showed up and we made the trek to the mercedes van. Antonio, our driver, has been a driver for 25 years. “many many kilometers” he said. It rained really hard while on way to hotel and we couldn’t really enjoy the sites but oddly it stopped when we got there around 12:30.
In November 2018 I reserved our room at Hotel Navona for 201euros prepaid. Over the course of the next several months I regretted my hastiness and wished I had booked us at Palazzo Navona Hotel instead but the rate I booked was non refundable if I cancelled. The reviews for Hotel Navona were mixed and it started to give me panic but in the end I am happy I stuck it out. I would not recommend this hotel for anyone with mobility issues though.
Our room wasn’t ready so we left our bags and went in search of a restaurant recommended by a friend of ours. On the way to the restaurant we stopped for a snack tho. We were both still wearing our jeans and the humidity from the rain started to kick in...yuck. Let’s not even talk about my hair.
the hotel:
the reception desk is located on the 2nd floor of the building:
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