How to get to faro airport from Western algarve
While you can hire a transfer service, we initially planned to drive to the Faro airport and pay to park our car there. When I originally checked the prices it was going to be about 100 euros for the duration.
Typically we would fly out of Lisbon which requires taking the bus 2.5 hours and staying in a hotel the night before or paying around 50 euros in tolls plus gas each way not to mention parking.
Faro Airport Travel Tip: Book Airport Parking Early! Also consider if it makes more sense to use Uber/Bolt.
Check parking prices at Faro airport here. Flying Out of Faro Airport
Flying out of Faro airport was a delight. 10/10 recommend!
We arrived at 4:05am for a 6:20am flight to Italy. The airport was already abuzz with activity.
It was just 4:08 when we entered the security line. As you can see the line was pretty wide open. :) It literally took longer to snake through the empty line than to go through the security!
By 4:16am our bins were on the conveyor belt and at 4:21am we were already through security and double checking our gate location. So just 16 minutes after Uber drop off we were through security and on our way to our gate. Maybe there is something to those painfully early morning flights after all...
Flight days are all about the "hurry up and wait" game, aren't they? So now that we had hurried to our gate, it was time to wait for an hour or so until boarding would begin.
Boarding Ryan air at Faro Aiport in Portugal
At 5:45am we were already queued up outside to climb up to our RyanAir plane for our 6:20 flight.
I really loved not having to cram into a shuttle bus to get to our plane. Every time we fly out of Lisbon we have to do that and it's never my favorite.
Ryan Air FLight Safety Card
The flight safety instruction card for the Boeing 737-8200 was right on the seat in front of you along with adverts which alternated every 2-3 rows. I actually thought that was pretty good planning as if your gaze drifted between the seats you would see different ads.
The plane felt really fresh and new and I was pleased that the seat in front of me had plenty of room for my puffy samsonite bag that I always use as my "personal" item. Before we knew it, we were in the air with this view:
Arriving in Italy
After nodding off a good bit, we were already descending into Fiumicino (FCO) airport in Rome. The pastural views were lovely and can you spot the tiny airplane shadow captured here?! ;)
By 9am (okay 9am Lisbon time, 10 am Rome time) our RyanAir plane had landed in Rome (this photo is from the window of one RyanAir plane looking at another) and we were ready to experience train travel in Italy as we made our way to the cruise port at Civitavecchia.
How much does it cost to fly from portugal to rome?
This RyanAir flight from Faro Airport, Portugal to Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy cost $163.74 for 2 people including 2 cabin bags. So each of us could bring our personal bag to store under the seat and a carry on sized luggage to store overhead. This flight was in the month of June.
First impressions of ryan air:
I was a bit apprehensive ahead of this flight as I had always heard not-so-great things about RyanAir. Happily, our experience was great! Everything went smoothly with our flight. It was timely, the aircraft was comfortable and had plenty of room for my bags. Of course we got to board early since we paid for an extra cabin bag which helped.
I would not hesitate to fly Ryan Air again based on this experience. Let's hope they are all as good!! RyanAir Travel Tip: Buy a cabin bag to get priority boarding ;) How early should you fly ahead of a cruise?
We arrived in Rome around 10am local time for a cruise leaving the same day, at 6pm.
We would have preferred to arrive a day before the cruise started as it's just best practice, but since flights are only available a few days per week out of FAO Faro Airport to FCO Rome Airport, we didn't have much choice other than to fly the day of the cruise and assume some risk. We calculated the risk and if something happened and we were to miss embarkation we felt relatively secure since our flights had been booked with our Sapphire card which has built-in travel protection. And we figured worst case scenario we could take a train to Naples and hop on the next morning. Much less risky than if we had been traveling from the States. If you are traveling to Europe from the US, for example, I would never risk arriving the same day as the cruise. It could be so much more stressful if anything went wrong and overall I recommend arriving a day or two early at least to combat jetlag ahead of your amazing Mediterranean cruise! Pin for later:
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We recently had an amazing opportunity to sail around the Mediterranean on the brand new Princess Cruise ship - Sun Princess in her inaugural season. It was an incredible anniversary cruise and we will be sharing highlights from each port, as well as the food, entertainment, and ship itself.
Entering Your Sun princess Cabin with the Medallion
Anticipation builds as you walk down the corridor to your stateroom for the first time. A panel is spotted beside the door, featuring a smart screen as well as the cabin number with braille beneath.
You may be surprised to see "Door Unlocked" along with your face on the screen and the light around the door handle will be green indicating you can enter the room!
I really enjoyed the convenience of not having to fiddle to find and tap a card or item every time I wanted to get into the room. As long as the medallion was on my person, by the time I got to the room I could enter seamlessly.
You can also see on the display that as you enter or exit your stateroom on Sun Princess, you can tap for Privacy or to notify the Stateroom Steward that it's an ideal time to service your room. Deluxe Balcony Stateroom 11221 Photos
Below you can see a portion of the desk area, couch, and bed in this balcony cabin number 11221.
Desk Area - Balcony Cabin 11221 Sun Princess
You'll be welcomed with a line up of information at the desk, as you can see, including the Princess Patter. The Princess Patter is the daily schedule for ship activities and provides valuable information about the hours of bars and restaurants and when you need to be back on the ship on port days. If you would like to see the Princess Patters from our recent cruise to get an idea of what is on offer, click here for Princess Patter Uploads. (coming soon!)
The desk area is quite spacious and there are two drawers to keep yourself organized. The chair is designed with a leather handle at the back which proved very useful when pulling it out to have a seat.
The mirror here really opens the room and provides an ideal space for anyone doing their hair and makeup while the bathroom is in use. If you would like some more lighting, there are two long vertical light strips on either side of the mirror.
The mini fridge can be found in the bottom cabinet and if you have a mini bar set up you will find the fridge filled with a variety of mixers and small bottles of liquor on the shelf above. This is a complimentary perk for any Elite travelers on Princess. Read: Elite Benefits We Used on Sun Princess (coming soon!) Spacious Couch in SUN PRINCESS Stateroom 11221
An abstract painting added character to the wall behind the couch, which was very spacious and comfortable. The material was almost velvety with a silver hue. A small, round side table was useful as a valet tray, surface to set glassware, and even as a footrest from time to time :)
Bed by Balcony in Cabin 11221 Sun Princess
Of note, the configuration of Balcony Stateroom 11221 on Sun Princess is that the bed is located next to the balcony while the couch is at the entrance. Other rooms have the couch near the balcony and the bed near the entrance.
There are two nightstands at either side of the bed. You also have standard wall lamps as well as small reading lights beneath, which is a nice touch. Switches beside the bed make it convenient to shut off the lights or turn them on without having to get up and you will find outlets and charging ports at the bedside which is always a great feature!
Tip For Cruise Travelers: If you have a preference in either direction, have your travel agent verify the configuration for you in advance! Please note that you will not be able to book a "guarantee" room if you have specific preferences like this.
In-Stateroom TV on Sun Princess
Sun Princess had a really great selection of movies along with tv shows to watch in the stateroom, free of charge. The TV was huge. It did not swivel out, which felt like a missed opportunity, however it was perfectly placed to watch movies in bed in a fluffy robe while ocean waves flowed on by!
Sun Princess Cabin Private Bathrooms
The stateroom bathrooms on Sun Princess were so fresh and modern. You'll have everything you need with several shelves for your toiletries and refillable hand soap and lotion dispensers at the counter.
A very exciting feature to the bathrooms on Sun Princess are full glass showers - no more gross shower curtains! You can adjust the water flow from the shower head and you will find shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower for your convenience.
You also may notice the round silver bit affixed to the left side of the shower wall. For those who do not know, this is a clothes line! So if you need to hang some clothes to dry whether it's your damp swim suit or some undies you washed up in the sink you can utilize this built-in line. Not all cruise ship bathrooms are equipped with these anymore, so we always bring a portable one with us, but I was pleasantly surprised to see they included these clothes lines in the staterooms!
Cruise Travel Tip: If you have particular hair, I recommend bringing at least your favorite conditioner as the one provided did my hair no favors. This is my favorite at the moment and doesn't even take space in your TSA liquids bag! ;) Portable Hair Dryer on Sun Princess
You may have noticed there was no junky in-wall hair dryer in that bathroom. That's because the stateroom has a drybar buttercup blow dryer! From the top drawer above the mini fridge, I could pull out this cheery yellow hair dryer at any time. The Dry Bar blow-dryer worked really well and I loved having the ability to plug it in anywhere around the room and not be trapped in the bathroom with a hair dryer on the wall. It's very practical for a cruise as you can continue to get ready while another traveler is in the shower, for example.
Drawers and Closet Space on Sun Princess
We had plenty of space for storage in our stateroom on Sun Princess. An in-room safe was housed in the far left top cabinet. Two pool towels were waiting for us in one of the open cubbies beneath. Three drawers could be found below that.
The main closet had a very spacious rod for hanging clothes and plenty of hangers - some with pant clips some without. Additional shelves inside the closet made it easy to keep things organized and I was actually able to put my luggage on the right side, beneath my hanging clothes. The bottom shelf was perfect for keeping shoes together, yet out of sight!
Deluxe Balcony on Sun Princess 11221
Stateroom 11221 on Sun Princess is an unobstructed balcony, categorized as a Deluxe Balcony. Two chairs and a small table were waiting for us. Footrests/ottomans for the chairs were not provided, although we could see them on the larger balconies beneath us.
We embarked in Rome, Civitavecchia Port, so that is what you are seeing from the balcony on this room tour day. Of note, Rome city center is a ways away from the Port, inland. We flew into FCO and took the train to the port.
Read: How to get to Civitavecchia Cruise Port By Train (coming soon!)
This view should give you a bit of an idea of the amount of space on your deluxe balcony!
There is nothing quite like being on your balcony as the ship sails away from the embarkation port.
Here you can see the sun dipping low over the coast of Italy near Civitavecchia port as we head south to Naples.
Oh, but wait! There's something else you can see, isn't there?
You can see the balconies of the C2 mini suites on deck 9 as well as the private Cabana Deck (with the plush lounge chairs). We thought it was an incredibly strange design that these suite balconies were so exposed. They really had no privacy despite costing more and to some extent one could say that they obstruct the view of balconies above. What do you think? Cruise Tip: Your travel agent can help you choose a room that has the size and amenities you want (like a mini suite) with the location you want. ;) Sun Princess Stateroom 11221 Location
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Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links to relevant products or services. We paid for all cruise expenses ourselves. This graduation cruise was a reduced fare sailing. All opinions are our own.
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Post By: Marissa Books Travel
Since my client has 5 travelers, at 15k per person we need 75k miles or corresponding points to get them free flights from Nashville to Anchorage Alaska (BNA - ANC) for their Alaska Anniversary Cruise!
The United card is one I highly recommend, but in this case I recommended it along with an alternative (actually my top favorite travel card!) because there is a limited time offer of a 75,000 point sign up bonus with this card right now. It's rare to see the bonus tip over 60k so this is perfect timing! These universal travel points can be transferred to United at a 1:1 ratio. Meaning my clients have a very real potential of getting all 5 of their flights free if they choose to take advantage of this offer! •> SEE OUR CURRENT TRAVEL BONUS RECOMMENDATIONS HERE! <•How Much My Clients Can Save
The cash price of these flights was $354 so multiply that by 5 people and my clients have the potential to save +/- $1770 on their flights one way! Of course they do have a flight home to think about. And guess what? They could take advantage of another bonus to cover that one too ;)
This is a huge advantage of booking travel early. You have time to take advantage of these opportunities at a reasonable pace. ;) This is also the advantage of booking with a travel agent who loves travel and can help you find out-of-the-box ways to save on your trip! :) Related timeless Wisdom
•> See our current travel bonus recommendations here! <•Pin For Later & Share With a Friend!
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ST MAARTEN, SAN JUAN, PERFECT DAY CRUISE Itinerary
Pacific Coast Cruise Itinerary
Photo Itinerary Below for illustrative purposes only. Please see detailed itinerary above!
Itinerary & Ports of Call - Celebrity Ascent
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As always, capacity is limited for the best deals so let us know if you'd like a quote for your next family & friend cruise vacation!
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