We combined a 12 day land tour with an excellent tour company. Our TA coordinated everything with Regent and tour company so that our Regent Air brought us into Milan on 10/18 and we were driven to Lake Como for 3 days -- group was just one other couple, with whom we got along fabulously. Our tour captain was great, so it was a wonderful prelude to Mariner Cruise.

In land tour we spent 3 nightsn Lake Como, 2 nights in Lake Maggiore, 3 Nights in Cinque Terra/Portofino/Santa Margherita area, and finished with 3 wonderful nights at a vineyard resort outside Siena in Tuscany. We then took high speed train from Florence to Vienna -- great experience but difficult with two suitcases apiece!. We then were met at Venice train station and tranferred to Hilton Stuckey Molino Hotel -- and it was a wonderful hotel and location. The 2nd morning we were there we watched the Mariner go past our hotel window at 7am, which was special.

The embarkation should have gone easily since the Mariner was visible from our hotel, but the water taxi firm that was used made numerous bad choices and it took us about 45 minutes - and should have ben 15 minutes. Once aboard, all was smooth and fast -- got in rooms by 330 and luggage by 5 Read more