Heading around the Mediterranean - Any Alternative Excursions than Cruise Company?

Hi

Sorry, first time cruiser so I know literally NOTHING about what I have got myself into.

Some of the excursions by our cruise line (NCL) are fairly expensive for what they are. Is there a common list of other excursion operators that may offer cheaper transport?

For most of our stops, we're looking at doing the "on your own" so it's literally transport to the city centres and back to the boat.

Thank you

This is a site I use. I highly recommend it.

www.shareashoreexcursion.com

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Try doing some research on the Ports boards, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

Several thoughts. First, Europe is not cheap. Second, some ports you may not need any excursion or transport at all...you can simply walk in to town.

After doing some research on ports forum, linked to by CruiserBruce, then check your Roll Call to see if anyone is organizing private tours.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Try doing some research on the Ports boards, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

 

Several thoughts. First, Europe is not cheap. Second, some ports you may not need any excursion or transport at all...you can simply walk in to town.

No, Europe certainly isn't cheap compared to places like the Caribbean or SE Asia if you look for a taxi-tour at the quayside.

But public transport is generally very good. Inexpensive, frequent, fast. Whether that's by train or bus or tram or ferry, it's used by all sectors of the community

Yes, some towns are right by the port. Barcelona for instance.

Some are pretty close - Venice, or Nice or Monaco from Villefranche, or Corfu - just a short ride away.

But others are anything up to an hour away. Rome for instance. Accessible by train for about €12 return fare. Compare that fare to your ship's "Rome on your own" transfer. :eek:

But you do need to research, check out the pros & cons of the various options. The forums linked by Bruce are a good way to start.

And post your ship & ports on this thread - preferably with the date and day-of-the-week, and a little background of your group - couple or family? any mobility issues? etc.

Then doubtless you'll get some specific tips right here.

JB :)

Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. Written for the person who wants to DIY. He tells you what there is to do/see in each port, how much you can do in the time you have available, and how to do it from the time you walk down to gangway until the time you stagger back with aching feet. And what it ought to cost. For the ports he doesn't cover, he recommends Lonely Planet. But Mr. Google might do as well. EM

Taken "with a grain of salt," Trip Advisor and Yelp can be your friends. And CC roll calls also have recommendations and even requests/offers for shared private tours.

Whatever you end up considering, remember that often you do really "get what you pay for."

If Rome is on your agenda, for example, the Vatican Museum is an absolute "must see." However, without advanced sales (online) tix and a LICENSED guide, you will spend half your time there waiting to get in.

Some ports certainly can be done on your own (e.g., Ibiza, Portofino). But, if you really want to understand the interplay of culture, history and, in particular, the architectural backstories of antiquities (Rome, Athens, Sicily), a great guide (often booked solid many months in advance) is worth his/her "weight in gold." And the right local expert driver will save you considerable time in moving around.

If Rome or other major cities are on your pre/post cruise agenda, do contact the hotel manager or concierge regarding drivers and/or guides for your visit. Often, they can make arrangements with excellent individuals (who rely only on recommendations rather than advertising) for private excursions at very affordable rates (particularly if you make a package deal for transfers and touring).

As a rule, we do extensive research into a port that is new to us, particularly since we purposefully book them as start and end point extensions to our cruises. In picking the right drivers/guides (remember those concierge recommendations as well as TripAdvisor et al.), you will often be able to arrange port pickups followed by tour followed by hotel delivery and eventual transfer to airport that day or days later (or vice versa).

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On our first cruise, nearly 6 years ago, (Eastern European, 10 nights), we were on NCL. I did some research on Cruise Critic back then and learned about the concept of NOT taking ships excursions. Most important lesson ever...and you've learned it. We generally have taken excursions that are completely private (just my wife and I with a guide and/or driver) and have paid anywhere from as much as a ship's tour (on a bus, shared by 30+ people and going to half as many places) to half the cost of a ships tour. Best hints I can give:

1) The Rick Steve's book already mentioned is great. Many ports can easily be done on your own (Katakolon, Dubrovnik, Venice, eg) and others greatly benefited from a guide/driver (such as getting to Florence/Pisa from Livorno). Reading Rick's book will help you decide what sounds manageable to you. He very much assumes you are just going on your own...so if his descriptions of DIY fit your comfort level, you might be set. If not, go on to Step 2:

2) I hate to admit it, but we start our excursion planning by googling something like "Shore Excursions Naples" and starting to plow through the results. Cross referencing with Tripadvisor or Yelp to see if the companies you're narrowing it down to can help. We've never had bad luck going this way, and in a couple of cases, stumbled upon absolutely fantastic groups that turned our excellent shore stop into nearly unforgettable joys.

Oh, and don't stress too much about the idea that the reason to only do ship offered tours is that they guarantee the ship won't leave without you. The private guides we've had have been obsessive about getting us back on time. You get so much more done on a tour you control. One day, we docked in Salerno, Italy (for Naples/Pompeii). We were among the first off the ship. Met our driver at 8. He took us all along the Amalfi Coast, with stops to shop for pottery (at our request) and a decent stop in Positano and a shorter stop in Amalfi. Then we went to Mt. Vesuvius and climbed to the top (quite a trek on a summer day). Then we had a fabulous pizza at a nearby restaurant he recommended. Then on to Pompeii, where we spent nearly 3 hours. Yes, Pompeii was a tiny bit shortchanged, but we saw all the highlights and followed Rick Steve's self-guided tour completely. Then a nice drive through some back roads back to Salerno. We were back by 4:30. The day trip of a lifetime. Others, on the bus, got to drive the coast (not stopping anywhere) and then spend time at Pompeii. That's it. On our drive, we stopped frequently along the coast to take pictures. Never felt rushed. Driver gave us information all along the way and shared interesting tidbits as we passed various locales. Last-call to get back on the ship was like 5:30, so even with all we did, we were back with plenty of time to spare.

We suggest Rick Steve's Med Cruise Ports book as others have. We used the information to determine where to look for excursions and where they might not be necessary. Then searched the Ports boards and Trip Advisor to look at other options.

For Europe you really need to do your research and figure out what YOU want to see. A lot of the pre-programmed tours take you in religious sites which, while beautiful and historic, may not be of any real interest to you. We did a private tour once from Naples where the couples with us were determined they had to see Pompeii - which tends to be madly crowded and also it is very much a ruin. I suggested we go to Herculaneum instead, but they absolutely had bought into Pompeii as being the ONLY and BEST place to go. Herculaneum is similar to Pompeii except it is a bit smaller and the buildings are much more complete - many still have their roofs and the interiors are more complete with elaborate tile floors and frescos so you get much more of the feel of what it was like to live there. Herculaneum was buried in volcanic ash at the same time that Pompeii was. It is actually much better than Pompeii if you want to understand what it was like to live at that time as the homes there from that period are the most complete in existence. Rome is interesting in that you might spend a day seeing the main sights and then another day going to the Vatican museums and yet another day seeing the Capuchin crypt and possibly the Roman Catacombs, but the area outside of Rome is even more interesting with some of the best Rennaisance gardens in existence, famous villas and so much more to do and see. The best advice is to pick and choose what you are interested in and recognize you can't do it all in one day, so you will have to come back - hopefully for a land tour. I also want to mention this company: http://www.througheternity.com They provide outstanding tours especially if you want to get a historic perspective as most of their guides are historians and the tours are usually walking tours and because of this are much less expensive than tours that pick you up in a van and drive you around.