lawton54

RIL covers many cities. ;)

So does JBL (Amalfi, Florence, Naples, Positano, Rome, Sorrento). No one had made a direct response to a tour in the Florence area so I gave my personal experience using JBL. So, why did you feel the need to champion for RIL again?:confused:

Noticed that most of the suggestions are for Rome, so you probably have that covered. For our private excursion in Florence we used Joe Banana Limos (joebananalimos dot com) and had a GREAT time, probably one of the most fun excursions we have had.

We were picked up from the dock at 8 AM and the driver had a sign with our name on it. From there we headed to Pisa to see the sights for about an hour. We had the option to climb the tower while there. If you're interested, you will need to purchase tickets for this separately for 18 Euro per person. Giovanni our driver said to book the 9:30 AM entrance. The link to the ticket site is: (www dot opapisa dot it) and you can pay via credit card. From Pisa we stopped in Greve in Chianti, a little Tuscan town to sightsee for a little while before heading to Fattoria Montecchio for the vineyard and olive oil tour, tastings and lunch. There was a 25 Euro per person charge for this part of the tour (the tastings and lunch) that we had to pay when we got there. If interested, you can buy wines and olive oils and they will ship them home to you so you don't have to worry about getting them back on the ship and planes. We then stopped and visited San Gimignano for some more sightseeing before heading back to the ship.

As some have suggested we were able to connect with others on our roll call and share the trip/costs. The van comfortable seated the 10 of us that decided to go. All in all it was a wonderful tour through some lovely villages and countryside.

I would suggest that you check the CC member review section for Divinia and MSC in general. You are going to get biased reviews and recommendations in this forum (as in most others). This forum, however, seems so slanted toward MSC that any complaint or unflattering advice is shouted down with the offending poster being berated for his or her lack of sophistication, understanding of the "Italian" style, food, mentality, etc., etc., etc. Check the reviews and decide for yourself if what you are reading there is compatible with your expectations of what a cruise should be. Compare ratings and comments with the lines you are familiar with to help you with your decision. Hope you have fun which ever line you choose!

Hi RhoneRanger8, my wife and I are on the same sailing. Hop on over to the Pearl Roll Call and see who else is going and maybe find some more info there.

We were at the port right on time and off the ship in just a few minutes during our stop there last week. The weather was fine so that may have factored into it, but all of our stops were either on time or a bit before scheduled time.

Just a word of warning, the guides that MSC contract with for this excursion think of you as their personal customer...only in a bad way. They take you only to shops where you are forced to endure endless sales pitches for soaps, lotions, rugs, furniture, etc. Our tour was a 3 hour bus ride, then a 10 minute "tour" of a small palace then off to the market. Wow, this is what we were wanting to see anyway. The only problem is that you were escorted through the back streets to their "drug store" where after the guides had herded us all into a small room the door was closed and we were forced to endure a 45 minute infomercial on lotions, oils, etc. and not allowed to leave until all order for their junk were filled. The guides wouldn't let us leave the room, and we had no idea how to find our way back to the buses. Even though there were hundreds of fascinating shops along the way we were told not to stop and look at the merchandise, they were taking us to "better" and "safer" places. A LOAD OF CRAP!!

We were then taken to a staged show of camels and horseback riding while we had what was a nice lunch, probably the best part of the tour. We were then taken back into the center of Marrakech, passing again close to the central market, only to be herded into an upstairs room for a rug making (infomercial again) demonstration. WE REVOLTED! After much discussion with the guides we were give 15 on our own to explore a truly fascinating city. We met back right on time and were hustled back on the bus.

After much more complaining from the entire busload of paying guests we were finally taken to the market that we had so anticipated seeing, and by the way which was prominently advertised as a part of the tour. This time we were allowed all of 20 minutes to see literally hundreds of booths of spices, foods, clothing, metal goods, etc. There were dancers, snake charmers, great sights and sounds to be experienced...all in 20 minutes or the bus would leave you.

Like you say, it is a pricey tour. To say we were disappointed in the tour would be an gross understatement. We felt so cheated that we immediately reported the shady practices and misrepresentation of what was to be experienced to the excursion desk. Several groups of those who had endured this rip-off wanted to voice their displeasure to MSC, only to be told that they would get back to us. Later when no one was contacted we again went to try to see a supervisor, only to be stone walled. This we later came to realize was apparently the MSC way to resolve any passenger issue. Either try to put you off and hope you forget about it or totally ignore the problem and hope YOU go away.

As for finding a private guide, yes it is doable and preferred. Another group of friends secured their own tour and had a wonderful time in this very different, but very interesting city. Hope you do the same and hope you have a great trip.

We did the Lima-Cuzco-Machu Picchu, but customized it a bit to add a day. Latin Destinations will customize it to what you want and give you a price then. I do see that prices are up, due I'm sure to the rise in air fares.

We specifically tailored our tour so that we would be in Cusco on June 23rd and 24th to participate in the Inti Raymi festival, WOW. Words cannot begin to describe the sounds, sights, colors, dancing, and eating going on then. Local community bands marching and playing in the streets until the wee hours of the morning, it was a blast. The weather was beautiful our entire trip, with some cool days as this was the beginning of fall there, but no rainy season worries.

Like I posted above, Condor Travel serviced the booking made through Latin Destinations and they were truly great, even offering last minute tours for one of the days we hadn't scheduled anything. We chose a trip to the Sacred Valley and the market at Pisac. Again WOW, not to be missed. When Condor said they would be there at 8:00 they were there at 8:00, never had a delay. Their vehicles were top notch, even using a 25 passenger bus to transport us to the Ollantaytambo train station when there were only 2 of us

I agree with WeBeGone, just a quick comparison indicated that the additional cost would be about $3000/pp. DW and I were there for 10 days and total tour cost was only about $2000/pp including air from the U.S. Booked through Latin Destinations and serviced by Condor Travel, both of which were super efficient and professional, especially the Condor people. Can't say enough about how well we were treated and serviced by them. All connections on time and accomodating, even when our train from Machu Picchu was hours late due to a track accident, the Condor driver was there waiting for us!

DW and I did a land based tour last year that visited all of these places, we even stayed in the same hotel in Cusco, and LOVED IT!! Peru is a wonderful country and Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu are awesome places. If I had the opportunity to include this as a part of a cruise I would jump at it!

woodley,

DW and I plan to visit in June. I would love to hear more of your thoughts on your trip and suggestions for things not to miss. I'd gladly welcome an email if you have the time.

jhuntermartin,

Glad to see you here. We met you on the Orchestra roll call last December and would like to get some of your ideas as to things to do in Lima. We will be there for a couple of days before and after visiting Macchu Pichu. I still have your email address from the roll call, so when we get closer to time I may contact you for suggestions.

Gus is a SUPER guy! He and his wife make you feel like an old friend coming back for a visit. DW and I toured with him this past April and it is one of our favorite memories. The country is beautiful and the people were warm and welcoming everywhere we went. The visit to the school was beyond words. We enjoyed every minute of it, the boat ride up the coast to Livingston, going to the school and meeting the kids, riding upriver to see local homes, a hot spring, and a cave. The meal we had after returning to Livingston was great along with a nice view of the harbor area, a local band performing for us and finally walking through Livingston's streets and seeing the town was a true joy. You can feel completely safe with Gus, both in regards to the tour and with respect to any deposit you are required to put down. In my book Gus is what a tour operator should be!