MSC Poesia - Mediterreanian Shore Excursions

Hi All!

New to the forum and new to cruising.

We're taking the Poesia from Venice to Bari, Olympia, Athens, Mykonos, Albania and Dubrovnik in July.

Do people book the excursions through MSC? How are they?

Is it better to use a site like cruisingexcursions.com?

Thanks so much,

Hope the cruise and the boat are great!

Sorry, to be more clear, interested in the quality of the MSC tours. The price seems comparable to other companies so I was just going to book with the ship for convenience (and also the boat not leaving without us)

following we are on the same cruise July 1st

Sorry, can't comment on the MSC shore excursions - we didn't use any. For detail about what we did do on our May sailing of the same ship and same itinerary, read here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2506253

Lou :)

The problem with all cruise lines excursions is you end up on a big bus with a large number of people and someone is always slow etc. Also the buses can't navigate some of the narrow streets so that is an issue in many locations.

Check your ships Roll Call on cruise critic as small group (4 to 8 persons) excursions are often organized by some passengers. These personalized tours are usually about the same price as the ships excursion but far superior.

Hi All!

 

New to the forum and new to cruising.

 

We're taking the Poesia from Venice to Bari, Olympia, Athens, Mykonos, Albania and Dubrovnik in July.

 

Do people book the excursions through MSC? How are they?

 

Is it better to use a site like cruisingexcursions.com?

 

Thanks so much,

 

Hope the cruise and the boat are great!

MSC uses same shore providers that you will book by yourself. In BAri you dont need excursion , in Olympia you can take a shuttle from port for 5 E and see it by yourself (nothing to see really) Athens Hop on bus work perfectly,Albania -I would stay on board ,Dubrovnik again taxi tour or just walk around

I would love to hear what you decided about excursions. We are booked for later this month and due to ease of use, we booked daily trips through MSC.

Thanks,

Shannon

I'm surprised to read on this thread that the private tours are approximately the same price as MSC's trips. If that is the case, book it with MSC and eliminate the worry of not making it back to the ship on time. We used MSC's trips twice and each time they were very good, exactly as described on the 'tin'! I usually find it much cheaper to source my own transport, usually public, than book a tour. As Goldenbonny says, in most of those ports, you don't need a tour. Ken