Is NO ONE booking ship shore excursions???

[gramwii]

Seems most of what I read, travelers are booking tours on their own, and NOT booking ship shore excursions. Is this true??? Will admit, I'm stressing on this -- first time in Europe, 5 ports of call in 7 days. Have gathered MUCH info on each site, learning maps, identifying transportation issues, trying to narrow down to see the MOST, and NOT miss ship's sailing, etc etc. Certainly others have been where I am today. Need to stretch our travel $$s -- semi-retired. We booked this LATE and sail in 6 weeks with no travel reservations. Want to wrap this up, take a deep breath & relax. We have a balcony room (first time) and I want to enjoy enjoy enjoy!!!

[Keith1010]

That is not corerct. It's just that the majority of people who post here either with information or questions go on their own or through private excursions. The majority of people we see on each and every sailing still go with ships shore excursions. If this is your first visit, by all means go with the ships excursions.

 

Keith

[gramwii]

Thx Keith. It's a bit overwhelming. I'm normally a good multi-tasker but seems from boards everyone liked "doing it their way" best and felt they saved $$. Ship excursions in US$ and think if not careful a "do it yourself" choice could end up costing more. gramwii

[MercedMike]

This board has a built in bias. Just to be on this board indicates that one is a researcher and looking for independent opinions and information. Many people use this board as a major reference for independent tours, and that is a good thing. But it is certainly not a survey of what is actually the majority viewpoint. After 38 cruises, we usually have a mix of ship's excursions, independent operators, and occasionally plan to go on our own.

 

Ship's tours can be excellent excursions and good values. They frequently have the best vehicles, the best drivers who speak the best English, the best access to the most visited attractions and are very convenient and are well supervised by the ship's staff. These are all good reasons to take a ship's excursion. In many ports when the excursions go to the major sites we will book the ship's excursion.

 

Independent tours offer greater flexibility and often (especially if you follow the recommendations on this board) offer outstanding guides and great service. For those who are mobility limited, or who have special interests and want to spend a little more time or go a bit more slowly, they can work out very well. We frequently use them, especially to go someplace off the beaten track of the tour buses.

 

Just getting off the ship and doing it yourself is not very much in our style. Now and then we will try it. You have to realize that you then take entire responsibility, and anything that goes wrong has to be dealt with, often with poor command of the language and currency. If you are adventuresome and flexible, it can work well, and occasionally you can save some money this way.

 

So I don't think there is any single answer for shore excursions. If you want to do it the convenient and secure way, just go with the ship's excursions. Otherwise, do your homework, consider all the possibilities, and book what looks right for you.

 

Any way you do it, I know you will have a GREAT cruise!

 

For some samples of our approach Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/med.html and http://www.bully4.us/holyland.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[stubbornoldowl]

Another option to consider although it certainly is more expensive than doing it all independently is to consider the excursions, for example "Florence on your own". The ship transportation takes away the worry about connections etc. and with the research you've already done, you can still see the things that interest you at your own pace. We do a mix of independent and ship excursions depending on the location.

[texancruzer]

I agree that many come to this board looking for info on how to save money by DIY...... but that doesnt necessarily mean that ships tours are not used by same.

 

On our first trip (Nov. 23rd sailing) we booked 8 weeks out. Read this website until I was blue in the face...... we ended up doing quite a few ships tours. I ran out of time and desire to figure it all out.

 

Rome - private guide

Naples - private tour w/3 other couples from roll call

Dubrovnik - on our own

Corfu - ship tour

Livorno - ship tour

Villefranche - ship tour

Toulon(provence) - ship tour

 

Our second trip this past May we found many ports were much easier to navigate on our own (even though I booked 9 weeks out).......

 

Rome - on our own

Santorini - on our own

Mykonos - on our own

Istanbul (overnight) on our own

Kusadasi - Ekol tours (private)

Athens - on our own

Naples - on our own

 

It just depends on what you are comfortable with. Many ports are a long ways from best sights..... we found the "on your own" ship tours to be a great way to get to and from sights with a little history and info thrown in along the way....then be turned loose to do what you want......meeting back at a certain time to go back to ship. That said.....we were warned "more than 5 minutes late at meeting point and you get left" and were on your own to get back to ship...... so even on ship tour you can get left. We actually left one woman in Aix-en-Provence but she got on the next tour bus back to the port (lucky !)

[themnms]

I think most people tend to do a mix..We also have done some fabulous ships tours as well as some recommended on these boards!! As mentioned I think many here love to research!!

[gramwii]

Your points of view have been interesting & useful. Mike & Renee thanks for sharing your trip photos. I especially enjoyed seeing Greece but doubt I'd ever get my hubby on a donkey. :)

 

We lived/traveled in an RV full time for 2 yrs. I always said campers we met were friendly, supportive of each other & lots of fun. I am seeing those same comments can be said about the cruise community!! Thx everyone!

[Glesca]

Seems most of what I read, travelers are booking tours on their own, and NOT booking ship shore excursions. Is this true??? Will admit, I'm stressing on this -- first time in Europe, 5 ports of call in 7 days. Have gathered MUCH info on each site, learning maps, identifying transportation issues, trying to narrow down to see the MOST, and NOT miss ship's sailing, etc etc. Certainly others have been where I am today. Need to stretch our travel $$s -- semi-retired. We booked this LATE and sail in 6 weeks with no travel reservations. Want to wrap this up, take a deep breath & relax. We have a balcony room (first time) and I want to enjoy enjoy enjoy!!!

 

 

You can also pick and choose when to do a ship tour, or on your own.

An example would be the Italian leg of my voyage. If I miss the ship in either Livorno or Rome (port), I can always catch the train down to Naples to rejoin the ship.

But, man if I get stuck on the Amalfi coast road and miss the ship, now I’ve got to catch a plane to Greece to rejoin the ship. (So I’m taking the ship’s tour there.) I’m sure there many people who have done their own tour there with no problems, but I don’t need the stress.

Enjoy your trip, and your balcony.

Don’t forget the binoculars.

[chipmaster]

Seems most of what I read, travelers are booking tours on their own, and NOT booking ship shore excursions. Is this true??? Will admit, I'm stressing on this -- first time in Europe, 5 ports of call in 7 days. Have gathered MUCH info on each site, learning maps, identifying transportation issues, trying to narrow down to see the MOST, and NOT miss ship's sailing, etc etc. Certainly others have been where I am today. Need to stretch our travel $$s -- semi-retired. We booked this LATE and sail in 6 weeks with no travel reservations. Want to wrap this up, take a deep breath & relax. We have a balcony room (first time) and I want to enjoy enjoy enjoy!!!

 

6 weeks is a LOT of time to plan, prepare :D

 

you don't mention which ports you are sailing to, some are very easy to DIY others really are best or should I say more accuratly more efficently and thoroughly enjoyed using private.

 

I'd avoid the ship sponsored tours if you can. The reason it appear most here use private is because you'll find the poster here to be the ones that research and plan more. If you research and do a little planning you'll find some ports as I mentioned very easy to DIY ( Venice comes to mind ) and not worth spending money on ship tours. Others like Rome, Florence really are best done with a tour if you want to see a lot. Private tours are as reliable as any ship operation, they are generally cheaper, and most importantly they are private so you get to dictate the schedule if you wish. BTW if you don't have a "plan" all the private tours have the "standard" schedule that is very comprehensive of the highlights in each port. The most important planning decision is to decide when and who to use private. Once you've done that and have selected a reputable private tour, 99% of the worry / work is done.

 

Here is s generic site with blurbs on each port: http://www.europeportreviews.com/ You can read these and ask here in the ports of call for private tour recommendations. For pirvate tour operators its a business, I think 6 weeks is still a window where they may have spots for some operators.

 

Oh one last thing, since you are posting this in the Italy section. I can say we used RomeinLimo in 3 ports, Naples, Civatavecchia (Rome), Livorno ( Florence/Pisa). We couldn't have had a better 3 port days in Italy with them. They really made these 3 ports a memory for a lifetime. They are huge, efficient, reliable, and I suspect if you contact them now they will have a car/drive avialable. There are other guide/tours that I have read good stuff of too, but RIL is also great ;)

 

Good luck:

[FTLcruisers]

I research our trips to death....and still go on ship's excursions. We like guides with us to explain what we are looking at.....on some of the DIY tours, it is our understanding that there is a driver who gives you information but does not actually act as a guide (I'm thinking of our stop in Pompeii where folks using private tour service have written that they will also pay for a guide).

 

So, I think, its a personal choice - what is comfortable for YOU...not what is right for someone else.

 

But I can be sure of one thing - you will love Europe. I never wanted to go until I did....now I can't get enough of it. ENJOY.

[PenelopeCorelli]

Sounds like you've decided, and that's great! You won't feel stressed and you can relax. Most people take ship's excursions because it's safe and convenient. And it can be the perfect introduction to a new place! It also keeps the cruise prices low for those of us who are DIYers. (Some of excursion "dissing" may be financially motivated.) ;-) Traveling in a foreign land is scary for the majority, who really would not have fun trying to figure it all out. :eek: No hair pulling! And that's what vacationing is all about. FUN!! No two people travel the same way. Figure out what is comfortable for you and go for it. After a few cruises and lots of excursions, you may find you have more confidence to try new things. The group herding thing may grow old. And then, check these boards out for ideas. We'll (DIY and Excursionists) be here to encourage and help - and cheer you on.:):):) Happy Cruising!!

[agabbymama]

We are two older ladies with mobility issues. I researched for 18 months, had all the plans nailed. I planned to do a lot of the ports on our own, but upon arriving in Paris, I soon discovered my friends limited mobility.

 

We did okay in Rome for 3 days pre-cruise. We used the Ho Ho bus to get close to the site, still a lot of walking, but it was doable. We shared a transfer with 2 other couples from our roll call. Once on the ship, the behemoth "Grand Princess", we were even in trouble there. Our cabin was toward the stern, and the show room is in the bow. We only made it there once.

 

We arrived in Monte Carlo to no taxis on the pier. We walked and walked, but never made it to the top. We turned around after a couple of hours and headed back to the ship. We lunched and napped onboard. Decided to go back on the pier to a small souvenir shop we had seen. This time when we debarked we had to go into a building, and there was an information desk. My friend (ever outspoken as she is) went up to complain that there were no taxis as the map (from Monte Carlo Visitor Board) said there would be. And it really wasn't very accommodating to disabled travelers. We were then told there was an elevator to the top, we wouldn't have had to do all those stairs that we tried to do.

 

This scared us, so for Livorno, we signed up for a ship's tour. We did winetasting in Tuscany with a side trip to San Gimignino (beautiful feudal walled city). We thoroughly enjoyed the tour, even though a 4 hour tour was $99.00.

 

Back to independent plan for Naples. We were going to hydrofoil to Sorrento, train to Pompeii and back to Naples. We were stopped in our tracks when the Captain announced we were at one of the docking area and the hydrofoil pier was at the other end. There would be a shuttle.

We debarked at 8:15 thinking we had plenty of time to make the 9:00 hydrofoil, only to be told the shuttle wouldn't leave until 9:00. We ended up hiring a taxi to take us to Pompeii and Sorrento at 100 EUR pp. But it was our best day of the entire 21 day trip. We were treated like royalty. He was our own personal driver, taking us where we wanted to go. He even escorted us across the street in Sorrento and carried our purchases for us. Pointed us to a very nice restaurant for lunch (he disappeared) I had read on CC that it was a nice gesture to purchase guides lunch, but I couldn't do that as he was nowhere to be found. He came back about an hour to an hour and a half later and we headed back to Naples. He was such a sweetheart, he played CDs of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra and got such a kick out of us singing along with the music.

 

We had booked ship's tours for Santorini and Kusadasi just for the safety factor of two women alone in these distant lands. Both were very enjoyable.

 

For Athens, we had joined with another couple from our roll call and hired a taxi driver. Again he was our own personal driver. He stayed with the taxi and waited for us at each stop. These taxi drivers are not guides, as most European countries require you to be licensed to be called a guide, but they do know the lay of the land and what there is to see and do.

 

Venice we were totally on our own, and by the end of the cruise we were thoroughly disgusted with mis-information, lack of information, total lack of assistance from Princess, we were going to take a taxi to Piazzale Roma where our hotel was. I put that on the debarkation card, and the purser's desk called our stateroom and informed us if we hadn't pre-arranged transport, there would be no taxis at the pier. We were forced to pay Princess $24 pp for a 5 MINUTE ride to Piazzale Roma. Then to add more confusion, our debarkation letter said "put the silver" tags on your luggage and set it outside your stateroom by midnight. Yet looking at the tags, they were "gold". Trek to the pursers desk to enquire, and he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. He then said, oh it's a good thing you caught that, with "gold" tags your luggage would have gone to the airport. We would have been looking for our luggage having no idea where it had gone, as we were staying in Venice 2 post-cruise days, not flying home that day, also noted to Princess. There was no apology, he just quickly handed me the "silver" tags. And when we debarked, there indeed WERE NO TAXIS at the taxi queue.

 

I would suggest going to your roll call and seeing if anyone wants to share tours. You will definitely save $$$ as the price is per vehicle whereas the ship's tours are per person, and usually cost a lot more. The groups are usually smaller and more personable. Whatever you decide to do, have a Plan "A", then also a Plan "B" for when "A" falls apart, which it can and will. Our whole trip it became a standing joke "what could go wrong today?"

 

Even our departure coming home, I had originally scheduled for Saturday, November 1. About three weeks before departure, I received an email that our return flight had been cancelled on Sat and we were moved to Sunday. Now mind you I work and had to report to work on Monday, so a Sunday flight was really cutting it tight. I called the airline and tried to get on some kind of flight on Saturday, but it ended up being a big Holiday and there was nothing I could do. SO deciding to make the most of an extra day in France, I always wanted to see the beaches at Normandy, we would use the extra day for that. Only big problem, when we left Venice in the rain and arrived in Paris in the rain, it was foggy, rainy and traffic congested, so we canceled the rental car and just stayed at the hotel shut inside because of the nasty weather.

 

Be prepared to roll with the flow. Many many many things went awry on our trip, but we still had a wonderful 3 weeks in Europe exploring the Mediterranean. And now we look back and just laugh at all the little things that went wrong. Have a wonderful time planning your trip, then taking it.

[pom]

Seems most of what I read, travelers are booking tours on their own, and NOT booking ship shore excursions. Is this true??? Will admit, I'm stressing on this -- first time in Europe, 5 ports of call in 7 days. Have gathered MUCH info on each site, learning maps, identifying transportation issues, trying to narrow down to see the MOST, and NOT miss ship's sailing, etc etc. Certainly others have been where I am today. Need to stretch our travel $$s -- semi-retired. We booked this LATE and sail in 6 weeks with no travel reservations. Want to wrap this up, take a deep breath & relax. We have a balcony room (first time) and I want to enjoy enjoy enjoy!!!

 

 

Hello

 

I have booked 12 shore excursions with Summit why? because first time in Europe and I get to see everything I want to see , get my transportation there and back with a guide and I will not miss the ship plus I get to go with a group or I can just go to the shops with my cousins and meet them back at the time they tell us to meet them

 

I am not lucky to be like the others who have on a cruise before and know what the area is like and for me having even my tickets for events included is the way to go this time.

 

Just wanted to let you know , have a good trip

[Hlitner]

I am one of those folks who is biased against ship's tours and I have backed-up my bias by trying to help folks (with more than 3000 posts) do it on their own. Does that mean ship's tours are bad? Of course not? But, they are seldom a good value. Some cruise ship passengers find that, when cruisiing in Europe, they can spend more on excursions than the cost of the cruise! For those that enjoy being with large groups on large buses than cruise ship excursions are fine. However, more and more cruisers have discovered that they can often book private tours for less money than the big excursions and many others have found that they can do thing on their own for even a lot less than any tour. When you go on your own you can determine your own schedule, see what you want, when you want, with who you want. The downside of "doing your own thing" is that it does take some pre-trip homework. But the benefits can be wonderful since you will have the time to relax at a cafe, sip a drink, see less touristy places than on the tours, and not feel like you are cattle being herded from place to place. As to savings, independent travel can save you thousands of dollars (over the course of a cruise)...particularly for groups of 4. As a simple example, most cruise lines charge at least $75 per person for a bus from Civitavecchia to Rome (this is just for transportation). On your own you can easily get to the Civitavecchia train station and buy a BIRG ticket for about $13 per person. That BIRG ticket gets you round trip train to Rome (faster than the bus) and unlimited use of the buses and metro within Rome for the day. A family of 4 saves an easy $240+, and that is just for starters. While the large tour groups are being herded through the Piazza Navona (our favorite spot in Rome) you can be sitting at one of the cafes sipping some beer or wine and watching the herds.

 

Hank

[agabbymama]

Hank,

Remember to caution that you have to be PHYSICALLY FIT to do all that independent touring on your own. If you have a problem walking, or children in tow, independent travel IS NOT EASY.

 

My friend would never be able to walk from the pier entrance to the train station in Civitavecchia (just one example), nor hoist her 50 lb suitcase onto the train.

 

I have done lots of independent travel by myself I even flew to Vienna and train to Budapest. It was a little scary, but fun too. But again, you have to be able to lug your suitcase yourself, heft it on and off the train/bus, etc. I also did 3 weeks through the Benelux countries with a rail pass. My husband and I spent a month driving down the Eastern coast of Italy, crossed over to Sicily and back up the Western coast of Italy. We only had to sleep in the car one night, because we couldn't find a hotel.

 

And I certainly don't sit at cafes or restaurants in Italy at all because they charge you a cover charge to SIT.

 

Let's tell it like it really is, not just how you find it.

[pom]

I am one of those folks who is biased against ship's tours and I have backed-up my bias by trying to help folks (with more than 3000 posts) do it on their own. Does that mean ship's tours are bad? Of course not? But, they are seldom a good value. Some cruise ship passengers find that, when cruisiing in Europe, they can spend more on excursions than the cost of the cruise! For those that enjoy being with large groups on large buses than cruise ship excursions are fine. However, more and more cruisers have discovered that they can often book private tours for less money than the big excursions and many others have found that they can do thing on their own for even a lot less than any tour. When you go on your own you can determine your own schedule, see what you want, when you want, with who you want. The downside of "doing your own thing" is that it does take some pre-trip homework. But the benefits can be wonderful since you will have the time to relax at a cafe, sip a drink, see less touristy places than on the tours, and not feel like you are cattle being herded from place to place. As to savings, independent travel can save you thousands of dollars (over the course of a cruise)...particularly for groups of 4. As a simple example, most cruise lines charge at least $75 per person for a bus from Civitavecchia to Rome (this is just for transportation). On your own you can easily get to the Civitavecchia train station and buy a BIRG ticket for about $13 per person. That BIRG ticket gets you round trip train to Rome (faster than the bus) and unlimited use of the buses and metro within Rome for the day. A family of 4 saves an easy $240+, and that is just for starters. While the large tour groups are being herded through the Piazza Navona (our favorite spot in Rome) you can be sitting at one of the cafes sipping some beer or wine and watching the herds.

 

Hank

 

thanks for your view, and yes you are correct on this but like me we are two woman alone, and for the value of not having a man first time over there ship tours are the way to go. And I am not paying that much for what I am getting, less hassel of waiting in line for that train seat and there are many sites where one can read what has happend to the ones who have gone on their own only being two!

 

Yes you are correct, if there a numbers in your group hire a private tour company like they are doing on the Barceloni - Venice site all kinds of information that you can read on how they are getting groups together and doing their own tour and in some cases it is still going to cost you a fare price but there is no rush.

 

In fact the Barcelonia Card , Spain is the way to go if you are doing tours by yourself why?

 

Barcelona city card featuring free travel on public transport, discounts and free offers at museums, cultural venues, theatres, leisure facilities, night-clubs, shops, restaurants and entertainments, other services and unique means of transport.

 

Thanks for your information is good to know this.

[pom]

sorry it copied it twice

[euro cruiser]

I don't think that gender has anything at all to do with whether or not one feels comfortable going it "alone", without a ship tour. I'm female and usually do things on my own, with others or alone.

 

However, on our cruise this summer, the kids all wanted to go scuba diving and I couldn't find an independent alternative, so they went with NCL and had a great time.

 

So, even a confirmed "independent" can be swayed in the right situation!

[cruisemom42]

FWIW, I'm another female who has no problem "going it alone". I've visited Rome, Paris, Florence, London, Lisbon, Frankfurt.....many places on my own for several days to a week at a time. Just this year I spent two weeks in Turkey on my own -- yes, I did book a 3-day group tour of Cappadocia and an overnight trip from Istanbul to Troy, but I did the rest on my own. I also took DS to Japan for 2 weeks over the summer, again, on our own.....while he's good company, he's not yet much help in planning things out or making arrangements!

 

The bottom line is: some people feel comfortable doing things on their own -- or via a private tour -- and some either can't physically do it or don't feel comfortable with anything other than the comfort of the ship's tours. Either way is fine, as long as you are happy with your choice and you're getting to enjoy these wonderful sights.

[Hlitner]

I should have added an additional comment to my previous post about taking private tours or doing things on your own. We are big fans of the "Roll Call" boards here on cruise critic. I mention this for those that may not even know about those threads. For couples or other small groups looking to do a private tour (or go on their own) with some other cruisers, the Roll Call board is the perfect place to find other like minded cruisers. In fact, last year when we decided to rent a car in Livorno and drive to Cinque Terre, we thought it might be fun to take another couple (not to mention splitting the cost of the rental car). I posted a message on the Roll Call for our cruise and within 2 hours we had another couple who wanted to go on our "personal excursion." They mentioned that they also wanted to see the Leaning Tower, so we simply cut our time by an hour at Cinque Terre and drove them to the tower. It turned out to be a fun day.

 

Hank

[Keith1010]

In the end, there are some who prefer only doing ship tours, some who prefer a mix of private tours and ship tours and some who prefer only private tours or not formal tour but doing it all on their own.

 

There is no right or wrong answer to this. What you end up deciding is based on many factors but in the end each person should take the approach(s) that work best for them.

 

And sometimes all of this varies by port of call being visited.

 

My opinion though is that on this thread and the roll call threads you will mainly see people posting who are talking about either private tours by themselves, private tours with others, or doing it all on their own.

 

Again remember what one person might be very happy with doesn't work for another person.

 

Keith

[euro cruiser]

And sometimes all of this varies by port of call being visited.

Absolutely! There are some places I'm very glad I didn't wander off on my own ... Kenya, for one example, San Pedro Sula in Honduras is another.

[MercedMike]

Your points of view have been interesting & useful. Mike & Renee thanks for sharing your trip photos. I especially enjoyed seeing Greece but doubt I'd ever get my hubby on a donkey. :)

 

 

ROFL! If you look at the pic you will see that I am NOT on a donkey! I took the ship's bus up another road :D

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[gramwii]

Great info as we "pull it all together."

 

Looks like we can do Valetta & Cannes on our own.

 

Have sent email to RIL to inquire if they still have availability for our 3 ports Naples, Civatavecchia(Rome), Livorno(Florence/Pisa). We should save some, but primariily we get to customize tour to OUR interests.

 

Although, I wonder if we could possibly do ONE of the 3 on our own. Hubby has bad knees so need to keep that in mind.

 

7 days and 5 ports is the most intense cruise we've ever been on -- and with those being 5 Western Mediterranean ports, need I say more??!! And I turn 60 that week ... what a way to celebrate!! gramwii