Do-It-Yourself Shore Excursions

[cruisingmimi]

Marp109,

 

I do the same thing. I got so confused trying to remember what I saw and where I saw it that I started a WORD document on Mediterranean travel. When I see something on the board worth saving, I cut and paste it into my Word doc. I have subtitles for the different areas, e.g. Rome, Santorini, Mykonos and add to them as I see more information. I keep my Word window open and reduced at the bottom of my screen when I am using Cruise Critic and can just scroll back and forth to paste the info I want to keep. It's so much easier.

 

I have just added a section on transportation and recommended hotels and the appropriate website. It makes it so much easier finding the information this way.

[3girls]

Does anyone have any information/ideas for Genoa?

[trubey]

Hi there 3 Girls:

 

Might I suggest that you start a new thread in this forum and call it "Do-I-Yourself Genoa". My feelings are that titling the threads with a common name and limiting the information to one port will make it easier for posters and responders. Susan.

[ABMBKGE]

as an avid cruiser just like the rest of you i cant understand all the bad hype about ship tours. after 24 curises and many wonderful tours in alaska, panama, south america there is the peace of mind factor that no matter what happens traffic, weather or breakdown the ship will be there waiting for you & in europe where the travel time could be a hour or more between port and destination & total time needed for tours can be 8-10 hrs knowing your on a ships tour can make the day more enjoyable. we're a group of 11 on the liberty 9/18/05 and have booked three ships tours for the ports of naples,messina & livarno all between 9 & 10 hrs each. im sure private tours or " on your own " appeal to a lot of people but just thought i'd throw my 2 cents worth in favor of the ships tours

[trubey]

ABMBKGE

 

You make many valid points. But I don't think it's necessary to have two sides here: the Pro-Ship-Tour people versus the Con-Ship-Tour people. It's just that in some ports an escorted tour is not really needed. And how else would you find out in advance?

 

Sometimes the best things to see are just a short walk or cab ride from the pier. And sometimes other people know of a private tour/driver who they felt made all the difference to them.

 

This "Europe" forum section is used to discuss individual ship tours as well as the alternatives. I'm just looking for a way to organize the information for the D-I-Y crowd.

 

susan.

[John&Betty]

Hello,

 

In order to "do it yourself" you need to know where things are. There are some maps on our web site that might help. Take a look at our 03 Med page.

http://home.mchsi.com/~jbglenn3/cruz.html

 

Also one for our Baltic cruise this May.

http://home.mchsi.com/~jbglenn33/

 

John

[Leejnd4]

Wonderful photos and maps! Thanks for sharing. :)

 

LeeAnne

[Hlitner]

After traveling internationally for over 30 years, and cruising on more than 25 cruises in Europe, we would never dream of taking any kind of organized tour unless it offered something we could not positively do on our own (very rare). It is amazing that when I post this kind of response (have done this many times) how many folks will "flame" me for thinking that anyone would dare go off on their own in Europe. My European friends tell me that the you can always spot the Americans and Japanese because they are the ones in groups and on buses. Traveling in Western Europe is not much different than traveling in the US except that in Europe they have good trains and public transportation. Why take a cruise line provided bus from Civatavecchia to Rome at about $70 per person, when you can take the train for about $20 (this amounts to a lot of money for a family of 4). The thought of being driven around Paris in a bus, as opposed to strolling on the streets, sipping wine in an outdoor cafe, etc, is enough to make me want to stay home. Much of the charm of Europe can only be enjoyed by exploring on your own and enjoying the real local flavor as opposed to the "cattle calls" of organized tours. Just one opinion.

 

Hank

[cruisingmimi]

John and Betty,

 

Great photos and maps. Thanks for sharing!

[abrusia]

Hello,

 

In order to "do it yourself" you need to know where things are. There are some maps on our web site that might help. Take a look at our 03 Med page.

http://home.mchsi.com/~jbglenn3/cruz.html

 

Also one for our Baltic cruise this May.

http://home.mchsi.com/~jbglenn33/

 

John

THIS IS THE BEST WEBSITE!! I wish there were more to help w/my Med Cruise in MAY. I am going crazy trying to figure everything out - excursions, timing, finances etc! Thanks for posting!

[Mparis184]

I did the same research as Marp109 and did a 'cut and paste' when I found interesting information and put them into one word document. I have a lot of recommendations, from different cruisers, that are the same. It gives me a good idea who the good tour drivers are and who not to use.

 

Thanks everyone for all your assistance. I still have 5 months before we leave for the Med on the Galaxy, still have lots of time to discover new ideas.

 

Still trying to get a group together on the boards to share the cost of the private tours but still don't have enough to book anything yet!

 

Happy sailing everyone.

 

Marion

[Times Prince]

The do it yourself tour depends greatly on whether you are a first timer or a veteran in the area. Despite having lived in Europe, we opted for Princess Tours in every port and really felt comforted by the guarantees when the bus ran late returning from Firenze. As mentioned below by ABMBKGE, the ships's tours are great because of the guarantees. We mostly like the shorter tours because they spend less time just traveling from point A to B.

 

If you've seen the highlights before or aren't under a time limit it is also good to immerse yourself in the culture by sampling just a little bit, s l o w l y. We've done that in Holland and it is really different. You don't see as much but you experience it more deeply.

 

One word of warning - if the cruise line cautions against walking to town, believe them. We really felt sorry for the passenger who ignored the warnings about the port area being "rough and to be avoided" in Naples, and then proceeded to walk to the town center saving cab fare but losing his wallet, ID, credit cards, cash, and passport to a local mugger. This messed up his entire cruise starting on the 4th of 12 days.

[trubey]

Tours, whether provided by the cruise line, a private tour company, or simply a knowledgeable taxi driver all have their validity: for certain people and/or ports.

 

This forum is intended to provide the information to determine what the best option is for each individual in each port.

 

susan.

[lina1]

Leeann,

 

I agree that on your own would mean be any other alternative form of transportation besides what the ship is offering. When I first started looking at these threads, i was searching for tips on how to find the train stations (or buses), time tables and comments of other travelers that have used this

method of getting from the port to Florence/Pisa, Rome and Amalfi Coast. From the posts i discovered that you could hire a private driver. I never knew this before. There are 6 of us traveling and now I don't have to worry about getting 2 taxi's each time we need a taxi, and we can ALL the major sites without me trying to figure out the local maps and asking for directions all the time! Thanks cruise critics for the wonderful info.

[jewelea]

Hi All

 

When i saw the excursion prices :eek: (it would be cheaper to come home and fly back to rome for a weekend then pay those huge exorbitant prices) I decided to do Rome on my own (well I sappose I'll have to bring the kids lol)

 

This site has been great for advice. Does anyone know how I can get from the Vatican to the Colosseum. I am sure its walkable but I have some disabilities and cannot walk very far especially in that heat. I would also like to visit the tavelli fountain en route if thats possible

 

Thanks Julie

[CruiserCarol]

we are sailing on Carnivals Liberty on October 24, looking to chat with other guests on same. It will be a long and fun trip across the "POND" we are looking to share a ride from Rome city center to the Port on October 24. anyone available?

[Tania]

Julie, I believe the closest metro station to the Vatican is Ottaviano, four blocks north of San Pietro. It will take you directly to Colloseo where the arena is directly in front of the station.

Trevi Fountain is between the two. The Piazza Navona and the Pantheon are within easy walking distance of each other and shouldn't be missed.

What I noticed on my last visit is that many had a taxi waiting for them as they visited these three sites. It may be worth your your while to pick up a taxi, say at the Vatican, make short stops at Trevi, etc...and then end up at the Colloseo. Easily done in a day, even if you spend hours at the Vatican.

Have fun in Rome!

[3beauvid]

Can you recommend a shore excursion from Glasgow?

[trubey]

I've just bumped this thread from last year as I noticed that people seem to be beginning to plan their summer European cruise excursions. Last year, in response to this (my) topic we had about a dozen threads all using Do It Yourself in the name of the thread. It was really quite useful. So, some of you might want to do a search for them or simply start another one for a different city. susana.