Excursions - Can I find them on my own?

[readsmaps]

:confused: I'm in the process of planning a Western Mediterranean Cruise for 4-6 couples. Is it in our best interest to book the ship's excursions or can we find some on our own? If we can book on our own, where do I begin to look for excursions?

[iamaqt2]

You can definitely save money by booking your own excursions. A great place to get lots of advice would be in the Ports of Call boards. Here is the link to the boards you want:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=603

 

Have fun planning your trip!

[readsmaps]

Thanks

[Colorado Kat]

There really is a ton of info on this board. We've never taken a ship's excursion. Just research carefully, and allow a cushion of time to get back. Have fun! Kathy

[cb at sea]

Get a guidebook on your ports. Read it. Then, go to the port of call boards and compare to what you've learned....

[MrsPete]

There really is a ton of info on this board. We've never taken a ship's excursion. Just research carefully, and allow a cushion of time to get back. Have fun! Kathy

I have taken a ship's excursion, and I won't do it again. They're like cattle calls. Excessively large crowds led by lackluster tour guides who don't expect they'll get tips. You're stuck to the group's agenda, and you get to pay-pay-pay for the experience.

 

Private vendors abound, and the western Caribbean has -- in my opinion -- the best excursions.

 

What islands are you visiting?

 

You might do better on the Ports of Call portion of this site. You can also google "Shore excursions Cozumel" or "Cruise ship excursions Cozumel". Once you've found something interesting, post it here on this site. If multiple people tell you that they've had good experiences, you can trust that it's a good choice.

[readsmaps]

Thanks for your help!:)

And, I hope I'm doing this thread thing correctly - it's my first!

[sanssail]

If you are budget conscious both Barcelona and Rome offer a range of hop on hop off double decker open air tour busses. Although you cant see all in an 8-10 hour daily stop, these can give you an excellent overview in 5 or 6 different languages via headphones. A train from the Civattavechia Port to Rome central station is faster and cheaper than the tour busses (every 20 min in 2008). You can even purchase a tour in the Rome train station or walk a few blocks and find a number of competing tour busses on a number of routes.

 

In Barcelona a bus from the ship to the columbus monument at the base of La Rambles.. Spelling?? (The wide flower packed pedestrian friendly walkway) will lead you to a number of kiosks selling tour bus routes with maps in English that list all the sights you might want to see in a day.

 

Have fun

[Off2China]

:confused: I'm in the process of planning a Western Mediterranean Cruise for 4-6 couples. Is it in our best interest to book the ship's excursions or can we find some on our own? If we can book on our own, where do I begin to look for excursions?

 

Have you actually booked the cruise? If so, be sure to join the roll call for your sailing. There will probably be lots of information on independent excursions.