Shore Excursions or Independent

[Park Cruiser]

Taking 12 Day Mediterranean Tapestry on Sept. 12. Any advice whether I need shore excursions or do it on my own to the following ports:

 

Barcelona

Monte carlo

Livorno

Civitavecchia

Mesina

Nafplion, Greece

Katakolon, Greece

Kerkira (Corfu)

Dubrovnik

Venice

[LHT28]

You can probably do most on your own or book a private guide to make the most of some place EG: Rome, Florence

Join the Roll Call for your cruise you may find others to share tours with

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=34

Check the Med forum for tour guide recommondations

[djmutters]

Hi,

 

If you look under ports of call on the forums you can find information about each port :)

 

We normally do a mixture of both however do prefer to do days out on our own rather then be hearded along like cattle.

 

Nigel

 

 

Taking 12 Day Mediterranean Tapestry on Sept. 12. Any advice whether I need shore excursions or do it on my own to the following ports:

 

Barcelona

Monte carlo

Livorno

Civitavecchia

Mesina

Nafplion, Greece

Katakolon, Greece

Kerkira (Corfu)

Dubrovnik

Venice

[DiveCruiser]

We have used ShoreTrips thru out the caribbean with no problems

[Coneyo]

Taking private tours will save you a lot of money and it provides you with the flexibility to see exactly what you want. Most companies will customize the tour for you. And the group usually will be a lot smaller than the ship bought tours. I'm going to the Mediterranean and we're using RomeinLimo for private tours in Rome and Florence and in Lisbon we're using Spain Days. And if you get on the Roll Call for your sailing you'll find there are people looking for other people to share private tours with.

 

Good luck.

[simong]

the key is to use this site "roll call" to find fellow cruisers to share a cab or other arrainged tour (check arthur frommers book on websites to use that give reputable local tours that fit 6-8 people nt 45 in a bus going to the gift stores and double the price of other tours

[cb at sea]

A guidebook will be the best investment you can make...either go to a library and check one out, or buy one....it can enhance your trip immensely and save you BIG bucks!

[Grannycb]

Here are my recommendations (for what they are worth).

Barcelona - Barcelona Day Tours, or HOHO

Monte carlo - Haven't been there yet

Livorno - Tour to Florence and Pisa, or take the train for a DIY day

Civitavecchia - Some say you can do this on your own. My advice is get a tour.

Mesina - Haven't been there yet.

Nafplion, Greece - Haven't been there yet.

Katakolon, Greece - Ship tour with the folkloric show

Kerkira (Corfu) - Taxi or bus into Old Corfu Town to explore the town and fortress.

Dubrovnik - Walking tour of the walls, either self guided or with guide.

Venice - Water taxi to St. Mark's Square stop with a walking tour from there. See St. Marks, the after hours tour is very good. Gondola rides are a must do.

[sneffles]

We have visited these places at least two or more times, and would suggest:

--Barcelona: Take a taxi to the centre of the city, Pl. de Catalunya, to the south of which you can find the old town and most of the museums and other historical places of interest of the city. The famous Rambla meanders from the Plaça de Catalunya down to the Columbus statue, just before the port. Walk or take the metro from point to point.

--Monte Carlo: lots of choices. Walk around the town (some of it is hilly), visit the Casino, or hop a train to Cannes or Nice if you have time.

--Livorno: we found Pisa rather dull but we LOVE Florence. Lots to do there (see a guidebook). We have taken the train but if you worry about missing your ship, take the ship-sponsored bus or hire a car when you dock. Some ships will sponsor a bus which takes you to Florence and lets you wander around on your own for several hours; just be sure you get back to the return pickup point on time (we have seen them leave passengers who were late).

--Civitavecchia: kinda a fun place to just walk around. Vist the flea market which is about a 10 minute walk from the dock. If there is anything to really tour we have never found it.

--Mesina: walk around the town, which we found really not that interesting. Or take one of the tours to Taromina, great shopping and fun to walk around. We have always taken the ship-sponsored tours as we were worried about missing our train connection.

--Katakolon: honestly can't remember what we saw/did there; must not have made much of an impression. This may have been the island where we rented a car and enjoyed driving around the island.

--Dubrovnik: yes, if you are in good shape, do walk the wall, which gives you great views of the city; no guide needed. Just take a taxi to/from it.

--Venice: NO NO do not take a "water taxi," they are very expensive. Just take one of the water buses to St. Mark's and wander the area. No guide needed. I guess if you haven't taken a gondola ride and don't mind paying through the nose, do it. But the charm of Venice is to walk around the "streets" and over the bridges. Shops are over-priced.

General advice: avoid the expensive ship-sponsored tours if you can; wandering around on your own is more fun than being herded around by a tour guide.

[ActiveTraveler]

On my thread in the "Ask a Cruise Question" forum about making mistakes on cruises at least two people said it is possible to book too many shore excursions. That doesn't mean you should DIY everywhere; just make sure you are not scheduling them so they are too close together and the first forces you to miss the second. You also want to be sure no tour will cause you to miss your return to the ship. So what I would do is make arrangements with a highly-recommended private tour guide (you will find those on CC). That way you can be sure you do not miss the ship or cram too many tours in one call. Of course, since I have never been to Europe by any method, I can't say if it is better to do this all day or DIY in the morning at any port. That is something worth researching if you want to do both.