Mediterranean Excursions Help

[mais318]

I just booked a cruise on Liberty of the Seas for late June out of Barcelona. I was wondering if a tour was the best way to see the ports of call in Italy and France, or if it was best to just see the city on our own. If any one has any tips or experiences to share all would be appreciated :)

[Host Kewlguy]

I just booked a cruise on Liberty of the Seas for late June out of Barcelona. I was wondering if a tour was the best way to see the ports of call in Italy and France, or if it was best to just see the city on our own. If any one has any tips or experiences to share all would be appreciated :)

 

If you don't receive many replies here you'll find lots of helpful information in the Ports of Call section of this website under Europe. There are specific boards for Italy and France among others.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

[Scottifer]

I was on the brilliance back in November, in France we were in Toulon and my wife and I just walked off the ship and enjoyed the market there.

 

In Italy we made a few stops, in Florence we took a tour, but after the tour we decided that we would of rather just explored on our own (by explored i mean eaten our way through the city), so in Florence I would recommend going at it yourself if you are brave or doing a short tour with a lot of free time, there is a fantastic street market there where you can sample all this wine and olive oil and meats and its amazing, we are still enjoying the wine we bought there.

 

In Rome we did the imperial Rome tour and I would highly recommend it, there is SO much to see there even a 8 hour tour is not enough, It is their most pricey tour but it was worth the money to us.

 

Our other stop in Italy was Naples and we took a half day tour to Pompeii then the other half we walked to the best pizza in Naples (L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele) which not knowing much Italian it was a fun adventure we were standing in a big group none of whom spoke English with a number 20, but we didn't know what 20 was in Italian so we just held up our number until someone pointed at us.

 

I'm not sure where you are stopping but I hope this helps!

[newlifeca]

If you uncomfortable finding your way around in a foreign place, a tour might be the way to go. There is a also an element of how much planning you want to do. The good thing with the excursions is they do all the logistics.

 

On the other hand, we did the same cruise as you're going to take, and we decided to do everything on our own. We used public transportation in each port and found our way around. In many cases we intersected with Royal Caribbean tours. For example we went to the Island on Capri on our own, about an hour later, three tours from Royal Carribean landed and they pretty much walked where we walked. I think the decision regarding excursion versus on your own boils down to personal preference.

 

Check out the ports of call discussion boards and you will find a lot of information on each port.

[momto3sons]

Check with the roll call for your sailing. Our favorite excursion was a private tour with people we met on our roll call. We did a tour with Rome in Limo from Naples. We went to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Positano.

[BendORcruiser]

I agree with newlifeca, it depends a lot on how much research and planning you want to do and how mobile you are. We took the trains to Rome an Florence and had a great time spending the day in the cities on our own schedule. IMO, we saw WAY more than the tours because we didn't have to wait for a whole group to make it through sites like the Vatican or Coliseum. we spent as much or as little time as we wanted. BUT it is a LOT of walking, so if you have any issues you should stick to the tours. They'll make sure you get a nice sampling, worry free.

[mais318]

Thanks for all the advice! Were stopping at Toulon, Nice, Pisa, Naples, and Rome.

 

My Family and I are pretty comfortable with finding our way around and a little planning never hurt anyone ;) so I guess we will forgo the tours.

 

My other question was about Rome, because it seems like its not that close to the port so maybe the Imperial Rome tour would be a good idea??

[Langley Cruisers]

We are going with ship's tours. We know this will cost much more, but for our peace of mind it is worth it to us. We have never been to anywhere in Europe and of course, are a little nervous. We studied all the RCI excursions, made our choices, and have bought them already. We budgeted for the higher cost; it's well-known that private tours are less expensive but you never know about their reliability (no offense to anyone). A broken-down train here, a traffic jam there, could mean a delay in getting back. Plus, quite honestly, we feel more comfortable taking ship's tours.

 

Perhaps one day we'll go back and do it on our own, but for now, we are going with ship excursions this summer.

[jandsmom]

We're going to be on the sailing right before you! We decided that we wanted to tailor our tours to what we really want to see so we are doing private tours for every port but Toulon. We just decided that since there was so much to see and very long tour days for the other ports that we'd just go into town and explore on our own. We booked RomeInLimo for all of the Italy ports based on all of the glowing reviews from the CC members over on the Port board. They were really easy to deal with and we custom tailored all of the tours.

[stlcruise]

We sailed our 1st Med. crusie out of Barcelona in 2009. We booked both, 1 ship tour in Florence and independent tours in France and Rome. We had a much better experience on the independent tours. We rode in an air conditioned van with 4-6 other couples (from our roll call), parking was much easier, less walking, ate at excellent restaurants and less expensive. The ship tour was on a bus, long walks due to parking to accomodate the bus and long waits for other passengers who decided they didn't have to be back on the bus on time at every stop :eek:, and more expensive. I understand where people get concerned about booking non ship excursions, but after my experience, independent is the way to go. Our group used romeinlimo.com for Florence, Pisa and Rome. We used Alain from Dream Tours in France. Both drivers were very informative, personable, reliable and on time :D. Check with the people from your Roll Call, I'm sure you'll find more info there too. Good luck.

[chipmaster]

Welcome to CC.

 

As another said check the ports of call threads.

 

For some ports DIY ( Do It Yourself ), for others where the attractions are far from dock scream of private if you want to get the most. Private tours offer the most efficient way to go. They may appear more pricey but compared to the big bus experience offered by the tour you get much more. We did DIY and private in Europe and if we went again wouldn't change a thing. The bus tours with 40-60 cheep following a guide with a little flag pole isn't the way you want to see port.

 

People and the cruiseline like to promise and create fear about missing the boat. The thing they don't tell you is the private cars and the drives reputation and livelyhood depend on getting you back. One missed tour and they can kiss their business goodbye. Also think a car with 4-8 people that can drop you off curbside gets to see more places than a bus that needs to park 50-500 yards from an attraction and where you are limited by the slowest walker and shopper. Private is faster, sees more, and will be back at the ship before many bus, that was what we experienced. We were often back, showered and up on top deck taking in a drink watching the bus come back.

 

Good luck planning

 

I just booked a cruise on Liberty of the Seas for late June out of Barcelona. I was wondering if a tour was the best way to see the ports of call in Italy and France, or if it was best to just see the city on our own. If any one has any tips or experiences to share all would be appreciated :)

[anniversay/grad trip]

We have been to Europe the past two years (both on Celebrity - Summit and Century) and booked private tours in all the main ports. (Rome, Naples, France, Turkey)....it is cheaper to book on your own and the experience is fantastic...we are not much for ships tours and cattle call bus rides. The experiences we had were something we will not soon forget. ROMEINLIMO in Rome was one of the best (also the priciest of all the tours we booked) tours in all the ports we visited. Catherine from PRESTIGETOURS in France is phenominal and Giancarlo from TOUROFITALY in Naples made our trip (have the lunch it is worth every penny) If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. Planning is key on a Med cruise...but then that was half the fun. I actually had a binder put together sectioned off for each port...some of the people we met on board, actually said they envied the things we did when we discussed our day at dinner....by the time we were in Athens (a very easy DIY port IMHO) they asked if they could tag along with us. They did, and said it was the best day they had on the cruise, becasue we researched it so much, and knew exactly where to have lunch, shop, get the train, etc....Good luck!

[cj'smom]

Seconding the great recommendations for RomeinLimo. Used them last Spring in Naples and in Rome and the tour guides both times were fantastic. In Rome we did the Colisseum in the morning and the Vatican in the afternoon with Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps, etc. in between. Didn't have to wait in a single line - they took care of everything. We saw much more during our day in Rome than any of the ships tours and the price was better.

In Naples, we opted to hike Mount Vesuvius in the morning, did lunch in Sorrento and then toured Pompei in the afternoon. Hiking up Mt. Vesuvious was one of the highlights of the cruise for our kids. They still talk about it.

Nice thing about a private driver is they will tailor the time and sites to what you want to see and how long you want to spend at each place. They also give you tons of information as you are driving. And, our drivers were very strict about making sure we got back to the ship in plenty of time. Lol, one even gave us a bottle of homemade Limoncello to take on the ship!

[SHAIKE]

Hi

Is there a place where I can foun your material about Villafranche (whe want to reserve a private tour) and Cagliari ?

Thanks and regards,

Shaike

[softail]

Check with the roll call for your sailing. Our favorite excursion was a private tour with people we met on our roll call. We did a tour with Rome in Limo from Naples. We went to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Positano.

 

We have the same tour booked in May. Did you enjoy it? We have 8 total so that seems like a nice small group.

[diva girl]

Did the Med cruise over 3 years ago. Did the ship excursions. The traffic from the port to Rome is a nightmare its a major highway (backups, accidents) and those taking the train that day also had delays either accident or strike can't remember. Hint: if you stop at the rest area going into Rome go the the bathroom first instead of going inside the store to brows around. The line for the women's RR was unbelieveable. The ship only waits for their excursions and there were a few that day coming back late from Rome due a major accident on the highway.:)

[basebare]

Hi

Is there a place where I can foun your material about Villafranche (whe want to reserve a private tour) and Cagliari ?

Thanks and regards,

Shaike

 

We are on the LOS July 9, 2011. We booked with Sylvie Di Cristo. here is her website. she has been very receptive and flexible with our ideas and tours.

www.FrenchRivieraGuides.net

hope that helps

patti

[unberwoob]

We just did the Brilliance in November. Toulon is walkable. For Pisa/Florence, Rome and Naples we used Romeinlimo and could not have been happier. We saw so much more than the ship's tours (the ships tour ran out of time and did not stop at the Vatican), drove right up to the sights, drove through the back streets, and it was cheaper using an 8 person van arranged on our roll call.

[anniversay/grad trip]

Hi

Is there a place where I can foun your material about Villafranche (whe want to reserve a private tour) and Cagliari ?

Thanks and regards,

Shaike

 

I cannot say enough good things about Catherine (owner/operator of Prestige tours in Villefranche) she has a voice that I could listen to all day. On our first trip she took us to Monte Carlo, Monaco and the village of Eze...2nd time around we went to St Paul....If you do anything in France...take a half an hour and sit in the Cafe d'Paris....have a coke or ice cream (It is 6 euros for a coke..lol) but the atmosphere is beyond words...it is right beside the Casino and the cars that pull up are nothing short of awesome....seeing a BUGATI (sp?) was a highlight for my husband (It apparently belonged to Kid Rock) and my DH says the car is around a million dollars...no biggie....anyway...I could go on and on (which I tend to do) but her email address is below and she will give you a 5-6 hour tour for around 300 euro for up to 6pp....not a bad deal...and she pays for all the parking and tolls. If you email her with your dates she will accomodate I'm sure.....

 

contact@traveltourprestige.com