Why Oceania??

[skym1000]

Thanks SOO much for the info. Made deciding on the excursions a lot easier!!!

My quick primer on the subject:

There are three basic ways to handle any port:

1) Ship's excursion

2) Private tour

3) "On your own"

First let's talk about "On your own". This is where you just get off the ship with nothing arranged, likely either just walk around...or grab a taxi or public transportation. There are a lot of "On your own" advocates on this board. But I really do not recommend this unless you really know the port well and have thoroughly researched the logistics. In Europe, many of the "sights" are far from the docks and require some form of transportation. And this may be difficult, especially if one does not speak the local language or know the quirks of the local bus and train systems. OTOH, it does work for a limited number of ports--mostly smaller, walkable ones...But, before you rely on this as a method, research the port well and know what you want to see and how you will get there.

Private tours are a great way to see many ports. The advantage is not necessarily price. In some ports, private guides are quite reasonable, in others not. Usually, they are not cost effective if you have a party of only 2 or 4...You usually need at least 6 if not 8 in your party just to bring the cost to comparable with the shore excursion prices...And realize that you are usually talking a little "apples and oranges". the shore excursions typically include all admissions charges and often lunch whereas, on most private tours, those are extra...So make sure to consider all of your costs. The real advantages to a private tour are 1) You move around in a group of 6 or 8 or 10 so you can move faster and see more than if in a large bus with 30+ people loading and unloading...and you can actually stay close to and hear your guide. Also, you can customize your tour--adding sights you want to see, cutting time in those you (or your group) find uninteresting. There are some minuses that few really understand here as well. In some European countries (Italy most notably) most of the recommended "guides" are not properly licensed as guides. This requires a special license...So, the guides one usually sees on here are really "drivers". By law in Italy, they cannot enter any of the tourist sites (Churches, museums, archaeological sites, etc such as the Vatican or Pompeii) with you. They can merely provide commentary while driving, then must drop you off at the sites to visit on your own. It works okay on some trips, not on others. If you take one of these drivers to Pompeii, for example, you must arrange for an additional paid licensed guide at Pompeii if you want commentary on the grounds.

Since most of us don't usually travel in groups of 6 or 8 or more, best way to put together or to join a group is to visit the Roll Call boards here and find people with whom you share common interests and capabilities.

The Ship's shore excursions (or "Shorexes") are often given a bad rap on these boards. There are actually many good features. First, they will pick you up right from the ship and make sure you get back to the ship on time. They are often very all-inclusive--Guides, admission fees, lunches. You don't have any of the logistical issues you do with a private tour--no worry as to where to meet your guide or how dependable they may be. No worry about your tour mates flaking out on you. No concern about pre-payment (though you do prepay, the payment is completely refundable if for some reason the ship skips the port or if you cancel 24 hours ahead). The major drawback, as far as I am concerned, is that often you are just in too big a group--30-40 people on a big bus...You deal with a lot of waiting for everyone to get on and get off. You tend to see a little less because of the sluggishness of moving the big group. Some of the shorexes are a bit costly for what you get...but, realize that the cruise line has some administrative costs as well...and they contract these out to local providers. Of course, often we've gotten lucky...We had a shorex with only 11 passengers (and two guides) in Rome a few years back...and one with only 19 in Livorno that same cruise...and we had one in Livorno this past summer with only 16...Of course, those are more the exception than the rule--usually because we've done some "Not the usual" shorexes--going, say, to San Gimignano and Volterra rather than to Florence...

Different methods of touring work well for different people. Some people just don't deal well with structure, crave adventure and find the local culture a challenge...and they like challenges...and they like to hold to a tight budget. "On your own" works well for them. Others are perfectionists and planners who like to plan every detail and like to fit as much into their touring day as they can. Private tours are the way to go for these people. Still others just want things to be easy and uncomplicated...Whatever they can see on a shorex is still a full day and gives them enough to feel they've seen the port. Shorexes work well for them.

For us, we do a combination. I check the availability of recommended local guides and the relative cost and if I can put together a good private tour, I'll go with that. In ports where private guides are difficult to find or expensive in price, I will check the offered shorexes and book one. In ports I have visited many times and know very well or in smaller, walkable ports where none of the shorexes thrill me, I will just plan on visiting on my own.

Do your research and consider what works well for YOU. But don't let anyone tell you that any method you choose is "wrong".

By the way, a few notes on your ports:

Venice: I see you start here. I hope you chose to fly in early and spend a couple of extra days here. Buy a Vaporetti pass for public transportation by bus/boat all over the city and to Murano, Burano, Lido et al. This is a wonderful city just to wander around and soak it all in. Buy the AAA Spiral Guide- Venice for great maps and suggested walking tours.

Dubrovnik: This is a rather small, compact town and can easily be seen “on your own”. One favorite activity is to “Walk the walls”. For a small charge, you can climb on top of the medieval city walls and walk around, enjoying the views. That said, we’ve done a couple of Shorexes here. The one that went to Cavtat was regrettable, though we really enjoyed the one we did on our last visit—the shorex to the farm/winery.

Kotor: Another small medieval walled city, doable on your own. We did a shorex here that went also to Budva, another walled medieval city on the beach—and really enjoyed Budva as well.

Taormina: The ship docks in Naxos, so you’ll need a tour of some kind. When we went, we found local guides priced too high, so took a shorex.

Amalfi: The popular “private guide—really driver” trip here is a tour of the Amalfi Coast…nicely done with a driver BUT…the problem is in missing Pompeii…Pompeii is spectacular. The drivers don’t push it because they cannot go with you. Either take a shorex or arrange it with your driver to hire the extra licensed guide.

Florence: Ship docks in Livorno—pretty far from Florence…requires a tour of some sort…I would go with a shorex here.

Monte Carlo: You can do Monte Carlo on your own, but it is not as exciting as it sounds…A shorex or tour is in order here because you might really want to go visit some nearby towns. Eze is popular…We like St. Paul de Vence even better. This summer, we did a private tour to Grasse (perfume factory), Gourdon and St. Paul de Vence—very nice.

Rome: Do you end here? I hope you chose to spend at least a couple of days here. This last visit, even though I know the city well, we chose to have a guide pick us up from the ship and take us on a tour. On your overnight day from the ship, you may want to do a shorex. With the shorex, you’ll have a guide to the Vatican and bypass the lines. Lots to see here.

Good luck.

[jtamchay]

Skym, you shouldn't be too impressed by negative comments about ship's tours. Yes, most Cruise Critic posters seem to prefer to arrange their own tours just because there are smaller groups and very often it is more cost effective.

 

But not always, and as Eddmel said, they pretty much use ship's tours exclusively. Howard and I are somewhat in the middle -- we prefer independent touring but we have taken a number of ship's tours and by and large they were quite good. There have been one or two exceptions but we've had the same luck of the draw on private tours as well.

 

So if it's your first time and you are nervous about planning your own tours, stick with the ship's tours. Or do a combination as many of us do.

 

We board Marina in a little more than a week and we will be doing some independent tours and some ship's tours.

 

Mura

 

Have a wonderful cruise ,Mura and I look forward to a cruise report of any length...