wripro Posted July 15, 2011 #26 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Most private tour companies will include a provision that if the ship does not dock on the specified day you will receive a refund. That should be part of your negotiation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chai Cruise Enthusiast#18 Posted July 23, 2011 Author #27 Share Posted July 23, 2011 My daughter and I are sailing on the Insignia from Istanbul to Barcelona and we'll be docking in Amalfi on October 23. What ship are you sailing on? We are both interested in taking a private tour of the Amalfi Drive stopping off to leisurely see the incredible sights. Bonnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtragitt Posted July 25, 2011 #28 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I have taken trains form ports to Rome and to Florence. Trains in Italy are generally fast, but be aware they are also prone to strikes, which may cause you to be stranded. Steve always provides very balanced and informative posts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docnhyg Posted July 29, 2011 #29 Share Posted July 29, 2011 My husband and I will be taking the 10/15 cruise, after spending 3 days in Barcelona. Is there anyone out there who would like to join us when we dock on 10/23 for a private tour of the Amalfi Coast? I have recommendations of a wonderful guide from a friend who too the tour in May, but it is way too expensive for just the 2 of us. We are adventurous and youthful 70 yr. olds. We will be in Amalfi the same day on Insignia coming from Istanbul on the 15th. We have a wonderful day reserved with DriveAmalfi and are looking for more people to join us. We are doing Pompeii, Positano and Amalfi. Is this your cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docnhyg Posted July 29, 2011 #30 Share Posted July 29, 2011 My daughter and I are sailing on the Insignia from Istanbul to Barcelona and we'll be docking in Amalfi on October 23. What ship are you sailing on? We are both interested in taking a private tour of the Amalfi Drive stopping off to leisurely see the incredible sights. Bonnie I have just responded to CapeMaggie as well. We have a beautiful tour set for a full day at Amalfi,Positano and Pompeii. Are you interested? We need a total of 8 people to be cost effective Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FISHFAN Posted August 8, 2011 #31 Share Posted August 8, 2011 You definitely want to get your tickets online for Accademia, otherwise you may end up spending precious time waiting in long lines. For our April visit, we purchased our tickets online weeks before our cruise and walked right in with no wait at all. We also stopped in Monte Carlo and used Dream Tours to see Eze, Nice, St. Paul de Vence. It was a wonderful tour and very reasonably priced per person when you have a group. (I noticed you have tried to garner interest in tours via your Roll Call; perhaps you could get a group together in your Roll Call to make the costs of private tours practical.) We never did take any of Oceania's excursions since our Roll Call was very active and we met wonderful folks to share private tours with. I hope you have a great cruise. My wife and I plan to travel to Florence on Aug 30th (Marina cruise) and are trying to decide how best to do it. Leaning towards the ship excursions, we are newbies and both work full time so it is just easier for us. Our primary desire is to see the museums. The Florence's Finest: Accademia and Uffizi sounds good, but we dont need the fancy lunch or shopping time, and would rather spend our time in the museums. The Florence on Your Own may be better for us. Question: Do we lose anything by doing the Florence on Your Own and pre-buying tix to Accademia and Uffizi, vs. taking the Florence's Finest tour? Is it easier to get into the museums with the Oceania tour (i.e. prioirty) or do pre-reserved tickets allow you to get in just as fast? Any informations / opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted August 8, 2011 #32 Share Posted August 8, 2011 My wife and I plan to travel to Florence on Aug 30th (Marina cruise) and are trying to decide how best to do it. Leaning towards the ship excursions, we are newbies and both work full time so it is just easier for us. Our primary desire is to see the museums. The Florence's Finest: Accademia and Uffizi sounds good, but we dont need the fancy lunch or shopping time, and would rather spend our time in the museums. The Florence on Your Own may be better for us. Question: Do we lose anything by doing the Florence on Your Own and pre-buying tix to Accademia and Uffizi, vs. taking the Florence's Finest tour? Is it easier to get into the museums with the Oceania tour (i.e. prioirty) or do pre-reserved tickets allow you to get in just as fast? Any informations / opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks When we were there we booked a tour with Romeinlimo, our driver went right to the front of the line, took us in around the long, long line. They had prearranged tickets for us. I would highly recommend checking them out or getting in a tour that someone on your Roll Call is organizing with them. We had the same thing when we went to the Vatican, right to the front of the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted August 8, 2011 #33 Share Posted August 8, 2011 You can easily do Florence without a guide and get into any of the galleries without waiting on line by buying your tickets ahead of time on line. An Oceania tour gives you no advantage. We chose Florence on Your Own for the transportation (that's all it is) because we were concerned about getting back to ship using private transportation -- traffic, accident -- Livorno is a long way from Florence. We bought our own tickets to the Accademia on line and went right in. You have an assigned time. I have been to FLorence may times, but my husband had never been there. If you only have 1 short day in Florence (as most cruise ships do), I do not recommend the Uffizzi. That wonderful museum requires hours -- save it for a longer stay. Instead, I would recommend going to see the David at the Accademia and having time to walk the streets of Florence for the rest of the day. It is just a joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motheroftwoboys Posted August 16, 2011 #34 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Just back from a med cruise on Nautica and we didn't choose to do any tours - either through the ship or any other. It just depends what you want to do. We just like to wander and get the feel of places and use public transport which is so cheap and easy. Also we would HATE to have to get up and get out early or stay out the amount of time that some of the tours last. A lot of people on our cruise were totally exhausted by them. Not a holiday in my eyes. Also the tour's really do cost a ludicrous amount of money for what you get but can understand people doing them if they are nervous of doing it alone but really there is no need to worry. if anyone wants any advice on the ports on the cruise we have just done (Venice to Barcelona) feel free to e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pier Posted August 16, 2011 #35 Share Posted August 16, 2011 [/i] Just to be fair here, all of the above is not necessarily entirely true... Oceania now has some tours that may carry as few as 10 persons. We've aactually been on shorexes with Celebrity with as few as 11 people...Though, of course, most are "big bus" tours... We have had some private guides (even ones recommended here on Cruise Critic) who were less than "articulate and interesting". We just had a private guide in Warnemunde/Berlin who definitely made our "Bottom two". Sometimes you never know exactly what you are getting with a private tour either. You can get an obnoxious tour mate on a private tour as well... We have also had private guides drag us to touristy shopping venues because they get a cut as well...Yes, you might be able to have a little more input in extricating yourself from such situations on a private tour...but it's not always as easy as you think... Look...I like private tours too...There are lots of advantages MOST OF THE TIME...But it is not an always thing or even necessarily a "far superior" thing...It depends on where, with who and a lot of other variables... Often there are some advantages to the shore excursions. In many ports, there just aren't a lot of good, recommended private guides. In some ports, private guides are prohibitively expensive. There is the situation regarding licensing in Italy I mentioned before. And there are some risks. You've got to handle finding and contracting with the guide. You have to hope your tour mates don't flake out on you. You also may be taking your chances with some issues that most people don't check out with their private guides: Insurance? Vehicle maintenance? Safety? With the shorexes, there are some trade-offs...Oceania (or the other lines) check out their tour providers. They have some influence with these providers. They make certain you get back to the ship on time--or they can hold the ship. No, you won't see as much as you wait for buses to load and unload...but, you may see enough to make you happy...depends on you. As to "on your own", there are so many variables here...Most of the people I've ever known to miss the ship were people doing a port on their own...getting lost...misreading the bus or train schedules...misjudging the time to get back to the ship. And most people doing a port on their own manage somehow to see less than those on a shorex--thanks to poor planning and getting lost. We do ports "on our own" where we really know the port well...I have traveled to Europe quite a bit...I will do Stockholm on my own...and Copenhagen...and Barcelona...Dubrovnik...Corfu...I know those towns well...and how to get around them...I also know Rome quite well--yet I WON'T do Rome on my own...not in a simple port day...with the port an hour from town and sites all over the city...There are towns I will do on my own--mostly where either I know the town or have done considerable research AND where the ship docks close to town... ...and, be aware, even though the ship may dock close to town, sometimes there are things worth seeing in other nearby towns...that may require transportation or a tour...So, plan carefully what it is you want to see...Like Monte Carlo...yes, you CAN see Monte Carlo easily on your own if your ship docks in Monte Carlo...BUT, if you want to visit Eze, St. Paul de Vence, Cannes, Nice or elsewhere, consider a tour...the more places you want to see and the farther afield, the tougher coordination will be... After numerous Europe trips and Europe cruises...and many private tours, shorexes and ports on my own, I repeat: THERE IS NO HARD AND FAST RULE... And also, remember, we are all different...Some people are comfortable touring one way, others a different way...Find what works best for YOU... You said it so well! All I can add is that for the adventurous, we've had some excellent experiences hiring cab drivers at ports--Gdansk (Poland), Corfu (Greece), etc. Usually you can negotiate price, but you have to be careful. The driver MUST speak English unless you can speak the language of the country you're in. Sometimes an English-speaking fellow will steer people into cabs in which the driver doesn't speak English. We always talk to the driver before we agree to go with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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