Excursion start times

[thesky13]

Hello all. I'm considering various Mediterranean itineraries on Regent or Seabourn - mostly interested in visiting Greece and Turkey. I am new to both cruise lines. My DH's idea of a vacation does not include having to get up early everyday to catch a tour Perhaps one or two 'highlight' ports of call we will devote a full day for sightseeing. But ideally we'd like to have a leisurely morning and visit the port of call late-morning (10-11am timeframe). Without specific excursions in mind, is this feasible?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I would look closely at the itineraries and pay attention to how close the ports are to areas of interest. The ports themselves might be lovely, or you might dock with easy access to cities. And look at the times you're actually in port. Think about whether you want to do any trips off to a ruin or distant down.

 

I think it were me, and I didn't want to do any excursions sponsored by the ship, I would choose Seabourn, since Regent rolls the price of most excursions into the fare.

[cwn]

That is also our idea of a vacation..

 

"ideally we'd like to have a leisurely morning and visit the port of call late-morning (10-11am timeframe).

 

Without specific excursions in mind, is this feasible?"

 

We did a recent Regent cruise and the free tours were a big reason for going with Regent over HAL for the same Itinerary. We were doing South America and were not terribly comfortable making our own arrangements for private tours in some countries. We almost always do private tours in Europe and other places, if we even do a tour.

 

We found Regent's tour schedules very hectic...they almost always started with in 30/60 minutes of the docking time. If we docked say between 7 and 8, the tours, especially the more general half day sightseeing ones, started at 8-8:30 AM. Sometimes (rarely) the tours were repeated in the PM, but usually, if possible, they just added more buses if they could. The departure times were close together so that all the tours were usually gone in the first 30-45 minutes.

 

The all day ones also usually started early and didn't get back until all aboard time...most of these were good, but still the big bus kind and were an extra charge.

 

So most port mornings we had to have room service breakfast by 7AM to make the tour.. Since we really like to eat breakfast in the MDR...not a fan of the crowded buffet, it was kind of a downer. Fortunately we had sea days mixed in so it wasn't to bad.

 

For us the included tours didn't turn out to be a plus...we know now, if we go with Regent again, we need to add in the cost of arranging our own tours to the cruise price...for a more relaxing time and to avoid the big, full, bus tour even though we are already paying an additional fee in the cruise fare for Regent's included tours. For some this double dipping is no problem and that is great if one doesn't mind the extra cost.

 

Look at the port arrivai times of the cruise you are interested in, add 30 minutes and that will give you an idea of when the tours will start. Most of the itineraries in the Med are a port a day with maybe one sea day...doing the included tours will be very hectic.IMO

 

Wendy has some good points....we have done Seabourn in the Med..it is very nice also and you are not paying extra in the fare for the included tours....many ports are great fun just to explore on foot or with a taxi from point to point.

[alexandra cruiser]

since most passengers want to get to see ALL of port ,,so early start somewhat essential..just like Regent,,,or many others...so you can just go on own to many ports,,then have late breakfast,,and take your time..that being said,,,having been on both lines,,SB rates higher for many reasons,,better food,great service,lovely ships,,was on larger 400 Sojurn..but we go by itinerary mostly,,so will be on Mariner in Dec..need to research a lot before...;)

[thesky13]

OK, thx. Seems the consensus is that excursions start early. Exactly the feedback I was looking for. I certainly don't mind going off on my own and wandering the town - sitting in a cafe and people-watching is one of my favorite pastimes. Thx guys!

[Arizonasunshine]

Another line to explore is Azamara. We were on them in January from Singapore to Hong Kong. They provide included wine with lunch and dinner and included (free) shuttles to town. If my memory serves me I think every port had shuttles available. They ran on 30 minute intervals and dropped you off in the center of town. You could have a leisurely breakfast and explore the towns on your own. I can't comment on Europe but I think they would have "free shuttles " there also.

[RachelG]

A lot of tours start in the mornings, but on our Iceland to Ireland trip last year, it was weird because all our tours were in the afternoon. So it is a mixed bag.

[Lobbylin]

It really all depends on the ports you choose, and whether you are happy to pay for private tours so you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn! But then as pointed out, you might feel "cheated" because you are "paying" Regent for those tours.

 

For example: (I am trying to use Greek and Turkish ports as examples)

 

Kusadasi - you really would want to visit Ephesus which is 30mins or so by tour bus, or you could walk around port on your own and check out the beach and bazaars, but that would be a shame if you missed Ephesus.

 

Katakolon - There is little in this small town that would keep you occupied for more than 30 mins! Most people do a tour to Olympia or just stay on the ship and use it as a sea day.

 

Istanbul - you could easily get a shuttle bus or taxi into the old town and do that on your own, the key sights are probably just a little to far to walk from where the ship docks. No need for tours here if you don't want to.

 

Mykonos - you can get the tender/shuttle bus into town and easily do that on your own - It's a pretty place with shops, cafes, restaurants.

 

Santorini - this is some way from where the ships tender to, so again you would need to go privately or get up and join a tour at 8.30am.

 

Athens - if you don't want to get up early for a tour than you would need to do a private tour as all the key sights are not within walking distance of each other, and the main tourist part of Athens is a good 20min ride from the port.

 

Corfu - a shuttle but/taxi into town is absolutely fine - you can stroll around easily for a few hours here, stop for drink etc.

 

Rhodes - a lovely walled town that you can easily walk to from where the ship docks - no tour needed. I loved this place! shops, cobbled streets, cafes, restaurants, some lovely museums.

 

 

Shout if I have missed anywhere on your chosen itineraries!

 

All the tours on my recent cruise were 8am to 8.45am departures. There were some afternoon tours, but not many. There was a long one that left at 7am and got back at 5.30pm because it was so far from the port.

 

Linda