Shore Excursions or explore on your own?

[Juliadlf]

We are taking our first cruise and will be going on the Carnival Liberty - Mediterranean in September.

Are shore excursions good or is it better to explore on your own? :confused:

[Nitemare]

Do you speak the languages? Are you comfortable renting a car in a foreign country? Are you good with maps???

 

If not, you might be better off with the ship's excursion, or another excursion you book locally. Check the Ports of Call boards here for advice and suggestions!

[MrsBoo]

I wouldn't want to risk missing the ship in a foreign country. If the ship's excursions are late, the ship will wait, and they will know where you are:)

[geoherb]

We haven't done a Mediterranean cruise. We generally do most of our excursions on our own. On our last four cruises (New England/Canada, Alaska, and two to the Caribbean), we did two excursions through the cruise lines and everything else on our own. It works out to be nine ports on our own and two with cruise line excursions.

 

I'd suggest finding out all you can about the ports you're going to. A lot depends on the ship's itinerary, especially how long you have in a port, and where the ship will be docking or tendering. If there are things you want to see that are close to the port, doing them on your own will save you money. I wouldn't risk going far from port on your own on your first cruise. So, if something is five miles away, do it on your own. If it's 45 miles away and you have to see it, go with the cruise line's excursion.

[Juliadlf]

Thanks for the information. :) I'll check the suggested board also.

[dfwguy62]

For my first cruise (also a Med. cruise), I did shore excursions entirely arranged thru the cruiseline (Royal Caribbean) since I wasn't familiar with the process and didn't want to miss the boat due to an independent excursion or my own travel stupidity.

 

But I mixed up the "type" of excursion some. I'm not sure if your cruise line has different types available, but I did a few where I was entirely controlled by a tour guide, ones where there was a mixture of guided tours and free time, and ones where the bus just dropped you off at a location (like the Vatican, in Rome) and then picked you up 6 hours later for the return trip to the ship.

 

In hind site, I enjoyed the latter the most and will probably do more of those next time. European locations are generally quite easy to figure out. I didn't really care for the fully guided tour where I had to walk at a speed that wasn't right for me and then sit with people for an hour and half lunch (lovely people though they may be) when I'd rather be out grabbing a quick lunch and spend the time sightseeing.

 

Just my preferences. But something to consider.

 

Have fun. Europe is great.

 

Rick.

[cjn]

It seems reasonable that a first time cruiser would prefer pre-arranged tours.

Yes, DO learn all you can about each place you will visit. My husband and I have done numerous Caribbean cruises and always do our own tours--hiring cab drivers at the pier. If the price is too high, we simply inquire of another.

We ususally go in a group and seek out a van. In Barbados we found a driver who would take time to show us hotel locations on the island. On Antigua, I rode in the front seat so as to hear better and read the map--just to be sure

we got a complete tour! By touring this way, you can instruct the driver to avoid anything you don't care to do and proceed to those you wish to see.

Your tour may go faster than those that are done on busses just because you do not have to wait for 40 or more other folks.

It does help if you speak the language. In Caracas, Venzuela, we were with

a fellow traveler who was originally from Cuba and could speak fluent Spanish.

She found a van and driver who gave an excellent tour AND protected us

from any harm.

[Juliadlf]

Thanks for the advice and all very good information for " the newbie". My husband and I are going on the Carnival Liberty. We've been to Europe several times - just love it - flew and then picked excursions through local tour companies that went outside the city limits. We thought this would be different seeing the countries from the sea and also getting to see some cities we haven't been to before.

I'll have to check with the cruise line about the different options for the excursions - good point! We too enjoy exploring on our own and trying those out of the way sidewalk cafes.

Any other helpful hints, please pass along.I've gone through so much reading on the website my eyes are giving out.

[mbtous]

We are taking our first cruise and will be going on the Carnival Liberty - Mediterranean in September.

Are shore excursions good or is it better to explore on your own? :confused:

 

Hi Juliadlf,

 

I have just returned from a Med. cruise. We (our group of 6) found that we really liked prearranged tours the best, but unless you have a group to do this with it is expensive. The ship's tours are expensive, but if you are new to an area - Florence, Rome - it may be the best way to get to your destination. Going on your own is fun, easiest in the smaller ports, but you don't get any information of where you are or it's historical significance.

You could maybe go to your ship's board and find out if there are others looking to share a private guide. That is the most fun.

 

Hope this helps.

[Juliadlf]

mbtous: I have just returned from a Med. cruise. We (our group of 6) found that we really liked prearranged tours the best, but unless you have a group to do this with it is expensive. The ship's tours are expensive, but if you are new to an area - Florence, Rome - it may be the best way to get to your destination. Going on your own is fun, easiest in the smaller ports, but you don't get any information of where you are or it's historical significance.

You could maybe go to your ship's board and find out if there are others looking to share a private guide. That is the most fun.

 

Hope this helps

.

 

Thanks mbtous.

I think we might book most of the excursions with the cruise line. I really haven't seen too much of a price difference between the private tours and the ships prices to make us rethink our choice. Best to be sure we hit the highlights...

Of all the ports you visited, which ones would you say you could have done on your own?

[cruisingbug]

We took our first cruise to the Mediterranean - two of the days we took ship excursions (Florence/Pisa and Naples/Pompeii) and the rest we explored on our own. We judged whether we felt comfortable arranging the day ourselves (Rome was a challenge), how close to town the ship docked, etc. when we decided.

 

We just came back from Alaska and didn't take any ship-sponsored excursions, which worked fine for 2 ports, but I wish now we'd booked something in Ketchikan. We were under the impression there would be taxis and tours available at the dock, but there wasn't much to choose from, and the ship's tours would have filled the day better. Also discovered most of the private Alaska tours cost about the same as the ship's, which is not usually the case.

[2Cruise4Ever]

I would suggest going through the cruise line if you've never been to the port before. Otherwise, take a chance, live an adventure and do it on your own. My DH and I usually sign up for excursions through the cruise lines if we've never been to the port before. But, then after that, we book them on our own.

[annod1023]

We are taking our first cruise and will be going on the Carnival Liberty - Mediterranean in September.

Are shore excursions good or is it better to explore on your own? :confused:

 

I'm also taking my first cruise in August on the Carnival Liberty with 4 of my girlfriends. We've done a lot of research and this website is an incredible wealth of info.

 

We booked several excursions with private companies. In Cannes, we booked with Michel Legrand from Revelation Tours. We're going to be able to see everything from Monte Carlo/Monoco, Nice, Ez and several other villages both at the shore and in the countryside.

 

We also booked private tours in Naples and Livorno with Giovanni of Benvenuto Limos - info@benvenutolimos.com. These individuals were highly recommended on these sites. Check out the posts on Europe boards for lots of info. Happy sailing!

[Juliadlf]

Thanks for passing along the info.

I've heard booking private tours is best when there is a group- like your traveling with-. But I'll check out the sites and see what they have.

 

Let me know how you like the cruise since your group will be going before us.