are there any Med ports just not worth taking an excursion on?

[garyb(uk)]

Hi,

 

We are cruising to the western Med in May. We haven't been to any of the cities before but was wandering if any of the cities you wouldn't bother taking an excursion. I have walking difficulties so taking buses and trains all over the place is out of the question. If we can just walk around some of the ports I can live with that. I have seen enough local industries etc over the years;)

 

Our itinerary is:

 

Gibraltar

Barcelona

Nice (Villefranche)

Florance/Pisa

Rome

Cagliari

Saville (Caditz)

Lisbon

 

Even though it will be the most tiring I really really want to go to Rome.

[NorbertsNiece]

Cagliari.

We were there on a Sunday.

It was closed.

I don't recall what ship excursions were offered.

The queues for the local tour buses were very long.

We caught a local bus to the beach..... and came straight back.

[garyb(uk)]

Cagliari.

We were there on a Sunday.

It was closed.

I don't recall what ship excursions were offered.

The queues for the local tour buses were very long.

We caught a local bus to the beach..... and came straight back.

we are there on a Saturday - sounds like a beach day to me. Is it far to the beach from the ship?

[sotong]

Hi Gary, we've done the Med twice now.

Gibraltar quite a long walk into the town , although there were buses at the port, we looked around the shops, only excursions are the caves or the apes, unless you go into Spain, we didn't bother with any of these.

Barcelona, shuttle out of the port drops you near the hop on hop off bus, which may suit you this is at the bottom of the Ramblas the main tourist shopping area.

Florence / Pisa, the port is Livorno, a half hour from Pisa and further from Florence, suggest a tour if have difficulties with public transport.

Rome is a couple of hours from port so again unless confident on train, an excursion is best.

Other people recommend Rome etc in a limo, for private tours, suggest you look on the Italy board for more ideas.

Haven't visited the others although are seeing Seville and Lisbon next year.

Hope this helps, Gillian

[garyb(uk)]

Hi Gary, we've done the Med twice now.

Gibraltar quite a long walk into the town , although there were buses at the port, we looked around the shops, only excursions are the caves or the apes, unless you go into Spain, we didn't bother with any of these.

Barcelona, shuttle out of the port drops you near the hop on hop off bus, which may suit you this is at the bottom of the Ramblas the main tourist shopping area.

Florence / Pisa, the port is Livorno, a half hour from Pisa and further from Florence, suggest a tour if have difficulties with public transport.

Rome is a couple of hours from port so again unless confident on train, an excursion is best.

Other people recommend Rome etc in a limo, for private tours, suggest you look on the Italy board for more ideas.

Haven't visited the others although are seeing Seville and Lisbon next year.

Hope this helps, Gillian

thanks Gillian. I see you are doing it again soon after us on the AoS.

 

my son lives in town next to you - Portsmouth (I know the rivalry). daughter is in Gosport.

[NorbertsNiece]

we are there on a Saturday - sounds like a beach day to me. Is it far to the beach from the ship?

 

As I recall a public bus ride away.... took advice from a crew member about where to go that was nearby.... but honestly I can't recommend a beach.... or any beach for that matter..... I avoid them like marmite......

[villauk]

Hi,

 

We are cruising to the western Med in May. We haven't been to any of the cities before but was wandering if any of the cities you wouldn't bother taking an excursion. I have walking difficulties so taking buses and trains all over the place is out of the question. If we can just walk around some of the ports I can live with that. I have seen enough local industries etc over the years;)

 

Our itinerary is:

 

Gibraltar

Barcelona

Nice (Villefranche)

Florance/Pisa

Rome

Cagliari

Saville (Caditz)

Lisbon

 

Even though it will be the most tiring I really really want to go to Rome.

 

Barcelona is right near Las Ramblas as someone has already explained about the bus.

 

Villefranche will be a tender. Quaint little town where you can get the train in either direction to Monaco or Nice, depending on your taste. You can also just stay around the town of Villefranche.

 

Florence and Pisa, you will need to take excursion if you want to see both without having any hassle of public transport.

 

Rome is 1.5hrs away from port. Again, you can either hire a private excursion or take the ship's offerings. RCI do have a few excursions to Rome, even some where you can stay on the coach and see the sights from the convenience of your seat.

 

Seville is a long way from Cadiz, however, Cadiz itself is very nice. We enjoyed walking around the town and we spent a few hours on the beach and in the park.

 

Cagliari, now I always get this mixed up with Palermo in Sicily. We walked straight from the ship into the town, very easy. As I recall, we wandered around the Botanical Gardens, but this may be difficult if walking is an issue. There were several places to have a coffee and a place to sit and rest.

 

I think you need to look at the ports and decide if you want to do anything in particular before confirming if you want to take a ship's tour. Check out what Royal are offering on the excursions and decide if there's something you wouldn't want to miss. That way, you can check out private guides, ship excursion etc. and see which is more cost effective.

[Iceman's Mum]

We've never bothered going into Lisbon - we went once, huge queues for the tour buses and shuttle bus takes ages. We just spend a relaxing day on board. Are you going to Vigo after Lisbon? that's the usual port of call - the ship docks right in the town and you can walk easily to a shopping mall there. There are other shops further on but the town is very steep so if you have difficulty, stick to the mall. look out for the violinist outside - Joff Eaton wants to make him famous - you'll realise why :eek:

 

They do a tour to Rome suitable for those with walking difficulties but, be warned, there is not enough time to go inside St Peters which is a real shame. However you do get a good tour of the famous sights.

 

At Cagliari it's a fairly easy walk into the town but just cross the main road, turn right under the covered walkway and find a nice cafe to sit outside and people watch.

 

villefranche is very pretty and was the setting for the film "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with Michael Caine and Steve Martin. don't take the excursion to Monaco unless you really really want to as there is a lot of walking, steep steps and hills.

 

have a great cruise

Alison

[rjrpar]

Our Med cruise was quite different re. ports. I would definitely recommend a tour(preferrably a private one-RomeinLimo was very good) in Rome. Almost 2hrs from port and so much to see - a private tour is more flexible with the smaller vans. We spent 3 nites in Barcelona. One option would be to take a taxi to Las Ramblas and browse(taxi ride is inexpensive).

[north29]

Do not like historical, culture, or geography or what ever, or on a cruise, like many cruisers, just to get away, do not take tours.

Could I recommend any city in the Med. not to take a tour in, NO, they all offer me something new and interesting.

 

Having said that, the tour guides make a tour truly a worth while expenditure, we have had Great and some not so great(well bad) but still enjoyed our tours.

[wantocruisemore]

Since Rome is an hour and a half from the port and you have some mobility problems, highly recommend you set up a private excursion with a reputable company like Rome in Limo. We used them last year, loved them, and you should consult the Italy section of the Port of Call section of this board. You will see more, come out cheaper and also get closer to the sites than you would if on a "cattle call" ship' tour. You also would control where and how long you spend at each site.

 

I have the same recommendation for Florence since it and Pisa are a distance away from the port.

 

I have never been to the others (except Gibraltar over 30 yrs. ago & don't remember specifics of transportation) so can't help there.

 

But the Port of Call section is invaluable. I planned our entire trip last summer with private excursions for our family of 9, including the 78 yoa grandmother who we were trying not to wear out. It could not have gone smoother.

[Gilpet]

Hi,

 

We are cruising to the western Med in May. We haven't been to any of the cities before but was wandering if any of the cities you wouldn't bother taking an excursion. I have walking difficulties so taking buses and trains all over the place is out of the question. If we can just walk around some of the ports I can live with that. I have seen enough local industries etc over the years;)

 

Our itinerary is:

 

Gibraltar

Barcelona

Nice (Villefranche)

Florance/Pisa

Rome

Cagliari

Saville (Caditz)

Lisbon

 

Even though it will be the most tiring I really really want to go to Rome.

 

Cagliari.......the ship docks in town, if you want the beach just turn left and it's about 10 minutes (slow) walk. I'm not a beach person so I just looked then went shopping but the rest of our party loved it.

 

Lisbon ...... we've never had big queues for the Hop On Hop Off buses and they go from just outside the terminal so very handy. As it's a circular route you can just stay on until you get back to the ship and still see all the main sights from the bus. There's a marina with lots of cafe's just to the left when you come out of the terminal building, a lovely place to sit and have a drink or a meal - but avoid the Irish Bar, very bad service and even worse food (club sandwich complete with mud covered lettuce - yuk).

 

As you have trouble walking I wouldn't advise anything other than an excursion, whether it's RCI or private. Getting the train into Rome is very easy but just the walk from the platform to get out of Termini station in Rome is very long so not the best option for you.

 

Livorno ...... we've only been to Pisa from here so I don't know about Florence. If you go to Pisa it's easy to do on your own but be sure to check out where the coach will drop you off and pick you up because the actual coach/car park is a long walk from the leaning tower etc. However, some of the excursions drop you off much closer.

 

Cadiz......easy if you just want to wander around.

 

I think everywhere else has been covered.

 

Gill

[Clio1610]

Info on all your Ports has been really well covered by everyone on here - but can I just ask....

 

Have you registered for your sailing Meet & Mingle yet ? As these will be other people on your cruise and its a good way to meet and 'chat' pre-cruise - and possibly arrange excursions with !

[garyb(uk)]

Info on all your Ports has been really well covered by everyone on here - but can I just ask....

 

Have you registered for your sailing Meet & Mingle yet ? As these will be other people on your cruise and its a good way to meet and 'chat' pre-cruise - and possibly arrange excursions with !

Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

I haven't yet registered for Meet & Mingle but am in the 'Roll Call' for my cruise if that is what you meant. Sadly there aren't too many in there yet but have been discussing the possibility of a Limo in Rome and maybe Florence.

[leeselee]

Hi,

 

We are cruising to the western Med in May. We haven't been to any of the cities before but was wandering if any of the cities you wouldn't bother taking an excursion. I have walking difficulties so taking buses and trains all over the place is out of the question. If we can just walk around some of the ports I can live with that. I have seen enough local industries etc over the years;)

 

Our itinerary is:

 

Gibraltar

Barcelona

Nice (Villefranche)

Florance/Pisa

Rome

Cagliari

Saville (Caditz)

Lisbon

 

Even though it will be the most tiring I really really want to go to Rome.

 

From your list I have been to:

 

Barcelona - we hopped on a bus tour by ourselves and thoroughly enjoyed it and then walked up and down Las Ramblas. They have an indoor food market that is a must see. - This can all be done with relative ease and low cost.

 

Nice - we took a ship excursion as it took us to Nice and Cannes. There is a lovely food/flower market in Nice which is delightful and we spent time on the cobbled beach. The off to Cannes to walk around there. I do not remember the price, but it was good value, I felt.

 

Pisa - been there twice now. This year we did a ship excursion to Pisa and the beach. We really did have the best of days - Pisa is very crowded but a must see. The beach for us was just perfect. really gorgeous beach.

 

We have also been to Livorno - if not for the fact that my family originally came from there, I would not have found the need to visit.

 

Next time we will go to Florence. This year all those who went, even though they said it was very tiring and a long day, loved it.

 

Rome - it is a must. Having been there 3 times, I have just about seen every part of it. We took ships excursions each time. Twice by private train and once, this year by coach. I prefer the coach (same amount of time by each method). We went on a Sunday and people who made their own way had a panic as trains are not on the same frequent time table.

 

going to Rome independently is far cheaper, but I would not risk it. Rome is very crowded and one can get lost.

 

Looks like a lovely cruise - Enjoy!:)

[Keith1010]

Gibraltar is easily seen on your own. There are also lots of tourist vans right by the pier if you would like to be taken up to see the Monkeys.

 

If you enjoy walking, Lisbon is a wonderful city to stroll and do on your own. You can walk the main area and then up various side streets that go up inclines and over to small pockets of residential areas and you can get some beautiful views as well.

 

Keith

[drarill]

You can do Cagliari on your own. Some of our friends toured the city on their own, I went shopping with my girlfriends and our husbands took a Segway tour that was offered to us on the port. They loved it!!! although the tour was offered by two skinny model type italian young girls but their tour guides were a guy and a not so skinny lady!!! :D:D

[lacey jane]

Hi Gary, we've done the Med twice now.

Gibraltar quite a long walk into the town , although there were buses at the port, we looked around the shops, only excursions are the caves or the apes, unless you go into Spain, we didn't bother with any of these.

Barcelona, shuttle out of the port drops you near the hop on hop off bus, which may suit you this is at the bottom of the Ramblas the main tourist shopping area.

Florence / Pisa, the port is Livorno, a half hour from Pisa and further from Florence, suggest a tour if have difficulties with public transport.

Rome is a couple of hours from port so again unless confident on train, an excursion is best.

Other people recommend Rome etc in a limo, for private tours, suggest you look on the Italy board for more ideas.

Haven't visited the others although are seeing Seville and Lisbon next year.

Hope this helps, Gillian

 

we went on the leaning tower of pisa excursion last month whilst on Adventure, the excursion was good but you had to walk for about 15 minutes from bus to tower x

[osanna]

thanks Gillian. I see you are doing it again soon after us on the AoS.

 

my son lives in town next to you - Portsmouth (I know the rivalry). daughter is in Gosport.

Hi Gary, it was interesting to see you have a son in Pompey and daughter in Gosport. I also have a son in Pompey and daughter in Gosport plus another daughter in Fareham.

[osanna]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

I haven't yet registered for Meet & Mingle but am in the 'Roll Call' for my cruise if that is what you meant. Sadly there aren't too many in there yet but have been discussing the possibility of a Limo in Rome and maybe Florence.

The limo to Florence and Rome sound interesting. I'm enjoying reading all the threads as they are so informative.

 

Anna

[dsrdsrdsr]

The short answer is no. There are no ports on your list that aren't worth an excursion. There are ports there that when you revisit, you might decide you've seen it all (eg. Gibraltar, we go up to the top of the rock and watch the apes every time we visit, but some might think that's a bit repetitive) but none that aren't worth a trip at all.

[garyb(uk)]

The short answer is no. There are no ports on your list that aren't worth an excursion. There are ports there that when you revisit, you might decide you've seen it all (eg. Gibraltar, we go up to the top of the rock and watch the apes every time we visit, but some might think that's a bit repetitive) but none that aren't worth a trip at all.

someone said on here that just outside the ship there are buses that take you up to see the Apes so you don't need to book an expensive excursion.

[Azulann]

You will tender in Villa France,Nice is a short train or bus ride away(about 10 miles.)

The port town is lovely. Just walk to the beach area which you can see from the ship.Sit at an outdoor cafe and watch the fishing boats, saling boats, and the daily activity in this little piece of paradise.

[zephyrgirl]

Florence is one I'd definitely recommend a tour for, it's a lot of walking even after you get there. Barcelona is a fabulous city with a lot to see, I'd definitely recommend a tour where you'd be able to see more than just the touristy Las Ramblas area. Maybe a Gaudi tour? We stayed there pre-cruise so had more time to explore on our own, but as I recall there were bus tours that drove you to the different Gaudi sites.

[jocap]

Yes, at Gibraltar there's mini buses which you can share, to give tours, near the harbour.

There's a Hop on/off bus right next to the port gates at Cadiz....it's easy enough to walk round the little old city, but if you have walking difficulties, you might prefer this. There's also one in Barcelona, and I believe in Lisbon.