First Time Cruiser Who Needs Help Booking Excursions On Our Med. Cruise!!!!

[Dreamylight]

Hello all!

 

My fiance and I have booked the 7 day European cruise on the Norwegian Epic that starts and ends in Rome for our honeymoon. We aren't leaving till next year in the summer, but want to get things well prepared for our trip.

 

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy (EMBARK) --- 7:00 pm

Thu Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy 7:00 am 7:00 pm

Fri Cannes, France 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Sat Palma, Majorca, Spain 1:00 pm 8:00 pm

Sun Barcelona, Spain 5:00 am 6:00 pm

Mon At Sea --- ---

Tue Naples, Italy 7:00 am 7:00 pm

Wed Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy (DISEMBARK)

 

 

I have done research and still have had trouble determining what to do about excursions. My fiance and I love history and really want to see all of the "important" things each city offers. We won't mind walking and actually prefer it better then a point and talk kind of thing from a moving vehicle. Basically, we want to go in depth on our tours, but get to the necessary and famous places as much as possible. We decided to fly into Rome a couple days before so we have more time to view this city.

 

Can you give me advice on if I should do the other ports through NCL or private, and which city should I do it from??? We want to save money, but are still first time travelers in Europe.

 

Also, could you give me the specific private excursion or NCL excursion you used and a rough estimate of the cost?

 

This would really help me in my planning, as I am starting to feel "tired and warn out" with all the options and prices. :confused:

 

Thank you!

 

Bekah

[ColinIllinois]

Bekah, welcome to Cruise Critic. Lots of great info here. You'll want to check out the Ports of Call section. Here is the link to Europe:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

[Dreamylight]

Thank you Colin!

[Da-Painter]

A few ideas for you, get Rick Steves' Med Cruise Ports book, this covers from the cruise ship perspective. You come in only for a day, and all the places to see in each port, how to get there and back, etc. It helps you determine how much you can see in each port.

 

We did the 12 day Grand Med last year, and did the research many months ahead of the cruise, and booked the shore excursions through the ship. We knew we were going to see what we wanted, and didnt have to worry any more about the cruise.

 

Lots of folks can find excursions cheaper, sometimes lots cheaper, some a little. DW did not want to save a few dollars and worry about getting from the port to sites, and back, possibly missing the ship. We have been on excursions, where traffic, for example, delayed our arrival back to the ship for over an hour, and the ship waited for our return, before departing.

For the most part they were good, few complaints.

We did our research months ahead of time, booked the excursions, and waited for the cruise date to come.

Do not wait until you get on the ship, and try to plan them. You want to maximize the time you are in each port city, to see all you can.

You can't see everything in a week, but try to see the sites that would be most important to you.

Check the Ports boards here on CC, lots of info for each port.

 

All the sites are great, you will have a wonderful time. ;)

[garycarla]

And,check the ROLL CALL for your cruise.

[nadeki]

We will be on Epic Med cruise this June. So far it seems to be all good reviews for Barcelona Day tours and we have had amazing referrals for romecabs.com

 

Each of the organizations have thoroughly answered my emails within 24 hours.

[AF-1]

check out rome in limo; they do private in both rome and pisa/florence. I have used them and they were great; they have a website.

[modman847]

check out rome in limo; they do private in both rome and pisa/florence. I have used them and they were great; they have a website.

 

I second this....We used them at 2 ports (Rome and Naples) We wish we had used them more. If your budget allows this is a great way to go. In Rome we also booked a tour guide for the vatican that was well worth the money as well. In Naples we took the Amalfi Coast tour and fell in love with that area. Best money we spent on that trip.

[cruisin_momof3]

We are doing the Western Med cruise on the Epic out of Barcelona this June, and we have all three of our Italy stops booked with Rome in Limo. For Naples, we are doing Sorrento, Pompeii, and Amalfi Coast. For Rome, we are doing Rome Highlights, and for Livorno we are doing Pisa and Florence. For Cannes, we plan to do on our own. We plan on exploring Cannes some and then taking the train to Nice and Monaco. Palma de Mallorca we plan on making a relaxing beach day.

[Dreamylight]

A few ideas for you, get Rick Steves' Med Cruise Ports book, this covers from the cruise ship perspective. You come in only for a day, and all the places to see in each port, how to get there and back, etc. It helps you determine how much you can see in each port.

 

We did the 12 day Grand Med last year, and did the research many months ahead of the cruise, and booked the shore excursions through the ship. We knew we were going to see what we wanted, and didnt have to worry any more about the cruise.

 

Lots of folks can find excursions cheaper, sometimes lots cheaper, some a little. DW did not want to save a few dollars and worry about getting from the port to sites, and back, possibly missing the ship. We have been on excursions, where traffic, for example, delayed our arrival back to the ship for over an hour, and the ship waited for our return, before departing.

For the most part they were good, few complaints.

We did our research months ahead of time, booked the excursions, and waited for the cruise date to come.

Do not wait until you get on the ship, and try to plan them. You want to maximize the time you are in each port city, to see all you can.

You can't see everything in a week, but try to see the sites that would be most important to you.

Check the Ports boards here on CC, lots of info for each port.

 

All the sites are great, you will have a wonderful time. ;)

Thank you for the great advice!

[Dreamylight]

We are doing the Western Med cruise on the Epic out of Barcelona this June, and we have all three of our Italy stops booked with Rome in Limo. For Naples, we are doing Sorrento, Pompeii, and Amalfi Coast. For Rome, we are doing Rome Highlights, and for Livorno we are doing Pisa and Florence. For Cannes, we plan to do on our own. We plan on exploring Cannes some and then taking the train to Nice and Monaco. Palma de Mallorca we plan on making a relaxing beach day.

Thank you! I was looking into those specific excursions!

[Dreamylight]

I second this....We used them at 2 ports (Rome and Naples) We wish we had used them more. If your budget allows this is a great way to go. In Rome we also booked a tour guide for the vatican that was well worth the money as well. In Naples we took the Amalfi Coast tour and fell in love with that area. Best money we spent on that trip.

I've always wanted to check out the Vatican! Thanks for your helpful advice. :-)

[PorkChopKid]

get Rick Steves' Med Cruise Ports book....

Rick Steves also has a free audio tour app for the iPhone that is helpful in planning.

[Kingfisherhill]

I did the week long Med Cruise on the Epic last October. I can highly recommend you use Rome in Limo for your tours in Rome, Naples and Livorno.

They are extremely professional and guarantee you will get back to the ship in plenty of time, they told me that they have never missed a ship and if it ever happens they will get you to the next port, but I never had any doubts about their timekeeping.

Their drivers were wonderful, funny and very informative.

We met our drivers at 8.30am straight off the ship and were away in our minibus before any of the coaches had even started to load their passengers.

On our Naples tour we arrived at Pompeii before anyone else and our guide was able to take our around and get photos without all the crowds that arrived later. On each day they took us to a very nice local restaurant for lunch and stopped at any beautiful views we saw. I can't recommend them highly enough.

I think we paid about 100 euros each for each tour.

[modman847]

I've always wanted to check out the Vatican! Thanks for your helpful advice. :-)

 

If the Vatican is a must see on your list, using RIL and the guide will be worth it to you. When you use their guide, you will be able to bypass the ticket line as he will already have your admission taken care of, and because your group will be very small you will actually get a better tour.