shore excursions in mediterranean

[tandabuss]

My 12 year old and I are taking a 7-day Mediterranean cruise (Barcelona, Villefranche, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples) at the end of August. Thoughts on port adventures? I've prebooked some, and have heard that it's a ripoff to do it through the cruise line---but when I search online, the prices don't seem any cheaper. Ideas?

 

 

Also: how much of a hassle is it to do laundry onboard the Magic?

[DISNEY FANTASY]

My 12 year old and I are taking a 7-day Mediterranean cruise (Barcelona, Villefranche, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples) at the end of August. Thoughts on port adventures? I've prebooked some, and have heard that it's a ripoff to do it through the cruise line---but when I search online, the prices don't seem any cheaper. Ideas?

 

 

Also: how much of a hassle is it to do laundry onboard the Magic?

 

I am posting this from the Magic in Malta we did private tours in all ports and saved money DCL shore trips are not a tip off , I can't say that as the man next to is on the next stateroom verandah is Karl Holz but they are more expensive I would say try to go private book with local agents and for a family of four you can save money . I booked mine privately and some other families asked to join me and overall we saved a lot of $ in each port we counted forty plus coaches for DCL do you want to be on them when they all hit one place? More details in my live trip report who I used some ports are the same, laundry is a madhouse with many people over here from USA for a few weeks, note late dinner is 9 pm from next week.

[tandabuss]

Recommendations on where to book excursions?

[ducklite]

In my opinion, unless you are comfortable with mass transit--particularly where you will not speak the language--and have done some traveling outside of prepackaged trips or Disney World, I would stick with the ship tours.

 

If you have done a bit of traveling, are comfortable using mass transit and maneuvering in a foreign country with different languages, you can DIY in many of those ports. I would caution to be sure you know what ship time is, have a back up plan, and get back at least an hour before all aboard.

 

If you do DIY, I'd suggest hiring a guide outside Pompeii if you are going there. IMHO you will get much more out of it if there is someone familiar with the site to show you around. It's a dizzingly large piece of real estate, and you might well miss some highlights without a guide. There will be licensed guides hanging around outside, you can negotiate a price with them.

[moki'smommy]

Some depends on the size of your group. If you are a single person, unless you can join a group a private tour is going to be expensive. For a group of 6-10, you can often do better with private guides. You can arrange pick up at the port and a full day of what you want. OR, to save more, you can use public transportation to get to whatever site you choose and hire a guide there--either in advance hire one to meet you there or hire one at the location.

 

Rome--iF you are comfortable taking the train on your own, you'll save a bundle this way. But if you want to be shepherded from the moment you leave the ship, -private tour vs. DCL will be about the same price.