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First time cruisers - dare to DIY?

BigTurv

By BigTurv,
in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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BigTurv

BigTurv

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We are taking our very first cruise on the new P&O Britannia in August. We have been looking at the various ports and excursions on offer and are contemplating having a DIY day in Cartagena as none of the offerings immediately grab us. However, I'm not sure that we are brave enough! Are any of you more experienced cruisers able to give me some advice please? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Our group will be myself (37), the wife (36), daughters (12 & 10) and inlaws (60 & 58).

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kruzseeka

kruzseeka

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We are taking our very first cruise on the new P&O Britannia in August. We have been looking at the various ports and excursions on offer and are contemplating having a DIY day in Cartagena as none of the offerings immediately grab us. However, I'm not sure that we are brave enough! Are any of you more experienced cruisers able to give me some advice please? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Our group will be myself (37), the wife (36), daughters (12 & 10) and inlaws (60 & 58).

 

Definitely yes. It's an easy walk off port - you can just stroll off into town. It's a clean, attractive town with a beach, promenade, Fort, attractive gardens, beautiful old buildings, a cathedral, shops and pavement café culture. Absolutely no problem doing DiY here.

 

Doing your own thing is very possible and a good idea as it's cheaper and can be more rewarding by setting your own schedule rather than having to go with the guide's timetable. It's horses for courses though - depending on what you want to do, how close by the sites/attractions are and how easy it is to get there either on foot, by taxi, local tour firm or public transport.

 

I'm sure you will get lots of help on here if you want some ideas of how practical a DiY approach is for your other ports too. I can understand your concerns as it's your first cruise -just make sure you give yourself a good margin to get back to the ship before departure. But this port is a doddle as the ship berths right in town so no problems worrying about trains/buses etc to get back!

Edited by kruzseeka
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kruzseeka

kruzseeka

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Oops sorry! Busy describing Cadiz to you - but everything I said of being an easy DiY port is absolutely true for Cartegena too. The ship berths in town which is lovely - clean attractive buildings, open spaces, lots of street sculptures, a castle with great views and cafe inside (now a museum and assessible via a lift), an amphitheatre, shops and cafes. It all depends on what you want to do as a family but there's no need to be concerned about wandering off here on your own and exploring.

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Josy1953

Josy1953

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We have done DIY in most of the Med ports and generally speaking they are all possible though some are easier than others. Cartagena is definitely doable. My only advice is to do some research before you go. If you do DIY keep an eye on the time because they will leave without late passengers if they have to.

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catperson02

catperson02

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We stopped at Cartagena last year on Azura on my own with my daughters who were 14 and 15. The Roman theatre is a few minutes walk and very easy to find. We then wandered around the shops before taking the hop on hop off buss. It was a scorching hot day and my daughters were going through one of their "we don't want to walk anywhere too far" phases (thankfully now worn off) but it was all very easy. I would definitely recommend "doing it yourself".

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Britboys

Britboys

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Cartagena is one of the easiest ports to do DIY. As others have said, it is a short walk to the town and there are lots of interesting things to do in the town. You will get a map and some information in the cabin. Whilst not hugely detailed, they are not bad. Again, as others have said, just watch the time and aim to be back at the ship at least an hour before departure.

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balf

balf

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Hop on Hop off buses are a good midway idea for ports you are not familiar with. You get a good overview and can then get off where you fancy.

 

It has to be said though that they can be poor value in big cities, thinking Rome, Barcelona etc. because of the long waiting times to re board at stops. You tend to run out of time very quickly.

 

The best advice is to board (nearly all pick up at or near the ship) as early as possible and allow enough time for getting back to the ship on time.

 

David.

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FiggyWig

FiggyWig

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Whilst not vastly experienced by comparison to others on the boards we, over the 30+ ports of call over 4 cruises, have always done all bar one ports DIY. THE ONLY one we did was Vesuvius and that was only due to safety and convenience (Naples isn't a very pleasant city). And that was on our last trip. Even for your very 1st voyage I would say yes be brave... Would advise as other have said, plenty of internet research concerning public transport before you travel. I even downloaded bus and train timetables... Be aware of how long it will take you to return to ship (by taxi in worse case scenario)... And keep your eye on the time... The most rewarding and cost effective way to see the sights whilst cruising... GO FOR IT !

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shallwe

shallwe

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Cartagena is brilliant to do diy. We did it last October using Tom's port guide.com. Followed his instructions and found some fascinating Roman ruins. We went into one and bought a ticket that gets you into two others including the fort up the hill.

 

Definitely very diy.

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kruzseeka

kruzseeka

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Hi is there a hop on hop off bus in Madeira we are sailing transalantic in October on p@o Britannia would like to spend a couple of hours sight seeing this way .thank you

 

Yes - there are two red and yellow. We did the yellow one which includes Camara de Lobos so it takes you a bit further out to the little fishing village close to Funchal. We got off there and had a coffee down on the harbour. It was very good.

 

Google the hoho buses in Funchal and you will see details of both.

Edited by kruzseeka
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Host Sharon "Live from...." Rare

Host Sharon

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Hi is there a hop on hop off bus in Madeira we are sailing transalantic in October on p@o Britannia would like to spend a couple of hours sight seeing this way .thank you

 

Yes - it's a two hour tour if you don't get off. Good views over Funchal from a viewpoint as well.

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Host Sharon "Live from...." Rare

Host Sharon

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Always, would be chaos if not I think.

 

David.

 

Actually on my cruise with HAL this January , we remained on ship time in Montevideo - which was one hour behind local time. I guess with it being our first port, and the only one throughout the cruise which was on a different time zone, it wasn't worth changing ship time.

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jeanlyon

jeanlyon

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Cartagena is brilliant to do diy. We did it last October using Tom's port guide.com. Followed his instructions and found some fascinating Roman ruins. We went into one and bought a ticket that gets you into two others including the fort up the hill.

 

Definitely very diy.

 

Agree, we did the same on the same cruise as you :-)

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CRUISIN LINDA

CRUISIN LINDA

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Yes - there are two red and yellow. We did the yellow one which includes Camara de Lobos so it takes you a bit further out to the little fishing village close to Funchal. We got off there and had a coffee down on the harbour. It was very good.

 

Google the hoho buses in Funchal and you will see details of both.

 

Just going to contradict you Kruzseeka :eek: about the Yellow bus going to Camara de Lobos. Ours didn't but, looking at their website, I have just realised there are two routes, the blue route and the yellow route. We must have gone on the yellow route.

 

http://www.yellowbustours.com/en/cities/funchal/funchal-e-camara-de-lobos-sightseeing/

 

Having also been on the red bus, I would say that it is better as the commentary was much more informative and also, you can use the ticket to get a discount on your next hoho bus trip :)

 

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/portugal/funchal.htm

Edited by CRUISIN LINDA
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kruzseeka

kruzseeka

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Just going to contradict you Kruzseeka :eek: about the Yellow bus going to Camara de Lobos. Ours didn't but, looking at their website, I have just realised there are two routes, the blue route and the yellow route. We must have gone on the yellow route.

 

http://www.yellowbustours.com/en/cities/funchal/funchal-e-camara-de-lobos-sightseeing/

 

Having also been on the red bus, I would say that it is better as the commentary was much more informative and also, you can use the ticket to get a discount on your next hoho bus trip :)

 

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/portugal/funchal.htm

 

 

I stand corrected Linda! We did the red bus on our first visit but elected to do the yellow/blue route(?) the following time so that we could see Camara de Lobos. If anyone specifically wanted to visit this village, then clearly they need to check the routes carefully! :o

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