Shore Excursions - best way to do these without breaking the bank!

[SueRichJackEsme]

We are first timers on a Royal Caribbean Med Cruise July 2nd 2017 - Provence, Nice, Florence, Rome and Naples.

How do we do shore excursions without every day costing a fortune? We like the idea of getting to the excursion quickly and getting back in time for sailing. However we don't mind trains/car hire/bike/moped etc if it's cheaper and still a good way of getting round. Our teenage kids will want to see the main sights but not everything so we will be selective and include some shopping or casual eating too. Some of the day trips seem to cost over £500 or way more for a family of 4? Keen to do Florence, Rome and Naples in particular but Florence is quite a journey so what's the best way of doing that. Rome - we quite fancy bike hire and doing the Colleseum and cycling the other sights as my husband and I did that last year and it was a great way to get around. But is there a local train to the city centre from the port or another option. Naples - my daughter is 18 years old that day so want to make the day special. Any tips or must do or ways to keep the cost down without skimping on the experience would be appreciated!

[AussieOmni]

Best way we've found? Don't do them. We're doing no shore excursions on our next cruise and just seeing what we want to see in town.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Essiesmom]

Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. It is written for people who want to DIY. He tells you what there is to do in each port, how to do it from the time you walk down the gangway until you are walking back up. How much you can do in the time you have in port. For some ports (Venice, Rome, Pompeii...) he has free downloads for ipod/mp3 on his website, and you can print out maps to go along. EM

[navybankerteacher]

Do your homework - research ports in advance so you know what you want to see and how to get to them. Be realistic: for Rome, for example, you could take the train from CV - and then Metro to the sites you really want - and you only have time for a couple: perhaps Colosseum/Forum and then Trevi, or Vatican and maybe Trevi - do not think about Colosseum/Forum and Vatican (and only a lunatic out-of-towner would contemplate bicycling around Rome.

 

Florence is beautiful - but travel takes so long that you would have little time there - and long lines for most things. Consider train from Livorno to Lucca - beautiful, nearby walled city you can do justice to in a short visit , possibly stopping in Pisa on way back.

 

From Naples you could hire a tour to Pompeii - or just wander about the city on your own.

 

Nice is a big, waterfront city - possible to train to Monte Carlo, or Cannes.

 

Livorno is the only port with nothing to see locally.

 

Go to library (or on line) to read up on possibilities , then to check train schedules - but be realistic in your expectations of how much you can see/do on a one day port call.

[moqui_girl]

We've done both Rome and Florence on our own. Rome is reasonably straightforward and the train stops near the Vatican or in the city. As others have said do one or the other, not both. You need to be out as soon as the ship docks and be super organised - know exactly where you need to go and what train lines etc you'll need and how far to walk from place to place etc. It's quite a long journey so plan a big buffer. We left Rome around 3.30pm for a ships departure at 7pm. Lots of others did the same.

 

I wouldn't recommend doing Florence on your own. We did it and it's a hassle. It's even further away and more complicated to get to with more chances that something will prevent you getting back on time. I would say either do Pisa instead or if you must go to Florence choose the ship "on your own tour".

 

I've never been to Naples but I understand it's reasonably easy to tour by yourself.

 

There is a specific forum for Italian ports so I suggest looking there.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[EGG]

Research this on the ports of call board. Do a search of each port and you will get lots of info. We did Rome and Nice on our own but I had a step by step plan with bus and train numbers and schedules and stops. Also we were waiting to get off ship so that we could do a few things and get back early.

 

For Rome we took a shuttle to the front of the port, walked to the train station. So much to do, you should choose a few sites that are near each other and head there. Make sure you have a street map and you mark exactly where the train station is.

 

We also did the Florence on your own tour. If there is a must visit museum you may be able to make reservations ahead of time.

 

Nice is a great little city to walk around. Make your plans. Have a map. We took the bus to Eze. It is a charming older town towards Monaco. Do this first and then do Nice. It took a while for the bus to come and there was a long line.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

[zoncom]

Got a library? I also like DK Eyewitness series for pictorials. Fodors has good maps. Lonely Planet for budget travel. Tripadvisor.com, good forums. Frommers also. These authors usually have web sites. Also look up any ports on GOOGLE. Just put in name of any port or town that interests you. The more time you spend on info the better your trip. Let the kids help too. All ports have markets and public bus systems.

[Nic6318]

We are first timers on a Royal Caribbean Med Cruise July 2nd 2017 - Provence, Nice, Florence, Rome and Naples.

How do we do shore excursions without every day costing a fortune? We like the idea of getting to the excursion quickly and getting back in time for sailing. However we don't mind trains/car hire/bike/moped etc if it's cheaper and still a good way of getting round. Our teenage kids will want to see the main sights but not everything so we will be selective and include some shopping or casual eating too. Some of the day trips seem to cost over £500 or way more for a family of 4? Keen to do Florence, Rome and Naples in particular but Florence is quite a journey so what's the best way of doing that. Rome - we quite fancy bike hire and doing the Colleseum and cycling the other sights as my husband and I did that last year and it was a great way to get around. But is there a local train to the city centre from the port or another option. Naples - my daughter is 18 years old that day so want to make the day special. Any tips or must do or ways to keep the cost down without skimping on the experience would be appreciated!

 

Hi there

 

Welcome to cruise critic.

 

With the other suggestions made to consider, your easiest source for information on this site would be the "port of call'' threads. You can find them on the main forum page all the threads are listed and broken down. Once you find the port of call threads you will see a link for Europe. After entering you will see it broken down by country/region. You should also look at the threads for your specific cruise line (RCCL). There is a ton of information in these threads.(such as transportation choices)

 

While you say you are new to cruising with Royal, you don't mention how new your are to cruising. As far as doing your excursions, you are typically best to consider only one thing to see and evaluate your available time after that is done. Cruising is one mode of travel where you should not calculate on getting back "just in time". My rule of thumb would be that, the further you are travelling from the port, the earlier you should plan on getting back. This is the main reason that cruise line excursions are utilized. They guarantee that if the tour is late returning they will hold the ship. If you are out on your own and you are late, they will not.

 

hope this helps

have a great cruise

[capriccio]

Check out Tom's Port Guides (http://www.tomsportguides.com/). They are a labor of love full of incredibly useful information. As Tom notes on his intro:

 

When I began cruising the Mediterranean in 2007, I was shocked to learn that NO port guide had detailed information on where the cruise ship docks, location of tourist sites, public transit, walking tour maps, etc. to plan my shore excursions. Lacking this information, I'm "held hostage" to using the ship's excursion bus as my only option. I hate riding on buses.

 

Detailed knowledge of the port is the key to choosing the best option for my priorities. Depending on the port, I might choose a walking tour, use public transit, a HopOn bus, rent a car, hire a private tour company, or use the ship's bus tour.

 

Many people share my view. They want/need detailed port guides with comprehensive coverage of the shore excursion options. They've suggested improvements to my guides and have helped me on my quest to create the "ultimate" cruise port guide.

[Casey2]

You can also go onto your roll call and try to share private excursions. It significantly lowers the cost of the excursions.

[LondonTowner]

Lots of good information already given. Yes, there is lots of information on the Port's of Call board. TripAdvisor is also good, but don't forget to look at the websites of the local tourist boards. I find them particularly helpful if you email them with a specific question.

[cb at sea]

Definitely a guidebook...whether you buy it, or get it at the library and make notes! The more you know about the places you visit, the more money you can save, and do the things YOU want to do!

[soggy1975]

Search various cruise excursions online..you'll probably find similar excursions to the ships but cheaper.

I've seen q a few good options on cruisingexcursions.com as we're doing a similar route in august c ncl

[Hlitner]

Lets be a little analytical about the OP's question. When you deal with ports you only have 3 basic options. 1. Take a cruise line excursion. 2. Book or join a group on a private tour or 3. Do It yourself (DIY).

 

There are pros and cons to each option. For us, having traveled extensively for over forty years, we seldom to never take any kind of excursion and rarely take a tour. There are very good DIY options for each of the ports mentioned in the OP's post. For example, when it comes to Florence they could simply grab a taxi to the Livorno train station (20-25€) and then take the train into Florence. Once in Florence it is relatively easy to walk everywhere...with the possible exception of the Academia (that is a hike).

 

For Rome it is easy to use the port shuttle to a local bus to the train station. From there it is a little over an hour into Rome. And the train is quite inexpensive. A BIRG ticket (which includes round trip train and all days use of Rome's buses and metro) costs about 12€ for an adult!

 

As to Naples, there are many options which might interest an 18 year old. Going to Capri and then browsing some of the high end boutiques (we are talking Rodeo Drive quality) might be fun for an 18 year old. DW reminds me that it was on Capri where we saw a pair of ripped jeans for sale for ONLY 600€.

 

The OP (and the family) needs to do some homework and look at the various options for each port (just looking at the cruise line excursions will give you some ideas). Then decide which options would best suit the family (you cannot do it all...so you must choose). Once you have your list of wants...then do some online research on how this can be accomplished DIY. Also buy or purchase the Rick Steves Mediterranean Ports book...which was written for DIYers.

 

Once you have an idea of what you will do, take a look here on CC (using the search option) for info on your ideas. And always feel free to post specific questions/concerns right here...so that some of us can try to give you answers/suggestions.

 

Hank