Describe The Very Best Port Tour That You Have Ever Enjoyed?

[worldtrekker]

Goodness! What a fun post, but I cannot decide. I was filled with joy while going through my mental catalogue of all the wonderful places we have had the privilege to see.

 

Top 3

 

Private sea kayaking tour in Alaska with my Mom, Aunty, children and husband. Glided over crystal clear water, saw heaps of wildlife including Bald Eagles nesting, held starfish, watched waterfalls.

 

Small group (8) tour of Montenegro eating local ham and cheese and drinking local wine. Toured medieval villages and learned so much I didn't even know existed. Our guide gave us a historical and modern cultural perspective of the region, with a few funny anecdotes thrown in for entertainment. A lovely day with a group of travellers.

 

Eight hour walking tour of Kyoto with a private guide for our family. Pricey, but also priceless.

[Newby58]

Snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef in my home country of Australia with QuickSilver cruises. We had a glorious day with an amazingly smooth ride to the outer reef. Started the day with a submersible boat ride, explored the ribbon reefs snorkelling with an abundant of sea life and corals followed by a helicopter flight over the reefs and beyond where the sea depth drops off to 3000 feet. The iridescent colours were amazing. One day in my life that I will never forget.

 

 

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[griffy116]

Kusadasi, Turkey with a private guide. It was on my Grandson's "wish list" as he is a history buff and we took him on a cruise to celebrate his high school graduation. He and our guide spent the entire day crawling over every ancient stone possible, and our guide decided that he had to take my Grandson to a local museum, where he paid our admission in order to show him some artifacts back in the back of the museum. He made all of us comfortable, but my Grandson has never stopped talking about that day with Essa in Turkey.

 

Pompeii - Also with a private guide who was absolutely fabulous. He made sure we knew what we were seeing and helped us navigate. Without him, I don't think we would have been able to see nearly as much or to have understood completely what we were seeing.

 

Almalfi coast - With a driver who really became more like a private guide. He took us to a restaurant that amazed us all and pointed out all the things we were seeing and made stops for photos that were breathtaking.

 

Florence - We had a private guide that got us tickets in advance, timed it perfectly for us to visit a wonderful restaurant at a lesiurely pace but got us through the throng of people who tried to get in line after they had missed their reservation time. We would have been intimidated and let this large group ahead of us, but our guide was having none of it. He went to the person in charge and we alone were admitted. This made my daughter's day as seeing the David had always been a wish for her that she got fulfilled.

 

It think it's the memories we carry home that make each tour we take special.

[GaryfmCol]

Surprisingly, if anyone gets the chance to do Viet-nam, go for it. It is so much different that we imagined. We started in Ha Long Bay, and, took a 4 hour drive to Hanoi. We stayed over-night, and, the next day a Viet-namese junk cruise around Ha Long Bay. Hanoi was a magnificent city,including a tour of the Hanoi Hilton P.O.W. camp... We were even put in solitary for a short bit of a few minutes. Imagine MONTHS in there...We also saw Hoi An, Da Nang, China Beach, Saigon, (A.K.A. Ho Chi Minh City) Did a tour down the Mekong and,into the infamous tributaries of the Viet-nam war fame with the Swift Boats, the Presidential Palace of South Viet-nam which is now only a place for ceremonies, the "War Remnants Museum" in Saigon, was the only place we did not care about, since it was still propaganda left over from the war, with a lot of photos of Hanoi Jane and, John Kerry....But, other than that, the people were so warm and, friendly. And,the food in Viet-nam was incredible every stop we made...

 

We have had many cruises but this Celebrity cruise from Hong Kong, ending in Singapore has been our #1 favorite, and, I would love to do it again. We had a week in Hong Kong and, several day in Singapore post cruise.

 

Recommend highly.

[roxievegas]

1. A Celebrity ship tour in Le Havre - tour of Normandy beaches and WWII highlights - lasted 10 hours and only cost $109 ea

2. A private tour that I set up o-line for our stop in Kusadasi/Ephesus - all day, just my hubby and me with driver and guide

cost $100 and we tipped about $80 - great tour

3. A Celebrity tour Amalfi Coast/Pompeii - long all day tour with boat going along Amalfi coast.

4. A Celebrity tour for 2-days in St Petersburg

 

We have done four cruises in Europe. Two in the Caribbean. We have no highlights for the Caribbean.

[herbanrenewal]

We had a small group tour in Jerusalem. Because my travel buddy is Jewish, and she has accompanied me so many times to cathedral tours, even attending Mass with me over years of travel, in Jerusalem we decided to do a Jewish history tour.

Our guide noticed that I wear a Christian religious medal, so as we went to significant New Testament places she would point them out to me. And when we got to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre she had me go in with a friend of hers while she took the group somewhere else. It was greatly appreciated, in a deeply moving place.

[NordicPrince]

DW and I did an all day private tour with COSOL on St. Lucia on our B2B cruise in 2010 which was pretty amazing. We got a great feel for the island. The highlight was taking a motor launch around the Pitons to end up at Jalousie Beach between the two peaks. Beautiful.

The second was with Thenford Grey on St. Kitt's. We saw Brimstone Hill Fortress, the Romney Manor with the Batiq Factory and then up to Timothy Hill where you could see the crashing waves of the Atlantic on one side and the calm Caribbean on the other.

We've had other ship tours going to Trafalgar Falls on Domenica, Nelson's Dockyard on Antigua and swimming with the Dolphins which were pretty special too.

So hard to choose. Lucky to be cruising.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[BettyPC]

I loved reading everyone's journeys. I noticed Montenegro in your post Worldtrekker & I wondered if you remembered the name of the tour company. We

will go there next May - ham, cheese, wine & medieval villages sound fantastic! Thanks!

 

Betty

 

 

Goodness! What a fun post, but I cannot decide. I was filled with joy while going through my mental catalogue of all the wonderful places we have had the privilege to see.

 

Top 3

 

Private sea kayaking tour in Alaska with my Mom, Aunty, children and husband. Glided over crystal clear water, saw heaps of wildlife including Bald Eagles nesting, held starfish, watched waterfalls.

 

Small group (8) tour of Montenegro eating local ham and cheese and drinking local wine. Toured medieval villages and learned so much I didn't even know existed. Our guide gave us a historical and modern cultural perspective of the region, with a few funny anecdotes thrown in for entertainment. A lovely day with a group of travellers.

 

Eight hour walking tour of Kyoto with a private guide for our family. Pricey, but also priceless.

[G&G]

Top 2

 

1.Gastronomical Tour in Sorrento. No explanation required. I gave it a Two Tums Up !

 

2. Swimming with sharks and stingrays in Moorea and I am here to tell you.

[2onboardagain]

We were celebrating a "special" birthday for my wife on an overnight in Venice and I had mentioned to the people at the excursions desk that I was hoping to arrange for a birthday cake for my wife as the tour included dinner ashore. I must say that I was amazed at how cooperative and enthusiastic the staff was in making this request "special" as they took the extra steps of emailing our photos (from our sea pass cards) to both the gondola operator and restaurant manager resulting in our being placed in the gondola with the musicians for that romantic pre dinner serenade and then being recognized by the restaurant staff who brought over the most wonderful cake to our table while everyone in the restaurant sang happy birthday to her. All in All a most wonderful port tour!

[Muushka]

We have had many memorable tours (and some not so memorable), but the most amazing tour was in Le Havre:

We took Overlord Tours with William to Normandy – it was a private tour booked by CC Roll Call people. We saw amazing sights (including the beaches, American and German cemeteries, little villages key to the battles, a wonderful aviation museum) and heard amazing stories told with reverence. William made history come alive that day. The people of Normandy love Americans, per William, because of our actions in WWII and said that school children are required to visit the American Cemetery every year so that they will never forget (there were groups of school children there that day).

The most memorable place we visited was the American Cemetery. When our guide heard that 2 of our group of 8 had relatives buried in the American Cemetery in Normandy, he called ahead to have them arrange a ceremony for us. It turned out to be one of the most moving things I have ever been involved in. My father’s favorite uncle died there and I had found his burial info online and bought flowers for the grave in a little Normandy village. One of the people at the cemetery (a wonderful and beautiful place) greeted us and the other person in our group with a relative there and took us to the graves by golf cart. He had a little ceremony with sand from Omaha Beach, placed French and American flags at the graves and thanked us for our relatives’ sacrifice. The 4 veterans in our group saluted the graves – it was so beautiful and there were no dry eyes in our group.

They gave me the flags and a packet of information about my great uncle that I brought back to my dad, who has never visited the cemetery. He was so touched by this ceremony and it helped him get some closure. This tour launched an interest for me in WWII and I have probably read more than 30 books about WWII since that trip and have shared them all with my father, who has greatly enjoyed our shared interest. I still get chills when I think about that day!

 

I loved reading about your experience at Normandy, Thank you for sharing it with us.

[BunnyLebowski]

Our favorite was the time we rented a car and drove from Skagway to Emerald Lake, just DH and myself. The Yukon Territory is beautiful, and it was a day of complete privacy and setting our own pace. An unexpected treasure.

 

 

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[floridacruisers]

We have had many memorable tours (and some not so memorable), but the most amazing tour was in Le Havre:

We took Overlord Tours with William to Normandy – it was a private tour booked by CC Roll Call people. We saw amazing sights (including the beaches, American and German cemeteries, little villages key to the battles, a wonderful aviation museum) and heard amazing stories told with reverence. William made history come alive that day. The people of Normandy love Americans, per William, because of our actions in WWII and said that school children are required to visit the American Cemetery every year so that they will never forget (there were groups of school children there that day).

The most memorable place we visited was the American Cemetery. When our guide heard that 2 of our group of 8 had relatives buried in the American Cemetery in Normandy, he called ahead to have them arrange a ceremony for us. It turned out to be one of the most moving things I have ever been involved in. My father’s favorite uncle died there and I had found his burial info online and bought flowers for the grave in a little Normandy village. One of the people at the cemetery (a wonderful and beautiful place) greeted us and the other person in our group with a relative there and took us to the graves by golf cart. He had a little ceremony with sand from Omaha Beach, placed French and American flags at the graves and thanked us for our relatives’ sacrifice. The 4 veterans in our group saluted the graves – it was so beautiful and there were no dry eyes in our group.

They gave me the flags and a packet of information about my great uncle that I brought back to my dad, who has never visited the cemetery. He was so touched by this ceremony and it helped him get some closure. This tour launched an interest for me in WWII and I have probably read more than 30 books about WWII since that trip and have shared them all with my father, who has greatly enjoyed our shared interest. I still get chills when I think about that day!

 

I agree 100%. It is a humbling experience and you described it very well. We felt an obligation to honor the memory of those young soldiers who gave their lives to free us from tyranny. It is a must.

Phil..............floridacruisers

[cruisemom42]

This is such a tough one for me -- in trying to think back over the most memorable sights and moments, I have to say a lot of them were things I did on my own without any tour. I get a kind of thrill of accomplishment when I figure out how to get somewhere and see something on my own (without a guide or tour), and because I research everything myself I feel that I remember more about it afterwards....

 

That said, there are a few that stand out:

 

2010 Ship tour (on Aegean Odyssey) and overnight to Palmyra, Syria. Such a thrill to see these fabulous ruins in their desert setting. The excursion included a full visit to the site itself, which is (or was then :() amazingly preserved, with dozens and dozens of columns lining the streets and an incredibly gorgeous ancient theatre in addition to the huge temples. We also visited the museum (now a shambles), and one of the tower tombs just outside the city. I'll never forget how welcoming the locals who lived in the small modern town beside the ruins were. They were so excited to have us there, as it was, even then, a rare port for cruise ships (although slightly more common for land tours). Much fun and bargaining over authentic tribal jewelry, fabrics, etc.

 

2-day Private guided tour in Israel. I located a guide (with help from another well-recommended guide here on CC) whose specialty is the Roman ruins of Israel. He was a perfect match for me. We arranged two days of sightseeing that included a thorough visit to Caesarea, Sepphoris, and the Beit Shearim necropolis on Day 1 (with just myself and the guide), and on Day 2 we visited the significant Roman sites within Jerusalem with one other couple. It was a thrill to spend time seeing things most tourists don't see, including looking at Roman graffiti left by soldiers who built the remarkably well-preserved aqueduct that runs along the beach to Caesarea.

 

DIY expeditions from Palermo. A friend and I pre-booked a driver to take us to visit Piazza Armerina, a Roman villa that's about 2 hours' drive from Palermo. It has incredible late Roman mosaic floors throughout and was recently reopened after years of restoration. It was incredible to see the actual mosaics after viewing pictures of many of them in various Roman texts for years. Our ship overnighted in Palermo so we weren't worried about time. The next day we used the same driver to visit Agrigento and explored the Greek temples there on our own as well -- they stand on a high crest of land, marching one after another; an incredible sight!

[bunnyette]

Istanbul was by far my favourite port. Such a shame that evil losers have caused the cruises to stop calling there. I booked a tour through CTC Turkey. Through my roll call, 12 of us had a fantastic tour of the city for only $50 each! We managed to go to the Hagia Sofia even though it was closed and the guide ensured we went upstairs where the most spectacular views were, the cruise ship tours did not go upstairs. We walked to many of the places due to the traffic and got a good feel for this city, lunch was extra but for only 10 euros, it fantastic...a legitimate Turkish restaurant.

 

At the end, some of us wanted to go to the Spice Market, our guide sent everyone else back while 4 of us had an amazing time shopping there. We did have to cab it back as two of our party could not walk the distance. But we split the cost and it was very cheap.

 

I hope things settle down so that more cruisers will have the opportunity to see this lovely city.

[Lastdance]

Istanbul was by far my favourite port. Such a shame that evil losers have caused the cruises to stop calling there. I booked a tour through CTC Turkey. Through my roll call, 12 of us had a fantastic tour of the city for only $50 each! We managed to go to the Hagia Sofia even though it was closed and the guide ensured we went upstairs where the most spectacular views were, the cruise ship tours did not go upstairs. We walked to many of the places due to the traffic and got a good feel for this city, lunch was extra but for only 10 euros, it fantastic...a legitimate Turkish restaurant.

 

 

 

At the end, some of us wanted to go to the Spice Market, our guide sent everyone else back while 4 of us had an amazing time shopping there. We did have to cab it back as two of our party could not walk the distance. But we split the cost and it was very cheap.

 

 

 

I hope things settle down so that more cruisers will have the opportunity to see this lovely city.

 

 

I so agree with wanting things to settle down here. My DH and I were planning on a trip, but it was just the wrong time. We have been to Turkey before , but not Istanbul...such a shame.

 

 

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[herbanrenewal]

Istanbul was by far my favourite port. Such a shame that evil losers have caused the cruises to stop calling there. I booked a tour through CTC Turkey. Through my roll call, 12 of us had a fantastic tour of the city for only $50 each! We managed to go to the Hagia Sofia even though it was closed and the guide ensured we went upstairs where the most spectacular views were, the cruise ship tours did not go upstairs. We walked to many of the places due to the traffic and got a good feel for this city, lunch was extra but for only 10 euros, it fantastic...a legitimate Turkish restaurant.

 

At the end, some of us wanted to go to the Spice Market, our guide sent everyone else back while 4 of us had an amazing time shopping there. We did have to cab it back as two of our party could not walk the distance. But we split the cost and it was very cheap.

 

I hope things settle down so that more cruisers will have the opportunity to see this lovely city.

 

Not a cruise but a 2 week land tour of Turkey will always be a favorite memory. I feel so very worried about some of the wonderful people we met there. Our guide had a masters degree in political science, but felt he had a perfect lifestyle being a tour guide so he could share his beautiful country with others. He was so proud of the secular government where all religions were tolerated. We felt totally safe as we toured an unbelievably beautiful country with warm, welcoming, friendly people.

 

I loved the ancient history, including the Hittite museum in Ancara where we saw a hieroglyphic letter written by King Tut's widow to the Hittite king asking him to send one of his sons for her to marry to become Pharaoh of Egypt. And Cappadocia, which looks like the Flintstones hometown, but has cave dwelling with early Christian-era wall paintings. And Pamukkale which reminded me of Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone.

 

I became a fan of doner kebab, sort of local fast food meat cooked on a rotisserie I've enjoyed doner many times since in many other places, but never any better than every place in Turkey. And freshly squeezed pomegranate juice - 3 fresh pomegranates freshly squeezed for just 1 euro when we were there.

[makkblin]

Of all the private and cruise line tours our

Most memorable. Overlord Tours of Normandy and the

DDay Beaches. Only way to describe was-Fantastic!!!!

 

Patrick's tour of Bora Bora was incredible.

[2theship]

There are too many to mention but a few posts have reminded me of the two days we spent with the wonderful Kagan Kosagan in Istanbul. I think of him often with the problems in Turkey now. He gave us the most wonderful tours. We planned the days ahead of time and other roll call members joined us. I can remember driving down a street and someone asked about a certain building and he said "it's less than 500 years old, we don't have time for that". Of course, he then told her what it was - but we kept on driving. We talked about history, religion and politics. It was an amazing tour.

[Florida_cruisers]

I have done quite a few port tours, mostly private from 2-8 people. The very best of the best was in St. Petersburg, Russia. We had a private guide and driver for two days. Yes, it was pricy, but we received way more than we paid for those two days...we never stood in line, ate in our own private restaurant and got the royal tour everywhere and up the back staircases too!:cool: My second best was in Lake Como, but unfortunately not a port!

PLEASE tell me about the Lake Como tour. We are going there next year and need recommendations.

[Lois R]

Depends on the itinerary......in Alaska, specifically Ketchikan, A Float plane tour with ISLAND WINGS is one of my all time

favorite things:D.....flying to the Fjords is amazing.

 

Ephesus, Turkey........now that is really amazing. I sailed Rome-Rome back in 2012 and most of the tours (non-cruiseline) were organized

by a couple of people on the roll call and although it has now been 5 years:eek:.....that was my best cruise ever. As much

as I enjoyed all the stops (LOVED Santorini), Ephesus really blew me away..... I would recommend it to everyone. Not

even sure cruiselines go there anymore with all the tumult going on in Turkey.........

[thefamilycruisers]

We've experienced so many brilliant tours as a family that my list would be very long :D. From 2 great days in Bangkok; a Bear experience in Hoonah, Alaska,; St. Petersburg overnight; the Billy train in Melbourne; a fabulous penguin experience in NZ to the mansion houses in RI and that's without touching on the glacier visit, the dolphin swims in the Caribbean; the Panama Canal in all its glory or the magnificent sights of Europe......sorry, just can't choose :) :confused:.

 

Villauk,

We are going to Australia/New Zealand in February. I would be very interested in where you had a fabulous penguin experience in NZ.

Thanks. Lisa

[benjoon]

I think our best port was Stanley in the Falkland islands. We did the 4WD trip to Vouleenteer Point to see the thousands of penguins. It was a private tour with Patrick Watts & went very smoothly. The small village feel of Stanley was a touch of Britain near the bottom of the world. Highlight of our 29 days cruising in South America.

 

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[villauk]

Villauk,

We are going to Australia/New Zealand in February. I would be very interested in where you had a fabulous penguin experience in NZ.

Thanks. Lisa

 

We took the 4WD Nature Safari and saw many penguins. It was an absolutely fabulous day in Akaroa ;).

 

http://www.pohatu.co.nz/

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2017 by villauk

[gwilli]

This is a wonderful thread....taking us to the best around the world! We have been to some, and hope to visit lots more of these places.

Our most FUN excursion was in Naples. We had been there before, as most have, and was looking for something away from all the tourists. We took a gastromic tour with AP Tours visiting and tasting lots of Italy's treasures. We went in a small "golf cart" through back streets (alley ways) through the countryside. It was great tasting olive oils, wines, cheeses, hams, fruits, gelato, but the making of our own pizza was a highlight. We laughed for days after this tour. :D