Excursions

[newbie30]

Hi all,

 

Just booked our first cruise on crown princess travelling to Gibraltar, Marseille, Genoa and Livorno. Having never cruised I have no idea if the ships excursions are best or if I need to shop around and if so is there someone in particular you would recommend? If I do how do I make sure they get back in time? Any advice is welcomed.

 

Thanks in advance [emoji4]

 

 

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[Clarea]

I would first join your Roll Call and see what others on your sailing are doing. You can find your Roll call in this forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=299. Look for the thread with your sailing date. These will be the people on your specific sailing conversing amongst themselves.

 

General questions about Princess cruise lines are best directed here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

 

There is also a wealth of info about excursions in the port of call forums:

 

France: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=593

 

Italy: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595

 

Gibraltar: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=234

 

Finally, TripAdvisor is an excellent resourse for reviews and other info.

 

Good Luck!

[Keith1010]

I will add there is just no best

 

Often when people are new to cruising they do go with the ships excursions

 

The positives of this approach is that you can pick from a pre set listing of excursions and do not have to arrange this on your own and you don't have to worry about the ship leaving should the tour run late.

 

The positives on doing it privately is that you are in a smaller group if doing it with a few people and it will be more intimate and sometimes less expensive.

 

Do think about what you want to do. For example in Livorno whaler there are some things to do there it really is the gateway to other places such as Lucca or Florence located about 90 minutes from the pier or Pisa located about 45 minutes from the pier.

 

Keith

[John Bull]

Hi, and welcome to the wonderful world of cruising.

 

DIY is possible using local transport at all these ports - for instance Livorno to Pisa or Florence - but it does need a lot of research, and a high degree of savvy.

 

So yes, stick to organised tours

- either ship's tours (Pros include it's simplest, no need for research, your money's safe, you're guaranteed not to miss the sailing. Cons include ships' tours are over-priced, comparatively regimented & inflexible, you move at the speed of the slowest including alighting & boarding big buses, lines at comfort breaks etc, and an unavoidable element of cattle-herding)

- or independently-organised tours. Best to check out your cruise's RollCall, where more-experienced fellow-passengers organise small-group tours. They'll use trusted & reliable tour operators, so no significant risk of missing the sailing and avoids all the negatives of ships' tours that I mentioned.

 

But do try DIY somewhere.

And Gib is by far the easiest.:)

Vans lined up at the pier will put you in with shipmates & take you for a tour of the upper Rock - St Michael's Cave, the Apes' Den, the Great Siege Tunnels, and glorious elevated views in all directions - over the town & the Bay of Algeciras, over the Straits & the north African coast & mountains, over the sheer drop on the Mediterranean side, over the sheer drop to the airport below & the Spanish border & coast. The van will take you back to the ship if you wish, but most folk bale out at Casemates Square at the bottom (northern) end of Main Street and explore the minor sights, the duty-free shops, the pubs & the cafes along and around Main Street.

From Casemates Square it's a simple & flat 20 minute walk back to the ship.

Last I heard the upper Rock tour cost something like £25 / €28 per person.

Probably the ship offers identical tours (in this instance ships also use small vans for their tours because of the steep & narrow roads & hairpin bends of the upper Rock), so check ship's price too.

 

If you're a well-travelled European you might want to consider DIY elsewhere too.

No disrespect intended, but if you're American & not widely-travelled it's probably best not to use public transport in case you screw-up / take the wrong train / etc.

 

(if you include your home as well as your screen-name in your header - just city or country - it avoids being given erroneous advice in future posts on subjects like visas, currencies, insurance, cancellation terms, etc)

 

All first cruises are great, have a good one.

 

JB :)

[newbie30]

Thank you for all the advice - it is greatly appreciated. I will look into it all in more detail later and go from there.

 

I think we’ll probably end up having to do more organised tours as, whilst I have travelled across lots of Europe, we will have two children with us.

 

Thanks again [emoji4]

 

 

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Also, before you start booking excursions with ANYONE...get a guidebook on your ports! (Libraries have them in the reference section, if you don't want to buy one) Find out what interests YOU, so you can pick an excursion that suits you best! There is also all kinds of info, from transportation, to shopping, eating, safety, local customs, etc....the more you know, the better time you will have!

[newbie30]

Also, before you start booking excursions with ANYONE...get a guidebook on your ports! (Libraries have them in the reference section, if you don't want to buy one) Find out what interests YOU, so you can pick an excursion that suits you best! There is also all kinds of info, from transportation, to shopping, eating, safety, local customs, etc....the more you know, the better time you will have!

 

 

 

Great advice. I cleared the shelf at my local library today and now have my bedtime reading sorted for the next month. Thanks for taking the time to reply [emoji4]

 

 

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[evandbob]

When we sailed the Crown Princess to Italy, Greece and Croatia, we used ship excursions because we were first timers and also didn't speak any local languages. Returning from a day's excursion in Florence, our ship's contracted tour bus encountered a major highway accident disaster and miles long backup. We had to get off and detour through local roads and arrived 2 hours past sailaway time. They were pulling up the gangplanks just as the last person on our bus stepped off!

We also used ship's excursions in Alaska, which was also on a Crown Princess sailing, because we were first timers there.

 

Now the Caribbean is another story. We've been there numerous times on cruises, and we've stayed on most Antilles and Caribbean isles several weeks each - we're usually off on our own then. Perhaps as we age, our sense of personal safety may change, but for now, we're comfortable negotiating with local operators and taxis to get around.