first time cruiser--excursions?

[KimberlyBowes]

Hello, we are first time cruisers and I am trying to find out what options we have for excursions  for each of the ports prior to us going on the ship... is there somewhere I can find this information?                      

We are travelling the : Costa Diadema

BARCELONA, SPAIn	--	07:00 PM
PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN	09:00 AM	05:00 PM
AT SEA	--	--
PALERMO, SICILY	08:00 AM	04:00 PM
CIVITAVECCHIA (ROME)	08:00 AM	07:00 PM
SAVONA (ITALY)	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
MARSEILLE (FRANCE)	08:30 AM	05:00 PM
BARCELONA (SPAIN)	09:00 AM	--

[greg2014]

Information about possible excursions is available on mycosta.com website.

You only need to fill form with your booking number and name and will see all available options for your cruise (not only excursions - also drink packages, spa and wellness and many others). 

[KimberlyBowes]

oh my gosh.. thank you Greg for the prompt response.... Thank you:)

[Dancer Bob]

You are not required to use the cruise line excusions, you can usually arrange better and cheaper on your own. There is a lot of information on the Ports of Call board.

But- be careful about about the advice,  there may be a crucial detail left out which makes a huge difference if you don't know about it. The cruise line is the safe and convenient alternative.

The English language hostess will have a meeting for English-speaking passengers early in the cruise. She herself, of course has to recommend the cruiseline trips.

[tenpin]

As a first time cruiser you may well be better of with the ships tours.

 

However looking at your POC most can be done on the hop-on hop-off busses, Barcellona is easy get the shuttle either Costa's or local outside terminal, you are dropped of very close to Las Ramblas (maritime museum is good) lots of sites within walking distance pick up by arches easily spotted. Savona within walking distance across bridge.

 

Rome either do a tour with Costa or get their coach into Rome (75 minutes away plus) with Costa tour you will see more as most times they are able to enter without having to queue. You will see enough in your allotted time in Rome if you would rather DIY.

Most other ports you can hop a bus or taxi into city centres.

 

Just to clarify Greg's post go into Costas site scroll right down to bottom you will see 'mycosta' enter your name and cruise number then you will see all the things offered on board

Edited January 7, 2019 by tenpin
added extra

[skeldergate]

Hi

we did our first costa cruise last year and opted to go on a costa arranged shore excursion each time.

Some of them were a little rushed - one was a complete waste of money.

 

This was our first ever cruise so we thought we would do the shIpswich excursions to get the hang of it.

 

Be warned if you decide to do your own thing. In port they would give priority to those guests who had booked shore excursions through costa. Other guests were allowed off the ship last.

 

Hypothetically you could be due to dock in port at 0800 and arrange your own private tour for 0900 - only to find that you can't get off until 1000...

[tenpin]

One other thing you might want to look at is cruisexcurtions you can look at these on line before you go and book.

They do not have tours in every port but usually fill mini-buses for local tours slightly under ships prices.

[alicat58]

Hi Kimberly

 

We are seasoned Costa cruisers and have been to those ports many times. Like Dancer Bob said, it is a good idea to look at the boards to see what people suggest. It also depends whether you have done land based trips to any of the ports in the past. We rarely use the excursions with Costa. They are not bad but most of the time it is possible to do the same thing easily on your own and not end up been rushed or herded about with hordes of other people.

 

Barcelona: DON'T use the Costa transfer to the bottom of Las Ramblas. The blue port bus is way cheaper, runs regularly and stops just about at the same place. There are so many things to do in Barcelona if it is your first time but do remember it is very touristy and most of the easy to reach restaurants are a rip off and the food is only meh! It is an easy city to walk. If I can single out only one thing you have to do it will be pre-booking Sagrada familia and spending time there. I am not religious but it is one of the most beautiful and spiritual places I have ever visited. It is fun to walk along Las Ramblas. There is an amazing food market to just wander in(don't think the locals are too keen). You could take the cable car to the top of Mont Juice. We took a taxi(was ripped off) , took the new cable car down to where it stops and then walked all the way down the rest of the hill. It was not too strenuous. Had a drink and lunch on a square off Las ramblas.

 

Palma: DON'T take the Costa shuttle! If you just want to wander around the old town you'll find lots to do and see. It is very pretty. Lots of churches and squares. It costs about €12pp  with Costa. We take a taxi to the stand close to the cathedral for about €10 and the same back. We have never bothered to go out of town because we always have lunch at the same amazing restaurant and that is our high light for Palma.

 

Palermo: I was more scared walking around Palermo that I was Mumbai! The drivers are horrendous. The HoHo bus is a major rip off. We used it the very first time we went. Stops at very few places and runs infrequently. Having said that it was low season at the time. Our second visit we decided to take a Costa tour which took you out of Palermo and the village we went to was lovely. For the life of me cannot remember what it was called. The visit required some walking as the bus has to stop outside.

 

Rome: Civitavecchia is way outside Rome. The traffic is bad. It takes around 90 minutes to get to Rome. Costa used to stop close to the Collosseum but apparently the mayor of Rome now makes all tour operators stop elsewhere. This was very convenient for a DIY trip. Rome has so much to see that you need to decide what you really want to do in one day. Our very first time was with a Costa tour and it was great. It was quite a chilly but clear February day. The large coach took an English/French group into the city and we were then split and ended in a group of 16 with a very good guide. We visited the Colosseum outside, St.Peters cathedral inside and walked around Piazza Navona and visited the Pantheon. We were free to have lunch in that area. It was very good. Since then we have always used Costa transfers and did our own thing.

 

Marseille: I would use the Costa transfer in this instance. There is a local bus that stops some way from the ship but the queues are usually massive. You can easily walk around the old port and local areas. The little train €10 pp when we went was a bone shaker but took you up the hill to the cathedral and the views from there were amazing. The cathedral is quite small but very pretty.

 

Savona: Not a huge amount to see really but if you have never been you could spend a day exploring. You can visit the fort, lots of churches and the cathedral, there is a sisteine chapel attached to the cathedral. The same pope who did the one in Rome. One of the Deroveres(spelling). It's pretty and there is a small charge. It is not open all the time.

 

We are not keen on HoHo. Been disappointed too many times.

 

Sorry about the long saga but I hope it helps.

 

Riana