Alhambra

[snorkle lover]

We will be on the Explorer in April and one of the port stops is

Grenada. We ( along with a few others from roll call) are interested 

in seeing Alhambra. I can book my excursions in three weeks and nothing

is showing for the port of Motril. Does anyone know if a visit to Alhambra

will be offered as either an included excursion or a Regent choice?

 

 

[forgap]

I don’t know the answer to your question but when we were there with Oceania we took a private tour with a company that caters to cruise ships, limits the number of people in the group and guarantees return to the ship on time or they will foot the cost of getting you to the next port.  

 

Alhambra was one of my very favorite sites to visit.  Don’t miss it!  

[briar14]

We took a Regent Choice excursion to the Alhambra from Malaga a few years ago. A long day, well worth it. Back to ship after scheduled departure time. Mariner was waiting for us.

[Hambagahle]

We did the same - the Alhambra is pure magic and so is Granada.  Took 2 hours by bus each way but I would do it again in a flash.  We had a lovely lunch in a Relais and Château hotel there included in the tour and an excellent guide!

The port near Motril is under an hour from Granada - I would be surprised if no excursion to Granada is announced but if it isn't do consider getting a local tour operator to arrange one for you.  Or rent a car and drive up.

[EAGLESLOVER]

1 hour ago, briar14 said:

We took a Regent Choice excursion to the Alhambra from Malaga a few years ago. A long day, well worth it. Back to ship after scheduled departure time. Mariner was waiting for us.

+1

[BettyDol]

Hi Snorkel lover,  We will be on the Apr 3, 2020 Explorer cruise, Miami to Barcelona.  If this is the same cruise you will be on, I was able to book our excursions a few days ago and I have some info about the available Granada tours officially offered.  No.1: Granada and the Alhambra.  It cost $179.00, is 8 and a half hours long and includes lunch and guide.  80 mile ride.  No. 2 is: Granada on your own. It is free, 7 and a half hours and does NOT include entry fees or lunch.  The third option is Granada:  the soul of Andalusia.  It is free, 9 hours long and does NOT include the Alhambra.  There are 21 shore excursions offered.  One we have taken before was one of my most favorite excursions ever.  It is Picasso's Malaga.  I am not an art expert or particularly a Picasso fan and maybe it was the excellent guide we had, but it was a great tour.  I have also been twice to Granada and the Alhambra and both times it was a great experience.  Long day, but worth it!  I hope this info is helpful >

[cruiseluv]

Just be aware that if you do a Granada on your own excursion and want to go into the Alhambra, you should buy ahead of time timed tickets. Its almost impossible to get tickets on the spot ( for example, right now there're no tickets available for August or Sept, and several dates in Oct are also sold out). The official website to do it is

https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by cruiseluv

[LoonCall]

My 2018 cruise from Barcelona to Southampton did not offer an excursion to Alhambra. It was many months of back and forth with Regent but they ultimately did not secure any options for a tour. I booked through http://www.spaindaytours.com/ with Emilia.

We departed Malaga (Granada). It was well run had a good on bus guide who then passed us over to another guide specifically for the Alhambra. There were quite a few other Regent passengers. Long day but well worth it.

 

 

[snorkle lover]

22 hours ago, forgap said:

I don’t know the answer to your question but when we were there with Oceania we took a private tour with a company that caters to cruise ships, limits the number of people in the group and guarantees return to the ship on time or they will foot the cost of getting you to the next port.  

 

Alhambra was one of my very favorite sites to visit.  Don’t miss it!  

 

[snorkle lover]

Thank you Forgap. Still hoping it will be offered. Looks like we may

live near you.

[snorkle lover]

22 hours ago, briar14 said:

We took a Regent Choice excursion to the Alhambra from Malaga a few years ago. A long day, well worth it. Back to ship after scheduled departure time. Mariner was waiting for us.

Thank you Briar 14. Still checking and hoping it is offered.

[snorkle lover]

21 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

We did the same - the Alhambra is pure magic and so is Granada.  Took 2 hours by bus each way but I would do it again in a flash.  We had a lovely lunch in a Relais and Château hotel there included in the tour and an excellent guide!

The port near Motril is under an hour from Granada - I would be surprised if no excursion to Granada is announced but if it isn't do consider getting a local tour operator to arrange one for you.  Or rent a car and drive up.

Thank you Hambagahle. Hopefully it will be offered in April.

[snorkle lover]

21 hours ago, EAGLESLOVER said:

+1

Thank you Eagleslover,

Hopefully, Regent will offer it in 2020.

[snorkle lover]

17 hours ago, BettyDol said:

Hi Snorkel lover,  We will be on the Apr 3, 2020 Explorer cruise, Miami to Barcelona.  If this is the same cruise you will be on, I was able to book our excursions a few days ago and I have some info about the available Granada tours officially offered.  No.1: Granada and the Alhambra.  It cost $179.00, is 8 and a half hours long and includes lunch and guide.  80 mile ride.  No. 2 is: Granada on your own. It is free, 7 and a half hours and does NOT include entry fees or lunch.  The third option is Granada:  the soul of Andalusia.  It is free, 9 hours long and does NOT include the Alhambra.  There are 21 shore excursions offered.  One we have taken before was one of my most favorite excursions ever.  It is Picasso's Malaga.  I am not an art expert or particularly a Picasso fan and maybe it was the excellent guide we had, but it was a great tour.  I have also been twice to Granada and the Alhambra and both times it was a great experience.  Long day, but worth it!  I hope this info is helpful >

Hi BettyDol,

Our Cruise is actually starting in Barcelona and ends in Lisbon.

Thank you so much for the information on the excursions. I am 

hoping that Alhambra will be offered to us as well. This will be our

second Regent cruise but first time in Spain so we definitely want to

see all the beautiful places.

Enjoy your cruise!

[snorkle lover]

16 hours ago, cruiseluv said:

Just be aware that if you do a Granada on your own excursion and want to go into the Alhambra, you should buy ahead of time timed tickets. Its almost impossible to get tickets on the spot ( for example, right now there're no tickets available for August or Sept, and several dates in Oct are also sold out). The official website to do it is

https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/

 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, cruiseluv said:

Just be aware that if you do a Granada on your own excursion and want to go into the Alhambra, you should buy ahead of time timed tickets. Its almost impossible to get tickets on the spot ( for example, right now there're no tickets available for August or Sept, and several dates in Oct are also sold out). The official website to do it is

https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/

 

 

 

Thank you Crusluv

[snorkle lover]

52 minutes ago, LoonCall said:

My 2018 cruise from Barcelona to Southampton did not offer an excursion to Alhambra. It was many months of back and forth with Regent but they ultimately did not secure any options for a tour. I booked through http://www.spaindaytours.com/ with Emilia.

We departed Malaga (Granada). It was well run had a good on bus guide who then passed us over to another guide specifically for the Alhambra. There were quite a few other Regent passengers. Long day but well worth it.

 

 

 

[snorkle lover]

Thank you LoonCall,

Well, this is not good news. I think I need to start making some

phone calls to Regent so we know whether or not we need to 

be looking at booking our own Alhambra tour.

i am quite surprised that this tour wasn’t offered even as a 

Regent Choice.

[forgap]

25 minutes ago, snorkle lover said:

Thank you Forgap. Still hoping it will be offered. Looks like we may

live near you.

We live intown and anticipating our 9th Regent Cruise.  If you need any advice, don’t hesitate to reach out via email! 

[LoonCall]

I was disappointed as well, see thread above if you are interested.

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I can't imagine they would be stopping at Motril instead of Malaga and NOT offer excursions to Granada.  It's significantly closer and easier to get to.  We did it from Malaga and it was a long day.

 

Granada itself is lovely, the Alhambra is magical.

[snorkle lover]

Hi Wendy,

 

The itinerary lists it as 

Granada ( Motril)

 

It is the only port that does not have 

the excursions listed as of today.

We are scheduled to book our

excursions the end of this month.

 

Perhaps they are working on a tour

for Alhambra, I hope.

 

[UUNetBill]

Not to throw fuel on the fire, but I first visited the Alhambra as a 15-year old high school student and here I an 40+ years later and the Alhambra is one of the most vivid memories of my entire trip to Spain that year.  And if a place can make that kind of impression on a punk kid like myself that tells you how awesome it is.  If Regent doesn't offer an excursion there, I'd definitely be looking into private tours.

 

Just sayin'.

[Travelcat2]

29 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

Not to throw fuel on the fire, but I first visited the Alhambra as a 15-year old high school student and here I an 40+ years later and the Alhambra is one of the most vivid memories of my entire trip to Spain that year.  And if a place can make that kind of impression on a punk kid like myself that tells you how awesome it is.  If Regent doesn't offer an excursion there, I'd definitely be looking into private tours.

 

Just sayin'.

 

You are making me wish that I had not cancelled that excursion 4 times (4 different sailings - a record for us).  I did watch videos but it likely is better to be there!

[UUNetBill]

Just now, Travelcat2 said:

 

You are making me wish that I had not cancelled that excursion 4 times (4 different sailings - a record for us).  I did watch videos but it likely is better to be there!

It always is.  That's why we travel rather than just watch Rick Steves all the time.   🙂

[Travelcat2]

Just now, UUNetBill said:

It always is.  That's why we travel rather than just watch Rick Steves all the time.   🙂

 

That was the fastest response ever! (Okay - get back to work)🙃