Help with Gibraltar shore excursions

[Whitby100]

I am hoping that the vast experience of cruisers here can help with shore excursion selection for our September visit to Gibraltar.  It’s a fairly short stop (1 - 10 pm) so we are thinking we will use OBC here.  Key context is that we (especially DH) are keen about history, and while we are familiar with Gibraltar’s historical sites, have no knowledge of the area and specifics of visiting the sites.  We are fit and love walking.
 

There are 2 shore excursions offered by Azamara that we have short listed.  ‘A City Under Siege’ which includes cable car, tunnels, drive past Moorish Castle and finishes at Gibraltar Museum.  The other, ‘Upper Rock on Foot’ also has the cable car, path to St. Michael’s Cave ( which we don’t think is of particular interest to us) and tunnels. Both are 2 - 5:30 pm.

 

We are disappointed that the Moorish Castle doesn’t appear to be included.  Has anyone done either or both of these excursions that could give me a review?  Any comment on the castle and missing it?  We have done Sintra from Lisbon and found it fascinating.  
 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

[luv2travel90266]

Very easy. Was just there in April. When you get off the ship taxi drivers outside the customs area will approach you and put together a group of 6-8 for a van. They will take you up to the top of the rock, to the caves and to the siege tunnels. They took Eurors or Pounds. I think the cost was about 70 Euros/person. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by luv2travel90266

[Host Jazzbeau]

The Moorish Castle is nothing but a ruin, so any trip you take will likely pass by it and that's all there is.  The cable car is probably not worth it because taxis and buses can take you to the top where the best views are – and it's too far for most people to walk from the upper station to Europa Point, which has the views of Africa [*weather permitting, which applies to the cable car and all upper viewpoints].

 

The absolute best thing to see is the WWII 'Great Siege Tunnels'.

 

The other big attraction up top is St. Michael's Cave, which is also one of three places infested with the famous Apes.  The cave is out of the way of everything else, and not one of the world top 10 caves so DW and I were content to see one mother Ape with baby through the bus window somewhere in our tour.

 

The Gibraltar Museum a compact collection but well displayed with interesting videos/movies and physical exhibits.

 

If the weather is nice there is apparently a small Botanic Garden near the lower cable car station [we had rain developing in the afternoon so eliminated our DIY plans after the guided tour].

 

My suggestion:  If you have good weather and are reasonably fit, get a taxi to take you to Europa Point and then drop you at the Great Siege Tunnels.  Take as much time as you like there and then walk down – this route avoids the monkeys and goes right by the Moorish Castle and ends at Casemates Square where the shuttles go back to the ship.  You can then walk down Main Street, taking in the Museum (and the Botanical Garden if you wish) and then walk back – along the way visit any Anglophile shops or pubs that attract your interest.

 

Even with poor weather we enjoyed Gibraltar.  In nicer weather it would have been worth a whole day, but we accomplished much of what we wanted to see in a morning so you should be able to do so in an afternoon and be back onboard for dinner with no regrets.

 

For more info I recommend Tom's Port Guide:

https://www.tomsportguides.com/uploads/5/8/5/4/58547429/gibraltar-02-15-2012.pdf

 

[lisiamc]

If you go to any of the places with monkeys, don’t take any food with you. They are very endearing from a distance, but they’ve had too much contact with humans who feed them, even when advised not to. Up close, the little so-and-sos will mug you, eat your food, steal your sunglasses, your hat or your handbag, and scratch you with their dirty little fingernails. They can and occasionally do bite also, with their surprisingly large and pointy teeth.

Edited May 24, 2023 by lisiamc

[mj_holiday]

Totally agree with the monkey warning.  On our visit, as we were getting on the cable car our tour guide saw a couple with a small child and stroller heading up.  She told them they needed to leave the stroller behind because of the monkeys.  It was an umbrella stroller.  They ignored her advise and as soon as monkeys caught sight of the stroller coming off the cable car, they were on it and the couple baring had a chance to get their child out of the stroller before it was destroyed.  The monkeys were not after the small child.  But the experience of the monkeys is that strollers are a good place to find food.

[XJ6]

My wife and I actually took the afternoon 'A City under Siege' tour earlier this year, and it was just brilliant. Our guide, a native-born Gibraltarian with Spanish parents, was out of this world (I guess I should be careful about any further ID, because these guys are all 'contractors' to Azamara) . He made sure we saw absolutely everything on the itinerary, and more, even when it meant over-running on the excursion timing a bit (but not unduly). His extensive knowledge and sense of humour (despite being a little 'quirky' from time to time) provided us with all the information we could want on the sights, the island in general, and its history. There was only one small problem for our cruise, the WWII tunnels were closed to the public for renovation work, but this hardly detracted from the tour at all, since we visited the others. Our guide also ensured that we visited, in a timely fashion, all the sites which closed in the late afternoon, rounding off the whole tour with a virtual circumnavigation of the island at dusk - brilliantly done.

 

The tours are all done in mini-coaches, so the groups are not too large, and the guides are very careful not to 'tread on each others' toes', to ensure everyone gets the time they need to see everything - so the tour might not 'pan out' quite in the order of your itinerary above. Our cruise was early in the season so there was hardly any 'interference' from other cruise ships.We thought the whole exercise was very well organised, and provided exceptional coverage of an historic island. You say you are familiar with the history and particulars of the key sites, so I won't dwell on these, other than to mention that the museum is a bit small, but then, so is the whole island, however I very much doubt if you'll be disappointed going on this tour.

 

We also used OBC for this excursion, and it was logistically extremely effective, and worth every cent/penny/credit we spent on it.

 

Please do heed lisiamc's warning above about the apes (these Barbary Macaques are, however, one of the icons of the island, so don't necessarily miss them) - leave nothing loose about your person whatsoever. Hats, sunglasses and spectacles, for instance, are particularly vulnerable around them, and if your pockets aren't secure, get the contents into a secure backpack or bag that they macaques cannot just slip off your shoulder.

 

Have a great time.

[uktog]

You get excellent tours from the local taxi drivers at the port. Same people as do the ships tours which are so over priced in Gibraltar. If you pick up your own tour the driver will do deviations for you. This is one place the ship tour gives you no advantage 

[Whitby100]

Thanks so much for all the advice.  Because we have OBC to use we will go ahead and book the City under Siege tour, hoping we get something close to the great one XJ6 experienced.  We typically find our own way with local taxis but will use up some OBC here.  Great tip about watching sunglasses with the monkeys.  I will remember to stow them securely in my locked bag.  The tips provided by Host Jazzbeau are fabulous and I really appreciate the link provided.  
 

Of course with the current website issues, I’m not sure how I’ll book the tours, but at least I know what I want to do.

 

Thanks again!

[SoBaycruiser]

13 hours ago, Whitby100 said:

Thanks so much for all the advice.  Because we have OBC to use we will go ahead and book the City under Siege tour, hoping we get something close to the great one XJ6 experienced.  We typically find our own way with local taxis but will use up some OBC here.  Great tip about watching sunglasses with the monkeys.  I will remember to stow them securely in my locked bag.  The tips provided by Host Jazzbeau are fabulous and I really appreciate the link provided.  
 

Of course with the current website issues, I’m not sure how I’ll book the tours, but at least I know what I want to do.

 

Thanks again!

If you are on the Sept 12 cruise on Pursuit, come join us on the roll call.

[Whitby100]

I have never joined one before lol.  How do I do it?  I can see it but do I reply to the last entry or right at the top?

[SoBaycruiser]

1 minute ago, Whitby100 said:

I have never joined one before lol.  How do I do it?  I can see it but do I reply to the last entry or right at the top?

Since each specific cruise has its own thread, you just start by reading the previous posts.  Then if you have something to say just add to the end if (it’s a new subject) or reply to someone else by tapping the “quote” feature at the bottom of their post by the + sign. … just like I did yours.  It quoted what you wrote and I’m responding.  It also notifies that person that they have a reply.

 

 

[Whitby100]

4 minutes ago, SoBaycruiser said:

Since each specific cruise has its own thread, you just start by reading the previous posts.  Then if you have something to say just add to the end if (it’s a new subject) or reply to someone else by tapping the “quote” feature at the bottom of their post by the + sign. … just like I did yours.  It quoted what you wrote and I’m responding.  It also notifies that person that they have a reply.

 

 

Thanks!

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 minutes ago, SoBaycruiser said:

Since each specific cruise has its own thread, you just start by reading the previous posts.  Then if you have something to say just add to the end if (it’s a new subject) or reply to someone else by tapping the “quote” feature at the bottom of their post by the + sign. … just like I did yours.  It quoted what you wrote and I’m responding.  It also notifies that person that they have a reply.

 

 

And at the top of any thread is a light blue button marked 'Follow' – click on that and you get a choice of options for automatic notification of new posts.

[luv2travel90266]

There is a lot that can add to your enjoyment on the trip being part of a roll call.  Many of us find guides to do small group excursions in the ports through local providers at a fraction of the cost booking with Azamara. I have met some great cruisers that have joined me for other trips. A golf friend met in Buenos Aires lives 35 miles away is Southern Cal  and has done another trip to Europe with us. A great networking opportunity!

[Host Jazzbeau]

16 minutes ago, luv2travel90266 said:

There is a lot that can add to your enjoyment on the trip being part of a roll call.  Many of us find guides to do small group excursions in the ports through local providers at a fraction of the cost booking with Azamara. I have met some great cruisers that have joined me for other trips. A golf friend met in Buenos Aires lives 35 miles away is Southern Cal  and has done another trip to Europe with us. A great networking opportunity!

That's true in general, but I'm not sure it works in Gibraltar.  The taxi drivers have it sewn up except for the ship's tours.

[hamrag]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

That's true in general, but I'm not sure it works in Gibraltar.  The taxi drivers have it sewn up except for the ship's tours.

Absolutely true, it's so simple to walk off and board the same van (or van company) the cruiselines are using! And, because those vans are small (12 max) it's not the regimented full bus sheep herding that sometimes occurs! So it feels more like a small rollcall group, although it's likely you never before met the other occupants and some may be from a different ship!

Edited May 27, 2023 by hamrag

[Whitby100]

We typically do not use Azamara shore excursions either.  We often walk off and grab a taxi or walk about, and have also booked private tours.  OBC and short stays in port are when we book with Azamara which is what we will do here.  We booked this cruise because we have never been to Spain and know nothing about 80% of the ports.  We are looking forward spending our evenings doing research with a glass of wine in hand.  I have now joined the roll call and will happily integrate the tips given here and there.