Shore excursions not through the ship

[EliseL]

Hi,

We usually do our shore excursions through the ship because it's less stressful for us.  But on our June/July trip to Greece they don't have anything for Kusadasi or Volos.  I found two companies: Shore Excursions Group and Venture Ashore than guarantee getting back to the ship on time.  Anyone have any experience with either of these or have other suggestions?  We prefer group tours rather than private or on our own.  

 

Thanks.

[CruiserBruce]

Shore Excursion Group is discussed here frequently. They are a broker...they don't provide the tour. They take your money and then go seek a low bid vendor.

 

This means some good prices, but as the providers are frequently low bid, you may not be getting the better English speakers, etc. And when there are problems, it is very hard to get ahold of anyone.

 

Every vendor will promise to get you back to the ship on time. But sometimes "ship" happens. Even cruise line excursions can't guarantee you get back on time, and possibly the ship can't wait. The tour company's reputation rests on getting you back OR paying your expenses to catch up with the ship.

 

The very common recommendation here is to find local, recommended venders, and deal direct.

[John Bull]

The two brokers (as per @CruiserBruce 's post they're booking agencies, not excursion operators) specialise in excursions from cruise ships, so one can have more faith in them than in all-sorts agencies but do carefully check whether they're only offering platitudes or they accept liability if you don't get back to the ship on time. Missing a sailing when on a professionally-organised excursion is extremely rare, but no-one can guarantee getting back on time, and the krunch is whether they accept liability for getting you to the next port and all the costs involved.

 

The only place that I'm aware of which is worthy of a visit from Volos is Meteora, about 90 miles & something under two hours away. If your ship is in port for only a short day that would explain why there are no ship's excursions.

Our ship did offer that excursion, but their price was very high and the timing was too tight to risk renting a car. So instead we rented a car and explored the hills behind Volos - a pleasant but unexciting day.

Some day we'd like to go to Meteora, it's a unique & magical place. 

 

The main attraction from Kusadasi is the ancient ruins of Ephesus, less than half-an-hour from the ship. I feel sure that the ship would offer an excursion - is your cruise a long way off, excursions not yet published? Or is yours a late booking, excursions already sold-out? There's no need to use a booking agency, plenty of local operators if you browse https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=Ephesus&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=149 or google the place.

We negotiated a taxi - that plus the admission worked out a little cheaper than an excursion, though our objective was doing-our-own-thing rather than cheap-skating (honest it was 😏).

You do need a guide, or at the very least a guide book from a stall at the entrance - there's virtually no signage so you wouldn't have a clue what you're looking at.

 

JB 🙂

 

[Hlitner]

When it comes to the Port of Kusadasi, we have long suggested that cruisers should consider booking a tour with one of the excellent local tour providers.  No need to use a third party site like Viatour.

 

Our own "go to" tour company is Ekol Tours (we have used them a couple of times for private tours).  There are other decent tour companies (sometimes recommended here on CC).  When you deal directly with the tour company you can be very specific.  On one trip we asked Ekol for a very knowledgeable guide and a private tour (for only the two of us).  We ended up with a terrific guide, new van, driver, and it all cost us less than any comparable cruise ship excursion that would have been with at least 50 of our friends :).  Since we had our own tour we were able to skip the usual "kidnapping and mandatory visit to a jewelry factory" and that kind of rubbish.  

 

Having traveled all over the world, the ruins at Ephesus remain among our worldwide favorite places.  We have been through these ruins on our own (twice), on a cruise line excursion (once) and with our private guide (once).  Of those options, the worst (by far) was the large group cruise line excursion.  

 

Also make sure to specify that your tour includes a visit to the Terrace Houses (they are within the ruins of Ephesus).  Keep in mind that the Terrace Houses do involve steps and guides are not welcome in that facility.  Our personal guide simply waited for us, outside.  The Terrace Houses have lots of written signs/info so one has only to read to learn about the site.

 

Hank

[erby2283]

We are cruising in September and a couple weeks ago, I contacted EphesusShuttle.com after reading so many good things about them for our stop in Kusadasi. I have to say that even though I have not yet toured with them, I am very impressed with their communication. Each time someone joins our group/tour, I get copied on the email and when we hit 9 people, they asked if I wanted to split the tour into two vans or wait until we hit a larger number. If we add lunch, it’s $5 USD. And those of use who wanted to add the terrace steps can do so while those who are physically unable (because they can be challenging for the elderly or those with physical impairments) can opt out. Pricing was really good too.  The tour will be 4-5 hours giving us plenty of time to get back in time before the ship leaves. 
 

 

[EliseL]

Thanks everyone.  For Kusadasi I talked to two people at NCL. One said the tours were sold out and the other said they weren’t available yet. So who knows.  Our cruise is at the end of June.  
 

For Volos maybe we’ll just play it by ear since we’re only there half a day. Sounds like there’s nothing too exciting there.  

[John Bull]

9 hours ago, EliseL said:

Thanks everyone.  For Kusadasi I talked to two people at NCL. One said the tours were sold out and the other said they weren’t available yet. So who knows.  Our cruise is at the end of June.  
 

For Volos maybe we’ll just play it by ear since we’re only there half a day. Sounds like there’s nothing too exciting there.  

 

 

That 1/2 day in Volos puts you in the same position we were in.

For Meteora it's ship's excursion or a seriously-crossed-fingers independent excursion, or a lazy day in Volos.

After our little trip up in the hills we enjoyed a relaxing waterfront meal somewhere near the Azur Hotel https://maps.app.goo.gl/pYUQWRF8VpHH5vp7A

 

For Kusadasi, as Hank's post you should have no problem fixing up a tour with a local operator

 

JB 🙂

 

Edited March 11 by John Bull

[CCJack]

On 3/10/2024 at 8:41 PM, EliseL said:

Thanks everyone.  For Kusadasi I talked to two people at NCL. One said the tours were sold out and the other said they weren’t available yet. So who knows.  Our cruise is at the end of June.  
 

For Volos maybe we’ll just play it by ear since we’re only there half a day. Sounds like there’s nothing too exciting there.  

EliseL can you give me an update if NCL finally posted Kusadasi excursions for your June cruise.   We are on NCL for Sept 1. and there has been no Kusadasi excursions posted ever since we booked 10 months ago.   When I call they say that Kusadasi is a port that sometimes it takes longer for them to secure excursions.  Not sure if that is true or not.   It seems that for your June trip they should have something posted by now.   thanks.

[EliseL]

10 minutes ago, CCJack said:

EliseL can you give me an update if NCL finally posted Kusadasi excursions for your June cruise.   We are on NCL for Sept 1. and there has been no Kusadasi excursions posted ever since we booked 10 months ago.   When I call they say that Kusadasi is a port that sometimes it takes longer for them to secure excursions.  Not sure if that is true or not.   It seems that for your June trip they should have something posted by now.   thanks.

I’ve been checking and nothing yet. My aunt who is a travel agent told me to keep checking.  I’ll let you know if and when they pop up. 

[CCJack]

1 hour ago, EliseL said:

I’ve been checking and nothing yet. My aunt who is a travel agent told me to keep checking.  I’ll let you know if and when they pop up. 

Thank you.   I am concerned there may be something else going on such as NCL considering dropping the port altogether.    Let's hope not.   

[edinburgher]

On 3/9/2024 at 5:50 PM, EliseL said:

they don't have anything for Kusadasi or Volos.

Volos to Meteora is too far for a short port day, you will need to find something else to do which is more local. there should be lots of online info, you only need look for it in the usual places. Begin with something like "Volos Tourist Information", Tripadvisor, YouTube, Rick Steves and others, also read past threads. Choose from these:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=volos&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=463

 

 

 

Kusadasi as others have already mentioned is a super easy DIY port as Ephesus is only a short distance and there should be tours and/or taxis at the port.  At Ephesus, in addition to the main site, you or your guide if you have one should  buy tickets for the terrace houses as these are not included in the general admission ticket. (at least in the past they were not, but post pandemic times have seen changes in all sorts of places.) The terrace houses were where the elite lived and definitely worth a visit.