Ships Tour From Millenium

[Tookie]

Has anybody had any experience wth the cruise line's tours on the Millenium Barcelona to Venice trip? I know many people are going private but I wonder what the ship's tours were like?

[pattyj 1204]

I don't know when you are taking your cruise, but I'm doing that same iteniary in about a week. We are taking all ship tours, except for the one day we are spending in Barcelona. I would be happy to answer your question when we get back in Aug. We have taken 2 other cruises and used tours for everything, but 1 tour. We were generally pleased with the tours offered and learned a lot about what we were seeing from the guides. If you have never cruised I think it is safer to use the ships' tours. They are checked out and the ship won't leave without you if there is any trouble getting back. Just my opinion.

[rundogrun]

We just got back from the July 1 Millie. We used mostly private tours which kept us two steps ahead of the crowded cruise buses. You can find plenty of reliable inexpensive guides on these boards. Many go where the buses don't. Our Rome guide was an archeologist and our Naples guide took us to one of our most memorable meals of our lifetime, in addition to arranging for an excellent guide in Pompeii. In Athens we used the trains to get to the Acropolis...total cost of just a few Euros + entry to Acropolis.

 

That being said, the one Celebrity excursion we took was in Florence, where we did the Florence/Pisa On Your Own. The bus dropped us off in Florence where we had about 4 hours. We had made reservations for the Uffizi and Accademia before hand, which is the only reason we were able to do both. At about 1:30, we left for Pisa where we had an hour to wander around on our own. It made for a short day in Florence, but you really need several days to do it justice. An hour was plenty in Pisa.

 

We used the Celebrity shuttle bus service in Croatia and Venice. Definitely worth it. Just be sure to buy your tickets in advance and avoid the long lines on the dock in the morning. Heck, the Venice shuttle boat could be an excursion by itself. We had made reservations at the Doge Palace beforehand and were able to walk right in. After dinner back on the ship, we went back into Venice for a stroll at night. It was truly memorable.

[cathi]

Since the Millie offers many excursions you would be better to ask for a specific port or excursions that does what you would like. We did a combination of ship's tours and on our own. If you do your research most ports are doable on your own. Depending on how many people are in your party a private tour may be the way to go. Also depending on what you want to see in each port search these boards. There is an excellent guide to doing Pompeii on your own, for example. Have fun!

[marpau]

Have any of you taken the ship's tour in Rome - Angels and Deamons, if so, what was it like?

[RhondaPerr]

We decided since this was our first cruise oversees that we would do all the ships tours...and we were not disappointed... There was only one tour that was not worth it and that was the wine tasting in Santorini...We had wonderful guides who juggled our schedule if necessary so that we got to see everything, despite taxi strikes etc. The best tour was the Exclusive Almafi Coast tour...We fell in love with Positano and Sorrento. It was nice not to worry about an of the extraneous factors that could have prevented us from getting back to the ship on time. We were really impressed with how organized all the ships tours were. We don't regret our decision at all to not do private tours..

[smroque]

Hi Tookie,

 

We did the Millennium Barcelona to Venice cruise in May 2005. Any time your destination is said to be 90 minutes away from the POC, you are safest on a ship excursion, since as mentioned before, the ship will wait for excursions booked through Celebrity, but not for private tours.

 

In Villefranche, we went to Nice by SNCF train on our own. Friends later that summer found the trains on strike, so they took a bus elsewhere.

 

In Livorno, we did the ship's Florence/Pisa all day with lunch, which included tours/photo ops OUTSIDE il duomo, the baptistery, the Uffizi courtyard, the Ponte Vecchio, the Signoria plaza and a tour INSIDE the church of Santa Croce. The Pisa portion was long enough for photo ops in the Field of Miracles, souvenir shopping, but NOT for entering the leaning tower.

 

In Civitavecchia, we did the ship's Imperial Rome all day with lunch, which did include tours of the Trevi fountain, the Roman forum and admission INSIDE the Colisseum. After lunch we rode to Vatican City for a tour INSIDE St. Peter's Basilica.

 

Both the Florence and Rome excursions worked out very well. Since we had to leave the ship early, on the bus, after providing us with headsets and a basic rundown of our trip, the guides let us nap during most of the 90 minute drive until we reached our destination (where we would need our energy to walk and walk and walk).

 

In Naples, we did a ship excursion to Pompei, which unfortunately included a stop at a cameo workshop, which was interesting, but I would have preferred more time in Pompei. Shipmates who had hydrofoiled on their own to Capri said the rough seas that day, en route to the island, put a damper on their adventure. The seas are not always rough though. I would love an excursion to Sorrento (maybe next time).

 

We did Santorini on our own, so we paid for the cable car ride up to the town of Fira, walked to the outdoor bus terminal, paid 1 euro per person, each way for a ticket to the town of Ia, where he had lunch at a nice restaurant, Skala, with a fabulous view of the caldera.

 

At Piraeus, we walked for one half hour to the Metro station and bought round trip tickets into Athens. Most would be better off with a tour, but we saw the (hourly) changing of the guard at the Parliament building, had lunch in the Plaka and then walked up to the Acropolis (I think admission was 12 euro per person) to see the Parthenon, the Acropolis museum and of course the awesome view of the city. BTW - Athens was really hot, even in May.

 

In Dubrovnik, the ship provided a FREE shuttle bus to the Old Town. We walked around the city wall (admission 30 kuna or 4,50 euro - your call) and then down into the town's harbor for lunch at Lokanda Peskarija.

 

In Venice, the ship provided a free shuttle boat to St. Mark's. Since we had so much time (overnight stay) in Venice, we did not fear getting lost while sightseeing...

 

Wish we were going back!

 

Sylvia

[rundogrun]

Keep in mind that those shuttles in Dubrovnik and Venice are no longer free...

[smroque]

Wow rundogrun,

 

What a shame that Celebrity has started nickel & diming passengers with regards to shuttles!

 

On our trip May 2005, the ship also stopped on Mykonos, Greece and Millennium provided a FREE shuttle bus, back and forth, to Mykonos town.

 

Thanks for the update.

 

Sylvia

[rundogrun]

Yeah...funny thing about those shuttles...

 

It was a big to-do on the Celebrity board prior to our cruise. But to be honest, at $10 adult/$5 child it was a comparative bargain vs. what the ship usually charges to take you to the "city center". Then again, we never experienced it as "free" so we didn't mind paying. It was probably cheaper than the cab we would have had to pay for anyway.

 

We came to the conclusion this trip that every cruiseline nickle and dimes in some fashion. What's free on some, costs money on others. As long as they don't get together and charge for the same things, it probably all works our evenly in the end.

[tsfan12]

Our family of 8 just returned from the Millie July 1st sailing. My parents did 3 of the Ship's excursions and joined us on our 4 Private Tours. There were many of us to fill the Van so our cost ran an average of 500 Euros for each tour. If we took the ship's tour we would have doubled our cost. Here are some pros and cons and this is from feedback from my parents and the people from their tours.

 

My main concern was that the Private Driver will not show up or we might be late back to the ship. We hired drivers in Livorno, Citiv.,Naples and Athens. We learned that they are professionals and these tours are their "bread and butter" and they will show up. They all know each other and their businesses and they are like "brothers and sisters". Our driver Duman (driverinrome) knew I had originally booked w/Claudio (limoinrome), but I cancelled due to his price. I thought how did he know that. Please keep in mind they offer flexibility, they drop you off close to the sites since they are not driving large buses and you don't have to wait for anybody to come back- their is less walking. They were very polite, informative going out of their way to please you. One of our drivers, Sabrina from Papillon was so good, she took care of my parents staying in a hotel lobby (my mother was tired of walking) while we went shopping (Florence) and brought has to a great cheap restaurant.

 

On my parents tours, they did more walking since the buses had to park further in some places- they had to keep up w/the tour group/wait for people and the cost.

[smroque]

One of our drivers, Sabrina from Papillon was so good, she took care of my parents staying in a hotel lobby (my mother was tired of walking) while we went shopping (Florence) and brought has to a great cheap restaurant.

 

On my parents tours, they did more walking since the buses had to park further in some places- they had to keep up w/the tour group/wait for people and the cost.

 

Hi tsfan12

 

Florence/Forenza seems to be a problematic destination, no matter how we slice it.

 

Since vehicles, whether they are buses or mini vans or taxis for that matter, cannot enter Florence's old city center AND there is SOOO much to see in a few hours, one must be prepared to do some serious walking.

 

On their web site and in their brochures, Celebrity tries to be clear that an all day (10 hr total) tour of Florence and Pisa is moderately strenuous with over 3.5 miles of walking on cobblestoned streets, yet some of our fellow tourmates where clearly not well equipped for the tour. Some of us walkers could have gone a bit more swiftly and others gave it all they could. The same could occur in a smaller group, as you pointed out.

 

We had 2 guides, the one from the bus and the local guide. Our bus left us about a block away from the Accademia, as close as vehicles were allowed. One couple in our group walked along until, after lunch, their legs swelled up badly. The couple approached the bus guide with their predicament, so she stayed with them, called an ambulance of sorts to treat the couple and charioted them back to the bus, where the couple decided to rest and get the swelling down. Meanwhile, the local guide stayed with the rest of us and took us inside the church of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce) for a tour of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli several other's tombs. At Pisa, the wife stayed with the bus driver, but her husband tried the Field of Miracles, which was an easy walk from the designated drop off point for all vehicles. He was fine!

 

Next time in Livorno, we'll probably do a "Florence on Your Own" through the ship, like rundogrun, and like r., we'll also make reservations on our own for the Uffizi Gallery, so we don't spend our 4 hours in Florence waiting on line.

 

I still think the cost of the ship's excursions are fair, especially since my hubby and I travel as a twosome. In other words, whether we are on a bus with 40+ unknown tourmates or in a minivan with 3 other unknown couples, we'll do our best to make the best of the tour!

 

Sylvia