Review "on your own"

[the2006Junket]

Hi,

 

Just back from a Med. cruise and thought I would chime in on the topic...for us...our private drivers in Naples, Rome and Florence made a huge difference. We were on our own in Dubrovnik, Santorini, Villefrance, and Venice and were happy with those choices. I know it's expensive vs. trains etc on your own, but if you are visiting these Italian cities during a peak travel season, it can make your day far more pleasurable and efficient. The private drivers were definitely cheaper than the ship's excursions to the same places...but we were a group. We never had any concerns about getting back to the ship on time etc. These drivers are pros and do these trips many times a season and know that their reputation and payment depends on getting you back to the ship on time!

 

It really depends on what your goals are in the ports and how much personal time you are willing to invest pre-cruise and day of to figure out the transportation and sites of interest. Our goals were pretty ambitious (our teens first trip to Europe, so we wanted to see as much as possible each day).

 

Our drivers (we were a group of 21 in 4 Mercedes vans) worked absolute miracles for us...parking the vans right up to the front door of the Uffizi! Getting us to the front of the group reservations line at the Vatican, finding wonderful restaurants that had room for 21 at lunch time, finding parking right in the center of Positano! We had wonderful, memorable days that were relaxing and hassle-free for us. I'll go without some dinners out and any new fall clothes and school supplies for the kids (kidding!!!) to pay for those private drivers, but we had such easy and full days in historic and important ports, that I have no regrets.

 

If I were traveling with older folks or folks with any sort of issues with walking, I would definitely suggest booking private drivers since the smaller vehicles can pull much closer to the major sites.

 

Good luck!

 

Lynne

[Loubuen]

Hello. I think Janobu's question is about "on your own", meaning NOT with private drivers or Cruise excursions.

As we also are going on our own, It would be interesting to hear comments from people that did the excursions by themselves i.e. train, walking tours, etc.

We are 2 couples around 50, in good shape with good walking shoes :-) and are doing Rome, Livorno, Naples, Villefranche, Corfu and Dubrovnik.

 

Thanks for your replies and have a great day!

[envy4u]

 

Rome - We took the bus from the port through RCCL for 6.00 pp one way to just outside the port. We took the free one coming back .We took the train from Civitavecchia to San Pietro . It took about 1 hour . It cost us 9 Euros each which included use of the bus and subway system too . A far cry from RCCL prices. We decided to go here first to avoid long lines . In fact we got in within 10 minutes of arriving . We somehow ended up with a tour group which got us underground St. Peter's . This is where the Popes are buried .We then went inside and spent 1 hour touring the place on our own . We then walked to the subway station and took it to the Spanish Steps . We had a bite to eat there and shopped on my favorite street Via Condotti . We made our way to the Trevi Fountain and had a gelato . We walked through Piazza Novana and took another bus to the Colesseo and the Forum . We did not go inside because I did this port 2 years ago and decided it was not worth going inside again . We took the subway back to Termini station where we spent more time shopping in the underground mall till it was time to take the 4:08 train back to Citivecchia . Make sure you allow yourself at least 15 minutes to get to the correct tracks .They are the furthest away . Plenty of time to be back by 7 pm and several hundred dollars richer .

 

envy4u : Is it possible timewise to walk all the stops you did, instead of taking the bus or subway. We are not planning on visiting the Vatican (we've already been there) and we just want to SEE most things not visit them.

 

Capri - Never saw the Arco this time around but took about a 2 hour hike through a side of the mountain which took us to the Blue Grotto and back to Capri .

/quote]

 

Did you see the Blue Grotto ? How much time do you think we need to do that excursion.

 

Thank you for your answers.

 

 

If you are going to get off the train at Termini you could walk to the Colesseo or take the subway which would be faster . You can then walk to the Spanish Steps , shop on Via Condotti , see the Trevi Fountain the Patheon and Piazza Navonna but again taking the subway will save you so much time and your poor feet. Don't be afraid the subway system it is not hard to use . Another alternative is to take the hop on hop off 110 bus . What ever you choose have fun . We LOVE Rome .

 

Yes , we did see the Blue Grotto on our hike . I would give it one and a half to 2 hours . Lots of steps and it is all up hill and downhill so you need to be in very good shape . It was all worth it . We saw some of the most spectacular views ever .

[envy4u]

Hello. I think Janobu's question is about "on your own", meaning NOT with private drivers or Cruise excursions.

As we also are going on our own, It would be interesting to hear comments from people that did the excursions by themselves i.e. train, walking tours, etc.

We are 2 couples around 50, in good shape with good walking shoes :-) and are doing Rome, Livorno, Naples, Villefranche, Corfu and Dubrovnik.

 

Thanks for your replies and have a great day!

 

Any specific questions . I will try and help in any way I can .

[Susan-M]

Janobu, thank you for for your comments. There is a lot to be said for doing it 'on your own' - esp. if you have planned ahead to make the most of your time in each place. Of our 12 days, we only did one organized tour (The Amalfi Coast) and although we had a wonderful day with Salvatore and saw more than we could have on our own, we actually preferred the days when we explored on our own.

 

Having all of my travel info organized in a binder with a section for each port, made it so easy to do the ports on our own. Each night it was just a matter of pulling out the section with the next day's travel info and putting it into a large ziploc bag in my backpack.

 

I loved the combination of the luxury and convenience of travelling by cruise ship, and the adventure of exploring on our own when in port.

[Kippo]

Here's our Naples:

After breakfast we walked to the train station.

Took a train to Pompei (Scavi), spent 3-4 wandering around Pompei 8 euros each (with the audio guide 5 euros each). Then took train towards Naples again and hopped of at the other scavi (herculaneum?) where we took a minibus (16 euros if I remember correctly) up to mount Vesuvius. There was also bigger bus going up to mountain earlier but not after 2pm. Then we walked to the top of the volcano. From up there we could see our ship Voyager about 90 minutes before all aboard time :)

 

Took minibus back down and caught a train to Naples. And we arrived to the ship just 2 minutes late (last guests to arrive).

[Janobu]

Susan and envy4u : thank you for your advice. You are right. We have to do a lot a research in order to have informations about each port. Sometimes I have so many posts to read and take so many notes, I feel lost :confused: . But we are leaving soon, and we have to finalize our plans. For Rome, according to all my research, I think we will take the train from Civit. to Termini, take the subway to Colloseo, and walk our way back to Vatican. We will catch the train back from there. Do you think it's the best way.

 

Please feel free to comment, since you have been there.

 

Thanks

Jan

[Kippo]

I think we will take the train from Civit. to Termini, take the subway to Colloseo, and walk our way back to Vatican. We will catch the train back from there. Do you think it's the best way.

 

Please feel free to comment, since you have been there.

 

Thanks

Jan

 

Or you can do it the other way round like we did. Train from Civittav. to Vatican. Then walk towards Colosseum seeing all sights and take the subway from Colosseum to Termini. (actually the station is closer to Circus Maximus - just on the other end of it).

 

All depends what time you want to be in Vatican.

[Liz1973]

Hi, my husband and I, will be cruising the Med in September. I would like to hear from people who have done their excursions on their own. We just don't have the extra 1000 $ (and more) to pay for private tours and we don't want to do the ship's tours.:eek:

 

Please share your experience with me. thank you :)

 

 

 

Try this site for guidance. I have found it very helpful. Will be doing quite a bit on my own rather than thru the Cruise Line....especially in Livorno to Florence. Time permits as I will have at leat 10hours in port.

Enjoy.

 

http://portreviews.com/

[envy4u]

Susan and envy4u : thank you for your advice. You are right. We have to do a lot a research in order to have informations about each port. Sometimes I have so many posts to read and take so many notes, I feel lost :confused: . But we are leaving soon, and we have to finalize our plans. For Rome, according to all my research, I think we will take the train from Civit. to Termini, take the subway to Colloseo, and walk our way back to Vatican. We will catch the train back from there. Do you think it's the best way.

 

Please feel free to comment, since you have been there.

 

Thanks

Jan

 

My suggestion is to get off at San Pietro station . It is before the Termini Station . You can see St. Peters Bascilica from the train . Lines will be shorter first thing in the morning for the church and the Vatican Museum .

[Mel17]

My daughter and I just finished a cruise which took us to a lot of the same ports.

We had 3 days in Rome before our cruise and did it all on our own. Get a map - Rome is very easy to walk. The metro costs about 1 euro ea - you dont say how long you have in Rome so that will make a difference on what you do - we spent money on water and admission to sights and of course gelato.

In Venice get a vapparetto pass - we had a 24 hour pass and could get on and off as many times as we wanted. Again a very walkable city and the best thing to do is get lost in Venice - you'll always end up somewhere near the Grand Canal then get back on a vaparetto to the port or St Marks. We took a tour of the Doges Palace but didnt book ahead and had no problem getting in.

Naples - we got a lot of information from the roll call board for our ship - joined up with others on our ship. We got a bus (right across from the port) to the train staion - went to Pompeii (train station only 1/2 block from entrance to ancient city) - took the train to Sorrento and a Hydro foil back up to Naples. No reservations and all on our own. Also not too expensive.

Livorno - I booked a tour through tuscanybytaxi and a group of us from the ship took that to Florence and Pisa. They got reservations for us at the Accademy (to see the statue of David) and the Uffizi gallery - reservations were a god send because we avoided the long lines. The whole tour was $360 euro for the 7 of us and we split it up evenly and paid the driver at the end of the day. Very ecconomical.

We went to Cannes not Villefrance but they are so close - do your research here and decide what you want to do. The trains are easy to do on your own but look up the train schedule before you go. We didnt and spent a lot of time waiting on our first train.

Dubrovnik - took the ships bus to the old city (only about 5 euro ea). Walked the city, bought tickets to the wall - dont miss this - the views from on top are one of the highlights of our trip.

Have fun on your trip!

[Loubuen]

Hello Mel. Thanks for these infos.. It is very reassuring.

Did you use euros or kunas in Dubrovnik?

I do not know about Janobu, but we are staying only one day in Rome...

Thanks again.

[Janobu]

Thank you Mel and all the others that took the time to answer me. I think we now have a good idea of what we want to do.

 

One last question and I hope you understand what I mean (English is not my first language !): when you reach your destination (Rome, Florence) and you want to buy your return ticket, do you have to mention the time you want to come back ? Does it show on your ticket ? I read that in Capri, we should buy our return ticket for the hydrofoil as soon as we get there. The same question : does the ticket show the time we want to come back ?

 

Thank you and have a nice day.

[Mel17]

Most places in Dubrovnik will take euros. Again there are ATM's everywhere so if you run into someplace that wants Kunos then you can get some. I really think that euros will be fine. It never hurts to buy your return ticket when you arrive just so you have it. Be aware that not all trains run to schedule. We left 20 min early in Cannes.