Meditteranean Cruise Excursion Times

[Giorgi-one]

We have taken numerous Caribbean cruises but next summer will be our first Med cruise. On most days, our ship is scheduled to arrive in port at 8 AM. I would expect that all excursions have early departures to allow sufficient travel time and take advantage of cooler temps during the morning hours. Is that true? Seems like Med cruises would be less relaxing than Caribbean cruises if you really want to do significant sightseeing. Is that the case? Nothing against this but I just want to get more info before I book flights which are nonrefundable. Thanks.

[dakrewser]

Go to HAL's "destinations" site, then scroll thru the list of ports and choose the one(s) you'll be visiting. This will list the excursions generally available for that port, length of tour, etc. And, yes, most will go early (although they'll be staggered somewhat so everyone isn't on the pier at the same time). Some short tours (that are less than half the length of your port stop) may have two departures - one early, one late.

[Joanne G.]

Seems like Med cruises would be less relaxing than Caribbean cruises if you really want to do significant sightseeing. Is that the case?

 

Yes! That is so true. We visited some spectacular ports on our Med cruise last summer (on Celebrity), and we wanted to see as much as possible. And we usually had to set the alarm clock - not my favorite thing to do on vacation - to make our tours. But we wisely paced ourselves by not filling up every port stop with full-day excursions. In some ports we took 1/2 day tours, and in a couple of ports we just wandered around on our own, not wanting to make any commitments.

 

If you haven't yet picked your cruise, I recommend choosing one with some sea days. We called it forced relaxation, and we really needed it.

 

If possible, allow a day or two when you get home to rest and recover. I returned to work the day after flying home - not a good idea! :eek:

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[Giorgi-one]

Yes! That is so true. We visited some spectacular ports on our Med cruise last summer (on Celebrity), and we wanted to see as much as possible. And we usually had to set the alarm clock - not my favorite thing to do on vacation - to make our tours. But we wisely paced ourselves by not filling up every port stop with full-day excursions. In some ports we took 1/2 day tours, and in a couple of ports we just wandered around on our own, not wanting to make any commitments.

 

If you haven't yet picked your cruise, I recommend choosing one with some sea days. We called it forced relaxation, and we really needed it.

 

If possible, allow a day or two when you get home to rest and recover. I returned to work the day after flying home - not a good idea! :eek:

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Thanks. We have two sea days. Also, we intend to spend 2 or 3 days in Rome after the cruise.