To Pre-Book Excursions or Not? That is the Question!

[Mylisa]

We are on a June Western Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona.

 

Our stops include Malta, Rome, Naples/Pompeii, Pisa/Florence and Nice. All of the excursions whether private or through the cruise line are almost as expensive as the cruise itself, $1,000 for the 4 of us per tour. But it seems to us that as first time visitors to these cities you need a tour guide.

 

What I would like to know is if anyone has waited until arrival at any of these ports and negotiated a tour with either a cab or tour company. If so, which ports and how was your experience?

 

Any other thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks for your input in advance.

[hajekfam]

Some of these ports are an hour or more from the sights (Rome, Florence/Pisa for example). We did have private tours booked for 8 as we joined with others from our roll call. I really didn't see a bunch of tour guides at the ports - all were there with signs for their tour groups.

If you can find 4 others from your roll call to join you, the price is very reasonable.

[Longin2cruise]

The idea to find someone on your roll call to share tours with is excellent advice. If you can't find anyone there, I strongly advise you to go ahead & pre-book tours. If you are considering private tours I suggest that you use someone recommended by others here on Cruise Critic. You should be able to find recommendations for each of the ports you've mentioned. If you are interested in the ship's tours, I suggest that you pre-book those also. I missed out on a tour that I very much wanted to take because it had already sold out by the time I tried booking it on the ship.

[readboat]

If money is a real issue then try to visit the places on your own. My DH and I along with another couple (all 50+) Took the train from Civitavecchia to Rome. With a good map you can get around easily. (this was our first trip to Europe). We will be taking the train in Naples this time and I know you can do that in Cannes or Villa France.

In Barcelona try the Hop on Hop off bus (they also have these in Rome, Florence) they stop at most major sites and are very reasonable.

We will do this in Barcelona and Rome.

Try asking on the Europe thread for hints on seeing these places on your own, many people do it. We are all looking to save a dollar and you will have a great time.

Language is never a problem. The people are very friendly and willing to help all over Europe.

Have a great trip!!

[Love Cruis'n]

Mylisa,

 

I’d suggest that you pre-book, and I’d encourage you to consider private tour operators to save money and get great value.

 

We used AP Tours (http://www.aptours.it) for the Naples area and while I don’t recall the cost for the 4 of us, it was less than $1000, and we had an air conditioned Mercedes mini van with a wonderful driver at our disposal for the entire day. I discussed and planned our day in advance via email. For example, I just looked and 4-6 people for 9 hours – Pompeii & the Amalfi Coast will cost 475 Euros – total. (Although if you want to see Pompeii, I’d strongly suggest you find the extra 100 Euros for a licensed guide which AP will arrange for you – really made the place come alive for us. )

 

Likewise, we used Limo In Rome (http://www.limoinrome.com) and Claudio now charges 500 Euros for up to 4 for a 10 hour tour.

 

Just do some research here on these boards and you’ll find ways to tour in luxury for a lot less than $1,000.00 a day for the 4 of you.

 

Every option has its pros and cons. Ship tours cost more and you are herded along with a bus load of folks. Going with an independent will cost less and provide a much more personal and rewarding experience, but requires more research, etc. And going totally on your own has it’s own risks – like when we went to Florence, and it was announced over the ships PA as we docked that the trains were on strike that day so those that had planned on catching the train from the port to Florence were out of luck.

 

Do your research and make some informed decisions - and ENJOY - Its a wonderful trip :)

[NefertariMalta]

You can do a tour of Valletta on your own easily since it is only around 10 - 15 min max by walk from the port although up hill. i am sure you will enjoy it to the full

[pmdc5696]

I was on a trip similar to yours and found many ways to save money, have a good time, and not miss the ship. In Rome, take the train into the historic parts of the city. Pick up a few guide books before hand ( I highly recommend Rick Steve's books for all of your ports) and know where you want to go before you get there. Trenitallia's web sight has schedules for the entire country. For Florence, if you want to see the Uffuzi and Accademia (David), book your reservation online as soon as you can. This will save you aggrevation and waisted time. The train is within walking distance to the station. For Venice, pick up a vepparata(sp?) pass for the number of days you will be there. These are their version of buses, and will take you anywhere you may want to see. The long trip down the Grand Canal is fabulous. Get lost! Rick has a few great places to eat.

For Naples, take a cab to the National Museum and head right to the exhibits from Pompeii, then take the ship's excursion to Pompeii in the afternoon. Your tour will be all that more impressive when you have been to the museum. In Barcelona, take the day and walk/shop on Los Ramblas. Very fun!!!!!!!! There are great street artists all over the place.

[Acrusa]

Only one thing to be aware of.If you travel more then 2 hours away from port make sure you use a highly reccomended tour guide.

Or book the ships tour.If your tour operator breaks down and cant get you to port itime for sailing you have to make your own arrangements to get back on board at the next port stop.

If you use the ships tour then the are respnsible to get you to the ship.

We where in Shangia about 5 yrs ago and the ship waited almost 4 hrs for a ships tour that came back late ,the train broke down.

So keep that in mind.

[YoPhilly]

I agree with the posts about looking on your roll call for someone to share a private tour. You'll be able to travel at your own pace for a very reasonable price if you can get two couples to join you.

[agabbymama]

If it is something you really want to do and wouldn't want to miss it, then you better pre-book. While I've been told they hold back some tickets for the folks on-board, that may not always be the case.

 

My friend (79 years old) and myself (60 years old) are going to do the ports ourselves, and the Hop On/Hop off buses. Only plan to book 1 tour in Santorini and 1 tour in Kusadasi, both through the ship.

 

Love Cruis'n,

500 EUR is $767 and that's getting pretty close to that $1000 mark in my book. No way I'm paying that kind of money for a guide. If I can't read up and see what's there, then get to it under my own steam, then I'll just not see it.

 

OP - Do whatever you can afford, and have a great time!

[sandij]

I pre booked all our excursions for our upcoming Med cruise and all through the cruise line. It only ran me 1500. for tours in three different countries, totaling 8 tours. It was put on my card and is all paid for. I know those private tours are probably nice but with the price in Euros I don't think you can beat 1500.00 for 8 tours.

[YoPhilly]

I pre booked all our excursions for our upcoming Med cruise and all through the cruise line. It only ran me 1500. for tours in three different countries, totaling 8 tours. It was put on my card and is all paid for. I know those private tours are probably nice but with the price in Euros I don't think you can beat 1500.00 for 8 tours.

 

You make an excellent point. I just returned from a weekend in Rome and tried to resist mentally converting every meal and every purchase into dollars. With the dollar dropping like a rock against the euro, I don't doubt that the cruise line excursions will start looking mighty attractive to more and more cruisers. Even the cruise line pre- and post-cruise hotels will be more popular since we pay in USD, not euros.

[OntarioHoneymooners]

I pre booked all our excursions for our upcoming Med cruise and all through the cruise line. It only ran me 1500. for tours in three different countries, totaling 8 tours. It was put on my card and is all paid for. I know those private tours are probably nice but with the price in Euros I don't think you can beat 1500.00 for 8 tours.

 

My wife and I are struggling with deciding whether or not to go through the ship's tours or private. You make a very good point about the euro vs USD. Another thing that has me leaning towards the ship's tours is the security factor in them being responsible for getting you back to the ship on time (someone else already mentioned this). If you are somewhat worrysome like I am, this is a big factor.

 

I can imagine I would be stressed right out if we were on a private tour and it was running late.

[cruzinaway]

We are on a June Western Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona.

 

Our stops include Malta, Rome, Naples/Pompeii, Pisa/Florence and Nice. All of the excursions whether private or through the cruise line are almost as expensive as the cruise itself, $1,000 for the 4 of us per tour. But it seems to us that as first time visitors to these cities you need a tour guide.

 

What I would like to know is if anyone has waited until arrival at any of these ports and negotiated a tour with either a cab or tour company. If so, which ports and how was your experience?

 

Any other thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks for your input in advance.

 

Sounds like we may be on the same ship...Norwegian Gem? We booked the May 18 sailing out of Barcelona and we're visiting those ports too. Have you joined a roll call yet? If not, check it out. There has to be someone on these boards going the same time you are.

 

I found some good advice to one of my posts regarding the ship's Mediterranean excursions on the NCL page. If Norwegian is indeed your cruise line, check that post out too.

 

Yes, I think the detail and personal attention would be far greater with a local company versus the ship's tour. The euro exchange rate, however, won't make it a great bargain.

[Bsan1221]

I suggest you do your excursions on your own and not wait until you dock. When we went to the Med last year we booked all of them on our own and had a group to share the cost. You should be able to find people on your roll call that would like to go with you and share the cost.

 

For Italy I highly recommend you contact Rome In Limo. Duman and Jany are excellent and they are very quick to answer. Duman took us to places in Rom that were out of the way and we saw things I am sure no ship tour saw. Also, everywhere we went we bypassed all the lines because he knew the right times to go. Duman was like being with family! http://www.romeinlimo.com

[Moose Tracks]

But it seems to us that as first time visitors to these cities you need a tour guide.

 

Whether you use a tour guide or not depends on how indepth you want your adventures to be. DH & I did the Med for the first time a few years ago and did most of the sightseeing ourselves (took the Amalfi coast drive/Pompeii ship's excursion). We're more "visual" people and are happy wandering the streets seeing the sights than having someone telling us every single detail of a particular building. I find it much more tiring getting on and off buses and listening to someone talk than I do hiking around town. A less expensive option for Rome and Florence would be to book the ship's transportation into these two cities (both are about 1 1/4 hours from the dock). And then you have the time there to just wander on your own before meeting again for the drive back to the ship. It's easy to find a good map on-line and mark off the sights you want to see. You'll love the Mediterranean. Enjoy.

Lynn

[bellagirl]

Hi-for the timeframe that you're looking at(June),I would definitely pre-book esp. if it's a city that you really want to see the sights. I pre-booked Romeinlimo a yr. ahead of time as I knew that they would book up quickly and there were sights that my husband and I def. wanted to see.

Jany and I kept in touch that whole year and she made sure we had a terrific driver for our experience. Everything turned out great!

[nash7300]

I would definitely pre-book. Tours can be costly, but you would hate to get all that way only to find no available tour companies at the pier! They fill up fast that time of year. We booked about a 6 months ahead. We did a lot of research on tour operators on these excellent boards and based on the recommendations of many, went with RomeinLimo also. We were very pleased. Surely there will be others on the roll-call looking to share a tour too. Happy cruising!

[tobes]

I have tried it both ways and am always sorry when I do it on my own. Even with a great map and a pre-planned walking tour that I create from the guide books, I always feel that I waste too much time getting from place to place on public transportation. And it is always nice when someone is there to point out things along the way that I might not notice since I'm so busy looking at my notes! I think the excursions are well worth the price because I never know if I'll be back in that place again and I hate to miss anything.:) :) :)

[agabbymama]

Yes, I think the detail and personal attention would be far greater with a local company versus the ship's tour. The euro exchange rate, however, won't make it a great bargain.

 

I think you will find the cruiselines use local companies too (the don't have their own buses and tour companies). It's just that you are usually on a larger bus with a larger group of people than you would be on the private excursions. After all there are around 3000 people on the ship and a lot of those folks will be booking cruiseline excursions too.

 

I don't book expensive excursions. I usually look for $50 or under, and the private tour guides can't touch that price.

[Preds]

You can do a tour of Valletta on your own easily since it is only around 10 - 15 min max by walk from the port although up hill. i am sure you will enjoy it to the full

Hey Shirley!

 

Remember us from the POH? How have you guys been? We had a great time with everyone on the POH cruise last year!

 

Anyhow, we're on the 6/29/08 sailing of the Gem. Our 1st port is your homeland... Malta! I was hoping we could get some input on the best things to do with our boys from our POH friends!

 

Right now we've booked an NCL excursion called City of Knights and Mdina http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/shorexmod/shorexbooking/shorexDetails.html?navigationToken=itineraryDetails&destinationCode=EUROPE&groupId=MLA_58&containerKey=MLA20080701

Start with a short drive around the impressive bastions of Valletta. Upon arrival at the capital city, you'll walk to the Upper Barracca Gardens for a panoramic view of Malta's natural harbors and the historic cities of Senglea, Cospicua and Vittoriosa. Next, proceed to St. John's Co-Cathedral, the conventual church of the Knights of Malta, housing Caravaggio's famous masterpiece: The Beheading of St. John. Continue your walk to the Magisterial Palace, formerly known as the residence of the Grand Masters of the Order and visit the State Rooms and Tapestry Chamber. Afterward, drive to Mdina - the Silent city, and walk through the narrow streets of the town, visiting St. Paul's Cathedral and the bastions for a panoramic view. Note: The State Rooms and the Tapestry Chambers at the palace might be closed without prior notice due to President's engagements. If closed, group will visit Amoury Palace instead. Since you'll be visiting a religious site, please dress respectfully. No shorts or bare shoulders are allowed.

Any thoughts on this activity?

 

PS - Shirley feel free to contact me via email at preds1@gmail.com.

 

Sorry for the hijack folks!