Least Expensive ways to enjoy shore excursions

[tisue2006]

Hello, My family and I are taking our first cruise this summer on the Carnival Freedom, Med. and Greek Isles. I was hoping you could tell me if there are inexpensive ways to get on shore and maybe do it a little more on your own and not with a guide. I see they have those options on some ports. Are the Exclusive private tours a money saver? We will have 7 people in my family all adults. does the price then get divided among all 7 or is it still per person. I am willing to spend extra money at a couple of ports I am really interested in. but on others I would like to go on shore but not spend 200+ dollars to walk around.

 

Thanks for any insights you may have! ( I'm not trying to be cheap just sticking to a budget!:D)

 

Cheers,

Christina

[funat55]

We did the Freedom last summer in Europe but not the Greek Islands. We had a great balcony cabin, room 8252. We stayed in Rome two days before and two days after the cruise. We were a family of 8. We used a company called RomeCabs to pick us up from the airport, and drive us to the port. We also used them one day for a tour of Rome and they arranged for us to get a private tour guide for the Vatican. That was great because the lines were long and she got us right in. For most of the ports we hired private drivers for our group and it worked out great because once we had "seen enough" we were able to move on to the next sight. Last year the rate was 600 euros per day plus a tip which we divided by eight. In Venice we were on our own, as well as Dubrovnik. In Sicily, a bunch of cruise critics chartered a bus ahead of time to take us to the town of Messina where we were there on our own. That cost about 12 euros pp. We had no problems with the ATM's either and didn't bring a lot of cash. You hear a lot about pickpocketer's and we did see a young girl take a man's wallet right near the Trevi Fountain. However, a lot of people saw her and she got caught. I bought a medium sized black handbag with zippers and straps and wore it across my shoulder (not on it) and we had no problems and always felt safe. In Rome they have the Hop On Hop Off Bus and that was fun. The double decker red buses provide head phones that you can listen to in almost any language and it tells you about the sights as you pass by. You can got on and off the bus all day if you want to for no extra charge. No matter how you try to budget, it's going to be expensive, but I know that we saved a lot by arranging our own tours. I'm sorry to say that Carnival was nearly double what we paid to see the same things.

[buddyjo143]

To start, you are in the right place.

 

Read reviews that people post about what they do and what is a must see in your ports.

 

Check the ports of call board for the places you will stop and see what people recommend.

 

Use the internet to check out the ports on your own and see what is a must see in each place and search for local tours.

 

And finally, use your local bookstores or library to get tour books for the places you are visiting.

[OhioJeff]

Have you tried this board?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=234