Advice from advance cruisers!! Please

[aanda]

Hello we will be on our honeymoon and first cruise ever and are trying to decide which ports to do on our own and whick ones to book tours.

 

We will be doing a 12 night med. greek isle cruise...the ports are below , please let me know whic ones you feel are easy to do on our own and any suggestions of what and where to go would be appreciated!

 

1.Villefranche (Nice), France;

2.Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy;

3.Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy;

4.Mykonos, Greece;

5.Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey;

6.Santorini, Greece;

7.Piraeus (Athens), Greece;

8.Naples, Capri, Italy;

[SamFritz]

Congratulations, enjoy all your time on shore, on the ship and in your stateroom :D. Whatever you do, make sure that you play the "Love and Marriage" game show.:p

[Sue L]

This may be your first cruise but are you well traveled? that would sway my answer one way or another. Some of those ports are far away from the main attractions like Civitavecchia is about 2 hours from Rome depending on traffic so there I would DEFINITELY do a ship's tour. As a new cruiser I would suggest you do ship's tours as any foreseen events the ship will wait for you.

[05mak05]

1.Villefranche (Nice), France;

2.Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy;

3.Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy;

4.Mykonos, Greece;

5.Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey;

6.Santorini, Greece;

7.Piraeus (Athens), Greece;

8.Naples, Capri, Italy; For Villefranche, Rome and Florence, we arranged for private drivers through http://www.limoinrome.com You can go to the roll call section of this board, find your sailing and perhaps find others your age to split the cost with you. The private tours absolutely made this trip! We booked tours through the ship for Athens and Mykonos. Santorini is easily done on your own. We didn't go to Turkey nor Naples. It's a wonderful trip although very port intensive. Have a wonderful trip ... what a great way to start a marriage!

[cb at sea]

Ddo yourself a favor, and spring for a guidebook on your ports...you will be steps ahead of everyone else...and you'll learn about the places where you'll be going. Then, you can decide what is doable on your own, and what you should book through a professional!

[aanda]

thanks for the quick response

[volleyballmom87]

My advice is that you need to get a big suitcase that will hold a 140 lb woman and let me know where to meet you. ;) I will take it from there. I am pretty good at researching the port stuff.

[05mak05]

I bought the highly recommended guide book to ports mentioned. I found the tips and info on the "port" and "roll call" section of this website to be much more informing.

[livylotte]

Congratulations!

 

Firstly for you wedding and secondly for picking a fabulous cruise. We sailed on this exact itinerary last year.

 

This is what we did, it may not suit you... I guess it depends on how adventurous you are.

 

1.Villefranche (Nice), France;

 

This was a tender port. Everyone wanted to get off the boat early and there were long waits but we didn't rush, had a late breakfast in a deserted Windjammer and left the ship around noon. Villefranche is a lovely port and we just strolled around the shops, sunbathed and swam in the Med (very pebbly beach) stopped for icecream and then headed back to the ship. We were back onboard for around 4 o'clock and the ship was still quiet so we sat in the open air Windjammer again and enjoyed the peace and lovely views. You could if you want catch the train to any number of places (Monaco, Nice etc) along the coast but make sure you are up early to get early tender tickets. The train station is just a few minutes walk from the port. Personally, I would stay around Villefrance and relax... you have a busy cruise ahead of you!

 

2.Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy;

 

We went on a ship's excursion. Florence and Pisa on your own. Well worth the money, we were taken to Pisa first and stayed for about an hour... just long enought for photos and souveneirs. Then we headed for Florence which is a beautiful city. We were dropped of just outside Sante Crocce (sp) Square and left to explore on our own for the afternoon. We had the best of both worlds, the independence to wander off by ourselves but the security of knowing that the coach would get us back to the ship on time. Many people took the train to Florence, but I couldn't tell you how they did it. I'm sure it was easy.

 

3.Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy;

 

For Rome we pulled out all the stops and hired a private excursion. Our driver was waiting for us as arranged and we were taken on a whirlwind of a tour around Rome. I honestly don't know how we did it all ... but we managed to go inside the Colleseum, see the Forum, toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain, have lunch in a nearby park, tour the Vatican with a private guide and still had time for a bit of shopping. We were taken right to the entrance of all these sites and whisked off to the next with no stress about getting tickets or queuing ... everything was taken care of and I am 100% certain we would not have seen half of Rome if we'd done it on our own. That said... again many people took the train or RCI's excursions but I can only comment on what we did.

 

4.Mykonos, Greece;

 

Sadly, we never got to Mykonos. The winds were too high to port and we sailed past the island and onto Kusadasi for an overnight stop in port. This happens quite often as the winds are quite strong around Mykonos.

 

5.Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey;

 

We docked overnight and walked off ship and had a look around the shops. There are many, many shops selling mostly fake handbags, fake watches and lots of rugs. The next morning we took a ships excursion to Ephesus which lasted 4 hours. There were other excursions that lasted all day and visited sites further away but we were happy with the one we picked. Ephesus is stunning and well worth going to. I believe there are private excursions available too but I don't think public transport is recommended for visiting Ephesus. We were back in the port of Kusadasi for lunch time, they took us to a rug making demonstration which was interesting if you like rugs :p and then we headed back to port where we did some more shopping and then it was back to the ship to sunbathe.

 

6.Santorini, Greece;

 

You can do this on your own. This is a tender stop but unlike Villefranche there were no queues to get of the ship. We just caught the lift up to the town and walked, shopped and drank cold drinks! It's a lovely island, if you want you can hire a car, catch a bus or take a taxi to a nearby beach. And it's all very doable on your own.

 

7.Piraeus (Athens), Greece;

 

We did a ships excursion to the Acropolis. To be honest this was my least favourite port, I didn't like Athens very much as I found it to be a very busy, noisy city and not at all like I thought it would be. Please don't be put off though, it was hot and I wasn't really feeling too well. Many people we spoke to loved it so you may do too. There were many taxis waiting at port so if I were to go again I would probably take one of those and ask for tour of the city.

 

8.Naples, Capri, Italy;

 

The best was last. We had a private tour again. In the morning we were taken on a drive along the Amalfi Coast, stopped for about an hour in a place I cannot remember its name :o and then we drove up into the hills to a place called Ravello. If you don't do anything else in the port ... please you must go to Ravello. It is heaven. It must be the most beautiful place I have ever been to. Our driver took us to lunch here and we sat eating the most delicious pizza in a setting that can only be described as paradise. I found out after we'd got home that a very good friend of mine got married in the church there, it really is a very romantic place :) After lunch we headed back down towards Pompeii where we spend the last few hours of our time in Italy exploring the ruins. Trains... there are regular train services to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii and you don't need anyone to take you if you don't want, it is easy to do on your own... we have done this also when we were on a land trip a few years ago.

 

:o Sorry for rambling, we had such a lovely time. It's nice to remember it all. You will love this cruise, do whatever you feel comfortable with. If you like exploring on your own, then it is all very doable. Or if you want to be spoiled then private excursions are the way to go. We did a bit of both and I think it worked well for us.

 

Have a great time, and hope all goes well for your wedding :p

 

Just editing to add... it was very hot! We baked in Florence it was sooooo nice to be able to get back into our airconditioned van in Rome between sites! Drink plenty of water!

[CruisinManiac]

In addition to the guide book (which I didn't use) and the above information, head over to the Mediterranean board.

 

Here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=234

[aanda]

thank you so much!!!!!! it was super helpful

[livylotte]

:) I've remembered the place we stopped on the Amalfi Coast ... it was Postiano! Very nice place!

[CAT GIRL]

thank you so much!!!!!! it was super helpful

 

I may be able to help you. Email me at anita k 63 @sbcglobal.net

( minus the spaces )Just put in Cruise Critic in the title so I know it's not junk.

 

Anita

[CAT GIRL]

thank you so much!!!!!! it was super helpful

 

You've got mail.

 

I just reread your post and I see that you're a first

time cruiser. Email me if you have any questions. I love newbies.:)

[aanda]

thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!

[aanda]

i cant thank you guys enough for all the info!

[CruisingCaraCat]

I have been to all the ports as cruise vacations and taken land vacations in Athens and Rome.

 

What you do is very personal of course so the most definitive things I can tell you is that you don't need a tour in Mykonos or Santorini. Mykonos is a beautiful little island and you can walk the entire island in a couple of hours - maybe have lunch down by the water. DON'T forget your camera - mykonos has 365 windmills and the picture taking is terrific. Santorini you will reach after tendering by taking a little ride up the cliff. This is also a beautiful island and you should do your best to have lunch in one of the open air cafes that overlook the ocean. The only tour I remember for Santorini is going to the other side of the island. I don't know if that is worthwhile or not.

 

Rome is the king of destinations for me but it is difficult to recommend what to do. From the ship we usually just opt for a bus ride to and from Rome which takes about an hour and a half each way. From there we do our own madcap tour around Rome. Like I have said though we have been there many times and know where we are going. One thing that I think you should not miss though is St. Peters - spectacular! The Sistine Chapel is also inspiring but will often take too long if you have a limited amount of time. Depending on how bold you feel you can also bargain with the private cars that are on the port or as someone else said book a private car in advance. If you haven't been you should not miss Rome.

 

Being that I am really interested in antiquities I also recommend seeing at least the Acropolis in Athens and Ephesus in Turkey is a must see. It is easy enough to skip the vendors in Kusadasi and the ship ties up there so there is no problem getting off and on.

 

The way I have always looked at it is 'you may never make it back'.

[my2monsters]

aanda: We're taking the same cruise in July. I'm looking for someone to share a private shore excursion in Ephesus and, possibly, Rome. There are four of us (two grownup in their 40s, a 12 year old, and a 16 year old). The kids are well behaved despite my username. Are you interested? The shore excursions to Rome can be quite expensive for a small party but get cheaper with more people. They seem like the best way to get in as much siteseeing as possible. Ephesus is much cheaper.