Two from Virginia

Has anyone done a tour of Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and Cassis highlights tour? Recommendations for tour company would be appreciated. Thanks.

Any recommendations for a tour company that does ship excursions to these three places? Thanks.

Hello,

You are so right about Googling the description. I found out the tour I was thinking of booking through Viator is with a company that has poor reviews. I was wondering if you could recommend anyone for a tour of Marseille, Aix Provence and Cassis?

I visited Ephesus a long time ago and went there by taxi. A real 'must see' place. I visited Dubrovnik on a land tour and have never been to Marseille.

 

You should find information by searching here, but Tripadvisor is a good source for local tour operators as are the local tourist office websites.

Thanks

There has been lots of threads about Viatour if you do a search. I would never book with a 3rd party reseller, but look for a local operator.

Hi

Have you booked with local operators in the Mediterranean ports? If so, would you mind sharing with me at obxcl328@gmail.com.

We used Viator in Prague last summer and had an excellent experience. I have read some of the posts on CC and most seem to be negative.

Thanks in advance.

Has anyone booked with Viator for tours in Marseille, Ephesus and Dubrovnik? Pros and cons? We used them in Prague and were very happy with our guide.

Has anyone booked a tour with ItalyTours.com? We are looking at booking them for tour of Rome and the Vatican. Any information you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I have read over the posts from those who have booked tours with RIL in Italy. We will be there in July and I was wondering

1. Did you have a guide in the Vatican? Do you recommend

hiring a guide? If so, why? If not, why? If you did use a guide, how many hours did you contract for?

2. Has anyone joined a sharing tour with a group from another ship in port? Would you recommend doing this? I looked at the RIL site and there is a group seeking more people to join them for their Florence/Pisa tour? Or would it be better to start another group and see if anyone from our ship joins us?

We will be in Italy in July.

Any other suggestions/recommendations anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I think you are over thinking your visit here.The vans are used to all the cruiser's that come and go and I bet you will be just fine if you go with any one of them. I was there by myself...not on a cruise..and got one of the vans and was had a great visit.Do some reading first about Gib and you will enjoy it more.

Thanks. I am leaning toward doing as you suggested.:)

We've used them from the cruise terminal and from the border and from the town centre, though that doesn't make me an expert.

Nowadays if you hire at the pier you'll find that the price per person is the price per person - if you're a van-load that's merely convenient, if you're not they'll simply put others with you.

The only negotiating is that if there's 4 to 6 of you and no-one else around or likely to turn up can you tell the driver that time is precious & you can't wait around for him to hope to fill empty seats, you need to get going at the per person rate or you'll give it a miss.

 

The RollCall is all I can suggest for an advance booking.

Meeting up with like-minded folk on the ship would be to late for an advance booking, therefore there'd be no financial advantage in putting a group together on the ship.

 

JB :)

Were you satisfied with the one you used at the cruise terminal? Did you see things similar to what private tour guides are offering (like http://www.rocktoursgibraltar.com/ )?

Your own car would be a hindrance in Gib., and the Rock above & beyond St Michael's cave is a private road - authorised vehicles (eg taxis) only.

Gib. is small, much easier to hop from place to place on foot or mebbe taxi or bus.

 

And don't rent in Gib. for a day in Spain. The few who rent a car for a drive in Spain rent from a depot just over the border in La Linea, take the bus to the border & cross through on foot. If you see the long long line of cars waiting to cross into Gib you'll understand why. :eek:

 

JB :)

Do you know of anyone or have you taken a tour with one of the people waiting at the dock? If so, pros and cons please.

Hi Two from VA. We are two from MD on the same cruise, although we are planning to DIY Gibraltar.

Are you renting a car?

Hello

Have either of you had personal or know of someone who has personal experience with using one of the van drivers at the cruise terminal? Morgans mentioned “you could always negotiate”. Does this mean with the people at the terminal? The difficulty with touring with the companies in the links you provided is finding people to form a group to get a discounted price. I have posted on the Roll Call pages but have not been successful Any suggestions?

Hello,

Have either of you had personal or know of someone who has personal experience with using one of the van drivers at the cruise terminal? Morgans mentioned “you could always negotiate”. Does this mean with the people at the terminal? The difficulty with touring with the companies in the links you provided is finding people to form a group to get a discounted price. I have posted on the Roll Call pages but have not been successful Any suggestions?

Per cruise critic, the only place to post sharing tours would be on your roll call.

 

That is where I would post this.

 

Keith

I did post there also. Thought I would cover my bases. Seems the first ones to post on that board have grouped together already. We just made our reservation so now am left to look for others. No new people are posting on that board recently. Thanks anyway.

Looking for people who are on the Oosterdam departing Barcelona on July 11 who would like to join a Gibraltar tour using inside out rock tours. This tour is rated number 1 on TripAdvisor. Looking to organize a group of 8 for the Intermediate tour. This then reduces everyone's cost to £50 each ($72). There are 2 of us so wondering if there are 6 other people out there who would like to join in. It has fantastic reviews and sounds far better than the cruise ship excursion offerings. You get picked up from the cruise terminal and dropped back to the cruise terminal.

The intermediate tour takes approximately 3.30 hours and consists of 7 stops including 100 Ton Gun, Europa Point, The Pillars of Hercules, St Michaels Cave, Interaction with our Rock Apes, the Great Siege tunnels and The Moorish Castle. After visiting sights we would tdrive down through the old town and would also drive over the airport runway towards the Spanish border just miles away from Spain where we will see Spanish Customs at work. On this excursion we get to drive 360 degrees (east/south side) around Gibraltar so we won't miss anything.

Depending on your dock location in Bonn, it's an easy stroll into the Marketplace and Beethoven's House. Take the route through the park that goes past the former Electoral Palace.

Thank you. Is there a link where I could find out where the ship will be docked?

Hello Again - Does anyone have any suggestions for restaurants that are non-touristy and more local-frequented for Bratislava and Prague? Would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks HydroKitty for all the useful information you have provided. I really appreciate it. Can't wait to go on the cruise. We are taking your advice and going to Kutna Hora to see the Ostuary. Enjoy your next cruise.

We will be embarking on a Vantage cruise from Cologne to Budapest on July 19th. I have a number of questions and hope someone will be able to assist.

1. Will we be on a bus from Frankfurt to Bonn? Is there time to see anything in Bonn while waiting for others to arrive? If so, suggestions please.

2. Any must see or do in Cologne during the "afternoon of leisure"?

3. Any suggestions of things to do in Bratislava during leisure time?

4. Does anyone have any restaurant recommendations in Bratislava serving traditional food? And in Prague?

5. The biggest question ... How do you pack for 3 weeks without having to do laundry?

Thanks for any info you can provide.:)

Oops. Post extension on the Majestic Rivers cruise is

Budapest, Bratislava, Slovakia & Prague, Czech Republic.

Has anyone done the post extension? Do you recommend private guides for any of the places? If so, who? Must see and do activities or sights please.:)

@HydroKitty: Vantage will tell you the suggested amount for tipping on the ship and unless you change it, that is the amount you will be charged. Of course you can either lessen or increase the tip, you just have to tell them and they will make it very clear when the cut off date to do that is. When on shore excursions, tips are NOT included for the local guide and/or bus driver (some of which I don't tip because they don't get off the bus to assist passengers who need it and if they don't unlock the bathroom that's a deal breaker to me!)

What is the "suggested" amount for tipping by Vantage?

For those of you who have done Vantage river cruises, which one was your favorite and why?

Two from Virginia

 

We have taken 2 river cruises. A Rhine River cruise on Uniworld, several years ago, and French Waterways last year on Vantage. It is a wonderful way to travel.

We haven't booked the extension yet, but we definitely will.

It's official - we booked the cruise post extension this weekend.

Cologne, Germany The cathedral-If you are up to it climb the tower

 

Rüdesheim Wine tasting, cable car to the top of the mountain

 

Würzburg (Rothenburg ob der Tauber) great place for lunch-st joseph's cathedral upstairs for the wooden altarpiece

 

Bamberg the Bamberg horseman,. and Rauchbier

 

 

If you go to our website, http://www.stevekathytravels there are stories and pictures of our 2 river cruises.

Thanks for the information. I have viewed your "travels" on your website and found them to be full of information.

I was reading that the climb to the cathedral tower in Cologne is quite a trek up on a narrow staircase. Is it doable for the average person?

Was the Spanish Riding Academy included as a tour or was it at an additional cost? We have been to Vienna and are looking for ideas of things to do.