Diy Port excursions

Hi all. This is my first post on cruise critic,so please bare with me. My family and l are going on our first cruise to the western med in June 2019 with MSC on the new Bellissima ship. We are starting off from Barcelona and are stopping off at Marseille, Genoa, Naples, Messina,and Valietta before finishing back at Barcelona. I would like to know if it is possible to visit any of of the city's we stop at without having to take tours organised by MSC, as they are quite expensive for a family of four. Would it be possible to walk into the city centres from the ship? And are there any trips that anyone can recommend that we should take from these stops.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

First, get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. He will tell you what there is to do/see in your ports in the time you have available, and how to DIY it. H does not cover Malta or Sicily, but recommends Lonely Planet. Y ou can also visit the Ports of Call boards here for more suggestions. Take some time and explore the boards here. There are many places to ask particular questions and find info. EM

In Messina: "Sicily With Mario." Note that he books full many months in advance.

Might I suggest you see if there is a ROLL CALL started for your cruise? That is a feature of Cruise Critic where members sailing on the same cruise can communicate with each other, and often plan excursions together. Also, there are forums here for most cruise lines. MSC is very active at the present, though you will find most of the participants are from North America and sailing on Divina or Seaside. But some are very knowledgeable about MSC in Europe. The MSC forum is located under Cruise Lines A-O. EM

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I have some links below that you can click onto to open them up. Feel free to ask questions on those boards.

MSC regular board:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=80

Ports of Call:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

Roll Call -- just scroll down until you find your ship -- click on that and look for the date of your cruise -- click on that to open it up and join in:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=524

I agree with Essiesmom, get a copy of Rick Steves's book

"Would it be possible to walk into the city centres from the ship?"

See below. Might not always be city centers. A possible issue is the places you would most like to visit might or might not be in range. That is why all of the previous advice given above is really good. Also use google to see where things are in relation to cruise terminals. Additionally, in some ports there may be shuttles running from the terminal to downtown. They typically will have a fee but it will be a lot less than a ship's excursion.

Barcelona - yes

Messina - yes

Valletta - yes (steep hill if I recall)

Marseille - I don't think so.

Naples - yes

Genoa - don't know. Never been there.

Check to see if Tom Sheridan of Toms Port Guides (http://www.tomsportguides.com) has covered any of your ports. He has great DIY info.

Research is KEY to DIY time! The more you know about your ports, the better (and cheaper) time you can have! Get those guidebooks and start reading!

"Would it be possible to walk into the city centres from the ship?"

 

 

 

 

 

See below. Might not always be city centers. A possible issue is the places you would most like to visit might or might not be in range. That is why all of the previous advice given above is really good. Also use google to see where things are in relation to cruise terminals. Additionally, in some ports there may be shuttles running from the terminal to downtown. They typically will have a fee but it will be a lot less than a ship's excursion.

 

 

Barcelona - yes

 

Messina - yes

 

Valletta - yes (steep hill if I recall)

 

Marseille - I don't think so.

 

Naples - yes

 

Genoa - don't know. Never been there.

Valletta, there is a lift that goes to the gardens and from there you can walk through to city. It is 1 Euro return.

Genoa, you can walk, or take a taxi, there are also tourist busses outside the port.

As the other poster said research, research, research. Enjoy your cruise.

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Thanks for the replies everyone. I think a bit of research is in order.

Research is KEY to DIY time! The more you know about your ports, the better (and cheaper) time you can have! Get those guidebooks and start reading!

Just remember that while Tom's info may be good, it is also limited in terms of what's covered. I recommend using as many sources as possible to get information about what to see in port and how to get there -- there are sometimes good options that he does not present.

We almost never do ship excursions. Yes, some of those places can easily be walked to. Using your roll call for possibly sharing independent excursions is a great idea. Also, check the ports of call boards here and research ports online; look for independent tours that have good recommendations.

DIY is very possible in many ports, others do need taxi's, tours or other transportation. For us, ship tours are too pricey; especially for four, and often not as good as doing it yourself or independent tours.

You do need to do some research either online or through travel books.

Hi all. This is my first post on cruise critic,so please bare with me. My family and l are going on our first cruise to the western med in June 2019 with MSC on the new Bellissima ship. We are starting off from Barcelona and are stopping off at Marseille, Genoa, Naples, Messina,and Valietta before finishing back at Barcelona. I would like to know if it is possible to visit any of of the city's we stop at without having to take tours organised by MSC, as they are quite expensive for a family of four.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

I’m a DIY cruiser who will only take a ships excursion if the environment is outside of our comfort zone. I have been to all of the ports that you’ve mentioned a couple of times.

Barcelona: the shuttle to/from the Columbus monument is 4€ return per person. With a family of 4 it may be cheaper by taxi.

Marseille: the port is a ways from town/old port so a cab would be your best bet depending on what MSC charges for their shuttle. There’s a port shuttle that’s cheaper but I don’t know the details. The shuttle drop off area has many museums and its about a 5 minutes walk to the old port to see the fish mongers. You can just spend the afternoon in the area or you can catch the public bus or take the petite train to notre dame cathedral up the hill.

Genoa: just past through town in transit to savona once and to cinque terre another time so no comments on this port. 1 hr 15 minutes to 1 hr 45 minutes by train to cinque terre.

Naples: 1st trip we took the train to Pompeii, 2nd time we wandered around the port and town area. On our last visit in October we took the train to Herculaneum and walked back from the train station visiting the famous pizza shops. All trips can be done with some research. Just be aware of pickpockets on the trains.

Valletta: is one of our favorite ports visually and to DIY. We took the lifts to the barrakka gardens made our way to fort st Elmo. From there we made our way back via St. John’s cathedral and the heart of town so DW could do some shopping. It was just a pleasant day enjoying the sites, snacks, and people watching.

Use google maps “walking” icon to plan walking trips in each port. We usually plan trips with no more than 15-20 minutes of actual walking between sites so that we can spend lots of time at the site. With planning you can string a lot of lesser known sites together so the walk seems like a stroll. You can add as many sites that you want but may have to play around with it so that you don’t backtrack. Circular routes are the best for saving time.

You can also use the “bus/train “ icon and it will show the bus/train that you can take as well as the time it takes. With this icon you can only choose between point A to point B. Just pick the day of the week you’ll be in port plus the time you want to take the bus and it’ll show your options. As a traveler, I usually take the direct option (no transfers or changes) regardless if it’s longer.

Have fun researching as you gain plenty of knowledge of the sites as well as feeling as you “visited” the port rather than seeing the sites.

Thanks lamchops

I'm getting great advice from everyone.:D