A couple of ?'s for BOS and the Med Cruise

[jnmrlk]

Is it better to look for a tour company, I have heard Rome in Limo mentioned a couple of times or to try and make your own arrangements?

I am looking at this cruise as probably my one and only time to see the Med and would rather spend a little more to do tours than struggle to make my own arrangements.

Am I likey to spend a little more or a lot more!!!

Any help would be appreciated - Thanks

[browneyes7]

Is it better to look for a tour company, I have heard Rome in Limo mentioned a couple of times or to try and make your own arrangements?

I am looking at this cruise as probably my one and only time to see the Med and would rather spend a little more to do tours than struggle to make my own arrangements.

Am I likey to spend a little more or a lot more!!!

Any help would be appreciated - Thanks

 

Click on the "Europe" board. There is a ton of information on the Med. there.:)

[FTLcruisers]

this is one of those personal preference things - my husband and I prefer ship's excursions when we're going to a port for the first time. We feel comfortable knowing that we are going to make it back to the ship on time. If and when we return to a port, we are then more familiar with the layout, what we want to see, etc and then sometimes book with private companies. You will love the Med - its beautiful. We are headed to Rome on 10/7 for 3 days before our 12-day Italy/Croatia cruise - less than 30 days now!

[teacherkim]

In my opinion the personal tour companies offer a nicer experience. BUT you will pay quite a bit more and it doesn't mean that you cannot get an enjoyable experience from a ship's tour. I agree with the pp that you will get lots of good info from the Europe boards.

We used a mixture since we decided we just could not spend money on all private tours. This is how we broke it up: Villefrance, Florence, Rome; we studied the train schedules, got a good map, and did it on our own. Just allow enough time for unexpecteds and take the number of the port agent should you encounter a problem. Turkey; we did a ship's tour as we decided this would be the worst place of all the ports to get lost as it is a little more exotic. Athens and Naples; private tours. In Athens we shared a driver with several others that we met on our roll call which kept the cost down. It was worth it here because the Athens traffic is epic and there is often a protest going on and he knew how to get around this. Naples because you really do get a richer experience driving down the unbelievable Amalfi coast in a small vehicle versus a tour bus. Our guide knew lots of little out of the way spots, took us to an "off the beaten path" family restaurant that was out of this world, and arranged a guide in Pompeii for us.

Hope that helps!!

[jnmrlk]

Thanks for answering - I will check out the Europe boards, I think I am leaning toward a mixture. There are certain things I really, really want to see and others that I am willing to "wing it" - Thanks

[Sue L]

Thanks for answering - I will check out the Europe boards, I think I am leaning toward a mixture. There are certain things I really, really want to see and others that I am willing to "wing it" - Thanks

 

 

I am doing this cruise in October, and we are using Romeinlimo.com for Naples/almalfi coast tour and some in our roll call for Livorno.

 

Join your roll call and join in with people setting up tours.

[ubdkjrb]

Just to give you a flavor of the difference: in Livorno, we took the train to Florence, but got off in Pisa for a couple of hours, then hopped on the train with no charge. Got to the train station which is in the center of the city and everything we wanted to see was within an eight block square from the station - very easy walking. For our family of four it cost us about ten dollars for that transportation. The ship was offering its cheapest excursion called something like "Florence for a day" which consisted of a bus ride to Florence only and they dropped you off at the edge of town because the bus couldn't fit in the city streets. They offered no tours, only the bus service. It was $54 per person.

 

Peter