Advice on booking shore excursions.

[triphopcooper]

I will be cruising the Western Mediterranean on the Norwegian Epic with my aunt and uncle next October and would like to get some advice regarding shore excursions. The ship leaves out of Barcelona and stops at Livorno, Civitavecchia, and Naples. I have found shore excursions in Europe to be a lot more expensive than Caribbean excursions and need to decide what's best. Should I look for a private tour company or go ahead and book through NCL? I need some help from experienced cruisers to the European ports since I have never been.

[lanceholt]

In both Rome and Florence last year we took the NCL bus that dropped us off in the city and picked us up 7 hours later at the same spot. Around $100 or a little less each, gave us time on our own and peace of mind. I think the excursions were called "on your own" as a matter of fact. In Rome we were dropped off just a half block from the Vatican.

[cruisemom42]

There are several schools of thought on this. In my opinion, taking a ship excursion would generally be my LAST choice. Why? Well -- for starters, I am in Europe, and I don't want to waste a moment a) waiting for my bus to fill up and leave b) being held captive at "forced" shopping stops, and c) waiting for the slowest -- or least considerate -- of the 40 other people on my tour bus to get back to the meeting point.

 

With reasonable research, some ports are very easy to do on your own. In Naples, for example, if you want to go to Pompeii on your own, you'll find step-by-step directions on this forum on how to take the train on your own and get there. Cost of train + ticket to Pompeii = around 15 euro per person. If you want to spring for a guide, they are available onsite and would add about another 10 euro per person if you can get into a group.

 

Rome is also easy to do on your own. It's simple to get to the train station and buy your ticket to Rome. Why would you pay what the ships charge for transportation when you can buy your train ticket (which also includes any metro or bus in Rome for the day) for 9,50 euro roundtrip?

 

If DIY seems daunting to you, I would at least encourage you to look into a private tour. Provided you can get a small group together, these are often somewhat less expensive than a ship tour -- but their chief point is that you can see more in a day and YOU are ultimately in charge of the itinerary, so you can see what you want to see and spend more time in some places and less in others.

[GC Queenslander]

Hi, we did the MCL cruise in 2006, and the difference to island cruising, is that Citicvechia is a long hour and half, maybe two hours from the port, so if you are with the cruise line they have to make sure you get back to the ship on time. Unless you speak Italian and know your way around I would not recomend try this on your own. When we cruised around Tahiti, we just hired a car in port each day, no problem, you are on an island, but when you are a long way from your destination be very careful. Barcelona was great on our own, but Rome, the cruise trip wasnt perfect but we go a taste of the place. Research how far away the town you want to go to, then make the decision.

[D4]

Take in all the opinions and do what feels right for you in each port. There is no best choice for everyone.

 

Some people would rather book with the cruise line because they don't have to worry about planning or getting back to the ship. For others, the planning is a big part of the fun. You may end up negotiating private tours at some ports and using ship tours at other ports. Good luck!

[financialgrl]

I did a Med cruise this past May and for the reasons Queenslander described (Livorno and Rome were both a very long distance from the ship and I didn't speak the language) for those ports I used the ship excursion.

 

Things described here (full bus, people late getting back, etc did happen. Was it perfect, no, but we still had fun and saw a lot. (In all fairness I had another consideration - I had taken my teen niece with me and if something had happened my sister would have killed me)! Yet, when we went to Bermuda and the Caribbean, is a totally different feel and we had no problem striking out on our own or taking a private tour.

[cruisemom42]

Unless you speak Italian and know your way around I would not recomend try this on your own.

 

I did a Med cruise this past May and for the reasons Queenslander described (Livorno and Rome were both a very long distance from the ship and I didn't speak the language) for those ports I used the ship excursion.

 

 

Honestly, you do not need to speak the language in any major tourist destination. I am a woman who travels solo all over, and I have never run into a problem where I could not make myself understood in Italy, particularly in Rome, Venice, or Florence. Hundreds of thousands of English-speaking tourists visit these places every year successfully without knowing Italian!

[dcinmb]

Barcelona's easy to do on your own, particularly if you're planning on getting there a few days early. The hop-on, hop-off bus is great for getting around the city and if you have time, you may want to consider taking the train to Montserrat. If you're a Dali fan, you can take the train to Figueres to visit the Dali Museum but if you're feeling adventurous, rent a car and drive to Figueres and then take a scenic drive to the idyllic little town of Port Ligat to tour his fascinating house.

 

Rome (Civitavecchia) and Florence (Livorno) are also very DIY-able, but given your limited time in port you should probably take tours as they will enable you to make the most of your days there. The DIY-ability of the Amalfi Coast (Naples) depends on where you'd like to go. It's quite easy to get to Pompeii (where it's worthwhile to hire a guide), Sorrento or Capri on your own, but if you're hoping to cover a few of these places in one day or do the Amalfi Coast drive to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, etc. (a must, IMO), I would definitely suggest taking a private tour. If you take the ship's tour, there's a good chance you won't actually be able to stop in some of these coastal towns as their buses are often too large to navigate the very narrow roads.

 

If you're going to take tours in these ports, IMO you should always choose a private tour over a ship excursion unless the ship is offering something special like an after-hours tour of the Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel. As you will very likely be able to find other people on your sailing eager share your private tours, you can potentially save a lot of money by going private. For example, my parents recently returned from a Med cruise on Crystal. Crystal's full-day Florence excursion would have cost them a whopping $407 per person, including lunch and admission fees. Their private full-day tour in a Mercedes mini-van shared with two other couples cost $105 per person, not including lunch or admission fees.

 

As long as you go with one of the established tour companies that has consistently received positive reviews here on CC and at TripAdvisor, you shouldn't have to worry about missing your ship at the end of the day. Once you have a quote and proposed itinerary, post the details on your sailing's roll call and wait for people to respond. Since you're not cruising till next October, it may take a while to get responses. In my experience, a lot of cruisers don't get serious about the details until a few months before the cruise. In the unlikely event that you don't get any takers, you will generally have the option of canceling the private tour and going with the ship tour instead. The tour company my parents used allows you to cancel up until one week before the scheduled tour date. And bear in mind that many of the Italian tour companies offer discounts if you book tours in two or more ports.

 

Have fun planning your trip! You will have a wonderful time in these amazing cities whatever you decide to do!

[explore4ever]

My husband, my sister and I just came back from Oct. 16-23 Celebrity Constellation 7- day Mediterranean cruise: Barcelona, Nice, Genoa, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Sorrento, Barcelona.

We booked private tours in 3 ports: Livorno, Civitavecchia, and Sorrento (Naples). We prefer private tours vs cruise because: 1) we like small group 6-8 max, not 40 or 50 on a big bus. 2) We like the flexibility and the "customization" of private small tours. And 3) we like the price.

I did most of the planning, negotiating and co-ordinating. I selected just one company to handle the 3 ports. It was easier and simpler for me to correspond and coordinate, and also the company sometimes give a little discount. (We used All Around Italy. Fabrizio, the owner is quite a character.)

For our tours, there were 7 of us, the same 7 for all 3 ports. And we "met" on cruise critic. Cruise Critic roll calls is such a great way to meet fellow passenger, and get together! :D

We were fortunate to have all 7 of us get along well, and the drivers took us to all the "must-see" sites, and they informed us where we need reservations, so we don't have to wait in line... details that really maximize our time and our tour experience.

We have talked to other cruise passengers who joined the cruise excursions where they had 50 tourists, and 2 guides, one in front leading, and the other behind "herding" That was her word, not mine.

We can't imagine touring that way.

We did Barcelona ourselves, and it was easy to do. As to other ports, we walked or took city buses around. We had a fabulous time!

[chipmaster]

It all comes down to what you expect, how adventurous you are, what research you want to do.

 

IMHO Barcelona is a DIY as you should have time with a fly in a day or two earlier.

 

Rome, Florence, Pisa are far enough I'd say consider private tour. For just a little more then the most basic cruiseline bus tour you can likely get a private car. With private you'll see so much more without the big bus constraints. 3 people is a bit short to make it a saving but if you find a couple more people for 5 you can get a car and private tour would run 100 or so / person and get you door to door, beating anything the cruiseline can offer!

 

For the Italy stops, RIL ( Rome in Limo! ) :D

 

I will be cruising the Western Mediterranean on the Norwegian Epic with my aunt and uncle next October and would like to get some advice regarding shore excursions. The ship leaves out of Barcelona and stops at Livorno, Civitavecchia, and Naples. I have found shore excursions in Europe to be a lot more expensive than Caribbean excursions and need to decide what's best. Should I look for a private tour company or go ahead and book through NCL? I need some help from experienced cruisers to the European ports since I have never been.

[Hlitner]

In both Rome and Florence last year we took the NCL bus that dropped us off in the city and picked us up 7 hours later at the same spot. Around $100 or a little less each, gave us time on our own and peace of mind. I think the excursions were called "on your own" as a matter of fact. In Rome we were dropped off just a half block from the Vatican.

 

We thought we would give you something for comparison. In Civitavecchia is is possible to simply take the train to Rome for about $13 round trip vs. the $100 bus. My point is that there are many independent options in Europe for those with a spirit of adventure and willing to do their pre-trip homework.

 

Hank

[cruise kitty]

We don't speak the language, but Rome is very easy to do on your own. Florence is just a tad more difficult, because the train station is farther from the port. Barcelona, very easy, we walked about 20 minutes to get to the Columbus monument from the far ship dock. Naples will be next year:D As long as you have a decent guide book, & a sense of adventure, & a little common sense, you could have a great day on your own. Search CruiseMom42's & Hiltner's past posts on this board, they are both very well traveled & have some great posts with step by step directions.

[shannon50]

We did it 100% on our own in every port except Rome and after everything was said and done we wish we would have did our own thing in Rome as well.

 

This is what we did in each port (I think a lot of your ports were the same as ours)

 

Nice: We hired Dream Tours and had a private tour that took us to Nice, Monte Carlo, Saint Paul de Vence and Eze. It was fantastic and well worth the money.

 

Genoa: We took the train to the Cinque Terre. The train was very easy to use and we ended up seeing all the same things as the ship tour did but for way less money and without being herded around like cattle.

 

Livorno: By far our favorite port! We rented a car at the pier which we pre arranged with hertz and drove through Tuscany. To rent the car with an English speaking GPS was 170 usd. Again way less than what you would pay for the tour through the ship and way better.

 

Rome: We took ship tour and hated it. We felt very rushed for time and felt like we paid way too much for what we got.

 

Naples: We hooked up with a small group on cruise critic and did a private tour with Joe Banana Tours. It was amazing! We went places the big buses couldn't go.

 

Let me know if you want any more info. Shannon50@hotmail.com

 

I would recommend doing the tours on your own because you will see so much more and for much less money! Hope that helps!

[cruisemom42]

We did it 100% on our own in every port except Rome and after everything was said and done we wish we would have did our own thing in Rome as well.

 

This is what we did in each port (I think a lot of your ports were the same as ours)

 

Nice: We hired Dream Tours and had a private tour that took us to Nice, Monte Carlo, Saint Paul de Vence and Eze. It was fantastic and well worth the money.

 

Genoa: We took the train to the Cinque Terre. The train was very easy to use and we ended up seeing all the same things as the ship tour did but for way less money and without being herded around like cattle.

 

Livorno: By far our favorite port! We rented a car at the pier which we pre arranged with hertz and drove through Tuscany. To rent the car with an English speaking GPS was 170 usd. Again way less than what you would pay for the tour through the ship and way better.

 

Rome: We took ship tour and hated it. We felt very rushed for time and felt like we paid way too much for what we got.

 

Naples: We hooked up with a small group on cruise critic and did a private tour with Joe Banana Tours. It was amazing! We went places the big buses couldn't go.

 

Let me know if you want any more info. Shannon50@hotmail.com

 

I would recommend doing the tours on your own because you will see so much more and for much less money! Hope that helps!

 

I'm not sure I'd consider taking private tours to be doing it "100% on your own" ;) but point taken.

[shannon50]

I'm not sure I'd consider taking private tours to be doing it "100% on your own" ;) but point taken.

 

True it wasn't on our own completely on 2 of our stops but we got to pick all the places we saw and we didn't have to be in a herd of people.