Excursions

[gingernick]

Hi guys, were cruising on the Island Escape 3rd April and our itinerary is

 

Day 1 (3rd April) – Palma (Mallorca) Depart at 23.00

Day 2 (4th) – Ship at sea

Day 3 (5th) – Ajaccio (Corsica) Arrive 08.00 Depart 16.00

Day 4 (6th) – Civitavecchia (Rome) Arrive 07.00 Depart 19.00

Day 5 (7th) – Livorno (Pisa/Florence) Arrive 07.00 Depart 19.00

Day 6 (8th) – Toulon (France) Arrive 09.00 Depart 17.00

Day 7 (9th) – Barcelona (Spain) Arrive 08.00 Depart 18.00

Day 8 (10th) – Palma (Mallorca) Arrive 06.00

 

Now I've read that people have done their own thing re excursions but how easy is it to get off the ship and do your own thing. Would you recommend it as none of us (13) have cruised before and only a few have been to any of the destinations. Would you suggest we did the ships excursions in some ports and do your own in others? Thanks guys. :D

[marylizcat]

Hi guys, were cruising on the Island Escape 3rd April and our itinerary is

 

Day 1 (3rd April) – Palma (Mallorca) Depart at 23.00

Day 2 (4th) – Ship at sea

Day 3 (5th) – Ajaccio (Corsica) Arrive 08.00 Depart 16.00

Day 4 (6th) – Civitavecchia (Rome) Arrive 07.00 Depart 19.00

Day 5 (7th) – Livorno (Pisa/Florence) Arrive 07.00 Depart 19.00

Day 6 (8th) – Toulon (France) Arrive 09.00 Depart 17.00

Day 7 (9th) – Barcelona (Spain) Arrive 08.00 Depart 18.00

Day 8 (10th) – Palma (Mallorca) Arrive 06.00

 

Now I've read that people have done their own thing re excursions but how easy is it to get off the ship and do your own thing. Would you recommend it as none of us (13) have cruised before and only a few have been to any of the destinations. Would you suggest we did the ships excursions in some ports and do your own in others? Thanks guys. :D

 

Cruise Critic also has forums for 'ports of call'. If you go to the appropriate ones, you can do a search for your port name and will find lots of helpful info that way.

[jaceyar]

Palma - great town for walking around, local bus very near ship. Barcelona - get off ship, walk up Las Ramblas, see everything - Sagrada Familia amazing. Civita-thingy, suggest you do Rome on your own - they drop you off and pick you up near the Vatican - advantage is, the ship will not sail until all coaches are back. Rome is fab and so easy to get around. Toulon - very pretty little place, walkable. Local buses take you to cable car up above town for great views. We walked back down.

 

Loads of info on this forum and elsewhere on the internet about what to see at all these places, eg http://www.worldtravelguide.net/ajaccio

I always cut and paste info into a Word document and print it out to take with us (often print it and then forget to take it). It's well-worth taking a bit of time to research your ports.

 

I personally hate the endless commentary you get on all those excursions and we always try and do our own thing - bonus being you save bucket-loads of cash!

We're off to the Caribbean which I know won't be as culture-soaked as Europe, well not in the same way. I'm excited though. Have a great holiday

[gingernick]

Thasnks for the info jaceyar. I've been over to the Ports of Call Forum for some info but it seems to be dominated by our American cousins who seem to be happy to call into a shop in Rome etc and buy something. Will try a search on other forums for each port. I'll just make sure I dont post any comments!!

[kruzseeka]

Hi guys, were cruising on the Island Escape 3rd April and our itinerary is

 

Day 1 (3rd April) – Palma (Mallorca) Depart at 23.00

Day 2 (4th) – Ship at sea

Day 3 (5th) – Ajaccio (Corsica) Arrive 08.00 Depart 16.00

Day 4 (6th) – Civitavecchia (Rome) Arrive 07.00 Depart 19.00

Day 5 (7th) – Livorno (Pisa/Florence) Arrive 07.00 Depart 19.00

Day 6 (8th) – Toulon (France) Arrive 09.00 Depart 17.00

Day 7 (9th) – Barcelona (Spain) Arrive 08.00 Depart 18.00

Day 8 (10th) – Palma (Mallorca) Arrive 06.00

 

Now I've read that people have done their own thing re excursions but how easy is it to get off the ship and do your own thing. Would you recommend it as none of us (13) have cruised before and only a few have been to any of the destinations. Would you suggest we did the ships excursions in some ports and do your own in others? Thanks guys. :D

 

 

Here is a thread with some info on most of your ports of call. Hope it helps.

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1589952&highlight=ajaccio

[gingernick]

Many thanks for your reply, just the sort of info I was after. I'll have a look at this later at work if I get 5 mins ;)