Cruise #5221 BCN-VCE July 23 2012 - excursion question

[farbster]

Last year we were on the Spirit from Athens-Istanbul and elected to do our own excursions in Rhodes (never happened b/c of taxi strike) and Ephesus. We liked the private guide in Ephesus and thought it was an important stop, one that deserved a private guide.

 

The subject cruise visits the following ports and I was wondering if there are any ports that we would benefit from a private guide. My wife and I are both under 45 if that makes a difference.

 

1) Palma de Mallorca

2) Cagliari (Sardinia)

3) Trapani

4) Valletta, Malta <--- people on last years cruise said Malta was great

5) Siracusa

6) Dubrovnik

7) Hvar

8) Venice

 

We do have $1000 ship credit and would use that on excursions.

 

Thanks for your advice!

[RachelG]

Only places I have been on this itinerary are Barcelona, Siracusa, and Venice. Obviously don't need a guide in Venice. The vaporettos will take you whereever you want to go. If you want to do the Doge's Palace, go online and get your tickets ahead of time. I strongly rec the Secret Itineraries tour there.

 

In Siracusa, you do not need a guide unless you just want one. Take a taxi (they are plentiful) to the Roman ruins. Ruins are outstanding. Be sure and go in the cave!

[jpalbny]

We have visited a few of these places with O back 4-5 years ago. Hope this information is not too dated.

 

Valletta is a moderate walk uphill from the pier and easy enough to navigate on your own. We did a ship's tour in the morning to the crypts and a few other places outside of town. Valletta itself has some very pretty spots and made for a pleasant enough few hours of wandering. We didn't go into any of the attractions on our own, because things were pretty expensive.

 

Dubrovnik is pretty compact and again easy to wander on your own. Cannot remember how far away we docked though - we did a morning tour to Cavtat and were dropped off in Dubrovnik for a few hours then bused back to the ship. Wander the walls (it costs a few bucks) and take in the sights. That whole Dalmatian coast is just gorgeous, so enjoy it.

 

Mallorca - can't remember enough detail to help, sorry.

 

Trapani - have never been to the town proper, but up in the hills overlooking it is a town called Erice that's worth a visit. We happened to see the Google Earth car there, and now in Google street view, there's a few pictures of us - and I am taking pictures of the Google Earth car. :)

 

Agree with RachelG about Siracusa and Venice. If you've seen enough Roman ruins by the time you get to Siracusa, an alternative would be to go to Taormina and/or Mt. Etna, though that might be a little far.