post your favorite excursion and why

[Bookish Angel]

Lovely, warm people in an interesting place and where my husband and I set foot on our 7th continent. We caught a local bus and just took in the sights.

 

Other favorites are the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania. Caught a local bus that let us off about a mile from the sanctuary and we walked up a fairly steep hill to the entrance. A couple of employees were amazed that we'd choose to do all that walking on a very warm day.

 

I fell and severely sprained my ankle at the Chilean base in Antarctica and oddly enough, that too is a favorite landing as the Chilean military guys were so kind and helpful as were all of the ship's Zodiac crew. Everyone was so caring and careful that I did not suffer further injury getting back to the ship.

 

Really, the ultimate excursion for me is always tied to the people of a new place; their warmth ang almost unfailing good humor and wilingness to help out a stranger convinces me over and over again that life is very good indeed.

[kitty9]

It's a tie between the Taj Mahal, the temples at Ankor Wat and the safari at the Masai Mara in Africa.

[SassySasa]

Ours was a private beach excursion in Cozumel. White sandy beach, clear water, all you can eat and drink. Maybe because it was our first cruise, first excursion, and first time swimming in warm clear water, or maybe it was the "all you can drink" but it was the most memorable and best time DH and I have ever had. :)

[cruisemom42]

If you're looking for favorites among ship-sponsored excursions, I don't have too many. Unfortunately, most of the ship tours I've taken have not been as satisfying to me as private tours, doing it on my own or sightseeing on a land tour. Part of it is the limited amount of time, and part is the forced shopping stops that most tours on mass-market lines now seem to include. Not to mention that I've gotten some pretty rotten guides on ship tours....

 

However, I've searched my memory banks and here are the best ship tours I've taken:

 

St. Petersburg -- evening visit to Catherine's Palace with dinner. An expensive but fascinating chance to visit the Palace as a "guest", complete with musical performances and limited people. Dinner served in a restaurant nearby (facing the Palace, with views) was also an experience, with free-flowing vodka and Russian folk performers.

 

Safauga, Egypt -- St. Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai. A long drive for a shortish visit, but well worth it to see the monastery. It so happens that we were there on St. Catherine's day, so the place was thronged and the monks had a procession in addition to the mass. It would've been near impossible to do on your own, but the guide was so annoying that I had to turn off my headset.

 

 

 

 

Latakia, Syria -- Overnight visit to the ruins of the desert city of Palmyra. A bucket list experience. Enough said.

 

 

 

 

As for private tours, my favorites would have to be:

 

Kusadasi Turkey -- Private tour to Priene (ancient Greek city ruins on a scenic hilltop), Miletus (an impressive Roman theatre) and Didyma (a huge temple to Apollo that rivaled the ancient wonders of the World.)

 

Israel -- Two day tour (but not overnight) with private guide who tailored the trip to my interests in Roman history. We visited Caesarea, Sepphoris and a Roman-era necropolis, as well as spending a full day in Jerusalem.

 

Alexandria -- My fourth visit to Egypt and I hadn't spent any time in Alexandria. A fantastic guide again made the day by focusing on the Greek- and Roman-era sights in Alexandria, including the National Museum, catacombs, Temple of Serapis (and pillar of "Pompey"), and the Odeon, with the lovely surprise of a Roman villa behind.

[Sheffie]

We have only been to the Caribbean, so my favorites are from there.

 

St. Maarten: America's Cup Regatta..... We won on the Stars and Stripes!

 

Grand Cayman: swimming with the stingrays on the Buccaneer and another time with Captain Marvin.

 

Dominica: Woody's Off the Beaten Path. Wonderful time going to waterfalls and those wonderful black sand beaches!

[fleckle]

.......Also outstanding was the tour of the Hermitage art museum in St. Petersburg. Wow! I agree with someone else who mentioned that as children' date=' we never thought we could visit Russia (the old Soviet Union)[/b'].

What an interesting comment, but you gave no explanation.

Did someone in your family have a security problem that caused you to be denied visas?

 

We only took one trip to Russia under the old Soviet Union, a fascinating tour that visited Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. (That was back in the days when St. Petersburg was called Leningrad and pictures of Lenin were everywhere.)

AFAIK, there was no prohibition on children and several people brought their children along.

[mapsmith]

Mine was a Caribbean/Central America. We did the Carnival Excursion to Xunantunich in Belize. Got to the top of the pyramid and realized that it was Noon in Washington DC on Inauguration Day 2009. Howler Monkeys hooting. Sun Shining.

 

On the way back the excursion stopped in town for a Chicken lunch that was great. Made it back for the next to last tender. (It was a Carnival sponsored Excursion so there would be another tender if necessary.)

 

Just cool all around. History of the Past conjoined with History of the Present.

[ckr31]

After reading some of these I think my problem is that I have only taking cruise ship organized excursions.seems like most of the good ones have been with a independent operator,or a self excursion correct me if i am wrong.

[Happy ks]

After reading some of these I think my problem is that I have only taking cruise ship organized excursions.seems like most of the good ones have been with a independent operator,or a self excursion correct me if i am wrong.

 

 

 

All of the excursions I wrote about were private. We've had a couple cruise ship sponsored tours that were fine, but the best have always been on our own. We don't worry about being on our own, not after much searching and recommendations from others.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We do almost exclusively private tours. Not only are they usually of much better quality, but they are much cheaper. We have had some experiences with ship tours that were pretty bad, others that were fine. Mostly, they tend to have a lot of people in a big bus, which we don't like. (There are ship tours that have smaller numbers)

 

It does take more work to arrange your own tours; these port of call boards and the roll calls are invaluable for finding good tours or finding others to do tours with. Research is important and also an adventurous spirit.

 

Some ports don't need a tour at all; just walk off the ship and explore on your own.

[cruisinbanddirectors]

We have only cruised the Caribbean, but so far our favorite was an island tour with Cosol's Tours in St. Lucia...beautiful sights, great food, awesome value!!!

 

Also have enjoyed the Baths at Tortola, Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica, and Stingray City in Grand Cayman.

[Bookish Angel]

After reading some of these I think my problem is that I have only taking cruise ship organized excursions.seems like most of the good ones have been with a independent operator,or a self excursion correct me if i am wrong.

 

We did the wildlife sanctuary in Tasmania for about a third less than the ship's excursion to the same place while also supporting the local economy and talking with local folks on local transportation. Did the same thing in Bangkok, too.

 

Just be careful of time. If you book independently or self-tour and you are late to the ship, the ship may very well leave without you. Cruiseline-booked tours do offer the security of not being left if the tour runs late. Having said that, read up on all the independent tour taken on the ports of call boards and you will see that booking your own excursions is quite often cheaper and a more enjoyable experience. We have done quite a few independent excursions and have never missed a ship.

 

Something that will not apply to very many but is worth mentioning. If you work in print or broadcast media as I do, you can often get special behind the scenes access to places and people just by mentioning your work affiliation. You never know what in your travels might inspire a story, etc. and many places want and need free publicity; conservation groups, humanitarian projects, etc.

[printingchick]

Great thread. As others have indicated, it's difficult to choose just ONE. My favorites include:

 

ANTIGUA: Paddles - a boat trip to Great Bird Island (incredibly beautiful), snorkeling and kayaking in the mangroves. Loved it so much, I eventually purchased kayaks of my own!

 

DOMINICA: Bumpiing Tours with Levi - by FAR the best tour guide in the Caribbean!

 

GRAND CAYMAN: Buccaneer Sting Ray - have done this one twice.

 

ROATAN: Day at Fantasy Island Beach Resort. The very tame monkeys who dropped from the trees to perch on our shoulders (and borrow my son's sunglasses) were absolutely delightful.

 

ST. KITTS: Jim and Rose's taxi, island tour.

[jocap]

Unbelievably, it was Ephesus in the snow! A winter cruise on NCL Jade round the Med....I've been to Ephesus in summer and not enjoyed the crowds and heat- but there was only a couple of coaches from the ship on this snowy day, and the whole of the ancient city before us.

Once did a ship's tour round some of the major spots in Venice, and OH was fed up, so he set off on his own, and saw much more than we did. Venice on foot and water bus is quite easy- last year he walked through all the districts in the 2 days there.