rotman253 Posted September 14, 2013 #1 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I there, gonna be there next week with my wife on a RC cruise . I know the RC shore excursions are very pricy , my question is what can we do there by our self? or event better , is there any cheaper shore excursions solution? Thank you very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted September 14, 2013 #2 Share Posted September 14, 2013 You are asking the question at the last minute which can be a problem. In many cases there are private excursions that are less expensive and better then cruise ship excursions. The best place to find out about private tours is to go on the Cruise Critic Roll Call board for your specific cruise and see if anyone is looking for other passengers to join their private tours. Otherwise, you can certainly go off on your own and do many things. For example, you could rent a car and drive to many places in Provence. Another possibility is to use the French trains to go to some places like Aix en Provence (although you may have to change trains in Marseille). Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted September 15, 2013 #3 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Hank has it covered. There are a number of Provence towns that are a short commute from Provence. We went to Aix and had a great day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotman253 Posted September 15, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted September 15, 2013 well , sounds great... I'll read about Aix... may I ask the same question about the second france port in my cruise? that would be NICE (VILLEFRANCHE) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted September 15, 2013 #5 Share Posted September 15, 2013 well , sounds great...I'll read about Aix... may I ask the same question about the second france port in my cruise? that would be NICE (VILLEFRANCHE) We could probably fill a book about that port and you can find lots of info on this forum. So let me try a different approach and then you take it from there. Villefranche is in a great location because its between Nice and Monte Carlo and has pretty good public transportation including a train station and bus stops (all within walking distance of the tender pier). So at this port you have many options including cruise line excursions, private tours, or doing things on your own. My suggestion is to read through some of the posts on this forum and also take a good look at the cruise line excursions to give you an idea of the options. Then you can decide the best way to achieve your objectives whether it be a tour or on your own. A quick list of whats possible would include Monte Carlo, Nice, Eze Village, St Paul de Vence, Cap d'Antibes and Antibes, Grasse, etc etc. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted September 16, 2013 #6 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I'll follow up again on the good info from Hank. Villefranche is a nice place to walk around but a couple of hours should do the trip. You could get a tour (from either the ship or private vendor) that combines Nice and Eze or Monte Carlo and St. Paul. We wandered around Villefrache in the morning. It is very colorful and we took a lot of great pictures. In the afternoon we went to Nice, then Eze and were happy with our choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewrit Posted September 17, 2013 #7 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Glad to see the query as we will be in Toulon about 405 days from now. We've arranged tours with a private company in our stops in Italy but are still looking in Greece, Turkey and France. We know we can always catch something on the fly at each port. Although we are fairly new to cruising, we have never been to a port (except St. Petersburg) where there was not a gaggle of cabs, hohos and tour hustlers offering deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted September 17, 2013 #8 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Glad to see the query as we will be in Toulon about 405 days from now. We've arranged tours with a private company in our stops in Italy but are still looking in Greece, Turkey and France. We know we can always catch something on the fly at each port. Although we are fairly new to cruising, we have never been to a port (except St. Petersburg) where there was not a gaggle of cabs, hohos and tour hustlers offering deals. Do not count on catching anything "on the fly" in France. There will generally not be any professional tour guides lurking at ports....in fact it can be hard to find them online. But it is true that you can always go off on your own using trains, buses, and rental cars. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffy116 Posted September 18, 2013 #9 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I would think you would want to book a private car/guide well in advance for Turkey also. Try the roll call for your ship and date. There are usually people looking to add to their group. Sometimes they have a couple of empty slots or someone will cancel if they seem to be all filled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted September 18, 2013 #10 Share Posted September 18, 2013 It was interesting in Turkey this summer that there were a lot more people signed up for ship tours than in any other port (Italy, Greece or Croatia). Also, last summer there were no vendors hanging out at Toulon. Cabs were also limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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