Rio

[curler1]

Be cruising on the Regatta on the 29th of March. Be in Rio for several days before hand. Anyone doing the same that might have booked tours before hand? Be interested in what you found. Gray Line gets terrible reviews.

Curler1

[marilynfaye]

Go to Cruise Critic's Roll Call section. Click on Oceania Roll Calls and then on Regatta where you will find the roll call for your cruise. You will see lots of discussion which you might find helpful for Rio and other ports.

 

Good luck and enjoy your journey.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

You can also find lots of discussion in the South America destination forum here on CC. We did private tours, so can't help, but if you can connect with people on your roll-call you should be able to share private tours, which is a great thing to do if you can swing it.

[Mura]

Curler, email me and I'll be happy to tell you who we used this past December.

 

Mura

 

(if the link doesn't work, try mura at speakeasy dot net.)

[Ka Honu]

We spent a couple of days in Rio a few months ago and recommend two services...

 

A couple of the jewelry stores run shuttles and factory tours. The tour takes about 15 minutes and the stores are located about two blocks from Ipanema beach. We took the shuttle and spent a couple of hours at the beach before returning to the ship (again on the shuttle which ended up being a taxi).

 

We also booked a private tour using a guide we found on the "Tours by Locals" website which connects with private operators worldwide. We've used their vendors in several places and have always received excellent service.

 

I'd strongly recommend a licensed guide in Rio, especially if you're going someplace with waiting lines (e.g., Sugarloaf & Christ Reedeemer) since they are able to "jump the line" and save you hours of standing around.