Princess Tour in Rio

[sprinkles]

Hi All,

 

Hoping this does not get moved to the S.A. board - as I have a thread there - but who goes there unless they have a cruise booked?

 

Want opinions from those who have taken the Princess City Drive, Sugarloaf & Christ the Redeemer tour (with lunch at around $215pp). Was it a nice day? Did you feel like you got more done being with Princess? Not usually into the ship tours, but being the end of Carnival, just seems like a better option to not have to worry about anything.

 

S.A. board seems like it is tour operators or family of those telling me, that it is crazy, that I am better off paying $400 for a private guide for the day? It's just Dad and I on this cruise and he always just wants to hire a cab for the day - just seems like a lot to me. Any comments appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Tammy

[Pam in CA]

I haven't done this tour with Princess but did with HAL and I assume it's essentially the same tour. I thought it was great!

 

The city is difficult to get from one point to another as there's a lot of traffic and no direct routes or highways. Not sure how they're going to handle that during the Olympics. Anyway, a taxi could wind up being very expensive. To get to the top of Sugarloaf, you take two different arial trams which can take a while. The tour guide got us all priority on them. Same for going up to Christ The Redeemer. There were long lines but we got to go first. Note that it can be very windy/chilly at the top of Sugarloaf as well as Christ The Redeemer.

[azbirdmom]

We did the Princess tour at the end of our cruise 2 years ago. It was one where we spent the day touring and then were deposited at the airport. We loved it!

 

We were in Rio at the start of Carnaval and it was very festive, and traffic was horrendous but the bus and our tour guide got us to everything with plenty of time allowed at each stop. We were there in February and it was quite hot. We loved Corcovado, Sugar Loaf, and the restaurant was just amazing.

 

As this was a transfer, we said goodbye to our luggage the last night of the cruise and retrieved it at the airport. That and leaving our carry-on's with valuables on the bus made us a little nervous, but everything worked out just fine.

 

If you only have part of a day in Rio, this is definitely the way to go.

[sprinkles]

Thanks Pam and Azbird,

 

We actually stay overnight in Rio, so I am thinking this full-day excursion would be great for the first day and use the second for beach or shopping.

 

Tammy

[Phyljim]

We did the Princess all day tour the first time we sailed to South America. Were hesitant at first, it was very expensive....but then we thought, we may never get back to SA. Thought the tour was fantastic! Well worth the money. Go ahead and take it without a second thought. Wonderful to go ahead of all the lines. We have been back three additional times.....but still glad we did the ships tour the first time.

[caribill]

Want opinions from those who have taken the Princess City Drive, Sugarloaf & Christ the Redeemer tour (with lunch at around $215pp).

 

Wow, the price has more than doubled in 7 years.

 

I would still take it at today's pricing. It really covers the sites well and is a much safer option than trying to do it on your own.

[sprinkles]

Thanks Everyone! this is my first time to S.A. (Dad is an "old veteran") and I want to make sure I do as much as possible.

 

Tammy