Excursion Help

[tstreet48]

We are booked for the 11-day Adriatic Dream cruise on Sep 15, 2015. My husband and I have gone on 6 cruises but this is our first Italy/Holland America tour. The excursions seem extremely expensive for what is offered. I have used Viator and Grayline tour companies in other countries. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[maryann ns]

You can start by naming the ports on your itinerary.

 

Then get Rick Steves guide for Mediterranean cruising.

 

Do an online search for toms port guides.

 

Join the Roll Call for your cruise.

 

You will find that in many ports you do not need a tour at all. In others a private tour may be better and you may be able to join with others on your Roll Call.

 

Generally it is better to go with local tour companies than jobbers such as Viator.

 

Use the search feature on the Ports of Call page for the Mediterranean. Look at the right of the blue bar near the top of the page.

Edited March 28, 2015 by maryann ns

[Litehouse9]

The excursions offered by cruise ships are EXPENSIVE! Also you are on a bus with 45 other people, the bus NEVER veers from their itenerary, you are stuck. We went with Rome in Limo---They were excellent! I give them an A+++.

 

We did two tours with them and had Fabrizzio in Florence and Vinnie (Vincente) for Rome-- in comfortable, air conditioned limos. Both gentlemen were so excellent, punctual, funny, informative, and bent over backwards to make sure we had a great time and fit in as many things as possible that we wanted to do. We were met at the dock each morning at the ship, and had a great time for that second on. They had tickets in advance for the Academia and the Vatican.. we never waited in line. Plus they arranged for our fabulous guide Katrina at the Vatican. When we ate lunch at an outdoor cafe in Florence, it started to rain-- our driver showed up with umbrellas from his limo for us! It was so much more intimate, fun and interesting that a large tour on a bus from the cheap-- and more economical too! I give them my highest rating and regards. When we make it back to Italy some day-- you can be sure I will be contacting Rome In Limo. They made our trip special

 

The tour buses cannot go on the narrow streets of many European cities, but the Limos can! You can vary your tour depending on your mood or what strikes you fancy... no rigid iteneraries! The staff are super wonderful! Jany will take care of you! :)

[LondonTowner]

We never book ship excursions. We either do our own thing or book a tour with a local operator or take the HOHO Bus. I would never book through a 3rd party like Viator. They are agents charging you for something you can do yourself.

 

I find the research and organisation part of the fun. I start by reading articles on Cruise Critic, Tripadvisor, local tourist offices, friends etc. Without knowing the itinerary can't help much more.

[DLUT]

The excursions offered by cruise ships are EXPENSIVE! Also you are on a bus with 45 other people, the bus NEVER veers from their itenerary, you are stuck. We went with Rome in Limo---They were excellent! I give them an A+++.

 

We did two tours with them and had Fabrizzio in Florence and Vinnie (Vincente) for Rome-- in comfortable, air conditioned limos. Both gentlemen were so excellent, punctual, funny, informative, and bent over backwards to make sure we had a great time and fit in as many things as possible that we wanted to do. We were met at the dock each morning at the ship, and had a great time for that second on. They had tickets in advance for the Academia and the Vatican.. we never waited in line. Plus they arranged for our fabulous guide Katrina at the Vatican. When we ate lunch at an outdoor cafe in Florence, it started to rain-- our driver showed up with umbrellas from his limo for us! It was so much more intimate, fun and interesting that a large tour on a bus from the cheap-- and more economical too! I give them my highest rating and regards. When we make it back to Italy some day-- you can be sure I will be contacting Rome In Limo. They made our trip special

 

The tour buses cannot go on the narrow streets of many European cities, but the Limos can! You can vary your tour depending on your mood or what strikes you fancy... no rigid iteneraries! The staff are super wonderful! Jany will take care of you! :)

 

We also used Rome in Limo for Amalfi Coast/Pompeii, Florence/Pisa, and Rome. All excursions and all drivers were wonderful! The drivers also function as guides unlike some companies. Vinnie and Katrina in particular, as mentioned above, were amazing. Don't tour the Vatican without Katrina. She offers so much info, covers all of the highlights, knows how to maneuver around the crowds, and her English is perfect.

[Girr]

I'd avoid the ship excursions - 45 people, the one couple who never return on time, the tour guide who disappeared with the people at the front of the bus while you're still getting off, their "highlights" aren't your "highlights", etc... Arghhhh:mad:

 

You haven't mentioned your port, but once you do a little research you'll find:

 

1) Based on your level of comfort many of these ports are easily DIY.

 

2) Go to your roll call! You'll usually find others willing to share in a private tour which normally brings the cost well under the ship excursions cost, plus you get to see what you want. Keep in mind in a lot of countries when you hire a private tour you're often only getting a driver, so you'll probably want a guide (the companies can arrange this). It can get a little expensive, but if you share the cost with a few others from your roll call the price is reasonable. However, in other countries (e.g., Turkey) I've found the cost of a private tour and guide very reasonable doing it just by ourselves and not opening it up to others.

 

3) Google, google, google to compare tours and get recommendations.

[sarar]

We also like to steer clear of the cruise ships own coach tours as they are so expensive and we have done very good ones so far. We have also booked one for our upcoming cruise on 9th May in Livorno for Florence, Pisa and Tuscany, with a company that wasn't mentioned on here but had excellent reviews on Tripadvisor. I love the planning part just before the cruise.

[dogs4fun]

I would also steer clear of the ship excursions as well as excursions offered by tour operators that are not based in Italy. Avoid middle men.

As I prefer to DIY, we used RIL (Rome in Limo) only once (when we were traveling with older parents) and I cannot say enough good things about them. They were wonderful - flexible, accommodating, very dependable and friendly!

[Madu00]

Can you give me the name of the tour company you are using. Sounds exactly what we are looking for.

[sarar]

Can you give me the name of the tour company you are using. Sounds exactly what we are looking for.

 

Who were you asking?:)

[Madu00]

I am asking sarar.

[sarar]

We are using Gioia Tours and Trips