Italian excursions... Worth it? 12/07/2015 explorer

[csutton2]

Hi all

 

Just taking a look at the excursions for explorers voyage to Italy next month & was wondering about the benefits of booking an excursion with RCI direct...

 

Rome is an excursion that will definitely be booked with RCI due to the traveling distance, however, Pisa doesn't seem that far away from the port & was wondering whether booking an excursion with RCI is worth it?

 

For a train to Pisa Its €2.50 & takes approx 15-20 mins.

The excursion is £54

 

So my question is... Are the benefits of booking with RCI worth the extra? How long does it take to disembark the ship for excursions with RCI & how long does it usually take as independent? there is the risk of missing the boat but I think with careful planning and time

Management this will be avoided.

 

What are people's thoughts on the pre arranged excursions please, are they worth it, do you prefer independent plans etc?

 

Many thanks in advance for any help!

Chris.

[Carolla5501]

We did a Med cruise 2 years ago... and did not take a single shore excursion. Rome and Pisa can easily be done on your own. The train to Pisa is easy. The harder part is booking the walk up the tower (note that if you have kids there are age limits, I don't recall what they are)

 

 

I am not a big fan of cruise ship excursions as I feel like you spend more time looking at the bus then sights.

[celebrity]

Have you checked your roll call? I would highly recommend Romeinlimo. Best of the best. It may be too late in the game to book, but worth a shot. I would never book a ship excursion in Rome. You will see and do far more on a private excursion. Perhaps you can do a shared tour with others.

Check their reviews on Tripadvisor.

[cb at sea]

Information on your ports is key to doing things on you own. If you research where you're going, and know something about transportation and the things you want to see, there is no reason you need a guide for most things.

 

Get yourself a guidebook and read it before you start booking excursions. You can save yourself some decent money but you HAVE to do your research!!!!

[sky0000547]

I will be taking the train myself to Rome. It is about 12 euros for the BIRG ticket which covers the train from Civi to Rome and other public transport in Rome.

 

Don't forget in Livorno, you will need to get to the train station which is approx 20mins walk from shuttle drop off point or you can catch a local bus. I have been looking at http://www.tuscanybus.com for transfer to Pisa for 15 euros.

 

The plus points about ship excursions are they pick you up at the ship, if you get injured during the excursions your medical expenses are covered and they gaurantee you won't miss the ship. Of course this is where the premium prices come in.

[Hailzmick]

We just did three excursions with RomeCabs. I couldn't recommend them higher! We had private tour guides for Rome & Pompeii & WOW... Very cheap too!!!

We did three ship excursions. One was okay & the other two were terrible! Never again.

[csutton2]

We did a Med cruise 2 years ago... and did not take a single shore excursion. Rome and Pisa can easily be done on your own. The train to Pisa is easy. The harder part is booking the walk up the tower (note that if you have kids there are age limits, I don't recall what they are)

 

 

 

 

 

I am not a big fan of cruise ship excursions as I feel like you spend more time looking at the bus then sights.

 

 

Thanks for the reply!!

 

I was thinking that also, that they could be done independent... However, I noticed that if booked with RCI we would get priority disembarkation, as I have nothing to compare this to, I was wondering if it makes much of a difference? How long does it usually take to get off the ship etc? Dont want to waste a lot of time trying to get off etc.

[Hoopster95]

Information on your ports is key to doing things on you own. If you research where you're going, and know something about transportation and the things you want to see, there is no reason you need a guide for most things.

 

Get yourself a guidebook and read it before you start booking excursions. You can save yourself some decent money but you HAVE to do your research!!!!

 

Great thread, great question and excellent answers.

 

I concur with all above and especially cb at sea... doing your homework is 150 milliion % essential for private touring or excursions! I will also add that being nimble, mobile and savvy are also critical. Are you good at figuring things out in life or do you need someone to show you things? Are you good with directions when driving or do you get lost often in a parking lot forgetting where you parked your car? Do you like making quick decisions and changing things on the fly or do you like things that are set? Your answers above will determine whether you should stick to RCL tours or DIY/private. If you answer yes to the above absolutely stick to private or DIY all the way. If you answer no to all of the above then I really think with the complexity of walking, train station, booking tickets, timing your way back to port (especially in Civitavecchia), etc etc you should stick with RCL excursions. The private tours will be so much better though.

[hazeleyez3]

I am another who did a private guide in all of Europe, and loved it. Have no desire to take a ship excursion again.

 

As far as disembarkation goes, I don't recall it being that long of a wait. Remember though, any time "lost" because you have to wait for the ship's excursions to leave, is made up when you don't have to stop at a place you have no interest in, wait for others to buy souveniers, wait for others to use the bathroom, etc.

 

One thing to note...there are driver-guides who give you plenty of information before you go to a sight, but does not (or cannot) get out of the car, and then "standard" guides who will have a driver and give you plenty of information as they walk with you to different areas.

[Carolla5501]

Thanks for the reply!!

 

I was thinking that also, that they could be done independent... However, I noticed that if booked with RCI we would get priority disembarkation, as I have nothing to compare this to, I was wondering if it makes much of a difference? How long does it usually take to get off the ship etc? Dont want to waste a lot of time trying to get off etc.

 

Rome was a walk off. There was actually a disadvantage to being on an excursion as we got right on the shuttle bus to the front of the port while the excursion buses were still waiting on their guests.

 

 

Our cruise stopped at LaSpieza (I am probably spelling that wrong) and had to tender, but I think most of them use a port without tendering. We got a tender ticket and were off very quickly. I don't recall a long wait.

[Redrobo]

Have you checked your roll call? I would highly recommend Romeinlimo. Best of the best. It may be too late in the game to book, but worth a shot. I would never book a ship excursion in Rome. You will see and do far more on a private excursion. Perhaps you can do a shared tour with others.

Check their reviews on Tripadvisor.

 

agree about visiting the Roll Call, there are a number of people looking for others to share tours.

[maxs mom]

I would not recommend doing the ship's excursions. Too many people.....you are just herded around. Someone mentioned Romeinlimo! If you can get with a small group of people (even just 4 of you) and you can book with them....DO IT!!! The most fantastic tours and service EVER!!! You can do anything you want with them....it doesn't have to be just what is on their website.

[George C]

Had really bad excursion in Caribbean, RCCL doesn't care about quality of there excursions, all they care about is the cut they will receive.

[KiwiGal117]

We did the Eastern Med (Adriatic) a couple of years ago. We did not book any RCL excursions. Rather we bought the ship organized bus ticket (if needed) which was around $10 which takes you from the ports to the town centres. We just looked around on our own, had lunch and/or went to the beach. Certainly for cities where the ports are far away (Rome, Florence etc.) organizing a private tour may be a good idea. If you are like me and worried about being late back, you can let them know, and they will tailor accordingly.

 

The ONLY caveat to prearranging a private service is if, for some reason, the ship does a last minute port change. Our cruise was meant to go to Athens, but due to a general strike there which impacted everything - taxis, access to the museums and historical sites, RCL made a change. Anyone who had booked and paid for excursions in Athens were out of luck, so you may want to address that "what if" with the tour company. We ended up going to Kefalonia which was a lovely treat and much better IMHO than a day fighting the crowds at the Acropolis. But there were some annoyed people on board who had bought and paid for excursions that they didn't end up taking.

[Tiger Cruiser]

Another recommendation for RomeInLimo, we used them in 2013 for Florence and Rome and our good friends used them last month in Rome. Much more flexibility and a much better time than the ship excursion. They also secured a private Vatican guide for our Rome trip and that paid huge dividends.

[barbon2]

Hi,

 

UsEd Romeinlimo in Florence, exceptional. We were 4 but they also do tours for 2. You see so much more with a driver and it really is not that much more.

 

Barb

[mimimoo2]

I also recommend RomeInLimo!

 

We used them in Civitivecchia to go to Umbria, since we had spent 3 days prior to our cruise in Rome. We also used them in Rome for two days, and couldn't have been happier. We loved Vinny.

 

Still Facebook with them!

[George C]

Another recommendation for RomeInLimo, we used them in 2013 for Florence and Rome and our good friends used them last month in Rome. Much more flexibility and a much better time than the ship excursion. They also secured a private Vatican guide for our Rome trip and that paid huge dividends.

 

that sounds great, need to remember for our trip in 2016 Vatican is high on my list

[moshek]

On our first cruise in 2013 we used RCI private train transfer to Rome. Yes it was more expensive than doing it ourselves but reasons for doing so were:-

1. we knew we would get a seat on an air conditioned coach on a train - there were 4 of us including 2 reluctant teens and I hate to think how they would moan if they had been crammed into one of the local trains

2. ease of journey we got off ship on to coach and transferred straight onto train, we were given advice from a guide on the train, train stopped close to Vatican

3. assurance that even if our train was late returning ship would wait, journey to Rome can be up to 90 mins

 

It was extremely hot in Rome and it was a very tiring day, the next day we were at Pisa/Florence, we decided to just do late morning visit to Pisa just to see tower (again with RCI)!

 

With a bit more experience (and probably without my teens) we would do our own thing using local transport.

 

Michelle x

[Cruising89143]

If you go your own for Rome give yourself plenty of time to get back. We were on Celebrity last year. We booked our excursion through Celebrity and I'm glad that we did. Our tour left early enough to be back to the ship on time. Just outside of Rome we hit road construction and it took over two hours to get back to the ship. The ship waited as there were several buses involved. Those on their own tours who did not make it back by the time the last bus arrived caught us with us the next day.

[celebrity]

that sounds great, need to remember for our trip in 2016 Vatican is high on my list

 

George C, you won't regret it! Contact Jany at Romeinlimo now. They can arrange for a guide at the Vatican. Sooooo worth it! I already contacted them for our cruise in 2016.

Last time we utilized their services in Rome and Naples. Next year will be Rome, Salerno and Livorno. I won't even consider another company. Yes, they are that good.

Any questions, let me know and enjoy!

[Newtoncruise]

Rome by train every time. Especially if you are spending time at the vatican. Its just a short walk from the station St Pietro to Vatican City. the train from civitiveccia stops there just before Roma.

 

It only costs a few euros and you can pre book online if you want!

 

I'm not a roman catholic but really enjoyed the history and art and tradition of the vatican. A really memorable day.

[celebrity]

Rome by train every time. Especially if you are spending time at the vatican. Its just a short walk from the station St Pietro to Vatican City. the train from civitiveccia stops there just before Roma.

 

It only costs a few euros and you can pre book online if you want!

 

I'm not a roman catholic but really enjoyed the history and art and tradition of the vatican. A really memorable day.

 

Great idea if you want to see the Vatican only. If anyone is like me and wants to see more than the Vatican, a private excursion company is the way to go.

With Romeinlimo, we saw all the main sites including private guides in the Coliseum and the Vatican. Would a land trip be better? Of course but on a 12 day cruise, I had the opportunity to get a great taste of the Eternal City that a bus load of tourists would never achieve.

I cannot imagine public transport to see the Vatican, Piazza Navona, Coliseum, Circus Maximus, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, etc.

Saw all that and more on one day with Romeinlimo.

[moshek]

We did our own tour of Rome (after lots of research). We got RCI private train then grabbed a taxi to Colisseum, amazingly the roads were not too busy and we were there in 5-10 mins. I had pre-booked our tickets so we could get straight in and not have to join the huge queue.

Colisseum tickets also get you into the Roman Forum which is really interesting. We walked through the forum and up to Trevi fountain, stopped for lunch in a fab little restaurant where we had tourist menu for €10 and we had so much to eat. We then went to the Pantheon, along to Piazza Navona (lots of art sellers here), stopped for an ice cream just off the piazza then finished by walking up to Vatican and St Peters. We did not go into Vatican on this visit just took in the surroundings. I am planning to return to Rome (without teenagers) to visit St Peters.

It was then just a short walk back to the station to get our train back to the ship.

 

It was extremely hot in Rome (over 100 degrees in July/August) so we were glad of air conditioned coach on return train.

[KiwiGal117]

Interesting! So RCI has a private train? How much did it cost, do you remember?