Skipping excursions on these ports?

[datonesanchez]

I will be sailing on this itinerary http://www.princess.com/find/displayItineraryPopup.do?voyageCode=E538A&tourCode= and plan on purchasing excursions on many of the popular ports such as (Florence, Barcelona, Sicily, etc.)

 

I came here seeking advice from cruisers who have visited any of these ports before to give an opinion on whether or not I can do without an excursion on certain ports. I plan on purchasing excursions on any ports with UNESCO heritage "must-see" sites but are there any ports from this itinerary where I would not regret just simply walking around near the port? For example, it seems like Valencia will be a port where I can skip excursions and just wandering will suffice. I understand that it is all personal preference but your personal opinion will help my research, thank you :)

[paul929207]

Which are the ports you are asking about? It is easier if you include the list in your post.

[FawnRiver]

Personally, I always do tours even if there isn't anything in the port that I'm particularly interested in. That's usually when I'll do the "off the beaten path" tour option, just because its something different and we've always had a great time with that.

I like having a tour guide, especially when I'm in a country where I don't speak the language (or don't speak it well). I know enough French & Spanish to get by, but I'm not comfortable with it and if there's an emergency, all bets are off.

If you want to wander than I suggest making sure you have accurate maps of the area and make sure your watch is on ship time. We decided to wander around Philipsburg in St. Maarten and used the "map" we were given on the water taxi. We tried to find a post office (FIL collects stamps) and got totally lost, thankfully Philipsburg isn't really big enough to get really lost really fast, so we managed to retrace our steps, but it wasn't an event I'd care to repeat.

Good luck & have a great cruise. :)

[Wehwalt]

It's very much a question of personal preference I think. I personally avoid tours because they move at the pace of a 90-year-old.

[san diego sue]

In some of those ports (and you always have limited time), if you don't take a tour you don't even get to the city listed.

An example: Cadiz is a port and Seville is listed. Well, Seville is not to be missed but no where near Cadiz unless you take a tour.

Livorno: Just wandering around there you will miss the highlight of your

cruise- Florence.

I suggest you do some research on these places and decide what is important for you to see. Sounds like this may be a first trip for you. Don't spend all your money on the cruise and not see the highlights of these beautiful places for a bit more money.

Join your roll call and see what others on your cruise are doing in these ports. Perhaps you can join some private tours and save some money.

 

[ehogan]

You could definitely do Barcelona on your own if you took a cab to the sea end of the Ramblas. From there you can wander up the Ramblas, into the gothic Quarter and up to Placa Catalunya. If you are interested in some history, however you might want to consider a walking tour. Please be careful of your belongings though...in all our travels Barcelona was the only place we had TWO attempted pickpocketings!

 

As another poster stated, there is nothing in Livorno to see...a shore excursion is necessary here if you want to see Florence. I don't think this is the best way to see Florence; you really need several days there. If there is any chance of your going back another time to Florence, I would consider taking the train to Lucca or Pisa this time.

 

In Valencia and Malaga we took shore excursions.

 

I hope you have planned extra days in Rome...this is a wonderful city, best explored leisurely with lots of time available just to wander at will.

 

Have a great trip!

[goofy559]

Hi - don't know how active you are but here are some suggestions for a couple of places:

 

In malaga, we did a fabulous bike tour (arranged on our own) and saw a ton - a fun day and not hard at all.

 

In Lisbon, you can take the trolley around the city and walk in the core on your own - for true adventure, we did a motorcycle sidecar tour - me on the back and daughter in the sidecar - it was a blast and we saw tons.

 

In Livorno - you can easily do Pisa on your own and climb the tower if you book in advance.

 

In Barcelona - you can walk LasRamblas, take the HOHO and see a ton.

 

Haven't been to Cannes, but it should be easy on your own (I've done other ports in the area and they were easy)

 

The balance of places, as others have said, do require a tour of some sort (whether through the ship or private) due to the distance from the port.

 

Enjoy!

[pris993]

It really depends on what you like to see or do, whether you need or want a tour.

 

We have done most port in the Mediterranean on our own. But we are not really into guided tours, we like to simply get off the ship and explore a port on our own. We read up in advance, print off maps of the port city, with local highlights and go from there.

 

In Barcelona, depending on where the ship is docked, the ship may have a shuttle to the foot of the Les Rambles. You can walk to old town or up the Les Rambles... a big tourist area.

 

Livorno, we have explored that port on our own may times, visited local churches, explored open air flea markets... the port area, ships usually have a shuttle to the main square.

 

Cadiz is another port area we have enjoyed in a similar way, stopped and have some sherry. Enjoy some local pastries. We have taken the Seville on your own, basically a bus ride to Seville, then once again very easy to explore the city on your own.

 

Cannes... ships typically port in Monte Carlo or Ville de France... both areas have local charm... you can take a local bus to Nice, or up the hill to the casino area in Monte Carlo. We have explore all of these areas on different cruises.

 

We enjoy checking out how the locals live in these cities vs simply following a guide. Found some wonderful pastries in Cadiz once, love shopping in ports, for desserts..i.e, I am a baker and don't think much of what ships have on board. Cannes is another port where I would check out a local bakery. A year ago, while in Barcelona we shopped at a basement market El Corte Ingles at the Place Catalunya... purchased the best smoked salmon I have ever eaten anywhere... with some fresh bread and wine for lunch... can't wait to go back to Barcelona and get some more great smoked salmon.

 

Hope you have a great time tours or not, happy cruising.

[Colo Cruiser]

I will be sailing on this itinerary http://www.princess.com/find/displayItineraryPopup.do?voyageCode=E538A&tourCode= and plan on purchasing excursions on many of the popular ports such as (Florence, Barcelona, Sicily, etc.)

 

I came here seeking advice from cruisers who have visited any of these ports before to give an opinion on whether or not I can do without an excursion on certain ports. I plan on purchasing excursions on any ports with UNESCO heritage "must-see" sites but are there any ports from this itinerary where I would not regret just simply walking around near the port? For example, it seems like Valencia will be a port where I can skip excursions and just wandering will suffice. I understand that it is all personal preference but your personal opinion will help my research, thank you :)

 

 

Have you joined the roll call for your cruise?

[PescadoAmarillo]

Rick Steves has a book on Mediterranean cruise ports that is geared exactly to people coming into a port town and having limited time to see the neighboring area. I highly recommend it.

 

Also, do join your roll call. They may still have room for you on various tours they've arranged independently.

[skf]

We went to Florence, which is quite a long distance from Livorno, in 2002. The ship's tour was "Florence on Your Own". The bus dropped us off & the guide told us to return to the same spot at the appointed time. It gave us all day to explore, see David, eat gelato at Vivoli, etc. The streets of Florence are stone, and you would want sturdy shoes. One of our bus-mates wore high heels and had a broken shoe two steps from the bus.

Also from Livorno others went to Pisa to see the tower...they found it dull as that was about all there was there.

[eandj]

With a little research you will find wonderful private tour companies for many of your ports. We rarely use cruise ex. and see much more and at a better cost with a small group. many companies allow you to add yourselves to another formed group. Or you can check your roll call as mentioned and join some from your ship.

 

If you don't want to put the precruise effort into the ports, then for sure book excursions at ports like Cadiz and Livorno so you see the nearby city of importance.

[datonesanchez]

I did not expect such a big response. Thanks to all of you who responded and especially those who provided so much information regarding multiple ports; it is greatly appreciated. I will take these into consideration as I continue to research more into each port. For those who asked if I had joined my roll-call yet, no I have not due to the fact that we may be cancelling for a family-friend's wedding that has yet to be determined.

[-Lew-]

 

I will be sailing on this itinerary http://www.princess.com/find/displayItineraryPopup.do?voyageCode=E538A&tourCode= and plan on purchasing excursions on many of the popular ports such as (Florence, Barcelona, Sicily, etc.)

We'll be cruising with you! Come on over and join our active roll call. Click on the link at the very bottom of my signature...

 

Lew

[nellydean]

We went to Florence, which is quite a long distance from Livorno, in 2002. The ship's tour was "Florence on Your Own". The bus dropped us off & the guide told us to return to the same spot at the appointed time. It gave us all day to explore, see David, eat gelato at Vivoli, etc. The streets of Florence are stone, and you would want sturdy shoes. One of our bus-mates wore high heels and had a broken shoe two steps from the bus.

Also from Livorno others went to Pisa to see the tower...they found it dull as that was about all there was there.

 

 

Those people who went to Pisa couldn't have tried very hard then, because it's a very interesting town, if you put in the effort.

[Gwendy]

One word, research, research, research. In San Fran once there were a lot of disappointed people who wanted to go to Alcatraz on their own but these tours, ferries have to be booked in advance. You just can't turn up on the day. Back to the one word find out what attractions there are in your chosen port, find out taxi fares, are there guides etc. have done many ports on my own, but when language is an issue I generally do shore tours, when you look into them they are often good value particularly for a solo traveller.

[caribill]

I plan on purchasing excursions on any ports with UNESCO heritage "must-see" sites but are there any ports from this itinerary where I would not regret just simply walking around near the port?

 

First of all, woith over 1000 official UNESCO sights, it is hard to find a port without one nearby.

 

Much depends on what you mean by "walking around near the port." If you really mean getting off the ship and just walking, very few ports have the ship docking near anything of great interest within close walking distance.

 

For example, of the ports I am familiar with on your itinerary, only Cannes is walkable as soon as you reach shore.

 

Ports such as Lisbon and Barcelona have very walkable areas, but you first need ground transportation from the dock to the area you want to walk. Both opf these cities have excellent subway or trolley transportation that can take you to then most interesting sights.

 

And as others have pointed out:

o Livorno -- best to take a tour to Florence or Pisa. You can get there and back on your own, but a tour is much less stress. Florence on your own gets you transportation there and back and lets you walk around the city as you wish. If you want to see the major museums, order timed tickets over the Internet in advance (from the museum site, not from a broker) and skip the long lines to get in.

 

o Cadiz -- If you want to see Seville, take a tour. Again you can get one that just gives transportation there and back and then you can do what you want there. In my opion, that is the best way to do it. I am not in favor of a ship's tour that spends a good part of the time in Seville at a tourist lunch and folklore show.

 

o Funchal -- I have not walked around that town, but a tour that covers the island is much more rewarding.

[Tiffanymom]

check out "tom's port guides". After read Tom's guides which are very detailed you can decide it you want to go on your own. The first time we went to Europe we did ship or private tours. Now we usually go on our own. A new port like Istanbul we will get a private guide or take the ships tour.

[emmak8]

Here's another vote for Tom's Guides. You can load the info for the sites you want onto your iPad. Rick Steve's book on Med Cruise Ports is also helpful. Visit the roll call for your cruise. Visit the ports section on cruise critic.

 

You'll need to do your homework ahead of time.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.