50-day Empire excursions – included, optional, private, and DIY

[id4elizabeth]

Forgive the new thread – I know there was an earlier one about Viking “included” tours – but I wanted to address optional, private and DIY as well. I’ve been attempting to do this for some time, and am still not finished, but have gotten from Istanbul to Barcelona. I know there are folks doing this in the Spring of 2016, and thought you might benefit from at least this far. If I wait until I'm to Stockholm, it may become irrelevant. I will continue to add more ports as I finish writing them up.

 

I’m going to post each port in a separate message/post so that it might be easier to search on a particular port.

 

Others feel free to chime in here with other excursions you might have taken, or differences of opinion on your experiences.

 

So, here goes --

[id4elizabeth]

We got to Istanbul a full day early before embarkation and used our day to tour the famous sights with the assistance of a private tour guide (Volkan) that we got through Ephesus Shuttle. He was great! We had been a little concerned about seeing the sights in Istanbul on our own, due in part to the current political climate, but also to our inability to communicate or read in Arabic, and felt much more comfortable getting to know the place with the help of a guide. He met us at our hotel (the Hilton Bosporus) at 9:00 and we walked a couple blocks to the Taksim Square, famous for its demonstrations. Today it was quiet. Then we took a one-stop funicular down the steep hill and connected to the tram system. Volkan used his pass to get us through all the turnstiles.

 

We got off the tram at the Sultanahmet stop, and walked a short way to Hagia Sophia. What an amazing edifice! Part of the interior is under renovation, which was a shame, but I’m sure part of this ancient building is always under some kind of restoration work. Even with the scaffolding in place, which covered close to a half of the interior domed area, the inside space is enormous. Hard to believe it was built so long ago in 532 AD. In addition to seeing the ground floor, we also walked up to the second floor Gallery where the women of the court used to worship. There are some beautiful mosaics up on the second floor – not to be missed.

 

From there, it was a short walk to Topkapi Palace. There’s an extra fee to see the Harem part of the Palace, which I had read was worth seeing, and I’m so glad we did, as it was by far the best part. Fantastic tiles cover every surface. It’s a bit of a rabbit warren, looking like extra rooms were added on whenever necessary, without an overall plan. If we had been on our own, we would have definitely needed a map!

 

After Topkapi, we walked to a great restaurant for lunch, only a short walk from the Palace. It is called “Matbah” and features “authentic Ottoman Cuisine”. For sure we would have never found this place on our own. The food was delicious, particularly the Turkish Baklava, which I’ve decided I like better than the Greek Baklava.

 

Since it was Friday, unfortunately seeing the Blue Mosque was impossible. Although it’s open between prayers, the prayers go on all day, and apparently have varying opening times, and your time inside would be very short, so our guide advised us that it’s not worthwhile going on Fridays. Since we knew we were going to the Grand Bazaar tomorrow, we decided to go to the Spice Bazaar.

 

In order to get there, we took the tram a couple of stops back towards the ship and got off at the New Mosque (started in 1597, completed in 1663 – not exactly new) with its large square in front. The Spice Bazaar is an L-shaped building right behind and we just roamed through the place, enjoying its scents, aromas, and tastes. While many of the individual stalls indeed do sell spices, there were also perfume dealers, herbal pharmacies, souvenir shops, scarves and woven goods, and several fabulous tea shops. We tasted “Turkish Delight” which seemed to be a very, very sweet somewhat chewy candy - comes in various flavors. I bought some Turkish Baklava, and some tea.

 

By now, both being exhausted, we got back on the tram heading back to the hotel. Our guide stayed with us the whole way, making the connection with the funicular and walking us back through Taksim Square. It was about 6:00 when we got back and we ate in the Executive Lounge of the Hilton. Fabulous first day!

 

This was a perfect time to visit Istanbul. The tulips were in full bloom everywhere we went. Apparently, tulips are native to Turkey and were exported to Holland where they became famous. The weather was in the mid-60s. Don’t forget to bring a headscarf for entering any kind of mosque.

[id4elizabeth]

We arrived at the ship at 11:00am and were supposed to have access to our stateroom then. However, we got delayed until 1:30 to drop off our luggage in the room and depart the ship for Istanbul. For details, you can read my Cruise Critic Review.

 

So, we and another Cruise Critic couple headed out to the Old Town of Istanbul quite a bit later than we had expected. There are two tram stops (Findikli and Tophane) which are almost equidistant from the ship – both about a quarter mile. We went to the Tophane stop. You do need Turkish lira to buy the tokens to take the tram, but it’s fairly easy. There will be automated kiosks on both sides of the tracks where you can buy the tokens. As you get on the trams, you deposit the tokens. Once onboard, the tram takes you anywhere you might want to go in the Old Town.

 

We got off at the Sultanahmet stop and backtracked a bit to walk to the Underground (or Basilica) Cisterns, passing by the Golden Milestone that we had seen yesterday which is surrounded by glorious tulips. It took us about 20 minutes standing in line to get our tickets, but it wasn’t crowded once inside. Built by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, the 336 columns that hold up the roof of this underground space are topped by different capitals and are a perfect example of reuse. Raised walkways allowed us to walk over the now shallow pool to visit the far reaches of the cistern and see both of the famous Medusa heads. The Cisterns are a fascinating stop, making us once again marvel at the ingenuity of the Romans and making us once again realize we modern folks haven’t really come that far in many ways. We only spent about 20 to 30 minutes inside, so this sight requires at max an hour, counting both the ticket line and the sight itself.

 

Walking back to the Sultanahmet tram stop, we boarded once again and went 2 more stops to the Beyazit stop which is right in front of the west end of the Grand Bazaar. Rick Steve’s Istanbul guide has a great map of the Grand Bazaar that we followed to navigate this vast covered mass of over 4,000 stalls and shops. We almost found this place overwhelming. Lots of jewelry shops, rug shops, leather and shoe shops, and tourist souvenirs. We spent about an hour here, but I have to say, I liked the Spice Bazaar better. We left the Grand Bazaar at the opposite eastern end and got on the tram once again, this time at the Cemberliyas stop.

 

Our Cruise Critic buddies had only gotten in the night before and were bushed. In addition, their luggage had been lost by the airline, so they were anxious to return to see if their luggage had arrived. They continued on to the ship, but we got off at the Sultanahmet stop to visit the Blue Mosque.

 

We walked through the Hippodrome, passing by the German Fountain, and the Egyptian Obelisk and entered the Blue Mosque around the back side. Make sure you are dressed appropriately and have your own headscarf. If not, they will ask you to wrap a piece of cloth around you, and will give you a headscarf that you turn in where you leave, but I highly doubt these are washed between visitors! You’ll also have to remove your shoes, but they give you a plastic bag to put your shoes in to carry them around with you, as you exit at a different place than you enter.

 

The Blue Mosque was built in the early 1600s, but you can definitely see the architectural structure was heavily influenced by much earlier Hagia Sophia. Although many of the tiles are blue, to me there was not an overwhelming sense of blueness. There are other colors also in the highly decorative tiles. The central huge dome (141 feet tall with a diameter of 110 feet) is flanked by half domes cascading down. It was surprisingly light inside. Note than you can only go on the first floor (no access to the second floor gallery) and that about half the mosque is roped off for worshipers, although we saw young boys romping through the area – kids are kids everywhere.

 

We were getting hungry now, and our feet were sore, so we once again boarded the tram at Sultanahmet and headed back to the ship. This time the tram took considerably longer as there was extremely heavy traffic around the main train station. Although trams are supposed to have the right of way, cars were often dead stopped in our path, and so the tram couldn’t move. This time we got off at the Findikli stop, and although it’s about the same distance to the ship as the Tophane, we found the walking a little smoother and easier. So ended our half day in Istanbul.

[id4elizabeth]

We boarded our busses right in front of the ship – no long walk to the bus. Our bus drove around the "old city walls" of the Byzantine Era for about 20 minutes first before we went to the Rustem Pasha Mosque. While these walls were interesting, make sure you sit on the left hand side. We were on the right and really couldn't see much. Unfortunately, we did not do a photo op stop, so were unable to get any pics. The windows of the bus were pretty grimy, so I doubt the pics taken by those on the left turned out very good.

 

Then we did stop at the Rustem Pasa Mosque, built in the 16th century by a Vizier of Suleyman the Magnificent. Note – some steps were involved in getting to the Mosque through a passageway through some shops. The Mosque is actually built on a platform above these shops. But once you get there, this is a beautiful, totally blue, small mosque. And you can get really close to the tiles to see the intricate designs, unlike at the much larger Blue Mosque. Again, you have to be appropriately dressed, take off your shoes, and ladies have to wear headscarves.

 

After this we walked to the Spice Market which we had been to on our first day, but once again, I found a few things to buy. We had about a 30 minute stop here.

 

Then we once again boarded the busses for a short ride to our waiting tourist cruise boat. The cruise was very enjoyable, taking us through the Golden Horn, under the Galata Bridge and out into the Bosporus, taking us right by the Viking Star for some great photos. We headed north up the Bosporus, passed by the enormous Dolmabahce Palace and up as far as the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge to admire the ruins of the Rumeli Fortress. The cruise took us back down the Bosporus, this time on the Asian side, and then returned to our dock and a short bus ride back to the ship.

 

While we really enjoyed this relaxing tour, if you've never been to Istanbul before, and are not getting in early, I would not recommend this particular tour as representing the highlights of Istanbul. We got in a day and a half early and had a private guide who took us on a thorough tour of Hagia Sofia and the Topkapi Palace, including the Harem section, which to us was the best part. The afternoon after boarding we saw (on our own using the convenient tram system) the Grand Bazaar, the Underground Cisterns, and the Blue Mosque. To us, these are the important, not-to-be-missed sights in Istanbul. Having seen those sights though, this tour was a great relaxing way to end our time here.

 

I cannot confirm this personally, because we didn't do it, but I've heard from a few people that the optional Grand Edifices of Istanbul Viking tour was pretty rushed through the major sights only to spend an hour to an hour and a half in a rug shop / factory.

 

I encourage anyone who is able to get to Istanbul a day or two (at least) ahead of time. This is a fascinating city, with lots to see and do. There are several great Museums, none of which we were able to see. We also did not get a chance to do justice to the European area of Istanbul, even though that’s where our hotel was located. Also missed seeing the Whirling Dervishes.

[id4elizabeth]

We did not do the Viking tour, so can't comment on that, but we were very pleased with the small group private tour we did with Ephesus Shuttle. We had arranged this pre-cruise with 12 other CruiseCritic members through the EphesusShuttle.com website. We had an air-conditioned van, driver, and a fabulous, very knowledgeable guide. As soon as we exited the port terminal, the guide was waiting with a sign saying CruiseCritic – Elizaberth. Although all of us did not get off the ship right away, we still got there before the other Viking tour groups. Starting at the very top of the archeological site and walking downhill all the way, we saw the whole Ephesus sight, including the Terrace /Roman Houses. Our van was waiting at the bottom and drove us the short distance to the Ephesus Museum. The whole day was terrific! There were 2 surprises though. The first was that there were 200 steps going up through the Terrace Houses - modern metal steps that led to glass platforms that wound around the 7 houses we saw. The 200 steps were not contiguous so it wasn't too bad. Going down was harder on us as there were 50 steps going down that were contiguous, and stone, all of unequal heights, some real knee killers. The Terrace Houses to me were great and worth the effort, as it gave us a real feel for how Romans actually lived their everyday lives. Many in situ mosaics were beautiful and many wall frescos are still intact. The Ephesus Museum was a very worthwhile stop as well. All the statuary and small objects that were found at the archeological site have been moved to the Museum, and here the whole picture of Ephesus was fleshed out and made whole.

 

The second surprise was that instead of the $74 USD per person we had been quoted, it ended up being $54. And this included the extra $10 for the Terrace Houses and the $5 for the Museum. We told them that we thought that we owed more, but they insisted that was the correct amount, so who’s to argue…

 

From others on the ship. I heard that the included tour did not start at the very top, but started about half way down, with free time at the rug stalls and souvenir shops at the bottom. The Terrace Houses tour only did the Terrace Houses, with again free time to shop at the stalls. To my knowledge, none of the Viking tours stopped at the Museum. But I cannot personally vouch for this as we did not do the Viking tours for this stop. Instead, we saw it all.

[id4elizabeth]

I had a terrible cold once we landed in Pireas, and even though we had another small group private tour lined up, including dinner in Athens, there was just no way I could make it. So we dropped off our payment to one of the other couples and went into Pireas looking for a Pharmacy to buy some cold medicine. Although the town looks quite close on the map, the walk turned out to be farther than we thought, or maybe it was just that I was feeling terrible. We did find a couple Pharmacies and I stocked up on anything that looked like it might help. We also took in the local Archeological Museum. This small Museum is worth an hour’s stop if you find yourself in Pireas with nothing else to do. It contains some fabulous sculptures that have been dredged out of the harbor, including a magnificent bronze Apollo from 530 BC and a huge bronze Artemis from 350 BC. Pireas itself does not have much to recommend it otherwise.

[id4elizabeth]

This was another destination where we elected to do a small group private tour, arranged by fellow Cruise Critic member, paquebot. In Viking’s original brochure, a trip to Akrotiri was one of the optional tours. However, when we got our final listing of tours, the trip to Akrotiri was dropped, so at the last minute, we joined the excursion organized by paquebot through Santorini-Private-Guide.com with Kostas Sakavaras for €125 per couple, plus the €5 each way for the cable car. This included an air-conditioned van, driver, and the expertise of Kostas, who was GREAT!

 

In Santorini, all passengers must be tendered ashore by the Santorini official tenders. Those passengers going on the Viking tours are tendered to a “modern” port where there are places for busses to park. Independent travelers were tendered to the old town of Fira, and then must take the cable car, walk, or ride the very odiferous donkeys to the top of the caldera to Fira Town itself. I’m not sure how much sooner the Viking tour passengers disembarked, but I know we were not among the first to get off even though we were waiting at the beginning of the line. I also know that there were Viking tour passengers being tendered after us. So, while independent travelers are held up a little, they are not held up to the end. Once at the dock in Fira, there was no line to go up the cable car, as I think we were in the first tender to go to Fira.

 

Our guide Kostas was waiting at the top of the cable car as promised, and we walked a short way through the touristy but charming Fira Town to get to our van, and then we set of for Oia, a magical village at the northern crescent of the caldera. Kostas showed us the main sights, oriented us with a map, and then we were free to wander on our own for about 45 minutes. The views from Oia are breathtaking, and the shops are filled with more high-end goods than the trinket souvenir shops in Fira. I was seriously tempted in Oia to buy something special. There was a fabulous puppet shop along the main walkway and the puppets there were true works of art. Just as we were leaving, a horde of Viking tour busses were heading into town. I heard later that many of these busses had to park way down the road leaving a huge hike for the tour groups to reach Oia.

 

After Oia, we travelled across Santorini, though scenic farmland and vineyards, through several small villages, to Akrotiri. This was the place I really wanted to see. It’s an excavation site of the ancient Minoan civilization. We had been here about 28 years ago when it was just a sandy barely discernable site with no facilities at all, and we were interested in seeing it again. We were not disappointed, and Kostas brought it all to life for us. The site itself is completely covered with a modern ceiling, with raised walkways and excellent descriptions of what you’re seeing. It’s so much better than Pompeii and a lot less crowded – not to mention several thousand years earlier. How many places can you walk through Minoan ruins?

 

After Akrotiri, we stopped by a charming seaside restaurant (The Dolphins) for lunch, although by now it was after 2:00. The place was full of locals and Kostas did the ordering for us. We tried the grilled octopus – not going to be one of my favorite delicacies, I have to admit.

 

After lunch we had a choice of whether to go up the slopes of Mt Profitis Illias for a view, or take in a visit of a winery. Since the afternoon was a bit hazy, we opted for the winery. It was situated on the edge of the caldera, on the southern end of the island (unfortunately, I did not get its name). Not only could we overlook the caldera out to the outer islands, but could also look back to Fira Town and Oia way off in the distance. What a view!

 

Grape vines are grown in a different way on Santorini because of the high winds that whip over the island. They are trained to grow on the ground curled up in circles and look like Christmas wreaths lying on the ground. After sampling three or four wines, we set off back to Fira Town. We had a few minutes to browse the shops, and then set off down the cable car. Earlier we had shared Santorini with a Costas ship, but that had gone so we had no lines – just walked right on. We waited only a few minutes before the tender arrived and off we set, back to the ship. The sail out from Santorini on the Star’s top deck was better than the sail in, as the light was behind us and not shining into our eyes or the camera.

 

I did hear a few negative things about the included Viking tour. The first was that there was too much steep walking, and the second was the Mt Profitis stop. Apparently all the Viking busses went to the top at the same time and they had no place to turn around, so some of the busses had to back down. According to some, this wasted 45 minutes to an hour. Hopefully by now they’ve figured out that they can’t send all the busses up at the same time and need to stagger their arrival. The same would have been true at Oia as the parking is very limited there too. Despite those two negatives, everyone I spoke to really loved Santorini – it’s hard not to love this place!

[id4elizabeth]

Although this is not strictly speaking an excursion, one of the best parts of Kotor is the sail-in or sail-out. Make sure you’re on the top Sun Deck for some excellent not-to-be-missed scenery. Our sail-in was very early in the morning as the sun was rising. The whole experience took about a half hour or more as we sailed into the magnificent fjords which wind around and get more spectacular the farther the ship goes. The mountains and cliffs are dramatic as they plummet into the sea. Depending on your arrival and departure time, the sail-out might be best – but whichever, make sure you don’t miss this scenery.

 

Once again we had arranged a private guide with fellow Cruise Critic members. We actually had two guides and two cars. Paqebot had found a guide named Milo (ToursByMilo.com) and I had found one named Diko (MontTravellers.com). Each guide had a car and could theoretically seat four. We had three in our car and were very comfortable. Paqebot’s car had four and they were a little bit more cramped with 3 in the backseat, but were happy with the arrangement. The cars travelled from place to place in tandem. Milo and Diko were a lot of fun and claimed they were “almost best friends”. Having two guides meant we had the benefit of both their knowledge. Cost: €40 per person for four people in the car.

 

We saw a LOT of Montenegro – places I’m sure most tourists don’t get to see. We set off from Kotor to the small coastal town of Perast and caught a small boat out past the monastery on the island of St George and docked at the island of Our Lady of the Rocks. The cost of the boat was €5 return. Legend has it that two fisherman found an icon of Our Lady stuck in the reef on this spot. Despite their attempts to move it, she wouldn’t budge. So all the local fisherman would throw a rock onto this spot whenever they went by until the island was formed. In the 17th century, they built a church to house the icon. Once we entered this small church, a local docent guided us through. Some beautiful frescos grace the walls and ceiling and many small silver plaques, donated by grateful petitioners whose prayers were answered, line the upper walls. Adjacent to the church is a small museum. We elected to go through the museum as well for a donation of €2. It was a fascinating collection of stuff, ranging from ancient artifacts found on the hills overlooking Perast, to modern icons. A beautiful piece of embroidery depicts the Virgin and Child. This too was a docent led tour and she was excellent in giving us all the background needed to enjoy this jumble of stuff, including a demo of a manual, crank, gear driven propeller. Just as we were getting ready to leave, a large tourist boat full of a Viking tour group landed on this peaceful island – must have been close to 40 people. We took this boat back to Perast, happy that we had had the place to ourselves.

 

Next we were off to the Budva Riviera. We stopped at a couple of overlooks to admire the beautiful Montenegrin coast line’s beaches. In warmer weather they would be ideal, but a little chilly today. Our first major stop was the little town of Budva itself. We found Budva charming, understanding that it was not at all crowded while we were there. I can imagine at times it might get really crowded, and yes, it was a bit “touristy” but we loved the little back alleyways and pedestrian streets lined with boutiques and cafes. We also took in the Fortress which was an additional €2. Although the Fortress itself was not much, the views from the top were great, with the waves crashing against the rocks, and wisteria draping the walls. Again though, there were no crowds.

 

After Budva, we went to the overlook over Sveti Stefan to view this luxury resort hotel complex situated on its own island, connected to the mainland via a small causeway. It certainly was picturesque, but only resort guests are allowed to enter. Many famous names have stayed here, and today it costs over €1,000 per night for the cheapest rooms. If you have to skip something on this tour, I would suggest this stop. Although it is scenic, and you can fill your head with fantasies of staying there, other than one photo op, there’s not much here.

 

Our next stop was Lake Skadar. While most of the roads over the mountains were fine, at one point we were traveling on a one lane goat path to get down to the lake – we were really beginning to wonder where we were going, it was so isolated. Lake Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkans, covering 500 sq kilometers. The views coming down to the lake were spectacular. The steep mountains plunge into marshes with floating waterlilies – it’s a truly unspoiled area. We descended further down to a little half abandoned village called Rejeka Crnojevica and stopped at a charming riverside café for lunch, overlooking a photogenic old arched stone bridge. The food was great, but we were all starving by now, so anything would have been good.

 

Next, we drove to the Cetinje, the historic capital of Montenegro. On our way there, we enjoyed the desolate scenery of the “black mountains”, hence the name Montenegro. The interior of Montenegro is very rugged and desolate, but beautiful in its own way, and totally different from the coast. In Cetinje itself, the highlight was a tour of the Cetinje Monastery, but unfortunately, there is no photography allowed inside the monastery, and I didn’t see any postcards or books to buy to remember it by.

 

Now we were headed back to Kotor, passing through the tiny village of Njegusi, famous for its air dried ham called “prsut”. We stopped at a little roadside stand in town and bought a vacuum sealed package. It was delicious, as long as you like salty. Reminded me a little of Virginia Smithfield ham, but this was much more tender. In this high terrain we also could see the snowcapped mountain of Lovcen, where we caught a brief view of the mausoleum of King Petrovic II.

 

Next was the adventurous 25 hair-pin turns as we descended the mountain - we made some stops to take in the spectacular views of Boka Bay (or the Bay of Kotor). And finally we arrived back in Kotor about 9 hours later. We were dropped off by our guides, as most of us were ready to pack it in for the day. I did get a swift peak inside the Cathedral of St Tryphon, but that was about it for Kotor itself. I do wish we had had another day here, as we didn’t see much of Kotor, but I don’t regret the day we did spend, as we ended up combining many of the Viking tours into one very long tour for a fraction of the cost and with no crowds – it was marvelous!

[id4elizabeth]

Our 50-day cruise actually stopped in Dubrovnik twice – once on the Istanbul to Venice segment, and once on the Venice to Barcelona segment. To simplify things, I’m going to combine both days into this one review.

 

Note: the ship docks in Gruz which is about 2 miles from Dubrovnik itself. If you’re on a Viking tour, your bus will be parked right in front of the ship. There is a free Viking dedicated shuttle bus that also picks you up right at the dock and takes you to the Pile Gate, right outside the pedestrian Old Town. However, this particular shuttle bus only left every half hour, so if you just missed the last one, each way, you could easily lose an hour of your day. Despite what our Viking Daily said, they did not run “continuously.” Taxis are also available, but I was told by the Viking Excursion Manager that they cost €17 one way to the Pile Gate. I think this is an overstatement though.

 

On the first day, we had elected the optional “Dubrovnik by Cable Car.” Our bus holding about 35 people left the dock and went straight to the Cable Car. Unfortunately for us, a large Asian tour group was in front of us and the line was quite long to get to the cable cars. In addition, a large black cloud had drifted over the top of the mountain (Mount Srd), and it was obvious, unless a miracle happened, we weren’t going to see much. After waiting about 45 minutes to get on the cable car, we nonetheless went to the top. We couldn’t see a thing – it was completely socked in. Our guide announced to us that we would have an hour of “free time” up here in the clouds. We all complained that that was ridiculous to spend time up here when you couldn’t see a thing, so she relented and said half an hour. We used the facilities and wandered around the grounds a bit in the fog. There was a museum inside the walls of a Napoleonic fortress behind and above the Cable Car Station that documents the “Yugoslav aggression of the Homeland War” ie the 1990’s Balkan Wars. We stuck our head in but it costs to get in so we didn’t go inside. I did take a picture of a poster on the wall of what the view of Dubrovnik was supposed to look like from up here, before we headed back down on the cable cars. No wait in line to get down.

 

Our bus then took us to the Ploce Gate on the eastern side of town. Our guide walked us through the gate to the center of town to the Luza Square, up past the Rector’s Palace and then down the Stradun main street. Note: the Church of St. Blaise was closed for renovation, and it sounded like it was going to be closed for some time. While she gave us some information and oriented us to the layout of the town, I wouldn’t classify this as a thorough tour of the town. We did not go inside anything. Although this tour was supposed to be 4 hours, it was more like 3 hours. She walked us to the Pile Gate on the western side of town where we could catch one of the shuttle busses back to the ship, or could stay in town and wander on our own.

 

We elected to stay in town a bit longer and took in the Franciscan Monastery right near the Pile Gate. This was a peaceful green spot to get away from the crowds. Just before you pay to go inside, there’s an old pharmacy that’s worth going inside, although they don’t allow photos. I bought a jar of lavender face cream – very inexpensive souvenir. Next to the Franciscan Monastery is the small church of St Savior that’s worth a quick look.

 

By now the main drag was pretty crowded so we veered off into some of the charming side streets, looking for the Serbian Orthodox Church. You’ll need a good map if you go wandering these back streets if you’re trying to find something specific. It took us a while to locate this church, and once again, unfortunately no photos were allowed inside. A Museum of Orthodox Icons was supposed to be several doors down, but it was empty and the space was being refurbished, with no signs to say when, or if, it might reopen. Also, there are a lot of stairs in these “streets” and you can do a lot of climbing in Dubrovnik, even if you don’t go onto the city walls.

 

Walking back to the Pile Gate down the main drag, it was easy to catch the shuttle bus back to the ship, but senselessly, even though the bus was completely full of Viking passengers, we waited about 10 minutes before the bus driver would leave.

 

In summary of this day’s optional tour, I would say it was not worth it. If I had it to do over again, I would take the included walking tour, and then when that’s over, if the weather is good, walk up to the Cable Car Station and do that on our own. The walking tour would have been much better (it includes an inside tour of the Dominican Monastery), and we wouldn’t have wasted our time going to the top of Mount Srd for nothing. Also, supposedly the lines for the Cable Car are shorter in the afternoons.

 

The next time we were in Dubrovnik about 5 days later, we decided to do the town on our own. We took the shuttle bus into town and ascended the walls just inside the Pile Gate. Note: they only take the local currency (Kuna) or a credit card – they will not take Euros. There is an ATM just as you get off the bus before you go through the Pile Gate. Note also that the walls can only be walked in a counterclockwise manner.

 

We elected to do the “water side” of the walls and not the steeper interior half (but supposed to offer better views that way), so entering at the Pile Gate was ideal for us. The first set of stairs is a killer, but after that, it wasn’t too bad. It was a beautiful day, and I just couldn’t stop taking pictures. From this vantage point, many of the roofs are new and a bright shade of red-orange – these are the new roofs that were bombed during the Balkan War and have been replaced. The older brown tile roofs are the ones that were not damaged – sadly, there were not too many of these. We circled around the Old Port, watching the yachts bobbing up and down and ferries traveling to and fro. We exited at the Ploce Gate, at the eastern side of town, just before the walls started going steeply uphill.

 

Then we took in the Dominican Monastery, another oasis of quiet. In addition to the cloisters, this had a nice Museum attached with many religious artifacts, a famous Titian painting of St Blaise and St Magdalene, and some beautiful illuminated manuscripts. In the church, the stained glass is all modern due to the ravages of the Balkan Wars. There’s also a wonderful sculpture by Mestrovic of the Virgin and Child. Mestrovic is a famous Croatian sculptor; we saw his work all over Croatia.

 

From there, we strolled to the main Luza Square and wandered into the Sponza Palace. Inside is a moving memorial to the Defenders of Dubrovnik during the war. Next we hit the Rector’s Palace, and while it costs to get in, it was a worthwhile tour. Across the square, we went inside the Dubrovnik Cathedral, but did not pay the extra fee to go inside the Treasury of Holy Relics. The Stations of the Cross in this church are a very interesting modern interpretation of the events and struck our eye.

 

Finally it was time for some lunch so we strolled to the Market Square (Gunduliceva Poljana on the maps) where there is a market every morning. In the afternoon the square is taken over by outdoor cafes and pigeons.

 

Once fed, we decided to exert ourselves and climb the steps to the Jesuit Church of St Ignatius. While the other churches in Dubrovnik are somewhat plain inside, this church is decked out in baroque splendor, complete with a Lourdes grotto. From here we strolled through the back streets towards the Pile Gate, doing some window shopping along the way, coming out at the Onofrio Fountain. This time we waited about 10 minutes for the shuttle bus, and were so glad to sit down that we didn’t mind that we waited another 20 minutes for it to leave. This time the driver did leave once the bus was full. We had about an hour to freshen up before the sail away, and that too was enchanting – make sure you’re outside to catch the scenery as you leave.

 

Our second day in Dubrovnik was fabulous. The weather was perfect and we felt we did the town justice. I would love to have another day to explore more of its back streets, and maybe tackle the upper walls, but there’s not too much we didn’t see. This is an easy city to do on your own; the Stradun or Main Street is pretty level and the stone paving is in great shape, making the walking easy. The side streets are charming, but as you get nearer the walls, the streets turn into stairs. Would love to do some shopping here, as the prices are very reasonable, but we have many days to go on this cruise and our suitcases were already full coming over.

[id4elizabeth]

Once again, we teamed up with some CruiseCritic pals and paquebot hired a private guide for the whole day for eight of us. However, I had done in my hubby walking the walls of Dubrovnik and he opted to stay onboard and I went alone making the group seven (I did pay his way though). Our guide was Sini Slujic and his website is pula-city-tours.com. He was terrific! We have certainly lucked out with our private guides – all of them have been great.

 

Unfortunately, because we were tendered, and this was the first time the Viking Star had used the tenders, we were extremely late getting ashore, despite being on the very first tender. The Star anchored a little before 9:00, but we did not get ashore until after 11:00, and to make matters worse, we were supposed to be in port until 11:00 pm, but at the last minute, they announced that we had to leave port by 6:00 pm, and the last tender was at 5:00 pm. According to Viking, this was because the Pula Port Authorities said that anchoring off Pula after dark was dangerous and we had to vacate before then. Now wouldn’t you have thought Viking would have known this before now?

 

Anyway, we had to dramatically alter our itinerary for the day, as paquebot had a full day including dinner planned for us. We ended up totally cutting out Motovun, and of course dinner in Pula. Rather than try to rush around and see totally everything, we told the guide we wanted a relaxing but full day, and that’s indeed what we got.

 

We left Pula immediately and set off for the coastal town of Rovinj through scenic farmland countryside, dotted with lots of olive trees. Perched on a rocky promontory right up against the sea, this somewhat crumbling romantic town has an Italian feel to it. From the parking lot, there was a fantastic view of the old town overlooking the tiny seaport, with the houses seeming to rise directly out of the sea. We were lucky to hit Market Day and the plaza in front of town was filled with local market stalls; each with lot of rows of bottled olive oil (the Croatians think they have better olive oil than Italians), alternating with rows of truffles. There was also bright green fresh asparagus and lots of fresh fish, fresh flowers, and homemade breads.

 

In Medieval times, Rovinj was an island, just off the coast - now it is a peninsula as the narrow channel that once separated it from the mainland was filled in and became a street. We strolled along this flat street to get to Tito Square, overlooking the very much working fishing harbor. Walking through the old Balbi Town Gate (partially under restoration and half draped with scaffolding that looked almost as old as the Gate itself), we entered the pedestrian Old Town and walked along the coast line street to the spot where St Euphemia’s sarcophagus supposedly washed ashore here in 800 AD. St Euphemia is the town’s patron saint and we were headed to the Church which now houses her relics and marble sarcophagus. It was hard to keep moving though as the scenic rocky shoreline, dotted with terraced cafes overlooking the Adriatic, kept our attention.

 

A steep climb up the final hill, alongside the old city walls, did lead us to her church. This baroque church has some rather grand marble alters, but the highlight of course is the chapel containing the sarcophagus of St Euphemia. There’s no way this Roman-era looking sarcophagus floated anywhere! It might indeed contain the saint’s relics, but if it floated, it floated on a boat. The thing is huge and made of solid marble. One end has been cut away and covered with a painting. Every September 16th, her feast day, this panel is removed and the faithful come to gaze upon the relics and pray for her blessing.

 

The Church’s Bell tower, which dominates the skyline of Rovinj, can be climbed, but we all elected to forgo this pleasure, and instead headed back into town down the street called Grisia. This is a steep, very cobbled pedestrian lane that requires your attention so as not to trip and fall and the cobbles are worn very slick. In the rain this would be treacherous indeed. However, the street is lined with boutiques, art galleries (one of the local artistic traditions is painting on glass on the reverse side), pottery galleries, and jewelry shops – all pretty high-quality items. Very little of the typical tourist souvenir type wares here. I was seriously tempted quite a few times along this lovely lane.

 

The side streets were romantically colorful as well – a photographer’s paradise. The town is mainly workaday houses, not palaces or big municipal buildings. This was an old Medieval fishing village, and it still has that kind of charm.

 

Back in the harbor, we stopped for lunch at a waterside café, and of course had huge platters of fresh fish, caught that morning. Delicious.

 

After Rovinj, we headed for Lim Fjord, just north of Rovinj. We were scheduled to have an hour’s panoramic boat ride up and down this natural fjord, but we had to scale that back to about half an hour in order to leave enough time for Pula itself. This is a very pretty inlet, surrounded by rocky hills, but nothing special that we could see. It’s too bad we hadn’t seen videos or pictures of what this was, because I think it was something we all could have passed on. If we had had our full day as Viking had scheduled, this would have been a welcome break, but on our tight schedule, our time would have been better spent elsewhere.

 

Then we headed back to Pula, passing many little hill towns perched atop peaceful farmland. We had about an hour and a half before we needed to be back at the tender location. Sini (our guide) took us through a whirlwind tour of Pula. There really is quite a bit to see in Pula. We hit the totally intact Temple of Augustus in the old Roman Forum, and the 13th century Town Hall. We walked under the ornate and marvelously intact Arch of Sergius, and briskly walked alongside the old Roman walls to see the two Roman gates. Our final stop was the amazing Roman Amphitheater, completed in 80 AD. There are some amazing views just standing outside the theater, as the land slopes upwards around the oval structure, so from the high ground, you can see inside very well.

 

The rest of the group decided they did not want to be on the last boat back, so they decided to head back now, so we said goodbye to our guide. I couldn’t be this close to this Amphitheater and not go inside. So, although I would only have about 20 minutes inside, I decided to pay the entrance fee and take a look anyway. I did manage to scamper up to the topmost of the remaining stone seats for the best views of the gladiatorial stage, and did see the underground “museum” which contained mainly stacks of Roman amphora. By now the place was totally empty, and I felt I had stepped back in time, getting some great pictures of the place with no people in them.

 

It was about a quarter mile back to the dock to catch the last tender back, and I just made it there as they were taking down the red Viking signs - Whew! Then we sat there. Apparently, accounting for the seven of us straggling passengers, there was still one passenger not accounted for. I’d say we waited about 20 more minutes, until the Captain radioed that we should come back. I don’t know if they found the passenger onboard, or whether they just decided to leave this person, or what. But I’m glad it wasn’t me left ashore.

 

My husband had decided he would take the included afternoon Viking walking tour. He definitely did see more of Pula than we had managed. These sights included the Cathedral, its beginnings dating from the 5th century AD, with later additions up until the early 18th century; the Basillica of St Mary Formosa; and the Franciscan Monastery. He said he enjoyed the day, but his pictures have a whole lot more people/crowds in them than mine!

 

While Pula may be off the beaten path, I think that’s part of its charm, and I would definitely recommend a side trip to Rovinj.

[id4elizabeth]

We had planned on being topside for our sail-in to Venice, but when we awoke at about 6:30, we were already securely docked and tied up. This first day in Venice is the disembarkation/embarkation day, so no tours (included or optional) are provided by Viking during the day. I think this is a mistake on Viking’s part, and certainly different from what was initially detailed on their day-by-day itinerary when we signed up for the cruise. This lack of excursions leaves anyone doing B2B cruises with a day they have to plan for themselves.

 

I had bought two tickets for the “Secret Itinerary of the Doge’s Palace” about a month ago for 10:30 am, so we needed to make sure we had plenty of time to get there. This proved to be not altogether easy. After leaving the almost empty cruise terminal, we could see the “people mover” monorail but had difficulty seeing how to get to the station, or even where the station was. It turned out to be a bit of a hike. And although I cannot remember exactly how much it was (maybe €4 each?), we thought it was fairly expensive for a two stop tram. It dumped us out on the Piazzale Roma square (which looked like a giant parking lot to me); we turned left as Rick Steves map indicated and found the Vaporetto station without too much trouble. It was a busy place with lots of Italians getting on and off. We were a bit confused as to how to buy the correct ticket and where to go to get the correct boat, but in the end we did manage.

 

We got on the “faster” boat that would not make as many stops. Of course all the window seats were taken, so we kept going towards the stern until we finally got to the back small open seating area. This turned out to be the best place to sit as we could turn and see both sides of the Grand Canal, and not have to take pictures through the grimy glass of the boat’s windows. Unfortunately though, the Rialto Bridge was halfway hidden under restoration scaffolding, so no good pictures of that iconic sight of Venice.

 

I had brought with us copies of both Rick Steves and DK Eyewitness sections of “Touring the Grand Canal” so that we would have some idea of what we were looking at. The DK Eyewitness was better in that it showed us with their normal drawings what we were looking at, although Steves version went into more detail. There wasn’t much time to read the detail though as we passed each building so quickly.

 

We decided to get off at the Rialto Bridge stop and walk to San Marco Square. From the map it looked like this would be a much quicker way to get there – just a few blocks. But the streets are not exactly as they appear on the map, and one’s sense of distance gets a little distorted. We’re glad we took this way though as it gave us a feel of Venice’s back alleyways and bridges. With some luck we did find the square, coming out right at the Clock Tower gate.

 

Crossing the square of San Marco, we passed by the Basilica with a VERY long line in front, and easily spotted the Doge’s Palace. You do have to round the corner to get to the entrance though, where another very long line greeted us. Since I had tickets, we were able to bypass this long line, but had to exchange our printed paper voucher for an actual ticket in the ticket office before proceeding to the meeting spot for the English version of the “Secret Itineraries” (there are only three English versions per day).

 

The meeting place was the enormous ornate colonnaded inner courtyard of this part palace, part judicial court, part prison. From here we went down to the dungeons and then up to the torture chamber, various council chambers, and the upscale cell where Casanova was imprisoned. Our tour guide was the tour guide from hell – the first problem was she would not let a French adult translate from English into French for a little boy that was accompanying him. In a way this was a good thing, as his constant translation would have been annoying after a while, but our guide carried this pretty much to extremes, not letting the man speak two words to the little fellow in French. Her other major quirk was that she would not let anyone take a picture of anything if she was in the picture. She said it was for privacy reasons. But then she would stand in such a way as to make taking a picture of the room virtually impossible. If anyone accidentally got her in a picture she’d yell loudly at them and make them delete the picture. Other than her rather odd behavior, the tour was pretty good, but I’m not sure it was worth the extra money, over and above the regular tour, where you can get an English audioguide. The regular tour gives you plenty of dungeons and a walk across the famous Bridge of Sighs. After our Secret Itineraries tour, we were free to roam about on the regular tour, but of course then we weren’t able to get the audioguide. I will say the regular tour rooms were a lot more crowded!

 

After our roam around the Doge’s Palace, we decided to try and find something to eat. But as we were passing by the Basilica, the lines had trimmed down quite considerably, so we decided to take advantage while we could and got in a really short line for the Basilica. Lots of signs state clearly that no photos are allowed to my great disappointment, but once inside, everyone had their cell phones out taking pictures and no one was stopping them, so after a while I decided to try and sneak in one or two myself. After a bit of this, I just freely snapped pics along the way. They do keep you moving along and don’t let you linger very long, but never once made any gesture about “no photos”.

 

I was particularly taken with the mosaic floors inside San Marco – just magnificent! The church itself is rather dark, but the mosaics alone were worth the effort. I wish we had spent a bit more time here, but by now we were tired and hungry.

 

Instead of trying to find a place to eat (the prices on the menus that we did stop and look at were astronomical), we decided it was time to get moving back to the ship, as we have booked the optional excursion for tonight for a gondola ride. We basically wove our way back to the Rialto Bridge but somehow took a wrong turn and went back another way entirely, making a quick stop at the Church of San Salvador. The Vaporetto back down the Grand Canal was quick and easy, and the way back from the Piazzale Roma to the ship was much easier now that we knew the way.

 

We went on the optional Viking Evening Gondola Tour and had a great time. The best organized Viking tour we've been on to date. We first got right off the ship directly onto 120 pax boats which took us down the wider Giudecca Canal directly to the old town close to St Mark’s Square. From there a short walk took us to waiting gondolas. 6 pax per gondola. Went all around some lovely canals. One boat back from us an accordion player and singer serenaded us with 'typical' Italian songs. The fading glow light was perfect. Weather was perfect. I’d say we spent half an hour to 45 minutes on the gondolas. My only regret was that our boatman did not have on a black and white striped shirt with a straw hat! There was a bit of free time waiting to get back on the bigger boats to come back to the ship, so we wandered in the lobby of the Hotel Danielle – quite an old historic hotel with some beautiful Art Deco touches. Going back down the Giudecca Canal we had a nighttime view of Venice, with twinkling lights romantically sparkling in the water. Only issue was that we had to go through the terminal to go through Italian security before reboarding, but this was understandable and no big deal. Wonderful evening in Venice!

[id4elizabeth]

We did the optional tour to Murano, Burano, and St Mark's Square. Mostly positive feedback - we really enjoyed the day overall. However, a few cautions to those who might be interested in this tour. The stop in Murano was to one glass blowing factory. We did not see any more of the island except this factory. We did get a live demonstration of glass-blowing that we thought very well done. Then of course shopping time. Just be aware that this is all you will see of Murano. The boat stopped right in front of the factory and that’s exactly where we boarded after the shop. Then the short boat ride to Burano.

 

We saw much more of Burano. Our guide walked us into town and she pointed us to the first shop in the square. We had lots of free time in Burano, but no real walking tour, other than from the boat to the town square. We went off on our own and visited the lace shop recommend by Rick Steves (Lydia's), a bit down the main street. It was a nice shop with realistic prices for real handmade lace and the lady was very welcoming even though we didn’t buy anything. It was a MUCH nicer shop that the one the guide pointed us to. If you’re interested, go into the shop and at the back are some fabulous old laces. We also got a yummy Gelato at one of the cafes. Which brings me to my second caution. The tour departed at 8:00 am so we had to meet up at 7:45. We did not get back aboard until a bit after 3:00. NO LUNCH IS INCLUDED.

 

After Burano, we were boated back to Venice and St. Mark’s Square. For St Mark's Square, we were let off 4 bridges down from the Square and given some suggestions as to how to spend our free time, but no guiding or walking tour - just free time. Our guide did not walk with us to the square to point out any highlights. (This is caution #3.) I spent my time happily going to San Marco Cathedral again while my DH found a very expensive restaurant and had a 14 euro glass of house white wine and people watched. Then we met up again 4 bridges away at the designated spot for the boat ride back to the ship. She was later than she had told us and there was no place to sit, so we browsed the souvenir shops in the shade. It was a lovely day altogether though and went off without any disasters.

[id4elizabeth]

The tour itself was really great. Split is a very interesting town, and the walking tour covered almost everything. The ship was docked about 1/4 mile smooth level walk into the old part of town, enclosed by the Roman Diocletian Palace. However, getting started was a goat rope. I was assigned to the earliest group and went downstairs at the appointed meeting time, heading for the meeting place, the Star Theater. Instead, there was a long line winding all around the corridors of deck 1. It was mass confusion. I decided to wait it out back in my cabin as there were lots of staggered times for the walking tour, so I figured I'd catch a later one. I waited a good 20 minutes. This strategy worked and I joined a later group of about 40 people (although I'll admit I didn't count them off). Our guide was great and we started the tour in the cellars of the Palace. Our guide did her best, but our group was competing for space with the other huge Viking groups who were now ahead of us. It was massively crowded in this confining space – so bad I could hardly move and getting pictures was out of the question.

 

My DH had decided to stay behind and perhaps get a later tour, perhaps not. As my tour group was leaving the cellar area, lo and behold we ran into each other as his group was going in. So I bailed out on my group and joined his. His group was about 12 people and by now the crowd had thinned quite a bit. His guide was also great.

 

In addition to the cellars, we were taken to the main Peristyle, saw the outside of St Dominius church (once Diocletian's mausoleum), the outside of the Temple of Jupiter, all of the 4 old gates to the city, several of the Medieval squares, and wandered all over the place, down enchanting narrow pedestrian only streets. We also went to the Ethnological Museum, which had lots of native costumes, jewelry and a room setting. This may not have appealed to everyone, but I thought it was great.

 

After the tour you could walk back to the ship, or stay in town. We both went back to the ship for lunch, but then I walked back into town on my own in the afternoon. I went inside the St Dominius church, and the Temple of Jupiter. The church was worth the few euros it cost to get in – the Temple, not so much. I did some more wandering around the side streets which were full of shops and café – very atmospheric and not crowded at all this afternoon. Retook some pictures I had taken this morning, but this time without all the people. Rick Steves guidebook was a great help, and I would say Split is totally doable on your own.

 

So the moral of this story is that the early tours may be more crowded and the later tours less so. I'll let you know if this pattern continues. But Split was GREAT!

[id4elizabeth]

I had signed up for the 7-hour Viking optional tour, “Corfu’s Natural and Historic Riches” but DH had opted for the shorter 3-hour version “Panoramic Corfu”. Neither experience was particularly satisfactory.

 

Mine started out with a long bus ride across the island’s interior to get to the west coast. There we got out and went inside the Thoetokos Monastery in the picturesque seaside resort village of Paleokastritsa. This Greek Orthodox Church is perched high atop a promontory over the town and had a beautiful ornate interior, but just seconds after we arrived, yet another busload of Viking visitors arrived and once again, it was so crowded I couldn’t take decent pictures, except of the ceiling.

 

My DH’s tour did exactly the same thing, only they didn’t get to go to the Monastery – they just got to get out in the small village and take a few photos of the pebbly beach.

 

Then back on the bus for another ride up a very narrow twisted road to an overlook that looked out over the coastline from which we had both come. There’s a little restaurant there, toilets and some souvenir shops. As I was waiting in line for a slice of nut cake, I literally ran into my DH who had just arrived on his bus and was looking for the toilets.

 

From here, his bus went back into Corfu Town where he had a short walking tour, and then he took the shuttle back to the ship for his lunch. So in all, he had close to 2 hours of bus riding, with 2 stops to see a few sights, with the final, 3rd stop back in Corfu Town.

 

My bus continued from the overlook onto even narrower, more twisted roads towards the north of the island and a resort town of Roda. At this time of year it was pretty dead and I’m still trying to figure out why we came here, except to eat lunch. Lunch was OK but nothing compared to the ship’s food. Since there were at least 100 of us, the quality of the food was only so-so and the service was glacially slow. Then right back on the bus for another long bus ride. This time at least there was some very lovely scenery, but only if you were on the left side of the bus. The left side of the bus overlooked the beautiful dramatic coastline along the northeast side of the island. But, unfortunately, I was stuck on the right side, and other than a few glimpses of Mt. Pantokrator, all I got was bus-sick.

 

We were finally deposited back in Corfu Town and given a very brief walking tour. We had about 45 minutes to explore the city on our own and then had to meet up with our bus to get back to the ship. I went inside the Church of Agios Spyridon, where the relics of the patron saint of the city lie. The Old Fortress juts out into the sea and looks like an interesting place to visit, but there wasn’t time. There were lots of shops to explore, and I wandered into a few, but they were mainly tourist souvenirs. It was total confusion at the bus stop, between the complementary shuttles and the various Viking tour busses, but I managed to get back to the ship in one piece.

 

My take on Corfu is that you’re better off just taking the shuttle from the ship to the town and exploring on your own. There’s a Fortress that you can go into and an Archeological Museum. And the town is not without its charm, although it wouldn’t be on my top 10 places to visit again. The included tour is basically just one long bus ride, and the optional tour is an even longer bus tour.

 

I heard from others that the Mountain Bike tour was a lot of fun, but you had to be in pretty good shape. The Winery & Home Visit tour was cancelled for some reason.

[id4elizabeth]

The next day was a sea day with obviously no tours, but I did want to mention that we had a “sail by” of the island of Stromboli which you should not miss. Find out approximately what time you’ll be passing by so that you can be sure to be out on deck somewhere. It was late dusk when we went by, but it was still beautiful. The silhouette of the volcano against the fading sunset, with the plume of ash drifting in the slight breeze was a delightful memory of the cruise.

[id4elizabeth]

We had opted for two Viking optional tours the day we were in Naples – Herculaneum and Pompeii. We decided on Viking tours instead of a private tour, as we would only have a little more than 5 hours in port and didn’t want to get left behind. Note: The Port is a long way from downtown Naples – no way to walk there.

 

In retrospect, we should have done a private tour. We wasted a lot of time (maybe an hour and a half) going back and forth to the ship. From the port of Naples we drove south to get to Herculaneum in the morning, then back to the ship. In the afternoon, we again drove south from the ship, passing by the exit for Herculaneum to get to Pompeii. It would have been much better to hire a small group guide and go directly from Herculaneum to Pompeii, having a quick lunch along the way.

 

I had enquired at the ShoreEx desk the day before about taking a taxi from Herculaneum to Pompeii after the Herculaneum tour (we'd pay the taxi fare) to meet up with the second tour in Pompeii and was told no way. Not wanting to create a problem, we came back to the ship. Now, today is Sunday and we ran into zero traffic - not sure this would work on a weekday. (They also told me at the ShoreEx desk they would not hold up the Pompeii tour for us should we get delayed in Herculaneum. This turned out to be ironically untrue as our tour guide for Herculaneum was the one and only tour guide for the afternoon Pompeii tour, so it would not have left without our tour guide and hence us, but I guess the ShoreEx staff were unaware of this fact.)

 

There was supposed to be 45 minutes between these 2 excursions, but in reality there ended up being only 15 minutes due in large part to the security checkpoint at the port.

 

Both tours required a lot of walking and it was an exhausting day. My pedometer showed 6.3 miles when we got back to the ship. Some of our fellow travelers were really struggling by the end of the second tour. I would not recommend doing both these for mobility impaired passengers.

 

Both tour groups were way too large. First group was 44 people and second was 43 people. It takes a long time for the toilet break for groups that large. And the tour itself was unwieldy at times because of its size.

 

Having said all that, the guide was good, and we totally enjoyed seeing both these iconic sights. Would have loved another day here to actually see Naples itself and take in the Archeological Museum. Maybe next trip.

 

I liked Herculaneum best, but my DH liked Pompeii best.

[id4elizabeth]

We were slated to go into Rome on our own and meet up with my DH’s sister, who just happened to be there. However, she got tied up in meetings, and it was pouring rain, so we just took the day off. I did hear that the included tour was a lot of bus riding, but also that a number of people just used the tour to get into town and back, ditching the tour at the first stop and meeting up with it again at the last stop. Curiously, Viking includes the transportation back and forth into town with the included tour with the guide taking folks to various sites. But to take the optional “Rome on Your Own” which is a bus ride in and back, costs money.

[id4elizabeth]

Livorno - HUGE industrial port - glad we weren't boarding here as I'd never be able to find the ship - not sure what you'd do in Livorno itself.

 

We took this optional tour today and thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was a lot of walking. We went first to Lucca and the bus dropped us off at the southern gate of the old city. Because the guide was worried about the church closing, we first walked to the northern edge. Saw that church which was lovely. Then we wandered back to the southern end to see the Cathedral which was very impressive. Then we walked back to the northern side to see the elliptical 'square' that was once a Roman amphitheater. Then we had free time for lunch but our guide said the cafes in this 'square' were not very good and where she directed us to go was back at the southern end. So lots of walking, but thankfully Lucca is a level town without steps. It's also a charming very picturesque town.

 

Back on the bus to go to Pisa. This tour included going into the Duomo and the Baptistery. Both were very impressive. I particularly liked the demonstration of the acoustics inside the Baptistery. Ask your guide to have one of the docents show you this. Perhaps because my expectations were low, but Pisa exceeded them. Although it was crowded, it wasn't unbearably so. Long walks to and from the bus parking lots though, but again all level.

 

My pedometer registered a little over 7 1/2 miles.

[id4elizabeth]

From where we docked on the town’s pier, it was not too far a walk into town at all. There was also a Hop-on-Hop-off bus stop very close to ship. It’s an easy walk to the old part of town on top of hill to The Grimaldi Palace, but a very long walk to Casino area. We did HOHO bus to Casino later in the day.

 

But first we took the included Monaco Walking tour. This was lovely. We walked around the headlands, along the shoreline and then through a gorgeous park, coming out in front of the St Nicholas Cathedral. We toured inside, seeing the final resting place of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier. We wandered around some of the charming streets, and ended at the Square in front of the Palace in time for the Changing of the Guard. I had previously bought tickets to the Grimaldi Palace on-line, several months ago, and was pleasantly surprised to end the tour right in front.

 

The Palace was great, but I’m glad I bought our tickets on line for a fraction of the cost of the Viking optional tour. The combination of the included tour, plus our own tickets had us seeing everything for a mere pittance. I think the only difference would have been that the Viking tour would have had a real person guide us through the Palace and instead we had headphones and an audio-guide.

 

After the Palace we retraced our steps back to the ship through the lovely park again and had lunch on board.

 

Then we took the narrated HO-HO bus to the Casino, and browsed around the ornate Monte Carlo Belle Époque Casino. We had to pay to get in! I guess that’s how they keep out the riff-raff. One caution about the HO-HO bus – make sure you find out when the last bus service is, before setting out. When we were there it was 5:00pm and we managed to catch the last bus of the day from the Casino back to the ship. Of course we could have taken a cab, but we had already paid for the return bus ticket, and it’s nice to ride around on the upper deck seeing all the sights. The bus has headphones with English narration.

 

We spent the evening on the ship even though the Star was in port until 11:00. It would have been easy to enjoy some of the nightlife, if that’s your pleasure.

 

P.S. The folks in Monte Carlo were a bit stand-offish we thought. If you get the same treatment, I don't think it's personal - just a cultural thing.

[id4elizabeth]

I did the Viking optional tour of Aix en Provence and I thought it was a good tour. We had an excellent guide, and the guides I find can easily make or break your experience. The bus ride was well over an hour, but the scenery along the way was very nice, and our guide pointed out interesting things along the way. The walk through town was quite level. I particularly enjoyed the Baptistery of the Cathedral, and the shopping was great for little things you might want to bring back as gifts - I got 3 huge bars of lavender olive oil soap for 8 euros, 3 large bags of Herbs du Provence, and lavender flavored tea. Didn't spend more than 20 euros for all of it. Lunch was mixed - loved the warm goat cheese wrapped in phyllo dough as a starter - entree was dry chicken with boiled potatoes - dessert was an OK apple tartin.

 

The studio of Paul Cezanne was a bit of a disappointment to me. Glad I saw it as he's one of my favorite painters. But only 20 people are allowed in at one time so we had to go in shifts. It's just one big room with some of his memorabilia about, but none of his paintings. No photos are allowed.

 

Which brings me to a complaint about Viking's tours in general. They are way too large. Most of the ones I've been on have been 40 or more people - today was 39. When we stop for toilet breaks at a lady's room that can only accommodate two at a time, it just takes far too long.

 

My DH wandered about Toulon on his own and went to the Martine Museum. He thoroughly enjoyed it, but he loves all things nautical. It wasn’t far from the ship’s dock into town – easily walkable.

[id4elizabeth]

We were in Barcelona for 2 ½ days. The first day was the end of the second leg of our trip (Venice to Barcelona). The second day we were on our own, as Viking didn’t offer any tours during the day – it was “turn-around” day. But they did offer an evening performance of Flamenco, which we attended. The remaining half day was the beginning of the next leg - Barcelona to Bergen.

 

The first day we went on the Panoramic Tour of Barcelona. As expected, this was mainly a bus ride with a few photo-op stops, but it did give us a great overview of the city and we did drive through some very interesting neighborhoods. Some of the areas we would not be able to get to on foot, such as the Montjuic hill area with the Olympic Stadium and some pretty views over the city, as well as driving down the main streets of the Eixample district, with the guide pointing out the Modernista architecture. Unfortunately though this tour did not take us into any of the Old Quarters. There is a Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus in Barcelona that you can catch at the Columbus Monument where the port shuttle drops you off, and I think this would have been much better.

 

In the afternoon, we did the optional Gaudi Tour, and this was far superior to this morning’s tour. Although we would have liked to have had an all-day tour to stop at some of his houses (we only got a quick drive by of some of them), we at least got a bit of time inside the La Sagrada Familia Cathedral, and wandered through his Park Guell Gardens. These were amazing! There was a bit of walking in this tour, as the bus could only get a couple blocks away from the Cathedral, and of course, there’s lots of walking inside the Park Guell. But I was pleased we got to spend some quality time in these two sights.

 

That evening, Viking had a special performance of the Montserrat Boys’ Choir. What a coup! We thoroughly enjoyed them – got a seat right down in front. My only regret here was that it was all secular music and I would have loved to hear some religious music, since we were going to the Montserrat Abbey the next day.

 

On the Day-on-Our-Own, I had prearranged for a group tour for fellow Cruise Critic travelers as well as another couple just joining the cruise that evening, to go to see Montserrat Abbey, and visit a vineyard for a ‘cava’ wine tasting. I arranged this tour through http://www.SpainDayTours.com and interestingly we ended up with a terrific guide from Ireland. We were picked up right outside the ship terminal, and had to stop at a hotel to pick up the other couple who loaded their luggage in the back, as they couldn’t get onboard the Star until this afternoon. Even with this slight detour, we got up the mountain to Montserrat well ahead of the tour groups and more or less had the place to ourselves for a while. After we had our Abbey tour, we had some free time. Some went hiking up to the Chapel Shrine, some went shopping, and I had some time to go to the Museum (very good BTW). By the time we met up again with our van right at the entrance (no walking from the bus parking lot!), the place was jammed with folks coming into the Abbey grounds. Glad we got there when we did!

 

Next we went to a small winery and vineyard where they make “cava’ wine – rather sweet, but not too much. They have a wonderful house that’s 400 years old and it was a joy to tour.

 

Back on board the ship in the early evening, we just had time to change and get ready for our evening of Flamenco. Although this was clearly a tourist performance, it was very well done. We were bussed to an area called the "Spanish Village" that was built in 1929 as part of an International Exhibition. We walked through this area to get to a restaurant where we were served OK-but-not-outstanding tapas. The performance however made the evening special. I'm not an expert on Flamenco mind you, but it was very entertaining and well worth the effort.

 

However, we did learn that Flamenco is not indigenous to this area (Catalonia), but instead is from the south of Spain. Oh well, it was still a good performance.

 

We left the ship a little before 8:00 and returned around 11:00 pm so a late night for us. Viking had told us to dress “elegant casual” whatever that means. My husband wore his dressy denim pants (Hagar - crease in front), a collared sports shirt and a jacket that didn't go with either. Because they told us there was walking over cobblestones he wore his walking shoes instead of loafers. He was WAY over dressed! I think he was the only guy there in a jacket. That's the only time he's had his jacket on (we got on in Istanbul). So I know I will have a hard time convincing him to bring a jacket on our next cruise.

 

Our last morning in Barcelona, we took the port provided shuttle from the ship’s dock to the Columbus Monument and walked down Las Ramblas, just taking in the atmosphere. Since it was Sunday, unfortunately, La Boqueria was closed. We wandered over to the Barri Gotic area and went inside the Barcelona Cloisters and Cathedral. Since we had to be back on board by noon, we didn’t have too long to explore, but enjoyed the morning. It’s very easy to do this using the port shuttle back and forth to the Columbus Monument.

[Fairfield Nana]

Spectacular commentary--please hurry up and get to the Baltic tours--leaving in July!

[avonglen]

WOW!!! Elizabeth, you deserve a gold star for your efforts!! When I asked for feedback on the included and prepaid tours, I didn't expect the in depth detail you have provided. It made me feel I was travelling with you. With all the info you have provided, I will be well prepared when I undertake my 50 days next March. All I can say is thank you (just two little words but heartfelt nevertheless) for taking the time & effort. I look forward to your next instalments - but no pressure!:D

[southsusie]

Thank you so much, Elizabeth!! Your reports are a very enjoyable read....and also quite helpful! I'm looking forward to reading more of your adventure chronicles. :)

[id4elizabeth]

I did the optional Caravaca Vera Cruz tour today. But first a word or two about Cartagena. One of the optional tours was “Explore the Roman Ruins of Ancient Cartagena.” However, the Roman Museum and entry into the Theater are closed on Mondays. Apparently Viking's ShoreEx just found out about this and offered folks who had signed up for this tour 50% off. However, many of us on CC had told the Viking LA office MONTHS ago that this was the case. LA had told us they were working on a special access to these sights. But the ShoreEx people on board were totally blindsided by this news - and hence those who had signed up for this tour were too! 50% off didn’t seem like adequate compensation to me, but I had been wise enough to not sign up for it.

 

So I went off to Caravaca – my DH said, “Not another church!” I thought our guide was OK but not great. The town is interesting and quaintly charming. We were there during the last part of their annual May 1-5 festival, but since this was the 4th day, it was pretty quiet - our guide told us everyone would be hung-over and not getting up until noon. It was a ghost town when we got there, but the apartments are all covered in colorful banners which made the town. In the morning, very, very few shops were opened, but more opened as the day went on. I bought a gold cross there, as the Caravaca Cross is a bit unusual in that it has two horizontal bars. The church is quite beautiful, but I enjoyed the Carmelite Convent even more. Second negative is that there are a LOT of steps so not for the mobility challenged.

 

At the end of our time in Caravaca, we went to a lovely park by the river. It was scenic and very peaceful.

 

Note: if you're coming here in the summer, it is apparently well into the upper 90s and humid, so may not be too comfortable that time of year. It was in the upper 80s for us today.

 

I forgot one thing - our guide told us that you cannot see inside the Cartagena Roman Theater without a ticket as they have built high walls around it so that you cannot take a picture for free. This was in response to my asking if we could stop by there for a quick pic, as we gotten back from our tour of Caravaca an hour early. HE LIED. Since my DH did not go to Caravaca, he decided to wander around Cartagena on his own. He has fabulous pictures of the Theater!!!! Easy to get pics of the Theater from above and also through the spaces in the gates.

 

I had heard through the grapevine that the included Murcia wine tour left a lot to be desired. Instead of the small quaint family-owned vineyard visit, it supposedly took place in a huge banquet hall. I heard lots of long bus rides.