Excursion

[Zimasa]

Can anyone tell me what if you are not  interested on a certain excursion do you stay in the ship or you can get a chance to chill by the beach or visit that town on your own?

[KmomChicago]

You can always stay onboard the ship at any port, or you can get off for free in most places and just walk around the area.  Some ports have a public beach area nearby, but this is not always the case.   There are also often local private tour operators catering to cruise passengers, but you have to research and contact them on your own.

 

Staying on the ship is an interesting experience - it's a lot quieter than a sea day with most of the passengers gone.  Usually there are not a lot of scheduled activities and there is less food service available, but for some this peaceful time is enjoyable.

 

You could get more detailed answers by either visiting the forum for the specific port to discuss what's available there, or by listing the ports here.  Many people who have visited those places will be able to provide more options for you.

Edited February 16, 2019 by KmomChicago

[GUT2407]

Other than a few places (Cuba I think has some restrictions) you can do your own thing in most ports, or have a day with the ship to youself.

[Zimasa]

Oooh thanks a lot much appreciated that's a big light to me at least now I do have an idea.  The port will be from Venice, Bari , Chania Crete, Cefalonia, but my interest  is in Santorini, Split also Venice...

[KmomChicago]

39 minutes ago, Zimasa said:

Oooh thanks a lot much appreciated that's a big light to me at least now I do have an idea.  The port will be from Venice, Bari , Chania Crete, Cefalonia, but my interest  is in Santorini, Split also Venice...

 

I have never cruised in Europe, but if / when I do someday, I would probably NOT spend a port day on the ship. I mean, I'm an American, and a Europhile (like many Americans) and, well, it's EUROPE!  I have taken several land-based trips to Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Italy) and found it pretty easy to get around on your own.  It would be nice to get to the Greek Isles one day.

 

I would certainly consider just walking around the port or the town on my own at all of these stops, if a planned excursion does not sound interesting. Because, again, Europe. Of course I know port cities and overly touristy places are often not representative of the authentic culture of a place, but you have little to lose by stepping onto land and taking a look around.  You can always get back aboard in an hour or so if you're not enjoying it.

Edited February 16, 2019 by KmomChicago

[6rugrats]

You can do all your listed ports on your own.

[capriccio]

Welcome to cruise critic!

 

You've received accurate answers to your question but just to expound a bit...

 

If you haven't found your cruise line's board yet, go to the Cruise Critic home page and click on your cruise line.  That is a great place to do research and ask questions.

 

If you do decide to take an organized excursion, you are not required to take one of those offered by the cruise line.  We rarely do, since we find private companies offer smaller, and frequently, less expensive excursions.  We use TripAdvisor and the Cruise Critic Ports of Call boards (they are reached through the home page and divided by geographical location) to research excursion possibilities.  There are numerous threads on do it yourself touring and beach visits.

 

When you have reserved your cruise (or even before while doing research), you can go to your Roll Call (reached through the home page Roll Call section for your line, then the name of the ship, and finally the thread named with your departure date) and see what others are doing in port and join the conversation.

[LHT28]

Just now, Zimasa said:

Oooh thanks a lot much appreciated that's a big light to me at least now I do have an idea.  The port will be from Venice, Bari , Chania Crete, Cefalonia, but my interest  is in Santorini, Split also Venice...

Check if you need  a VISA  for any of  those Countries or  you may not be allowed to board  the ship

check this  site  for details  then contact the proper Embassies

https://www.visahq.co.za/

[paul929207]

Get the Rick Steves' book med Cruise Ports. It is great for DIY 

[sanger727]

I do a combination of independent tours, DIY, and an occasional cruise line excursion when that works better for logistics. I never stay onboard the ship in port, at the minimum will get off and walk around town and have lunch in a local restaurant. The only port you listed that I have been to is santorini. The tender boats take you to a dock near thira. From this dock there are boat companies that will provide a Transportation to Oia. That’s what we did. Think it was around $20 pp. From the dock they took you to another dock by boat (so got to skip the cable car going up the hill). Buses picked you up at this dock and took you to Oia. Then there were buses running every hour or so to take you back to thira when you were ready. I would do that again.

[Zimasa]

Woow guys thanks again I'm so excited first time cruising can't wait..its  gonna be lit. 

[jocap]

Venice- the ship might provide a (paid for) shuttle boat to St Mark's Square, but you'll be quite near the shuttle railway, which is cheap. 

As said, there will be tenders at Santorini- check out what you want to see and either take a boat round the caldera, or the cable car to the top. If you walk up the volcano, take water and be well covered as there's no shade.

I think we once had a shuttle into town for Bari, but we found it was very easy to walk back to the ship from St Nicholas cathedral in the old town.

The other ports- check what you want to see, and check the excursions if you want something different, such as a tour of Cephalonia.

Enjoy planning!

[cb at sea]

Research is  key to DIY days ashore.  It's always a good thing to know something about your ports PRIOR to arriving.  We seldom, if ever, do any excursions.  Beaches, shopping, even most sightseeing is pretty easy to DIY.