Carnival Europe Excursions-how far out?

[holdon216]

We have a whole year till our first ever Europe cruise. How far out from it will Carnival put the excursions up to view and purchase?

[hpugirl27]

I've been wondering this as well.  We have one scheduled for 6/2020.

[Tapi]

I don’t have an answer to your question, but what I do want to share with you is that, with a year to plan, you have plenty of time to do some in depth research and figure out how to do things on your own.

 

We took our first Med Cruise last November which we booked a year and 4 months in advance. We also spent 2 nights in Rome pre-cruise. Almost on a daily basis, I read and read, and researched and researched. Long story short, we didn’t do a single ship excursion. I pre booked admission to all the attractions that we wanted to visit directly with each place. We also figured out how to get places on our own. From St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, to La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, to the Three Cities in Malta, we navigated these destinations like pros even though we’d never been there. And it was surprisingly easy. I also researched places to eat locally which made these ports of call even more memorable. 

 

Sometimes we’d walk, sometimes we’d take a cab, and even Uber. One of the best things about this cruise was exactly staying away from ship excursions and the large groups of people. 

 

I hope you have an absolutely fantastic time. We loved every minute of that cruise and can’t wait to do it again! 

Edited May 6, 2019 by Tapi

[mafiadon]

Been twice and never did a ship excursion, always book privately or like others said alot can be done on your own but you need to research and plan. I booked and paid for all my admissions to attractions ahead of time which was good as I didn't need to worry about having the money to pay for them. If you are taking the train anywhere they are easy and inexpensive to use. What ports are you going to

[holdon216]

1 hour ago, mafiadon said:

Been twice and never did a ship excursion, always book privately or like others said alot can be done on your own but you need to research and plan. I booked and paid for all my admissions to attractions ahead of time which was good as I didn't need to worry about having the money to pay for them. If you are taking the train anywhere they are easy and inexpensive to use. What ports are you going to

How does one go about booking tickets to attractions in advance? Were they mailed to you or you printed them out?

We often do tours on our own. And I am learning a lot already from studying the different ports. But it’s a bit scary for me to go it alone when we don’t speak the language. 

[auburn77]

We booked private tours ahead of time in several ports. Eight people in a nice van each time with a very knowledgeable driver. He handled the admissions. Less expensive and much better than the Carnival shore tours. Another passenger arranged the tours on our first Med cruise. I set everything up on our second. I went to Roll Call to recruit passengers to join us. All had a great time. I can't remember whom I went thru, but just look up private tours or limousine companies at each port. Some companies have private tours at several ports.

We never went on a Carnival tour.

[auburn77]

And, you can book them a very long time before the cruise.

[Essiesmom]

For the Med cruises, get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports.  He will tell you what there is to do in port, how much you can do in the time you have, and how to DIY.  On his website he has basic site maps, and free audio tours to download to ipod or mp3.  He doesn't cover the islands in that book: Malta, Sicily, Mallorca, but for those he recommends Lonely Planet.  At Lonely Planet, you can purchase and download only the chapters you need for the places you are visiting. 

And as far as not speaking the language:  mI figure I can't get lost or in trouble in any country that uses the same alphabet we do.  EM

[mafiadon]

3 hours ago, holdon216 said:

How does one go about booking tickets to attractions in advance? Were they mailed to you or you printed them out?

We often do tours on our own. And I am learning a lot already from studying the different ports. But it’s a bit scary for me to go it alone when we don’t speak the language. 

 

 

3 hours ago, holdon216 said:

I went on line to the different sites I wanted to visit like the Colosseum‎ and looked for tickets and bought on line and then printed out my ticket. But with me I had to contact my bank to open up my account to buy tickets in Europe. I did this with train tickets and when I booked private tours. I also booked and apartment in Rome on line as we were staying in Rome for 4 days after the cruise and it is much cheaper then getting a hotel and you get so much more with an apartment. If you would like to contact me for some info and websites as I don't know if CC will let me post them on here but this is my email 

ldavison@twcny.rr.com

[Shipcats6]

We are those people who book our excursions with Carnival.  It gives us piece of mind that the ship will not leave without us.  Can’t wait for next year.

[Micahs Grandad]

We book almost all tours privately. Go to port of call pages for info on what others have done.

 

Viator is a good resource to find and book tours. See what other on your roll call are doing

 

A  van of 8-12 people is a lot better than a busload of 50.

 

A reputable tour company will get you back on time but if you want the piece of mind by booking via cruise line go that way

[Jasalth]

I assume it was probably a glitch in the system because I just checked, but last month for 9/2020 there were excursions available for our Legend cruise which isn't there anymore. 

 

I will say based on those prices I saw, I would very strongly consider researching and booking on your own! And by that I mean 2 people on a Carnival excursion were MORE than any single one I booked as a private (just me and DH with a guide and driver!!) tour last November. 

 

I mean like.. insane prices! $275 pp for Pompeii in the huge bus prices..... like our most expensive day was about 500 Euros in Athens for 10 hours. Okay.. Malta was also up there at 450, but we paid for all of our admissions and tickets in advance and had the company by them so we didn't miss out on things that are very limited tourist wise (Hypogeum). 

 

Look at the port of call  boards here and you will find really reputable companies. Many of these companies work out of multiple cities even and can get additional discounts.