Non Ship Excursion Advice?

[Family Geezer]

Hi,

off to out first cruise next year on the Marella Discovery (1) and was wondering what's peoples' advice on excursions?

 

We're a family of four being two adults, one 16yr old and a 15yr old at the time of travel. I'd like to save a bit of money if possible. 

I know booking excursions with the ship/cruise line offers peace of mind and security knowing they will not set sail without you but it would incur a greater expense I would imagine.

 

Can anyone offer advice on non liner excursions for the following itinerary...

 

 

Palma, Majorca   (been loads will just do our own thing here or spend 1st day on the ship)
Ajaccio, Corsica
Civitavecchia (for Rome), Italy
Marina Di Carrara (for Florence and Pisa), Italy
St Raphael (for St Tropez and Cannes), France
Barcelona, Spain
Palma, Majorca

 

I was hoping that in Ajaccio we could just wonder off into the town ourselves as I have a good idea of things we'd like to do such as visit Napoleon's birthplace (son is a massive history buff) but I've no idea how far the actual port is from the town.

 

 

Thanks,

F_G

Edited August 7, 2019 by Family Geezer

[dronnygirl]

Hi Family Geezer,

You will gave a great time, Discovery is lovely. Worth looking at Cruisemapper which gives information on all the ports. You can also find loads of information on Cruise Critic/ports of call/Europe/Spain or Italy.

Depends on how confident you are but we went to Rome on our own on the train for 12 euros and had a fantastic day. The key to any DIY trip is to be off early in the morning and allow plenty of time for getting back to the ship.  

[Jayneykul]

We did the same itinerary as you last year on Explorer, in Ajjacio there is a really nice miniature train takes you on a tour of the town and the down the coastline it’s not expensive highly recommend. Civittevechia we have done Rome many times so we went on a tour of Tuscania and food tasting, very good but maybe a bit boring for your teens, marina di Carrera they put a shuttle on into the town if you don’t use that arrange an excursion as the port and surrounds is not nice (imho before someone shoots me) St Raphael is pleasant enough to walk round good beach, Barcelona everything is on your doorstep fabulous place if u have time the hoho is great value. Have a fabulous time hope this helps

[First cruise lady]

In ajaccio, you can just walk off the ship, as it docks right in the centre of town. Napoleon's house is about 10 minutes walk away down the road by the sea. There are bars and cafes by the roadside.

In civitaveccia, if you're confident juat get the shuttle buses to the station then get tje train. It's much cheaper and gives you more freedom. Any questions, please ask.

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[Malleykatt]

Hi currently on Discovery 2 and did this itinerary last week.

Palma sail time was 10pm so you'll get some time ashore.

Ajaccio easy walking grab a map as you leave the pier. Maison Bonaparte is open Tues- Sun so closed Monday's which may be your port day unfortunately.  Hoho  bus is also a good option.

Cost of Rome on your own is £46 per person with Marella same price for the teens.theres a 7 hour or 10 hour trip and the drop off is normally near St Peter's.

From Marina di Carrara it's 45 mins to Pisa 1hour 45 to Florence. We went to Portofino  £48 per person. St Raphael we crashed on board nice pool day.

Barcelona grab map and shuttle bus buy return ticket and hit the street. Pre book Sagrada  Familia on line before you leave if you want to visit.

 

[mconthehighseas]

One thing to do in any port on any ship - take the number of the ship's agent with you.  Your cruiseline's information for the port should have the name and phone number for their agent in the port you are visiting.  If you get stuck away from the ship, call that number, so the ship will know your whereabouts and the agent should work with you to get you back to the ship.  

I have never had to use that, but it gives you a sense of security to have it when you go ashore, even if you are on a ship's tour.

[edinburgher]

In addition to cruisemapper suggested above, try whatsinport. Gives so much info re where you dock, and much more. You might also want to think about printing off any printable maps from whatsinport as Marella no longer give these out. Local Tourist Info usually at the ports but just in case...........

 

Also learn how to use the SEARCH facility on each "country" forum in the Ports of Call section. By inputting the different names into the search box alongside you bring up all previous threads which you can read through. Saves scrolling through multiple threads not relating to where you are going. Much more info on these forums than on this general "Marella" Forum although you can use the search box there too.

 

And read, read read.  Everything you can find. Tripadvisor, Marella shorex, Tourist Info websites etc as they give you ideas of what you can do and see in each place as you want to do whatever interests you with the time you have.

 

Multiple ports and all that info can be too much info to remember. Try making up a document with each port listed. Copy into it any local info you might want once you decide what to do in each.  Public transport, opening days and hours etc. Print off and take with you for reference.

 

Researching multiple ports is a fair amount of time and effort, but worth it once you arrive in each port with an idea of where you are going and how you are getting there.

[ollienbertsmum]

For more information on DIY, go to the Ports of Call boards - really helps with the research.  

 

[Family Geezer]

Some great advice there.

Thank you everyone.

More tips welcome 😎

[kruzseeka]

Tom's Port Guides are very helpful too.  Not available for all destinations but very comprehensive giving details of how to get about, transport suggestions, maps, hints. 

As already suggested, do your homework and you'll be surprised at how much you can do independently.  Just leave plenty if time to get back to the ship.  Enjoy!

 

[crowlands]

Thanks for all the advice on this topic. First Cruise Lady, did you pre-book your train to Rome and did you use the new express train I have seen somewhere on ‘Google’. I would be most appreciative of any info you can share. And also, does anyone have any ideas for Naples? Thinking of doing either the Amalfi Drive or Capri on our own.

[ormy]

Never happy doing DIY using public transport, especially Italy, lightening rail strike would leave you stranded. Rome organised excursion means you will not miss anything and should you be delayed the ship would wait for you. We normally do our own thing if ship docks close to the city/town, unless we do ship excursion to somewhere special.

Not very adventurous are we !

Enjoy.

[suekay]

Although we've never done a Marella cruise in the Med, we've  done many on other cruise lines, and there are usually many people going into Rome by train independently after buying the Birg ticket at the station. Rail strikes are usually advertised in advance. We get off at San Pietro rather than spending an extra 20 minutes staying on the train to Termini, but if you want a different area of Rome then you can always get off at Trastevere or Ostiense and take the metro from there (included in the Birg ticket). We aim to leave Rome by about 3.15pm in case of delays. 

[First cruise lady]

Sorry for the delay in replying. We didn't pre-book the train or get an express service. We just went to the station and got the next available train. However, if you need to get there for a certain time, it could be worth prebooking. The express service is more expensive, but again, if you need to get there for a certain time it could be worth It. It's your day, so it's up to you how you plan it. 

 

As suekay has said, most train strikes are announced in advance and ate quite uncommon. Lighting strikes are rare. I've used the train service in italy 7 times and never had a problem. In fact, personally I find the trains in italy more reliable than in the UK. Hope that helps. 

[crowlands]

Thanks everyone for your replies.I've decided to get the normal train, BIRG ticket and pre-book a HoHo bus. We have done Rome before with an Ocea Village cruise tour but family members who are with us on this cruise haven't.  Am I right in thinking a shuttle bus will take you to the train station or would a taxi/walking be needed?

[kruzseeka]

18 minutes ago, crowlands said:

Thanks everyone for your replies.I've decided to get the normal train, BIRG ticket and pre-book a HoHo bus. We have done Rome before with an Ocea Village cruise tour but family members who are with us on this cruise haven't.  Am I right in thinking a shuttle bus will take you to the train station or would a taxi/walking be needed?

 

A shuttle bus is needed to get out of the port.  It now doesn't stop at the fort at he entrance to the docks from where the train station is a 10 minute walk to the right.  They now turn left from the fort to the shuttle drop off (a car park area?) which is now further away for walking.  We haven't done the DIY option on the train since the new shuttle drop off so can't tell you whether to walk (would be perhaps 15/20 minutes?) or if there is a suitable local bus.

One bit of advice though - we found the train about 3 pm absolutely packed mainly with high school age children obviously commuting from Civitavecchia to Rome.    We were literally pushed onto the train from behind.  This was at the S Pietro station.  We resolved to try a different train time or go to the Termini (where it originates) should we want to use the train again to make sure we can get on.  

Edited September 1, 2019 by kruzseeka

[ollienbertsmum]

I have used the BIRG ticket a few times.  The best advice is to get off the ship as early as possible.  Use the shuttle out of the port.  Whether or not you then get on the bus to the train station (it is not a long journey) or if you make the 20 minute walk is up to you. 

 

Buy your BIRG ticket - but make sure you validate it in the little yellow machine before you board the train (lots of people will point you in the right direction).

 

I always get off at St PEters and walk through St Peter’s square.  If there is not much of a queue you could visit the church - but be sure to cover your knees and shoulders.  (I take a shawl for this reason).

 

I am not sure how much use the HOHo bus will be.  Rome is a very walkable city (although there are a few hills) and you see so much more on foot.  I am not sure if you will just get off after a couple of stops and never have time to wait around to catch the next bus.  Maybe others will report having found the bus helpful.  

 

Plan ahead what you want to see.  Over my visits I have seen big churches, seen some interesting little churches, seen the Forum from outside up close, seen the Coliseum inside and out, visited St Peters and the Vatican Museum , seen the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, visited Castel Sant’angelo, eaten pizza in  Piazza Navona, visited the Borghese Gallery, shopped on Via Corso, seen the arches and visited the Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Venezia.  [Until I listed them here, I had no idea that I have seen so much].  You can’t see everything in 5 hours, but you can walk past a good number.   You sort of have to decide if you are going to do a walking tour of the outsides of buildings or plan to see one in-depth and zoom past others.  

 

Only you know the way your party like to spend their day.  

 

Definitely get back on the train at Termini rather than expecting a seat at a later station.  Just be warned that Termini is a big station and the trains to Civi leave from a track that is a little trek from the front door.  Allow yourself at least 15 minutes to find the track.  We like to be heading back at about 3.30 for a 7 pm sail away.  

[crowlands]

Thanks everyone. Lots of info to digest there. If the cruise ships didn’t charge so much for their tours everyone would go on them instead of doing a diy. I’m not a penny pincher but some tours cost more than a flight to Rome from the uk!!

[ollienbertsmum]

On 8/31/2019 at 12:17 PM, ormy said:

Never happy doing DIY using public transport, especially Italy, lightening rail strike would leave you stranded. Rome organised excursion means you will not miss anything and should you be delayed the ship would wait for you. We normally do our own thing if ship docks close to the city/town, unless we do ship excursion to somewhere special.

Not very adventurous are we !

Enjoy.

 

Ormy

 

 The chance of a lightning strike is really remote.  Say you have purchased a ship ‘Rome on your own’ tour - which lets you go off on your own to wander.  I think it is as likely you are going to miss the ship sponsored transport because you don’t have Google maps, as you are going to have a train strike.    Has anyone heard of folk missing a ship because of a rail strike???  

 

You have to be sensible, have a good watch with you and have a plan B - taxi back to Termini if you are running late etc. 

 

Another thing to consider when you say that you are worried about being stranded is where the next port is.  With Rome it might well be Naples or Livorno.  Make sure you have a bank card and ID - It won’t happen but worst case scenario you will spend the night in Rome and catch the train to the next port.  It might be harder to catch up with the ship if you are doing a Transatlantic!!  

 

When you travel always have some buffer on your credit card.  I recall shaking my head in amazement when there was a recent grounding of planes (was it Heathrow and a computer glitch??) People coming out on TV saying “We are stranded with no money.  Maxed out on our credit card”. Really??  If your credit card can’t support you in an emergency maybe you should not have gone on that trip.  Maybe I am showing my age.  

[Jim The Scot]

On 9/1/2019 at 9:59 AM, kruzseeka said:

 

A shuttle bus is needed to get out of the port.  It now doesn't stop at the fort at he entrance to the docks from where the train station is a 10 minute walk to the right.  They now turn left from the fort to the shuttle drop off (a car park area?) which is now further away for walking.  We haven't done the DIY option on the train since the new shuttle drop off so can't tell you whether to walk (would be perhaps 15/20 minutes?) or if there is a suitable local bus.

One bit of advice though - we found the train about 3 pm absolutely packed mainly with high school age children obviously commuting from Civitavecchia to Rome.    We were literally pushed onto the train from behind.  This was at the S Pietro station.  We resolved to try a different train time or go to the Termini (where it originates) should we want to use the train again to make sure we can get on.  

 

There was 2 drop off points when we were their a few months back.First stop( the one we got off) was to the side of the fort close to the beach.Shortish walk to the port gates.Shuttle bus then continued further around to the left.Think they called it the town centre stop

[kruzseeka]

1 hour ago, Jim The Scot said:

 

There was 2 drop off points when we were their a few months back.First stop( the one we got off) was to the side of the fort close to the beach.Shortish walk to the port gates.Shuttle bus then continued further around to the left.Think they called it the town centre stop

 

That's good and an option we'd use.  Last time we went they sailed past the Fort with no chance of getting off.  Perhaps they've changed their policy to be more in tune with passengers' needs.  Good news!   We're there next Spring so will consider train options now. Thanks. 

[Jim The Scot]

Your driver might have been having a bad day 😉

 

Just prior to turning left at fort theres a turning circle which is where we were dropped off then shuttle continued to town centre drop off.

 

If you do get off at 1st stop be aware you dont get picked up there.You get picked up across the road from drop off point

[Sheila49]

When we were there  few years ago we were told that not stopping at the fort was a temporary measure while work was being done.