Non-included excursions

[Kikkycat]

Hello, I tried using the search function for answers with no luck.  DH and I are looking at the Jupiter’s Ancient Trade Routes sailing in April, 2021. We are usually Royal Caribbean customers but have two Celebrity cruises as well. We had Jewel OTS booked for May 3, 2020 from Barcelona to Copenhagen for our joint 60th birthdays.  Obviously that’s not happening. The route is similar on Jupiter’s April 25th sailing next year. 
 

Our main concern is excursions.  I know there is an included excursion in every port.  But how expensive are the excursions if you want to do something else? We like the other things that are included with Viking, but are wary of spending a ton more to get the excursions we want. 
 

TIA.

[duquephart]

Figure out what you want to do and then look for third party opportunities. It is not uncommon to find basically the same excursion without Viking's markup, which can be breathtaking.

[lackcreativity]

We took the Trade Routes of the Middle Ages cruise in October of 2018, and enjoyed the cruise very much. As we usually do, we took a combination of included excursions and optional ones. Often, we will follow up an included excursion with time on our own and then return to the ship by the free shuttles Viking offers many ports.

 

On this cruise, we did the optional excursions from Le Havre to Honfleur, from Zeebrugge to Bruges, and the Gaudi Architecture excursion in Barcelona. I wish I had actual prices to share, but just from my memory we paid $49 each for a Full Day in Bruges on Your Own, maybe $79 each for the half day excursion to Honfleur, and about the same for the Gaudi Architecture excursion. All of those were worth the money to us.

 

We did not try for a booking for the Alhambra from Malaga, since we have been there previously. Tickets are limited there, and it was maybe $159, but definitely one of my all time travel highlights. Even so, we were really delighted by Malaga, and would be happy to return there. Cartagena was also a pleasant surprise. 

 

We weren't able to dock in Falmouth because of severe weather, but the included tour of the Naval dockyards in Portsmouth was quite interesting, as we had never been aboard an old sailing ship before that.

 

We have only sailed with Viking, so I don't know how to compare prices with other cruise lines. Generally they are priced $49/$59 for on your own or short excursions, $79/$99 for mid-priced excursions, and $139 and up for all day excursions with an included meal. Exclusive excursions like helicopter flights are well above that price range.  My advice in general is to read the descriptions carefully, and don't automatically rule out the included excursions. Some of them have been quite good. Others of course will suggest using independent guides, but we have only done that in St. Petersburg.

 

I hope you enjoy Viking as much as we do.

[Peregrina651]

Tagging on to @lackcreativity's comments. We did Barcelona to London this past January with stops in Cartagena, Malaga and Portsmouth.  Here is a link to the crib sheet that I put together for the excursions. I does not include all of the tours offered as I eliminated tours that I knew we would not be interested in taking.   https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xk5xbbXLLNcqoiOXllGeMhupLKwWKcM-?usp=sharing

 

We did both Cartagena and Malaga entirely on our own and did the included tour in Portsmouthbut it is mostly a bus ride around the city. The only optional tour that we did was in a port that is not on your itinerary (Vigo, took the tour to Santiago de Compostela).

 

We have also been to Bergen and other ports in Norway with Viking and the tours there tend to be more expensive than in Spain-- but then again everything in Norway is more expensive.

[lackcreativity]

Peregrina, 

Apparently, the included excursion in Portsmouth has changed since we took our cruise in 2018. Ours was a short ride through Portsmouth to the Naval Dockyards, with admission to the dockyards included. We got to visit the Mary Rose Museum and also tour Lord Nelson's flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar, the HMS Victory. That was quite interesting. Those sailors back then certainly didn't enjoy the same accommodations we have on Viking's ships!

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

Peregrina, 

Apparently, the included excursion in Portsmouth has changed since we took our cruise in 2018. Ours was a short ride through Portsmouth to the Naval Dockyards, with admission to the dockyards included. We got to visit the Mary Rose Museum and also tour Lord Nelson's flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar, the HMS Victory. That was quite interesting. Those sailors back then certainly didn't enjoy the same accommodations we have on Viking's ships!

 

I think I would have preferred time at the Dockyards. For history buffs, Portsmouth is a gem. Having seen Normandy earlier in the year, I am sorry we did not get to see the D-Day Museum -- but that stop on the included was only 15 minutes.

 

Next time you are in Boston, check out the USS Constitution and if you can get down to Plymouth, the replica of the Mayflower. Unimaginable that 200 people plus animals actually sailed from England to New England on a ship that was so small.

[Cienfuegos]

It's interesting that the Trade Routes cruise in October 2018 had a cancelled stop at Falmouth. My wife and I were on the same Trade Routes cruise in 2019, and the same stop was omitted. High winds would present a danger in the harbor, so the ship headed south to Porto, through heavy seas.  Fans of the Poldark TV show were very unhappy, as many had arranged tours of filming scenes.

 

In Portsmouth, we added a tour of Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral.  I'd definitely return to Salisbury.

[lackcreativity]

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

I think I would have preferred time at the Dockyards. For history buffs, Portsmouth is a gem. Having seen Normandy earlier in the year, I am sorry we did not get to see the D-Day Museum -- but that stop on the included was only 15 minutes.

 

Next time you are in Boston, check out the USS Constitution and if you can get down to Plymouth, the replica of the Mayflower. Unimaginable that 200 people plus animals actually sailed from England to New England on a ship that was so small.

We haven't been to Boston since Christmas weekend, and much as I would like, I don't know how soon we will get there. I adore our vacation adventures, but right now I'd give anything for a family visit to Boston! We haven't seen the Constitution yet, so I will add that to my future plans, and maybe find a way to get to Plymouth too.

 

Today's report from the Boston mayor indicate you still have tough days ahead. Best wishes for good health.

[Peregrina651]

10 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

Today's report from the Boston mayor indicate you still have tough days ahead. Best wishes for good health.

 

Fortunately, we are in central MA and our county has not been as hard hit as Boston.

 

And with this, we should let this thread get back to its stated topic.

 

@Kikkycat, just a heads up that the search function on CC does not work very well and that many use Google for searching instead.  Also note that "Trade Routes" runs only once or twice a year, whenever Viking is repositioning ships between the Med and Northern Europe. So, there may not be a lot of conversation about the itinerary.  Do look for old roll calls; sometimes, if the roll call has been fairly active, you may get some good information about the itinerary. Though time consuming, the best way to find old roll calls  is to go through the list of roll calls for each ship (don't bother with Sun or Orion because neither of them has done Trade Routes).

[Kikkycat]

We decided to book! So, just about one year from now we will be setting off on a flight to Barcelona, something we were expecting to do next week (April 30th, for Jewel OTS Barcelona to Copenhagen). Fingers crossed this virus doesn’t mess us up two years running.