Italy Excursions Questions ... See More Than Ship Excursions

[ajtraveler66]

We took a W. Med Cruise back in 2010 with a group.  The group had pre-arranged our excursions, and we were able to see so much more than the excursions offered by our cruise ship.  And we were back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.  (For instance, while in Florence we were able to see so much more than we would have with the ship's options:  we saw a lot of Florence, the statue of David...and also got to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  (No such excursion have I seen with the cruise liner we were sailing with).

 

We're going to go again next year, but we'll be doing it on our own without someone else making all of the excursion arrangements.  Do you have any suggestions on which tour group to contact, etc., etc.  We DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO MISS THE BOAT.  So if any other option is a risk (and we were purely lucky in 2010, then we will go with the boat).

 

We thank you in advance.

[mapleleaves]

You didn't indicate your itinerary, but I planned our Med cruise as DIY, except in Naples where I hired a driver for the 4 of us to see the Amalfi Coast.

For my research I read thru past trip reports to find out what others had done at each port, whether it was hopping on a train to Rome or taking an excursion.  (I also did that for our upcoming Sept cruise which is now cancelled. )  I went to the NCL and RCI forums and if I knew which ship was on a similar itinerary, I'd pull up that ship and look for detailed trip reports.  

There were a couple of tour companies that are recommended frequently on THIS forum  but they wouldn't accomodate my plan for the day, so I found other vendors who would. 

Also, it's important to CAREFULLY read the specifics of each tour offered.  ie many of the so-called Amalfi Coast tours only stop at the Positano overlook but you don't get into the town because they spent time in Sorrento and stopped at a couple of stores.  So be very mindful of the details.   

Have fun with your research !

Edited July 25, 2021 by mapleleaves
typo

[euro cruiser]

Good advice above.  If you're willing to pay for a private tour you should get exactly what you want, and that requires doing the research and knowing what you want.

 

The pre-packaged tours give you an idea of what they are asked for most often, that could be a starting point for a place you haven't been before.  If you'll be going to ports you've already been to you might want to dig deeper to find something a little less on the beaten track.

 

If you'll share your itinerary we can make suggestions.

 

Regarding getting back to the ship on time, the well known and reviewed car service companies know that their reputation and future business depends on getting back.  They will always build in "pad" time to ensure you make it back.

[CruiserBruce]

Did you look down the board for tour vendor recommendations? You don't tell us what ports you are stopping in, so a bit challenging to give recommendations. However, Rome in Limo is a large family operation with services in many ports, and has a huge thread with recommendations here. They are fantastic, and you will likely find that booking multiple tours with them gets you a discount.

 

The chances of you missing the ship is very, very rare, as word of such a miss would severely hurt a private operator. Many operators promise to cover all costs of catching you up with the ship, but, honestly the number of actual, confirmed misses is extremely small.

[PelicanLvr]

Another vote for Rome in Limo.  Highly recommended.

[40yearcruiser]

Has anybody here used italytours.eu for Rome, Florence, or Naples? Their website says small groups and full day tours, but not very detailed to how long at each stop. Looking for ideas for next April shore excursions (which we are hoping we will be able to take independently).

[zdcatc12]

1 hour ago, 40yearcruiser said:

Has anybody here used italytours.eu for Rome, Florence, or Naples? Their website says small groups and full day tours, but not very detailed to how long at each stop. Looking for ideas for next April shore excursions (which we are hoping we will be able to take independently).

Had them booked for Florence and Naples, but eneded up cancelling with them as we needed to do a ship's tour. Planning on using them if things are "normal" next time.

[SoccerMom#3]

On 10/1/2021 at 9:44 PM, 40yearcruiser said:

Has anybody here used italytours.eu for Rome, Florence, or Naples? Their website says small groups and full day tours, but not very detailed to how long at each stop. Looking for ideas for next April shore excursions (which we are hoping we will be able to take independently).

We used Italy Tours in Rome in 2019 when we were on a transatlantic cruise.  I highly recommend them.  They stop at each place as long as you want.  Also they are very quick to reply when emailing them.  

[nvbabe]

We have used Sicily with Mario several times.  He not only does Sicily, but also mainland Italy.  Will customize your trip to accommodate special request.