Can I find out more specifics about my cruise's Shore excursion offerings 6 months out?

[tusconcam]

My wife and I are scheduled to go on the Celebrity Edge 12 day Italy, France and Spain cruise May 1st 2023. We normally try to stick with the cruise line's shore excursions and we are newbies to European travel/ports so am I able to get any more specific details re Celebrity's shore excursions on offer for my cruise , giving me the Canadian pricing, start times, more information than what I can see on the main Celebrity website? Is there a number to call? Am I missing a particular link/website? Suggestions?

We are really concerned that in ports that require a lengthy travel time before getting to nearby sites/towns of interest, that what might be offered once there may 

be a poor choice based on rudimentary info.

 

Cutting to the chase: Nervous that we will miss some key interest points if we 1) can't find out more about Celebrity excursions offered and 2) If we are not pleased with the choices on offer, what do you suggest we do? We cannot afford to hire a private guide/driver by ourselves and throwing something out there on Roll Calls for our cruise without having been to any of these ports seems like putting the cart before the horse.

 

We are overwhelmed with the beauty, history and gastronomical wonders of these regions. We just want the best bang for the buck while there. Any help would be appreciated. 

 

Thanks

Cameron

 

 

[NantahalaCruiser]

I doubt you will be able to get any additional info from Celebrity other than perhaps Canadian prices if they apply.

 

Regarding independent excursions with fellow roll call members, you may find offers from cruisers with more experience and more details on excursions that they are offering to share with others.

[jagoffee]

Are you looking at the shore excursions after signing into your booking on the Celebrity website?  You should be able to see all that information.  Normally you can cancel any excursion for a full refund yesterday.  All the information should be available at the six month window.  Trip Advisor is a good place to get information about certain stops.

 

[Jim_Iain]

I think you will find that there is no number just for excursions and if you call you will probably be disappointed.   Many of the customer service reps are out side of the U.S. and many of the U.S. reps are in Kansas and have never even seen a cruise ship.

 

Start by reading the description of the tour in detail and be cognoscente of how long the tour is.  Google on both the port and where the destination is and will give you a good idea of how much time you will be on a bus.  

 

An example is a "Paris on Your Own" out of La Havre  -  using Google Maps for La Havre then choose directions and put in Paris and select car.   It will return 3 hours (each way) which would extrapolate to at least 6 hours travel time on an 8 or 10 hour tour. 

 

I think your best bet is to first book what interests you at this point, as many tours sell out quickly.   You can cancel for a full refund up until 24 hours before the tour.     Next join a Roll Call for your cruise and start asking questions.    Also look at some roll calls for your itinerary prior to your cruise and ask questions there also.  

 

 

[WestLakeGirl]

It might help if you told us which ports you are inquiring about

[mom says]

Looks like you're doing the usual Western Med cruise. Go ahead and just book whatever ship excursions look good to you with the info you have now. The really good excursions can book up early. You can cancel and get refunded up to a day or so before the excursion begins. Then do some research. Since you are newbies to Europe, get a copy of Rick Steves Mediterranean  Cruise Port guidebook. All kinds of valuable info there, whether you are using ship excursions, independent tour providers or DIY. Then join your Roll Call to see what others, who may have far more experience, have lined up. Do not forget to check out the European Ports of Call forum here on CC as well.

[Spif Barwunkel]

Deleted

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Spif Barwunkel

[upwarduk]

Use the Ports of Call thread on C.C.

There are very few ports where you can just off the ship to wander on your own, as many of the ports are industrial and you need to take a shuttle bus to the port entrance.

 

As mentioned above, it would help if you listed the ports.

[gold1953]

every place that they stop at will be on the description