Looking for help with 1st time Celebrity cruise/1st time to Mediterranean wrt Shore excursion help

[tusconcam]

My wife and I are scheduled to go on the Celebrity Edge 12 day Spain, France and Italy 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. 

 

The Itinerary (less the Days at Sea)

 

Depart: Barcelona Spain (spending 2 days prior to cruise , so any ideas re sites to see etc would be great)

Palma de Mallorca Spain

Provence (Marseille) France

Nice (port of Villefranche) France

Santa Margherita Italy

Florence/Pisa (Tuscany region if possible?) from La Spezia port

overnight here and depart next day at 3pm

Cagliari Sardinia

Sicily (Messina port) Italy

Naples Italy (not sure if it is the actual Naples port?)

End in Rome (by way of Civitavechia port) Spending 2 days there post cruise, so any help here to get the biggies seen would be very helpful (have a hotel in Trevi Fountain area)

 

 

 

 

Thanks

Cameron

[bebe08]

You should be able to see all the shore excursions offered for your cruise by signing into the website, or accessing through the app.  If you don't already have an account you can create one through the Celebrity website.  It will then show you all cruises you have booked and you can book everything from shore excursions to speciality dining, spa treatments etc for your cruise.  

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LHT28]

Join the roll call for your cruise  there will probably others that will share private tours

 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/127-celebrity-roll-calls/

Check the ports of call forum for the ports to see more about the things to do in the  area

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/8-europe/

 

https://www.whatsinport.com/ also have some good info

[Fouremco]

There's no "right way" to approach your issue, but here are a few things that I've found that worked for me.

 

You mention Roll Calls, and I've found that it can be very useful to read through Roll Calls from previous cruises on the same or similar itinerary. Lots of good information to be garnered there, including "must see" sites and local excursion providers. DW and I almost never take ship excursions and have found lots of excellent tours this way.

 

The Ports of Call pages here on CC provide a wealth of information and give you the opportunity to ask questions. Many good ideas there about excursions.

 

There are several online excursion providers whose offerings tend to be similar to ship excursions, but less expensive. Some provide the same "get you to the next port" guarantee should the excursion not make it back to the port in time. Viator and Shore Excursions Group are two that come to mind.

 

Tom's Port Guides are excellent, particularly if you want to try a DIY approach. In many ports, there's no need to involve yourself with an organized excursion. Everyone has a different comfort level, particularly in a foreign port where language might be an issue, but we tend to be adventurous. 😇 Your local library should have lots of books - Tom's Port Guides are online - to help you plan.

 

Of course, there's Trip Advisor and similar sites that will also help you in your efforts to determine what you want to see and do in each port. By time you have finished your research, you should have a list of "must see/do" and "like to see/do" items. Then you can start considering which of the various excursion providers (ship, private, excursion companies, DIY, etc.) can best meet your needs.

 

I'm sure I've missed a good number of things, but I think that the key is to give yourself lots and lots of time to do research on each port before trying to decide on excursions. Best of luck and have a great cruise!

[*Miss G*]

The best bang for your buck is a Hop On Hop Off bus.  Google each port to see if they have one and where you can pick them up.  

 

Naples is a horrible dirty and congested city so go with a ship excursion there.

 

Take the ship transfer to Florence and you can see Pisa on the way by as that’s really all there is to see there.  Florence has a fabulous market with lots of great leather items and ties.  Got a fabulous cookbook in the bookstore there.  They have them in English.

 

Usually I will do a HOHO then walk around the shops if it’s a nice area.  City Sightseeing has HOHO’s pretty much everywhere.  Just google that along with the port and you can see where they have them and the cost.  No need to buy ahead because you can purchase a pass as you board.  

 

Sometimes I will take a ship excursion if there is something specific I want to see away from the port.  Stay away from third party tour vendors and go direct to the source, but make sure they’re refundable or that you can pay when you get there in case you cannot make it into port due to weather or some other unknown reason.

 

A few times I have gotten off the ship and seen what’s available at the port if there are no HOHO’s.  I have had one fantastic tour to Capri doing that (he took us to areas the regular tours don’t go) and I had stayed on Capri before and had never even been to those areas.  

 

There is a lot of information out there.  Keep it simple and you won’t get overwhelmed.  You have a great itinerary.  Have a wonderful time!

[mom says]

You asked the same question on the Celebrity forum. My answe is there.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

A lot good info given already 

Join the roll call and join some of the tours offer there 

also these 3 ports are very walkable from the ship 

Cagliari Sardinia, -

Sicily (Messina port) Italy 

Naples Italy 

Edited October 27, 2022 by Ex-Airbalancer

[CHOPPERTESTER]

Barcelona – Use HOHO bus. Visit Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, magic fountains

Palma de Mallorca - Take city bus or ship transfer. Visit cathedral, castle

Provence (Marseille) – Take ship transfer to city or ship excursion to Carcassonne

Nice (port of Villefranche) – Get to train station. Take train to Eze then to Monte Carlo and back

Santa Margherita Italy – Haven’t been to this port

Florence/Pisa from La Spezia port – Take ship excursions for distance

Cagliari Sardinia – Haven’t been to this port

Sicily (Messina port) – Walk to city square and check out Noon clock etc or take ship excursion to Taormina

Naples – Take bus/train to Pompeii (on your own) then visit Naples castle, or take ferry to Capri or to Sorrento (on your own)

Rome - Use HOHO to see city then visit sites the list is long

[*Miss G*]

WRT Pompeii — don’t do it on your own.  A tour guide will bring it to life in a way which you won’t experience by looking at random objects with no point of reference.  Also, learn how to count your change if paying in cash.  They like to short-change tourists in Italy.

[Magicat]

In Barcelona take the train/metro to Monserrat.  Also not sure of the town but there is also a short train ride to their Cava (Spanish Champagne) region.  There are a couple of wineries, cavaries(?) within walking distance from the train station.  Notably Freixent.

[cdn_tbird]

Since you will be in tourist areas, you'll be surprised how many of the locals will speak English. I speak Italian fluently and unless I'm visiting family, the people I speak to want to practice their English. Be careful of pickpockets and people trying to distract you. Unfortunately, you'll run into these types throughout Europe. 

 

Florence/Pisa (Tuscany region if possible?) from La Spezia port - Since you're overnighting here, I would split it in two and do Florence the first day (less stressful about getting back on time), and Cinque Terre the next (you catch the train in La Spezia). If you're comfortable you can catch the train into Florence. Florence is steeped in history; I could spend days on end in just the Uffizi & Accademia museums. Then there's also il Duomo. The markets have changed a lot. When we were there in 2019, there were a lot of vendor stalls selling cheap leather goods and trying to pass them off as made in Italy.

 

Naples Italy - Definitely the trip to Pompeii is a excursion for a 1st timer. You can take the train there. I'll second arranging a tour guide, it makes a world of difference. The train also goes to Sorrento, but depending on when you start your day it may be too much to try and jam both into a single day. 

 

Rome - Very easy to get around either on foot or with the subway. It's early in the season so the area around the Trevi fountain shouldn't be complete chaos. We've done a walking tour of Rome which covered the Forum & Coloseum. We also did one called "Off The Beaten Path" which we really enjoyed.

 

It's been way too long since we've been to some of the other ports you mentioned so I won't comment on those.

Just relax and enjoy your trip.

Edited November 1, 2022 by cdn_tbird