Excursion advice Mediterranean Odyssey

[springtravel]

Our excursion selections open next week on the Mediterranean Odyssey cruise.  I have tried searching CC for excursion recommendations, but can't really find anything.  My thoughts are to take most of the included tours, since we have never been to Chioggia, Croatia or Corfu.  We have been to Venice and plan on 2 days on our own there, pre=cruise,  so won't need to come back for that excursion.  I would really appreciate your thoughts on what is a must see on this cruise, any of the ports.

Thanks.

[Peregrina651]

  Viking has multiple cruise itineraries in the Med, so  it will help if you tell us what ports you want to know about.  Regardless of the itinerary, Viking offers the same excursions in a given port.  Tell us the ports and if we have visited with Viking, we will respond with gusto. 

[lackcreativity]

We have been to most of the ports of Mediterranean Odyssey with Viking. We usually do mostly include excursions with a few optional ones on each cruise. Often, we will take advantage of the free Viking shuttle service and tell the guide we will not be returning with the group so that we can have extra time on our own in a port. Here is my input on a few of the ports.

 

On our stop in Barcelona, we had a really exceptional guide who made the included excursion a great experience. Take note, that tour does not go inside the Sagrada Familia, and many would call that the highpoint of a tour of Barcelona. We had seen it before, so we didn't mind missing an inside visit that time. 

 

From Monte Carlo, we did the optional excursion to Nice, Eze, and Monte Carlo. It's a very long day, with not enough time in any of the stops, but I think it was my favorite excursion of the trip we took. Eze is a very small hilltop town, and it is a demanding climb but the stone houses and shops are so charming and the Exotic Garden at the top is breathtaking. 

 

We did the included excursion in Dubrovnik and it was very good. We walked with the guide from one end of the town to the other, and entered a small museum to honor the people (mostly young men) who lost their lives in the War of Croatian Independence in the 1990's. We also visited a monastery. We remained behind after the tour to have lunch and then walk the walls of the city. 

 

Take note that the included excursion for the port identified as Florence/Pisa does not actually go to Florence. Also, the included 6 hour excursion in Rome actually only spends about four hours in Rome since the port is an hour away. Most of your time in Rome will be spent on the bus, with perhaps a few stops just to take photos. 

 

Enjoy your cruise! 

 

 

[SoccerMom#3]

We were on the Mediterranean Odyssey last August.  Fantastic cruise!  We did the included tours in most ports -all were excellent especially Split and Dubrovnik.  The optional excursions we did were also excellent-Murano in Venice, full day to Pisa and Florence, and Pompeii.  

[ro156542]

We were on the Med Odyssey last April.  You will love it!!  Some ports may have changed, as we did not stop in Chiogga.  We took mostly included tours, too, but highlights of the optional tours we took are:

 

Nice, Eze & Monte Carlo excursion was a highlight.  Full day and so enjoyable.  Definitely one of our favorites.   Quite a bit of walking, including steep hills and cobblestones.

Tuscany to Pisa.  We did this in place of the included tour to Florence, because we were going on the post-extension  in Tuscany which included much better touring of Florence.  We enjoyed seeing Pisa and the leaning tower

Sistine Chapel & Vatican City.  This was a must-see for me.  Was not disappointed

Pompeii:  Did this on advice of others.  Highly recommend

Evening Gondola Ride:  Viking did not handle the logistics of this well.  Between issues with  docking outside of Venice, bussing/boating us in and being one of the first tours coming out of the pandemic, it was very messy to say the least.  However, we did enjoy this very "touristy" excursion and can now say we experienced it.

 

The biggest surprise of the trip was how beautiful Corfu and the 2 stops in Croatia were.  You will love this cruise!!!

[formernuke]

We did this cruise in October '21. COVID protocols partially in effect at that time, including only ship organized tours. Here are a few o our observations from that experience:

-In Marseille, we did both the included tour and the Historic Religious sites of Marseille. Both were good

-In Monaco, We did the Niece, Eze and Monte Carlo. A long but good day. Not much time in Monte Carlo because we were held up in a bus garage waiting for 1.5+ hours for a police officer to show up and check out our COVID paperwork

-In Florence, we did Florence and PISA. This was good except we couldn't go into some places due to COVID. I'm sure it would be much better now.

-In Rome, we did the highlights of Rome and the Coliseum. This was great. Got a great tour fo the Coliseum, had a good lunch and saw most of the major Rome tourist spots EXCEPT the Vatican. (You can't do justice to both the Vatican and Coliseum in one day). We also couldn't go into the Pantheon, but that was because it was Sunday.

-In Naples we did Pompeii and it was great. Had an excellent guide.

-In Corfu, we took the included tour and it was probably the worst. A bust ride with a few meaningless stops. 

-We loved Dubrovnik! Took both the City Wall Walk and the included tour and both were very much worthwhile. We will be going back there in the future.

-In Split, we did the highlights of the Split Riviera. It was worthwhile. 

-In Venice, we did the St Mark's Square and Doges Palace. Pretty good, but we had a tour guide that was 20 minutes late and talked about EVERY painting we passed in an endless monotone. Nonetheless we were able to see the key attractions. At that time, we were docked at Fusina (on of the first Viking ships there), and we had to bus from there to cruise terminal and then to pick up the water taxi to Venice. Almost two hours before we finally got there, but worth it.

 

Hope this helps.. 

-

[springtravel]

Thank you all.  This was exactly the type info that I was looking for.   We will be in Rome on Easter Sunday, so I am passing on this altogether.  There are 3 others with me, and I think the coliseum tour will be perfect for them.  I have been to Rome and Florence, so will do the Luca tour at that port.  Croatia and Greece were the places I was most concerned, since I have never been to either country.  What about Barcelona?  We are doing the post-cruise extension. I know we have to do the La Sagrada Familia, but should we do it with a Viking excursion or one of the days on our own?  What else would be a must see there?  To me, Barcelona looks like it will be so much fun, don't want to waste any time on non-worthwhile things.

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, springtravel said:

What about Barcelona?  We are doing the post-cruise extension. I know we have to do the La Sagrada Familia, but should we do it with a Viking excursion or one of the days on our own?

We have booked a tour during the extension with Barcelona Day Tours. Will try and book something else with Viking on the port day. As these tours fill up quickly, I’ll have to see what’s available.  

[Tom F.]

In Barcelona we took the included excursion then took a taxi to see the inside of the Sagrada Familia. We made reservations online in advance and walked right past long lines. 
We also enjoyed the Villa Rothchild tour in Monaco because we had been to Monaco before. 
The one bucket list excursion for us was Pompeii. 

[sugarside]

The hop on buses in Barcelona will take you  to must see sites.

Get off and explore, get on another and get off again elsewhere.At the start

we did a full circuit,checked out what was available and next time round got on and  off where we wanted.

I had nor realised that Barcelona had such a great stretch of beach.

Take one of the cable car rides if you have time.

[springtravel]

13 hours ago, Tom F. said:

In Barcelona we took the included excursion then took a taxi to see the inside of the Sagrada Familia. We made reservations online in advance and walked right past long lines. 
We also enjoyed the Villa Rothchild tour in Monaco because we had been to Monaco before. 
The one bucket list excursion for us was Pompeii. 

That sounds like a great idea.  I would look into getting tickets today.  

[springtravel]

15 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We have booked a tour during the extension with Barcelona Day Tours. Will try and book something else with Viking on the port day. As these tours fill up quickly, I’ll have to see what’s available.  

Do you know what will be included in your day tour?

[RonnBarb]

We did this cruise last April. You will love it! We were lucky enough to get the Viking excursion for Gaudi in Barcelona. It included going inside La Sagrada—absolutely a must. Nice, Eze, and Monte Carlo was a long day, and our tour person wasn’t very good, but the locations were great. We did the Catacombs/Vatican excursion in Rome and got tickets for the Museums/Sistine Chapel prior to the trip. That worked out nicely. Pompeii is a must. We did the included tour and the wall walk in Dubrovnik. Both were excellent. I would really recommend the Krka waterfall excursion in Split. It’s a bit of a drive, but the falls are incredible. We did the evening gondola ride in Venice—touristy but a great experience if you haven’t ever done it. We got tickets for St Marks and for the Doge’s Palace prior to the trip. That worked out very well.

[Pegct]

We did the Mediterranean Odessy in October 2022. In Barcelona we also booked an all day small group tour with Barcelona Day tours which included highlights of Barcelona, visit to Monserrat and Park Guell and was fantastic. Probably least favorite tour on the cruise was the Panoramic bus tour of Rome which was not unexpected as I knew most of time would be spent on bus. The only stops made was at a rest stop to use bathrooms and about an hour on your own in St. Peter 's square in Vatican City. Lines of tourists wrapped around square to go inside the Basillica which our tour guide advised was probably at least 6-8 hr. wait. Loved the included tours of Dubrovnik and Split. Docking in Fusina and traveling to and from Venice was cumbersome which is disappointing but all cruise lines dealing with that aspect.

 

[Beaxhlover27]

On 1/16/2023 at 11:15 AM, lackcreativity said:

We have been to most of the ports of Mediterranean Odyssey with Viking. We usually do mostly include excursions with a few optional ones on each cruise. Often, we will take advantage of the free Viking shuttle service and tell the guide we will not be returning with the group so that we can have extra time on our own in a port. Here is my input on a few of the ports.

 

On our stop in Barcelona, we had a really exceptional guide who made the included excursion a great experience. Take note, that tour does not go inside the Sagrada Familia, and many would call that the highpoint of a tour of Barcelona. We had seen it before, so we didn't mind missing an inside visit that time. 

 

From Monte Carlo, we did the optional excursion to Nice, Eze, and Monte Carlo. It's a very long day, with not enough time in any of the stops, but I think it was my favorite excursion of the trip we took. Eze is a very small hilltop town, and it is a demanding climb but the stone houses and shops are so charming and the Exotic Garden at the top is breathtaking. 

 

We did the included excursion in Dubrovnik and it was very good. We walked with the guide from one end of the town to the other, and entered a small museum to honor the people (mostly young men) who lost their lives in the War of Croatian Independence in the 1990's. We also visited a monastery. We remained behind after the tour to have lunch and then walk the walls of the city. 

 

Take note that the included excursion for the port identified as Florence/Pisa does not actually go to Florence. Also, the included 6 hour excursion in Rome actually only spends about four hours in Rome since the port is an hour away. Most of your time in Rome will be spent on the bus, with perhaps a few stops just to take photos. 

 

Enjoy your cruise! 

 

 

Thank you! That was very helpful!

[ddeprez]

On 1/17/2023 at 2:24 PM, RonnBarb said:

We did this cruise last April. You will love it! We were lucky enough to get the Viking excursion for Gaudi in Barcelona. It included going inside La Sagrada—absolutely a must. Nice, Eze, and Monte Carlo was a long day, and our tour person wasn’t very good, but the locations were great. We did the Catacombs/Vatican excursion in Rome and got tickets for the Museums/Sistine Chapel prior to the trip. That worked out nicely. Pompeii is a must. We did the included tour and the wall walk in Dubrovnik. Both were excellent. I would really recommend the Krka waterfall excursion in Split. It’s a bit of a drive, but the falls are incredible. We did the evening gondola ride in Venice—touristy but a great experience if you haven’t ever done it. We got tickets for St Marks and for the Doge’s Palace prior to the trip. That worked out very well.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Krka waterfall excursion- we signed up for that. Do you get to spend much time hiking around?