Excursion Question - booking at ports?

[Cookster22]

Hi,

 

We are booked on the MSC Euribia cruise from Southampton through Hamburg, Bruges, Paris and Amsterdam later this year.

 

We were looking at the various excursion tours we can book. But would there also be people waiting at the ports who we can book tours with when we arrive there, or people who would offer transport to the cities and towns (and back to the ship again later) where we'd be able to just look around ourselves without having to be part of a formal tour group? 

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Not frequently in Europe. 

[Essiesmom]

Get a copy of Rick Steves’ SCANDINAVIA AND Northern Europe Cruise Ports.  He will tell you what you can DIY in the ports and how to do it.  EM

[TheOldBear]

53 minutes ago, Cookster22 said:

Hi,

 

We are booked on the MSC Euribia cruise from Southampton through Hamburg, Bruges, Paris and Amsterdam later this year.

 

We were looking at the various excursion tours we can book. But would there also be people waiting at the ports who we can book tours with when we arrive there, or people who would offer transport to the cities and towns (and back to the ship again later) where we'd be able to just look around ourselves without having to be part of a formal tour group? 

 

Thanks!

You may want to do some research here on the 'British Isles / Western Europe section (Amsterdam, Bruges); Mediterranean (Paris) & Northern Europe (Hamburg) 'Ports of Call' section.

Note that the ship often does not dock in or near the named city

 

For Hamburg, the terminal is in an industrial port area - your cruise line _may_ have a shuttle service to downtown [Cunard's shuttle was to a square near city hall]. This makes for a good DIY option

 

Bruges is served by Zeebruge - Again, the cruise line _may_ provide a shuttle [Cunard's shuttle went to nearby Blankenburg] or you may need to get the port's shuttle to the terminal, and then make other arrangements. Public transportation should be available - check on the forums for tips.

 

I have not visited Amsterdam, but I believe that Rotterdam is the actual port stop. Check guides for both places.

 

Paris is served by the port at LeHavre. This is a good ways away [hours, by road or rail, from Paris]. I would favor visiting Normandy locations over Paris - unless this is a once in a lifetime visit. Again see discussions on Paris and LeHavre in the 'France Ports' section of the Mediterranean forum.

[sanger727]

This is common in the Caribbean but pretty rare in Europe. If you simply want to book transportation from the ship to the city to tour on your own, its best to research that ahead of time. You may be able to take a train if you don't want to book something private. 

[LHT28]

for Bruges  we booked a taxi  for 8  to the  town then arranged a pick up time  to return to the ship

 It is not common in Europe to find vendors at the ports like in the Caribbean

Some ports have the HOHO bus come close to the dock

Do your research on what you want to see  then make a plan

[Hlitner]

Your question is actually somewhat complex.  If you want to think in terms tod excursion/tours that our led by professional guides, you will usually need to book as cruise line or private tour well in advance.  At some ports you might be able to hire a taxi for the day, but drivers are not professional guides.

 

For those of us who are very independent, and have some

spirit of adventure there are usually other options.  Consider the port of LeHavre, where one could get a taxi to the local train station and take the train into Paris. For Amsterdam it depends on the actual port (some cruises dock right in Amsterdam).  In some ports there might be low cost local transportation or a shuttle bus that can get you into a nearby city.  
 

You need to do your homework on each port. A good starting place is here on Cruise Critic under the various Ports of Call blogs where you can search and read old discussions as well as

ask your own specific questions.  There is also a lot of info to be found on the Internet and in a few decent travel guides (such as the Rick Steves guides previously posted).  There are even a few web sites, such as whatsinport.com written by cruisers for cruisers.  
 

We are just finishing a 42 Asian cruise that had 26 ports.  We went off on our own in about 20, by simply doing our homework.  In some cases, $200 excursions could be duplicated for less than $25 by simply using local transit.

 

Hank

[Host Kat]

10 hours ago, Cookster22 said:

Hi,

 

We are booked on the MSC Euribia cruise from Southampton through Hamburg, Bruges, Paris and Amsterdam later this year.

 

We were looking at the various excursion tours we can book. But would there also be people waiting at the ports who we can book tours with when we arrive there, or people who would offer transport to the cities and towns (and back to the ship again later) where we'd be able to just look around ourselves without having to be part of a formal tour group? 

 

Thanks!

 

Welcome @Cookster22 to Cruise Critic and the message boards!

 

To research your Ports of Call, click Europe.

Note the following snip of the various forums:

 

The specific Cruise Critic Roll Call thread for your line, ship and sail date will be the place for you to get to know the other Cruise Critic members sailing with you before your cruise. Your fellow Roll Call thread members may have important information posted in your Roll Call thread for your cruise. Especially those that have sailed your line, ship or itinerary before. Also, there may be excursion or transportation share requests to save money posted in your Roll Call thread. Our Roll Call threads are the only place where share requests are allowed on the Cruise Critic message boards. There is a "captive audience" on your Roll Call thread since you are all sailing together! 

 

To explain our Roll Call threads, please click What is a Roll Call? Everything you Need to Know and How To: Create A New Roll Call. For more information about our famous Roll Calls, please click the Roll Calls and Our Policy Regarding Facebook and Roll Calls sections in the Guidelines we all agree to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships. We also have a Cruise Critic article you might enjoy so click 8 Reasons to Join a Cruise Critic Roll Call.

 

Hope this information will be helpful to a new member and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

[Cookster22]

Thanks everyone for all your help!

[SPacificbound]

If there is something in particular you want to do, you could also check on Tours By Locals in wherever the ship is docking. This is a suggestion in case you don't feel comfortable finding your own way, and there is something or somewhere you want to do or see.