Silver Shore Private Car Question

[Bikelover]

We are booked on an October 2025 cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona. Some of the excursions we wanted to book are waitlisted. We are thinking of selecting the Silver Shore Private Car to visit the waitlisted destinations, but before we do, we would like to know if can we design our own itinerary, or do we have to accept the itinerary "suggested" on the Silver Sea excursion page? One of the waitlisted trips (from Cadiz to Seville) we wanted to sign up for is almost 2 hours by car from the port. I don't know if we can ask the driver to take us to our destination and back, or whether they are told to keep to a more local (i.e. Cadiz) itinerary. Does anyone have any insight into this issue? Thanks.

Edited February 21 by Bikelover
mistaken date

[toseaornottosea]

Better yet book your own private excursion with a driver/guide.  Easy to find online.  You'll save heaps of money and get to do exactly what you want to do at your own pace.

[Gourmet Gal]

First of all, many waitlisted excursions will be freed up as SS adds capacity in response to demand or firms up the tour providers in each port.  So keep an eye on that.  Secondly, the SS cars are really expensive and the only advantage is SS is liable if the car doesn’t make it back to port by all-aboard time.  And lastly, you could book a back-up excursion through a private provider.  You can easily research on line, ask your TA to book for you or check the Ports of Call section here on CC by creating ansearch with a query such as “private guides in Barcelona” and if you don’t see any relevant posts then start a thread there.

[Bikelover]

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

First of all, many waitlisted excursions will be freed up as SS adds capacity in response to demand or firms up the tour providers in each port.  So keep an eye on that.  Secondly, the SS cars are really expensive and the only advantage is SS is liable if the car doesn’t make it back to port by all-aboard time.  And lastly, you could book a back-up excursion through a private provider.  You can easily research on line, ask your TA to book for you or check the Ports of Call section here on CC by creating ansearch with a query such as “private guides in Barcelona” and if you don’t see any relevant posts then start a thread there.

 Thank you, very helpful ideas.

[Observer]

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

 the only advantage is SS is liable if the car doesn’t make it back to port by all-aboard time.  

 

A further advantage is that one can use onboard credits to pay for the car and driver.   

[Squat]

I booked in Istanbul a Silver Shore Private Car for the whole day. Definitely the best decision! I was picked up by two guides and a driver with a black Mercedes. Told them what I wanted to see and they arranged everything. The guides were always with me and the driver was called when needed. The guides gave me so many interesting information, answered all the questions I had, showed me the best shops and brought me to a lovely restaurant for lunch. It was a fantastic, gorgeous day! Did cost a lot, but was worth every penny!

The advantages of a Silver Shore Privato Car are: 1) if the ship cannot get to the port for whatever reasons you pay nothing. 2) Quality of guide, driver and car are very high. 3) It is safe (in my case a woman traveling alone). The tour company does not want to lose SS as a customer and will therefore take very good care of you. 

[Gourmet Gal]

2 hours ago, Squat said:

I booked in Istanbul a Silver Shore Private Car for the whole day. Definitely the best decision! I was picked up by two guides and a driver with a black Mercedes. Told them what I wanted to see and they arranged everything. The guides were always with me and the driver was called when needed. The guides gave me so many interesting information, answered all the questions I had, showed me the best shops and brought me to a lovely restaurant for lunch. It was a fantastic, gorgeous day! Did cost a lot, but was worth every penny!

The advantages of a Silver Shore Privato Car are: 1) if the ship cannot get to the port for whatever reasons you pay nothing. 2) Quality of guide, driver and car are very high. 3) It is safe (in my case a woman traveling alone). The tour company does not want to lose SS as a customer and will therefore take very good care of you. 

 

Sounds like a great day.  You can get the exact same experience with a private guide for far less money.  Most tour guides do not require payment until service is rendered as they know there’s always the possibility of the ship not making it to port.  You can get excellent recommendations from CC, Trip Advisor, etc. so you can get great guides and feel safe. 
 

FWIW, I also booked a private guide and driver for a full day in Istanbul during an SS cruise.  She was a professor at a major university there.  We went to 5 mosques, had a fabulous lunch, went to the Grand Bazaar and learned so much about the culture and politics of the country.  It was less than $400 including gratuity.

Edited February 22 by Gourmet Gal

[Bikelover]

5 hours ago, Squat said:

I booked in Istanbul a Silver Shore Private Car for the whole day. Definitely the best decision! I was picked up by two guides and a driver with a black Mercedes. Told them what I wanted to see and they arranged everything. The guides were always with me and the driver was called when needed. The guides gave me so many interesting information, answered all the questions I had, showed me the best shops and brought me to a lovely restaurant for lunch. It was a fantastic, gorgeous day! Did cost a lot, but was worth every penny!

The advantages of a Silver Shore Privato Car are: 1) if the ship cannot get to the port for whatever reasons you pay nothing. 2) Quality of guide, driver and car are very high. 3) It is safe (in my case a woman traveling alone). The tour company does not want to lose SS as a customer and will therefore take very good care of you. 

Thank you, sounds like you had a wonderful expereince.

[Bikelover]

2 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Sounds like a great day.  You can get the exact same experience with a private guide for far less money.  Most tour guides do not require payment until service is rendered as they know there’s always the possibility of the ship not making it to port.  You can get excellent recommendations from CC, Trip Advisor, etc. so you can get great guides and feel safe. 
 

FWIW, I also booked a private guide and driver for a full day in Istanbul during an SS cruise.  She was a professor at a major university there.  We went to 5 mosques, had a fabulous lunch, went to the Grand Bazaar and learned so much about the culture and politics of the country.  It was less than $400 including gratuity.

Thank you again Gourmet Gal.