new to curising

[houston-1]

The four of us are taking our first cruise on Jun12, Galaxy E Med. We are looking at excursions. Has anyone taken any of these.Caprie and Pompeii a little pricey. Anyone takein these

[chily3]

If you have never been to the med,then you will probably want to see most of what is offerred. We went in 2003 and took almost every excursion as we had never been there. Rome, Pompeii, Serrento are especially worth seeing. We did Serrento and Popeii on the same day. Could have spend all day at Pompeii.

 

For Florence we actaully did this on our own, took train, taxi and found a architecture "walking" tour on web.

 

You wil get very good recomendations from this board as a lot of people have been to the med.

 

mike:)

[Ine]

Also check your cruise under "Roll-call", you might find other passengers and find many tips and ideas.

[Host Anne]

Houston ~ welcome to the wonderful world of cruising! You are in the right place to get lots of answers and meet some great people along the way.

 

Here's some suggestions:

 

There is already a roll call thread for your sailing on our Roll Call boards. They've been talking for quite some time but go visit and join in. I'm sure they'll love to have you join the roll call...here's a link to it: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=186594

 

Next, check out the Ports of Call boards for various excursion ideas. There are tons of ideas for you to review. Here's a link to the Europe Ports of Call board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

 

Finally, we did the Med cruise several years ago and loved every second of it. We'd go back in a heartbeat. Here's a link to my review here on Cruise Critic. http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=447

 

Feel free to ask questions at any time. Enjoy planning this wonderful cruise and be sure to come back and tell us all about your experience after the cruise is over!

[cruzin4us]

Don't miss pompeii.........it's easy to walk on your own, you can take a cab there for a whole lot cheaper than the tour. If you get lucky, you can hear some other tour guides "blurbs" while you are walking around. If you can afford it, I would get a guide, it's a really interesting place to visit, and one you probably won't get a chance to explore again. Also, if you are going to Ephesus, don't miss this one......if you are going to Naples.......stay on the ship :) it is not my most favorite port

[Xcruzr]

The prices can be pretty high - but there is so much to see and a lot of history. If you are with a group, setting up your own driver is a good way to cut the costs AND customize your shore excursion. Looking under the roll colls here, or under ports should help you find some great ones. When we were there, we decided to make the most of it, we hired drivers in most every port and customized the day. Pompeii is extremely interesting, but Herculanium is just as interesting and not on Celebrity's excursions. When we were in Naples, we did Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mt Vesuvius, AND Naples town center (great people watching and incredible pizza) all in the same day. And we still got back to the ship with plenty of time to relax and unwind before sail away.

[Chick's pal]

If you are interested in Pompeii, then ignore the advice about not getting off the ship at Naples. Naples is the port for Pompeii!

[Cam6959]

Welcome Houston1! If this is your first cruise you will probably be well advised to take a ship excursion. If you get back to the ship late the ship will wait on a ships shore excursion, if you book independently then if the ship leaves you will have to catch up to it on your own so always take your passport or a copy of it with you and a credit card with a lot of money left on it! :D Or wander about the town on your own but stay close to the ship. Whatever you decide to do have fun! :)

[Jimsgirl]

Having done the Med several times I would like to add my two cents worth. as new to cruising I would certainly advise doing the ship tours, that way you will not be "lambs for the fleecing" Read and re read the shore tour booklet, to make a good choice. You do not state the ages of your party, so do follow the "little men walking " at the side of the tour. and wear COMFORTABLE SHOES

 

Florence: Wonderful statues in the Museums, and beautiful churches. I did not bother to ship. Original David now in museum, breathtaking.

 

Rome: Ancient history everywhere you go, fountains that take your breath away. Vactican and churches. These are places of worship, and the locals will not be pleased if you wear strapless sun tops, and skimpy shorts, bare legs and flipflops, and talk loud.

 

Pompeii: Very spread out, lots of going up and down from pavement to "roadway" (drop is about 12 inches.) Remember time stopped here in 79 AD, no political correctness here and life was a great deal more "raunchy" (it was a sea port) If you have very strong views on nakedness, depictions of a sexual nature, I suggest you do not go. Some passengers in my group were very upset at the very explicit depictions on the walls of houses (private and those of "ill repute" ) .

 

I am a devotee of ancient history, life as it was lived , and art so I was not shocked. One lady was horrified that not only did I think David was glorious from the front but that I went round the back to view it from the rear, equally beautiful in my view.