Holland America Cruise to Europe Ship Sponsored Tours

[marcyjane]

Would like to know for those of you that have cruised HAL to the Mediterranean if you took any of the ship tours and if so which ones and how were they?

 

I don't sail til next summer 2009 , but there are several couples going and just wanted to start searching and reading and getting information on the best of these tours to do and see all we can in each port. Most of the couples feel they want to do the ship tours offered.

And too we need to kinda get a feel of the cost so we can start saving as well.

Our ports of call will be: Rome, Florence/Pisa, Venice, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Navplion, Corfu, Dubrovnik

Any information on what tours you booked with HAL will be helpful.

Thanks so much in advance for you time and trouble for helping us.

Marcy

[jtl513]

Our Western Med cruise started and ended in Rome, so I can only comment on a couple of ship's tours that we did.

 

In Monaco we took the "Highlights of Monaco and Monte Carlo" and enjoyed it. Several nice photo stops, and of course shopping time. The HAL price does not get you into the Grand Casino. When we were there it was something like 12 Euros to go in, and we weren't that interested. On the bus later one man was saying he wished he hadn't spent the money, but for others it may be a highlight. I don't remember the exact tour price, but it was under $100 pp.

 

For Florence we took HAL's shuttle bus (IIRC it was about $40 pp) and walked around for 5 hours. We were there on a Monday, when all the major museums were closed, but we saw the Duomo, Santa Croce, and many nice places that we would have missed on a museum-packed day. Ate lunch at a wonderful tiny local restaurant called Le Mossace ("the mosaic") quite near the Duomo. I highly recommend it!

 

In Barcelona we did the "Gaudi's Barcelona" ship's tour and thought it was great. It included admission to the Sagrada Familia, while the "Highlights" tour stops outside but does not go in. We thought the Guell Park was very interesting too. The tour does quite a bit of hilly walking, though, so you might take that into consideration. I don't remember the exact price, but it was under $50 pp.

[Cruising-along]

We've taken HAL tours in a couple of these ports (Barcelona and Corfu).

 

Our Corfu excursion was a couple years ago, and took us to the Achillion Palace, built by the Empress Elizabeth of Austria. We really enjoyed that day, the palace and grounds are beautiful, especially in May. We had a little time after the tour to browse around Corfu town and do some shopping before going back to the ship.

 

We went to Barcelona on our recent Med cruise and had two HAL excursions there. In the morning we went to Montserrat, the monastery high on a mountain of craggy cliffs -- awesome to see. In the afternoon we took the Panoramic Tour of Barcelona, which is mostly sitting on a bus with a few photo ops. Like jtl said, this tour doesn't go inside the Sagrada Familia.

 

Sometimes we've been thrilled with the local guides, sometimes not. Sometimes the accent is hard to follow, and other times their English is excellent. For the most part we've been very happy with the HAL tours in the Med.

[Willsot]

Off the Prinsendam, we took the "Tuscan Countryside and Wine Tasting" ship's excursion out of Livorno and enjoyed it very much. We had already visited Florence and Pisa and wanted a different experience.

 

Out of Monte Carlo we took the "Nice and Eze" excursion, which was also very nice. We loved the scenic drive, walking around the marketplace in Nice, and especially Eze. Upon returning from the excursion we then visited the Royal Palace. Had no interest in the Grand Casino.

[colerosebud]

The only tour that we took that nobody else has commented on is in Navpolin?? We took the one to Olympus. You can do it on your own but is it much more helpful on the tour so they can explain what each pile of rocks is supposed to be.

[Jade13]

We did the Caves of Drac Tour in Mallorca since it was a short day. It was what we expected with 7 buses and about 400 passengers. The tour guide was an older gentleman on our bus and he was very good pointing out lots of things plus a photo stop by the Cathedral which also had a good shot of our ship.

 

In Barcelona I went to Girona and the Dali Museum on a HAL tour. This tour had about 40 passengers. The guide was a kook but perfect for the Dali Museum. She had no clue that Girona was supposed to emphasize the Jewish Quarter and started taking us into churches until I said something to the HAL shorex person who was on the trip since it was new. They brought 5 of us to the Jewish quarter and museum and picked us up 20 minutes later. The day was still good.

[hulamoon]

I recently took the Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Livorno, Rome, Katakalon,Corfu Dubrovnik Naufplion and Venice HAL trip.

 

WE DIY'ed they entire trip, but I quizzed other guests about their ship tours.

They all seemed to love them with one exception in Venice, who thought his gondola ride was misrepresented.

 

Ship tours costs more usually but you avoid the thinking planning and occasional rush that you may actually not know what you are doing and worry that you may be cutting the ship leaving too close.

 

I would say Livorno is the place you may want a ship tour, otherwise you may be very tired for Rome or visa versa depending which way you travel. The train works just fine in Rome but I ran into ship tours all day long and everyone appeared happy and reported later they loved it. You can also do the rent a limo deal with 6 people and get a better tour just the way you want it.

 

If you want my DIY info let me know and I will pass it along.

 

Happy Cruising..

[marcyjane]

Thank you all that have posted. This gives me some ideas to begin with and work on.

Just keep suggestion coming.

Thanks so much,

Marcy

[Moriah]

 

Our ports of call will be: Rome, Florence/Pisa, Venice, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Navplion, Corfu, Dubrovnik

 

I know you probably already realize this but... Rome is not a "port". The port is actually located at Civitavechia, about an hour west of Rome. If you want to SEE Rome you will want to arrive early or stay late from your cruise... Florence/Pisa - likewise - not "ports". The ship will dock at Livorno, and if you want to see those places your best bet is a ship excursion or at the least getting some transportation to one of the cities and then doing your own thing. Livorno is also the gateway to Tuscany, so if you don't want to do the leaning tower, or the museum thing, you can book a tour to the wine country... you have a lot of choices at that port, but you do have to choose. There is nothing "right there", so a tour plan is advisable.

 

We found that Monte Carlo and Barcelona, being accessible on foot from the ship, were great places to just get off the ship and WALK - we saw everything we wanted to see without having to pay for a tour. Of course, this assumes you are in good walking shape and enjoy that type of "freedom".

Someone mentioned the caves of drach, but these are on Mallorca, and that doesn't seem to be on your itinerary -

Moriah

[hulamoon]

It's just that Rome is easier to spell :). Of course you are right, To get to Rome from the port, take a tour, private limo/car, or take the train. You can buy a a ticket at the train station, I believe it is the combo 110 ticket and then you can get on the bus and see most of Rome and even have time for the Vatican if you are willing to stay on schedule. If you want more details about this I am happy to pull out my journal of last month and send them on.

 

We heard good things about the ship tours from many who took them. All day long we by doing the bus tour we ran into groups.

[travelite]

When were you there? We're sailing in a few weeks and the prices for the same tours on our cruise are much more expensive. Did you sail when the dollar was stronger?

[hulamoon]

Dear Travelite,

 

If you are referring to the 110 combo ticket, I meant that is the name of the train and hop on hop off bus I used. It was between 22 and 32 euros apiece on May 24, 2008. To do this you get to the train station at the port, take the train to Rome or St Peters and get off and walk to the bus route, if the exact price is important, let me know and I can check my stub that put in a box. We had no problems, the train and bus were clean and easy to use.