private half day van thru Oceania

[annie2]

Has anyone used the Oceania private half day van driver plus guide? It seems comparable in price to private tours for 6 persons. The only down side I see is you have to pay entrance fees separately but you can plan the four hours as you like.

[threeedogmedia]

We used Oceania Vans in Cairo, Petra, DaNang and some other places that totally escape my memory at the moment. The only place we would not use a van again would be in Egypt where you have to be part of a caravan going from the port to the venues and there is NO bathroom in a van and trust me, they don't make bathroom stops at all. It was over three hours to the pyramids and I do not care to ever experience that kind of hardship ever again. In the other ports, we had a delightful time and would consider doing this again without hesitation. We managed to fully book the vans before we left home by sending out a post on the Yahoo message board. We met some great people who we still see and sometimes vacation with.

 

The prices were cheaper to get the van than it was to take some of the bus tours to the same places and we got in faster and only did what we wanted to do rather than follow the masses.

 

Any other questions, just ask.

Karen

[Bruin Steve]

We used the full day van option through Oceania in Port Said last month while on the Nautica...

With six of us in the van, at $689, it actually came out cheaper than the big bus shore excursion...and LESS than we would have paid for a private tour...

 

AND we felt we could trust it more...You never know who you are dealing with in Egypt, but doing it this way, we knew we had Oceania's Shore Excursion Department arranging things, checking out the providers, etc.

 

The van was waiting for us when the ship arrived, our guide was excellent...We got to see all of the sites we wanted to see, had a nice lunch at a very good restaurant in Giza...We paid what amounted to about $115 per person, the tickets at the various sites and the cost of the lunch only amounted to a few dollars per person (IIRC, around $50 pp), so the total cost came out to around $165 pp...the big bus excursions were $179 and outside private tour providers wanted a lot more...We got very personalized service from a guide who only had to address the six of us, so we weren't at the back of a mob of 30 or 40...and we didn't have to wait for 30 or 40 people to return from rest rooms or finish posing for photos...

 

Definitely the way to go...

[annie2]

We used Oceania Vans in Cairo, Petra, DaNang and some other places that totally escape my memory at the moment. The only place we would not use a van again would be in Egypt where you have to be part of a caravan going from the port to the venues and there is NO bathroom in a van and trust me, they don't make bathroom stops at all. It was over three hours to the pyramids and I do not care to ever experience that kind of hardship ever again. In the other ports, we had a delightful time and would consider doing this again without hesitation. We managed to fully book the vans before we left home by sending out a post on the Yahoo message board. We met some great people who we still see and sometimes vacation with.

 

The prices were cheaper to get the van than it was to take some of the bus tours to the same places and we got in faster and only did what we wanted to do rather than follow the masses.

 

Any other questions, just ask.

Karen

 

We used the full day van option through Oceania in Port Said last month while on the Nautica...

With six of us in the van, at $689, it actually came out cheaper than the big bus shore excursion...and LESS than we would have paid for a private tour...

 

AND we felt we could trust it more...You never know who you are dealing with in Egypt, but doing it this way, we knew we had Oceania's Shore Excursion Department arranging things, checking out the providers, etc.

 

The van was waiting for us when the ship arrived, our guide was excellent...We got to see all of the sites we wanted to see, had a nice lunch at a very good restaurant in Giza...We paid what amounted to about $115 per person, the tickets at the various sites and the cost of the lunch only amounted to a few dollars per person (IIRC, around $50 pp), so the total cost came out to around $165 pp...the big bus excursions were $179 and outside private tour providers wanted a lot more...We got very personalized service from a guide who only had to address the six of us, so we weren't at the back of a mob of 30 or 40...and we didn't have to wait for 30 or 40 people to return from rest rooms or finish posing for photos...

 

Definitely the way to go...

 

Thanks for your replies! Very helpful!~

[skandls]

With the private van did you have to have the 6 passengers before the cruise? We are not travelling with any friends. Do people get together for the private tours while on the ship? And if you don't want to answer I will understand - go USC. We are doing a portion of the Barcelona to Barcelona 2010 spring cruise. When we booked I did not know that Oceania divided the one cruise into three parts.

 

Trojan Susan from Thousand Oaks.

[Bruin Steve]

With the private van did you have to have the 6 passengers before the cruise? We are not travelling with any friends. Do people get together for the private tours while on the ship? And if you don't want to answer I will understand - go USC. We are doing a portion of the Barcelona to Barcelona 2010 spring cruise. When we booked I did not know that Oceania divided the one cruise into three parts.

 

Trojan Susan from Thousand Oaks.

 

That's okay, Susan, I'll just try to explain it in really simple terms for you... :) :) :)

 

We put together our group of six from our Roll Call here on CruiseCritic.com...

In fact, we put together groups for Tunisia, Malta, Port Said, Ashdod, Haifa, Kusadasi and Istanbul that way. I guess you could wait until you are on the ship, but it is more of a gamble--you could end up with the entire van ...and the entire cost of the van...yourself.

 

Good luck...

[Ms Understood]

Do the vans only seat 6? we are a family group of 8 looking for private transportation on our July 11, 2010 first ever Oceania cruise, Amsterdam to London. Does anyone know if O can book a larger van? Thanks.

------------

Helen

[LHT28]

Do the vans only seat 6? we are a family group of 8 looking for private transportation on our July 11, 2010 first ever Oceania cruise, Amsterdam to London. Does anyone know if O can book a larger van? Thanks.

------------

Helen

You may be better to check for private tour guides at the ports they usually can accommodate 8.

 

Lyn

[Bruin Steve]

Do the vans only seat 6? we are a family group of 8 looking for private transportation on our July 11, 2010 first ever Oceania cruise, Amsterdam to London. Does anyone know if O can book a larger van? Thanks.

------------

Helen

 

Helen,

My experiences may match ONLY with Cairo. Oceania, like all cruise lines, contracts with local providers in each port to provide excursions specific to that port...and what they contract for in the way of private vans, if at all, is dependent on what their local tour provider is able to arrange in that port. I notice that your cruise is in NORTHERN Europe with ports completely distinct from the tours I have taken on Oceania.

 

So others may chime in on their experiences with Oceania in your ports, here is the itinerary:

 

Jul 11 Amsterdam 6:00 p.m.

Jul 12 Bruges (Zeebrugge) 8:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m.

Jul 13 Rotterdam 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.

Jul 14 Cruise Kiel Canal

Jul 15 Copenhagen 8:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m.

Jul 16 Gothenburg 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m.

Jul 17 Oslo 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m.

Jul 18 Cruising the North Sea

Jul 19 Antwerp 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

Jul 20 Paris (Le Havre) 8:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m.

Jul 21 Saint-Malo 8:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m.

Jul 22 Portland (Dorset) 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.

Jul 23 London (Dover) 5:00 a.m.

 

I have been to many of these ports on other cruise lines (Princess, Celebrity) and I don't recall the cruise lines offering too many private car or private van options in any of these ports, so a good chance Oceania will not as well...Some of these ports are fairly small and pedestrian friendly. One note: Paris is about a three hour drive from the port in Le Havre...Having been to paris a few times before, we made the wiser choice, when docked there to visit Rouen and Giverny instead...there are lots of other destinations close to Le Havre along the Normandy Coast if one wants to avoid spending six of their 11 hours (you've got to return by 7 or 7:30 for an 8:00 pm sailing and you're likely not getting off the ship right at 8 am either) in a car or van or bus...

 

Good luck...

 

PS. If you do find a good, recommended private guide for Rotterdam, let me know...We'll be there July 22 on the Celebrity Eclipse.

 

For reference purposes for those visiting Port Said/Cairo: The van we had held six passengers--there's a driver and a guide up front, then two rows of seats fitting three each...All of the Oceania literature mentions only vans accommodating six...If I were you, I would contact Oceania's Shore Excursion Department and ask them directly if they would be able to arrange a van for 8...They MAY be able to do it, likely at a higher cost...Otherwise, you may have to either look for a private guide ...or else book TWO vans...and just tell your drivers/guides that you'd like them to stick together...even at four in a van, ours would have come to only $172 pp...

[Ms Understood]

Thanks for the responses. Of the 8 of us, only 1 has never been to Paris but the rest of us all love the City too much to skip. (Went to Giverny on a land trip, fantastic isnt it?) I will check around and if anyone is interested I will post my solution. Will also let you know Bruin, what I find out for Rotterdam. Since we will be spending 3 days pre cruise in Amsterdam will most likely be looking to see windmills or something in the country side?

-----------------

Helen

[threeedogmedia]

Skandals -

 

The number of passengers was different for each port that we used this type of tour. Sometimes it was for 6 and others would fit 8 just fine. It usually mentioned the maximum number of guests on the booking sheet. Since only one charge is issued (to the person booking the van) it is up to you to fill the remaining spaces not Oceania. I chose to post on both the Yahoo board and this board asking if people were interested in joining us. It was very easy to find interested parties to join us and we were very lucky that all of us seemed to be interested in the same things. This was discussed before we left from home so that the places we chose to visit were agreed to by all. Every person sent me a check before we departed from home that covered their percent of the total. One place that we did book a van and were able to cancel after we boarded was for Luxor. All of us decided to book the overnight trip into Luxor and the cruise line (Thank you Oceania) allowed us to cancel the van because everyone chose to do the overnight. The overnight was so much better than I could have imagined. There wouldn't have been enough time to visit all the places we did if we were only gone for the day. It was worth every penny of the fee. If my memory is correct, the overnight was around $299 per person. Would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

The prices for each van were cheaper when we divided it based on the number of people joining us than doing any of the other ship sponsored tours. Although we did have a hardship not having a bathroom in Cairo, the guide was incredible and we had a great time. It takes a little effort to arrange additional people to join you but it does provide you with personalized service that you just can't get when you're with a bus load of other people.

 

Karen

[threeedogmedia]

Helen, our Baltic cruise had some of the same ports. The only recommendation I could make is to book a taxi in Bruges before you leave home. There are no taxis at the pier and it's a long way in to town. It was fairly inexpensive and the taxi held 6. We had a pre-arranged time of pickup and they met us at a designated time to deliver us back to the ship.

 

Hope this helps.

Karen

[threeedogmedia]

Skandls, I forgot to comment on your cruise - If you're talking about the "grand circle of the Mediterranean" I believe you can still book only one of the three cruises but it is also marketed as a single 36 day cruise. We booked all 36 days because this ininerary is so great. I do however wish there were more sea days. I think there's only three days total on this entire cruise.......No sleeping in for me!

Karen

[Ms Understood]

Thanks for the Bruges tip, Karen, will do.

------------------

Helen

[skandls]

Skandls, I forgot to comment on your cruise - If you're talking about the "grand circle of the Mediterranean" I believe you can still book only one of the three cruises but it is also marketed as a single 36 day cruise. We booked all 36 days because this ininerary is so great. I do however wish there were more sea days. I think there's only three days total on this entire cruise.......No sleeping in for me!

Karen

 

Thank you for the information. We are already booked on the Athens to Istabul portion of the cruise. May 2 to May 14. We will want to book the small van tours - and do the overnight in Cairo. I will post on the roll call and also try Yahoo.

 

Susan

[annie2]

Oceania is very accomodating if you need a larger van for one of their private van tours. At one port the private van was listed as for "four" passengers". Oceania took our request for a van for six and called back two days later with a price and a van for six.

[sunnies]

Helen, our Baltic cruise had some of the same ports. The only recommendation I could make is to book a taxi in Bruges before you leave home. There are no taxis at the pier and it's a long way in to town. It was fairly inexpensive and the taxi held 6. We had a pre-arranged time of pickup and they met us at a designated time to deliver us back to the ship.

 

Hope this helps.

Karen

 

Karen,

 

Would you be able to recall the name of the taxi service you used in Bruges? It is good advice to book the taxi before leaving home.

 

Meg

[threeedogmedia]

Meg, I'm sorry but I don't remember the name of the taxi company that we used. It was booked by someone else so I never kept any records. I believe that all Marc did was do a search on drivers in that port and he may have even found the information under one of the posts here on this board. If you still have trouble finding a recommendation, I'll contact my wonderful travel agents (Jan & Marcy - we love you two!) and see if they know who to use.

Karen

[sunnies]

Meg, I'm sorry but I don't remember the name of the taxi company that we used. It was booked by someone else so I never kept any records. I believe that all Marc did was do a search on drivers in that port and he may have even found the information under one of the posts here on this board. If you still have trouble finding a recommendation, I'll contact my wonderful travel agents (Jan & Marcy - we love you two!) and see if they know who to use.

Karen

 

Thank you for your reply Karen. I shall do a little research - we have plenty of time as we do not do the Baltic cruise until June next year.

 

Meg