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New Cruiser |
My husband and I are booked on the Voyager of the Seas out of Barcelona on 29th Sept 2007 (7 nights) Spending most nights surfing the web getting info on Ports of call. Some really good stuff to read. Do we book Shore Excursions or Go it alone? Anyone else out there on same cruise? 144 sleeps not that I'm counting...
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Serious Cruiser |
Well it kind of depends on what you want to do when you get to Barcelona. I've never been there, but I've cruised to a lot of other places. I would say if you're sightseeing, go at it alone. You can just catch a taxi when you get off the boat and they'll take you on a tour for cheaper. If you are doing watersports, I would either book through the cruise line or book through one of the reputable watersports companies that should have offices near the port when you get off the boat.
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Experienced Cruiser |
We did one cruise where we booked an excursion (for 5) at every port...boy did we pay out the nose. Now that there is so much access on the web, you can really investigate (takes time) what is there (I always call the cruiseling to find out exacly where we dock at) then google addresses, call and request maps and info from the local Visitor Information Center. I also ask a lot of specific questions about ports on this website. We'll probably never book an excursion through the cruiseline again. Just be real careful to learn about the places you are going. There are "bad" areas. Many people feel safer going through the cruiseline. If money's not an issue--go for it.
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Serious Cruiser |
You will pay a little bit more if you book through the cruise line..I think maybe $15-$20 more. BUT...if you book through the cruise line and for whatever reason your excursion group does not make it back to the ship before it departs the ship will either wait for you or the cruise line will pay all costs associated with getting you back onboard asap. That was the deciding factor for us when we booked our excursions through the cruise line.
Plus, they took us exactly where we needed to be, everything was very orderly and because the cruise line is booking the excursions they're using only approved vendors with a track record of providing good and safe excursions. |
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Master Cruiser |
We've been on cruises where the taxi cab is sitting at the end of the dock with passengers waving at the ship as we head out to sea...they saved a few bucks on the tour, but spent a bundle getting back on the ship...It's a gamble to book your own tours....sometimes you win and sometimes you don't.....we always book thru the ship before we even get on board.....Plus it's only money...Happy Cruising...
Bob E |
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Master Cruiser |
We book a lot of our own shore excursions outside of the cruise bookings. Besides the money savings, we enjoy the smaller group of people that the excursion provides. Instead of a group of 40 snorkelers for example, it would be maybe 12. Of course these are Islands that we have been to and are comfortable with, so that makes a difference for us. Bottom line, do what you are comfortable with. If you are adverse to risk, by all means, stick with the cruise line programs.
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Master Cruiser |
kiwigirl-If the ports you are visiting are new to you and your party, if you don't speak the local language, if you are unfamiliar with the currency-then cruiselines excursions are a safe way to enjoy your visits. I have seen passengers returning to the pier after the ship has gotten underway-sort of looking like modern day castaways-not my cup of tea at all! I have also seen the Captain delay departure of the cruiseship in order that passengers booked on a cruiseline excursion were not left behind! 'Nuff said!
Bon Voyage, BillyBuzzy |
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Moderatorin Master Cruiser |
European ports are really time intensive but some can be done on one own while others are not so good unless you know your way around and know exactly what you want to see...
Some are not really a good idea due to traffic constraints. Tell us what you want to see and then most of us can comment. Barcelona is really easy & safe to do with public transport (bus & underground) it is however busy the year round as it is a popluar place to go on a short break here in Europe so expect to line up at all venues. That means you might have to choose what you REALLY want to see and what you could miss if time became a problem... |
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Serious Cruiser |
We are doing the cruise out of Barcelona in 16 days!!
Our preference on our Caribbean cruises has been to do our own thing and we will probably do tours on our own in Italy. I have done a lot of preplanning on the internet and with a couple of good guide books so I know where I want to go and have a pretty good idea on how to get there. Having said that I'm still nervous for the reasons mentioned above in regards to missing a departure. I'm hoping to find other people either ahead of time or on our May 26 Voyager cruise that will share a private tour with us. After I return I'll be able to tell you how we made out. February 1998 - HAL Westerdam E. Caribbean January 2000 - Carnival Ecstasy - Mexican Riviera February 2002 - Costa Atlantica - W. Caribbean February 2004 - Grand Princess - W. Caribbean March 2007 - RCI Voyager of the Seas - E. Caribbean May 2007 - RCI Voyager of the Seas - Western Mediterranean (Mrs. E. & daughter only - I had a medical emergency) October 2007 - RCI Adventure of the Seas - Southern Caribbean |
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New Cruiser |
We are doing the same cruise out of Barcelona this summer and have booked our tours through the cruise line. There are several good reasons for doing this: (1) as other posters have said, if your tour is late getting back to the ship it will wait (2)if you book through the cruise line, you usually get off the ship before others (3) peace of mind - several of the ports are quite a distance from the actual cities you will want to visit - i.e. Civ to Rome is a 1.5 hr. bus ride or 1.25 hr. train ride; Livorno to Florence - another long ride. Since we have never been to any of these places before, I would rather pay extra and know that someone else is responsible for our transportation to a from, but that's just me!
Hope you have a great time -- just do lots of research before you go! |
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Master Cruiser |
I want to give a reasoned answer to the original post and avoid my normal bias against taking organized tours. If Kiwigirl is from NZ, than I would spend hours giving her help since it would help repay the Kiwis for all the wonderful help and support we had during a visit to NZ last year. We have been traveling in Europe for a long time (over 30 years) and have taken quite a few Med cruises (including more than a few in and out of Barcelona). In all of our Med cruises we have very seldom ever used an organized tour because of our desire to simply do what we want, when we want, and with who we want. We have never missed a ship (came close on two ocassions) and, in the unlikely event that we would miss a ship we always have a backup plan on how to catch-up at the next port. When going on your own simply following the basic rule of "go to your most distant destinations first and than work your way back towards the port" will usually suffice to reduce any concern about missing the ship. As to cruise line tours, they are certainly the easiest to book, generally overpriced, and you can be certain to be a part of a relatively large group (usually 50 or so per bus). Private tours (generally arranged on-line) are a great option for those not wanting to go on their own, and can be very cost efficient for groups of 4 or more. As to the longer train rides referred to be Karen, we have done those routes many times with never a problem. In fact, the trains will often be faster than cruise line provided buses, and rather than paying the cruise line about $70 per person for a bus, you will generally pay less than $20 for the train. But as Karen also points out, if you are going to be one of those who worries about what can go wrong" than you are better off gettings a 2nd mortgage on your home and paying for the cruise line tours. We recently met a couple on a 12 day Med cruise who spent more than $3000 on their tours, so be careful to consider the cost when budgeting your trip.
Hank |
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New Cruiser |
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New Cruiser |
Hi All
Just wanted to thank you for your help, especially Hank's posting. My husband and I have taken several cruises in the Caribbean and we always go it alone at the ports, but I was a little concerned with doing it that way this trip. People kept telling me that we really had to book shore excursions, and frankly, my husband just hates to be "herded" when on holiday. He just wants to take his time and enjoy the sights at his own pace, pushing him to take a scheduled shore excursion will only make him and me miserable. I've been to Europe many many years ago, and expect to go back again, so I don't need to do marathon sight seeing. Just want a flavour of each place we visit. Do you have any idea what sort of price range private taxis cost and are there minibuses offering their services at each port like there are in the Caribbean? In the meantime, I am going to do some research on public transportation. Thanks Paula |
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Cruiser |
We are taking the same cruise out of Barcelona on August 18th. We have booked 2 shore excursions - one for Nice the other for Rome - We're new to crusing too - I'll let you know how it goes.
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Experienced Cruiser |
Yes, please tell us about your experience. I'm really excited to hear from all of you doing these cruises on the Voyager =) JuniorCruiser |
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New Cruiser |
If you do enough research on "trusted" transportation going it alone is not only cheaper but much more of a personal and informative "tour".
Recently in Ocho's we by-passed the excursions and hired our own taxi and for a fraction of the cost including a nice tip our family got a wonderful five hour tour (Dunns falls,ferngully,shopping etc..) and made a good friend for any future visits. |
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Administrator Cruise Guru  |
Hi kiwigirl, and welcome to cruise-chat.
I see your ports of call are Barcelona, Spain; Villefranche (Nice), France; Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; Naples, Capri, Italy; and Palermo (Sicily). Our general rule of thumb for us is that the further the main attraction from the pier, the more likely we are to take a ship's excursion. We consider any extra cost to be insurance that the ship's crew will know where we are (more on that in a bit), and will not leave without us. The language issue that BillyBuzzy mentioned is another consideration, although many in Europe have an excellent command of English. We recently returned from Norway (and by the way JuniorCruiser, you are from a beautiful country) and did a combination of ship excursions and on-our-own walking tours. One day, in a port that was fairly remote, we did a ship's excursion -- and for numerous reasons, our tour bus did not pick us up at the end of the tour. The crew member assigned to our tour was in constant communication with the ship, and the tour guide was in communication with the excursion company, and after about an hour's wait, a bus arrived to transport us back to the ship. I was not the least bit concerned in the interim, but I would have been if we were completely on our own. LisaP   |
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Master Cruiser |
Ceelions, Please post your ports and I will try to give you some ideas. As to the language barrier, I can only answer that we have been traveling in Europe for many decades and only are fluent in English (we can read French). We have managed quite well in all the countries with virtually no language problems, and this includes driving, taking trains, buses, planes, etc,,without any kind of tour guides. I used to tease my British friends that the main problem with language barriers is in London where nobody speaks English anymore...and Arabic is now the language of choice. Whether one uses tours or goes on their own if primarily a factor of their own spirt of adventure, "street smarts," and preferences. Like you husband, my DW and I hate the "group herding" that happens with most tours. We also like to experience the real Europe as opposed to the contrived stuff often shown and visited by organized tours. My favorites are the so-called jewelry and craft "factories" that just happen to open for the big tour groups (who usually own a piece of the place).
Hank |
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New Cruiser |
missing the boat by not taking an excursion almost happened to us even though we rented a car AND were in controll of our own destiny! Things happen but I'd still go it alone 9 out of 10.
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Serious Cruiser |
I see this is kind of a debate on whether to take shore excursions. I was a first time cruiser to Europe a month ago but not a first time traveller to Europe. Taking a tour vs. own your own is really up to the indvidual. To Kiwigirl, if you enjoy researching travel destinations and trying to figure out your own schedule and make sure you see what you want to see, then by all means do what you want to do. I have travelled to Europe many times and have take only a few individual guided tours because of transportation reasons. Otherwise, I have done it own my own, via bus, train, car, etc. I think my wife may stress me out more than the planning, I really enjoy the planning. Due to being a first time cruiser and not knowing what to expect and feeling a little limited due to the departure of the ship, we did take a few excursions. But I was a bit disappointed because most of the time you are riding the bus and there is not much time to do anything else. If you do take excursions, read the description carefully and ask specifically what you will actually get out and visit, and what you will drive by and "see". I did learn this crise, do more homework than on a regular one week or two to a country, since you have to watch your time. That is the one drawback I felt about a cruise, but I WOULD cruise again, maybe planning another one to Europe next year.
Good luck. |
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