New to cruising, but definitely looking forward to our first -- Caribbean on Royal Caribbean, Southern Caribbean in October. Ports of call are St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Antigua, Barbados, St. Martin.

I would like advice from some of the experienced cruisers on shore excursions -- go with the ship's recommendations?? Don't know. Suggestions for these ports appreciated.

We just came from a 12 day Emerald Princess cruise and did all tours on our own. We saved 1000's of dollars over the cruise ship tours. Just did all the research prior to going on the trip. Trains and subways in Europe are very cheap and on time. Barcelona has one of the best subway systems. One way tickets are usually 1.60 Euro. You can also buy a day pass that lets you use the subway as well as the busses.

Trains are also very cheap in Europe. To give you an idea. To take the train from Naples to Herculaneum and the Sorrento coast cost us 8 Euro for the 2 of us. A 24 hour pass for the train is 4 Euro per person. It allows you to get off and on and return on the same ticket. The train runs every 30 minutes or so.

My suggestion is. Do it on your own instead of the cruise tours and save yourself the extra money for shoping or extras.

We took transatlantic cruises the last two year with different Mediterranean ports each time. We did a combination of ships tours and our own thing. Do your research on the ports, Frommer's have lots of information on line or get one of their guides in you see it.
Most cities have a hop-on hop-off sightseeing, if you want to get a taste of the city or see something specific.

I have only taken one cruise and I have another one coming up. BUT, based on my limited, humble experience, I will book the cruise line's shore excursions. I am concerned about standing on the shore watching my ship sail away should something hold up our return from the excursion. In fact, last year we WERE on an excursion where we got back to the ship late because of a big traffic jam on the highway outside Matzatlan. The ship waited. Whew!

I'll be going on my 6th cruise in October, and I've yet to "go it alone." (Unless you count shopping within walking distance of the ship.)As everyone has said, it depends on your personal preference. I avoid stress at all costs when I'm on vacation, and I love the security of taking a cruise line-sanctioned shore excursion. There are always so many excursions to choose from, and I don't have to worry about language barriers, getting lost, finding myself in the wrong part of town, or being late back to the ship. For me, the extra money is worth it for the convenience and the security.

Redbones: I did the Eastern Caribbean in December, and did 2 excursions. St. Thomas: beach getaway to Magen's Bay, and St. Maartin: beginning scuba diving for those w/ no diving certification. I enjoyed both, though I found Magen's Bay to be a bit overrated... still a beautiful beach, though!

Hi there,

Being a first time cruiser,and leaving in two days time, I find this forum excellent, I am however, shocked to find that the ports are so far from attractions!!

WE are flying dublin to barcelona and then going to

nice (villefranche)
florence (livornio)
rome (civitavecchia)
naples
sicily ( palermo)

could any one advise on info on these, we're not the type of couple that HAVE TO do everything but I would like to see the Amalfi Coast and mount vesuvius.

Is a train the best way to get to these major places?

thanks in advance

Nothing like a lot of notice (2days) be here we go. Villefranche - you have easy access to the train line (10 min walk) which spans the cooast from Cannes to Monte Carlo (and beyond). There is also the bus lines. Depending on your plans you can do this on your own or take tours. Livorno - You can get to Florence on a tour ($75 + per person) or take the train (less than $20 per person). The biggest problem is getting from the port to the train station which is best achieved by using a taxi (assuming you can get a taxi to take the local fare). Civatavecchia - If you want to go to Rome on your own you can take the free port shuttle from ship to port entrance and than its an easy 5 block walk to the train station. Naples - Too many options to discuss at the last minute. Going to Capri is very easy on your own (you just walk from ship to hydrofoil/jet boat dock). Pompeii, Herculanium, and Sorrento are also possible on your own by using the trains. Palermo - You dock at the edge of town and can walk to the center. We love the Cappucini Catacombs so you might want to quickly research this macabre place (it would take a taxi or local bus to get to the monastary.

Hank

Hi Kiwigirl,

See you on board. I am taking my mother for her 80th Birthday gift from Vancouver Canada, and we are on the same cruise.

Like you I was uncertain whether to go it alone or take the cruise ships excursions. Being my first time to Europe with no knowledge of French of Italian, I wasn't sure which route to go.

Then I remembered from past cruises the time wasted waiting for everyone to show up in the lounge and then disembarking and boarding buses with 50 people in tow. The time spent sitting on buses waiting for someone that just had to buy one more item or just expected everyone to wait for them while they dawdled on their way back. I like to see as much as possible in the short time allowed and get back in time for a run on the promenade and relax before dinner.

I have spent all night researching each of the ports on this site and another fabulous site called portreviews.com

Port reviews has great advice, wonderful photos and terrific details and descriptions of where to find the train stations, hydrofoils etc and what to see in each port.

After reading for the past 3+ hours I am convinced to do it on our own and just make sure to allow enough time to get back and plan accordingly.

What have you decided? If you see a spry little 80 year old following after her 40+ daughter who walks way too fast for her liking, in search of the train station be sure to introduce yourself as Kiwigirl. Are you from NZ? What route are you taking to get into Barcelona. We are doing Vancouver to Frankfurt on Friday and then on to Barcelona on Saturday morning.

Only 3 more sleeps.