Venice & Ravenna

First timer----Do you recommend doing actual excursions in these ports, or is either one a place that can be enjoyed/explored on one's own? Trying to save a bit of money at one of my ports (Venice, Dubrovnik, Athens, Santorini, Ravenna)

Any of the ports you list could be done on your own, if you are motivated. Rick Steve's guidebook on Mediterranean cruise ports provides a lot of really useful info. Of course, it'll be up to you to do your research.

Venice -- take the People Mover (a sort of tram) from the ship to Piazzale Roma, then take a vaporetto or just walk to places of interest (Piazza San Marco, Rialto, etc.)

Dubrovnik -- very compact town inside its walls. Most ships run a shuttle for a small cost from the port into the city. From here you can walk around on your own or walk the walls. Lots of info given on the Med -- Other Ports forum by Dubrovnik Lady.

Athens -- an express bus runs from convenient location at the port into Athens and drops you near the historic center (which is largely pedestrianized and easy to walk) -- near the Acropolis, Agora, Acropolis Museum, etc.

Santorini -- tendering in can be the worst part, depending on how many ships and people are in port with you. On your own you can either take the boat around to Oia from where the tender drops you, or you can get up the cliff to Thira (by cable car or donkey or your own feet), then take a bus or taxi to Oia.

Ravenna -- It's a relatively long distance from where the ship docks into the city, but again there is a shuttle (can't remember if it's run by the ships or the town, but.....) that will take you into Ravenna. With a guide you can easily see several of the main attractions -- the beautiful mosaics.

First timer----Do you recommend doing actual excursions in these ports, or is either one a place that can be enjoyed/explored on one's own? Trying to save a bit of money at one of my ports (Venice, Dubrovnik, Athens, Santorini, Ravenna)

Not sure of your cruise line but we just did Venice , Ravenna and Dubrovink, all 3 could be done on your own but need a shuttle for each , Rick Steves book is great idea , we did RCCL and they did have a pretty cheap shuttle, do not miss these ports all were interesting

Not sure of your cruise line but we just did Venice , Ravenna and Dubrovink, all 3 could be done on your own but need a shuttle for each , Rick Steves book is great idea , we did RCCL and they did have a pretty cheap shuttle, do not miss these ports all were interesting

No need for shuttle in Venice: quarter mile walk to People Mover to Venice, costing a couple of Euros.

At Dubrovnik, taxis can be cheaper than shuttle for 2 or more people. They're cheap in the port - walk another 100 feet to the adjacent bus station, and the taxis are even cheaper - fixed price.

Stuart

I can tell you about Ravenna, we stopped their on our cruise in August. It was our last port before ending in Venice, i did not see an excursion we wanted so we just took the shuttle from the ship into town for 5 euro and about a 15 to 20 min ride. The downtown area is very easy to walk and lots of really nice restaurants. We thought it was the best shopping of all the ports we stopped at, we felt the prices were fair and reasonable and very friendly people. We loved the city and would go back if we had the chance.

No need for shuttle in Venice: quarter mile walk to People Mover to Venice, costing a couple of Euros.

 

At Dubrovnik, taxis can be cheaper than shuttle for 2 or more people. They're cheap in the port - walk another 100 feet to the adjacent bus station, and the taxis are even cheaper - fixed price.

 

Stuart

Not sure where your ship was docked but ours was a distance to the city in Venice , RCCL had a boat taking us to the heart of the city, for a small fee

I concur with cruisemom as usual and add in, after selecting a few points of interest perhaps allow yourself an hour or two to simply stroll the back canals and just get "lost" which might sound ominous but isn't. It's not really possible to get lost in Venice - wherever you do end up, it's easy to wind your way back to a point of reference on your map - no worries. What does this do? Give you a little bit of the real flavor and feel of Venice - what you see in movies, art, history that sometimes gets dwarfed by crowds dropping in for the day.

You'll still see gondolas sweeping silently by and the occasional small boat passing with Venetians going about their day - it's wonderful, also great photo opportunities. One of my favorite photos taken in Europe was in the back canals of Venice - a too big dog sleeping lazy on an intricate iron Venetian balcony, with one paw dangling over the edge - did he ever look chill hanging out up there! What a scene....something I didn't expect and it was a change up from my "here's the Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, Gritti Palace...." photos. Everyone has those anyway - this was real Venice. Loved it. :)