spanish cruise

going on cruise independence of the seas, stopping in cadiz, gibraltar, ibizia, lisbon portugal. palma de mallorca, valencia, and vigo. Money is limited. Which ports can I do on my own, and which ones are too far from the ship, and which ones are worth taking the tour. Please help.

Ask your question on the Ports of Call boards for Europe and the Med, located here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=596 for Spain, and Here;

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=234 for Lisbon and Gibraltar.

Cadiz is very walkable, it is a peninsula, hard to get lost. Mallorca will probably have a shuttle to downtown, which is then walkable. A guidebook will help you find out what there is to see, and Lonely Planet has many chapters you can download for specific cities.

Join the roll call for your cruise to see what others are planning. You might find some have organized an affordable tour that you can join. To find your roll call, go back to the main boards page, scroll down to ROLL CALLS, click on Royal Caribbean, then Independence of the Seas, and look for a thread with the dates of your sailing. EM

Gib is very easy. My suggestion is a shared taxi tour of the Upper Rock from the terminal (there'll be sharers milling around the taxis) - costs £22 or 25 euros pp, takes 2 hours plus, includes St Michael's Cave, apes' den, Great Siege tunnel/galleries, and superb views. After the tour, driver can return you to the ship, but most bale out at Casemates Square to explore the town & Main Street, then 20 minute level walk back to the ship.

Cadiz old town is right by the dock, pleasant for a lazy day. Or take a train to Jerez de la Frontere for sherry bodegas etc. Or if you want to go to Seville probably best done by ship's excursion.

Lisbon depends where you berth. If near Belem Tower, the hop-on bus or taxi from terminal or short walk to urban train station. If further up-river, the centre is easily walkable.

Use the links provided by Essiesmom to see plenty of threads about all your ports.

To narrow it down a bit, use the "search" facility at the bottom of those two pages. In the little brown "search this forum" box, type in the name of a port& it'll bring up all threads which mention the place. I suggest you avoid the "advanced search" which will be an overload of irrelevant info.

You'll see there's virtually no need for ship's tours - unless you want to visit places like Seville.

JB :)

Technically most ports can all be done on your own if research and planning are done prior to the cruise.

In addition to the information that others have posted, Palma de Mallorca is very easy to do on your own.

As previously said quite a few of those ports are easy to do on your own nobody has mentioned Vigo - you dock at a shopping centre ! and across the road is the main town uphill !

Cadiz is across the road from the dock literally - easy walk

Majorca take a cab or shuttle to Palma town centre lots to see or you can go to the beach again easy to do by cab.

Portugal - take the ship shuttle to the town - and have a wander get on a tram they are a lot of fun and cheap.

Ibiza - my fav - doubt with a ship that size it will dock right in town - so take the shuttle or a 20 min walk into the old town, have a wander up the paths to the top - amazing view. ( Tip try and buy your beer or coffee refreshments away from the marina front - one street back and so much cheaper)

Have fun what a great trip :)