Gibraltar- Ship's tour that includes the tunnels

Has anyone taken a ship's tour that includes the cable car and tunnels? We have tentatively booked this tour, but after more reading iI see that it says we will be crawling on our hands and knees. Yet, in another section on the Princess website it doesn't mention crawling around! :eek: Can anyone provide more information on this?

I'm intrigued by the "crawling on hands & knees" :confused:

Someone's got their wires crossed :rolleyes:

There are two sets of tunnels open to the public.....

- the Great Siege Tunnels, included in standard upper Rock tours. No crawling there.

- the WW2 tunnels. Normally a stand-alone tour, or can be added to the end of a standard upper Rock van tour. Again no crawling

The two sets of tunnels are both at the northern end of the Rock, looking down over the Spanish border.

The cablecar is toward the southern end of the Rock. From there to the tunnels is about 20 to 30 minutes on foot - not a problem but I'd be surprised if either were combined with the cablecar.

St Michael's Cave is about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the cablecar station (south of the cablecar, the opposite direction to the tunnels). There are a few low bits so you have to mind your head here and there, but again not "hands and knees".

JB :)

Thank you, JB for your great details. I went back to the tour details (Majestic Princess) and this is what it says. The tour includes the cable car, Apres' Den, Europa Point, Great Siege Tunnels, and upper galleries. The description includes the following "extra" info:"This is a genuine caving experience....participants must hold on to ropes to descend a 10 foot slope....and bend over or crawl on hands and knees in some places to fit through tight spaces."

Does any of this sound familiar? By the way this information doesn't show up on another tour that does the Great Siege Tunnels.

I've been to the WW2 and Siege tunnels, also St Michael's Cave and, like John, I don't recall any crawling. I've Googled and it seems that there are some caves accessed through St Michael's Cave eg Leonora's Cave where crawling is necessary. Personally, I think there's plenty to see in the caves and tunnels without scrambling around. It isn't an excursion that would appeal to me.

This is a genuine caving experience....participants must hold on to ropes to descend a 10 foot slope....and bend over or crawl on hands and knees in some places to fit through tight spaces."

Does any of this sound familiar? By the way this information doesn't show up on another tour that does the Great Siege Tunnels.

Nope.

http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?t=O&exType=S&tourCode=GIB-205

I'm pretty convinced that the whole paragraph has been inadvertently been transposed from some other tour.

Another Princess tour which includes St Michael's cave has a special note

"The visit to St. Michael's Cave involves negotiating 75 steps to the exit; guests may opt to exit via the entry point to avoid the stairs. Wear comfortable walking shoes". Yes, that's right.

And, as you mention, another Princess tour which includes the Great Siege tunnel / galleries only has a special note:

" Gravel and a steep hill to exit and enter the Great Siege tunnels ". That's right too, the tunnel has a fairly steep slope in a couple of places - though no big deal.

But crawling on hands & knees?

That's what Princess should do to apologise for screwing-up :D

JB :)

Hi John

I think you are correct. I think someone did a copy and paste from a different tour! So thanks to your help- we will keep this tour. Not ready to do touring at ports on our own just yet. Although we have 22 cruises under our belts this is our first one in Europe. I'm sure we'll be more adventurous next time.

Thank you!!!!

Just FYI - if you do not have mobility issues and don't mind walking, you can do everything on this tour for 22.50 pounds per person and at your own pace. Everything is very walkable.

Has anyone taken a ship's tour that includes the cable car and tunnels? We have tentatively booked this tour, but after more reading iI see that it says we will be crawling on our hands and knees. Yet, in another section on the Princess website it doesn't mention crawling around! :eek: Can anyone provide more information on this?

I just read this regarding the caves. This is from the port section on this site (not the boards):

"A tour of Lower St. Michael's Cave is not for the faint of heart, nor for the physically challenged. It requires descending several hundred feet using ropes, pulleys, ramps cut into the stone and scary walks across slippery and narrow pediments. At the end of it, though, you come upon an underground lake surrounded with magnificent stalactites and stalagmites dating from millions of years ago. There is a small entry charge."

Perhaps this is an optional part of your tour.

Just FYI - if you do not have mobility issues and don't mind walking, you can do everything on this tour for 22.50 pounds per person and at your own pace. Everything is very walkable.

Actually those prices (in the tour book) were in euros...not pounds.

Thank you! I think we better just skip this one.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

for the sake of clarity

visiting st michaels cave on a ship or taxi tour does not involve any crawling, narrow passage or anything similar and can be done by anybody who is able to climb and descend some steps

visiting the great siege tunnels = same as st michaels cave

visting ww2 tunnels = same as previous 2

now

visiting lower st michaels cave is something else , but I am 99% sure that this is not included in your ships excursion as this trip needs pre-booking with a military/specialised guide and would not be out on the open market

your best bet to tour Gibraltar is to take a taxivan tour from the pier ( 100% doable for all publics)

regards and enjoy

Hi John

I think you are correct. I think someone did a copy and paste from a different tour! So thanks to your help- we will keep this tour. Not ready to do touring at ports on our own just yet. Although we have 22 cruises under our belts this is our first one in Europe. I'm sure we'll be more adventurous next time.

Thank you!!!!

Try Inside-Out Rock Tours - it's not a ship excursion, but they meet you right at the terminal. They have tours of different lengths - depending on what you want to do/see. Good luck!

There is a reason that Inside Out Rock Tours is #1 on Trip Advisor, and that is Carl Mesilio.

I booked Carl way back in November for our visit to Gibraltar on our 11 Day Western Mediterranean Cruise. After reading all the positive reviews of his tours on TripAdvisor I knew he would be the best choice for our blended group of 7 from two families.

From our meeting at the cruise terminal until our final goodbyes, Carl provided us an amazing and thorough tour of Gibraltar where he has lived all his life. We were treated like VIPs throughout our 360-degree tour of Gibraltar.

Getting an early start, we could get to all the stops on the tour with little or no crowds. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience to explore St. Michael’s Cave completely on our own, just the 7 of us. The whole tour was like this. Carl knew just how to stay ahead of the crowds to make all our stops feel like we were the only people on the Rock. Carl took the time to explain the history of each stop and gave us detailed instructions on how to make the most of our visit at each sight.

I am sure that all of us will never forget our visit with the macaques. Carl is a real expert when it comes to the apes and they know him well. Each of us had a chance to have one perch on our hands. I’m certain that it was the best moment of her whole cruise when my 14-year-old daughter had one of the macaque’s sit on her shoulder.

We would like to thank Carl for showing us all that Gibraltar has to offer through the eyes of a local. We highly recommend Carl and Inside-Out Rock Tours for your explorations in Gibraltar. He is one of the best guides we have ever used when booking our own shore excursions in Europe.

Oh and by the way, ask Carl where to get some great fish and chips in Grand Casemates Square. You will not be disappointed.