icequeen

I read on one thread that if you take the ferry/shuttle from Harvest Caye to Placencia that you buy it through NCL shore excursions and they limit you to 3 hours in Placencia and then you have to return to Harvest Caye. Can anyone confirm this for me? Wanting to take an excursion from Placencia but a 3 hour limit will eliminate that option :-(

We visited Cinque Terre last October and my parents (both in their mid 70's - Mom not very fit) were along for the tour. We booked a private tour through Papillon Service. They picked us up at the ship and drove us to Portovenere. We had an close to an hour to wander around the town. Not strenuous but my parents did not do the climb up to the Church of San Pietro. We caught the ferry and got off at both Manarola and Vernazza. The exit via the gangway at the front of the ferry can be a bit steep but it is not long. I would say the biggest climb was at Manarola, making your way up from the rocks (via stairs) to the town level. My parents just took their time and made out fine. The town streets are a bit steep but you mostly wander slowly so probably would not be terribly taxing for you.

Our guide picked us up at Vernazza and took us on a scenic coast and then to Pisa. My parents were tired at the end of the day but the tour was over seven hours so both time and effort played a part. They did fine as long as they did not have to rush and could take breaks when they needed to rest for a bit. I have blogged in detail about our day so that could also provide you with some additional info (link below).

Hope this helps in some way. It is always hard to make a decision when there are so many factors to look at. Best of luck!

@whimsy7 and @tassietravellers

So glad it was a help to you! I have slowly been making my blogging way through our ten Mediterranean stops. Only two more left to go. Enjoy your travels :)

Our stop in September is only 7am to 1 pm, so wondering if we had to cut something out of the tour you did, what would you eliminate?

Thanks.

It would all depend on what your interests are but I would eliminate the stop at the leather shop and the Temple of Artemis, which is just one standing column. We had not originally wanted to do a carpet factory stop, due to time, but I did find it was very interesting to see the process and how to tell the different quality of carpets. If you are more interested in history, I would drop the carpet factory and see more of the Basilica of St. John. We did not have time to see much more than the front and I would have loved to see inside.

With all of the stops we made, we were still back in town and at the bazaar by a little after noon so you could still see a lot and just not bother to shop, if that was your preference, and still be back in lots of time for all aboard.

We self-toured on our stop in Istanbul last October. We used the tram system to get around and it was quite cheap (4 turkish lira per trip). Once we took the tram from the cruise terminal into the old city, we were able to walk to anywhere we wanted to go. We saw pretty much everything we wanted to except Topkapi Palace.

We had Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Port travel book and it provided great history and information for everything we saw so a guide was not critical. I blogged about our day in Istanbul on my cruise blog if you want to get a lot of detail and see some photos, as well.

We were really glad that we did not miss seeing this spot due to our nervousness about the unrest. I guess things can happen anywhere you go these days but were happy to have no incidents while we were there. I have to say that after my initial discomfort, I did not think about it again for the rest of the day. We just tried to be as aware of our surroundings as we normally would be when we travel and put the rest out of our head.

I was glad we went to the Grand Bazaar because I had always wanted to see it but, personally, I found it chaotic and overwhelming that I did not buy anything there. We did, however, find a small cafe and enjoyed a great lunch :)

We used Ali from Ephesus Taxi Service aka Ali Baba Taxi. He took us to Ephesus and all of the regular stops and was a knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide. I think the cost was 80 euros for the 6 of us (that is total, not per person). Nice air conditioned van and on board wifi. We had a great day with him.

I did blog about our tour on my cruise blog if you want more details and photos. No matter which tour company you pick, Ephesus is definitely not to be missed, from my perspective. It had such incredible history and I was thrilled that we were actually able to walk through a lot of the ruins instead of having to stay outside a rope everywhere you go. We paid extra to see the Terrace Houses and were glad we did. There are still frescoes and mosaics clearly visible and some in amazing condition. A glimpse into how affluent ancients once lived :)

We bought a booklet at Ephesus and we also carried Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports travel guide with us everywhere we went. We got a lot of the history and background that way. There was also the option of hiring a guide once you arrive at Ephesus. If we went again, we might consider doing that as they would likely know lots of interesting things that perhaps don't make the cut in a guide book.

We use Ali (Ali Baba Taxi aka Ephesus Taxi Service) on our port day in Kusadasi last October. I did a lot of looking around and pricing and his price was very appealing and he had some good reviews on Trip Advisor. I thought it would just be a transport but it was a full tour stopping at Ephesus (the main attraction for us), Selcuk, Basilica of St. John, Artemis Temple as well as a stop at a carpet maker (where there was, happily, no high pressure sales pitch) as well as a leather shop with some beautiful products on offer. We decided not to go to the House of Mary due to time however, it was one of the options he would have taken us to see.

We highly recommend Ali. He was very professional and proficient in English as well as very charming. He had a great sense of humor and was very flexible and let us design our itinerary for the day. His van was very clean and comfortable and he offered on board wifi, as well. I think the cost was around 80 euros for all six of us (total, not per person) for approximately 5 hours. We were only in port from 7am until 2pm.

I blogged about our day in Kusadasi on my cruise blog and also have some photos there as well.

Happy to help, tassietravellers :)

We used this bus on our port day in Piraeus/Athens last October. Getting to the stop early was key to beating the crowds to the Acropolis. We had over an hour with not a lot of people until the ship's tours started arriving.

We found the bus system very easy to use and the bus driver was very helpful with answering questions and pointing out where the stop was for our return trip later in the day.

The bus drops you right across from the street that runs up by the Acropolis ticket entrance and it was maybe a 15 minute leisurely walk from the stop.

I just posted about our trip to Athens on my cruise blog. I included photos of the bus stops and ticket booth that may help you if you are docking in the same area.

Enjoy!

We ported in Piraeus and toured Athens on our own last October. We had no problems at all navigating public transport (X80 tourist bus and Metro) and were able to beat the crowds to the Acropolis.

I just posted our day in Athens on my cruise blog with all sorts of info that you could use if you decide to do it on your own.

We saw the Acropolis, Mars Hill, Anafiotika, had lunch in the Monastiraki neighborhood, explored Ermou Street and saw the Parliament/Syntagma Square and the changing of the Evzone guards. All for the low, low price of around 24 euro per person, including lunch and gelato :)

We had our first cruise of the Mediterranean last October and after having done many other Caribbean cruises, I knew that the best approach for us was to follow the same process as 'cruisemom42' and research extensively prior to getting there. We wanted to try and do as much self-touring and local transport as we possibly could and knew that the more we knew and understood about the process, the less stressful it would be. Having never been to Europe before, it was all so new but we felt that we could meet the challenge.

We self-toured and took local trams, trains, metros just about everywhere except for Livorno/Cinque Terre and Toulon, where we hired a guide/driver for the day as our destinations were not easy to get to from where the ship docked.

We were a bit nervous about our stop in Istanbul but felt that we could run into problems just about anywhere and if we paid attention to our surroundings then that was all we could do. We decided that if the ship stopped there, then we could get off an explore. We had a wonderful day and enjoyed it immensely despite the masses of people and chaos.

We took the train from Civitivecchia into Rome. Yes, it takes time to get to the station, wait for the train, travel the train then switch to the Metro to get to spots around Rome but we budgeted our time carefully and were able to see most of the spots we wanted within the 4 hours that we had in the city....all for the 12 euro price of a BIRG ticket. We watched all of the ship's tours loading at the pier and figured with travel time and loading and unloading, we likely saw more than they were able to as we could move much faster.

It was a real adventure and the train was just part of the experience. Obviously, everyone's preferences are different as a lot of people on our ship purchased a tour at every single stop. We don't like being part of a large group and at the mercy of someone else's schedule as well as the cost of all of the tours. We love doing things as cost effective as possible and getting right into the experience of riding with locals going about their day and have received many lovely tips and tricks from locals. We love what this adds to our travel adventures.

On our recent stop in Livorno, we arranged for a tour through Papillon Tours due to the complexity of trying to get to Cinque Terre by train and the time frame we had to work with. At most of the other stops, we self-toured and used public transport which worked great however, it appears to be easier to get to Cinque Terre when you dock in La Spezia than if you dock in Livorno so we decided to spring for a tour/driver at this stop.

The guide took us to Portovenere and we took the ferry to several of the Cinque Terre towns but she took the van and met us at our last stop in Vernazza and then continued on to Pisa, as we wanted to see the Leaning Tower.

I can't see how the towns would be able to restrict guides from coming in, if someone opted to pay more for a guide to accompany them however, we did not see the need to pay the extra it would cost when we could read our travel guide and find out the basics. We did enjoy not having to worry about directions and getting around as well as the ins-and-outs of finding parking so it was well worth it, from our perspective, to learn about the area as we were driving and fill in the rest from our guide book.

If we had docked in La Spezia, we likely would have tried the train but we had a great experience with our tour and have nothing but good to say about our guide, Giulia.

Our family flew in two days prior to our cruise and rented an apartment not far from Piazzale Roma (the parking lot). On embarkation day, we took the People Mover from the parking lot to the cruise terminal area and walked to the ship with our luggage. We each only had one case and a backpack so it would be a bit tougher if you had a lot of luggage. The People Mover was really convenient and we used it a couple of more times as after we checked on to the ship, we got off again to sightsee for the rest of the day and then followed the same process on our return to the ship that evening.

We loved having the extra time in Venice and found that everything was very walkable...as long as you don't have any mobility issues.

So glad you enjoyed the blog! I kept getting questions from people about what to do on the islands and figured that creating a blog with all of the info was easier than retyping everything each time :)

I was imagining just that when we were walking through the complex. We were chatting with a man who had owned a condo there for many years and I said I could not imagine how fabulous it would be to have access to that beach every day!! He said that it never got old. Thanks for the information and for sharing your expertise with all of us cruisers looking for help :)

Thank you for this. My sister and I will be the same for St. croix, St. Lucia and Antigua. We are glad to see that we made good choices based on your blog. We planned to just stay in the port at St. lucia after reDing your blog it seems that we will have enough to see there. Can you give me a clearer idea of what's in port to see and do. Thank you.

Actually, the only reason we didn't do much on St. Lucia is because we were focused on a very low-key cruise with lots of down time. Since we had been to St. Lucia seven or eight times, we knew most of the best things were an hour's drive to the south and weren't up for the time or money commitment but if you have never been to St. Lucia before, I would really encourage you to take a tour down to Soufriere and the Pitons. It is the most beautiful part of the island and not to be missed. We just stayed around Castries the very first time we were on the island and thought that was all there was to see but we missed all of the beauty that is to be found farther south. If you read my very first post on St. Lucia, it has all sorts of information about what to see and do. We always tour with Herod every time we visit the island and it is a wonderful experience.

If you still want to stay around town, you could catch a cab to a beach or walk/cab over to the markets on the waterfront. One market is a farmer's type market with lots of food and spices and the other is a vendor's market with crafts, clothes, etc. Enjoy your cruise!

Bluewater - is Sapphire still open to walk-ins? We had such a fantastic day on Sapphire Beach in early April. We took the dollar taxi there and caught a cab home with a cabbie named Tim, who had a tour group at the beach. We want to do that again when we stop on St. Thomas but want to make sure that nothing has changed. We knew going there that there were no facilities and limited food options so we made sure we brought our own food. It wouldn't be the spot for families with young ones but it was the perfect spot for my husband and I. An incredibly gorgeous beach and not real crowded even on a day with lots of ships in port.

We really enjoyed our day at Sandcastle in March 2014. I finally got around to blogging about the details of our stop on St. Croix. Most of the cruisers were heading to Rainbow which cemented our decision to go to Sandcastle and we were not disappointed. It was very quiet and not crowded at all, which is what we were looking for. I would definitely recommend it for a quiet and relaxing day with water that is so crystal clear, you can see right to the sand.

When we were preparing for our cruise earlier this year, I searched far and wide for information on what to do on Martinique. We had been there a couple of times before but always just took the ferry over to Pointe-du-Bout and went to the beach. We had a lot of beach stops on our cruise so we were looking for something a bit different this time. There wasn't a whole lot of information on the discussion boards and I see a few others have since added their experiences, which is fantastic! I finally got around to blogging about our cruise in March/April and detailed our day on Martinique. We took an accompanied taxi (4.60 Euros per person each way) up the coast to St. Pierre and spent a few hours wandering the streets and seeing the sights. It was a great adventure and we met several others from our ship who were doing the same thing. When we can all share our experiences then others can also enjoy their time on this beautiful island.

My husband and I have been to Antigua several times. Our favorite beach is Darkwood Beach and we take the local bus to get there as it is so much cheaper than taking a cab - $1.50 per person each way. I finally got around to blogging about our day on Antigua, if you want to check out more details. I agree that there are dangers to be aware of but that is true of every island. Being aware of your surroundings and not wandering into less populated areas of town are all well advised, no matter what island you are visiting. We have walked through St. John's several times on the way to the bus station and have not felt unsafe. We stick to the main streets and get to experience some of the island culture at the same time. I do agree that the vendors in the tourist market can be very aggressive and we don't tend to go there since it is somewhat tiring to keep fending them off.

Another option to consider could be a resort day pass. Jolly Beach Resort, Hawksbill, Grand Pineapple Beach Resort are a few of the spots that offer a day pass.

We have been to Darkwood Beach and it was absolutely beautiful. The beach is a beautiful stretch of soft white sand and the colour of the water is incredibly turquoise!! There were not a lot of people on the beach and there are chairs and umbrellas available for rent. I think at the time it was $5 for a lounge chair and $3 for an umbrella but prices may have changed.

We took the bus since a bit of extra time to save a bunch of money was definitely attractive. They wait until the bus is full before they leave so bring your patience to wait a bit. Some folks on our bus were literally hollering at the driver that they wanted to leave. Things do not move at a North American pace on the islands and you just have to go with the flow. We look at it as all part of the travel experience.

We have done their Eco-Tour twice and have had a great experience both times. We booked directly with them as it was cheaper. We took a boat to Bird Island and did a small hike to the highest point for a great view and then did some snorkeling off a small beach. There was a lot of seaweed until you get out a bit further so not the most awesome snorkel ever but still saw lots of fish and the water was crystal clear. We also walked across to the other side of the island and found a completely private area where there were no people and had a lovely quiet time paddling around in the water. Then we took the boat to another spot where we embarked on the kayak part of the excursion. The guide pointed out some landmarks and famous people's homes and gave educational info about the island's eco-system, mangroves, etc. A fun and yet informative excursion. We would highly recommend them!

I echo the praises of Herod!! We have toured with him five or six times and he gives an outstanding experience with personal service. We have done both group tours and private tours and have nothing but positive things to say about him. He keeps an eye on things at stops and will quietly give you advice if he thinks you may be paying too high of a price to a vendor. The lunch at his Mom & Dad's house was one of the most true and local experiences we have had on a tour. The food was so delicious and there was so much to choose from. Last time, we did a private tour and he took us to Martha's Kitchen for lunch and that was great food as well.

I second the Darkwood Beach recommendation. We also took the bus to Darkwood. Having travelled all over the Caribbean, I have to say that the beach was one of those picture perfect white sand beaches and the colour of the water was incredible. It is a relatively quiet beach and great for swimming.