Private Drivers & Guides Across The Med. & May 26 Grand Princess Trip Report

Recently back from the May 26 sailing on the Grand Princess where my wife and I (age: mid & upper 30's) used exclusively private drivers and guides found on this board. I could probably write a book about this wonderful 25 day trip/cruise, but I will limit this post to mainly the great experiences we gained from using these seven top notch tour guides and drivers across the Mediterranean, along with a touch of what we saw and did to make it complete.

Rome (Tony, 3 Millennia Tours http://www.threemillennia.com) We spent five days in Rome before flying to Barcelona to catch the cruise. We stayed in a great centrally located hotel next to the Pantheon (Albergo Del Senato), so we did not have a need for a full day tour guide here since most attractions were within easy walking distance. On one day though we did opt to reserve a four hour walking tour with Tony of 3 Millennia Tours. Tony met us at our hotel where we proceeded by taxi to San Clemente church, then walked to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill. Tony is a young man from Philladelphia who visited a friend in Rome several years ago and loved it so much he stayed and started a successful tour service there. Although Tony turned out to be the only non-native we used while in a country, it is very obvious that Tony has an admiration for the city of Rome and has soaked in and retained a great deal of knowledge about the city and it's vast history. We gained so much insight from him in such a short amount of time and he could make the history come to life in these ancient sites which otherwise might appear only as rubble and ruins to someone walking through them. By having five days in Rome we felt like we got to see this city better than any other. Some of the additional sites we visited were: The Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Piazza del Spagna, Trevi Fountain, Vatican museums, St. Peter's Basilica, Galleria Borghese, Catacombs of Saint Sebastino, walk on the Via Appia Antica, Circus Maximus, Palatine Hill, Mamertime Prison, Basillica Pietre (has the chains that bound Peter and Michealangelo's Moses), C'astle d' Anglo (castle with great views of Rome), several other churches and Piazzas of the city and we even found time to watch an evening performance of the opera Madame Butterfly! What a wonderful city Rome is! We felt at complete ease walking the streets, had no problem communicating with the locals and thoroughly enjoyed all the neat outdoor cafes and the hustle and bustle of the city streets.

Barcelona: No need for a tour here, just buy a day pass on the hop on hop off bus (Bus Touristic) which is a great way to see the entire city. Also be sure to walk up and down the long street of La Rambla We spent two days in the city and although we enjoyed seeing the city and sights, this is one place my wife and I both agreed we would not care to return to again. I know this goes against the grain as I have read that so many love it, but it just did not hit our fancy as all the other places on this trip definitely did.

Marseille (Provence Tours http://provencetours.free.fr/) We were very glad to have had Tania of Provence Tours to take us out of the city and into the beautiful country side of the Provence region of France. Tania is a nice young lady who looks identical to the movie actress Kirsten Dunst. It was obvious that she was told this many times before as she quickly said her name before I had the chance to finish my sentence. Tania knew a lot about the famous artists that lived and painted within this region of France and took us to several of these interesting sites. She also took us to three very different towns that were all charming and unique. Our favorite was Les Baux de Provence, which is an ancient town built way up on the top of a rocky cliff. The whole town had neat little shops and cafes amongst it's windy streets, with breathtaking views down the rocky valleys below. We also visited the towns of Arles, Aix en Provence and stopped at a family owned business that grows olives and makes olive oil. We got to tour their small plant and taste some of their products which are exported around the world. Fantastic. Tania was very friendly and helpful and drives a newer model air conditioned Peuguet van with plenty of room.

Florence (Roberto) Roberto is Alessandro's friend (see next paragraph) whom he uses to do a lot of his tours in Florence. Roberto met us at our ship in Livorno and first took us to Pisa to see the tower where he waited on us to return. We stayed about 45 minutes before carrying on to Florence. We knew before hand that Roberto was fairly new to driving clients, so it really surprised us when we found out how much he really knew about the long history of Florence and it's many works of art. Apparently he is a lover of history and art and is now able to share it with the people he drives. We walked all over the city of Florence and had learned much more than we are now able to remember! Roberto is a very nice man and tries his best to please. He also took us to one of his favorite lunch spots in Florence where the locals mingle and eat. We enjoyed this very much and got to try some of the local favorites of Florence. We highly recommend Roberto for an excellent tour at a good value.

Tuscan Country Side (Alessandro alecamma@hotmail.com) We did something out of the ordinary on this day. We stayed the night before in Florence instead of returning to the ship which sailed on to Civitavecchia without us. Since we had a five day stay in Rome pre-cruise, we opted to skip the port of Civitavecchia (stop for Rome) and instead have Alessandro pick us up from our hotel in Florence to take us on a 3 1/2 hour drive down to meet our ship that evening. This gave us a bonus trip of getting to tour by car, the beautiful Tuscan country side. Alessandro is very professional and seems to know just what his customers are looking for. We started the day by going to Michaelangelo Park which is high above Florence and gives stunning views of the city, bridges and river below. The next stop was unexpected. An American WWII military cemetary and memorial which we did not know existed in this area. The grounds were meticulously kept with scores of American soldier's layed to rest with American and Italian flags on either side of each grave marker. Our tour guide seemed very touched by this stop and expressed gratitude for the American's who helped liberate the Italian people in this war. We then meandered through the winding country roads up into the heart of the Tuscan country side stopping at a magnificent castle on top of the mountain. The castle's name is Castello Vicchiomaggio which has now been turned into an exclusive hotel. The views from this castle were breathtaking! Next stop was the quaint town of Panzano where we stopped for coffee and walked through a typical Italian butcher shop with it's own cheese cellar, quite an aromatic experience! The next experience, a family owned winery (four generations) where we got to tour the facility and taste different aged wines. The name is Fattoria Di Montagliari and they produce Chianti Classico Reserva authenticated by the black rooster on the label. Lunch in the town of San Gimignano, which is a charming hillside town known for the twelve towers left from the original forty. Short stop at Siena for a quick view of the square where the famous Palio is held, before ending our tour later at the Grand Princess. Just a note, Alessandro said he can do this Florence to Siena tour in one days time for parties that have already toured Florence or who opt for the country side instead. Our two cents is that Florence to Siena is the way to go on such an otherwise city intensive cruise.

Amalfi coast (Sorrento Limo - http://www.sorrentolimo.com) On this day we had Gennaro Ruocco, owner of the company, take us, and a great couple from Hawaii that we met here on cruise critic, on a day long tour of this beautiful area of Italy. We felt very comfortable and relaxed having Gennaro as our driver on these tight and windy mountain-side roads. He has had many years of experience driving these roads and actually used to drive large tour buses all over them (you will see just how difficult this can be once you get there!). Gennaro picked us up in a very roomy van with plenty of windows to look out of on this scenic drive. Gennaro is a very friendly sort and provides a lot of information along the drive but doesn't overload you. We covered a great deal of territory this day by leaving the ship in Naples, and starting in the Amalfi coast town of Sorrento and ending in Ravello for lunch. From what I understand the tour buses usually end in the town before Ravello, which is Amalfi, and they do a back track returning to the ship or Pompeii. What's nice about having a private driver here is that we also got to see the beautiful town of Ravello and then cross over the mountain top (instead of back tracking) and work our way down to Pompeii. This was a very scenic drive and when we crossed over the mountain we were met with a beautiful vista of the huge sprawling city of Naples below with Mount Vesuvius in the distance! Gennaro then dropped us off at Pompeii where we had two hours to spend exploring the ruins. Although we got to see everything we wanted to in the day, one really needs much more time on the Amalfi coast to absorb it all in. Not wanting to miss Pompeii means that very little time will be spent in the small towns along the way, with the drive and traffic congestion taking up the biggest portion of the trip.

Mykonos: Don't need a paid tour here. After departing the ship, we (along with hundreds of others from the ship) purchased two way bus transports to and from the town. One could walk, but it looked to take longer than it was worth. We wore our bathing suits underneath our clothing hoping to find a nice sandy beach to relax on, but once we arrived at this unique town with white washed buildings and wind mills, all we wanted to do was roam the windy streets, take in the atmosphere and shop. This would have been the perfect place to rent a moped and explore, and we tried (only 8 euros for the day!) but they required a driving license which we had both left on the ship!

Istanbul, Turkey (Levent http://www.leventsolmaz.com) In Istanbul we met the best tour guide of our entire trip! Levent is a native of Turkey but has spent some time in England and also studied in the US. He has been a tour guide in Turkey for 18 years now, and his knowledge of Turkey and it's history is impeccable. He mainly tours Americans in his country and had just taken a group of Americans on a twenty day tour all over Turkey before we arrived. In Istanbul we only needed a cab to one part of the city since everything we wanted to see was in easy walking distance from that point. Levent met us at the cruise terminal where we walked a short distance past the cabs lined up and out of the cruise terminal onto the street where he hailed a taxi. He told us that the taxis waiting for tourists at the terminal would have charged us $20 versus the normal fare of $6! This is just one instance where he was very thoughtful and looked out on our behalf along the way. He is a cat lover and said he donates some of the money he makes from his tours to charities that look after the well being of cats. I thought his prices were the most reasonable of all the tour guides in the Med, so please give him a good tip if you use him. We both thought Istanbul was the most exotic city of our entire cruise. We were amazed at all the sites we saw in one day including the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Saint Sophia, Topkapi Palace, The Cistern and The Grand Bazaar. We saw, learned, and got to fit in so much more having a knowledgeable guide like Levent take us around. Later we had heard horror stories from the ship about how two ladies had their pocket books stolen. Also an Austrialian couple told us the story of having been led up the stairs towards an apartment thinking they were being guided into a business to buy a carpet, only to find two other men following them up the stairs in which they felt fearful and dashed out past them! I also heard that several people from our ship felt uncomfortable with the vendors harassing them to buy their goods by touching or grabbing them. We never saw or experienced any these problems along the way and felt very comfortable with everyone we met in Turkey.

Kusadasi/Ephesus (Levent http://www.leventsolmaz.com) While we were sleeping on the ship sailing towards our next day destination of Kusadasi, Levent was flying to meet us there when we arrived! I never have figured out why, or how he could afford to do this for us, but we were grateful to have him for another day's journey. This time he and his driver/associate met us at the port in a modern van. We went for a fairly long drive up into the mountains to see the Mary's home. Afterwards we spent a few hours walking the ruins of Ephesus which we felt were even more amazing than Pompeii. On the way back to the ship we stopped at one of the family run carpet making facilities out in the country. We watched as several girls wove capets on their looms and the manager gave us a demonstration of how the silk is extracted from the silk worm's cocoon. We were then taken into the showroom, provided Turkish coffee and Cokes and were "dazzled" by the colorful display of carpets that they were trying to sell. I ended up buying a "flying carpet" since I did what the salesman suggested by paying for it and waiting for it to fly home to us! These guys are good, if they can sell someone who lives in a log cabin in the hills of Tennessee a Turkish rug that looks like it belongs in the Taj Mahal, then they can sell one to you also! Word of advice.. their first price is by far not their best price as they suggest, there is plenty of room for bargaining.

Athens (Spiros/Demetrius http://*****) On a negative note, I have to say that Spiros was the only driver of the seven which did not honor his obligation and promise to personally drive us on this tour. I would not make an issue of this had I not read previous occurrences of this happening before our trip from other cruise critic members. I also heard he was a good guide so I made sure this would not happen to us by emailing him on three different occasions (beginning, middle and a couple of days before we flew out) to make sure that he would personally be there for us. He assured me each and every time that he would be there. When we arrived we were met by his "# 1 driver Demetrius!" Demetrius turned a negative situation into a positive one for us with his charm, friendliness and professionalism. We felt like Spiros had done a favor for us by sending him for the day. Our day began early in the morning at The Parthenon, which was not near as crowded as when we had started to leave. He then took us on a drive of the city and up a large hill with a stop at an overlook which had the entire city of Athens and The Parthenon below us to view, what a vantage point! We then went back into the city stopping for awhile at the ruins of the Temple of Zeus. One of the most enjoyable parts of the day and trip was the drive along Cape Sounion to the Temple of Poseidon. This was a coast line drive in Greece along the so called "Greek Riviera" where we got to see multi million dollar yachts docked in the beautiful green/blue waters of the Aegean Sea. Demetrius stopped for lunch along the way at a marvelous restaurant where we sat overlooking the sea below while we ate local cuisine. This drive was a great surprise to us as none of us was expecting such amazing scenery along this coast line, and also from the cliff top where The Temple of Poseidon is located.

Venice: No need for a guided tour here, just good legs. We spent four days in this city which turned out to be one of our top three favorite places of the trip. We walked and got lost as everyone else had suggested and had a terrific time finding neat shops and restaurants along the way. We also bought a three day Vaporetto pass and took advantage of riding all the different routes that surround the islands. We splurged and did a 45 minute gondola ride for 70 euro before the evening rush, which was very memorable and relaxing. We were also glad we made advance reservations before our trip for the Doges secret palace tour, as this was a very fascinating place to visit. Be sure to buy a pack of bird seed from a vendor in St. Marks Square and feed the pigeons as they make great photo shots with them situated all over your arms, shoulders and head! Venice was the perfect relaxing end to such a busy and exciting trip.

I can't emphasize enough just how much more we gained from our trip by using local tour guides and drivers in these countries. Not only did we get the advantage of seeing and doing more things with our time than those on ship tours, but we got to talk to these people along the way and find out about their everyday lives, social conditions and country first hand which was fascinating in itself. It is true that if you approach them with a sincere friendly attitude they will mirror the way they are treated and respond in kind. By us taking the time to learn a few words of their language and to be interested in their countries and their lives, they opened up to us and became more like friends who were proud to share their country with us.

Have a wonderful trip.

Ron

Ron, thanks for the great review. Would you mind giving me a ballpark figure of what the private tours cost in Athens and Ephesus? There will be four of us so I am trying to figure out how it will compare to ship tours. We are traveling with our two daughters so I think a private tour would be a better option for us. Thank-you.

Awesome review. Thank you so much.

May I ask what your opinion would be in my situation (private vs. ship tours). My DH and I will be in the Med next Sept for our 25th. Is it cost prohibitive to hire a private tour for just the two of us? Is it even possible? Its not that I would have a problem joining in with others, but just want to consider all of my options, if it turns out that my sailing is not popular with other CC members, and I can't find anyone to go!

Thanks again for your review. I very much enjoyed it.

MLAW, In Athens we paid a total of 230 Euro (+ tip) split between us and another couple. In Ephesus the price was in US dollars and Levent charged the two of us less than $100 for his services for the day. You should contact each guide though to make sure the rates are still the same.

High C's, We only shared two of our seven tours and still felt that we were getting a better deal overall even with the two of us. As you can see above, some of the prices are reasonable, while others like the Amalfi coast can run over 400 euros for the day! Places like this is where is pays to split the tour with other couples.

On our Alaska cruise we mainly did all ship's tours which worked out well and was enjoyable. When we did the Baltics/Northern Europe cruise a couple of years ago we managed most of the ports on our own except for Russia. For the Med. we felt we made the best decision in spending for the private tours since the attractions and cities were further apart from the ports where the ship docked. Plus there is so much more to see and take in as far as history goes in the Med., so we were glad to have a local explain it all to us and not have to worry about the logistics of train schedules on our own or be held up by the crowds on the ship's tour.

cruise4food: Wonderful review! Thanks for the great recs as I had not heard of Levent before. We are considering Alessandro, but he told me he could only take 4 people, but we have 6. I asked him about Roberto, but would also mind giving me Roberto's contact info if you have it.

We are on the Grand Princess doing the Grand Med too, but from Venice to Barcelona. Could you share with me your impressions of the ship (and the food!) and any helpful advise. Did you do personal choice dining or traditional?

Thanks for much!

Kare8ear, Sorry, I don't have Roberto's contact information as I went through Alessandro to book him. I'm sure he would not mind booking him for you since they are friends and help each other with tours.

I wish you hadn't asked about the food, since we were hoping for better. I think the problem being is that we were spoiled on Oceania's food which was the best we had ever tasted on a ship. I'm not saying Princess is bad, but it really didn't taste any better than Carnivals to us. They did have a wide variety of food though so it was hit and miss. We did resent the fact that they had the "better" food/restaurants on board at a high surcharge, so we didn't patronize this gouging concept. We chose the anytime dining option and liked the fact of getting to eat whenever we wanted to.

The ship is great (although starting to show a bit of wear here and there) and we wish we had more time to spend on it to enjoy, but with such a port intensive cruise your constantly on the go. You will love the cruise!

cruise4food: Your response about the food is what I have heard from everyone else.

Re: anytime dining...we currently have traditional, do we just give them a day's notice that we would like anytime for the next day?

Ephesus...we are considering doing on our own. Do you think that is possible?

Thanks so much for your insight!

It would be better to change from traditional to anytime dining before you leave for the trip, especially if you have it in mind to do so anyway.

The cruise port of Kusadasi was quite a drive away from Ephesus, and the ancient town of Ephesus was in a pretty isolated place, so I don't know how you would do this one on your own. I didn't hear of anyone from the ship doing so. The ones that didn't take a tour stayed in the port town of Kusadasi and shopped.

to HI C

You may find closer to the time that you will find tours to join. Having been on the boards since January re my September 05 cruise and for months there was only 4 others on our cruise but in the last few weeks more members have joined and people are starting to join others for trips. Also if there are any particular ones you are interested in, it is worth checking with the company if they can let you know if anyone is looking for people to join them. Some private tours for 2 may still be cheaper than the cruise trips for one.

Owenette (waterdown, ontario canada)

Thank you Owenette (or should I say "neighbour"!!). I'll do that. Sometimes I get caught up in all the info, that I forget I still have so much time left to wait!! Have fun this Sept!