First Time Cruise - Choosing Excursions on Seabourn Ovation

We are going on our first cruise (with another couple) and choosing excursions is overwhelming. The boat has 600 passengers. How large are the Seabourn excursions? I don't want to be on a bus with 25 people. Seems like another option is in some ports to take a Seabourn arranged private minivan tour that accommodates 4. They are pricey but may be worth it? In some smaller ports it seems we wouldn't need or want any sort of tour. Any advice will be appreciated.

The first thing you need to do is read a guidebook....libraries have them in the reference section, if you don't want to buy one. Most things are fairly easy to do on your own, if you know something about the places you'll visit. Find out what interests you in each port. THEN, you can figure out HOW to do that!

How large each ship's excursion will be will depend on WHAT it is! And, if you decide that a ship's excursion suits you, go to the Seabourn forum and ask those cruisers directly....I'm sure they will have more info than on a general forum.

The more you know about your ports, the better time you will have!

You should join the Roll Call for your cruise. There you can discuss the ports with others sailing with you.

It would help to know your itinerary, but looking at some of the routes she is taking this year, I suggest you invest in a copy of Rick Steves' Northern European Cruise Ports, and Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. Both of these are written specifically for the cruise passenger, telling you what there is to do/see in the port, and how much you can do in the time allowed, and how to do it on your own. He may not cover all of your ports, so you might also look at his city or country specific books, or check out Lonely Planet. And 25 people on a bus is not huge - most lines will have buses for 40 or more.

You might also visit the Seabourn board here, under Cruise Lines P-Z to see what experienced Seabourn passengers say about their tours. EM

As a frequent Seabourn cruiser the advice above is very accurate. 25 people in a bus isn't too bad but is generally something we try to avoid. We usually try to organise our own but not using Seabourn transport but our own.

If you visit the Seabourn board below and list the ports you are visiting or having trouble organising, you may well get some advice about things previous travellers have done.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/forumdisplay.php?f=130

Otherwise as suggested the Europe ports of call section can be very helpful though lots of information to sift through.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/forumdisplay.php?f=19

What works best for me is near the top right hand corner you will see a search forum drop down. If you are logged in and click on this, then type in a port name and search you will get threads about the port. This can help with getting ideas for just walking around the ports, tour operators or transport to use. Best if you actually go into individual sub-headings such as France, Italy etc before doing the search so as to get the more relevant information.

You can try checking for or starting a roll call here

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/forumdisplay.php?f=1085

However I would warn you that as Seabourn ships are smaller there tends not to be not much discussion on most of these roll calls. Though some can have multiple people, so you can always try.

I hope this helps and you have a great cruise.

Julie