Any cheaper tour companies on the shore ports?

[toystar88]

Hello all,

 

I'm very new to all this. I was wondering if there are any cheaper alternatives for booking tours in Italy's port such as Citavechhia (spelling?), La Spezia, and Naples?

 

I have looked at booking with Disney Cruise Line and have found the tour prices to be outrageous. Also, booking with other tour company seems pretty expensive too.

 

I was wondering if there is anyone that have gone on the Mediterranean cruise and have seen cheaper tour companies that are waiting by the shore ports soliciting for your business.

 

Thank you so much in advance.

 

Tommy

[-Lew-]

Hi Tommy,

 

Welcome to CC.

 

There is a full range of pricing for private tours in Europe. However, i would caution you to not make price a major criteria. Cruisers do choose to take a private tour to save on cost vs. excursions your cruise line offers; however, other major considerations are being able to customize your tour, select your tour mates, travel with a much smaller group, begin and end your tour when you wish, etc.

 

Read past posts on this board as well as other boards for other ports of call on your itinerary to learn of tour operators others have used. You'll see good and bad comments that will help you formulate a plan.

 

You should also join the Roll Call for your cruise. You’ll find other cruisers there who will be on your cruise and perhaps be able to join a tour someone is forming.

 

To find the Roll Call for your cruise start here. Scroll down until you find your cruise line; then click on the name of your ship. Click on the date your cruise embarks on the next screen.

 

Since you have not yet booked your cruise and you mention that cost is a concern, I suggest you look beyond DCL. Don't get me wrong, Disney does a great job, but when cruising the Med it's the itinerary that makes the difference, not so much the ship or cruise line. As long as you stick with a major line such as Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity, etc. you won't go wrong.

 

Med cruises are quite port intensive...you'll be off the ship from early morning until late afternoon almost everyday. Unlike a typical caribbean cruise, you will not be enjoying many of the amenities the ship has to offer.

 

Enjoy planning your cruise...

 

Lew

[CathyCruises]

I haven't checked the other lines, but Celebrity has sone VERY good cruise fares to the Med. We had a balcony cabin for 14 days for $1599/pp.

 

Cathy

[toystar88]

Thank you guys for the reply, however I've already booked with Disney Cruise Line 6 months ago. The deals you guys mentioned is definitely worth looking into for next year.

 

Besides booking with cruise line and private tour operators, I was wondering if there were other cheaper land excursions at the Ports of Civitavecchia, Naples, and La Spezia?

 

Did you guys remember if there were solicitors at the shore ports offering excursions at a cheaper price?

 

Thank you so much.

 

Tommy

[SuiteTraveler]

Go to your ship's roll call - you should be able to meet others who want to setup private tours there. Yes, you can save a lot of money doing this! Last year we used ThroughEternity.com in Rome - we just took the train into Rome and Janet, our tour guide met us at the station and did a great job of maximizing our time there.

[texancruzer]

Thank you guys for the reply, however I've already booked with Disney Cruise Line 6 months ago. The deals you guys mentioned is definitely worth looking into for next year.

 

Besides booking with cruise line and private tour operators, I was wondering if there were other cheaper land excursions at the Ports of Civitavecchia, Naples, and La Spezia?

 

Did you guys remember if there were solicitors at the shore ports offering excursions at a cheaper price?

 

Thank you so much.

 

Tommy

 

Med cruises are a real different animal than Caribbean or other cruises. Many of the sightseeing areas are such a distance from the port - unlike on a Caribbean island, that just the logistics of getting from A to B is a chore. Many people do alot of ports DIY (on your own) using public transportation such as trains, metros or trams...... and this can be a really cheaper way to go. However you must REALLY do your homework and be prepared to go to Plan B (always have a Plan B) if there is a strike or other problems.

 

Not sure what you are looking for since an excursion/tour will either be a ship tour or a private tour. Unless you mean a taxi that will take you around. Remember this will not be a tour tho...... some of the taxi drivers in Italy do not speak much English. Some ports you can do this...... and perhaps at a lesser price than a private/ship tour. But you may get lucky and get a good driver and you may not. It will be a big gamble.

 

But to answer your question: No, you will not find tour companies with a booth at the port entrance in Civi or Naples offering tours. Not sure about Le Spezia (havent been there - yet ;)) Again, the best way to ensure a quality product and save big bucks is to join your roll call and "share a private organized pre-booked tour"

 

Also, Europe is expensive. Not just the tours but unless you again do your homework - meals can be as well as just buying a bottle of water :eek:

Keep reading these threads....... you will learn ALOT !

[-Lew-]

 

I have looked at booking with Disney Cruise Line and have found the tour prices to be outrageous.

 

 

Thank you guys for the reply, however I've already booked with Disney Cruise Line 6 months ago.

Your first post gives the impression that you have not yet booked, but are considering booking DCL. Forgive me if I misinterpreted.

 

You may find taxi drivers at the port who are willing to take you for a ride, but they may or may not be good tour guides.

 

In Civitavecchia your best bet is to take the train to Rome. When you leave the port area, walk to the right with the water on your right, to the train station. Buy a BIRG ticket (at last report it was €9,00). With the BIRG you will get train transportation to and from Rome and Metro and bus transportation for one day around the city.

 

La Spezia is very close to Cinque Terre and is quick and easy to get to by train.

 

In Naples you can catch a hydrofoil to Capri or Sorrento very close to where the ship docks. Either can be done in a day on your own.

 

I suggest you search or scan this board for extensive information to help you prepare for your ports of call.

 

Lew

[anniversay/grad trip]

Having done several Carribean cruises in the past, I asked the very same questions once I started researching for our Med cruise last summer. I cannot emphisize enough that a Med cruise is very very different than a Carribean one. For a truly exceptional Med cruise HOMEWORK is the key. Read everything and anything you can get your hands on with regard to each port of call. I actually get a binder put together and start sifting through everything once I start to narrow down what our main interests are. It is very time consuming, but so worth the effort. I found you can pay as much as around 500 euros for a private tour guide in places like Rome and as little for a private guide as 120 euros (for 2) in Turkey.

We have recently booked another Med cruise for this summer, and the process started all over again. But , for me planning was half the fun.

We are going on as 12 day Med cruise out of Barcelona visiting:

 

Monte Carlo/Monaco (Nice)

Florence/Pisa

Rome

Turkey

Mykanos

Sicily

Naples

Athens

 

and back to Barcelona...

 

I have booked 3 private tours, transfers, and 5 DIY ports and our budget including 15% tips if warranted, is 1200euros per couple (there are 2 couples) I have tried to factor in taxi fares, tips, and sundries. But, this does not include meals or entrance fees.

 

Everyones interests are different and there are literally hundreds of tour companies to chose from. I have found that you can sometimes book half day tours and add an hour for a 5 hour tour and it works out a little cheaper. I like to explore the port town upon return from half day tours, but as I said interests vary.

 

Good luck in whatever you plan....and feel free to ask any questions about planning...these boards are a huge source of knowledge.

[CathyCruises]

There is NOTHING in La Spezia, tour-wise. We tendered in to a little tiny building along a promenade. BUT you can walk about 10 blocks to the train station and catch the train to Cinque Terre, the first stop of which is about a 5 minute train ride!

 

A very inexpensive and most beautiful spot! Search these boards and you will get TONS of info!

 

If you are looking to save money, definitely the boards are a great resource in telling you exactly how to get places using public transportation. The train ticket r/t from Civitavecchia to Rome is just 9 euros and gives you use of buses and the metro in Rome--can't get much cheaper than that!

 

Cathy

[D4]

We were in Naples in November and there were lots of taxi drivers at the port looking for customers.

 

DH has difficulty walking a lot so we only planned private tours for some of the ports. We left other days unplanned so we could decide what to do based on how he was feeling.

 

Be aware that even if drivers are available at the port, you may not save any money using them. We hired a taxi at the Athens port for a private tour. The driver was excellent and spoke English well. We paid more than we would have with a ship's tour or sharing a private tour with others, but we got a tour that was customized to our desires and limitations.

[BRACEWELL]

I don't know if you are traveling with children but we have used trains successfully at Civitavecchia & Naples with our two young children in tow.

As a previous poster has said Civitavecchia to Rome is easy by train and cheap at 9 euros for the BIRG ticket. You do however need to do lots of prep and research to maximise your time and you really need to prioritize what you want to see. From Naples we have done Pompeii and Herculaneum by train. It is a not too pleasant half hour walk from the port to the napoli circumvesuviana station there are lots of taxis at the port but many taxi drivers are not keen on this sort fare (in 2008 we were charge 10 Euro). With the use of a good guide book were found both the ancient sites of great interest and you can hire an official guide on entry if required which is much better than straining to hear the guide with 40 others on a ships tour. Coming from the UK with Stirling weak we also find the euro zone expensive and if you are looking to save costs the use of trains/public transport is an effective way of doing so.

 

Regards,

 

Adrian.

[T.O. Tony]

I had the same question before our 2009 cruise. I found RomeInLimo. Their prices seemed to be the lowest I saw, so I took a chance. Boy, were we delighted.

 

If you're not already with a group of 6 or 7, try to arrange one. It seems that all the private tours accomodate up to 7 very, very well. (I believe the laws for Rome - and possibly all of Italy - limit the size of vehicles that can drop their passengers off anywhere near the attraction they're going to.) When you look for prices, you'll see that the cost is pretty much a flat cost for a group of 2 - 4 with a bump to have a group of 5 - 7. The extra cost for the 3rd or 4th passenger isn't very much, nor is the cost for the 6th or 7th.

 

It believe that the cancellation time is a week or less from the time of your scheduled excursion, so you might think about arranging a 7 passenger van way in advance. Then get together with the others you meet on the ship so you can travel together on the excursions and save a whole lot of Euros. If not, cancel and go with the cruise line. [Oh, no. Did I say that? I never did find anyone that I talked to who actually enjoyed the shore excursions through the cruise line. So maybe you had better book a tour for just those who you're travelling with, just to make sure you don't mess up.]

 

 

I google for: " "shore excursions" and "Citivecchia" " :)and found several operators. RomeInLimo seemed too good to be true. We were delighted with them.

[chipmaster]

IMHO if you haven't booked consider why you book a specific cruise/line. I think Europe is all about the ports and less the ships. You just spend so much time in port and every line's port/time/price are just different enough that you are trading off lots of things. I know as much as I wanted to go Disney a few years ago I'm glad I didn't as their port line up was simply not that great. Cruise or ports, ports or cruise, glad I finally decide on ports over cruise, but that was me.

 

As to tours, do make sure to invest / allocate the right amount of money here. They make or break the experience as does the ports you have. Don't over spend on the ship and not have enough for ports/tours!

 

I think Private tours is the way to go. For Italy RomeinLimo is my recommendation (There is a huge thread here on them. We used them in all three ports, two cars in each, great great great), they were great for us!. It ain't cheap but its a private car/van and custom tour for a party from 4-7 people. Get a full car and you'll have a great customized tour for cheaper then the big bus affairs from the cruise lines. I'm sure Disney is even more expensive then what Princess charged.

 

Good luck planning

 

Hello all,

 

I'm very new to all this. I was wondering if there are any cheaper alternatives for booking tours in Italy's port such as Citavechhia (spelling?), La Spezia, and Naples?

 

I have looked at booking with Disney Cruise Line and have found the tour prices to be outrageous. Also, booking with other tour company seems pretty expensive too.

 

I was wondering if there is anyone that have gone on the Mediterranean cruise and have seen cheaper tour companies that are waiting by the shore ports soliciting for your business.

 

Thank you so much in advance.

 

Tommy