Shore Excursions

[epc3099]

Could anybody recommend a company that provides shore excursions but that is not private tours? I just want to book some excursions for our upcoming cruise to the Western Editteranean and all I find are private tours. I know that there s the option of sharing a private tour but I am a bit unconfortable to depend on getting a group togeher and knowing that if anybody cancels the price for the remaining group wil go up. Thanks in advance for your advice!

[cberge]

Could anybody recommend a company that provides shore excursions but that is not private tours? I just want to book some excursions for our upcoming cruise to the Western Editteranean and all I find are private tours. I know that there s the option of sharing a private tour but I am a bit unconfortable to depend on getting a group togeher and knowing that if anybody cancels the price for the remaining group wil go up. Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

If I were you I would Google the ports you will be in and then see if they have any tours like a GrayLine Tour or somesort of a bus tour that you could take.If you do not want a ships tpur or private tour than I see this as your option.There is always the HOHO bus as well.

[cruisemom42]

Could anybody recommend a company that provides shore excursions but that is not private tours? I just want to book some excursions for our upcoming cruise to the Western Editteranean and all I find are private tours. I know that there s the option of sharing a private tour but I am a bit unconfortable to depend on getting a group togeher and knowing that if anybody cancels the price for the remaining group wil go up. Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

What ports are you visiting? Keep in mind that several of the "destinations" in Italy are at quite a distance from the port. Rome is an hour away, Florence is 90 minutes. If you plan to book excursions rather than private tours or ship tours, you'll need to navigate public transportation in order to get to the city and meet your tour.

 

Or if you want to hire a taxi to get you there and back, it will cost quite a bit...nearly as much as a private tour.

Edited April 7, 2014 by cruisemom42

[CruiserBruce]

As with others, not sure what ports you are referring to. Rome in Limo has a tour sharing feature on their website. Rome in Limo serves Naples, Florence, Naples and Sicily. Good chance you are stopping at least one of those ports. Some reading on the huge Rome in Limo thread (because they are an excellent operation) will give you more info.

[cinnamon]

Have you checked Cruising Excursions dot com?

 

 

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[epc3099]

Thanks a lot for all your responses! WE are in the Western Mediterranean itinerary: Livorno, Monte Carlo, Toulon, Valencia, Barcelona, Palermo, Naples, ,etc.

 

I possible, we would like to stay away from companies such as Rome In Limo. I know they have excellent reviews but I am a little uncertain on how the toour sharing works. Especially what happens if some people cancel at the last minute.

 

I did look into cruising excursions.com price and itinerary wise it looks very appealing. However the reviews I found are all over the place. But this is the type of company I would like to find more of for this cruise. Where they take care of forming the groups and all I am responsible for is paying for DH and myself.

 

Thanks!

[Hlitner]

It sound like you want a cruise excursion without the cruise line :). The problem is that many local tours (like Grey Lines) are not designed for cruise ship visitors and their timing does not often work with port days. And you have some ports like Livorno, Toulon and Naples where your destination will probably be quite a distance from the port. For example, a majority of first time visitors to Livorno will go to Florence...which is more then an hour away from the port.

 

There are also numerous options for many of your ports and you cannot "do it all" on any tour. So you first need to do some homework and focus on what you want to see and do in each port. Then you can try and determine how to best accomplish your goals whether it be with a cruise line excursion, private tour, or on your own.

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

Thanks a lot for all your responses! WE are in the Western Mediterranean itinerary: Livorno, Monte Carlo, Toulon, Valencia, Barcelona, Palermo, Naples, ,etc.

 

I possible, we would like to stay away from companies such as Rome In Limo. I know they have excellent reviews but I am a little uncertain on how the toour sharing works. Especially what happens if some people cancel at the last minute.

 

I did look into cruising excursions.com price and itinerary wise it looks very appealing. However the reviews I found are all over the place. But this is the type of company I would like to find more of for this cruise. Where they take care of forming the groups and all I am responsible for is paying for DH and myself.

 

Thanks!

 

You sound unusually concerned about the cost angle. Yes, it's a slight risk. But having arranged several private tours and spoken with folks who've arranged many more, it's not that common to have a cancellation/no show at the last minute. If you have a tour of 8 people, and 2 don't show up, the cost for 6 is probably still less (for a better experience) than the ship tour. (Besides, if someone doesn't show up last minute, to my mind they are still obligated to pay their share.)

 

If you want a RomeInLimo type private driver without the risk associated with arranging a private tour, your choices are going to be few. It's just not done that way in most Med ports. The business model is that YOU arrange for a vehicle and driver (and sometimes guide) at a set cost, and it's up to you to divide that cost among 2 or 6 or 10 or whatever.

 

Your most common options at most ports:

1. Take a ship tour (little risk, no chance of personalizing tour, speed of tour determined by slowest person, no control over length of stops or late persons, can be expensive)
   
2. Figure out how to see the sights on your own (public transportation, with a fair amount of walking or rent a car, cheap but requires detailed planning and good organizational/navigational skills)
   
3. Look for HOHO buses in some cities (not great with limited time on a port day, if you plan to get off and get on at several stops, you'll spend a lot of time waiting for the next bus)
   
4. Take a private tour with set cost per vehicle (usually a better experience overall but with a few associated risks, as you already know)
   

Edited April 9, 2014 by cruisemom42

[flarad]

We have used shore trips in the past in the Caribbean but not I the med. We are doing the west med route in June and I am booking them again. I also saw a company called viator. We have never used them but they have some interesting selections.

 

 

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[General Max]

We have used shore trips in the past in the Caribbean but not I the med. We are doing the west med route in June and I am booking them again. I also saw a company called viator. We have never used them but they have some interesting selections.

 

 

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We have used Viator on two tours in Buenos Aires. They will no disapoint.

[cruisemom42]

We have used shore trips in the past in the Caribbean but not I the med. We are doing the west med route in June and I am booking them again. I also saw a company called viator. We have never used them but they have some interesting selections.

 

 

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Viator is only a clearinghouse of services, they do not actually provide the tours -- they just arrange with local providers. Thus, the tour will only be as good as the local provider.

 

I prefer to book direct with the local provider. Although Viator doesn't usually cost more, you don't always have the ability to know who the tour provider is (so you can read independent reviews) and you can't always ask specific questions about the tour.

 

My experiences using Viator have been a mixed bag, but the tours I've taken with them in Europe have been rather unsatisfactory. One was cancelled without advance notification (in Rome). Two others (Rome and Lisbon) involved a group that contained two or three different languages, so that the guide had to repeat everything multiple times. And on one occasion the tour provider skipped one of the 4 scheduled stops with no explanation (Lisbon).

[epc3099]

Thank you so much for all your comments. Net, it will not be an easy planning, but I will sure enjoy it!!! :)

[euro cruiser]

If you are willing to attempt some ports on your own, we can help you figure that out.

[Lilystar]

For my upcoming Western Med cruise, I too, kept finding the private tours and wasn't interested. Then I got reading other's trip reports from using various tour companies like romeinlimo and smartcruisetours etc... and they are setup so that you can share tours without even having to ask others for their credit cards. You have to be the one to set it up so to speak, but then other cruisers just go in and put in all the information and choose the tour you set up. That sounded like a great idea to me. Plus you get the opportunity to travel with a small group of people. In some port's cities, this is particularly helpful since large tour buses can't get as close. If doing stuff on your own sounds intimidating (like it does to me), I think this is the next best thing. I wouldn't want the responsibility of taking a train into a foreign city on my own and making sure that I get back to the ship on time. Maybe when I'm more familiar with Europe that would be ok, but certainly not on my first trip.

[Hlitner]

I want to add some fuel to Euro Cruiser's fire :). For those that just have to go on tours everywhere, there are many options (cruise line and private) in most European ports. But for those who are willing to do a little "homework" and would rather save some money and do things on their own, there are quite a few here on CC (including Euro Cruiser and moi) who are willing to spend our time answering detailed questions and helping anyone who seeks advice. Much of Europe is very tourist-friendly and there are plenty of options using your feet, public transit, trains, rental cars, boats, etc.

 

For those that wonder, "why would anyone want to do their own thing?" we would offer this answer. Some folks do not want to be part of a large (or even small) group and do group things. In our case, we simply love to do what we want, when we want, with ourselves. If we want to enjoy a 2 hour lunch in Florence, we will do it! If we go to Pompeii and decide we want to spend an extra hour, we do it! When we want to go to the various D-Day beaches we simply rent a car and do it!

 

We do not mean to persuade those folks that love excursions, but rather to tell those that want to do things that there is help here on CC. There are also some excellent do it yourself (DIY) books from Rick Steves which have become very popular with DIYers.

 

Hank

[Silver Foxes]

We would like to do a private tour of Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii in one day. Has anyone ever done this tour? What would you recommend? I really want to see Capri and Sorrento and Pompeii are the icing on the cake. Is this too much to do in one day?

Thanks, Nancy from California

[JerseyJaguar]

In our case, we simply love to do what we want, when we want, with ourselves.

This is important to me too. For example, Naples-- Pompeii is the big thing for me there, but I might get tired of it after a while and want to go to Sorrento, or I might want to spend the whole day there, or just head back for some Naples walking around after. As long as I know when the trains are running and when the ship is leaving, I'm good.

[samavarcruiser]

RomeInLimo has a sharing site, check it out

https://www.romeinlimotoursharing.com/

Have fun planing:)

[Hlitner]

This is important to me too. For example, Naples-- Pompeii is the big thing for me there, but I might get tired of it after a while and want to go to Sorrento, or I might want to spend the whole day there, or just head back for some Naples walking around after. As long as I know when the trains are running and when the ship is leaving, I'm good.

 

In your situation it is even better then "good" since you do not have to concern yourself with the train schedule. Trains on that line run twice an hour all day long and require no reservations. You just head to the train station on jump on the next Circumvesuviana Line train (on the Naples - Sorrento route). And there is even another option (used by some) which is to take the regional bus from near the port to Pompeii. Eurocruiser routinely posts directions on getting to the bus or you can find the info using the CC Search.

 

Hank

Edited April 25, 2014 by Hlitner

[dmc511]

We have used shore trips in the past in the Caribbean but not I the med. We are doing the west med route in June and I am booking them again. I also saw a company called viator. We have never used them but they have some interesting selections.

 

I have used Viator many times. They are equivalent of any big bus tour. I prefer private tours, but think Viator is just a step below Princess tours in quality.

 

 

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[scfc60]

Thanks a lot for all your responses! WE are in the Western Mediterranean itinerary: Livorno, Monte Carlo, Toulon, Valencia, Barcelona, Palermo, Naples, ,etc.

 

I possible, we would like to stay away from companies such as Rome In Limo. I know they have excellent reviews but I am a little uncertain on how the toour sharing works. Especially what happens if some people cancel at the last minute.

 

I did look into cruising excursions.com price and itinerary wise it looks very appealing. However the reviews I found are all over the place. But this is the type of company I would like to find more of for this cruise. Where they take care of forming the groups and all I am responsible for is paying for DH and myself.

Thanks!

We booked 2 trips with Cruising Excursions last year on a similar itinerary, and we were really pleased with them. Going again this year around the med and have just booked all the full day trips we are going to do, with them. It really is a personal thing, as to wether you book with the ships excursions or book private trips. Having done both we much prefer a private trip.

[Larainerenee]

We used shareashoreexcusrioninitaly.com in Florence and Sorrento - the driver/guides were wonderful.. We connected beforehand on our cruise roll call board and saved a lot of $$. They customized the tour to our requests.

[Larainerenee]

We used http://www.shareashoreexcursioninitaly.com/ in Florence and Sorrento - the driver/guides were wonderful.. We connected beforehand on our cruise roll call board and saved a lot of $$. They customized the tour to our requests.

[sandinmyshoes]

RomeInLimo.com has added group tours to their website offerings. We have always done private tours with them, but when I went online to book our upcoming trip, I noticed they had the group tours you could join. They are an outstanding company I highly recommend. They are also rated highly on this site from the thousands of their other previous users.

 

The only other suggestion I have would be to search your cruise's roll call on here and see if anyone has tours you can join. We have done this many times in Med ports and never had anyone cancel making the per person rate go up. It's always been a good experience for us.

 

Good luck!

[KiddieKruzer]

I've read the shared tour instructions but I'm still confused. Let's say I put my cc up to create an 8 person group. Only 4 sign up. Does or power person rate then Jump up to the 4 person rate or is my credit card charged for the extra 4 people I couldnt find to join. Also, what about no shows? Is mt cc on the hook for these people as well? Im interested in starting a group but their policy is confusing to me.

 

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