Europe land tour and cruise

[WLC061975]

I am planning for a cruise for 2015. I am looking at combination of land tour and cruise (4 days of tour and 7 days of cruise in Italy spain and rome) from NC epic. Does anyone know if hotel is included in their cost????

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[cocoabeachcruiser]

I am planning for a cruise for 2015. I am looking at combination of land tour and cruise (4 days of tour and 7 days of cruise in Italy spain and rome) from NC epic. Does anyone know if hotel is included in their cost????

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Yes, land tours include hotel.

 

You are better off doing it on your own. Biggest issue I have always come across is we are touring all day, so staying in the $350 a night hotel is a waste when we can stay at the $59 hotel as all we need is a place to sleep. Getting a driver is easy anywhere.

[millineumwoman]

We did a week resort in Marbella at the marbesa beach resort, and did day trips to Gibraltar , morocco , Seville ( was suppose to also do a trip to Grenada but canceled) did those through viator and flew back to Barcelona with vueling ,

Was the best trip and not really expensive as viator charges you in your currency and you pay before you go

[4774Papa]

Most cruiseline's land tours in connection with cruises are expensive. You can arrange your own hotel and touring plans and save.

For example, if you wanted to go on a cruise from Rome, fly in to Rome a few days early, you can easily do Rome on your own and use Kayak, TripAdvisor and Venere websites to find a nice hotel were you want to stay.

 

Use cc for research and if you have questions, like what is a good 4 star hotel in Rome near the Pantheon, then cc members will provide you with choices.

[TSUmom]

We are doing this cruise on the Epic in May of 2015. I too was considering the land portion but it will be cheaper for the 3 of us to stay at a hotel in Rome for 3 nights and do most of the touring on our own. My only concern is we have never been to Europe and finding our way around. I have read on here that Rome is easy to do on your own. I also liked the idea of paying everything in US $$ up front as opposed to having to pay Euros once there for everything but again I have decided to go on our own to save $$. Also we want to spend more time at certain places, like the Vatican and I am afraid that an NCL tour might rush things a bit.

[4774Papa]

We are doing this cruise on the Epic in May of 2015. I too was considering the land portion but it will be cheaper for the 3 of us to stay at a hotel in Rome for 3 nights and do most of the touring on our own. My only concern is we have never been to Europe and finding our way around. I have read on here that Rome is easy to do on your own. I also liked the idea of paying everything in US $$ up front as opposed to having to pay Euros once there for everything but again I have decided to go on our own to save $$. Also we want to spend more time at certain places, like the Vatican and I am afraid that an NCL tour might rush things a bit.

Doing it on your own does require you to do more research.

Rome is rather easy to get around, but you will walk quite a bit.

I suggest that you decide in general terms what it is that you want to see before you go.

For example, the Vatican takes a full day to see the Sistine Chapel (a must see) as well as St. Peter's. You may wish to walk up to the roof of St. Peter's, the view is great. Some people don't like heights.

 

You may wish to sign up for tour in advance. Use the internet and compare tours.

We have use Viator for tours that you can pay for prior to departure. The disadvantage is that once you purchase the tour, you are stuck with that schedule.

http://www.viator.com/Rome/d511-ttd?pref=204&aid=m3392

There are other tour companies that provide excellent tours.

 

Three days is not enough to see everything in Rome, but you can see a lot.

You probably want to see the Coliseum and Forum, which are close to each other.

The Trevia Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trajan's Forum are key sites.

http://www.italylogue.com/featured-articles/top-10-things-to-do-in-rome.html

 

I suggest purchasing a Rick Steves guide book. There is one for Italy.

https://www.ricksteves.com/tv-programmers/specials/rome

[TSUmom]

Doing it on your own does require you to do more research.

Rome is rather easy to get around, but you will walk quite a bit.

I suggest that you decide in general terms what it is that you want to see before you go.

For example, the Vatican takes a full day to see the Sistine Chapel (a must see) as well as St. Peter's. You may wish to walk up to the roof of St. Peter's, the view is great. Some people don't like heights.

 

You may wish to sign up for tour in advance. Use the internet and compare tours.

We have use Viator for tours that you can pay for prior to departure. The disadvantage is that once you purchase the tour, you are stuck with that schedule.

http://www.viator.com/Rome/d511-ttd?pref=204&aid=m3392

There are other tour companies that provide excellent tours.

 

Three days is not enough to see everything in Rome, but you can see a lot.

You probably want to see the Coliseum and Forum, which are close to each other.

The Trevia Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trajan's Forum are key sites.

http://www.italylogue.com/featured-articles/top-10-things-to-do-in-rome.html

 

I suggest purchasing a Rick Steves guide book. There is one for Italy.

https://www.ricksteves.com/tv-programmers/specials/rome

 

Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions:) I have already purchased Rick Steves book and I love research.

[garycarla]

Tour groups are the "somebody else does it for you" option. Cost is usually higher. Stuck with the larger group and their schedule. Sure, they arrange transfers, buses, hotel, etc.

 

Smaller groups, or on your own offers the most flexibility. On our one day in Rome from a cruise, we paid a tour guide to take just the two of us around. Expensive, but well worth it.

 

Went at our pace.

[cocoabeachcruiser]

Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions:) I have already purchased Rick Steves book and I love research.

 

There are multiple Rick Steves books. There is a specific one for Mediterranean cruise ports.

 

I plan on taking it with me everywhere