First time cruiser - are princess port tours worth it?

[mangosantol]

We're going on the Grand Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona to Venice this fall, and are trying to decide whether to book the pre-packaged tours through the cruise-line. Does anyone recommend these tours? Or is it better to get to the cities on your own?

 

Thanks for your help!

[cruznliz]

Unless you are already familiar with the ports, I would book the ship tours. I know the ports can be seen a great deal cheaper, but how many times will you go there? Usually you want to see the highlights and not miss too much. Remember, the ship tours include not only transportation but English speaking guides and admissions. We did the Med in 1999. One thing to watch out for, try not to book too many full day tours. The Med is a very intense itinerary and you have to pace yourself. :eek:

 

If you really don't want to pay the $ for the ship tours, you might be able to hook up with other CruiseCritic people on the Roll Call board for your particular cruise. Frequently people will arrange private tours for a small number of people or else share taxis if they have been to the ports before. You will have the costs of the taxi fare, admissions and an unknown guide. On the Princess tours we have often had outstanding guides.

 

Good luck! You'll love the Med! :D

[patches05]

DH and I took our honeymoon on the Golden last month. It wasn't the Med, but N. Europe. Anyway, we booked all Princess tours for several reasons.

- It was easier = with planning a wedding and work, neither one of us had much time to research outside tours

- Guarantee of the ship not leaving without us

- We knew what we were getting when we booked the tour

- Wide range of options

 

Good luck on your decision! :)

[Pam in CA]

Like the previous two posts, I would recommend booking Princess tours, at least for your first time out. Yes, you're on a bus with lots of other people but the tour guides are generally excellent and you can relax knowing that the ship will not leave without you. If you are comfortable about being in a foreign country and perhaps needing to communicate in another language and are willing to do a lot of research or depend on others for recommendations, do it on your own. One other point about Princess tours is that if it doesn't meet your expectations or something isn't "as advertised," you can let the Tour Desk know and possibly get your money back or a partial refund.

[KAJOKG]

As far as I'm concerned, I find it easier to just book ship's tours. And I much prefer being assured that if we meet with some sort of delay, the ship will wait no matter how long the delay. If you're on your own the ship's crew does not know where you are or with whom. All of the ship's tours are documented. We took all the tours from the Golden in Europe and they were very good.

 

You are starting and finishing your cruise in two of my favorite cities. Hope you are able to take a day or two before and after the cruise to visit Barcelona and Venice on your own. We did that. Barcelona is a beautiful city and Venice is always magical!!!!

[cruisingbug]

We went to the Med on Celebrity in 1999 - we only booked two days of tours out of 7 port days. We couldn't figure an easy way to get from the port to Florence and Pisa in a day, so we took that tour, and we also booked a tour in Naples that went to Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii all in one day, because those logistics seemed difficult. The other ports we did on our own - Barcelona was very easy to get around - I think we walked or took the ship's shuttle bus (don't know if they still do that) to the Las Ramblas area and then public trans to the Gaudi cathedral and back. In Palma the ship docks very close to the Le Seu cathedral - but we also walked a lot that day up to the Belvedere and back. We also went on our own taking the train from Civitavecchia to Rome and then all around Rome on the subway - we saw more of Rome in a day than the tour bus people did.

 

But I agree to PACE YOURSELF - we were exhausted after our first day (Barcelona). Another couple at our dining table took full day tours every day and by the end looked almost dead! We did have some half-days in port that we relaxed a little - Villefranche, we got in late, so we just took the train to Nice but everything was closed by the time we arrived so we just had dinner and came back; Toulon we went up Mt. Faron and then came back down almost immediately (the funicular closed for an hour or two at lunchtime and we wouldn't have made it back to the ship for the early departure).

 

Hope some of this info helps -

[Druke I]

I'm one who actually thinks the ship's tour are generally pretty good - particularly the "overview of the city" types.

 

We like AM tours, then we can just wander about the town, if we like, in the PM, after lunch aboard ship.

 

Given that I don't speak foreign languages, I am more comfortable going on an organized excursion.

[mr green]

Princess tours are rated among the very best on thi sidr of the pond. john

[DonLou]

You pay a premium for the Princess tours because you:

- Don't want to miss the ship

- Need to complain to someone who can do something about any tour issues

- Are too lazy to go through the complicated process of getting an independent tour (i.e., research, internet, telephone, credit card payment, locating bus)

- Are too scared to book an independent tour

- Are too language-challenged to tour on your own

- Don't know where you are

- Like to ride in a big tourist bus for hours

- Want to be around people who feel the same way you do

[Pam in CA]

You pay a premium for the Princess tours because you:

- Don't want to miss the ship

- Need to complain to someone who can do something about any tour issues

- Are too lazy to go through the complicated process of getting an independent tour (i.e., research, internet, telephone, credit card payment, locating bus)

- Are too scared to book an independent tour

- Are too language-challenged to tour on your own

- Don't know where you are

- Like to ride in a big tourist bus for hours

- Want to be around people who feel the same way you do

Yup... all of the above. But put in a more positive light, I am on vacation and don't want to have to do a lot of planning, my French is very rusty and my Spanish is non-existant, and I don't mind paying the premium (not always a large premium) to be "taken care of" and have someone else do the planning and execution. If you're taking a very port-intensive cruise, that's a lot of planning and not everyone feels like doing it.

[prarie cruiser]

Princess tours offer the following advantages:

 

If the ship misses the port for some reason Princess refunds the cost of the tour---independents do not usually do this.

 

Princess tours are usually high quality tours with English speaking tour guides.

 

If the bus breaks down or the tour does not get back on time, the ship waits for you. With independent tours the ship may or may not wait. I have personally seen people from independent tours left on the dock at ports becaused their tour got back late and the ship had already pulled away. I have personally been on a Princess bus that broke down and the ship was held around one and a half hours for us.

 

If there is a tour that only I want to go on, I will leave the rest of my party on the ship and go on the tour with Princess. I feel safe touring alone if no one else wants to take that tour.

 

I do take independent tours on occasion, but mostly in ports I am familiar with, and mostly early in the day. That way I can have extra time to get back to the ship. But, I have to say I am not usually disappointed in Princess tours and I am sometimes disappointed in independent tours.

 

Sign me up for the Princess ones!

[SPI_Rick]

I'll echo the majority opinion: The Ship's Tours Are The Way To Go.

 

If you are an experienced traveler and are familiar with the ports, there is no reason that you can't book your own independent tours to save some money and select your own itinerary......But, if you are not familiar with the ports or if you just want someone else to do the work of making all the arrangements, then the Princess Tours are the answer.

 

You will be escorted from the time you leave the dock until you return to the ship; You will have a guide to help you with situations along the way (making purchases, finding a restroom, answering questions about the port of call); and if something goes wrong (the bus breaksdown) someone will make sure you get back to the ship.

 

The price you pay for this service is: it costs more; you will have a fixed, inflexable itinerary; you will have to put up with waiting on the stragglers who are too inconsiderate meet at the assigned time.

 

We did the Venice to Rome Mediterranean Cruise last year and it was outstanding. We used Princess Tours at all ports except Mykonos (where we just did our own walking tour). While not all the tours were perfect, they were all interesting and convenient.

 

Read the tour descriptions carefully; choose your 'must see' tours first and don't worry too much about the cost (you're already spending a bundle on the cruise, so enjoy it).

 

You'll have a great time.

[katisdale]

I do both Princess and private tours. What I don't do is walk off the ship and find a taxi or tour operator at the dock. I have trouble walking long distances and never take a ship's tour that requires parking at a distance from the sights I hope to see (like Florence Italy which requires buses to park about 2 or 3 miles outside of town) since I want to use my steps seeing things not getting there and I don't want to slow down the group. Princess does a good job identifying tours which require walking. The ports of call boards here on CC have been very helpful to me, both in locating private guides and in finding people who want to share private tours.

[critterchick]

We mix up the ship's tours with exploring on our own, but have not booked independent tours. It all depends on the port and the comfort level you have with a particular area. On our Med tour, we did Villefranche Sur Mer on our own The train station is a 15-minute stroll from the tender dock. We went to Monte Carlo, walked to the Jardins Exotique (which have a boffo view), took the bus back down the hill to the Casino, wandered around in there for a bit, then had lunch by the yachts in the harbor. We then took the train to Nice, walked to the waterfront, passed some expensive stores, rode the train back to Villefranche, and had a couple of glasses of wine on the waterfront. We had ample time to go all the way to Cannes if we had wanted to.

 

We had already been to Florence for several days before our tour, so we opted for a tour of a Tuscan winery. It was great fun on the bus going out and even more fun coming back <hic> after the wine tasting. It was only a half day tour, and we opted to relax upon our return to the ship rather than trying to do another tour. The bus took a detour to Pisa on the way back, so we could view the tower.

 

We took a full day ship's tour in Rome. On our own, we would have had to navigate the train system (pretty easy, actually), but more importantly would have been lost, even with maps and guidebooks, once we got there. Our tour only had about 20 people, so it was easy to get in and out of the various venues. Lots of walking, but that's good for us!

 

The only downside to some of the ships tours are the mandatory shopping segments. We should have done Pompeii on our own - it's an easy train ride from Naples. On the ship's tour we had to stop at a cameo factory on the way and be subjected to a lecture on how they are made (that part was pretty interesting actually) and then hung around for another 45 minutes for shopping. And this little place was in the middle of nowhere. DH elected to go outside & breathe the fumes from the highway in the rain rather than look at the hideously expensive wares. So I avoid any expedition that mentions shopping. Sometimes you get trapped into it anyway, but not as frequently as the ones that say, "time permitting, you will be able to browse the shops." I imagine there are commissions to the tour guides for steering us.

 

By the way, I think the tour companies that service the cruiselines are all the same. Our Princess Alaska tour book was virtually identical to our Royal Caribbean one.

[cruznliz]

As Spi Rick said, study your shore excursions book carefully. I usually go through the entire book and jot down my first 3 choices in each port. DH does the same. Then we discuss to see which we have in common or which we can't miss. Then we put it all away and do it all again a month later. You would be surprised what sounded good on one reading is not so good on another reading. :eek: We also have no problem going on shore excursions by ourselves.

 

It is usually a good idea to book the tours through the Cruise Personalizer on the Princess website. That way you are assured to get on the tours you really want. If you change your mind once onboard, you can always take the tickets to the Shore Excursion Desk for a full refund as long as it is before the deadline for that particular port. ;)

 

As someone else mentioned, you probably paid a bundle for the cruise so don't skimp on the shore excursions! :rolleyes:

[cruisingbug]

 

The only downside to some of the ships tours are the mandatory shopping segments. We should have done Pompeii on our own - it's an easy train ride from Naples. On the ship's tour we had to stop at a cameo factory on the way and be subjected to a lecture on how they are made (that part was pretty interesting actually) and then hung around for another 45 minutes for shopping. And this little place was in the middle of nowhere. DH elected to go outside & breathe the fumes from the highway in the rain rather than look at the hideously expensive wares. So I avoid any expedition that mentions shopping. Sometimes you get trapped into it anyway, but not as frequently as the ones that say, "time permitting, you will be able to browse the shops." I imagine there are commissions to the tour guides for steering us.

 

I remembered about the shopping - I think we went to the same cameo factory on the stinky highway with Celebrity's tour. We made 2 shopping stops on that trip - also stopped in Sorrento earlier that day for lunch and excessive shopping time - no real "guide" through Sorrento at all. And at least an hour or more in Florence for buying leather apparently - we just wandered around the main square - didn't want to wander too far and miss the group. But when your whole day is on the tour, I guess it's understandable to allow some shopping time for folks to pick up souvenirs. Didn't care for the "hard sell" driving us to certain shops in Sorrento (we found nicer ones on our own) and the captive time at the cameo place.

[KAJOKG]

You pay a premium for the Princess tours because you:

- Don't want to miss the ship

- Need to complain to someone who can do something about any tour issues

- Are too lazy to go through the complicated process of getting an independent tour (i.e., research, internet, telephone, credit card payment, locating bus)

- Are too scared to book an independent tour

- Are too language-challenged to tour on your own

- Don't know where you are

- Like to ride in a big tourist bus for hours

- Want to be around people who feel the same way you do

Some like to take tours, others don't. No need to be snide about either!

We are experienced travelers and quite independent. However, on a cruise we find it much more advantageous to take a ship's tour since you are in port for only one day. Cuts down on looking for taxis, vans, drivers, and streets, etc., etc., etc. which waste precious time. When not on a cruise and in a city for more than one day, we find our own way with or without a private tour.

[patches05]

As Spi Rick said, study your shore excursions book carefully. I usually go through the entire book and jot down my first 3 choices in each port. DH does the same. Then we discuss to see which we have in common or which we can't miss. Then we put it all away and do it all again a month later. You would be surprised what sounded good on one reading is not so good on another reading. :eek: We also have no problem going on shore excursions by ourselves.

 

It is usually a good idea to book the tours through the Cruise Personalizer on the Princess website. That way you are assured to get on the tours you really want. If you change your mind once onboard, you can always take the tickets to the Shore Excursion Desk for a full refund as long as it is before the deadline for that particular port. ;)

 

As someone else mentioned, you probably paid a bundle for the cruise so don't skimp on the shore excursions! :rolleyes:

 

DH and I did the same thing when preparing for our honeymoon! We looked at the book separately and wrote down our favorites. More times than not, we had picked the same tours.

 

We also booked all tours online (actually it was more of my obsessive need to plan in advance for everything :) ) Well, when we got to the ship many of the tours were sold out and we overheard many people lamenting that they couldn't get the tours they wanted. DH was thankful for my planning then!

 

We really enjoyed all of the Princess tours we took and would use their tours again whenever we take our next cruise!

[kruisey]

I am a worry wort :D

I take Princess Tours and have give a 90% nod for those I have taken.

Know I don't have to worry if the Tour Bus breaks down in the middle of nowhere....because Princess will hold the ship for us :) Plenty of satisafaction...not I don't get............. :D

[Cruisin' Chick]

"

 

You pay a premium for the Princess tours because you:

- Don't want to miss the ship

- Need to complain to someone who can do something about any tour issues

- Are too lazy to go through the complicated process of getting an independent tour (i.e., research, internet, telephone, credit card payment, locating bus)

- Are too scared to book an independent tour

- Are too language-challenged to tour on your own

- Don't know where you are

- Like to ride in a big tourist bus for hours

- Want to be around people who feel the same way you do"

 

I think if you read the other posts, you'll find good reasons to pick through the ship, esp. not worrying about missing the ship. On our last cruise, many of the departure times changed. One excursion we went on was near the end of our time in port, made even more critical by the change of departure. Add to that, weather conditions that made the excursion take even longer than the listed time. But as we were on a tour booked thru the ship, we didn't have to worry. It's not a matter of being lazy -- just practical.

[Northender]

You pay a premium for the Princess tours because you:

- Don't want to miss the ship

- Need to complain to someone who can do something about any tour issues

- Are too lazy to go through the complicated process of getting an independent tour (i.e., research, internet, telephone, credit card payment, locating bus)

- Are too scared to book an independent tour

- Are too language-challenged to tour on your own

- Don't know where you are

- Like to ride in a big tourist bus for hours

- Want to be around people who feel the same way you do

 

DonLou, I thought it was funny :D :D

 

Pam in MA, I wish I knew I could complain about a Princess excursion - the one we took in Tortola was terrible. :mad:

[DonLou]

 

DonLou, I thought it was funny :D :D

 

Thanks, Northender. It was intended to be. My wife and I have NEVER taken an independent tour off a cruise ship. When we weren't taking the ship excursion we were walking around the city/port with the ship always in our line of sight.

 

P.S. Sorry about the Angels beating the Red Sox yesterday. Sorry that the Angels didn't score more runs!;)

[Pam in CA]

Pam in MA, I wish I knew I could complain about a Princess excursion - the one we took in Tortola was terrible. :mad:

Yes... I had to complain about two excursions on my Royal Princess cruise. The excursion in Agadir was about 1/2 wasted time -- we spent almost an hour waiting in a bus for an elderly gentleman who got lost in the bazaar, and when we arrived at the festival show, we wound up waiting another hour for it to start. Princess gave me a 50% refund. I also had to complain about our tour to Marrakesh. It was 4 1/2 hours each way in the hot desert and the A/C on the bus was broken. It had to be over 100-degrees in the bus for hours with no open windows or ventilation, and they didn't even provide water. I got a 30% refund for that which was actually substantial since it was an expensive tour.

 

I had absolutely no hesitation to tell the Tour Desk that neither tour was "up to Princess standards." The Tour Director thanked me for letting them know because they need to know when something isn't right and correct it. I think if you just crab and say "It sucked" they take it with a grain of salt but if you let them know specifics and that it wasn't up to their standards, they will listen.

[Druke I]

Pam in Ma makes a good point about telliing tour director and staff about tours which do not meet expectations.

 

Several years ago, in Hiroshima, one tour was definitely not to Princess standards, and did not go to all the places advertised. I discussed the issue with the Shore Excursions Manager, and was very pleased to receive a 50% refund - which was not expected. They do try to provide a good experience, and feedback, positive and negative, is essential.

[Phamer55]

I totally disagree with the sentiment on this thread. Private tours, not ship tours, are definitely the way to go! Not only do you get a more personal tour, set at your own pace, you can get to more places because the big tour buses do not have as much access. The tour guides we had in the Mediterranean were all high quality and English speaking. They were very knowlegable of their cities and were highly educated (they attend many years of university schooling to become a licensed tour guide). Plus, in a small group, you can really get to know your guide. Oh yeah, their tours are cheaper than the cruise ship to boot! Do not be scared to book your own private tour - for one, you are already on Cruise Critic so you have access to wealth of information and recommendations. I will give two fantastic recommendations:

For Nice/Monte Carlo, go with Sylvie of Azur Guides Interpretes (http://www.azur-guides-interpretes.com/). We had her partner Caroline who was absolutely fantastic - so knowledgable of France, Europe, and the World.

For Rome, go with NA Executive Limousine Service (aka "Driver In Rome") (http://www.driverinrome.com/). I cannot believe how much of Rome and the Vatican we saw in a single day. Simply amazing.

Enjoy your cruise!