Feasibility of doing your own tour - Med 2015

[caribill]

But in general I believe a private tour with 10 in a van is 100 times better than a bus tour with 60.

 

And that van can usually get much closer to the sites than the big bus can.

[TKS]

We also love CC or private tours, and have only done two ship tours during our four European cruises. Be sure in your planning you factor in extra time to return to the ship. On ship-sponsored tours either the ship will wait, or they will be responsible for getting you back aboard. But on any non-ship tour you're on your own, so if you miss sailing time, you really do "miss the boat." They will not wait for you, and you are responsible for getting yourself to the next port. And remember, you will be in many ports without your passport, since the ship typically keeps them unless its a country which requires you to carry your passport ashore.

 

Local tour operators are very aware of this issue, and they don't want bad reviews on CC or TripAdvisor, so they plan accordingly, but if you're on your own you need the advantage of information before you set foot ashore. Therefore, read up on transportation issues in the ports you're visiting (are trains reliably on time, are there traffic issues in the port which make extra travel time necessary, etc.). We've seen people literally running down the pier to get back to ship as the gangways are being taken down. Who needs that type of stress on a vacation? The advantage of taking a private/small shared tour is you can actually see as much, or more, in less time than the ship's tour, meaning you miss nothing but the crowds on a DIY.:D.

 

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise!

Edited December 13, 2014 by TKS

[caribill]

But on any non-ship tour you're on your own, so if you miss sailing time, you really do "miss the boat." They will not wait for you, and you are responsible for getting yourself to the next port. And remember, you will be in many ports without your passport, since the ship typically keeps them unless its a country which requires you to carry your passport ashore.

 

 

If you "miss the boat", Princess will first try to locate your passports in your cabin (even in the safe) and leave them with the port agent for you.

[sbflcruiser]

Using these boards, toms port guides and trip advisor we have done a lot of port stops on our own.

 

The tips and tricks for navigating public transportation and getting advance tickets for certain attractions, allows to make the most of the time in port.

 

On of the most valuable points is to realize you can not see it all. Pick those that are the most important to you and see those first.

 

Sometimes we think while I am here I need to do as much as possible, and it becomes more about doing than actually experiencing the place and culture.

[friend of Eeyore]

It's been a couple of years, but when we did our Med cruise, the only ships tour we took (I think) was in Troy (Canakkale, Turkey), where it was an election day, and not much was open otherwise. I'm linking to my port review, as it shows how easy it was.

 

I echo suggestions for Rick Steve's books - they were very helpful.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=601845

[PunkiC]

We almost always just wander around on our own, walking or taking public transportation.

 

The only tours we have ever taken were in St. Petersburg because of the visa issue and the train to White Pass Train out of Skagway. We didn't do the White Pass Train until our 5th visit to Skagway as it was overcast the first four visits. On the 5th, we woke up to beautiful clear, blue skies and immediately booked the tour. We could see the ship from the top of the mountain. It was glorious.

 

In St. Petersburg we used SPB Tours and they were amazing. Far better and less expensive that the ship's tours. Our guide was a magician and able to slip us by some of the longest lines at the most popular sites.

 

Other than that, touring on one's own is really easy peasy. Just do your research before you leave home so you have a pretty good idea how to get around.

 

The train station in Civitavecchia is an easy walk from the port and goes right into the center Terminial of Rome. There is a subway station just a block from the train station that will take you anywhere you want to go.

[windplayer]

We were on the Grand Meditteranaen in 2013. We were travelling as a family of four, so even using private tours was very expensive, also the small folk were 9 and 11, so not interested in lots of history and cathedrals. We did most of the cities on our own. I got advice from Rick Steves book, and lots of information from cruise critic ports of call section. Aix, we booked a ships tour, that gave us a tour of the town and then left us to our own devices, and Kusadsasi we had a ships tour booked, although unfortunately, the wind was too strong, and the ship was unable to dock. The rest we caught trains or taxis into the city and wandered on our own. We did make sure we left plenty of time to get back.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[IECalCruiser]

If you DIY, you need to allow sufficient time for the unexpected. From Toulon (actually La Seyne-sur-Mer) we took a bus to the train station and a train to Bandol. Return trains ran every hour or so and we just missed one. The next train was 70 minutes late. We would have been in trouble if our return had been close to Sailaway. We probably would have looked for a fairly expensive taxi otherwise. I prefer private tours of distances are far from the ship. We very seldom do ships tours.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app