West.Med. Shore Excursions

[fidget]

We are sailing on Costa Fortuna in Oct. to the Western Med and are first time cruisers. We are wondering if we need to book the excursions prior to the cruise?

[wwinfl91]

Depending on the ship and how full it is sometimes cruise ship shore excursions sell out ahead of time so it is better if you know what excursions you want to go on to schedule them ahead of time either online or by telephone. You should also check out the port of call boards on Cruise critic for options for shore excursions with local companies as opposed to the ship. Sometimes they can be less expensive and give a better value. We have done both private and ship based excursions and have enjoyed both. Ship excursions tend to be scheduled for more people and you will spend more time getting on and off buses. Private shore excursions can be scheduled to better meet your interests and are usually for fewer people.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[fidget]

Thanks so much for the info. I will check it out tonight.

[wwinfl91]

Just remember that if you do independent excursions and you don't get back to the ship on time the ship will SAIL and not wait for you. The biggest benefit to ship based excursions is that the ship won't sail until the ship sponsored excursions return to the ship. We were on a cruise in the Caribbean and our bus got back about an hour late. Another bus was about another 1/2 hour after us and the ship waited and sailed as soon as they got everyone back on board. We were in Key West a couple of years ago when the ship sailed leaving at least 4 people there. We found this out because they kept asking for the 4 people by name to contact the pursor's office and finally we sailed after waiting about 15 minutes.

 

Just keep that in mind when you decide which tours to take and make sure if you do independent tours that you arrange with the tour operator to get back at least 1/2 hour before the boarding time. The ship usually sails about 1/2 hour after that boarding time so that should give you at least a 1 hour safety margin.

 

Have a great next cruise.