Barcelona to Athens 10 day - excursion help

[sunlite]

Looking for excursion recommendations on this 10 day cruise on the Vista. What have you done and what do you recommend? We are new to that territory and would like opinions of those that have done it. I do not see much in the port thread. thanks

[trvlgirlmq]

Find your roll call in that section. Fellow cruisers will have lots of ideas.

 

You need to decide what is most important for you to experience in each port. You also have to decide if you want to book Carnival excursions, shared with other passengers, private or DIY. Get a good guidebook as well to help you narrow down (Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise book is a good one).

[sunlite]

Thanks but roll call is those that are on the current sailing. I was looking for opinions from people who have already done this itinerary.

 

Anyone who has done this have recommendations? thank you.

[trvlgirlmq]

Thanks but roll call is those that are on the current sailing. I was looking for opinions from people who have already done this itinerary.

 

Anyone who has done this have recommendations? thank you.

 

Only 1 cruise has completed this itinerary so far and it just ended yesterday. You may have to wait for opinions.

[Sailwithbars]

When are you sailing? I'm going to be on the Oct 1st sailing of Barcelona to Athens.... I've never been to any of the ports except for the stops in Italy. I have been to Pisa/Florence (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), and Naples. My BF is going with me on this cruise and he's never been to Europe so I guess we must do all the must sees.

 

Pisa and Florence are an hour away from each other. I'll take him to Florence first and see the Duomo and David (the statue) then take the train back to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower.

 

Rome... he said he definitely wants to see the Colosseum and the Forum. Maybe a stop at the Vatican to see St. Peter's Basilica/Sistine Chapel.

 

For Naples, I think I'll take him swimming to Capri or sight see in Positano/Sorrento... take a day off from hard core historical sight seeing... if that makes any sense! LOL!

 

Goodluck planning and I hope you get some ideas from my post! : )

[minikiss]

Looking for excursion recommendations on this 10 day cruise on the Vista. What have you done and what do you recommend? We are new to that territory and would like opinions of those that have done it. I do not see much in the port thread. thanks

 

As already pointed out there has so far only been 1 sailing for the Barcelona to Athens itinerary.

We are also on the 1st of October sailing, we've sailed around the med a few times so have already been to most of the ports already.

I'm happy to tell you what we've done in the past but it may or may not be what you are interested in. We tend to go towards the historical sights rather than the relax and scenic sights.

 

Marseille - Never been before, no excursions planned so all we will be doing is getting off walk around and get back on a again.

 

Livorno - been there twice 1st time we went to Pisa and Florence the 2nd time we just walked around the port. May do the same this time round or we may just stay on board.

 

Civitavecchia - been there twice 1st time we went to on the private train to Rome where we got on the Hop on bus and saw the Coliseum. the 2nd time we just walked around the port. May do the same this time round or we may just stay on board.

 

Naples - last year we went to Pompeii with a drive along the Amalfi coast to Sorrento. This year we are going to Herculaneum with a drive to the Amalfi coast and Sorrento.

 

Crete - been before 20 odd years ago for a family holiday. We are planning on taking the local bus to the ruins of Knossos.

 

Rhodes - Had a weeks holiday there 7 years ago so this time we are heading for Old Town for a few hours. Must see places are Lindos and the acropolis at the top of the hill. The bay is also very pretty.

 

Kusadasi - This is our first time and we are going to see the ruins at Ephesus.

 

I am surprised you didn't find much in the ports of call pages as I normally find them very helpful.

if you don't find any suggestions off your own roll call try looking up the others for the same itinerary on other dates. On ours someone is doing a running list of private tours booked for our lot.

 

good luck and hope you find the right things to do for your trip.

[minikiss]

sorry I missed a port

Athens - went last year and took a trip to the Acropolis and the Plaka. this year we plan on getting the hop on bus and going to the Museum.

 

if you like history and ruins all of the places we have been will be of interest. can't suggest any thing else if you don't.

Hope it's of help.

[chrischris78]

Just off the ship may 24 on this itinerary. All excursions were booked through carnival.

 

Marseilles: did Aix en Provence. It was ok, kinda boring... Nice to get out of Marseilles, but nothing to write home about. There were a couple outdoor markets in town so that was good.

 

Livorno: did the climb to the top of leaning tower. That was cool! It was a very strange perspective to be climbing in a leaning building.

 

Chivettechia- did the 12 hour excursion to the drive by sites of Rome plus the Sistine chapel and the rest of the Vatican. That was exhausting and crowded and exhausting. 12 hour tour, first off the ship, last on. (Well, not the last on, apparently 6 people missed the ship on this day.)

 

Naples- this was by far the best excursion. Did the amalfi coast boat ride plus Pompeii. 10ish hours instead of 12, so still pretty exhausting. The boat cruise was great and Amalfi was nice to visit. Pompeii was packed with people.

 

The rest of the ports we did on our own, wandered into Rhodes and Kusadasi (stayed on the ship in Crete). Did a hop on hop off bus in both Rhodes and Athens. Choose grey line HOHO in Athens, seems you get the most bang for your buck with multiple lines/yours available.

 

 

 

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[3redheads]

There's a ports of call section here on Cruise Critic. I found some very useful information on here and on tripadvisor:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

[3redheads]

Just off the ship may 24 on this itinerary. All excursions were booked through carnival.

 

Marseilles: did Aix en Provence. It was ok, kinda boring... Nice to get out of Marseilles, but nothing to write home about. There were a couple outdoor markets in town so that was good.

 

Livorno: did the climb to the top of leaning tower. That was cool! It was a very strange perspective to be climbing in a leaning building.

 

Chivettechia- did the 12 hour excursion to the drive by sites of Rome plus the Sistine chapel and the rest of the Vatican. That was exhausting and crowded and exhausting. 12 hour tour, first off the ship, last on. (Well, not the last on, apparently 6 people missed the ship on this day.)

 

Naples- this was by far the best excursion. Did the amalfi coast boat ride plus Pompeii. 10ish hours instead of 12, so still pretty exhausting. The boat cruise was great and Amalfi was nice to visit. Pompeii was packed with people.

 

The rest of the ports we did on our own, wandered into Rhodes and Kusadasi (stayed on the ship in Crete). Did a hop on hop off bus in both Rhodes and Athens. Choose grey line HOHO in Athens, seems you get the most bang for your buck with multiple lines/yours available.

 

 

 

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Was the Rome tour the Carnival excursion "Inside the Vatican Museum & St. Peter's Basilica"?

[fuddrules]

 

 

The rest of the ports we did on our own, wandered into Rhodes and Kusadasi (stayed on the ship in Crete). Did a hop on hop off bus in both Rhodes and Athens. Choose grey line HOHO in Athens, seems you get the most bang for your buck with multiple lines/yours available.

 

What did you think of the HoHo bus in Rhodes?

[CrusingNana]

Looking for excursion recommendations on this 10 day cruise on the Vista. What have you done and what do you recommend? We are new to that territory and would like opinions of those that have done it. I do not see much in the port thread. thanks

 

When are you cruising? We will be on the July 9th and are looking for folks to share a few of our excursions. If this is your cruise and are interested, I will share info.

[chrischris78]

What did you think of the HoHo bus in Rhodes?

 

 

It was 12€ a person. It was a bit underwhelming but at least we got to see the whole island easily. Actually had a better time walking into old town and wandering around there.

 

 

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[chrischris78]

Was the Rome tour the Carnival excursion "Inside the Vatican Museum & St. Peter's Basilica"?

 

 

Highlights of Rome and inside the Vatican museum.

 

 

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[fuddrules]

It was 12€ a person. It was a bit underwhelming but at least we got to see the whole island easily. Actually had a better time walking into old town and wandering around there.

 

Thanks for the response.

[sunlite]

We are on the 9/3 sailing. Great ideas everyone and thank you. Would you recommend just seeing the leaning tower of Pisa or actually climbing up as well?

[crzndeb]

I think when trvlgirlmq mentioned your Roll Call, she meant your 9/3 Roll Call. Have you posted there yet?Just because it hasn't sailed, doesn't mean that people haven't already been to these ports and would have suggestions.

 

I'm on the Oct 1, 11, and 21st TA, and there are many people on each of those legs that have been to several of the ports. That, along with Ports of Call threads, and researching on my own, I know what I want to see and do.

 

As far as the Tower of Pisa...how are your knees? I am going to see it, but have no desire to climb it.

Edited May 29, 2016 by crzndeb

[chrischris78]

We are on the 9/3 sailing. Great ideas everyone and thank you. Would you recommend just seeing the leaning tower of Pisa or actually climbing up as well?

 

 

It was a cool experience climbing up the stairs, going in a circle on the wall of the tower. The steps are well worn from hundreds of years of use, and it can be tricky to climb.

 

 

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[GROUPTRAVEL]

Highlights of Rome and inside the Vatican museum.

 

 

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Hi-

For the Carnival tour, how much time was given for shopping and lunch? Approximately how many people were on this tour? I'm weighing if we should schedule a private tour vs. Carnival sponsored. Just concerned if we'll be able to recruit enough people to fill a private tour vs. being accountable for total cost. Thank you!