Celebrity excursion question - Small Group Bruges Walking Tour

[Shiba_Lover]

Has anyone done Celebrity's Small Group Bruges Walking Tour?

Yes, I know we can take a train into town on our own.  I'm not asking about doing that.  We actually like the idea of the walking tour.

 

On this tour, we have an option of going at 8 or 10.  It is a 4 and a half hour tour.  Our ship is only in port until 3.  And this is a reasonable price on the "flash sale"

 

It says there is free time on your own after.  I'm trying to figure out if you can stay after as long as you want, or if you "have" to come back after 4.5 hours.  Like if we go at 8, could we come back at say 1:30 PM on any of the X shuttles heading back to town?  (There are lots of various excursions with "free time after"  so I'm guessing all the people that have free time after just get on whatever bus) 

[wanderlust58]

I haven't done the Celebrity walking tour, but if you are comfortable getting to and from Bruges on your own, I'd suggest you fashion your own tour. Get the Rick Steves guide, or another, and take a look.  It's a very walkable small town and there's nothing there you would only see on an organized tour.  Keep in mind, though, that it will take about an hour and 15 minutes to get from the  Zeebrugge train station to Bruges

[Alakegirl]

Nobody here can tell you if you are allowed to take one of the shuttles back….you need to clear that with Shorex staff on board

[Shiba_Lover]

 

15 minutes ago, Alakegirl said:

Nobody here can tell you if you are allowed to take one of the shuttles back….you need to clear that with Shorex staff on board

Well, if several people came back and said they had actually done this and were all told - get on any shuttle going back when you are done walking around -- that would be a pretty good indicator that is how it works.

[Karen450]

I had done the shuttle excursion to Bruges on another cruise line.   It was worth the added expense as public transportation was too lengthy. We too had an early ship departure we did not wish to risk missing.  There were perhaps 5 shuttle busses and each group traveled into town together and returned back together.  We were not able to hop on a different bus.  They count the number of passengers and we had to wait a bit for late arriving passengers specific to our bus. The shuttles work less like a HOHO and more like a traditional excursion.  Bruges is super easy to see on your own, should you wish to explore the shuttle option.  The buses drop passengers off about a mile from city center but the walk is a joy. Any one who has mobility issues should reconsider.  The streets are charming but cobble stoned and the bus parking, as I mentioned, is a distance from the major sights. Perhaps Celebrity may be different, but cruise companies subcontract with many of the same tour providers.  A taxi from town to the ship is about €50. 

Edited January 20 by Karen450
Missing word

[LeeW]

Very much doubt you can hop in any bus from a different tour.  Lots of info on getting to Brugge on the board:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

 

Basically if you don't want to buy a tour you can hire a cab, take the train, or take the Cruise Express bus.  The train requires you to get to the station either by a bus that leaves directly from the ship or a trolley that leaves just outside the port.  Train only runs on the hour, so you have to plan carefully.  We took Cruise Express, which leaves from diagonally across from the port entrance building (take the free shuttle bus to the port entrance).  Even for Cruise Express we got our return ticket when we checked in outside the port entrance.  

 

Cruise ship buses and Cruise Express cannot drop you off in town.  They use a bus park on the south edge of the old city (around a 20 minute walk into the center).  The town is a maze of cobble streets.  Use a map or your smart phone to get around (download a map you can use without phone/wifi connectivity).  Restrooms near the bus park - very hard to find one inside the city that is not in a sitdown restaurant.

 

Cruise Express does offer an optional walking tour of the downtown as well as transfers:

https://www.cruise-express.be/en/services/bruges

 

[Shiba_Lover]

Thanks all who responded.  I am familiar with how to take trains and taxi and have done DIY all over the world.  I just did not want to do that in this one instance ( yes, I know it's easy, yes I know how).   I haven't done excursions from the ship, and all of them say "free time on your own after the tour" so just  was not sure if that meant you boarded one of the busses after you were done or you board a specific bus.  Sounds like the answer is that you board a specific bus.