Independent Shore Excursions

[Avery]

A group of 8 is taking a Med cruise next year. I am being told independant shore excursions (shore excursions not run by the cruise ship) are better.

 

Need opinions of whether this is true and recommendations for tour operators in Rome, Naples (Amalfi Coast and Capri), Dubravnyk, Venice, Messina, Barcelona, and Livorno (Florience and Pisa).

[alinehu]

Its true much better, for Rome, Naples and Livorno check

http://www.benvenutolimos.com or http://www.driverinrome.com

Both are excellent.

[cberge]

A group of 8 is taking a Med cruise next year. I am being told independant shore excursions (shore excursions not run by the cruise ship) are better.

 

Need opinions of whether this is true and recommendations for tour operators in Rome, Naples (Amalfi Coast and Capri), Dubravnyk, Venice, Messina, Barcelona, and Livorno (Florience and Pisa).

 

 

It is all a matter of opinion and I daresay that you will get more of Ind.Tours and with 8 of you it maybe better to do.Do a search on thios board and you will find lots of info on tour operator's and how people do/did tours and where they went.Some of these places you can really do on your own,but where the ports are far from the city you will need to do a tour of some sort.

[Hlitner]

We prefer to do most things on our own,, which means without any tour. However, after many years traveling in Europe and loads of European cruises the most common complaints we hear on-board is about the cruise line tours. The ones who seem to be the most happy are those who arrange private tours or those like us who avoid tours and groups. You can get a lot of advice hear on the best private tour guides, and with a group of 8 you will also get a bonus of saving money over the overpriced cruise tours.

 

Hank

[KEN31VA]

A private tour is a whole differnent experience than is one organized by the cruise - I wouldn't go any other way. With the internet and a little time you can arrange your tours based on the recommendations of others and price - although you should find it to be a big saving over the cruise tours. I'm sure that you will very pleased as these tour operators are only in business based on the recommendations of others and they strive to do a good job to please you anyway possible. We just got back from a cruise and had Mariano Fiorentino (www.pleasantravel.com) in Florence, Rome and Naples and Paul Kalomiris (www.greektaxi.com) in Athens. Both were exceptional.

[Andee]

We have found that private tour operators give us a tour personalized to our particular interestes and the timing we like. I'd think that with a group of 8, it could be petty reasonably priced.

 

We found Dubrovnik, Venice and Barcelona very easy to do on our own. Venice is a wonderful city for wandering. In Dubrovnik, we loved walking through the old city, and especially walking the city walls with the audioguide.

 

In Barcelona, our favorite things were the Gaudi sites--Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell.

 

For the Amalfi Coast, we used Giovanni of http://www.tourofitaly.com and had a wonderful day.

[Worldwide Traveller]

We took a tour of the Amalfi Drive with Aldo (aldotaxi.net) and had a wonderful day. He speaks great English - and practically every other language too! - and was really charming and made it a very special day for us. He took us to a lovely restaurant in Ravello (REAL) Italian food and gave us an insight into Italian life away from all the usual tourist traps. Highly recommended! :)

[SteveS]

If you are four or more it's nuts not to take private tours. The cost should be the same or less then the ship's tours and you will see so much more. We have never been unhappy with any of of the people reccomended on CC.

[JHUNTGOLF]

A group of 8 is taking a Med cruise next year. I am being told independant shore excursions (shore excursions not run by the cruise ship) are better.

 

Need opinions of whether this is true and recommendations for tour operators in Rome, Naples (Amalfi Coast and Capri), Dubravnyk, Venice, Messina, Barcelona, and Livorno (Florience and Pisa).

 

Avery,

 

We did the Liberty last August and visited the same ports. We had a group of 16 and did Venice, Cannes, Dubrovnik, and Barcelona on our own without any organized tour. For the other ports--Rome, Naples, Livorno, and Messina--and for our transfers to and from the ship, I used Salvatore Lucibello of Drive Amalfi (I arranged everything with him via the Internet). He can be reached at salvatoredriveamalfi@hotmail.com or *****. Here's a link to the review I wrote so you can get an idea of what we did and the prices, which were much lower than we would have received from Carnival:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=68470&page=29&pp=25&highlight=Liberty

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

John

[sjoantwe]

We almost always do private tours. Why? Do you realize how much time you waste by doing the " hurry-up and wait for everyone to board the bus, eat, potty, reboard the bus" routine? YOu can cover so much more in a relaxed manor, have personalized tour, hear everything, ask all the questions you want, and deviate from the schedule as you like ! Why go any other way?

 

I highly recommend Daniele at http://www.driverinrome.com

 

We have hired private drivers many times, he was great and if you check the website, you will see that they do many of the places you mentioned. Do not even think about the ship's tours, which are pricey, and often a waste of time.

[Bruin Steve]

A group of 8 is taking a Med cruise next year. I am being told independant shore excursions (shore excursions not run by the cruise ship) are better.

 

Need opinions of whether this is true and recommendations for tour operators in Rome, Naples (Amalfi Coast and Capri), Dubravnyk, Venice, Messina, Barcelona, and Livorno (Florience and Pisa).

 

There are a lot of folks on these boards who are absolutely convinced private tours are better than ship's excursions...

Somehow, I doubt some of them really have enough reasonable experience to compare...

Personally, I don't think ANYONE can make an absolute value judgment...

There are some good points to shore excursions...and, yes, there are some advantages to private excursions...

BUT, a lot of it depends on YOUR criteria and what is important to you...There are no absolutes...

 

That said, you are already past one of the major hurdles to private tours in that you already have a "group of eight"...One of most people's prime considerations is COST...And if you have only two of you, the ship's excursion is typically very likely to be the lesser expense...At four, the private excursions NEAR the break even point (depending, of course, the port, the guide, and what you're seeing)...At six or eight persons, you are ALMOST always well ahead in terms of cost...

 

Remember, in considering cost, that ship's excursions generally include everything--including admissions fees and lunch on most full-day tours...With a private excursion, figure to add these costs to your price...

 

The other hurdle you are over by having a group of 8 to start is that you don't have to search out tour partners on the net to help defray the cost (always a gamble...and defeats some of the other advantages of doing a private tour--like going at YOUR speed)

 

The advantage you will have with private tours is that you can arrange, change, speed up or slow down the itinerary to YOUR liking...Bored with a site? Have your driver move on...Really like something? Extend your stay there and skip something else. Special requests? No problem...

 

The disadvantages? Well, this gets interesting...

1) In Italy, most "private guides" are really not licensed as "guides" at all...Hence, they cannot give "tours" of places like Pompei, the Vatican or other parks, monuments, historical sites, etc. All they can do is to drive you there and drop you off...To get a guided tour of Pompei, for example, you will likely have to contract with (and spend more money on) and additional LICENSED GUIDE at the site...

 

2) A second drawback, I've found, is that in Naples, NO PRIVATE GUIDE will tell you it's possible to visit BOTH Pompei AND Capri...Yet the Ship's excursions do it easily...Why? A private driver is tied to his car...so, you can take the hydrofoil to Capri, but you've got to double back to Naples to pick up the car...The ship's excursion takes you by hydrofoil to Capri, then on another hydrofoil direct to Sorrento, then by bus from there to Pompei...

 

Advantages to Shore Excursions?

1) EASE...the cruise line takes care of the logistics...you don't need to do any advance planning...

2) Dependability...The cruise line stands behind it...they'll be there, they won't flake out on you...and they'll get you back to the ship on time...

 

Drawbacks...aside form not being able to alter the itinerary:

Yes, you are often (not always...we've had as few as 11 with 2 guides on an excursion in Rome) on a large bus with a lot of people...Is it "uncomfortable"? On the contrary, the large bus is often roomier than that driver's car with four of you and him in it...or that minivan with the driver plus 8...The drawback to the bus is you wait for EVERYONE to return to the bus at each stop...The second part is that your guide may be 12 rows in front of you and you can't hear her...

The other drawback is that you likely see a little less...Why? You just don't move that many people that fast...and there's wasted time at those stops YOU don't care about...

 

But, you know, some folks LIKE to tour with 30 or 40 ship mates...there's a feeling of camaraderie...And some folks don't mind seeing a little less and going at a slightly slower pace...

 

Everyone has different goals, desires, criteria...

 

For us, sometimes we do one, sometimes we do the other...sometimes we just go "on our own"...On our upcoming Med cruise, we've hired Spiros in Athens, Salvatore in Amalfi, Ekol in Istanbul and Kusadasi...and we're taking ship's excursions in Rhodes, Taormina and Kotor...and we plan on wandering Delos, Mykonos, Santorini (we'll rent a car), Dubrovnik and Venice on our own (Of course, some of these places we've been to on a couple of occasions before)...

 

BTW, we have found SOME Ship's excursions to be flat-out excellent (specifically San Gimignano/Volterra out of Livorno, Capri, Sorrento and Pompei from Naples and "Walk in Renaissance Rome"--which may have been altered or discontinued)...Others, not so good...

 

For the ports you have, I'd recommend doing Venice (Buy the AAA Spiral Guide), Dubrovnik and Barcelona on your own...I'd say contact Salvatore if you want to do the Amalfi Coast...but, if you want to see Capri--or Pompei (which I wholeheartedly recommend), consider a shore excursion...For Livorno DON'T do a shore excursion if you're going to Florence (the big buses can't park near the center of town...there's a lot of walking in the heat)...hire a private driver...You'll also get a few more options on the way there and back--it's pretty far from Livorno...For Rome, assuming you want to see the Vatican, I'd suggest an excursion as without a licensed guide, you'll wait on line...

 

But, bottom line, do your research...and DON'T get convinced that there's an absolute rule on any of this...

 

Good luck and have fun...

[Chick's pal]

I would like to second the motion to recommend Daniele of driverinrome.com.

We used his services 3 years ago for Rome and Livorno. In both ports we had licensed guides who were able to bypass the lines. (In fact, our guide in Rome explained the whole licensed guide thing to us).

 

We were able to stop and climb the tower in Pisa, then go to Florence for a whirlwind tour. Our guide was Pepe, a retired pro Italian baseball player!

 

In Rome, we told the guide where we wanted to go and she decided the best order in which to see things--including the Vatican Museum which is best avoided until after lunch. Our driver was not as fluent in English as he should be, so a guide--Cinzia (very fluent)--rode along. This was ideal as the driver could drop us off and the guide go with us to sites.

 

In both instances, the service helped us with information to get advance admission reservations when possible and offered to enter the sites with us and give us information if we so desired.

 

By the way, that was our very first foray into Europe and it could not have been a smoother situation all around.

 

We will be using "Driver in Rome" for our return to Rome (and the Amalfi Coast) later this year.

[sjoantwe]

I have to say that the drivers that we have had, tho it is true that they cant go into the Vatican, Pompeii, etc, have been thoroughly knowledgable, and gave us tremedous information about each site on the way there. Told us what to look for ,etc. This suited us to a tee as we really like to spend whatever time we choose at each thing; that means, we were not on someone else's schedule.

 

If the driver is just a driver, dont do it. The best ones disclose that they are not guides: but that doesnt mean that they drive you there and drop you off without any background. In addition, they have other information about cost of apartments today, best gelatto places, etc.

 

If you want a fabulous tour of the Vatican, I would recommend the Scavi Tour which books three months out. Even our driver had taken it !

 

Whatever, you do, I know you will enjoy your trip. Arriverdici !

[Hlitner]

I think BruinSteve has done a great job with the pros and cons. Although my wife and I almost always prefer to "do our own thing" and totally avoid tours, I agree with most of what Steve says. We have consistently recommended the tours that go to Volterra and San Gimignano...two of our favorite places in Tuscany (this assumes you have already visted Florence). As to Capri, this is actually one of the easiest places to do without a tour or guide. The hydrofoil pier is a short 5 min walk from the ship in Naples, and you will be on the same hydrofoils or boats used by the ships' tours. And it is relatively easy to duplicate the tours (at far lower cost) by than taking the ferry over to Sorrento and using the Circumvesuviania Line (train) from Sorrento to Pompeii (Pompeii Scavi station) and than back into Naples...or you can do the whole thing in reverse starting with Pompeii in the morning. when its much cooler and getting yourselves to Capri in time for a lovely lunch with a view. One warning for first time Med cruisers. On our recent Grand Princess cruise we met a couple who had booked $3000 worth of tours on the cruise...and were having some 2nd thoughts about the total cost of their trip. Tours do have their advantages, but there is something to say for saving a few dollars, avoiding the group mentality of tours, and just doing your own thing. Paying $40 per person for a walking tour can often be replaced (in many cities) with a guide book and local hop-on /off buses.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Juliadlf]

Avery,

 

We did the Liberty last August and visited the same ports. We had a group of 16 and did Venice, Cannes, Dubrovnik, and Barcelona on our own without any organized tour. For the other ports--Rome, Naples, Livorno, and Messina--and for our transfers to and from the ship, I used Salvatore Lucibello of Drive Amalfi (I arranged everything with him via the Internet). He can be reached at salvatoredriveamalfi@hotmail.com or *****. Here's a link to the review I wrote so you can get an idea of what we did and the prices, which were much lower than we would have received from Carnival:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=68470&page=29&pp=25&highlight=Liberty

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

John

 

I was trying to locate their website. Salvatore does not have a website?Thanks

Julia

[JHUNTGOLF]

I was trying to locate their website. Salvatore does not have a website?Thanks

Julia

 

Julia, you're correct about Salvatore not having a web site. I relied on the positive comments about him that I had seen on this Cruise Critic web site as well as other sites. All of my dealings with him were via e-mail. He responded very quickly to all of my inquiries and was very willing to make changes to meet our needs. For example, on a Wednesday in Rome, we originally had him (not him personally, but a local driver/guide) picking us up at our hotel near the airport in the morning for a Highlights of Rome tour. However, we decided to go to the Papal Audience in the morning and arranged to have our driver/guide pick us up at the Vatican at 12:30pm to start our tour there. After our tour, the driver/guide dropped us back off at our hotel. We had a great time.

 

John

[Juliadlf]

Thanks John. I guess I'll try the email and see what happens.

Julia

[BarbMatt]

Just wondering if you could provide more info on Aldo? I checked his website and sent him and email - - Chris is his wife - does she accompany him on the trips? I am hoping to do the Amalfi coast and Pompei. Does he get you back in plenty of time for the ship?

[grandmadarlene]

I was trying to locate their website. Salvatore does not have a website?Thanks

Julia

 

I attempted to e-mail salvatore and it failed. he must have changed his address.

[Juliadlf]

I attempted to e-mail salvatore and it failed. he must have changed his address.

 

Not sure which one you used but I used the ***** and did receive a response back from Salvatore.

 

Julia

[CruizenSuzen]

Hi All. I just returned from the Mediterranean Cruise on the Norwegian Jewel. In Rome and Florence, we used 'Driver in Rome' as a private guide. There were really two groups of us sharing this tour, my husband and I and a group of six. We met in the Roll Call for our sailing date. First, I'll give my general review of the Company and then the specifics for each location. I hope you find this helpful.

 

We were very happy with both tours. Both guides were extremely knowledgable, professional, and eager to please. I can easily say that these were the best tours I have ever taken. In Rome especially, we had very limited time in port. Remo was very conscious of what we wanted to do and how much time we had to it. He was honest about how much time we could spend at each site and still see everything on the itinerary. This was priceless! The sites are just so interesting that you would like to linger and take it in, but in reality, with only 8 hours in the city, you just can't do that and see everything. The car for the eight of us was able to maneuver down side streets and the result was that we were able to see much more than with the ship tour at about the same or a slightly cheaper price. I would not hesitate to recommend the Company to anyone. If you have any questions, please ask. Now onto the specifics.....

 

Rome

Our driver, Remo, met us just outisde the ship at 8am. After some brief introductions, he asked us what we wanted to accomplish that day. We booked the 'Exclusive Best of Rome' tour and for the most part stuck to that itinerary.

 

We started off to Rome about 8:15 to take the hour and a half drive. Along the way, Remo gave us some commentary about Rome that was quite interesting. We stopped on a hilltop just outside of the city to get a bird's eye view. We got out, took some pictures, and then headed into the city.

 

Our first stop was near the 'Wedding Cake' to get a view of the Roman Forum. Remo dropped us, gave us a meeting time and location, and off we went. We climbed some steps and found our great overlook of the forum. We took a few pictures and met Remo again.

 

From here, we headed to St. Peter in Chains. Along the way, we drove by Circus Maximus and Remo gave us some history. We stopped along the road and took some pictures. Withing minutes, we arrived at the Church. Remo parked right in front and waited outside. We spent about 15 minutes in the Church. Just outside, there were some souvinier shops, with tour books, t-shirts, etc. This proved to be our only shopping time in Rome.

 

Next, we were off to the Colosseum. It was here that we really began to learn the value of Remo's knowledge. When we got near the Colosseum, we saw the swarms of people. It was crazy! Remo had a solution, though. He dropped seven of us off just outside of the Colosseum and took one person about a block away to buy tickets. He gave us clear instructions on how to avoid the crowds to get in faster, and established a meeting time and place. It worked like a charm. We didn't wait in any lines, and we had about 30-40 minutes in the Colosseum, which proved to be plenty of time.

 

After meeting Remo at our designated spot, we took in the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Pantheon. We got out of the van at the fountain and Pantheon and had about 15-20 minutes at each. Each time, Remo gave us a meeting location and a time to meet. Our schedule was tight, and he did a great job keeping us on track.

 

Now, it was about 1:30 and it was time to think about lunch. Remo had a place in mind, and it didn't disappoint. We passed the Vatican on the way and established our meeting location for after our time at the VAtican. When we passed, we saw the line for Sistene Chapel. It was huge!!! I was little worried that we were in trouble, but Remo reassured, saying that he "knew people". Onto lunch....

 

We had a feast! We started with some red wine, antipasto, potatoes, rice, bruschetta, and bread. Then, for the main course, we had spaghetti marinara. It was spaghetti tossed in a light tomato sauce with garlic and olive oil. It was great. For dessert, we had a lemon sorbet and a lemoncello. For the eight of us, lunch came out to about 25E per person. It was a little more than I planned to spend, but it was well worth it. It was one of our best lunches in Italy. Since Remo had prearranged the stop, we didn't waste a lot of time. I'd say we spent about an hour on lunch. Not too bad....

 

Now it was off to the Vatican. When we arrived, I was surprised to see that the line for the Sistene Chapel was gone! I guess all the tour groups had come and gone by the time we got there (about 2:30). Remo accompanied us inside to help us get tickets. We went through the Sistene Chapel and St. Peter's Basillica and had a little over an hour to do both. This wasn't enough time, but honestly, I think we could have spent all day here. I guess it just gives an excuse to come back.

 

After meeting Remo, we headed out of the city for the mandatory gelato stop. Wow! It was great! By now, it was about 5:10 and time to head back to the ship. We arrived at 6:15, which was perfect. We didn't waste any time, but we also weren't sweating bullets on the ride back. I don't think the day could have gone any better.

 

Florence

Again, our guide picked us up just outside of the ship. Today our guide was Manny, Remo's nephew. Just like Remo, he asked us what we wanted to accomplish that day. We booked the 'Best of Pisa and Florence' and stuck to the itinerary.

 

We started out with a bird's eye view of the city. We started in Santa Croce church. The church was beautiful from the outside, but we decided not to go in. The charge was 5E, and we'd seen a lot of churches, so we passed. Instead, Manny took us to a leather school. Florence is famous for its leathers, and it was interesting. More importantly, it was inside. It was really cold and rainy in the morning and it was a good choice.

 

After this, we headed to Academia Gallery to see David. Before leaving home, we asked the Company to make reservations for us, and ours were at 11am. It was a National Holiday in Italy that day and as such, the fee to get in was only 3E. It was an amazing site. I would definitely recommend seeing David and making a reservation. It worked out well.

 

After Academia, Manny dropped us off in the leather market for some shopping. We spent about 45 minutes here and then met for lunch, literally three block from the leather market.

 

We dined at Nuti for lunch. I had a pizza marinara, and it was wonderful. It's a simple pizza with marinara sauce and garlic. DH had a pizza as well. His had proscutto and mushrooms. We split a half liter of chianti. Total bill for the two of us, 25E. It was very good. I actually liked it better than the meal in Rome, but I love pizza.

 

After lunch, the group decided to split up. Some of ladies wanted to continue shopping, and some of us wanted to see the Duomo and Uffizzi. So, Manny gave us a meeting place and time, and we went our seperate ways. The Duomo is really a great site to see. We didn't go in, since the line was very long, but it was great. Along the way, we stopped for the mandatory gelato, and met Manny at the entrance to the bridge over the Arno.

 

Off to Pisa....We didn't schedule a lot of time in Pisa because we just wanted to see the tower. We saw the tower. That's all I can say about that.

 

After the tower, Manny took us to a small shop where we could buy some olive oil and chianti and then we headed back to the ship. We arrived back to the ship at six, and said our goodbyes to Manny.

 

Like I said above, the tours were great and couldn't have been happier with the service we received. I also mentioned that we shared the tour with a group of six that we met in our Roll Call. I was a little hesitant about doing this, but it worked out great. I think the key is to agree on an itinerary beforehand, and then stick to it. We didn't have any problems at all and we really enjoyed the company of the group we toured with, and I really think this is why.

 

If you have any questions, please post. I'd be happy to help.

[Host Karen]

Just a reminder: All reviews of tours/guides must be in response to a request for information or assistance.

 

Thanks!

 

Karen

HostKaren@CruiseCritic.com

[Avery]

Dear KBDubai:

 

Be careful. Cruises may be arriving at a different port, at different times and/or different days. I would suggest you start your own thread using the Europe thread or continue on your roll call with a new title such as, "Independant Shore Excursions, Millenium, July 1, 2006."

[Avery]

Dear KBDubai:

 

I just of another possibility. Why not contact the tour operators directly? They may have some tours you can join.

[Host Karen]

Avery provides a perfect lead-in to remind everyone that posts on sharing tours are allowed on roll call threads ONLY. Please do not post on the Port of Call boards asking to share tours or seeking additional passengers for a tour. All such posts will be removed.

 

Karen

HostKaren@CruiseCritic.com