ncl excursions - medit.

[happy123]

CAn anyone please share thier NCL sponsored excursions with me.

What did you like, not like. What did you hear about the other excursions from fellow passengers?

 

Any info is appreciated.

[bunduo]

CAn anyone please share thier NCL sponsored excursions with me.

What did you like, not like. What did you hear about the other excursions from fellow passengers?

 

Any info is appreciated.

 

 

We took the ship sponsered tour to St. Paul de Vence at Villefranche. I loved St. Paul de Vence. It's a walled medieval village perched up high in the hills above Nice. It's now an artist colony.

 

First, you will board a 'motorcoach' and take a tour around Nice on the way to St. Paul. Once you arrive, they park the bus outside the village. The tour guide walks you through the village ending up at the cemetery where the artist Marc Chagall is buried. After that, you have about 45 minutes to look around. You will get back to the ship in time (approximately 1215) to look around Villefranche. One couple was dropped off in Nice on the way back to ship.

 

Pros - the price. At $48 dollars pp, it's a good value.

- The village is awesome.

- The tour guide was very good.

- We arrived early and beat the crowds.

- Croissants, which we purchased at a cafe recommended by one of the shopkeepers in the village, were light, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth memorably delicious. The cafe is located right outside of the village. It's also where you will meet up with your tour guide.

 

Cons - Too short. They could and should have given us more time in St. Paul. At least 30 more minutes. This would have still have given us plenty of time to walk around Villefranche.

 

Hope this helps. -Matt :)

[bonnieg]

Matt: Thank you for your review of the St. Paul de Vence tour. I've been waiting to hear from someone who has taken it. I also wanted to stop off in Nice for lunch on the way back to the ship. I was happy that the tour let people do that. My question is: Do you think that we would be able to go off on our own as soon as the bus arrives in St. Paul de Vence? It sounded that you didn't have enough "on your own" time. I am interested in artwork and wanted time to visit the galleries. Thank you.

Bonnie

[bunduo]

My question is: Do you think that we would be able to go off on our own as soon as the bus arrives in St. Paul de Vence? It sounded that you didn't have enough "on your own" time. I am interested in artwork and wanted time to visit the galleries. Thank you.

Bonnie

 

Bonnie,

 

I'm sure they will let you go as soon as the bus arrives. Our bus was the first to arrive and many of the shops weren't open. When we were leaving, the town was getting really crowded. The actual tour inside St. Paul is probably no more than 15 minutes. They stop at the entrance, the fountain, and the cemetery. You will LOVE the artwork. There weren't any amateurs, that is for sure! I loved St. Paul. I'm still thinking about and it's been 3 weeks. Grab some crossiants, to go!

[bonnieg]

Matt, Thanks for your quick response. I'm very surprised that the tour arrived back to the ship so fast. What time did the tour depart? The NCL site mentioned that it left at 9am (which I thought was late for such a short day) and it lasted 4 hours. I'm trying to decide whether to do a tour or take a taxi to St Paul and back. Thanks.

Bonnie

[Yellowjacket1]

Bonnie,

 

I've written reviews of our May 28th cruise on the Jewel, including the ship's excursion to Taormina and Mt. Etna. Go to the thread, "Review of Saragoza and W. Med Cruise, Pt. 1" and see what I wrote about it there. I've copied some of the review here that pertained to that excursion.

 

"The first port was Messina and we booked the ship's tour to Taormina and Mt. Etna as my wife had not been able to locate a tour company out of Messina which she thought provided a better option. Cruizen Susen (whom my wife had met on the Roll Call), was also on the ship's tour to Taormina and Mt. Etna and she has provided a good review of this tour under the thread labeled "Norwegian Jewel Shore Excursions Review". All I can add to what Susan wrote was to agree with her that Taormina is indeed beautiful and a "can't miss". I'll also say that the weather on Mt Etna was more that a bit cool, it was windy and cool and as we were finishing up our time there it started raining and then hailing. By then, we were back on the bus and unaffected, but if you are typically cool-natured you may need more than just a sweater or windbreaker. As it tends to rain up there, you may need some type of head covering as well. An umbrella may get blown inside out as it is quite windy."

 

Overall, it was one of the better ship's tours we've taken. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being GREAT, I'd give it a 7.5. Certainly, I'd do it over again and recommend it to others. The biggest problem with it was that it was a ship's tour and had little flexibility. That is, our group of 6 was on a bus with 40 - 50 other people and you lose something when you're on a tour with that many people. Also, we would have liked to stay in the city of Taormina a bit longer to wander and shop. However, because it's a ship tour, it has a tight schedule to maintain to keep from holding up the ship's departure. If we had been able to find a private tour that offered both Taormina and Mt. Etna, we would have probably gone for that (especially if we found good reviews of the tour on these boards). But alas, my wife had not been able to find a private tour operator she was comfortable with for Taormina and Mt. Etna.

 

Steve

[bunduo]

Matt, Thanks for your quick response. I'm very surprised that the tour arrived back to the ship so fast. What time did the tour depart? The NCL site mentioned that it left at 9am (which I thought was late for such a short day) and it lasted 4 hours. I'm trying to decide whether to do a tour or take a taxi to St Paul and back. Thanks.

Bonnie

 

Bonnie, we had to meet in the theater at 725am. The tour was scheduled for 8am. I think 9am may be incorrect/misprint. They get the passengers taking ship sponsored excursions off first...then open the tenders up to people who don't have anything scheduled. 9am seems a little late but it might be possible they have adjusted the departure time. It is a 4 hour excursion. If you want to take a taxi, there is a taxi stand outside of the tender building and to your right as you exit. A taxi will be more expensive but it is more flexible. Either way, you're going to enjoy yourself when you get there. -Matt