Port Excursions...Experienced Help Needed!

[chud1623]

New to cruising. (First time cruising and first time to Europe) I'm spending some time exploring the best private tours in each port. Best experiences, best operators, best things to see and do!!! Cruise is July 16/2008 Brilliance of the Sea leaving from Barcelona. Ports include Livorno, Naples(DriveAmalfi?), Rome(DriverinRome?), Venice, Dubrovnik, and Nice. Thanks for all your help. Peter. :confused:

[Lobbylin]

Venice and Dubrovnik are easily do-able on your own - everything is nearby so no guide needed. Just do your homework and bring along a map of each place.

 

I am sure there will be a ships shuttle for Dubrovnik if your ship does not tender directly into the city of Dubrovnik. If you want to get to Cavtat from Dubrovnik there are small boats that go there (takes 15mins) every hour or so.

 

Agreed Rome and Naples requires transport of some kind and the people you mention have been mentioned frequently, so I am sure you can't go wrong with them.

 

Nice - really depends on what you want to do - There are many lovely places and hilltop villages to see that would easily fill a day there.:)

 

For an idea on what to do in each port - I always have a look at the ships tours for an idea of what is on offer and then tailor it to a private tour.

[Biogal]

We were very tours on our own type of people. In Dubrovnick we were not dropped off in the old city, but after about a 15 minute hike we were there. This was one of our favorite places! Just walk around the walled city and it will be well worth it. In Venice you can do whatever you like. It is great to just walk around with a map and explore. Rome and Naples will both require a train ride. Rome is about 1 hour away from the port. In Naples to get to Pompei or Capri you must take a train. Everything was very easy by train! Look at portreviews.com to get some great info! Have a blast!

[YoPhilly]

New to cruising. (First time cruising and first time to Europe) I'm spending some time exploring the best private tours in each port. Best experiences, best operators, best things to see and do!!! Cruise is July 16/2008 Brilliance of the Sea leaving from Barcelona. Ports include Livorno, Naples(DriveAmalfi?), Rome(DriverinRome?), Venice, Dubrovnik, and Nice. Thanks for all your help. Peter. :confused:

 

I used Fabrizio Meloragno of www.allarounditaly.net for Rome and he was very good.:)

 

The driver we used for the Amalfi coast was adequate, not great. It was Giovanni from tourofitaly. I'd choose someone else.

[KathyJud]

Where the ship docks in Naples you walk about a block and get a ferry to Capri where you can walk all over the town. That was all we had time to do with our one day in Naples. Pompei was what a lot of others did. Capri was expensive for shopping but very beautiful and fun to just walk all over and take photos. Ferry was not expensive but this was five or six years ago before the Euro and our falling dollar.

[texancruzer]

We too like to do either private tours or go it on our own (usually with a rental car) but on our recent cruise to Europe we ended up doing quite a few ship tours (also on Brilliance of the Seas). I know I know..... YUK --- but we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed our day on each one.

 

We did a private tour with APTours in Naples. We went straight to Pompeii where they had arranged a guide for us (Pina was great ! ) for a 2 hr+ tour. Then to Ravello, Amalfi, Positano and then to Sorrento. We had the option of taking the ferry back to Naples (30 minutes) versus driving back (1 hr) over pretty much the same area we had already covered so we opted for the ferry. 9 euros each and it was great. Ferry landing was literally right next to where Brilliance was docked :)

 

In Dubrovnik you will have the opportunity to purchase a shuttle ticket from guest relations for $ 8.00 US for each person and they run all day long. It will drop you right near the entrance to old town where you can explore, walk the wall, shop etc. When you are ready to go back to the ship....just walk back to the same spot and catch the next one back.

 

Livorno - did the ship tour "Pisa and Florence On Your Own" this is basically a bus ride to each place with a little history and info thrown in. Then they give you a map and a time and a meeting place and you have time to explore on your own. We found this tour to be perfect for trying to fit in both places in one day.

 

Nice - we actually docked in Villefranche which is right around the bend from Nice. We did ship tour here too. Went first to Nice, then Eze (had lunch and on your own time) then to Monaco and Monte Carlo. Free time in each place. Again perfect for seeing as much of this area as possible in one day. We really enjoyed visiting the Jacques Cousteau museum in Monaco altho we were rushed.

 

Did not visit Venice.

 

Rome was where we began our trip and we spent 2 nights precruise. Angel Tours of Rome were great for the Vatican and Coliseum/Forum tours.

 

Barcelona is where we ended our trip and we spent one night post cruise there. Sagrada Familia was well worth the effort to see. We also spent quite a bit of time on Las Ramblas.

 

Hope this helps. Have a great time and let us know how your first cruise went. Know you will be hooked like the rest of us :D