Gibraltar

To the top of the Rock and back. Caught the local bus from the dock to the lower end of the town area. We walked through town to the cable car. Rode to the top and walked back down to the ship with a stop in town for a beer. About in that range of time. Could also ride the cable car back down and save an hour or so and a lot of stress on the legs. Walking down hill is hard and especially the last mile or so when you are really walking down staircases. That gives a very close up and personally feeling. And, of course, you see things that you will never see from the cable car or a taxi.

Walk through the old town, the central area, the market place etc. It's really like being in an old English town rather than at the Southern tip of Spain. You'll have to pay in Sterling, but the fish and chips are really good there.

And yes, the view from the top of the rock is - historic. This is where in ancient times the end of the world was expected; the four pillars of Hercules... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Hercules

cruisecritic is probably the best resource for cruise port of call info. You will find recommendations on everything from self tours to group tours (not through the ship which are always over priced). Find your cruise line then your ship then your sailing date on the Rollcall page and you can meet others who will be on your same ship/ Many rollcalls have people who organize private tours for a group from the rollcall and they will all go together. You have 7 hours so You should even have time to do the tour inside the rock - it is pretty cool.

Get a group of people and do a taxi (van) tour up the rock. Let the driver know you only have four hours. There are a few stops on the tour where you could spend longer, if you had the time, but you can get a good overview and explanation from the taxi driver in the time you have.

We were planning to take the cable car to the top and walk down. The wind came up so they shut the cable cars down while we were in line. Our backup plan was a taxi. Within a minute or two of shutting the cable car down, there were taxi vans in the parking lot and a supervisor herding us into groups to fill them up for their tour. One of the highlights was very close interaction with the apes. I doubt we could have done that outside a taxi tour. The driver also gives you a running commentary about Gibraltar, its history and current place as a piece of England on the south tip of Spain.

I expect there will be a bunch of these vans waiting when you dock. Be ready to get off the ship first to give yourself as much time as possible. If it's like our experience at the cable car, there will be someone there filling up the taxi for you so you don't have to form your own group.

Thanks everyone. With such a short period of time in port; I was concerned we'd only step foot on shore and then turn around and get back on the ship. Thanks again.

As a general rule. Anything the ship offers as an excursion can be done in less time, and for less money, by yourself. Check out the ship excursions. If you see something you like, you just have to figure out how to do it yourself. Normally you can Google tour guides in various places, which will be a much better tour but might be as much or more than a ship excursion. You can save money by designing your own itinerary and hiring a taxi to get you there. When pressed for time, taxis are a better choice than public transportation. If you have extra time, you can save a lot - and gain a better view of local life - by using local buses.

This is a courtesy bump to ameliorate an issue I caused in the forum. Please ignore this post.