Hi!!!
About to board next week, and there are shore excursions we need to book! Has anyone done this cruise ship? I know I can book from the ship, but I feel that we may get fried on rates. Anyone done this route and have any tips?
It's me and my mom, shes 70 but likes to get around. SO no major hikes, but maybe city walks, or beach??
Trying to figure out best sites to get these excursions booked!
Thank You!!!
You can do some research on each port for ideas on private excursions, Just google "shore excursions for X". Also. Google each port for "things to see and do". On the Cruise Critic website you can get lots of info for every port of call on your itinerary, but it takes a bit of searching. Some ports will have hop on/hop off buses standing by. Google that, too.
By the way, your cruise ship website should have a list with prices for all their excursions for your particular itinerary. You can book any excursion on line with Norwegian.
Don't wait until you are on the ship to seek this information . Get busy on the internet looking for alternatives and you can compare prices. Once you are on the ship it will be too late.
You will always pay more for the ship shore excursions. But you don't have to worry about getting back to the ship on time - they will make sure that you get on board !
We have used the "transport" option where we use the ship's excursion to take you into the city/town and then we have our own agenda of places to visit. We have also used cruisemapper.com to get the port information/maps and then do our own transportation into the town/village and explore on our own.
If you feel you need a tour instead of doing it more independently, look at other excursions besides Norwegian and price them before you commit to Norwegian's tours.
smartcruisetours.com
gobe.com - click shore excursions on the top right
rometoolkit.com
artviva.com
visitacity.com
We have been on seven European cruises and rarely take the shore excursions. However, we do a lot of research for each port and decide what we can do on our own. Frequently will negotiate with a taxi driver for a tour. Often check with the local TI for local walking tours. We always have some idea of what we want to do and see. The ship will have a port orientation program on board prior to each stop.
First, cruisecritic.com will have loads of information for you. Not the easiest site to navigate, but lots of experienced posters.
Cruise line excursions are expensive. But the ship will wait for you if a ship excursion is late returning -- not so with people who opt for private excursions. On several occasions we have seen people left on the dock in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.
Considering the cost of getting yourself to the next port, opting to go very far afield on your own might cause more stress than justified by the cost savings. On the other hand, if you are going to be staying close to the ship and can easily get back, and can give yourself plenty of "elbow room" for unexpected contingences, then it might be ok. Just something you'll have to decided based on the circumstances.
Ditto for not leaving shore excursion decisions until you board the ship! Even now, it might be too late for the most popular choices - whether traveling independently or with a group - depending on the destination, the number of ships in port, and the size of your ship.
As novice cruisers more than 20 years ago, we didn't know that many passengers book their shore excursions months in advance of the departure date. Sadly, some of the excursions we were interested in were sold out. Now, we research ports well in advance - whether we take the ship's excursion or do our own thing using Rick Steves guide books.
I watched a RS youtube video the other day on Mediterranean cruise ports. It was about an hour long and very helpful. He also has a book that was about $17 delivered on Amazon.
Try Tom's Port Guides @ tomsportguides.com for good free guides on line.
My feeling is anything you can do on a shore excursion with the ship, you can do cheaper and more efficiently by yourself. You can bypass the crowds and get right off the boat when it docks (while the excursions are still gathering upstairs). Taxis will be waiting if you need to get to a sight.
Your mom is 70. If she has difficulty getting around, the ship's excursion may be good; they'll wait for you. If she gets around well, however, consider how well you can do on your own - rather than sticking with the excursion that's waiting for the people who don't.
I always check out what's on offer through the ship. Then I look at tripadvisor to see what the top sights in town are. After that I figure out which one(s) I want to see and how to do it myself (walk, taxi, bus, tram, train, etc.) making sure I give myself time to get back to the ship.
We cruise quite a bit and have done the 7 day Western Med cruise out of Barcelona.
We always look for private tours instead of the expensive ship's tours. Do some research on the internet.
I have organized my own tours by joining the cruise critic website roll calls. You find the specific roll call for the cruise that you have booked and can post on the roll call recruiting others for tours. Sometimes a tour is already posted and you can join that tour.
Some ports are amenable to doing your own thing.
For Barcelona, you can do a lot on your own, but I recommend Barcelona Day Tours.
Rome in Limo has a great reputation and they might have a tour that you would like.
In Naples, you can walk from the port to the train and take the train to Pompeii. A lot of people do that.
Try toursbylocals.com. They have a link for shore excursions with private drivers. We used whe. We went on a British Isles cruise. They know the cruise ship schedules and end their tours back at the port with time to spare.
