Santorini? Corfu? Dubrovnik?

Sally, if you go to cruisecritic.com and click onto "ports", you will get information on these 3 (and other) ports. Corfu and Dubrovnik are ports I will be in this October and we plan to just see them on our own, based on what I read in guide books and at cruise critic. Cruising is not my idea of travel but I was made an offer I couldn't refuse and I want to make the best of it. Santorini you can certainly explore on your own, too, I think.

Dubrovnik--easy to do on your own, and probably more enjoyable. You just need to get a bus from the cruise ship to the Old Town.

We had a day in Santorini several years ago while on a cruise. With the couple we were traveling with, we rented a car for the day and we able to go all over the island, had magnificent vistas, could stop where and when we wanted, and had a great swim at a beach on the opposite side of the island from where the ships stop. We have usually found that either hiring a driver, which we did in Gdansk (on another cruise) and the Greek mainland or renting a car gives us much more flexibility, independence and is far more economical than cruise tours.

Thank you for the ideas! We agree completely and are renting ATV's in Santorini!

We were on Santorini last summer and think I would support the car rental over ATVs. We used public transportation for our needs which was more than adequate for our interests. There are some steep hills on Santorini and we saw a lot of ATVs struggling to get up the hills at a slow speed. And same for the low power Vespas.

Never go with the cruise tours. Its always better, funner and cheaper to rent a car, take a bus to towns, or hire a driver than be with a busload of tourists

I am always a little careful with "never" and "always" recommendations. While we seldom take the ship excursions, there are times when the ship excursion is, in fact, the best arrangement. You just have to know how to pick and chose.

Meant to comment earlier on your other ports. Corfu doesn't have a lot. The street markets are good and we bought a couple of leather products there. There is an old fort on the far side of that is somewhat interesting. We also took a little tourist "fake train" that wandered down the shore line into some of the neighborhoods. The comments were good and interesting and it was cheap. The McDonalds across from the train pickup point has good restrooms.

Dubrovnik was more interesting. For $50 Euro a cab took four of us on a extended tour (about an hour or so) through the country side above Dubrovnik and explained a lot about the conflict. The cab dropped us in town. Since the cab ride to town would have been 10E, we thought the tour was a pretty good deal. If you have a lot of energy walk the wall. Had a great lunch but have no idea of how to direct you to the restaurant.

We have always had pretty good luck finding cab drivers who will give guide tours for 50 to 100 E. All three ports are easily done on your own.

Tnank you everyone! I appreciate all the insight. I agree, cruise ship excursions can make you feel like cattle... I remember one in Guatamala... 48 of us on a bus... the driver was a kamikase tearing up the dirt roads... passing on washed out hairpins... it was insane! Then, we came across some villagers and police in riot gear having an altercation (yes... in the dirt road before us) so we came to a complete stop. The guide said "hmm I wonder what's happening here?" To which my son with the misanthropic sense of humor retorted "they're rolling the bus and beating us to death... that's what's happening here!" After getting through that, the bus driver peeled out again. Brian said "where did this guy get his license, from Sally Struthers? Court reporting, medical assisting, Guatamala Bus Driving...." The bus was hysterically laughing... it was clearly nervous tension release. P.S. You only get this if you remember the days Sally Struthers hawked degree-by-mail education.

Anyway, I have usually found the cruise ships oversell the tour experiences they offer and "generally" greatly overcharge.

I feel more confident that Turkey will be safe to wander without a cruise guide thanks to the input here. Now I have to come to terms with being loofah-ed from head to toe by a man at the turkish bath!