I'm taking my wife and 2 kids on a dream cruise vacation in the Mediterranean: Venice, Dubrovnik, Athens, Rome, Florence, Nice, and Barcelona. Since the cruise is stretching my budget, any advice for seeing the sights on our own and avoiding the ships expensive excursions?
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
One thing that's always made me leery about going off on my own on cruises is the fact that if I get delayed, the ship could sail without me....it won't do that if I'm on the ship's tour. That would be especially concerning to me in Athens and Rome, which aren't on the water and are served by ports that can be some distance away.
Having said that, Barcelona is one port where you shouldn't have any problems. The shuttle buses bring you out of the port about 100 meters from the Christopher Columbus statue at the foot of Las Ramblas. From there, you can get aboard the hop-on hop off tourist bus (Route Blue), transfer at Placa Catalunya to the Red Route, and see just about everything you'll want to see in Barcelona. One-day tickets are 21 Euro for adults and 13 Euro for children 4-12. Click here for more information about it. The Red and Blue routes each take about an hour, not counting places where you may want to hop off. If you have to cut it short, simply hail a cab to return to the port....they're not very expensive.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Venice, Dubrovnik and Nice you can certainly do on your own, just walking around and maybe with a little research beforehand so you'll know what you want to see. If you go to cruisecritic.com and click onto "ports" and follow the links you can get info on each of the ports on your itinerary.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
We have done six European cruises, have done all of those ports on our own, and have never been close to missing the ship. The first key is that you absolutely must do your homework (no one else is going to do it for you -- certainly not the ship) so that you know exact what you are going to do in port. Second, equally important, you must know and understand your transportation options -- which is generally the train. Send me your schedule and I will give you some suggestions.
You will have lots of company. I am guessing that upwards to half or more of the ship goes on their own.
Posted by
Edmonton, AB, Canada
668 posts
Going it alone is not a problem. We did it and only had one organized our, but not by the cruiseline. In Athens, the station is a fair walk, depending on where your ship docks, but the train takes you quickly into Athens and you can get to most place from the Monesteraki station.
Yes, you are at risk if you "miss the boat", but just make sure you leave plenty time for the return trip to the ship.
Also check cruisecritic.com where you will get all sorts of advice on there "message board" - like this site, you can post questions and get answers
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I would start by checking out cruisecritic.com to get an idea of what your options are for each port. Once you have an idea what you would like to see or do, you can start checking for public transportation options, time needed and cost to create a useful itinerary and budget.
You need to be back before the ship leaves but, with planning, that's not too difficult.