Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

Nice
Florence
Rome
Naples/Capri
Venice
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Kotor, Montenegro

??

We're looking at excursions through the cruise and they are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Would love some local tips or insight into getting cheaper rates on tours and excursions!

Thanks!

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

when you go to rome it's actually chivitivechia (sp?)..about a 40 min train ride from rome

once there in chivitivechia, you can take the train from there to rome-it's easy, about .5 miles from the cruise port, and i think it cost about 10 euro.

that will bring you to the termini train station in rome..from there you have a few options..i'm guessing you will have major time constraints

the colliseum has an insane line, so unfortunately that will prob be off your to do list. you could take the subway to the spanish steps, and there's a lot of nice shopping over there along with some great restaurants

you could also wander to the pantheon and the trevi fountain which are pretty close, and both beautiful

you could take a cab from the train station to the vatican..but again, the lines will most likely be pretty long

hth!

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

Join CruiseCritic.com LINK
you maybe able to find some suggestions on local travel tours and you can also find a roll call for your cruise with others taking the same cruise you are.

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

Just went to Italy on our Honeymoon last June.

From Florence, I would HIGHLY recommend doing a winery tour to Il Palaggio. I can't remember the name of the tour company but it was totally reasonable.

In Capri, people sell excursions right at the docks - lots of options and probably the best prices you can get.

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

I joined cruise critic when I did a European Cruise last year. It was a great resource...I found a company called Rome By Limo. I can't say enough good things about their tours. They were amazing. We used them all over Italy.

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

You are going to love the cruise! Dubrovnik is just beautiful! It's one of our favorite locations! You do not need an excursion here. I believe our ship took us to the actual city by bus. It is so small and quaint. No further tours are needed. Walk the wall. Definitely! Try to do that first thing in the morning. We went in the summer, and we were so happy we did it early. It would have been unbearably hot in the afternoon. Then we walked to a beach just outside the walled city. It's pebble sand, but the water is to die for! Then we wandered in the city later on and ate some delish mussels. You will love Dubrovnik!!!

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

Thanks everyone! I joined cruise critic last year and have been on my cruise's roll call.

Just figured I'd see what LIF peeps do over in the mediterranean! Thanks so much for help. I'm going to look up the suggestions. I figured trains and buses aren't too much of a hassle.

I'd love any other suggestions!

(Happy to hear Croatia is nice! I wasn't too sure about it....)

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

I did a medi. cruise a few years ago and booked several excursions provided by local tour guides with fellow cruisemates found on cruisecritic.com.

I highly recommend doing this because it's alot cheaper (we paid $60-80/pp for a full day tour) and the personal experience was wonderful! There were a max. of 6-8 per van, not a bus load of folks from the same cruise ship.

At Naples, one tour guide even took us to his farm near Positano and gave us a glimpse into what living there was like. He introduced us to his family and his wife also served us lunch. My husband, a real critic, loved it. The same tour guide also drove us around the Naples coast to Pompeii.

I also did tours at Florence, Istanbul, Rome and one other destination. If you like the tour guide info, esp. the one at Naples, FM me and I can dig up the info for you.

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

I am from Croatia but my DH is from a small town just between Dubrovnik & Kotor...so I am very familiar with both. YOU DO NOT need a formal tour, just wander as another poster said. Have lunch, take a dip. They are "cities" but not like we think as in "city". The beaches are right there, many cafe's along the beach.
Word of caution: The restaurants within the old walls of Dubrovnik can be very $$$$ to the point of rip off!

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

I wanted to add that the distance between Livorno (the port) and Florence is far. We were so torn whether or not to see Pisa, too. We decided just to take the train into Florence. Best decision! Florence was lovely! And to save time, you may want to buy tickets in advance online for the various museums. That will help you to avoid the enormous lines in a short amount of time.

I don't know how long you are in Rome for... If you are only there for one day and want to see the Coliseum and the Vatican, you may want to purchase a formal tour. Totally worth seeing both places, IMO. We stayed in Rome a few days prior to the departure, so we were able to do a lot. Rome is really wonderful, as well!

Please feel free to ask any more questions! We loved our first (20 day!) cruise so much, that we booked another the following year. It was a great way for us to see a lot of different parts of Europe. We will never forget those trips!

Message edited 5/11/2011 5:58:42 PM.

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

Book your colleuseum tix online in advance, you skip the entire line.

Best thing we ever did!

Re: Mediterranean Cruise: anyone do great/inexpensive excursions in....

From Nice, there was a tour around Nice, then to a cute city called Eze and then they take you to Monte Carlo. Great day tour and not too expensive (unless you end up in the casino )