anotherview Loc: California

I've been on three tours of Europe, one including Russia. The tours offered excursions, free of cost if I recall correctly.
Talk with the agent who arranged your tour for further information about tour excursions and their terms.

I've been to Rome. Our included excursion involved a lot of walking to see the sights. I felt as if I stepped on hallowed ground for this site as a bastion of early Western civilization.

During our walk, I became dehydrated. Later, at our early dinner, I drank nearly all of two large bottles of water. The first bottle went down fast.

This info has nothing to do with your question, but I offer my experience as a caution. Stay hydrated.

Enjoy your cruise.

donb17

We've been on several cruises to most of these cities. For lots of information, go to https://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page.

For local tours not associated with the cruise line, we recommend https://www.toursbylocals.com/login. These tours are generally very good (although we've not so far used them in the Med) and significantly cheaper than the cruise shore excursions. But generally with the cruise line shore excursions, you're assured of returning to the ship before it sails, so if you use Tours By Locals, be sure to allow enough time to return to the ship.

More specifically:
Barcelona: two must-sights are Park Guell and Segrada Familia. Between these two, you'll need most of a day. Many great photographic opportunities.
Monte Carlo: not a lot to see other than the casino, to which you can easily take a taxi (or walk, probably) from the harbor.
Rome: you'll need transportation from the port (Citavecchia) to Rome. Haven't done, that since our only visits to Rome itself (vs Citavecchia) were land tours. There's a lot to see in Rome and it can be done by walking once you get into the city center; look at WikiTravel for detailed info.
Taormina (Sicily): must-see here is Mt Etna: definitely worth a shore excursion from the ship.
Venice: lots to see (we spent a week here 15 years ago). Can/must see it all by walking or water taxi since no cars are allowed.

Haven't been to Dubrovnik (although we spent a day in Split), Motor, Kermit's, or Marseilles. We were supposed to go ashore in Livorno, but the seas were too rough to get into the harbor as I recall.

Hope this helps.
Don

twowindsbear

Keep in mind an authorized HAL excursion will return you to the ship in time for departure. With a DIY excursion, you'll be on your own. Don't miss the boat! According to what HAL told us on an Alaska cruise. Have a great trip!

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

Even if your HA sanctioned trip is late returning, the ship will wait, happened to us on at least two occasions

SAVH Loc: La Jolla, CA

Charlienow: Yes, my wife and I have taken a very similar trip on Holland America and we stayed in Barcelona a few days before the cruise started. A very good idea. We stayed at the Best Western in Barcelona and found it to be great. The breakfasts were especially impressive and the location was pretty central. I agree fully with Dennis2146 that the Holland America excursions are often very expensive for what you get. Often, a little advance research will find you an equivalent tour locally for less. The only risky item is that if you are on a Holland America cruise excursion and are, for some reason, late returning to the ship, they will wait. If your taxi or tour gets held up somewhere, you can't count on the ship waiting. In Rome (actually Civitavecchia), because of the distance to Rome and the difficulties, I would recommend taking their Vatican City tour. We found it to be very worthwhile. In other stops, you can often spend your time just poking around the city or taking Hop-on-Hop-off buses to get the feel of the city and the highlights. In Dubrovnic, you should be able to walk to the walled portion of the city. We did and saw exactly what the ship's tour saw but ours was free. We also took a local bus tour of the area and returned to the ship without incident in plenty of time. I think you probably mean Kotor in Montenegro. We love Kotor - one of our favorite places and easy to walk around on your own. Again, I would not pay for the ship's excursion as I am pretty sure the launch will drop you off right near the walled city. If you end up in Venice, you really need to stay a couple of more days. Venice is our all-time favorite place. Can't take a bad picture there. Again, we stayed in the Best Western there and it is about three blocks from Saint Mark's Square and about a 120 foot walk from the Vaparetto stop. Self guided tours in Venice are easy and recommended. It should be a wonderful trip. Enjoy!

jaim 47

In the past two years I have visit with my wife the following countries:

Azores: Ponta Delgado
Spain: Vigo, (Santiago de Compostela), Gijón, Madrid, Córdova, Sevilla, Granada, Toledo
Barcelona, Girona, Figueres, Monserrate, Valencia, Sagunto & the island of Palma Mallorca.
France: Cherburgo, La Róchele, Ajaccio on the island of Corsica (visiting the Calanche of Piana & Spelunca Gorges), Antibes, Nice, St. Tropez
Monte Carlo: Mónaco
Italy: Livorno, Cinque Terre (, Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manorola & Riomaggiore)
Santa Margherita & Portofino.
Venezia (the islands of Murano, Burano & Torcello) Rialto Bridge, Campanilla de San Marco & Basilica, Doge’s Palace (Palacio Ducal).
Palermo, Sorrento, Pompella, Sicily, Taormina, Rome
Croatia: Dubrovnik
Montenegro: Kotor
Greece: Rhodes & Athens
England: Southampton & London
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Barcelona a must see is the Sagrada Familia; the guided tour is the best way because they have fast passes and the explanation is worth the expense of the tour. If you do it on your own the lines are really long and you lose a lot of time.

Visit La “Boqueria St. Joseph” which is located in La Ramblas. Try the Tapas bars. The Hop On & Hop Off double bus tour is a good alternative because it last one day. Study de Barcelona Map before going to get your bearings. While in Barcelona be careful of the pick pockets, otherwise a very safe city

Venice is a beautiful place. Be careful of pick pockets as with any large city with a large population. Your best bet is to contact your travel agency & request tours you’re interested in, the early in the morning get the walking tour of the city, with fast pass for Campanilla de San Marcos Square, Doge’s Palace & the Basilica de Oro. The Gondola ride is nice and you can share the ride with other people.

Rome, Naples and Taormina, get the tours from the ship. After you have your booking # get on the internet and go to the ship tours section and select the one you like and reserve it online. If you are in a tour from the ship it will wait for you. If not, the ship will leave port and it will be your reasonability and expense to get to the next port.

From Livorno you may have two choices: Pizza, Florence and also Cinque Terre

In the ports of Croatia and Montenegro you can explore on your own without any problem.
You have spent money on the ship and air fare I recommend getting your tours from the ship company. This is the best way to visit and get the most for your money.

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

I most definitely meant Kotor. Fat fingered that one. Lol. Thanks for the great info. I am trying to find out which ports are close to the city and sight seeing oops and which aren’t. We spent 3 days in Rome last year so aren’t ready to return soon

I am starting my research now so should be prepared when we go on the cruise

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

I've taken cruises that cover those ports. Here are my suggestions:

Barcelona - if you can, get a hotel in the Gotic Quarter. That's where all but La Sagrada Familia is (and don't miss that). Don't know how your walking capabilities are, but, all the stuff in that quarter (La Palau Musica, Picasso Museum, the food market, La Rambla and the art museum there and the Seaman's Cathedral) are all right there. La Sagrada Familia is perhaps a 10-15 minute walk from there. wouldn't bother with a tour, just a guide book and a good street map.

Haven't been to Marseille or Livorno in 50 years and Monte Carlo is quite small.

Rome would be a good place for a tour, but, if you are docking in Chittavechia it's a good ways away. While there's tons to see, the crowds are awful and going through the Vatican is like being in a sardine can. Make sure you get to Pompeii, fascinating.

Naples -by all means go on a tour! Great town; just be careful of pickpockets.

Never been to Taormina or Kermit's.

In Dubrovnik and Kotor, no tour necessary. Very small old cities and a good map and sturdy legs (cobblestones!) will be enough.Get a good guidebook.

Venice - not what it used to be. San Marco area is overrun with tourists and lined with crappy trinket shops. Do see the Duomo and the Doges Palace and buy tickets on line if at all possible. I hope you are there overnight as there's lots to see. Again, depending on how much you can walk, it's a very walkable city. Go to the Ghetto, the Rialto Bridge, go to Harry's Bar near San Marco (for a drink only!); it's where Hemingway used to hang out.

Go to Garibaldi which is lined with lovely, little, inexpensive restaurants and is not nearly as crazy as the area around San Marco. When you are at San Marco, between the two lions on columns facing the lagoon, hang a left, go over several bridges past the Naval Station and Garibaldi will be on your left. If there is a concert at Vivaldi's church (close to San Marco, on the way to Garibaldi), by all means get tickets!

To see the Grand Canal, just get Vaporetto tickets.

Have great time!

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Several you mentioned I been to. I can say when you visit Naples, Italy, check out some of the old style pizza parlors. Interesting up close.

if they offer a trip , or you can take one on your own, get to the city of Amalfi and the Amalfi drive! You might want to see Pompeii. (Remember hearing about the Roman city buried by the Mt Vesuvious volcano.)

One thing to think about would be to have a wide angle lens. The streets in and around any of the places are very narrow compared to what most are used to seeing.


When at Venice, (Most every tourist trap for that matter), be very aware of you personal belongings. Thieves and little children that attempt to steal as they pat your clothing. Because of age, little kids can't really get in trouble and that is why many older thieves use them. Sort of like pimps to the kids. While you out and about, NEVER give a "donation" to anyone and NEVER purchase anything from them. Purchases should only be from a regular store or a place approved by the ship you are traveling on!

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

We are leaving soon on our first cruise, so I can't give you any advice about the cruise tours. However, we visited Barcelona, Monaco, Rome and Venice in 1973 and have a couple of observations. We enjoyed walking around Barcelona, including La Rambla. Rome is an amazing city, one of our favorites of our 11 week trip all over Europe. There is more to see in Rome than any city we have visited, so decide what is most important and try to see it. I would say the Vatican and Coliseum should be at the top of your list. We found Venice to be a great city to walk in. I would include St. Marks Square and either Murano or Burano in addition to just wandering around. We took a day trip from Nice to Monaco and thoroughly enjoyed the Jacques Cousteau Oceanographic Museum. I also consider the streets where they hold the Formula 1 race as hallowed ground, so we walked part of the circuit. Have a great cruise! We have been considering a similar one in 2020.

FWIW, we had a deposit on a Princess cruise to Alaska and after some investigation decided a smaller ship was more our "style." We cancelled our Princess reservation and are going out of Bergen Norway to the midnight sun on Viking. It's a more expensive cruise, but it seemed like it was worth it, as much of what you pay extra for on most cruise lines is included in the basic fare, including a tour in every port, so we think it is a good value. We have paid for optional tours in about half of the ports, and have some with a paid and an included tour. The ships are also considered small, as they only hold 930 passengers and can go places some of the larger ships can't. Our cruise ends in Greenwich England, docking on the Thames just a few miles from central London; the larger ships dock farther away. As much as we enjoy our 10 grandchildren, we liked the fact that they are "adult" cruises, as you must be at least 18.

Latsok Loc: Recently moved to Washington State.

My wife and I are also going on a Med cruise, in November, starting from Venice, going around to Kotor, Montenegro, Greek isles, Athens, Sicily, Naples, and Rome. Would like to get your feedback after you return. Many of the ports will be the same as yours.
You may want to consider going on -- cruisecritic.com - - and reading reviews on each port stop by past cruisers. Sometimes that is a very helpful site.
If your ship has a shore excursion to Provence, from your Mediterranean port call, I highly recommend it. Two years ago we took that day excursion. It took us up to Avignon (very interesting and photogenic medieval Papal a palace), Aix En Beaux, and surrounding areas. That was one of my all time favorite ship sponsored shore excursions. Lots of good photos.

donb17

Second the recommendation for cruisecritic.com. Very helpful about all things cruise-related.

RolandDieter

We could help you better if you let us know how long you will be in each port. Some lines stop at a few of their ports for two or three days rather than just one. If you have time, do Florence. Pisa is interesting, but its sites are very overcrowded these days ... last week we lucked out when a heavy thunderstorm cleared the streets and plazas. Florence is also crowded, but more spread out and accommodating of this. But don't expect to get into the major museums if you don't have advance tickets ... the regular ticket lines are very long and you may not get in. But you should be able to get into the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio. Cross the Ponte Vecchio (bridge) and the Palazzo Pitti and the gardens behind it are nice and less crowded. One of my favorites sites is the interior bass relief sculpture at the Santa Croce (on the Palazzo Vecchio side of the Arno river). These things are all close to one another. If you want to buy what may be the best leather coat you can get in Italy go to David 2 or Dante leather (same owner, same goods, and they make their own stuff). Both shops are located on separate side streets between the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio. Be ready to negotiate price.

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

get in touch with me in late September and i will be happy to share with you...
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