Continuing on with Part two our Ultimate Excursion Bucket List – (Click here to read Part One).…
Holi festival, India
Holi is a spring festival free for all in which participants will throw paint powder and coloured water at friends, family and even perfect strangers.
Top Tip: Be warned, anyone is fair game!
Normally taking place mid-March (the date changes each year depending on the vernal equinox); it’s the perfect chance to arrange a couple of pre or post cruise days to enjoy a truly unique experience. Just make sure it doesn’t occur on the day you’re embarking your ship! Dress codes may have changed in recent years but head to toe, multi coloured, paint covered tuxedos are still considered a no no in the main dining room.
Visit the ruined temple of Ta Prohm
Not all excursions are done along the coast; taking a river cruise gives you some great opportunities for awesome sight seeing!
If you ever find yourself in Cambodia make sure you head down to see the Angkor Wat complex. The Cambodians are so proud of it they’ve even put it on their national flag! (One for the Fact Fans: Angkor Watt is the only monument to feature on any national flag!)
Top Tip: Depending on how long you’re in Cambodia you might want to skip Angkor Watt (if you can’t do both) and head to Ta Prohm instead. It’s part of the same complex but hasn’t been restored so still looks like a ruined jungle temple.
If it looks familiar it’s because Angelina Jolie filmed parts of Tomb Raider here.
And the best bit? If you book a river cruise with APT to explore this temple for free!
Whale Watching
Whales are big. Cruise ships are big. Watching one from the other seems to make a lot of sense – Just make sure when you do you watch the whales from the cruise ship; doing it the other way around will get you very wet!
And the best part about whale watching?
It’s free!
All you need to do is book a cruise to somewhere like Alaska and cross your fingers!
Swimming with Dolphins
Speaking of getting wet….
Carnival cruises offer a Dolphin swim and ride with unlimited food and drink in Cozumel Mexico for just $119.99 per person for adults and $99.99 per child.
Swimming with Sharks
If you’ve already ticked whale watching off your bucket list but thought swimming with dolphins sounded far too tame then perhaps you should consider taking a dip with some sharks?
There are many private companies offering shark diving in the Caribbean but make sure you do your research first. If we’re 10 feet down with a hungry shark we’d want to know the cage was a strong one! Prices are normally around $170 per dive.
Lucha Libre
If you want to do something a little more off the beaten track when you arrive in Mexico (and why else would you be reading one of our guides unless you wanted off the beaten track?) then why not head along to a local Lucha Libre match?
Lucha Libre has become the mainstream form of wrestling in Mexico; characterised by high flying moves, tag teams and the famous luchador mask.
Most Mexican towns will have weekly matches advertised locally so when you arrive in port just follow the posters for a truly local experience.
Over Niagara Falls in a Barrel
This is definitely one for the braver (more foolhardy) amongst you but if you’re looking for an excursion to regale your friends with tales of for ever more than surely nothing will ever compete with going over Niagara Falls in a barrel? – Please note: You need to supply your own barrel!
For those amongst you with a slightly more developed survival instinct you could always just take a stroll out to one of the viewing platforms conveniently placed slightly down from the Falls. Not as exciting perhaps but you’re a lot less likely to get your camera wet!
For those interested in seeing Niagara Falls in all her glory we include it as a pre and post stay on a number of our tailor made cruises here
Firewalking
We’ve sometimes heard people use the expression “I’d walk over hot coals for a cruise”. Whilst we wouldn’t recommend it for getting on-board, for the adventurous amongst you it might make a great shore excursion!
Carnival Cruises offer a Firewalking and Cultural show in Port Denarau, Fiji. It’s $99.99 per adult and $79.99 per child and includes a traditional Fijian Meke dance as well as the firewalking performance.
The Isle of Mann Motorcycle TT
How do you combine a luxury cruise, fine dining and attentive staff with thirty seven miles of never ending bends, bumps, jumps, stone walls, telegraph poles, man hole covers and death defying vertical drops?
You book a cruise that takes in the Isle of Mann TT, that’s how!
Known worldwide as the most dangerous of the TT’s you can view all the action by booking a cruise with Fred Olsen calling in at Douglas, Isle of Mann – Speak to one of our consultants for details
The Great Wall of China
As well as death defying activities and hair raising experiences, any self-respecting bucket list has to contain some of the Worlds wonders, both natural and man-made. With that in mind may we suggest The Great Wall of China?
Although almost nothing of the original walls remain as it was constantly being rebuilt and improved on, the wall we see today, finished around 220 BC in the Ming era now keeps the tourists coming in rather than keeping the Mongol hordes out!
Pit Lane Access at the Monaco Grand Prix
If you’re a Formula One fan then having access to the pit lanes, at least once in your life, has to be on your bucket list. The great thing is is that it’s a lot easier to achieve than you might think! Booking any spot on the Saturday or Sunday will give you a free walk around the pit lanes on the Friday or if you want to upgrade to access them during the race (and don’t mind paying the big bucks) then you can upgrade to the F1 Paddock Club for exclusive access.
We offer several cruise and stay options that link up with the Monaco Grand Prix (which you can view here) – Just speak to one of our friendly cruise consultants about upgrading your ticket for pit lane access!
Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour
It’s becoming increasingly common with North American cruises to add a two or three day stay in the bright lights of Las Vegas. Whilst there (assuming you can pull yourself away from the blackjack tables) one of the ultimate bucket list experiences to tick off your list has to be the Grand Canyon.
This isn’t just any bucket list guide though, this is the www.CRUISE.co.uk dream excursion bucket list!
Instead of just talking a trip out to see the grand canyon why not hire out a helicopter and view it from above in all it’s glory?
Top Tip: You need a special license to land on the floor of the Grand Canyon so make sure your excursion includes this rather than just the standard fly over. A picnic on the floor of the Canyon has to be the ultimate in bragging rights!
You can arrange the tour yourself when you arrive in Las Vegas or if you book one of our tailor made deals it will normally be included in the package as standard for you!
Build a Lamborghini
Calling all car enthusiasts! If you take a private tour of the Lamborghini factory in Sant’Agata, Bolognese not only will you get to take in forty seven years of history (including a display of vintage and prototype cars) once you reach the manufacturing plant you can get your hands dirty and actually assemble parts of an actual car!
Interested? Seabourn and Crystal Cruises both offer this excursion with prices starting from $1480 per person.
Drive a Ferrari
If building your own supercar seemed a bit too tame then maybe racing one along the French Riviera sounds more exciting? There are dozens of private companies that will have a Ferrari waiting for you as you disembark your cruise ship – All you need to do is remember your driving license.
Your own private Ferrari for the day will start from £206 per person per thirty minutes!
Fly Your Own Fighter Jet!
Ok, so driving your very own Ferrari was pretty cool but if you’re REALLY feeling the need for speed then how does the thought of flying a Soviet fighter jet sound?
Crystal Cruises will take you to Sormovo Air Base on the outskirts of Nizhny Novgrood, where after a physical examination and a flight instruction you’ll strap on your helmet Top Gun style and shoot up skyward at something approaching 1536mph!
The tour operates on summer Baltic cruises from St Petersburg and is a two day excursion (including the round trip to Moscow) for a price of $45,999
Palace of Vienna
We go now straight from the heights of the stratosphere to the heights of civilization and see the stunning Palace of Vienna, a beautiful baroque building of 1,441 rooms.
Visit with APT as part of their Royal Collection and not only will you get a cocktail reception followed by musical recitals; you’ll also have the Palace entirely to yourself as APT reserve it exclusively for their guests!
Oh and the best bit? It’s completely free!
So that’s the www.CRUISE.co.uk bucket list!
Thirty three of the most hair raising, do daring or simply must see shore excursions to do whilst you’re cruising. Have we missed any of the list do you think?
Feel free to comment below….
*All prices quoted valid as of 11/02./2015
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