Shore Excursion – Ship or go it alone?

We now have the 2 cruises booked for this year and they are to places we don’t really know much about. To be able to maximise your day in port, it is worthwhile reading up about each port before you actually get there. Have a look on the internet at sites like cruise critic or trip advisor. By doing this you learn from everyone else who has already been there.

The main reason people book shore excursions through their cruise line is for convenience and the fact that they won’t get left behind. If you book through a private company and do not make it back to the port and onto your ship on time it will NOT wait for you! However, booking direct is also the most expensive option!

The secret to a wonderful day ashore is to plan ahead. Learn about the attractions in each port so you can decide whether to book a tour or go it alone. For example, you’ll want to know that Livorno is actually the port for Florence, but the city is quite far from the port. It’s also helpful to note that in the Greek Isles, Santorini does not have great beaches, while Mykonos is internationally renowned for its sandy spots. Planning ahead will let you balance relaxing beach days with days spent shopping, sightseeing or in active pursuits.

We used the ships shore excursion when we visited St. Petersburg last year – only because we were in Russia and wanted to be sure we were not left behind. Most ports we just walk off the ship and explore the city or town on our own. However, there are some ports which are actually a long way from anything worth exploring. A good example of this is Civitavecchia, the port of Rome. The port is about an hour and forty minutes drive from Rome. In this instance, we did not use the ships excursion but used a company called cruising excursions.com. They were fantastic and our guide was a local travel agent who was very passionate about her city.

If you only take away one thing from my blog, let it be that in order to successfully book shore excursions through a third party tour company you MUST do your research. Click on the link below for a more comprehensive guide to shore excursions.

https://goo.gl/FQhVPu