Shore Excursions for Carnival Cruise line in the 12 Day Grand Mediterranean Voyage?

Question

My wife and I are taking our honeymoon on the 12 Day Grand Mediterranean Voyage, and first wondering if we need to book excursions through the cruise. Also we were wondering what would be some good excursions for us to take?

Answer 1

I have not been there, but I can get you some info. Here is a link to the blog by John Heald, the cruise director on the Carnival Freedom. He offers some insight and takes comments and answers questions. He is there, so he would have access to the best info.

Answer 2

I just returned from an 14 day Mediterranean cruise last week (we celebrated our 25th anniversary). There are several key benefits when you book your shore excursion through the cruise ship's shore excursion reservation desk.

1. Although more expensive, the cruise ship's shore execursions announce/organize your tours and give you all the details on when/where to meet, itinerary, maps, shopping tips, etc.
2. If for any reason your shore excursion is late, bus breaks down, etc. the cruise ship will either wait for you or (as I saw on this past cruise), make arrangements for you to catch up at the next port of call (actually a helicopter came out to the ship) while we were at sea (but this is handled on a case by case basis with each cruise line).
4. Shore excursion options: Normally the cruise ship has several tours you can research for yourself. For certain cities, I wanted a VIP tour. Others, we went with an all day tour (tiring but enjoyed). Then there are the half-day tours or the tours that get you to the city...drop you off...and then pick you up. Along the way, you get tips/maps on where to go, where to shop, etc.
5. On your own...no cruise ship involvement at all. Our cruise arranged bus shuttles from the ship to the nearest town/Railway....nothing else and your on your own to find a independent tour or explore on your own. Some cities, like Barcelona, this we fine as the city was a great walking city with ample tours at the drop off point as well as public transportation using the Barcelona Pass.

Do a little homework...it'll be worth it. Several other couples/families I met did things differently with different levels of satisfaction.

Good Luck and have fun.

Duane

Answer 3

I suggest going with the cruise line. I am not sure what port stops your Med cruise will make but when we went it was not like a Caribbean cruise where you pull right up to a city. Some ports are a long way from the things you may want to see. For example, at the Villefranche port stop for Nice you dock in a port right in/near the town. So you can go ashore and explore or get one of the tour operators who may be at the pier. But if/when you stop in other Italian ports, like the one for Rome, you are an hour from Rome by bus on a highway. The benefit of using the ship's tour is the ship will never leave you if you are on their tour. But if you go off on your own, you can be left behind.

I personally didn't like the tours from Villefranche to Nice and Monte Carlo that much. They were OK. I did like the tours to the Vatican and Colleseum in Rome, the Acropolis in Athens, the Biblical city of Ephesus in Turkey, and to Pompeii in Naples. We didn't do a tour in Mykonos and that is a place where you can do your own exploring, We did a tour in Santorini but that is also a place where you can explore on your own.

I recommend reviewing the tours available for your cruise and booking the one or two that you most want to do. The others you may be able to decide on later and still get.