Sharon

We are doing research about the shore excursions on the trip. We would like to do excursions on our own when feasible, but without knowing the countries, and having limited time at port, it is hard to plan. the messages here have been helpful -- but any info is REALLY APPRECIATED. My husband and I will be traveling with our kids - ages 19 and 15 (good travelers and explorers). The ports will be Naples, Valletta, Malta, Barcelona, Villefranche/Nice/Cannes, Livorno (Florence/Pisa), and then we will stay in Rome for 3 nights after the cruise. Thanks in advance for the help.

frank Keller

Sharon, My family and I (nine of us) just completed the Grandeur's 6/23 sailing. The ports of call were the same so I think I can help. Taxi's are readily available in Barcelona,Naples, and Malta,and are limited in Villefranche and Livorno. The hydrofoil is very close in Naples which you can take to Capri and then take another to Sorrento. In Villefranche you can easily take the train to either Nice (I highly reccommend Nice) and/or Monte Carlo. In a couple of ports we used a private touring company which was less than half the cost of the ships tours. Taxi's can be hired for tours e.g. 3 hour or half day or full day. If you would like the name of the touring company, please let me know. They were terrific! Anyway, happy sailing, it is a great ship and a great itinerary. All the best, Frank Keller

JM

My family will also be on the same cruise sailing 7/21, staying in Rome in advance of it though, leaving the 15th. I have put together a bunch of info on each port, we also do not take excursions from the ships for the most part but go out on our own. I have quite a bit of stuff, drop me a e-mail if you would like it. I intend to pull it all together this weekend , could likely have it to you by Monday. At the moment it is cut and pasted into a large number of Word files from Fodors/Frommers/Cruise Critic and various other sources and may not make a lot of sense until I work through it.

Debbie

Sharon: We sailed on the Grandeur June 9th with the same ports you mentioned and we did not take any ship excursions. For Naples I had pre-arranged a chauffer driven limo who took us on an all day excursion down the Amalfi coast...not to be missed! He met us at the port in Naples and dropped us off at the ship late afternoon. His name is Luigi, he lives in the Amalfi coast and you can arrange to have him take you almost anywhere in the area...his web site is: www.starnet.it/car-paone...his e mail is listed there..I emailed him and made all my arrangements including how much it would cost which I paid after the tour. As far as Malta, we took a very nice taxi tour for 4 hours which stopped at all the main tourist spots and even up to mdina which was fabulous to see! In Barcelona, we also took the taxi tour which was equally as nice and he dropped us at Las Ramblas the main shopping street where we shopped, ate lunch and walked back to the ship (ship looks closer than it was...very long bridge to walk over!). In Villefranch we took the train (5 minute walk) to Monaco, saw the palace, etc. then took the train back to Nice, walked to old town, had dinner, went back to train. In Livorno, again took the taxi as the train schedule was not convenient and would not have left us alot of time. We went to Florence (an hour away) and also to Pisa with plenty of time. Have a great trip...it was an excellent ship and we loved it! <BR> <BR>Debbie

Bridget

Dear Frank or Anyone with INFO: <BR> We are doing the Grandeur of the Seas cruise in August. Frank mentioned private GUIDES or DRIVERS. Could you recommend any drivers or private guides for any of the following ports: <BR> Naples <BR> Barcelona <BR> Villefranche (Nice,Monaco,Monte Carlo) <BR> Livorno(Florence/Pisa) <BR> <BR>I know that in some of these ports it is easy to get around independently but my family would prefer a private guide. <BR>Any suggestions? <BR>Thank you <BR>

vh

The driver who took us to/from the ship (June 9 sailing) is MAX,at [email protected]. He is part of www.romelimousineservice.com and is young, energetic, and also does tours. However, we booked an all day walking tour with Daniela Ford, [email protected] a wonderful art historian, Roman born, married to US foreign service officer and lived in San Francisco before retiring to Italy. She will customize your day to your wants--cost is $30/hour plus her lunch plus train fare from Perugia. <BR>A pricelss day. Spanish steps is a good place for teenagers to hang out in the evening, very safe. We ate at Otello and Restaurant 34 both a couple of blocks away. Go to Giolitti for gelatto, 40 via Uffici del Vicario. Above all, go to Vatican during Roman lunch to avoid lines, or take walki talkis so only one person stays in the interminable line. And inside rent the head sets for the tour. <BR>Livorno, we hired Mario, taxi 41 who took us to Pisa and Florence, all day, standard cost of $280 for the day, still cheaper than the ship. <BR>Taxis in villefranche malta and barcelona were all fine.