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My wife and I are first time cruisers and would like some help or ideas on what to do in the following Ports: Messina/Mt. Etna, Athens, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Santorini and Naples. Our cruise(Celebrity Soltice) leaves Civitavecchia on 11/20/09. Should we book the tours offered by the Cruise line and get locals tours when we arrive at each distination?
Thanks
Bob Boyle
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Personally, I'd do my own research and see what I could book directly. You'll pay a 30%-40% premium if you book through the cruise line. A place to start might be viator.com. They broker tours all over the world.
The big advantage of a cruise line tour is that if you're late getting back, they'll hold the ship for you. If you think that's likely, go with the line. You can also expect the ship-promoted tours to be more crowded.
If you haven't joined cruise critic you should. Just go to their website http://boards.cruisecritic.com/index.php Sign up and then you can go to the rollcall for your particular cruise and meet up with fellow passengers and perhaps share private tours with them. This is the link for your particular cruise but you must join before you can go to the rollcall section. It is free and an absolute must if you want to get the most out of your cruise. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=763872
Have a great cruise!
When my family and I go on a cruise, we book a cruisetour at the pursers office after we select them. The main reason to book with the cruise is that in case the tour is late getting back, they are with the cruiseline and they can radio to hold the ship until the group gets back.
We don't care for the ship's tours--too many people, too much time wasted getting on/off the bus, rarely the amount of time we want to spend at each stop. We plan carefully, start with the sights farthest away from the ship, and leave extra time--we've never come anywhere close to missing the ship.
Athens was our disembarkation port; we hired Spiros from www.athenstaxi.net to pick us up at the ship, take us on a tour of the outlying sights, and drop us in the Plaka.
Mykonos, Rhodes, and Santorini we found easy to tour on our own. I compiled walking tours from information in several guidebooks.
Naples: we were suposed to tender into Amalfi, so had arranged with Giovanni to tke us on an all day tour of the Amalfi Coast, stopping in Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano and Ravello. The ship docked in Naples, instead, and Giovanni was there to meet us.
We did this cruise in Oct expect Messina as we went to Istanbul. You have a treat in store.
Ephesus was my favorite as I love the history there. You definitely guided tour for this. Our guide was excellent which we booked through Hello Ephesus tours with others we found on Cruise Critic who wanted to do the same thing. Many commented this was their favorite day of the whole trip. They provided lunch and took us to the sites you would want to visit. Be sure they include the Terrace Houses with your tour.
Santorini you will tender and take the tram to the top. We took the bus to Oia which is an oustanding drive and then walked around Santorini. Mykonos there is a bus the cruise ship provides for a price and then walk around the island. Be sure and see the big white pelican which is a mascot for the island.
Athens we did Paul's Taxi with some other people we found on Cruise Critic. It was good except we should have gone to the Acropolis first as we did not get to the top as it was so crowded. He did take us to the highest part of the city so we could view it from there. We ate lunch at the Plaka with our group.
In Naples we took a drive with 4 other ladies which I booked on the internet with Sorrento Silver Star with an excellent driver. What a spectaular coastline is the Amalfi coast!! You could plan the places you wanted to stop and visit. My choices were Ravello, Amalfi, and Positano. Being first time cruisers you may prefer Pompeii or go to Capri. You can't do all of these in one day so you do need to make a choice. Others have explained about the ferry to Capri or take the train to Pompeii and there will be guides at the gate or plan a visit with other passengers.
As others have suggested you don't really need to take the ship's tours-much more expensive.
Just sign in on Cruise Critic as suggested and you will find others to share your tours.