Planning a Cruise this summer w/ Oceana - stopping in Barcelona, Provence (Marseille), Monte Carlo, Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome, Amalfi/Positano, Taormina (sicily) Valletta (Malta) and Athens. I've heard that many "seasoned" cruisers plan their own excursions which they can enjoy more and pay less for. Any suggestions how I go about planning these. We are also planning to spend a few days in Barcelona before the Cruise and in Athens after the cruise

Barcelona:
We especially loved the Gaudi sights: La Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, Guell Park. The Bus Touristic is one way to get around to the spread out spots and get a little tour of Barcelona in the process. We also liked the Miro and Picasso Museums, the Museum of Catalonian Art, the Cathedral, the history museum buy the waterfront and strolling Las Ramblas. El Corte Ingles is a great spot to get local wine to take on the ship.

Amalfi/Positano:
with two other couples, we hired Giovanni from tourofitaly.com to take us on a tour of the Amalfi Coast, stopping in Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano and Ravello, as well as several scenic overlooks.

Valletta:
the first time, we did a self-guided historical walking tour, which included The Grandmaster's Palace, Manoel Theater, the Siege of Malta, St. John's Co-cathedral, the Malta Experience, the Barrakka Gardens, Casa Rocca Piccola, and St. Paul's Shipwreck Church.

Athens:
we hired Spiros to pick us up at the ship (disembarkation), take us on a tour of Athens, and deposit us at our hotel at 1 PM. After a nap, we spent the afternoon and evening wandering the Plaka.

In Barcelona we found through the cruise boards a great hotel that many cruisers use which was quite reasonable and on The Ramblas and also a taxi driver/guide that was great..Several other people have written to me and used Auriello.. In Rome a group from another cruise board hired another guide, Claudio, they had used before and we took a trip to Tuscany which was a highlight of our trip.. If you want more information please write.. [email protected]

There's a video available for $20 that features a number of these ports from a cruiser's perspective. The ports included are: Grand Mediterranean

Athens
Barcelona
Dubrovnik
Florence
French Riviera
Gibraltar
Istanbul
Kusadasi
Malta
Naples
Rome
Venice

See

http://www.cruisecompete.com/cruise_port_videos.php

for more details.

Good luck!

we did most of the cities on our own. we hired driversinrome.com to take us around in naples, rome and florence. for 4 of us it cost us about $125 euros apiece without tip. was definitely worth it. we could make our own tours..... and we saw alot more than our tablemates did on the cruise tours.

I am willing to share my info on excel files.... send email to [email protected]

In the fall of 2005, I took a cruise which stopped in Athens and Naples, where my husband and I had pre-arranged tours with wonderful drivers who took us on private tours. Both were excellent, and I will include the contact information for you. In Athens: [email protected]. In Naples: [email protected]. (For some reason the email addresses post in duplicate. Sorry.) In both instances, you would be hiring individuals, not companies, and both drivers are very friendly, charming gentlemen who speak English and drive safely. I have recommended Jordan and Francesco to friends who have visited these cities. Hope this is helpful.

We went to a number of those places two years ago on Oceania, and are going to some of the others this September (Valletta, Positano, Livorno). If you're adventuresome and/or don't want to spend much money, you can go do quite a bit on your own with trains. The trains in Europe are great. trenitalia is Italian one, for example. If you're still checking this board, email me at [email protected] if you want more into on Marseille (not an easy city to do on your own), Rome, and Florence. Put something in the title of the email like "Oceania" that I'll recognize as NOT junk mail! I hear Athens has a new tour bus, and a new subway, that make touring easier than before. Barcelona is so wonderful. Valletta (haven't been there yet, but going in Sept.) sounds wonderful.

We just returned from our med. cruise (wonderful!) envy you! We had a great guide / driver in Naples - DriveAmalfi.com - Salvatore Lucibello. We all thought he was the very best. Great new van, found us a wonderful restaurant for lunch, etc. etc. Recommend to all...

After reading your post this am I contacted [email protected]..
What a nice person, he responed is short order gave me the answers to questions I asked not beating around the bush.
Sadly for me he is already booked for the dates I need in April 2007.
So heads up people are on the move and booking for next year now.