My sister is taking a Med cruise on Celebrity Millennium in late August. She wants to know which cruise ship tours to sign up for - they're outrageously expensive. I have said she must sign up for Rome and Florence as the time involved in doing it on her own will be prohibitive.

I have suggested that she can see Venice on her own but have no idea how far away the cruise docks is or what the transport is, say to Piazza San Marco - could she just take the vaporetto? That's my thought.

Another port-of-call is Dubrovnik where I have never been. One is Naples but I have only been there specifically to see the museum (side trip from Sorrento).

If any of you have taken this trip I would really appreciate hearing back from you.

Sheesh! Sorry about my spelling - should be Mediterranean. I am a rotten spell-check person

You know if you do your homework , you can do Venice on your own.

But do your research./..so you know where you are going and what you are looking at.

Rome is about 50 miles from the port,BUT there will be lots of taxidriver guides to take you into Rome.

Florence again is rather far away and on your way back you might as well do the Leaning Tower of Pizza... again there will be taxi's and guides at the port..the cruise ship tours are rather expensive.

When you get to Naples...you will need a ride via taxi to Ponpeii and then also down the Almafi Coastline for terrific scenic views.

In Venice tour about St.Mark's Square..go up the Campanile Tower...and for sure visit Doge's Palace (right in the square)
Percy

Hi there,
we did this same cruise 2 years ago.
We did the Rome on your own tour from the ship. They provided transport to the Vatican and then picked you up later in the day. We saw the Vatican and surrounds and then took a taxi to the main sights in Rome. We wnjoyed being able to do our thing and then just made sure we were back at the meeting point.
From Naples, we did the Pompei tour with the ship and then just looked at Naples on our own. Many ferrys are available to other places from the pier.
Donna

Florence is very easy to do on your own from Livorno. Just catch the train and go straight to Florence. Depending on when your ship leaves, you'll definitely have about 5 hours in Florence. The train is direct so no change needed.

She can do Dubrovnik on her own.It's not very big at all.

You CAN do it on your own really. We got private cans in Rome and Livorno from where we saw Florence AND Piza in one day. No sweat.

Thx for the replies. I still think my sister will be better off opting for the Rome & Florence cruise ship tours. With such a short time for each city (approx 8 hrs including transportation), she won't have to fiddle around finding a car/guide and worrying about timing. This way they (she and her husband) will get an overview. I've been to both before and would opt to go on my own but not for my sister.

Of course, I told my sister she "must" read up on Venice, otherwise she'll be just wandering around saying "isn't that a nice building?" She's not big on research but I'm insisting. I've been to Venice twice so know what to see and have advised her somewhat - it's been a while.

Still would like to know how far the port is from Piazza San Marco and best (maybe only?) transportation.

I figured Dubronik would be o.k. on their own so that's good to know for sure.

I'll tell her to look up suggestions on Naples sightseeing here on Fodors. She's been to Pompeii so don't know if they want to do that.

Again, thanks, and send any other ideas you have. Personally, the reason I don't care for cruises is that you don't have enough time on shore.

A lot depends on your sister's travel experience and confidence in her ability to travel alone. We have done a couple of cruises in that area and never took a ship excusion BUT there were four of us so it was much more economical to arrange our own trips.

First, if she doesn't have a lot of confidence and a sense of adventure is probably better off taking ship excursions for anything other than a walk off.

Second, she absolutely must do a fair amount of research on each port as the transportation systems, directions, maps, etc. The Rick Steves' guide are very good for independent travelers. The cruise ship will have a program prior to each port which will provide some local information such as the docking area, and local transportation

Rome is easy to do on your own. Take a train from the port (3/hour), one hour ride, walk out of the train terminal and catch the hop on/off tour bus in the plaza in front of the station.

Florence is a long way and is best done by the ship because of the limited time.

Dubrovnik is a 10E cab ride to the old town. For 50E total our cab driver drove us all over the hillside and the surrounding area for about an hour prior taking us to the old town. I thought it was worth it.

From our prior experience, at least half the ship if not more does not take ship excursions. Team up with some folks who are more experienced and will share the cost of cabs and private tours.

Pompeii is easly to do by yourself from Naples -- bus no 1 or trolly from port to station and the commuter train to the main entrance of Pompii.

But she has to do the research --- or pay the price.

Well then she will pay the price but really getting a driver will take 1 minute. Trust me they WILL be there waiting. Our very 1st cruise was the Med and we did it all on our own, no worries. Good luck, Larry

Tour Pompeii early in the day. It was SOOOOOOOOO hot when our tour was there in the afternoon. Hardly any shade.

Amen to that.

Hi jacketwatch,

Can you share some tips on how to choose a reliable private driver/guide at the port? With so many approaching the passengers, I am sure the experience could be quite overwhelming for the first-timers. And where would I find the typical cost for a particular tour?

Btw, I will have my honeymoon cruise in the Med aboard the Century on Sept 21. Any other tips will be appreciated. Thanks.

Don't know about Jacketwach, but I just start down the line and talk with them, ask some detail questions. BUT, you cannot ask detail questions unless you have done some research and have some good ideas about what you want to see and do. I look for someone with good English that I can understand and shows some enthusiasm. However, I do start with the assumption that the vast majority of the tour drivers, taxi, etrc. are hard working folks who are NOT interested in ripping me off. I thnk a problem with travel boards is that majority of the discussion is around rip offs and create the impression that everyone is out to get you.

Second, I don't negotiate price. To me it is being cheap -- you cut the price, he cuts the tour. Often times I actually go the other way. If I have a good feel about the driver and he wants 50 for his tour, I will offer 60, "How about 60 and you give me the best tour I have ever had." We have never been disappointed. Sometime at the end of the day when comparing notes with other cruise passenagers we will find that our extra 20 bought a lot more than 40 some one else paid.

Just our approach but has served us well for about 70 days of cruising.

Thats about what we do too. We do our research about each port so we know ahead of time what we want to see. I agree that most cabbies are there to make a living and unless we get really bad vibes we go with the first guy (or gal ) and this has served us well. also its fun just to be in a cab with a local who can converse enough in English so you can learn a little about lif in that particular port. Sometimes howeee the language barrier leads to misunderstandings. we had a great driver in Nples, Ernie or ernesto. I asked him to take us to a plce for lunch off the beaten path, where the locals go. He said "sure, we a go to a gooda place." Where did we end up? In a truck stop. Hey thats the fun of it.

Hi Rick. Actually our first cruise ever was the Med. and we found getting a cab to be pretty easy really. It helps to know what you want to see first. When we disembarked there are many cabs waiting. In Livorno (for Piza and Florence) IIRC the pier area is closed to gypsy cabs so to speak and only liscensed cbs are allowed in. We spoke to a manager who directed us to the next waiting cab, we discussed itineray and pirce and off we went. It was easy really. In Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples and Malta we met up up cabbies in the pier area, again discussed prices and itinerary and left when we had an agreement. Really there was no hassle in coming to a price especially when you see that price is so much lower than what the ship offers.

I'm betting we'll be aboard the Millennium with Nancy's sister....can anyone answer her question as to the distance from the ship's berth to Piazza San Marco and the mode/price of transportation between the two????

Nancy, if your sister has'nt left yet have here check www.cruiscritic.com, It is a great cruise site. When my wife & I cruised the Med. & Italy we already knew several people on the ship by having corresponded with them on Cruise Critic. We all had a greet & meet party the first day on board. So if she is traveling alone, or with someone, this is a good way to meet others that will join her for excursions.

I agree with the others. Plenty of taxi's waiting at every port. You have to make sure they speak good enough English for you to understand them.

By doing some research you can ask the drivers specific questions about where they will take you & where you want to be taken.

It is a good idea to arrange for drivers ahead od time in some ports (Rome, Naples/Amaphi Coast, Florence, the larger cities).

The Cruise Critics will have recommendations for private drivers. We did this in the larger ports, had a better tour for less cost.

As usual, you Fodorites are great! I'm sure with research she and her husband could find a driver/guide to take them into Rome and Florence but she does not want to do the research nor would she be happy stepping off the ship and trying to pick out a guide. So, now I say, why should she if she's willing to pay the exobitant cruise ship price? Why spend all that money on the cruise and then worry about getting a good tour - it's silly.

Only remaining question (Venice) is the transport from the cruise ship dock to Piazza San Marcos. Hoof it or take the canal ferry? Want to make sure she makes the most of Venice, my second favorite city. She WILL read up on Venice. Thx to all

First of all I too think well of all who tried to give advice and thumbs up to that. As this is a public board where many veteran travelers post a variety of opinions and alternatives should be expected and welcomed. Personally I calculated we saved about $750.00 (for 3) by doing the Med. excursions on our own and the tours were quite sastisfactory I assure you. For me spending that amt. of money to tour with 25 other people on a bus vs. doing it from a private car and being on our own time is what I call silly. Oh well to each their own. Cheers, Larry