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We received an offer from my college alumni association for the 10 day "Jewels of the Mediterranean & Greek Isles" cruise on Oceana for fall of 2010. The price includes "free" airfare and $2000 off the ocean view room price of $3299 pp, so about $4600 for two from SFO. The itinerary includes Athens, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Santorini, Katakolon, Messina (Sicily), Amalfi/Positano, Olbia/Porto Cervo (Sardinia), Ajaccio (Corsica), Florence/Pisa (Livorno),and Rome (Civitavecchia). We typcically travel on our own, but the idea so seeing so many ports without unpacking is tempting (we have been to Rome and Florence previously, so don't mind the short time there). In trying to determine the true cost of the trip, I had no luck tracking down shore excursion prices on Oceana's website. Can someone point me in the right direction or let me know what similar costs have been for them? Comments on Oceana would be appreciated as well.

abram

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 Athens (especially to places it wasn't as easy to get to) and drop us at our hotel.

In Rhodes and Santorini, we followed self guided historical walking tours I put togehter from reading several guidebooks.

In Amalfi, we hired Giovanni from www.tourofitaly.com to take us on an all day tour, stopping in Sorrento, Positano, and Ravello.

If you go to the Ports of Call boards at wwww.cruisecritic.com, you will find lots of information.

charli

If you look at a similar itinerary for 2009, you should be able to bring up the shore excursion offerings and this year's prices which will give you an idea of costs. People will tell you that ship excursions are expensive in general, but it is all in your own perception as to what is or isn't expensive, in my opinion. We usually mix some ship, some independent, and some just walking around excursions. In Kusadasi we used Sammy's Travel to tour Ephesus, Abram had good ideas above.

Regarding Oceania, we have cruised 7 times with them including a 35 day Hong Kong -Athens trip and have 2 more planned in 2010. We chose a cruise for the itinerary mainly, but I can tell you that if Oceania does it, we look no further. Medium ships, lovely on-board experience. Some people fuss about the size of the staterooms and bathrooms, but we have never had a problem with either - how much space to you need? We do love a verandah though. Enjoy.

Jeff801

In Kusadasi, we booked a trip to Ephesus with Samyelitravel.com. It was only $60 per person and was far superior to any of the ship's tours. Be certain to book the painted houses if you take the tour. Our tour guide was named Tanner. We liked him so much, we offered him our guest room when he and his wife pass through Texas on their honeymoon next year. This is the same group that Charli recommends in the post just above.

Incidentally, I endorse everything that Charli says about Oceania. Even though the entire bathroom is smaller than our (admittedly large) shower, we have happily cruised with them 5 times and have another booked for December.

Aristotle

Get the private tours. The ones from the cruise lines are overpriced for what you get. Many ports can be visited on your own, especially if you've done a lot of independent travel. Get a good tour book and you can tell a lot about those ports. Count on about 75-100 dollars per person for ships tours. Also you need to factor in tips, alcohol, gifts, etc. It helps to have good sales resistence. Remember also that purchaces add up weight wise and airlines can charge a small fortune for over weight bags.

Cruzingforfun

Private Tours are the way to go. We always use http://www.DriveAmalfi.com for Amalfi, Sorrento or Naples and http://www.RomeCabs.com for Civitavecchia & Rome and http://www.FlorenceTour.com for Livorno, Florence, Pisa & Tuscany

boom_boom

I'll endorse the other 2 poster on Oceania, our favorite cruise line by a wide margin. Great service, food and ports.