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To Buy or Not to Buy - Looking for less expensive alternatives to Royal Carib. West Med. Shore Excursions - Help!

To Buy or Not to Buy - Looking for less expensive alternatives to Royal Carib. West Med. Shore Excursions - Help!

Old May 25th, 2002, 03:31 PM
  #21  
Kat
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LauraG

Your trip is right around the corner. You must be getting exciting.

We are on the July 7 departure. My sons are 10 and 14. The 10 year old can't wait - the 14 year old would rather stay home (hates being confined in the small seat on the plane).

What excursions have you designed for yourselves? I've been debating combining Pisa and Vinci while we are docked in Livorno. I think my sons would love Vinci, but the time and distance are a concern. I'm still researching. Let me know what you are thinking of doing, or if you are too busy getting ready for the trip, please post when you get back.

Thanks much - Kat
 
Old Jun 12th, 2003, 11:57 AM
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anyone going on the july 11-19 med cruise to villefranche, livorno, rome naples, valletta?
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Old Jun 12th, 2003, 02:16 PM
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Sorry, not I. My wife and I will be on the August 4th sailing of Briliance of the Seas that hits all those ports as well as 3 in Greece. This post was a lot of help tho
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Old Jun 21st, 2003, 04:45 PM
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I am also on the Aug 4 Brilliance trip travelling with 2 children ages 7 & 9. After spending hours researching the alternative tours by cab ( which cost around $500 per day for 4 people) and emailing each company
sorrentolimo.com, infos@dream_tours.com, www.driveinrome.com, etc to name a few.
I came to the conclusion that it would cost about the same going through the cruise line (as the childrens fare is discounted), and that I would be safer on the ship excursions. I am sure the independant companies offer great tours but it sound like there is alot of luck involved in getting a good driver that is interesting and speaks english well. They know what the ship is charging and their quoted fares are only alittle cheaper. My husband pointed out that it would be easy for a driver to rob you throw you out of the car. I just didn't think the savings was worth the exposed risk when travelling with 2 young children. I bit the bullet and paid for $2212 worth of excursions through the ship.
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Old Jun 21st, 2003, 05:55 PM
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$500 a day!!! Are you sure you've researched this MissAsh? Check out Limousine Service Positano at limocarservice.net or e-mail Luigi Paone (manager) at [email protected]. Just this past May, I was charged by the hour (€35) and used them to get from Sorrento to Ravello with many stops along the way, in a large Mercedes sedan (which I'm sure will be adequate for 2 adults and 2 kids). Their driver spoke adequate English, provided some background of the area, pointed out interesting sites, and offered shopping tips (re ceramics) to my wife along the way. An 8-hour tour (€280) of the Amalfi Coast with LSP should be more than sufficient for your needs and would cost nearly half of what you've been quoted so far.

Hope this helps!!!
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Old Jun 21st, 2003, 06:48 PM
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Bluefanbr />
I checked out several recommended private tours that I found in cruisecritics.com

Naples tour is cheaper than other ports. Prices quoted are in euro and vary depending on how many people you have in your group. My $500 per day is converted and an average estimate per port. I cut and pasted out one of the emails I received from one of the companys for other peoples info.
this was sorrentolimo.com quote

"These are our rates:

From Naples vehicle and english speaking driver at your disposal for the whole day 300/350Euro

From Livorno full day tour to Florence and Pisa or any other tour in the area such as Siena,S.Cimignano,Volterra.520/560Euro

From Civitavecchia full day tour to Rome450/480Euro

I'm very sorry to tell you that we have no partner in Villefranche.

For each service I mentioned two prices,the first is for party from one to three people,the second is for party till eight people.

Do not hesitate to contact us for any further information.

Best Regards

Gennaro Ruocco(for Sorrentolimo)

web www.sorrentolimo.com

e-mail [email protected]

Phone from abroad 39-338-1843651

Fax from abroad 39-081-8772230

This company's rates were about the same as 5 other company's I found. The cheapest one for Livorno was at driveinrome.com for Pisa & Florence for 330 EURO but all the others where in the 500 Euro range.

I hope info is useful to someone.
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Old Jun 21st, 2003, 07:00 PM
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Forgot to mention that the private tours by cab do not include price of admission to sites. This is all extra on top of the rate you are quoted. The cruise excursions include admission and some also include a lunch. I took all of this into consideration when I booked with RCCL instead of on my own ... but if I did not have the kids with me, my decision would be to try some of the ports on my own.
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Old Jun 21st, 2003, 07:06 PM
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MishAsh,

I was really hoping to avoid structured tours. Many people have told me that ground transportation can be obtained once I get into port(Mainly by train) for much cheaper than I would pay for excursions. Once I get into the cities, my wife and I can see what we want on our own schedule. 2.2K just seems like a lot to us. Granted we are 2 while you are 4. We'll just keep checking out travel guides and perhaps just playing a lot of it by ear(Its our vacation, guess we should relax )
Scottee25 is offline  
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