Mediterranean Cruise with Royal Caribbean

We're going on a 7 day cruise in June starting from Barcelona, taking in Nice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Sicily and finishing up in Barcelona. I'm looking for a bit of advice on the excursions/tours. They seem to be very expensive to book with the cruise company. Did anybody do this cruise and do their own tours? If so, was it difficult to organise? Any particular tour recommended? Any suggestions? I'd love to hear from people who've done this trip. Thanks in advance

I would guess it depends very much on the Port that you are at ... For example in Barcelona, Nice and Naples your ship will be very close to the city ... so it would be relatively easy to do your own thing on Public Transport / Taxis

However in Florence and Rome the ship will dock a long way from either city (if you look at a map they're not near the coast ) ... In Rome it will probalby dock in Civitavechhia and for Florence at Livorno ... For Sicily ... it's kind of a big place ... you might want to find out what city you'll be calling at to get more information.

For the best info on cruises (albeit with a very American slant) I'd recommend you take a look at http://www.cruisecritic.com

Hi Maebee!!

I did a twelve night mediterranean cruise a few years ago - it was just fantastic! We didn't bother with the organised excursions either and we had no problems! In Rome for example the ship docked at Civitavechia, which is a fair distance from the city, but all we had to do was hop on the train and we were there in no time! Got all the major sites in too - on foot - Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Basilica of Saint Peter etc. I reckon it is much better to do your own thing as you can go at your own pace and either get more or less into your day! Definitely beats hanging around waiting for all the people in the group to return! The only possible advantage is that the groups might get to skip the queue - not sure if they do though! Get yourself a map, lather on the suncream, have a credit/cash card & some dosh in your hidden pouch and away you go - explore to your hearts content! A word of warning though - make sure you leave plenty of time for the journey back to the ship - they will set off with or without you!! My husband was a stickler for timekeeping - afraid of his life he'd be left behind in the gutter - so we were always back in plenty of time! Aim to be back maybe an hour & a half or two hours before departure so then if you have any delays you should be covered!

You're obviously fairly internet able so why not get some transport details/maps etc. on some of the sightseeing websites! The cruise should also provide details & maps too!

You'll be fine! Get up early and be ready to get off the ship when you dock!

You'll have a ball! Enjoy!

Spicey

Thanks for the prompt and informative replies EDK and Spicey !
As you said EDK, for Rome, we dock at Civitavechhia and for Florence we dock at Livorno. Will check out the trains for Rome and might follow in Spicey's footsteps. The cruise company are offering a "Best of Rome" tour - a snip at E269 !!!! Palermo is our port of call in Sicily. There should be plenty to see there. I reckon we'll get a map and do our own sightseeing. Did any of you do Naples, Pompeii/Mount Vesuvius, Tower of Pisa etc?
Spicey, thanks for the warning about leaving on time for the ship. My hubby would be a bit of a "clock-watcher" so hopefully we won't "Miss the Boat" ! Thanks again guys.

For Pisa - Livorno is very close to Pisa so you could easily do that yourself ... I don't know how long your port call in Livorno is ... but the trains around there are fairly good and frequent so if you've a long day in port and you're out early I'd say you could easily get the train to Pisa and then on to Florence and back to Livorno or vv.

€269 seems pretty steep for a day coach tour in Rome alright .. by the time you paid for the two of you it would nearly be the price of a whole weekend trip to Rome including flights!

Plenty to keep you occupied for a day in Palermo alright .. For Naples .. it's pretty easy to do Pompeii on your own - there's a little train that runs around the bay from Naples to Sorrento that calls right at Pompeii ... Vesuvius - no idea how easy that would be to do on your own (you'll see it from everywhere but if you want to go to the summit I'm not sure how you could do that independently unless you rented a car maybe ?)

We also went to Pompeii & Sorrento! Got off the ship and got the train! No problem! Did the full walk around the ruins of Pompeii before going to Sorrento for a lovely lunch overlooking the sea! We even had time to take a boat trip to the island of Capri which is well worth a visit! There is a lovely "ski" lift up the mountain and the most fabulous shops and restaurants at the top! Forget about buying anything though - unless of course you win the lotto first!

When we docked in Villefranche we headed off to Monaco! Walked the full Formula 1 course in the heatwave of 2003 as well as having a little flutter in the Casino after lunch! Again we had plenty of time!

The transport systems in these countries are just fantastic - the trains are frequent and arrive when they are due! You'll also find that there will be plenty of other people doing their own thing too so you won't be alone! It will definitely work out cheaper to plan your own trip and you'll also have a lot more freedom to pick & choose your own itinerary!

Spicey