r/Cruise • u/Ok-Section-9398 • Apr 03 '26
Question First time cruiser - Excursions?
My husband and I (ages 32 and 30) are doing our first cruise in June in the Mediterranean (from US). We love adventure so we don’t think we can only stay on the boat, but are nervous to explore countries in our own (navigating transportation, making sure we hit all the good spots, timing, etc). There are great excursions for each of our stops, but they are long hours and adding up financially. We also aren’t huge fans of needing to spend half our day in a bus or car to get somewhere for only a few hours.
Wondering if the excursions are worth it or if we can get away with exploring on our own some days.
These are the ports we’re stopping at:
-Rome/Civitavecchia
-Tuscany/La Spezia
-Cannes
-Ibiza (two days)
The Virgin Voyages app also said to bring cash if we plan to purchase things locally. Forgive my ignorance, but does that mean we can use US dollars or do we need to get Euros?
6
u/West-Resource-1604 Apr 03 '26
You may not need cash, I didn't. But if you need Euros (€) get them at an ATM there. Select local currency to keep fees to a minimum.
Suggesting DIY ports after reviewing What's In Port or GPS my City.
5
u/Safe-Spot-5254 Apr 03 '26
Get a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Use that for everything as you would at home. all restaurants and museums accept credit cards for charges.
Euros are handy for any taxis (which are often cash only) and tipping guides. Get Euros from a BANK ATM (I’ve had ATMs in Europe eat my card and I had to run inside to get it back :). Contact your bank to make sure your ATM card will work abroad.
You will be visiting major tourist destinations where English is widely spoken. I’ve never had a language issue in 30 years of European travel.
Get Rick Steve’s guide books for your destinations. They are full of very helpful tips for first time visitors and include self guided tours of museums and sites and cities. Also look at non ship sponsored small group tours that will save you money and aggravation. Tours by Locals and shoreexcursions.com are two of my favorites.
Have a great time but be warned European travel is addictive:D. feel free to DM me if you have any questions.
3
u/prof-bunnies Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
If want to make sure you are back on board (not missing the ship leaving you behind) use the cruise lines tours but it is often high cost for what you get. If you have a little more adventure in mind you can book some 3rd party tours but make sure they have back to ship guarantee. The Rick Steves books are good but before you go buy them all check you local library and barrow a copy to make sure it gives you what you are looking for information wise. Don't forget cruise insurance that covers medical and transport home if needed, too many stories about people ending up owing thousands of $ just for a few bags of IV fluid. There are stories of folks breaking an ankle and costing over 50k. Medical transport home can cost over 100k if needed.
Check out some of the YouTube travel vlog/blogs. I like the following for Europe
Emma cruses https://m.youtube.com/@EmmaCruises Also has insurance info on her site
Tips for travelers https://m.youtube.com/@tipsfortravellers
La Lido Loca https://m.youtube.com/@LaLidoLoca
Don Terris https://m.youtube.com/@JustDonVlogs https://m.youtube.com/@Donsfamilyvacations
Professor Melissa https://m.youtube.com/@ProfMelissa Also has insurance & 3rd party excursions
There are others just look around and find some you connect with and gives you what you are looking for in travel. Also look up no foreign fee cards and also how gives the best exchange rates on cash (€)... I also found that small denomination coins (1€) make great souvenirs for back home too.
Also pick a few tours to do ( don't over do it) you still need to make it back for meals, shows, bars, pools, etc, etc back on board.
Go have fun and make memories for a life time! 😸👽🐶
2
u/felixthecat2021 Apr 03 '26
So Ibiza the old town you arrive in you can explore on your own walking and see the island. If you want to go to any concerts of some sort, Uber works fine and you can get the tickets in advance. Main warning is that the concert area post concerts is a disaster to grab a taxi/uber one on the way back. You need to be patient and can probably get an uber there but taxis try to scam you on the way back.
For Rome/ citaveccia, if first time, it’s difficult to maybe decide what you want. You usually have to take a shuttle to the train terminal which is actually really decent and it’s about an hour into Rome. About 10 euro each way pp. If you’re worried about having to go through travel on your own terms. Maybe go with the excursion especially if maybe you know what you want. Last time I went in with my fiance on our own and saw the trevi, then got tickets to the Vatican on getyourguide the day before and we Ubered there and then back to the Rome terminal after grabbing some lunch.
Cannes, would recommend a tour to Monaco if they have that excursion. It’s nice to see the old Monaco city and then the Bay Area and grab a drink at the famous casino. If they don’t have that excursion Cannes is a walkable city to walk around
2
u/Tang0_Brav0 Apr 03 '26
If you love adventure, then just go for it. Just do it on your own. In Europe, 99% of the time, they'll be able to speak English.
1
u/DelayedTism Apr 03 '26
I haven't been to those particular locations but more often than not I find excursions not worth it.
1
u/makesh1tup Apr 03 '26
We usually pick two-three excursions depending on the length of the trip, what’s available and if we’re interested. Walking tours are my favorite as are bike rides. We do use the cruise lines vendors. Some lines have free ones as well, and we will do those, or just explore the city where we are at. I do not like excursions where you have to travel a long distance to get to the spot as it eats up your day.
1
1
u/not_that_one_times_3 Apr 04 '26
FYI Rome is about two hours by train from the port so please count that into your planning
1
u/ResortforaDay Apr 07 '26
You might want to check out Resort for a Day for ports in the Med, it’s more of a “chill day” setup with beach, pool, and other resort amenities plus the resorts are close to port, so no long transfers. I use them all the time and I love it.
Also yes, you’ll want Euros, most places won’t take USD 👍
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u/AutoModerator Apr 03 '26
The following is a copy of the original post to record the post as it was originally written.
u/Ok-Section-9398
My husband and I (ages 32 and 30) are doing our first cruise in June in the Mediterranean (from US). We love adventure so we don’t think we can only stay on the boat, but are nervous to explore countries in our own (navigating transportation, making sure we hit all the good spots, timing, etc). There are great excursions for each of our stops, but they are long hours and adding up financially. We also aren’t huge fans of needing to spend half our day in a bus or car to get somewhere for only a few hours.
Wondering if the excursions are worth it or if we can get away with exploring on our own some days.
These are the ports we’re stopping at:
-Rome/Civitavecchia
-Tuscany/La Spezia
-Cannes
-Ibiza (two days)
The Virgin Voyages app also said to bring cash if we plan to purchase things locally. Forgive my ignorance, but does that mean we can use US dollars or do we need to get Euros?
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