Prices of "Extras" on the European Cruises About This Page:

[modisney]

I would love to do one of the itineraries just announced. For those of you who have done the European cruises tell me about the prices of excursions on these cruises and other "extras". I'm trying to figure out the "over and aboves" the cruise price and airfare. How are the excursions prices, did you feel you saw enough of the destination and were they worth it or would you recommend doing your own research and seeing each destination on your own? We'd love to take our DDs to Europe and from what I hear a cruise is the most affordable way to do it these days. I'm a little concerned with it seeming "whirl-wind" though. Does anyone feel that way after so many cities in a short amount of time? It seems as though these are "highlights" visits vs. "vacationing in any one of these destinations. Also, are the passengers a fairly international group or mainly U.S.? Thanks!

[Cruiseketeer]

I am not sure which ports you are looking for. But in my m "plan a trip I am not going on" research the cruise critic folks rave about Red October USA - St. Petersburg Shore Excursions and St Petersrburg City Tours for russia and Berlin

Cyndi

[chezp]

I can help a bit with my experiences from the inaugural Med cruise last year. I would say on our boat 95% of the guests were American, as Disney failed to market the cruises at all in Europe. The only way that people found out abou them was through places like PassPorter. I do hope they'll rectify that for 2010.

As far as the tours went, they ranged in price from $49 per person to about $199 per person for the all day, all singing all dancing tours. Of course you can't see everything in one day, but it gives you a good flavour. We know from that cruise what we want to go back and see more of - in fact, we went back to Barcelona a couple of weeks ago and would love to return to see more of Pompeii and that area and Florence in the future.

I hope that helps.

[Belle*]

If you book one of the Northern European Capital itineraries and book a shore excursion in St. Petersburg, one perk will be that you will not need a seperate visa.

[Dave Marx]

Unlike a Caribbean or Mexican Riviera cruise, where a lot of cruisers don't bother with excursions, for these itineraries shore excursions are going to be a major expenditure. According to a shorex supervisor I spoke to from another cruise line, on European itineraries, around 80% of the cruisers take shore excursions.

Budget around $170-$200/person/day to be on the safe side. That's the typical cost of an all-day excursion with food and museum/historic site admission included. We don't know where exchange rates are headed, though. Depending on which economy begins to recover first (assuming there is a recovery) excursion prices may come down or go up.

When you have just one day in each port (a day and-a-half in St. Petersburg), shore excursions tend to be one of the most efficient ways to see the sights. If you have enough folks to split the cost, another approach is a private tour guide/driver.

If you've already visited a city, you could consider doing it on your own, but when you have 7-8 hours maximum in a strange place, and considering how many tourist destinations are pedestrian-only (and next to no parking available), just the fact that you have a driver who can drop you off and pick you up and knows the traffic patterns, coupled with the tour guide's ability to get tickets/reservations to the many sights that require them (if you got them yourself, you might spend a half-hour or more for each sight in the ticket pickup line)... the time saved on those two factors alone can make the cost of the tour worthwhile.

Since the cruise lines use local tour operators, the chances of having a better (or worse) experience by booking through someone other than the cruise line may be a toss-up - the cruise line may be using the same tour company you end up booking. You may save some money, but you also may not get ship-side pick-up (or you may - it all depends).

With the cruise lines that have a regular presence in Europe, you can figure out which tour operators are working with which cruise lines. But in DCL's case, by the time we know who the operators are, it'll be time to board the bus.

No matter what, in most European destinations, there's no way you can scratch the surface in a single day's visit. All you can do is research the destination, and choose the tour that seems to hit a reasonable number of the sights you're interested in. Don't be afraid to split up as a couple/family and do different excursions. You'll have more experiences to talk about over dinner (and when you narrate your DVD), and there's no point paying big bucks for a tour half of you aren't interested in.

Often, you'll have a range of tours to choose from, from inexpensive, "we drive you to the center of town, then you're on your own" to small-group tours with gourmet dining. The chances of not finding an excursion that comes close to exactly what you're interested in is pretty slim - with so many cruisers taking excursions, there are a whole lot to choose from.

Good luck!

[modisney]

Thanks!! I'm hoping to do one of these and this info. helps!!!

[dmpyron]

Originally Posted by Belle*

If you book one of the Northern European Capital itineraries and book a shore excursion in St. Petersburg, one perk will be that you will not need a seperate visa.

Yes. Which will save both money and a great, painful, vile amount of work. Russian visas are a real PITA. Of course, the excursion has to be through DCL.

AGENTS: I've only sent a few people on Baltic cruises. Some of the lines required you to either purchase a Russian excursion through them or provide visa information prior to boarding. What's your experience been?