As a continuation of yesterday’s posts, our dear readers and long-time cruise friends, Judy and Gary, sent some suggestions on topics for future posts. Yesterday, we covered the second item, “favorite cruise lines.” See that post here.
Here are a few topics to consider;
Favorite cruise lines
Favorite ports
Best and worst cruise ship excursion you’ve taken
Best and worst meal you’ve cooked
Favorite and least favorite country you’ve visited
Favorite and least favorite city you’ve visited
Today, we’ll discuss the second point on Judy and Gary’s suggested list, “best and worst cruise ship excursion you’ve taken.”
Ironically, the above photo and the photo below, along with yesterday’s photos, are from one of our favorite cruise tours over the past 12 years. As fans of the TV series Downton Abbey, seeing the stunning Highclere Castle where the series was filmed was a sheer delight.
Ironically, this tour transpired ten years ago, almost to this date. Most often, when we booked tours with the cruise line or on our own, alone or with others, we avoided those that required riding on a full-sized bus. But this particular tour required riding on a bus when the location was too far from the port to ride in a taxi or private tour shuttle.
In this case, the cruise tour was less expensive and more convenient than if we had planned something independently. We weren’t disappointed by the long drive or the service. The only disappointment was that the owners of the magnificent castle didn’t allow photos of the interior, which we would have loved to share here,
However, we were allowed to take photos of the exterior, and there were many fantastic photo opportunities on the gorgeous grounds and gardens. Since it was August, few flowers were blooming, but we can easily imagine how beautiful it would be in the spring.
We loved many other cruise ship tours. Still, another favorite was the many Zodiac boat rides, twice a day, that we took while cruising in Antarctica to various islands to see wildlife and icebergs at the end of January and beginning of February 2018. There were no added costs for these tours. Please check our archive, which is noted for Antarctica, for those dates to see the fantastic sights during this once-in-a-lifetime 16-night cruise.
Tom particularly loved the cruise tour to Normandy, France, which was again on a small tour van, independent of the cruise line, although the cruise line offered a similar tour on a bus with more passengers. I had no idea how meaningful it would be for me as well. We highly recommend this tour.
We were at a loss to choose the least enjoyable cruise tour. Many small island tours in the South Pacific offered little other than for those interested in buying trinkets. Even the tours in Hawaii mainly involved stopping at various sites. We enjoyed Hawaii more when we stayed there for eight months and were able to tour on our own.
There was one tour we despised, although it wasn’t from a cruise ship. When we stayed in Marrakesh, Morocco, for almost three months, living in a “riad” in the souk in the Big Square. Our “house man” arranged this tour, which was encouraged for all guests renting the riad. It was an extensive tour of the Atlas Mountains by car with a guide and driver who stayed with us during the entire tour.
The tour was awful for many reasons:
- The driver drove very fast through the mountain roads, swerving at every hairpin turn. For the first time in years, I became very carsick for the entire drive.
- The hotels booked for the overnight stays were equally awful. They were sparse, without any amenities or good air conditioning.
- The meals at the various restaurants along the way did not have options for me. There was no plain meat and vegetables or anything Tom liked. Since I didn’t dare eat salad, there was nothing I could have.
Several times, we stopped to see villages, religious sites, and mosques, most of which were abandoned with few photo ops. On the second day, we told the driver we wanted to return to Marrakesh, but it required another day of speeding through the mountains and becoming carsick. We couldn’t get out of there quick enough. Tom felt the same way. It wasn’t fun.
We hadn’t done 60% of the tour, and when we returned, our “houseman” got us a partial refund. That was the only horrible tour we can recall.
When booking tours, it’s important to research the tour details online, including the time of the tour, the time the tour will return to the ship, the cost, the number of other passengers joining the tour, the means of transportation, and safety guidelines. We strongly discourage arranging tours on rickety and worn vehicles since so much can go wrong.
Plus, we must add that if you book a tour on your own, not sponsored by the cruise line, if you don’t return on time for a sail-away, the ship will leave without you. You will face a fiasco trying to reconnect with the ship at its next port, incurring visa issues and additional costs.
That’s it for today, dear readers.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, August 22, 2014:
