The Best Of The Best Shore Excursions From Celebrity Cruises

A really good shore excursion can take an already amazing cruise to a new level. Shore excursions can take us to unknown places, help us understand foreign cultures, offer a unique way of bonding with friends and family or provide us the means of a once-in-a- lifetime experience! Celebrity Cruises’ newly launched shore excursion program, which includes 75 new excursions, was designed to fulfill all of these desires.

Celebrity Cruises offers shore excursions for every budget.   Short tours, day-long adventures, walking tours, bus tours, and bike tours. There are unique culinary experiences that introduce you to the authentic cuisine of a destination, tours designed to promote wellness, and exciting outdoor activities and sports. But here is a look at a few of their new programs, the best of the best, for the discerning traveler.

“Celebrity Exclusives” offer unique experiences that very few have the chance to do. These are up-scale adventures with a price tag to match, but if its one-of-a-kind adventures you’re looking for, these are for you. How about spending your time in Istanbul being a “Sultan for the Day?” You will spend the morning cruising down the Bosphorus on your Royal Yacht, headed for a traditional Turkish breakfast at the Sait Halim Pasha Mansion. Then it’s back onboard, sailing to Old Town, for a showing of Turkish Art, followed by the exploration of the Underground Cistern. You end the day shopping amongst the hustle and bustle of the Grand Bazaar. This is certainly a day fit for a king!

“Celebrity Family Tour Challenge” is the most exciting programs ever developed to give families a way to discover the world together through entertaining, competitive and enriching experiences! Each option sounds like such fun, but my favorite is the “Venetian Gondoliering Challenge” in Venice, Italy. The participants first receives expert schooling at a real Venetian Rowing Club in the age-old art of gondoliering. Then it’s off to a waterway where everyone breaks into teams and engages in some friendly competition with other teams to see who will be named ""Best Gondolier for a Day"". I can imagine the good time and laughs and I know that if this was available when my family cruised to Venice, we would have been the first to sign up! There are “Celebrity Family Tour Challenges” in other European cities as well as Bermuda and Alaska.

If you want to explore a destination individually or in a small group, “Private Journeys” is the excursion for you! Guests may customize their own shore excursions by choosing an itinerary geared toward convenience, flexibility, and their own personal interests. From a behind-the-scenes tour of iconic landmarks, a reservation at a top restaurant, tee times, help planning a special occasion, or tickets to a local event, a Celebrity Cruises Destination Concierge can create that memorable experience. These excursions, which can include a private car and guide, are designed to immerse guests in the sights, sounds, and flavors of the destinations they’ll be visiting.