A few comments on excursions.

If there are two of you, RSSC's excursion costs are fairly priced. I have found over 90% of them are of the highest quality.

If there are more than two of you, you can save money and have high level of personalized quality if you look into private guides. You can then customize the itinerary to your taste and avoid large bus crowds. Denise introduced us to this option and we have enjoyed wonderful experiences with her.

In St. Petersburg, we booked Red October for only 5 of us. It was the same price as the RSSC excursion for a busload. HOWEVER, the folks on the RSSC excursion were highly satisfied and had nothing to say but wonderful things.

We normally take a mixture of RSSC excursions (to meet others) and some private jaunts when we have special interests...to beaches via taxi, or we rent a car with another couple or through a private guide. You have to be careful going on your own at times and make sure you manage the timing of your logistics properly.

When we did our Italy cruise, we did not take a tour in Dubrovnick, but saw the city on our own, we did the same in Capri (some rented a car and had a lovely time). We took a private tour in Amalfi and took a couple of RSSC excursions.

What we have found is that RSSC is as flexible as possible with excursions. They allow cancelling and booking fairly close to the time of the excursion. We heard that one excursion was better than one we booked and the cruise desk switched us. Another day, we were going to the beach on our own and the day was rainy. We ran down to the desk minutes before the excursion was to leave and they got us on a great tour.

We have had excursions as low as the $30 dollar range and as high as $300 per person. I know of a few instances where folks were not pleased with the excursion and the money was refunded.

We have been very happy with RSSC's excursion desk. It is extremely well run.