Italy port tour suggestions

We are going on RC Vision of The Seas in May and will be in Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa. I am overwhelmed and have never been to Europe I want to be sure to see and do the right things- suggestions on good tours at these ports is welcome!! Thanks !

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Without knowing your interests, it is very hard to recommend anything for you.

I would suggest doing some reading of the excursions offered by RCI and see what intrigues you. Is it history? Religion? Art? Architecture?

Look down this board, looking for the same info. You will also see the possibility of private tours, and also possibly visiting these areas possibly on your own.

Then, some more specific questions will help us help you.

Rick Steves guidebooks are the best.

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We took the train from the port to Florence and did our own tour in town. Most everything is in a fairly compact area not far from the main train station. By doing that, we saved a ton of money plus had at least two more hours in town compared to the ship tour.

Yes, you do take a chance doing that on your own versus being on a ship tour but you really can see a good deal more if you plan in advance. The Rick Steves book suggestion is excellent to,help you plan your time in town.

Thanks will look into getting that book too!

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We are going on RC Vision of The Seas in May and will be in Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa. I am overwhelmed and have never been to Europe I want to be sure to see and do the right things- suggestions on good tours at these ports is welcome!! Thanks !

From 3 Med cruises I made some videos of Italian ports, which can be found from this link, which may give you some ideas

Here is a link to the pictures from our RCI cruise in 2012. Maybe they will help. If you have specific questions, fire away.

https://markandkareneurope2012.shutterfly.com/pictures

Great videos thanks- do you mean the book on just Italy or Europe?

Fantastic pictures!! Getting excited!!!!

From 3 Med cruises I made some videos of Italian ports, which can be found from this link, which may give you some ideas

All the best, Tony

Thank you, your videos are amazing and I can't wait to go myself!! Nicole

From 3 Med cruises I made some videos of Italian ports, which can be found from this link, which may give you some ideas

All the best, Tony

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

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We are going on RC Vision of The Seas in May and will be in Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa. I am overwhelmed and have never been to Europe I want to be sure to see and do the right things- suggestions on good tours at these ports is welcome!! Thanks !

3 great ports, I suggest combination of good books, internet and the threads here can help. Everyone's interest is different, the three ports have something for everyone and too much that one must make choices on the day in port between scenic/iconic sites, history, museums, etc. etc.

These are very busy ports and if you can afford it, highly recommend a private tour/car versus the cattle car bus tours that the cruise ship recommend. With a private car/tour you can pick the sites and save many valuable minutes versus having to do the hordes tours.

Happy researching!

3 great ports, I suggest combination of good books, internet and the threads here can help. Everyone's interest is different, the three ports have something for everyone and too much that one must make choices on the day in port between scenic/iconic sites, history, museums, etc. etc.

 

These are very busy ports and if you can afford it, highly recommend a private tour/car versus the cattle car bus tours that the cruise ship recommend. With a private car/tour you can pick the sites and save many valuable minutes versus having to do the hordes tours.

 

Happy researching!

I must agree with chipmaster

Hello!

I am trying to decide between hiring a tour company or hiring a taxi for a day when our ship docks in Liverno. We are a group of eight looking to see the sites around Florence/Pisa.

The tour company has great reviews but my TA suggests that we should just rent a taxi for the day.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Sunfinder, I hired a private driver/guide for a group of 8, formed on our roll call for the Jade Med cruise in November. Nicola was absolutely terrific-you will have an experienced, capable local who is very helpful, friendly, and will make your day memorable and stress-free. http://www.livornotoflorence.com/services/

Hello!

I am trying to decide between hiring a tour company or hiring a taxi for a day when our ship docks in Liverno. We are a group of eight looking to see the sites around Florence/Pisa.

The tour company has great reviews but my TA suggests that we should just rent a taxi for the day.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Not many taxis in Italy can handle 8 people. On this board there are MANY recommendations for tour venders, like the wonderful Rome in Limo, just down the board, which has 2800+ recommendations. Don't be confused by their name- they have an office in Florence. We did a Florence area tour with them last June. Excellent.

Hello!

I am trying to decide between hiring a tour company or hiring a taxi for a day when our ship docks in Liverno. We are a group of eight looking to see the sites around Florence/Pisa.

The tour company has great reviews but my TA suggests that we should just rent a taxi for the day.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Hi Sun Finder,

We had a group of 8 also & used Tuscany by Taxi from Livorno to Florence and back. They will also add in Pisa if that is your wish. Our driver, Roberto, was excellent. http://www.tuscanybytaxi.it/

This was NOT a tour though - we toured Florence on our own - Rick Steves has some free audio guides (Florence and Pisa) that you can download to your IPOD or MP3.

We are going on RC Vision of The Seas in May and will be in Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa. I am overwhelmed and have never been to Europe I want to be sure to see and do the right things- suggestions on good tours at these ports is welcome!! Thanks !

I did a review on our trip in Sept on the RCI under the forums "our families viewpoint of our Med cruise" We did several DIY days and I have pictures on it If you have any farther questions I'd be glad to help you if I can. It was our first cruise to Europe and planning was fun, scary and overwhelming!

We will be in Rome at the end of our cruise on June 12 for three days.

I would like get some recommendations on good tour companies that I can check out on the web and see what they offer and prices.

Also the same thing for recommendations in Barcelona.

Consider just doing it on your own. Saves so much money and you can easily do it. Just make sure you pre-purchase tickets for the big places!

We will be in Rome at the end of our cruise on June 12 for three days.

I would like get some recommendations on good tour companies that I can check out on the web and see what they offer and prices.

Also the same thing for recommendations in Barcelona.

If you look down the board, you will see MANY recommendations for venders, including the huge thread for the wonderful Rome in Limo.

Over on the Spain board, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=596

there will be recommendations for Barcelona.

Has any one used viator for tours? Thoughts ?

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@cgomps- Hi almost neighbor! Where are you going to and when? In Villefranche we used Provence Rivera Tours . In Naples had planned on doing this on our own but a man on the train from Rome was passing out brochures for Can't Be Missed Tours (CBM) Hubby decided he wanted to go that route and it was quite a bit cheaper than what I had found online.

Barcelona wasn't too bad doing on our own

Isn't Viator a booking place that sells tours for others? I personally prefer to book directly with the tour company.

I do know on one of our cruises I'm not sure if it was Viator or another similar company but a couple had booked a tour it was cancelled and they weren't informed till they were trying to find it. They ended up not doing anything since they weren't sure they would get refunded their 1st tour and didn't want to pay for 2 tours in one day.

We had great success with private tour in Italy. We used him in Naples, Florence and Rome. I have referred many people to him including my daugher and son-in-law and we have heard nothing but compliments on the knowledge and service that they provide.

http://www.privatetourinitaly.com

We did this itinerary a few years back. All I can is Wow! In my opinion, stay with small group tours. It's just much more enriching. Good operators will also look out for you in places like Florence, where pick pockets lark. We found that Piza was a bit overrated, but it is a must see. Please go to Pompeii. You won't regret this place. Have a great trip.