looking for tips/suggestions

I am in the planning stages for a 12 night Mediterranean cruise on royal Caribbean vision of the seas june 23 2019. it sails from Barcelona and has stops in Nice, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Salerno, Venice, Split, and Kotor. I am looking for tips/suggestions/experiences on getting around at these stops. we will be interested in seeing the major attractions at each one. normally I am not one who books excursions thru the cruise line. I have found many times that you can get the same tours much cheaper on your own. I have never been to Europe and would appreciate any info about these ports. especially if there are any of these that booking thru the cruise line would be a better option. thanks much!

First, no cruise actually docks in Florence/Pisa or Rome (the cruiselines fib about this), so you are going to have to get from the actual ports to those cities. This has been discussed on these boards many times, and there are different options depending on your physical requirements, economic situation, etc. Scroll through the various boards about these cities and you will see various suggestions. IMO, I have never found booking tours through the ship to be a better deal than doing it on your own.

yes, I am aware they do not dock right in these cities. that is why I am trying to find out about transportation. thanks for the info.

I am in the planning stages for a 12 night Mediterranean cruise on royal Caribbean vision of the seas june 23 2019. it sails from Barcelona and has stops in Nice, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Salerno, Venice, Split, and Kotor. I am looking for tips/suggestions/experiences on getting around at these stops. we will be interested in seeing the major attractions at each one. normally I am not one who books excursions thru the cruise line. I have found many times that you can get the same tours much cheaper on your own. I have never been to Europe and would appreciate any info about these ports. especially if there are any of these that booking thru the cruise line would be a better option. thanks much!

Based on my own experiences (10 Med cruises....and counting), here are some thoughts:

Spend some time in Barcelona pre-cruise; it's worth it.

Livorno -- if you want to see the highlights, figure out best way to get to Florence and once there spend your time independently. You can do this via train on your own, via private driver or shuttle, or via cruise ship "on your own" excursion. If you are interested in getting inside one of the two famous art museums, pre-reserve a timed ticket.

Rome -- there is too much to see in a day, don't try to do it all. Pick a couple of sites to focus on. There are many good private tours, perhaps someone on your roll call is arranging something. You can also go on your own from the port via train, but this requires that you do some serious research and planning.

Salerno -- great jumping off spot for the famous Amalfi Coast drive if this appeals to you. Definitely this is best done with a private tour. Cruise ship buses cannot get into the small towns, so you lose half of the experience. Or consider going to Paestum to see lovely Greek temples (nicer than most in Greece!)

Venice -- most just enjoy wandering around Venice; with a little planning you can visit St. Marks and the Doge's Palace on your own and (if you must) a gondola ride....

Split -- again easy to do on your own if you want to stay in the historic old Split. It's a unique city that has been built into and amongst the remains of a Roman emperor's palace. Rather than trying to combine this with something like Trogir or Salona, I'd just make an easy day of it. (You'll have a lot of long days sightseeing, trust me. Take it easier when you can...)

Can't really help with Nice or Kotor!

We just got back and I've posted very detailed hints and tips for over 16 Mediterranean ports here: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

This includes your destinations of Rome (Civitavecchia) and Nice (Villefranche).

Based on my own experiences (10 Med cruises....and counting), here are some thoughts:

 

Spend some time in Barcelona pre-cruise; it's worth it.

 

Livorno -- if you want to see the highlights, figure out best way to get to Florence and once there spend your time independently. You can do this via train on your own, via private driver or shuttle, or via cruise ship "on your own" excursion. If you are interested in getting inside one of the two famous art museums, pre-reserve a timed ticket.

 

Rome -- there is too much to see in a day, don't try to do it all. Pick a couple of sites to focus on. There are many good private tours, perhaps someone on your roll call is arranging something. You can also go on your own from the port via train, but this requires that you do some serious research and planning.

 

Salerno -- great jumping off spot for the famous Amalfi Coast drive if this appeals to you. Definitely this is best done with a private tour. Cruise ship buses cannot get into the small towns, so you lose half of the experience. Or consider going to Paestum to see lovely Greek temples (nicer than most in Greece!)

 

Venice -- most just enjoy wandering around Venice; with a little planning you can visit St. Marks and the Doge's Palace on your own and (if you must) a gondola ride....

 

Split -- again easy to do on your own if you want to stay in the historic old Split. It's a unique city that has been built into and amongst the remains of a Roman emperor's palace. Rather than trying to combine this with something like Trogir or Salona, I'd just make an easy day of it. (You'll have a lot of long days sightseeing, trust me. Take it easier when you can...)

 

Can't really help with Nice or Kotor!

Thanks! Very good info. I really like doing the private tours. Did one recently in Cuba and it was definitely worth it. Do you have any particular private tour guides/ companies you would recommend?

We just got back and I've posted very detailed hints and tips for over 16 Mediterranean ports here: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

 

This includes your destinations of Rome (Civitavecchia) and Nice (Villefranche).

Thanks! I'll definitely check that out. :D:D

Thanks! Very good info. I really like doing the private tours. Did one recently in Cuba and it was definitely worth it. Do you have any particular private tour guides/ companies you would recommend?

I don't really use private tours, and we are not allowed to recommend them without having used them. However, there are several companies that are frequently recommended for the usual Italian ports -- a little reading in this forum should bring them to light.

I generally prefer to do things on my own -- not just because I've been to many of the ports a few times, but because I genuinely enjoy getting around on my own. And my tastes make it unlikely that anyone would want to share a tour with me anyway -- a bit expensive to do one as a solo. :')

One suggestion I always make is to maximize your time in Florence when you port in Livorno. This means skipping Pisa. I realize lots of people want that picture of themselves holding up the tower, but I usually tell them that Florence is a center of art and the Renaissance while Pisa is a nice town with a tower that leans. Obviously a personal opinion. To add to that, my favorite piece of art is the David at the Academia.

I don't really use private tours, and we are not allowed to recommend them without having used them. However, there are several companies that are frequently recommended for the usual Italian ports -- a little reading in this forum should bring them to light.

 

I generally prefer to do things on my own -- not just because I've been to many of the ports a few times, but because I genuinely enjoy getting around on my own. And my tastes make it unlikely that anyone would want to share a tour with me anyway -- a bit expensive to do one as a solo. :')

Oh gotcha. I misread and thought you had done a private tour. My apologies. I will likely be ruining into that issue as far as price goes because there is only 2 of us and most of the private tours I've looked at you need 6+ to get a good rate.

One suggestion I always make is to maximize your time in Florence when you port in Livorno. This means skipping Pisa. I realize lots of people want that picture of themselves holding up the tower, but I usually tell them that Florence is a center of art and the Renaissance while Pisa is a nice town with a tower that leans. Obviously a personal opinion. To add to that, my favorite piece of art is the David at the Academia.

Thanks for the info! I'll I definitely look into that. I do want to see pisa. But I can't imagine that I would spend a lot of time there.

I am in the planning stages for a 12 night Mediterranean cruise on royal Caribbean vision of the seas june 23 2019. it sails from Barcelona and has stops in Nice, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Salerno, Venice, Split, and Kotor. I am looking for tips/suggestions/experiences on getting around at these stops. we will be interested in seeing the major attractions at each one. normally I am not one who books excursions thru the cruise line. I have found many times that you can get the same tours much cheaper on your own. I have never been to Europe and would appreciate any info about these ports. especially if there are any of these that booking thru the cruise line would be a better option. thanks much!

If it's any help in your planning I've made short videos of all of the major tourist places in all of your ports except Salerno, all done on our own with some occasional public transport . They can be seen from the relevant playlist links in my signature below. All the bets, Tony