Tuscany Pre-Extension?

Is this a new tour, has anyone done it yet? We booked it. We want to spend a few days in the area before our cruise out of Venice next year, and it seems so much easier than all the planning on our own. We've never been to Italy or even Europe, and we don't speak Italian for sure.

The tour is quite expensive, $1400pp for 3 days. The web site talks about a Renaissance Italian Villa with gourmet meals. When I booked it, they told me the villa is the Villa Ilpoggiale. Well, I've looked it up. It's well outside Florence (not a big deal), and is actually a home built in the 14th century. Not an expensive or luxurious place, but historically accurate.

The reviews on Trip Advisor are really mixed. Lots of sterling reviews from one time reviewers, kind of like Viking Oceans on this site. Then some really bad reviews.

So yikes. The villa is not everything, the touring and transportation are important. But we would like to be comfortable and well fed when paying luxury prices!

Anyone? Has this tour happened yet?

We have been to Italy several times. We always book on our own. It really is pretty easy to do (Trip Advisor, Rick Steve's, all kinds of search engines). and the train system will get you in and out of Venice. The roads in Tuscany are fairly easy to navigate if you rent a car for a few days - then you are on your own schedule, with the options of staying where you want, eating where you want, exploring for as long as you want, and almost always for a whole lot less money. JMHO.

I agree with Vineyard View. You'd be surprised how easy it is to get around and find someone who speaks English. The Viking tour seems pretty expensive. You can find some very, very nice places for that kind of money!

Also, based on the maiden cruise, I'd be a little leary of Viking's ability to pull off a really smooth experience the first time around. We thought the downfall of the maiden cruise for us was the excursions and land based parts. Viking on the Rivers side has the excursions down pat - things run like a well-oiled machine. But on the Oceans side, the land part was often very rough around the edges. We did much, much better on private tours (many with Vineyard View BTW), saw more in less time with less stress.

If going totally on your own is more than you want to tackle, try looking for a private guide in Tuscany (see TripAdvisor or the Ports section of CC) that will take you around for 3 days. We're doing that in Transylvania next spring for about half the price of Viking's pre-cruise, staying in a better hotel, with a private guide for the two of us, without the large tour group - did I mention HALF the price.

Thanks for the input. I was doing all the research, trains etc. DH wanted to go to Cinque Terre for the day. It was stressing me out, guess I don't love planning as much as I used to. Lots of medical stuff this year, not back on my game yet.

Just found out the hotel runs $140 per night. That's not exactly a luxury villa.

Guess I will call and cancel. Not sure what we will do.

Another alternative is just to stay in Venice. Although we've seen a lot of Europe, we hadn't been to Venice before, and we only had 2 days there on the Viking Star. I definitely want to go back! You could easily just stay put there in a hotel and not worry about transporation. Three or four days in Venice would be wonderful IMO.

If you own a GPS buy a European maps chip for it and use it to get around. Take the train from Venice to Florence. A day in Florence. Rent a car. Go to Siena and San Gimignano. Use TripAdvisor to pick your hotels. Take a camera. It will be awesome. Eat lots of gelato.

Cancelled the pre-extension. Now planning train to Florence, 4 nights Airbnb with guided day tours from Artviva or similar, train back to Venice to catch the ship. Choosing an Airbnb host that speaks English with a lot of good reviews will help, I think. At least they can recommend restaurants, won't have to get into that.

Now to figure out trains. I guess we can't take a train from the Venice Airport.

We were planning to spend the several pre days in Venice, but were overcome with a desire to visit Tuscany! Ha. We will still have almost two days in Venice.

I am also interested in this trip but it has disappeared from the Viking website. I hope it has not been canceled. It included all food and planned activities and that appealed to me and my sister that's traveling with me. Guess I will check with Viking and see what's going on with it.

There is an ATVO Flybus from Marco Polo Airport to Venice's Mestre train station. From there you can take a slower regional train or the high speed Frecce to Florence. I think the tickets go on sale on line 119 days out. The sooner you book the cheaper the Frecce ticket since these are reserved seats. The regional train you buy your ticket that day and there is no reserved seat.

I know this is a slightly different pre/post cruise extension offered by Viking but here are a few comments based on my recent experience.

I have just returned from the Venice - Istanbul cruise on Viking Star, I took the 3 night Italian Cities pre-cruise tour offered by Viking at £899 per person. It was fully escorted tour of Rome (Panoramic Drive plus lunch in local restaurant), Florence (overnight stay, dinner in local restaurant and walking tour), Bologna (ditto but dinner was in hotel restaurant) and Verona (again overnight stay, dinner in local restaurant and walking tour). All meals were included and wine was included at lunch and dinner.

The standard of the tour manager (who joined us in Rome and delivered us to Venice) was excellent and the local guides used for the tours were also good. The restaurants were excellent and the hotels very good, all of which were within walking distance of the city centre.

You can always do these sort of tours independently at a different cost, and I have done independent tours of California myself from the UK, but if you want somebody to take care of everything for you then I would recommend a Viking pre/post cruise extension to make the most of your visit to Europe.

Neil

I know this is a slightly different pre/post cruise extension offered by Viking but here are a few comments based on my recent experience.

 

I have just returned from the Venice - Istanbul cruise on Viking Star, I took the 3 night Italian Cities pre-cruise tour offered by Viking at £899 per person. It was fully escorted tour of Rome (Panoramic Drive plus lunch in local restaurant), Florence (overnight stay, dinner in local restaurant and walking tour), Bologna (ditto but dinner was in hotel restaurant) and Verona (again overnight stay, dinner in local restaurant and walking tour). All meals were included and wine was included at lunch and dinner.

 

The standard of the tour manager (who joined us in Rome and delivered us to Venice) was excellent and the local guides used for the tours were also good. The restaurants were excellent and the hotels very good, all of which were within walking distance of the city centre.

 

You can always do these sort of tours independently at a different cost, and I have done independent tours of California myself from the UK, but if you want somebody to take care of everything for you then I would recommend a Viking pre/post cruise extension to make the most of your visit to Europe.

 

Neil

Hi Neil ~ thank you for your review of the pre-cruise tour. I am also booked on this tour & was getting anxious as there's no info on it in the cruise documents other than the 3 hotels we will be staying at. I hope they are the same as the ones that you stayed at since you were pleased. We also booked our air through Viking & do not arrive in Rome until 1:10 pm, so I really don't feel we will see anything at all in Rome which is unfortunate. Can you tell me what time you got to Venice on departure day? Thanks.

~Marcie

We are on the Nov. 26th Venice to Barcelona cruise and are arriving in Rome on 11/23 for 3 nights at Hotel Artemide which is very close to the Termini railway station. We will have the day of the 24th for some time in Rome. We are taking the Frecce train to Florence and back on the 25th leaving at 7 am and returning around 10 pm. We have booked a walking tour with ArtViva that starts at 9:15 and is followed by a skip the line tour of the Uffizi Gallery at 1:30 pm and a similar tour of the Accademia at 4:45 pm. The next morning we are taking the Frecce train to Venice and getting off at the Mestre station where we can get a taxi to the San Basilio or Marritima cruise terminal depending on which one Viking Star is at. We purchased our train tickets at the Rail Europe website and booked Ist Class reserved seats. We are also staying in Barcelona for two extra nights at the end of the cruise.

James and Anne

Hi Neil ~ thank you for your review of the pre-cruise tour. I am also booked on this tour & was getting anxious as there's no info on it in the cruise documents other than the 3 hotels we will be staying at. I hope they are the same as the ones that you stayed at since you were pleased. We also booked our air through Viking & do not arrive in Rome until 1:10 pm, so I really don't feel we will see anything at all in Rome which is unfortunate. Can you tell me what time you got to Venice on departure day? Thanks.

 

~Marcie

We arrived in Rome at 10:30am on a flight from London and there was a group of about 30 others who had arrived on earlier flights waiting for our flight and two others at 10:30, some had arrived as early as 8:30. By the time we cleared customs, reclaimed baggage and boarded the coach it was about 11:30am. There were lots of Viking staff present to help with directions and baggage.

We then drove into Rome 30/45 minutes from city centre and then drove past the some of the main sites in Rome for about an hour before stopping for lunch. At this point we were joined by some others who arrived on later flights. They had been met by Viking staff and put in a taxi to the Restaurant to meet up with the group.

After lunch we finished off the tour (circa 30 minutes more) before heading off to Florence. On the way we met another small group at a service station, who had come in on a later flight, but were again met at the airport and sent by taxi to join the main group en route to Florence.

My guess is that based on your flight time that you will miss Rome. If I was to miss one tour then the drive by tour of Rome is the one to miss but it is a pity that you are arriving into Rome so late to miss it all.

If I was planning this I would either get into Rome as early as possible (my flight was the first out of London that morning) else fly into Florence and go direct to the hotel have some free time in Florence and meet the group there.

It is quite a distance between Rome and Florence and by the time we arrived at the Hotel it was after 7:00pm and we were back out for dinner in less than 30 minutes.

I had the same concerns as you about what to expect in Rome, so I contacted Viking the week before departure and they were able to describe what would happen given our arrival time. Hopefully they will be able to the same for you.

Hope this helps.

Neil

James and

Anne

Where are you staying in Barcelona

We are staying at the K & K Picasso. It is in the El Born district and not far from the cruise terminal and the Picasso museum. We are looking at booking a tour to the Dali museum and Cadaques for Dec. 9th.

James and Anne

We arrived in Rome at 10:30am on a flight from London and there was a group of about 30 others who had arrived on earlier flights waiting for our flight and two others at 10:30, some had arrived as early as 8:30. By the time we cleared customs, reclaimed baggage and boarded the coach it was about 11:30am. There were lots of Viking staff present to help with directions and baggage.

 

We then drove into Rome 30/45 minutes from city centre and then drove past the some of the main sites in Rome for about an hour before stopping for lunch. At this point we were joined by some others who arrived on later flights. They had been met by Viking staff and put in a taxi to the Restaurant to meet up with the group.

 

After lunch we finished off the tour (circa 30 minutes more) before heading off to Florence. On the way we met another small group at a service station, who had come in on a later flight, but were again met at the airport and sent by taxi to join the main group en route to Florence.

 

My guess is that based on your flight time that you will miss Rome. If I was to miss one tour then the drive by tour of Rome is the one to miss but it is a pity that you are arriving into Rome so late to miss it all.

 

If I was planning this I would either get into Rome as early as possible (my flight was the first out of London that morning) else fly into Florence and go direct to the hotel have some free time in Florence and meet the group there.

 

It is quite a distance between Rome and Florence and by the time we arrived at the Hotel it was after 7:00pm and we were back out for dinner in less than 30 minutes.

 

I had the same concerns as you about what to expect in Rome, so I contacted Viking the week before departure and they were able to describe what would happen given our arrival time. Hopefully they will be able to the same for you.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Neil

Yes, that is a great help. Thank you, Neil. Well, that is going to be a long day for us after arriving in Rome at 1:10 & being on a bus all the way to Florence. Ugh.

We arrived in Rome at 10:30am on a flight from London and there was a group of about 30 others who had arrived on earlier flights waiting for our flight and two others at 10:30, some had arrived as early as 8:30. By the time we cleared customs, reclaimed baggage and boarded the coach it was about 11:30am. There were lots of Viking staff present to help with directions and baggage.

 

We then drove into Rome 30/45 minutes from city centre and then drove past the some of the main sites in Rome for about an hour before stopping for lunch. At this point we were joined by some others who arrived on later flights. They had been met by Viking staff and put in a taxi to the Restaurant to meet up with the group.

 

After lunch we finished off the tour (circa 30 minutes more) before heading off to Florence. On the way we met another small group at a service station, who had come in on a later flight, but were again met at the airport and sent by taxi to join the main group en route to Florence.

 

My guess is that based on your flight time that you will miss Rome. If I was to miss one tour then the drive by tour of Rome is the one to miss but it is a pity that you are arriving into Rome so late to miss it all.

 

If I was planning this I would either get into Rome as early as possible (my flight was the first out of London that morning) else fly into Florence and go direct to the hotel have some free time in Florence and meet the group there.

 

It is quite a distance between Rome and Florence and by the time we arrived at the Hotel it was after 7:00pm and we were back out for dinner in less than 30 minutes.

 

I had the same concerns as you about what to expect in Rome, so I contacted Viking the week before departure and they were able to describe what would happen given our arrival time. Hopefully they will be able to the same for you.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Neil

Hi Neil ~ can you tell me what hotels you stayed at in Florence, Bologna & Verona? And, were you happy with them? Thanks.

Marcie

We stayed at the NH Firenze in Florence, Royal Hotel Carlton in Bologna and the Grand Hotel in Verona. All were 4 star standard, very clean and professional with a good breakfast.

I would happily stay at any of them myself if I returned to any of these cities.

Neil

Marcie

 

We stayed at the NH Firenze in Florence, Royal Hotel Carlton in Bologna and the Grand Hotel in Verona. All were 4 star standard, very clean and professional with a good breakfast.

 

I would happily stay at any of them myself if I returned to any of these cities.

 

Neil

Neil ~ thank you. Those are the same hotels we will be staying at, so it's comforting to know you were happy with the accommodations. Were you satisfied with the tour guide & sights you saw while visiting Florence/Bologna & Verona?

~Marcie

We had three different guides for the three cities. Personally the one for Bologna was the weakest but she was still fine. The great thing about the ear pieces they were using was they had a great range, so you could wander off quite a way and still hear what was being said, or at least be aware that the group was moving again. English was very good and the information and sites seen were very good. As always when there is a group of some 40 people there are always some quicker than others but this was generally managed well.

We will return to Verona and Florence again.

Neil

There is an ATVO Flybus from Marco Polo Airport to Venice's Mestre train station. From there you can take a slower regional train or the high speed Frecce to Florence. I think the tickets go on sale on line 119 days out. The sooner you book the cheaper the Frecce ticket since these are reserved seats. The regional train you buy your ticket that day and there is no reserved seat.

Wish I had come back to this thread sooner! That would be easier than schlepping over to Venice to catch a train. Already booked but maybe can cancel. Will check prices, and need to find a Left Luggage but there might be one at Mestre station. Thanks!