excursions for Naples, Florence, and Athens

[PMO]

We are sailing on the Brillance on 7/14/10. We are planning on taking a private tour in Rome but would like to know if it would be worth taking ship excursions for the Naples, Florence or Athens? We would love to be able to take private tours in all the cities but the cost is prohibitive. Any information about the excursions would be appreciated.

[TLCOhio]

We are sailing on the Brillance on 7/14/10. We are planning on taking a private tour in Rome but would like to know if it would be worth taking ship excursions for the Naples, Florence or Athens? We would love to be able to take private tours in all the cities but the cost is prohibitive. Any information about the excursions would be appreciated.

 

For Athens, you can check the Greece Ports boards on this Cruise Critic site. There are lots of tips on how to do an on-your-own tour there and the key attractions there of the Acropolis, Plaka and maybe to the National Museum. A private tour is less needed there than in such a large, complex city at Rome.

 

Florence is at some distance from the docking port. Maybe a ship tour could work well there and be cost-effective. On Naples, your challenge is that there are some great options with Capri, the Amalfi Coast & Positano and then there is hugely historic Pompeii. Which one of three "superstars" do you pick? For many, Naples is not as much of interest compared to these other three options.

 

Use the "SEARCH" function on these cities for each specific port stop. Ask follow-up questions. Do more reading and research on your various port options. You've got time and these boards can produce more helpful specifics to help you decide.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[HeinBloed]

Naples... but the cost is prohibitive. Any information about the excursions would be appreciated.

 

How about DIY to Ercolano (Mt. Vesuvius

 

 

and Herculaneum)

 

 

by train???

 

 

And on the way back a piece of the best pizza in world at Pizzeria Da Michele?

 

 

We spend for the day less than 50 USD per person (incl. all transportation 20 EUR/admission fee 11 EUR/Pizza 4 EUR) and had a great time...

 

Here are the impressions:

 

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2009/12/naples-italy-diy-ercolano-mt-vesuvius.html

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[PMO]

Thanks TLCOhio, you are right about Rome and that is why I am planning a private tour in Rome. I mainly wanted to know if anyone has used the excursions from the ship and are they worth booking?

[cruisemom42]

If you are not "do it yourselfers" and understand that most ships' tours move at a slower pace (and generally include forced shopping stops), then I will say that the excursions aren't bad.

 

I am a DIY-er but cruised the Med with my mom in 2006 and she was too nervous to do anything other than ship's tours. Although I wasn't thrilled, we did a number of tours through Princess and generally found the guides to be quite good and the logistics were easy. So, as long as you understand the limitations, I would say they are worthwhile.

 

In Pompeii, we chose to do an excursion that included Pompeii and the Naples Archeological Museum. Similarly, in Athens we did a tour that included the Acropolis and the Athens Archeological Museum. Both of these were well run. Princess does offer a smaller tour group option called "elite" tours (only 20 people) and both of these tours were smaller groups. My only complaint in Naples was the mandatory stop at the "cameo factory". I had no complaints about the Athens tour, which included limited shopping time in the Plaka, as that area is well worth a walk through even if you're not much of a shopper.

 

We did not call at Livorno on that cruise, and I've only done Florence on my own so I can't help you there.

 

P.S. I forgot to mention; the other drawback of ship-sponsored shore excursions is the high cost!

[TLCOhio]

Thanks TLCOhio, you are right about Rome and that is why I am planning a private tour in Rome. I mainly wanted to know if anyone has used the excursions from the ship and are they worth booking?

 

As noted by many, ship excursions are not perfect or always the best. It depends on the port and what you like to see and do. And, can afford! BUT, they are generally handy and convenient, saving worries about the unknown. And doing a ship tour does give you that basic orientation, make logistics easier and provide a resource to get your questions answered for that port and what to do in the afternoon after a tour. It's cheaper to skip their tours, but if you miss seeing and understanding the key attractions in certain ports, that can be even MORE COSTLY!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[maryann ns]

You can save money and have more time for sight seeing if you take a private tour. If you go to the roll call on this board for your cruise see if anyone has organized a private tour which interests you. Otherwise, post that you would be interested in joining others for a private tour.

 

For our cruise last November I ended up organizing private tours in most ports. All went extremely well and all were less expensive that the ships tours. From Sorrento (would also work from Naples) we went to Herculaneum and drove along the Amalfi Coast, stopping for an amazing lunch high up on a hill overlooking the water. We went with Marcello of Seesorrento and were very pleased with our day, but there are other companies offering similar tours. If you do a search under ports of call on Cruise Critic you will find the names of many tour companies. Email them and ask what they can offer. You can tailor your tour to what you want.

 

For Athens, we found it easy to get around and tour on our own. You could hire a guide at the Acropolis if you wished.

 

If you just want to see Pompei or Herculaneum alone, the Circumvesuviana Train is quick and inexpensive. You can hire a guide at the site.

[SallyUK]

Naples and Athens, I agree with the others in terms of ease of doing your own thing.

 

Florence is a bit further away. For our own peace of mind (and to guarantee getting there in time for our pre-booked tickets to the Uffizi) we took our ship's "Florence on Your Own" option. Other people in our group took the bus from the ship at Livorno and then the train. Either way it takes 90 mins to 2 hours in each direction. Once you get to Florence it is easy to get around on foot if you are reasonably mobile and the streets are pleasantly shady, even in the midday heat.

 

Another option is Viator, which offers pre-bookable tours, meet at the port in many locations and their local companies offer their services cheaper than many ships tours, not massively so, but a saving is a saving.

[HeinBloed]

Naples and Athens, I agree with the others in terms of ease of doing your own thing.

 

Florence is a bit further away. For our own peace of mind (and to guarantee getting there in time for our pre-booked tickets to the Uffizi) we took our ship's "Florence on Your Own" option. Other people in our group took the bus from the ship at Livorno and then the train. Either way it takes 90 mins to 2 hours in each direction. Once you get to Florence it is easy to get around on foot if you are reasonably mobile and the streets are pleasantly shady, even in the midday heat.

 

Another option is Viator, which offers pre-bookable tours, meet at the port in many locations and their local companies offer their services cheaper than many ships tours, not massively so, but a saving is a saving.

 

You need about 1 1/2 hours from Livorno to Florence by car...

 

You need the same time from Naples to Positano by car... although it's only half of the distance between Livorno and Florence...

 

so distance is no reason for or against an excursion to specific places...

 

Just the time you want to spend where...

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[SallyUK]

You need about 1 1/2 hours from Livorno to Florence by car...

 

You need the same time from Naples to Positano by car... although it's only half of the distance between Livorno and Florence...

 

so distance is no reason for or against an excursion to specific places...

 

Just the time you want to spend where...

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

 

Couldn't agree more HeinBloed. I was thinking more about Naples to Pompeii as an easy trip than to Positano (haven't been there), but having followed your excellent directions from Civi to Rome I think most things are more easily "doable" than people think. It's all about what people's tolerances are, to an extent how concerned they are about doing it in a different language (or in Greece a different script). That said, I don't think I'd risk doing a double like Florence and Pisa on my own (public transport rather than driving), some of the people who tried very adventurous things like that on my last trip missed the ship.

[PMO]

This is exactly what concerns me about DIY. I have never been to any of these countries, no where in Europe actually. I do not speak the languages and would not be comfortable with that lack of knowledge. I have gone on roll call and put in my ship and date and no one has responded. We are going July 14th I would think others would be interested in going on private tours, especially in Rome. So my other thought was to take the ship excursions but doing the private tour is too expensive with just the 2 of us. Thank you for all your advice I really appreciate it.

[cruisemom42]

This is exactly what concerns me about DIY. I have never been to any of these countries, no where in Europe actually. I do not speak the languages and would not be comfortable with that lack of knowledge. I have gone on roll call and put in my ship and date and no one has responded. We are going July 14th I would think others would be interested in going on private tours, especially in Rome. So my other thought was to take the ship excursions but doing the private tour is too expensive with just the 2 of us. Thank you for all your advice I really appreciate it.

 

It looks like there are several different roll calls that have been started for your cruise. I'd talk to the moderators about getting them all combined into 1 thread, otherwise everyone is going to get confused.

 

Also, it looks like someone is trying to get together a group for RomeInLimo tours. I think you should keep investigating private tour options at least until it gets a little closer to your cruise.

 

Don't be intimidated by not speaking Italian, Greek, or whatever. Many Europeans, particularly those that deal with tourists, speak very good English. I speak a little Italian but when I first started visiting there I spoke only a few words -- never have had a problem getting around on my own, including train travel, buses, metro, whatever...

[GSPLover]

Florence and Pisa from Livorno are easy DIY trips if you can keep track of the time. Take a taxi from the ship to Livorno Centrale train station (join up with others to share - expect about 5 euro pp. By tickets (2 cl) to Florence (you can get off in Pisa and reboard). Don'y forget to validate (time stamp) your tickets in the yellow boxes on the platform - big fine if you don't.

 

Review the train schedules on my train site (sig line below). Know what time you need to leave Florence to get back to Livorno. Give yourself 1 hour from when you arrive Livorno till the ship leaves (you need the buffer). Watch your time.

 

Easy trip - have done it at least 50 times.

[patrickmoran]

Athens is very easy to do on your own or sign up for a reasonably priced walking tour. (We were there in November and DIY.) The easiest is to take a taxi from the port to the Acropolis (20 euro which you can share with another couple). Tour Acropolis and then walk down through the Agora into the Plaka and to the electric tram. Take the tram to the port, cross the street and catch bus #843 back to berth. (Tram ticket is good for tram also.) If you want a walking tour, this company gets pretty good reviews but we haven't used them so I only know their reputation:

 

http://www.athenswalkingtours.gr/index.html

 

Do some searching on the Greece board and you will find lots of helpful info.

[corvettelover]

This is exactly what concerns me about DIY. I have never been to any of these countries, no where in Europe actually. I do not speak the languages and would not be comfortable with that lack of knowledge. I have gone on roll call and put in my ship and date and no one has responded. We are going July 14th I would think others would be interested in going on private tours, especially in Rome. So my other thought was to take the ship excursions but doing the private tour is too expensive with just the 2 of us. Thank you for all your advice I really appreciate it.

 

Don't worry that others have not responded yet- most people aren't thinking about the detail of the itinerary yet.

The important thing to remember is that you will only be in these ports for 12 hours. Our choice was to make the most of our time, as opposed to trying to figure train and bus schedules. So we opted for private tours in Naples and Rome with romeinlimo.com.

We could not have been happier with the service we got- and everything we were able to see.

Both tours were 6-8 people. We either connected through the Board (Naples) or we found people on board once we were underway who wanted to join us, which kept the prices very reasonable. My guess is you will have trouble finding others to join you, closer to your departure date.

[corvettelover]

Sorry, meant "no trouble" finding others to join you!!!!

[PMO]

So your feeling is we should book Romeinlimo with 6 people? I know I would love to book them with Rome and Naples. I am not worried about the other ports, well maybe Florence too.

[SallyUK]

Florence and Pisa from Livorno are easy DIY trips if you can keep track of the time. Take a taxi from the ship to Livorno Centrale train station (join up with others to share - expect about 5 euro pp. By tickets (2 cl) to Florence (you can get off in Pisa and reboard). Don'y forget to validate (time stamp) your tickets in the yellow boxes on the platform - big fine if you don't.

 

Review the train schedules on my train site (sig line below). Know what time you need to leave Florence to get back to Livorno. Give yourself 1 hour from when you arrive Livorno till the ship leaves (you need the buffer). Watch your time.

 

Easy trip - have done it at least 50 times.

 

Wow, you're brave! Actually its good to read this from someone who has done it. My most recent Med cruise was just unlucky I think and ran into problems in just about every port. We left people behind or got caught behind waiting in Rome, Livorno and Cannes following closures on the autostradas in Tuscany, wildcat train strikes in France and protests in Rome. I'd like to think I'm not going to get a run like that again even if I try, but it was an interesting learning experience. Made me realise: always have a plan B.

 

Note to anyone else reading this and worrying: this has never happened to me before, ever and I've done this or similar itineraries many times. And the vast majority of people, including independent travellers still made it back on time...

[Softball20]

This is exactly what concerns me about DIY. I have never been to any of these countries, no where in Europe actually. I do not speak the languages and would not be comfortable with that lack of knowledge. I have gone on roll call and put in my ship and date and no one has responded. We are going July 14th I would think others would be interested in going on private tours, especially in Rome. So my other thought was to take the ship excursions but doing the private tour is too expensive with just the 2 of us. Thank you for all your advice I really appreciate it.

 

Actually with a little research, you'll still likely do better doing these tours with private guides than by the ships excursions. There are so many options out there, and you can find lots of information on this board and on trip advisor. On our last med cruise the only port we did an actual ship's excursion was Livornio -- because we wanted to go to Siena and San Giminango (sp), we opted for the ship's tour due to the distance and the comfort of wanting to make it back to the ship on time :) Otherwise, I lined up guides/drivers for most of the ports before we left home. For Rome, we did the ship's bus transportation to/from the city, and then I lined up our own tour with a private company. A lot of these companies have both private options and group tours that you can do, and are almost always less expensive than the ship's excursions.

[chipmaster]

We are sailing on the Brillance on 7/14/10. We are planning on taking a private tour in Rome but would like to know if it would be worth taking ship excursions for the Naples, Florence or Athens? We would love to be able to take private tours in all the cities but the cost is prohibitive. Any information about the excursions would be appreciated.

 

Deciding where and when to spend $ is a challenge. Each of the mentioned ports has just so much. I would say don't think Rome is the only place with timeless treasures that scream private see all you can see tour ;)

 

If you are considering ship tour for Naples, Florence or Athens I'd say take the time and effort to arrange a tour share ( yourself as the leader or find one on rollcalls ) or DIY. Private with a full vehicle will get you more for same or less $ than all but the most simple shuttle service tour from the cruise ship. If you can afford it I woudl say do the private in both Flroence and Naples and possible do the DIY with hike to train in Athens if you got to save $ in one port.

 

Naples: Pompeii, Amalfi, Ravello, Sorrento, Positano, there are a lot of things to see, all with transportation logistics challenge.

 

Florence/Pisa: What else to you need to say, that is screaming of a busy busy day with much to see in a return trip :o

 

Athens: Its the only of the 3 that I'd say after visiting that I'd have done as DIY. Their really are 3 major things all reasonable to DIY unless for the mobility challenged.

 

Good luck

[PMO]

Great ideas, thank you so much! I agree that Florence and Naples are two ports to use private tours also.

[samavarcruiser]

How about DIY to Ercolano (Mt. Vesuvius

 

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

 

Thanks for sharing :)