Non-Cruiseline Rome and Florence Shore Excursions

[deej696]

Planning a Med. cruise for next year, and have started researching excursions in Florence and Rome. On other cruises we've had good luck with some third party options, mostly at the suggestion of fellow CC'ers, so I figured I'd check here first. Any great companies out there that someone can suggest? Or is it better to stick with the cruiseline in these ports?

 

TIA:D

[euro cruiser]

A very simple search of this board will turn up doznes of recommendations for the key ports in Italy.

[HeinBloed]

Planning a Med. cruise for next year, and have started researching excursions in Florence and Rome. On other cruises we've had good luck with some third party options, mostly at the suggestion of fellow CC'ers, so I figured I'd check here first. Any great companies out there that someone can suggest? Or is it better to stick with the cruiseline in these ports?

 

TIA:D

 

Or just go to your roll-call and see what other's already offers.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We just got back from a Med cruise and did private tours most places, but we had a group of four couples so were able to split the cost. Agree with above to go to your roll call, unless cost is not an object as a private car and vehicle is expensive. We used romeinlimo for round trip transportation (driver only drop off and pick up-not a tour) to Rome and the cost was somewhere in the range of 400 Euros in total (and it took two hours to get into Rome due to the terrible morning traffic). Did not go into Florence-we did Pisa and Lucca and the cost was again in the above range for a six hour tour.

[BigGuy25]

There are many companies offering tours in the region. Our favorite is Rome in Limo. We used them in both ports that you referenced (and in the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii). We used them first for our Med cruise last year and were so pleased that we used them again this past summer when we returned to Italy. I always tell people that they have a style that makes you feel like you're traveling with a friend or relative. You'll find all sorts of positive reviews of them on Cruise Critic. Here's a little example of the special type of service and attention that you get. Our driver made arrangements in a terrific little restaurant in Florence (one that large bus tours could never fit into) and after we finished with lunch, we told Jon (not sure how it's spelled in Italian) that we really wanted some good gelato. Rather than taking us to a "tourist trap" he said "let me take you to a small neighborhood place where the gelato is better and the price is about 1/3 of what you'll pay here." It was great!! They also helped us obtain tickets to venues and get us past long lines quickly. As other have said, check your Roll-Call and I'm sure you'll find others who are recommending and booking Rome in Limo. We've done a lot of shore excursions with a lot of companies around the world and they are right at the top of our of "best experiences" list. Have a great trip.

[hylasgirl]

We used Romeinlimo also and can HIGHLY recommend them. They were incredible. We have used them in many locations several years in a row. If you do a search for them you will find many reviews. We have always split the cost with another couple (or two) and have found them to be a great value!

 

Enjoy! The planning is a lot of the fun!

[Grandpaul]

We have also used Rome In Limo in the past and we're using them again this coming December. Avoided the crowds and saw what we wanted to see along with a couple additions supplied by our tour guides. We have 12 people for one tour coming up around Florence so that should be really super.

[samavarcruiser]

Helpful link if you want to do it on your own http://www.europeportreviews.com/Florence.htm

[watercolor artist]

We just returned from Ruby Princess cruise and had wonderful tours with allarounditaly.net. Fabrizo who I found on this site,made our trip fantastic. First of all,he was so much fun and knowlegable. Price was 500 euro in a nice van. Cheaper than ship price and so much better. We saw all we wanted as he navigated us through each city with no problems. On the drive back to the ship he played Dean Martin and just let us chill out.

[jandlwilson]

We just returned from a sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam (first Med visit) and used RomeinLimo for Rome and Florence and would give both tours excellent ratings. We had Mauricio for Rome and Clara for Florence as our drivers. In Rome they arranged for our Vatican tour guide, Katherine, who was so knowledgable. In Florence Clara was able to walk us into the Accademia bypassing the long line. It is unbelievable what you can accomplish in one day in these cities when your driver is so great at their job. In addition we used AP Tours in Naples/Pompeii/Amalfi and they were also first rate. None of these are pre-set tours. In each case they catered to anything we wanted to see and made great suggestions when we didn't have a preference.

[JaneBP]

My friends and I aways use RomeCabs. For a wonderful personalized art history/epicurean tour, check out Katie Parla.

[michaeleds]

We were in Rome in July and we used Bounty Roma Limo. The Driver was Julian and he was great. Funny and very personable. I've included a short youtube video of the tour with Julian

 

[maryann ns]

Another good company is driverinrome. We went on two excellent excursions with them - Rome at Night and Tivoli(Hadrian's Villa and Villa D'Este). They also picked us up at the airport and took a group to the port to start our cruise.

[dot73]

I just got back from a Med cruise on the Noordam. A group of us (8) used Romeinlimo for a tour of Pisa/Florence and I would highly recommend this company. Our tour guide's name was Gian-Maria and not only was he very knowledgeable about the area, but he was also very personable and did everything he could to make our excursion a great experience. He also knew where the best gellato was in Florence.:D

 

The great thing about being in a small group is that the vans (which are Mercedes and in excellent condition) can get you closer to the sights in Pisa and Florence than the large buses.