Wine Tasting in Tuscany Tour Question

[kirian]

Has anyone recently done the Wine Tasting in Tuscany tour offered by Royal Caribbean (Tour #LL08)? I found a brief thread that was 4 yrs old, but was looking for some updated info.

 

There will just be two of us going, so doing a private tour will be too expensive. We will be on the Serenade, docking in La Spezia in October. If you went on this particular tour, what were your thoughts? It's currently being offered for $77 pp for 4 hrs (I'm expecting at least half of that time to be the drive, but we want to see the tuscan countryside anyway, so this isn't a problem). This is the description:

 

Full Description:

Enjoy a scenic drive through the Tuscan countryside and admire the soft rounded hills, the medieval architecture of the villages, and the silver green of the olive trees mingling with the dark green of the cypress trees. Upon arrival at the vineyard, you’ll tour the cellars and learn about the process of winemaking and traditional bottling methods. You’ll also enjoy a tasting of wines produced in the area, accompanied by local products such as salami and bruschetta. The district you’ll visit is known for producing some of the best wines in the world. You’ll later rejoin the coach for the return drive to the ship.

 

Thoughts??? If you did take this excursion, which winery did you visit (if you recall)?

 

Thanks in advance!

Melissa

[kirian]

Just wanted to check one more time since I originally posted over the weekend. Has anyone out there taken the ship's excursion in La Spezia for the wine tasting in Tuscany? If so, what were your thoughts?

 

If no one responds, then I think I better just wait until I get onboard to ask the staff about it. The RCI website doesn't say which winery you visit, so I can't even research it much :confused:

 

Happy Monday!

Melissa

[devininstl]

Hi, we did this tour last November. The drive is pretty, but it is not the Tuscany country drive like you see in the movies. The winery was neat, and they let you taste three different wines, about a forth to a half a glass of each. The wines were dryer than what we like but we do like ours to be sweet. Overall, not too bad but I dont think we would do it again. Hopes this helps and let us know if we can answer any other quesyioms about this.

 

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[kirian]

Hi, we did this tour last November. The drive is pretty, but it is not the Tuscany country drive like you see in the movies. The winery was neat, and they let you taste three different wines, about a forth to a half a glass of each. The wines were dryer than what we like but we do like ours to be sweet. Overall, not too bad but I dont think we would do it again. Hopes this helps and let us know if we can answer any other quesyioms about this.

 

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Forums mobile app

 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to describe your experience with this tour. It sounds like the tour might just be so-so. We weren't expecting a full-fledge "real" wine tasting experience, but based on the description offered by RCI, we figured at least the drive would make up for the fact that it was a mini-tasting. However, it sounds like the drive won't be what we are hoping for (that iconic drive through the Tuscan countryside). Also, like you, my mom prefers sweeter wines so I don't know how much she would enjoy these particular wines (I like mine dry, so I would be just fine, but if "mama ain't happy...." :eek:).

 

Based on your feedback, I think we will keep on researching what to do in La Spezia and maybe we can find a private winery tour that isn't too expense for just two to take.

 

Again, I truly appreciate your honest feedback on this excursion!

 

Happy Cruising :)

Melissa

[alfaeric]

If you can go to some of the Cinque Terre cities, it would be nice. It's a heck of a hike to do the trail- we just did from the north end to 3 towns.

 

More importantly, the wine in the area is very unique- and in low enough volumes that it's quite hard to find. The food is also different- they claim to be the home of Pesto, and I will say it's different, and still good. Finally, the seafood- holy cow. I don't like much fish, but I will confidently admit to having the local fried anchovies and REALLY liking them.

 

Basically, west from La Spezia could be quite interesting.

[WineDown17]

We did a private tour with Travels in Tuscany- So much better than a ships tour as it is private and you can really go off the beaten path and see places a tour bus can not. You can also see 2x as much in a day.

 

We will be using them again next May....

 

There are others out there as well, but Guido was tremendous.

[Mark_K]

If they haven't changed it since we did it a few years ago, the winery is Fattoria Michi. It was a beautiful place, and a great tour.

 

 

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[Larry5440]

Has anyone recently done the Wine Tasting in Tuscany tour offered by Royal Caribbean (Tour #LL08)? I found a brief thread that was 4 yrs old, but was looking for some updated info.

 

There will just be two of us going, so doing a private tour will be too expensive. We will be on the Serenade, docking in La Spezia in October. If you went on this particular tour, what were your thoughts? It's currently being offered for $77 pp for 4 hrs (I'm expecting at least half of that time to be the drive, but we want to see the tuscan countryside anyway, so this isn't a problem). This is the description:

 

Full Description:

Enjoy a scenic drive through the Tuscan countryside and admire the soft rounded hills, the medieval architecture of the villages, and the silver green of the olive trees mingling with the dark green of the cypress trees. Upon arrival at the vineyard, you’ll tour the cellars and learn about the process of winemaking and traditional bottling methods. You’ll also enjoy a tasting of wines produced in the area, accompanied by local products such as salami and bruschetta. The district you’ll visit is known for producing some of the best wines in the world. You’ll later rejoin the coach for the return drive to the ship.

 

Thoughts??? If you did take this excursion, which winery did you visit (if you recall)?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Melissa

 

Check into Papillon tours. Roberto was our driver and is fantastic. Trips to Vignamaggio and Montfiore ? We're fantastic. Check them out on trip advisor.

http://www.papillonservice.com

 

 

Good Luck

 

Larry

[kirian]

If they haven't changed it since we did it a few years ago, the winery is Fattoria Michi. It was a beautiful place, and a great tour.

 

 

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Thank you so much for giving me your feedback on the tour and for letting me know which winery you visited. I will definitely be checking that out!

 

If you can go to some of the Cinque Terre cities, it would be nice. It's a heck of a hike to do the trail- we just did from the north end to 3 towns.

 

More importantly, the wine in the area is very unique- and in low enough volumes that it's quite hard to find. The food is also different- they claim to be the home of Pesto, and I will say it's different, and still good. Finally, the seafood- holy cow. I don't like much fish, but I will confidently admit to having the local fried anchovies and REALLY liking them.

 

Basically, west from La Spezia could be quite interesting.

 

We are definitely condering Cinque Terre is we decide against doing a winery tour. I have heard so many lovely things about the towns!

 

I typically like most seafood, but I have never been able to jump on the anchovie bandwangon, but your description of the fried type might just get me to give them a whirl again :D

[kirian]

We did a private tour with Travels in Tuscany- So much better than a ships tour as it is private and you can really go off the beaten path and see places a tour bus can not. You can also see 2x as much in a day.

 

We will be using them again next May....

 

There are others out there as well, but Guido was tremendous.

 

Check into Papillon tours. Roberto was our driver and is fantastic. Trips to Vignamaggio and Montfiore ? We're fantastic. Check them out on trip advisor.

www.papillonservice.com

 

 

Good Luck

 

Larry

 

Thank you both so much for the info on the tour companies you have used with good results. I have already checked both of them out (albeit briefly), but I like what I am seeing so far :)

 

Melissa

[WineDown17]

You will have so much fun no matter what you decide!!! Enjoy!!!!:D

[lisiamc]

If you decide to take a tour that doesn't include a vineyard, there are enotecas in La Spezia, and you could sample/purchase a little local wine after your tour.

 

The countryside around La Spezia looks nothing like the stereotypical photos of Tuscany, but it is attractive and interesting to see. As others have noted, the local seafood is not to be missed.

[mom4mom]

Several years ago we took a private tour in the Tuscany countryside to 3 different towns. The scenery was spectacular. You might consider posting on your roll call and see if there are others who might be interested in a similar tour. It becomes quite affordable when sharing expenses. It usually runs about 450 euro for 8 people for a whole day.

[sjb317]

We did this tour several years ago, it was ok but would only recommend it if you could not find anything else to do!:D We did not travel through lovely Tuscan countryside, we were on a bus with most of the travel time (over an hour) on a highway, not much to see. Once we left the highway, it became a little better. The winery was beautiful, they gave us a short tour through the processing area. We were given 3 or 4 tastings of their wines and they were fairly decent pours, plus there was different salamis, cheeses, & crackers. We were then given time to shop, but it was the end of their season and they were out of the wines we had tasted so very few people bought anything. What they had left was very pricey!:D

 

We have done many wine tours in different countries and this was our least favorite.

 

Sherri:)

[jlamb022]

Any updates on this tour? Was thinking of booking but some of what I have read has discouraged me.