Getting from Livorno to Florence and back

[Thunderbird19]

Ship itinerary says we'll be ported in Livorno from 7 am to 7 pm.  Thinking of taking train to spend the day in Florence.  What is a reasonable time to expect to get off the boat (NCL if it matters) and be at the train station?  

Not having been on a cruise in a LONG time, I wasn't sure what the earliest reasonable time might be to walk off the boat....if not taking an organized cruise tour, can we walk off close to 7 am?   We intend to take a taxi once off the boat to the train station...is a 8 am train doable or 9 am more likely?

Would you suggest other transport method for trip? Train would be approx 24 euro each way (12 E per person).

Thanks!

 

[CruiserBruce]

If the ship is scheduled to dock at 7am, it is quite likely you will be able to get off withing a few minutes of that time. You might even be off before 7. Where is the ship coming from? I ask because the last time we were there we were sailing from Rome...we actually docked at about 1am.

 

An 8am train is very doable. 

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, Thunderbird19 said:

  What is a reasonable time to expect to get off the boat (NCL if it matters) and be at the train station?  

 

 

Actually it does matter - or at least it used to.

Whilst all (?) cruise lines offer a shuttle service to the city centre, that's not convenient for the rail station.

NCL I think are the only cruise line which also offers a shuttle service to the train station - or at least they used to. That would make a train around 8 to 8.30 very do-able.

Sorry, I've said "used to" twice. That was pre-Covid, I don't know if that's changed things. 

 

JB 🙂

 

[Thunderbird19]

Thanks for your responses!

[mapleleaves]

NCL Epic ?  

We were on the Epic in Sept 2019.  I can't answer your question .....we're not early risers so at 7 we would have been heading to bfast.  

Rather than mess with a shuttle to the port entrance then a city bus to the train depot, we decided to pay for the NCL shuttle directly from the ship to the train station. It was $25pp I believe. Well worth it if you have busy plans for the day! Hopefully it is still offered.

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by mapleleaves

[Thunderbird19]

Thanks, maple leaves, sounds like a great option and will check it out.   We will go with whatever gets us to train station the quickest to maximize our time in Florence.  

[marazul]

2 hours ago, Thunderbird19 said:

Thanks, maple leaves, sounds like a great option and will check it out.   We will go with whatever gets us to train station the quickest to maximize our time in Florence.  

The quickest and most convenient option would be a "Florence on your own" transfer from your cruise, but it would also be the most expensive choice.

[Gimpy McFarlan]

Celebrity has just changed our itinerary on Reflection.  Instead of stopping in La Spezia we will now be stopping in Livorno.  Arrival set for 10am and departure set for 7pm.  Looks like it takes approx an hour and 20 minutes to travel between Livorno and Florence.  Visiting Florence sounds more appealing than the “Tuscan Farmhouse” excursion we had planned.  🤔

[SHIP TRAVELER]

On 2/17/2022 at 1:27 PM, Gimpy McFarlan said:

Celebrity has just changed our itinerary on Reflection.  Instead of stopping in La Spezia we will now be stopping in Livorno.  Arrival set for 10am and departure set for 7pm.  Looks like it takes approx an hour and 20 minutes to travel between Livorno and Florence.  Visiting Florence sounds more appealing than the “Tuscan Farmhouse” excursion we had planned.  🤔

We are also on the Reflection (April TA) and are looking at going to Florence with the port change.  Looks like we will be able to DIY by that date.  We have read that a local company bus round trip might be a better option than a ship tour.  1. Much cheaper about 75 ish Euro for two round trip and 2. More time in Florence with no required leather shop stop.  We would rather not mess with the train.  In our experience train stations in Italy are challenging even with no luggage. Has anyone here had any experience with Tuscany Bus, maybe booked through Viatour or directly?

[alwayscruisetime]

Pre-Covid we had no trouble getting to Florence ourselves from the ship.  The trains were reliable, safe, and by doing it ourselves and hustling off the ship at the earliest opportunity, we were in Florence long before any other group from the ship made it.  Easy and cheap if you have no mobility issues.  The same for the return. 

 

Hope it is the same for you now. 

[GOTTODOIT]

On 3/22/2022 at 10:32 AM, alwayscruisetime said:

Pre-Covid we had no trouble getting to Florence ourselves from the ship.  The trains were reliable, safe, and by doing it ourselves and hustling off the ship at the earliest opportunity, we were in Florence long before any other group from the ship made it.  Easy and cheap if you have no mobility issues.  The same for the return. 

 

Hope it is the same for you now. 

 

We are on the NCL Epic in June.  Livorno port, there will be buses to take us from boat into the city.

The Port is a working port and we cannot disembark on our own,  you must take the buses provided.

We have booked a transfer to Florence from Livorno with Get your Guide.  The bus leaves where we will be dropped of the bus from the boat.  This is for return trip back to meet the bus in the afternoon going back to the boat.  The cost in AUD is $55 return,  map, english speaking info given on the bus,

 

 

 

[gfkcruiser]

In the past we took the Florence on your own train trip from Livorno to Florence.  Had a short walking with the guide and then on our own.  Dont have to stay with the guide which we did not.  While it may have been more than DIY, we did not have to get to train station to get the train and the reverse on the return.  
 

prefer this much more than the bus version they offer(ed) on a previous trip as there was a stop at a leather factory instead of more time in Florence. 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

Does any one here know if the tour buses can come directly to the ship for cruise line booked excursions in Livorno.  This would be compared to taking a shuttle bus out of the port to get on the tour bus that will go to Florence.  We are on the Celebrity Reflection April 2022.  It would see easier if the tour bus picked us up at the port so I wondered.  We have found that Tuscany Bus which we were planning to used does not operate on May 1st the day we are docked in Livorno so we are considering other options.  The leather factory stop and higher prices (even at 25% off pre cruise) are negatives to the X excursion.  If they pick us up at the port that would be a plus along with the on time return guarantee.  I am looking for input from someone who has done this excursion.  Also wondering if there is a separate shuttle out of the port and then another shuttle to the city center in Livorno.  Thanks

[Thunderbird19]

Never having been to the port of Livorno, I am interested in how someone would get off the boat at the dock and travel to the section of Livorno where the train station is.  It sounds like one can't just walk off the boat and take a taxi or walk to the Livorno train station.  I haven't been able to confirm if NCL will provide a shuttle - if they do and we'd have to wait an hour or more for the bus to go, we'd rather get to the train station earlier on our own and get on the first train heading to Florence.

 

We would like to take the train into Florence - mostly because we enjoy the train and also to avoid any road traffic delays a bus or car might encounter.

 

If anyone has input on fastest and best way to get to Livorno train station, please share! Thanks.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Thunderbird19

[euro cruiser]

You are stuck waiting for the ship shuttle bus, you can't walk out on your own.

 

In years past NCL offered a shuttle bus to the train station, which would be ideal because the in town drop off point for cruise buses is at Piazza Municipio, about a mile and a half from Livorno Centrale station.

 

The fastest option would be if there are taxis available at the ship, sometimes there are, sometimes not.  If there are they may or may not want to take the short ride to the station vs. a longer fare.  If they will take you the going rate used to be 25 euro, one way.  For that you could cram others into the taxi with you but with current Covid restrictions that may not be possible.

Edited March 29, 2022 by euro cruiser

[Thunderbird19]

Ah, thanks so much for the info Euro Cruiser....even if it is the bad news that we cant walk off the ship and into town on our own.

 

But when you say " taxis available at the ship" sometimes  do you mean portside or that they would be in Piazza Grande, where a NCL shuttle would drop off people in Livorno and  then from there we'd need to get to the train station?

 

[Thunderbird19]

On 3/21/2022 at 5:32 PM, alwayscruisetime said:

Pre-Covid we had no trouble getting to Florence ourselves from the ship.  The trains were reliable, safe, and by doing it ourselves and hustling off the ship at the earliest opportunity, we were in Florence long before any other group from the ship made it.  Easy and cheap if you have no mobility issues.  The same for the return. 

 

Hope it is the same for you now. 

this would be ideal!  just need to understand best and fastest way to get to the train station in Livorno once boat docks, and then at end of day in Florence from Livorno train station back to the boat.  Is bus needed to get to where ship is docked?

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Thunderbird19 said:

this would be ideal!  just need to understand best and fastest way to get to the train station in Livorno once boat docks, and then at end of day in Florence from Livorno train station back to the boat.  Is bus needed to get to where ship is docked?

 

You are taking NCL right? They are the only cruise line that runs a shuttle to/from the train station so you should have no worries. However, I'd confirm that this is still available post-COVID.  It was standard for years before that.

[John Bull]

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

You are taking NCL right? They are the only cruise line that runs a shuttle to/from the train station so you should have no worries. However, I'd confirm that this is still available post-COVID.  It was standard for years before that.

 

Yes, as per earlier posts by EuroCruiser and myself, NCL have provided shuttles direct from the ship to Livorno centraal  - and that makes life so much easier for their independently-minded passengers.

But as we've all said, you need to check whether that's still valid.

 

JB 🙂

[euro cruiser]

Taxis were right where we got off the ship but they were also available where the shuttle bus dropped off in town.