Celebrity's 9 night Italian Rivera and France

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I like this option. It sounds like it would be faster and no need to find a way to our hotel from the train station. Are they just there or do we book this ahead of time?  

 

You have to book in advance. One I have used is sharedshuttle.it but there are others.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Based on feedback in the Celebrity group, we decided to cancel the X excursion to Florence. Now we’re back to a private excursion or diy. It sounds like the only issue with diy is getting from the port to the train station and vice versa.  Are there always taxis at the train station to bring us back?  I believe it was cruisemom that suggested offering a taxi driver €25 to drive us to the train station, which is fine. But what about getting back?

 

Another option I just thought it is to skip Florence from Livorno. They are many cheap options for private shore excursions. We could go to Pisa and Lucca or Pisa and Florence, Pisa and the beach. Then do a day trip from Rome while staying there. Would this be easier?  (FYI, we are staying in Rome 5 nights)

Edited July 26, 2023 by NCteacherlovescruising

[edinburgher]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Then do a day trip from Rome while staying there.

You might find it helpful to read this quite recent thread on the same subject

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2943574-day-trip-rome-to-florence/#comment-65533826

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We made a couple modifications to our plans.  We will fly from Charlotte to Madrid on June 9, arrive in Madrid on the 10th and take the train to Barcelona on the morning of the 11th.  It's a direct flight (Thanks @marazul) and we will arrive in Barcelona a little earlier on the 11th than expected, with the bonus of getting to spend a day in Madrid.

 

We have canceled the Celebrity excursion for Livorno.  Still looking at our options there. Not sure I see anything I like any better, without doing a private excursion for the two of us at a much higher cost, dealing with transport to the train station in Livorno and back, or again, a day trip from Rome.  Still discussing our options.  @edinburgher I have looked at that thread on excursions form Rome to Florence, but thank you!

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We made a couple modifications to our plans.  We will fly from Charlotte to Madrid on June 9, arrive in Madrid on the 10th and take the train to Barcelona on the morning of the 11th.  It's a direct flight (Thanks @marazul) and we will arrive in Barcelona a little earlier on the 11th than expected, with the bonus of getting to spend a day in Madrid.

 

We have canceled the Celebrity excursion for Livorno.  Still looking at our options there. Not sure I see anything I like any better, without doing a private excursion for the two of us at a much higher cost, dealing with transport to the train station in Livorno and back, or again, a day trip from Rome.  Still discussing our options.  @edinburgher I have looked at that thread on excursions form Rome to Florence, but thank you!

 

Sit tight, you have time to mull things over and to see what others on your roll call might propose in terms of private tours.

[marazul]

3 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We have canceled the Celebrity excursion for Livorno.  Still looking at our options there. Not sure I see anything I like any better, without doing a private excursion for the two of us at a much higher cost, dealing with transport to the train station in Livorno and back, or again, a day trip from Rome.  Still discussing our options.  

What was the cutoff date for canceling the excursion? You could have held it until then while waiting for other options. You do have plenty of time. And yes, with 5 days in Rome a day trip to Florence could be a very good option.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

9 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Sit tight, you have time to mull things over and to see what others on your roll call might propose in terms of private tours.

You’re correct. I have plenty of time and if the excursions I may like sell out we can always take the train. 

8 hours ago, marazul said:

What was the cutoff date for canceling the excursion? You could have held it until then while waiting for other options. You do have plenty of time. And yes, with 5 days in Rome a day trip to Florence could be a very good option.

I don’t see that information anywhere. I posted in the Celebrity group and most said they wouldn’t do a Celebrity excursion there so we decided to cancel. I really would like to just do our own thing there, and not be limited by a group tour. We have plenty of time to decide. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I’ve been stuck at home since Friday recovering from minor surgery. I’m feeling much better today and am up and about the house and starting to get antsy.  Is it too early for me to start booking all our transfers or should we wait a while?  The one that was recommended in Madrid wanted payment in full to hold it. 
 

I’m still debating on if we should visit Pompeii during our transfer from Naples to Amalfi or on the way back to Naples, for our one night stay before heading to Athens. 

[marazul]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I’ve been stuck at home since Friday recovering from minor surgery. I’m feeling much better today and am up and about the house and starting to get antsy.  Is it too early for me to start booking all our transfers or should we wait a while?  The one that was recommended in Madrid wanted payment in full to hold it. 
 

I’m still debating on if we should visit Pompeii during our transfer from Naples to Amalfi or on the way back to Naples, for our one night stay before heading to Athens. 

It is way too early for Madrid, but don't forget you can always get a taxi from the airport.

I would book the transfers in Italy, especially if no advance payments are required. I like your idea of going to Pompeii on your way to Naples. You will have more time than on the way to Amalfi when you will also be looking forward to getting to your hotel. That also lets you visit Pompeii in the morning when it will be cooler out.

 

Glad you are doing well. 

[hmcrn]

This is a great thread!  Thanks for starting it NCteacherlovescruising!  We are doing this same cruise but in September 2024.  Great info and help to make many of these same decisions!  Although we will do 3 days in Rome and then head back home.  

A question to the group - there are several private companies that do small group tours.  We are looking to go from Livorno to Pisa to Florence on day 1.  Since the ship is overnighting in Livorno, we don't have to worry about getting back at a specific time, so we were not going to spend the night in Florence.  Where will these companies pick us up in Livorno?  How much time do we need to plan on to be able to meet them? We want to maximize the day, but don't want to be late to meet the guide.

Then on day two - we wanted to go back to Florence and see more before meeting the ship later in the afternoon. 

Is that too much traveling for two days?  We are in decent shape, in our 60's.  But don't want to be totally exhausted at the end of day two.  Although we do have a sea day after that.  Hmmm - so many choices!  

Thanks to all for the amazing information!

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, hmcrn said:

This is a great thread!  Thanks for starting it NCteacherlovescruising!  We are doing this same cruise but in September 2024.  Great info and help to make many of these same decisions!  Although we will do 3 days in Rome and then head back home.  

A question to the group - there are several private companies that do small group tours.  We are looking to go from Livorno to Pisa to Florence on day 1.  Since the ship is overnighting in Livorno, we don't have to worry about getting back at a specific time, so we were not going to spend the night in Florence.  Where will these companies pick us up in Livorno?  How much time do we need to plan on to be able to meet them? We want to maximize the day, but don't want to be late to meet the guide.

Then on day two - we wanted to go back to Florence and see more before meeting the ship later in the afternoon. 

Is that too much traveling for two days?  We are in decent shape, in our 60's.  But don't want to be totally exhausted at the end of day two.  Although we do have a sea day after that.  Hmmm - so many choices!  

Thanks to all for the amazing information!

 

First, most of the private agencies mentioned here will pick you up at the port, so no need to worry about getting to a specific place to meet them.

 

Your other question raises a question of my own. Since your plans call for returning to Florence on Day 2, why not stay in Florence overnight? Sure, you're paying for a hotel for the night, but you'll gain SO MUCH more time in Florence, including the chance to enjoy a good dinner and you'll save 3 hours of commute time.

 

[marazul]

2 hours ago, hmcrn said:

Then on day two - we wanted to go back to Florence and see more before meeting the ship later in the afternoon. 

Is that too much traveling for two days?  We are in decent shape, in our 60's.  But don't want to be totally exhausted at the end of day two.  Although we do have a sea day after that.  Hmmm - so many choices!  

Thanks to all for the amazing information!

If you want to see more of Florence on day 2, stay there for the night. Why?:

  *That saves you 3 hours travel time (90 minutes each way). 

  *It saves you the cost of transport on day 2.

  *It lets you spend the evening in Florence and go to dinner in a great restaurant. 

  *You can get an inexpensive room in a hotel.  It's only one night!

Edited September 4, 2023 by marazul

[hmcrn]

Thanks to both of you!  We had considered staying in Florence for the night, but it's not going to work for us.  We are travelling with a large group, and we will split up during the day. However we want to be back together in the evenings on the ship.  

There are so many comments about having to take a shuttle to get to tours in Livorno.  To be clear - if i book a private excursion (not through the ship), they will be able to pick us up at the dock?  That would be wonderful.

Thanks again!

Edited September 6, 2023 by hmcrn

[cruisemom42]

4 minutes ago, hmcrn said:

There are so many comments about having to take a shuttle to get to tours in Livorno.  To be clear - if i book a private excursion (not through the ship), they will be able to pick us up at the dock?  That would be wonderful.

 

Yes, that would be standard but of course you should confirm with the company.

 

The reason for the shuttles is that people are not allowed to WALK through the large, industrial port.

[hmcrn]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

The reason for the shuttles is that people are not allowed to WALK through the large, industrial port.

 

Oh!  That makes sense.  Thank you!