Celebrity Cruises - Portofino and Cinque Terre Excursion Question

[Brian918]

Hello,

My wife and I (mid-50's) will be on a Celebrity Cruise next fall with a stop in Portofino.  Due to an abundance of OBC, we are interested in taking a ship's excursion to see the Cinque Terre area.  Currently Celebrity is offering 2 different excursions and I'm curious if anyone has any input or advice they can share.  Both are listed as 9 hour tours. The brief descriptions are below:

 

Cinque Terre Villages ($300) - "Belvedere, Cinque Terre, a national park and territory protected by UNESCO, is known for its dramatic scenery, which you'll admire as you journey through two lovely villages. The area is dotted with cliffs that rise sharply from the sea, sheltering secluded rocky beaches and coves. From Portofino, begin your tour with a scenic coach drive to Levanto, then board the train to reach Monterosso. Enjoy a guided walking tour and then embark on your own exploration. A taste of pesto bruschetta with a glass of wine at a local restaurant completes your visit. Then, board a local minibus and enjoy a scenic Cinque Terre drive to Manarola, where you'll follow your guide and then be able to explore on your own. Savor the last memories of Cinque Terre before returning to your ship."

 

Coastal Cinque Terre - ($230) - "Cinque Terre, a national park and territory protected by UNESCO, is known for its dramatic scenery, which you'll admire as you journey through two lovely villages. The area is dotted with cliffs that rise sharply from the sea, sheltering secluded rocky beaches and coves. From Portofino, travel by boat to Rapallo, then board a coach for the scenic drive to Levanto, where you'll hop aboard a train to reach Vernazza. You'll have about an hour to explore this small but charming town. Enjoy a guided walking tour and then take more than two hours at your leisure to embark on your own exploration. Browse the shops, pop into a café for a snack or drink, and chat with locals. Stroll back to the station and hop aboard your train for the ride to Levanto. After a scenic drive back to Rapallo, board a motorboat bound for Portofino to return to your ship."

 

Thank you!

Brian

[CCJack]

It is a little hard to fully decifer the cruise line descriptions sometimes... but it sounds like option 1 is two villages, with transportation by coach and train.    Option 2 is 1 village with transportation by ferry, train and coach.    It is probably personal preference if you want the ferry ride, it is a nice way to travel in that area.   I am thinking for option 2 the guided tour plus more than 2 hours on your own might be too much time on your own for my liking as these are not large villages.   Plus they may be very crowded.   I likely would opt for option 1 to get 2 villages with a little less time at each.

[RaleighCruiser19]

The first tour one gives you a great overview with visits to 2 of the 5 villages. It's a beautiful area. Just prepare yourself for weather and itinerary changes. 

 

I took Celebrity's Villages excursion from La Spezia last week and the vendor did not follow the itinerary. Levanto and the train to Monterosso were skipped and our tour shortened. We still got to see Monterosso, but I felt we overpaid. I don't think they can cut anything on the tour from Portofino as you will come from the other direction, so that's in your favor.

 

We had strong rain that day and no accommodation was made - we just walked in the rain. 

 

[Brian918]

Thank you both for your advice.  Leaning towards Option #1 so I can see 2 of the Villages as CCJack suggested.

[elmirarocks]

Both excursions are listed as ‘Strenous’.  Is that an exaggerated precaution?

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, elmirarocks said:

Both excursions are listed as ‘Strenous’.  Is that an exaggerated precaution?

We are not familiar with the specific excursions but do know all the villages quite well.  When they talk about strenuous it is likely a reference to the amount of walking.  Depending on the tour guide/agenda, you can do a significant amount of walking (with some slopes and uneven areas).  One person's "strenuous" is another's easy stroll (and vice versa) which makes excursion descriptions tough to interpret.  At the various Cinque Terre villages, the tour bus/vehicle may park some distance from town.  I see folks on cruises that have difficulty walking from one end of the ship to the other and those folks might have problems.  

 

Hank