Have you been to Portoferraio (Elba)? ? ?

Princess just announced that on our September 17th, 2016 cruise, we are no longer stopping in Naples but instead going to Portoferraio on Elba.

There are lots of us on the Royal that have never heard of this port and have no idea what to do there. We will be there from noon to 8:00 PM. This is very disappointing but perhaps someone else has been there and can recommend something to see/do.

Thanks for any help.

Your favorite Internet search engine will be your friend in this one….

Elba is an island off the coast, between Rome and Livorno, and between the coast and Corsica.

Beaches, forts, 2 villas were Napoleon lived while in exile…

If you are a DIY person, just search "things to do on Elba." If you are one who must have a tour or private excursion, try searching "tours on Elba." I found plenty to research just doing that right now.

While I would love to go to a place not usually frequented by large cruise ships, I hope that this does not mean that Elba is going to get spoiled and overrun by daytrippers, as Cinque Terre has unfortunately become.

I have been there and enjoyed this port of call very much. There is charming little harbor great for a nice stroll. The adjacent town oozes with Napoleonic history -- including a small museum. And my favorite part was a hike we took from town up to the hill overlooking the town where there was a church and monument.

It is a beautiful town. Do a walking tour (on your own or guided) up to Napoleon's villa. Outside the town you could visit another Napoleon's villa, the town of Porto Azzurro, other beaches, Mount Capanne, etc. See what your ship offers or explore other options.

Thank you all so very much for great information and advice. I will pass along to others also. Always know I will get fantastic info on Cruise Critic.

It looks like Princess has the highlights of the port up on the website. In addition to some of the basics (Napoleon house and museum) they have a winery noted.

Princess Port Info:

http://www.princess.com/excursion/popupPortPOI.do?voyageCode=1632&tourCode=&travelOrder=A&portid=PF2

Winery info:

http://www.localidautore.com/schede/tenuta-la-chiusa-isola-d-elba-8413.aspx?impression=no

Just waiting for the excursions to be available on the princess site. It looks like we are going to be wine tasting at pretty much every port, but Turkey.

Why not Turkey? Last fall I had some very good local wines while visiting Cappadocia.

It looks like Princess has the highlights of the port up on the website. In addition to some of the basics (Napoleon house and museum) they have a winery noted.

 

Princess Port Info:

http://www.princess.com/excursion/popupPortPOI.do?voyageCode=1632&tourCode=&travelOrder=A&portid=PF2

 

Winery info:

http://www.localidautore.com/schede/tenuta-la-chiusa-isola-d-elba-8413.aspx?impression=no

 

Just waiting for the excursions to be available on the princess site. It looks like we are going to be wine tasting at pretty much every port, but Turkey.

Thank you for all the links to the information. However, the winery hours are somewhat limited for our port stop since we do not get there until noon.

This is what they list as their hours:

VISITING HOURS FOR THE PUBLIC ARE AS FOLLOWS:

High Season: Open daily (including Sundays)

Morning 8:00 A.M. - 12.30 P.M.

Afternoon 16:00 P.M. - 20:30 P.M.

Low Season: Open daily (closed Sundays)

Morning 8:00 - 12:00 P.M.

Why not Turkey? Last fall I had some very good local wines while visiting Cappadocia.

Simply because there are no ship tours to a winery on our stop there. We would have been at a winery if it was an option, but we will try to get some boza and raki while we are in port.

Thank you for all the links to the information. However' date=' the winery hours are somewhat limited for our port stop since we do not get there until noon.

This is what they list as their hours:

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VISITING HOURS FOR THE PUBLIC ARE AS FOLLOWS:

High Season: Open daily (including Sundays)

Morning 8:00 A.M. - 12.30 P.M.

Afternoon 16:00 P.M. - 20:30 P.M.

Low Season: Open daily (closed Sundays)

Morning 8:00 - 12:00 P.M.

I pulled the link that listed the sites (which included the winery) directly from the Princess website for the Sept. 17 cruise. I am hoping Princess is in the process of working out a ship tour to that winery which would accommodate our port schedule. I doubt it Elba gets dark early enough for us, but it would be a real experience to have wine under the stars there at a the winery.

It could be a generic listing princess has available though. I guess time will tell once they provide the excursions. Hopefully they aren't waiting for the sale to be over.

The specific link to the winery was found via Google though.

I pulled the link that listed the sites (which included the winery) directly from the Princess website for the Sept. 17 cruise. I am hoping Princess is in the process of working out a ship tour to that winery which would accommodate our port schedule. I doubt it Elba gets dark early enough for us, but it would be a real experience to have wine under the stars there at a the winery.

 

It could be a generic listing princess has available though. I guess time will tell once they provide the excursions. Hopefully they aren't waiting for the sale to be over.

 

The specific link to the winery was found via Google though.

Since I have a 14 day B2B from September 10 - 24, I also tried to pull that information from the Princess website and they do not have a link for Elba at all.

So thank you for getting it from the September 17th cruise. So weird.