Excursions

What would be best way to see Rome, Florence, Pisa by ship excursions or doing it yourself? First cruise on Oceania, Medina in October this year cannot wait very very excited!!!

Would like to see as much as possible but not too rushed whilst doing it. Also panicking about not getting back to the port in time.....

Have you joined your roll call? I'm sure there are lots of people on there willing to share private tours. Less crowded, cheaper than the cruise excursions and you can often plan your own trip. Tour operators seem to be pretty flexible.

Lots of info on the boards too. Good luck!

Amy

ROME in Limo. We just used them in both Civitavecchia and Livorno. They did an excellent job. They are not guides - just drivers. The driver will give you important info but not all the history like guides. They get the job done (will get you Vatican guide if you wish). We were not crazy about the restaurant they took us to in Rome. Our only complaint. I asked our driver if they had ever missed a ship and he said never. Saved us lots of $ by using them rather than the ship excursions.

This is like asking a question on religion. There are people who wouldn't use a ship tour if they were free and others who are fine with them. On three European cruises we have used a combination of ship tours, DIY and private tours. What we often do is to read the ship tours and compare to private tours. The ship tour description gives us an idea of what we want to do and then look at other options. I will tell you that in Rome we used a ship tour and were very satisfied. It was mostly a walking tour. We had headsets and could wander from the guide. One reason we went with the ship tour was quick exit off the ship and getting to Rome quickly. Link to pictures is below.

I have read a lot of successful DIY trips to Rome and Rome-In-Limo has a great reputation. We were happy with our choice in Rome.

https://markandkareneurope2012.shutterfly.com/pictures/828

Define what "best" means to you....it means different things to different people.

That aside, you will see MANY discussions of the values of private tours for most efficient use of your limited time in port. We are big fans of Rome in Limo- there is a huge thread on them here. They operate in both ports you are asking about. A little reading will get you tons of recommendations.

What would be best way to see Rome, Florence, Pisa by ship excursions or doing it yourself? First cruise on Oceania, Medina in October this year cannot wait very very excited!!!

Would like to see as much as possible but not too rushed whilst doing it. Also panicking about not getting back to the port in time.....

There are a TON of things to do in Rome and Florence. My first recommendation would be to do some research on both cities and make a list of what you'd like to see and prioritize it. You could easily spend 4 full days in Rome and not see all the major sites without rushing. Florence is smaller and more compacted, but still LOTS to see.

Once you have prioritized your list, go to the ships excursions first and take a look at them to see if any of them fit what you're looking for. Next, read through the posts here on the boards with reviews of private tours. Keep in mind that most of the private tours would require you to have a group of people who would share costs. (there are roll call boards here on Cruise Critic to help you find others on your cruise if you go this route) I arranged a trip to Romeinlimo and had great results.

I opted for a combo of ships excursions in some ports, private excursions in others and did it on my own in a couple as well.

Have fun planning!

. Keep in mind that most of the private tours would require you to have a group of people who would share costs. (there are roll call boards here on Cruise Critic to help you find others on your cruise if you go this route) I arranged a trip to Romeinlimo and had great results.

 

I am not aware that any tour vender will require you to go with a group. Rome in Limo certainly won't. If you want to just be a group of two, that is commonly arranged- we have done several tours with Rome in Limo with just DW and myself.

Yes, you can build a group to cut costs, and some of the venders have tour share set up areas on their websites if you wish to cut costs. But none require you to share, that I have heard of.

What would be best way to see Rome, Florence, Pisa by ship excursions or doing it yourself? First cruise on Oceania, Medina in October this year cannot wait very very excited!!!

Would like to see as much as possible but not too rushed whilst doing it. Also panicking about not getting back to the port in time.....

If you are truly likely to be panicky about not getting back to the ship on time, I probably would not recommend going it alone -- by that I mean using public transportation to reach sites and guiding yourself once there. However, there is a very good alternative, which is taking a private tour with one of the several excellent outfits that are frequently mentioned here and on other sites like Tripadvisor.

The top agencies have an excellent record of getting folks back to the ship and are very professional outfits. If you can join with a few others from your ship (via your roll call), you will be able to experience these places in a small group and at less than the cost for a ship tour of 50 or so people. One of the major benefits of these tours is that you can also personalize them to focus on what you are interested in. (Although that's a little harder to do when you are sharing the tour with others....)