Florence & Pisa On Your Own Excursion question??

Hi,

I've booked this excursion through the ship. Does anyone know where the drop off point in Florence is?

Also if anyone has done this particular excursion, if you can please comment on your experiences.

Thank you!

We took this one. It's reasonable for On Your Own

http://www.tuscanybus.com/.

Explore the site for options

Never been on the Excursion, but I highly recommend skipping Pisa altogether and spending as much time in Florence as you can. We were enamored by Florence and bored with Pisa.

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I agree with Stickey_mouse... all there is in Pisa is the leaning tower. Spend as much time in Florence as you can. It's a beautiful city and there is so much to see. It's my favorite city in the world, so far.

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We did this excursion by NCL a few years ago.

The bus could not get into the old city centre. The tourguide took us from the bus parking lot and walked us to the meeting point ( 15 min walk I guess) That point was Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, I remembered there were public restrooms.

She told us to meet her at a specific time. But a lot of people were late. Than traffic to Pisa was very heavy and we left Pisa late and arrived after final boarding time.

But It was an NCL excursion , so the Jade was waiting for us. I was so glad I booked via NCL , worth the extra money .

Hi jolgro,

Was the meeting point to leave at the same location as where it started in Florence? I'm trying to plan our time there before we arrive.

Thank you :)

Another CC took this tour which is the one we will take because it is 1/2 day and leaves plenty of time to enjoy Florence. It also includes a fast track entrance to Pisa. Alot of steps ;)

https://www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Pisa-Half-Day-Trip-from-Florence-Including-Skip-the-Line-Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa-Ticket/d519-2428PISA_LT?aid=vcps

I would seriously skip Pisa entirely. It's a complete waste of time, IMO. Spend all day in Florence!

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stickey_mouse,

I've always wanted to go to Pisa, even if it's just to take a photo with the tower.

Trying to get in as much as possible in such little time :)

That's your decision but I fear you might regret it. Florence is truly special and worthy of 4-5 days. Pisa wasn't worth the train ticket to get there. Sure, the tower is "neat", but it looks exactly as it does in the countless pictures you've already seen. The rest of the town offers nothing. We really regretted going there.

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stickey_mouse,

I've always wanted to go to Pisa, even if it's just to take a photo with the tower.

Trying to get in as much as possible in such little time :)

Go and see Pisa if this is something you wanted to do on your cruise. Everyone has a different experience and expectation when they tour. I figured what the heck we would check it out and then spend the other 1/2 day in Florence. We can always go back.;)

That's your decision but I fear you might regret it. Florence is truly special and worthy of 4-5 days. Pisa wasn't worth the train ticket to get there. Sure, the tower is "neat", but it looks exactly as it does in the countless pictures you've already seen. The rest of the town offers nothing. We really regretted going there.

 

Sorry it was not a good tourist spot for you. I have found it interesting to read someone's "this is a great tourist spot" and then I think this is not for me after I get there. I also have heard others say not to go somewhere I planned and I went anyway and had the time of my life. Who knows cruising777 and I may both enjoy Pisa or we will say, "we should have listened to sticky_mouse". I am looking forward to Florence for the rest of the day.

 

 

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we did Pisa and Florence on a private tour with others from our roll call in a 8 seater van which cost about £70 each-much less than the ship excursion

We were dropped off just outside Field of Miracles for a 30 min photo shoot before the crowds arrived at 8.30 which was ample for that touristy shots of the tower

We then headed to Florence and had ample free time before getting back to the ship ahead of the ships tours

We done Pisa and Florence with Rome in Limo, I do not regret going to Pisa, we had a quick stop, we were there way before the bigger groups, when we got to Florence there was a cancer run going on and we were lucky to be in a small vehicle, the tour guide got us in the city, we got to walk around and see The David, Vecchio bridge..... The day before they were filming Inferno, the Vecchio bridge was closed off to public....

Agree that Pisa is a dreary waste of time - on what is already too short a visit to Florence. If there is a reasonable chance that you might get to Florence on a land trip and give it the four-plus days it requires, I would suggest you do you one day port call in Lucca - a beautiful little walled city which you can do justice to in one day.

Seeing Florence on a port call is really just a frustrating minimal taste.

We just returned home from a two week trip to Italy. We had taken cruises there before but decided to try something different so spent a week in Lucca and then took the train on to Sorrento for 6 nights there. We did our first night in Florence so spend two days visiting the city. I highly recommend the Ulmon City offline Map. I had one specifically for Florence and also downloaded maps for Tuscany, the Cinque Terre and Sorrento, Capri, etc. They worked wonderfully. We loved Florence (actually this whole trip was the nicest trip we have ever taken).

I also agree with the comments on Pisa. You will find there a tower and a thousand people holding their hands up in the air to capture their "hold up the tower" photo. For us it was a 20 minute train from Lucca during one of our day trips but if you only have the time the ship allows you will likely prefer just exploring the beautiful city of Florence.

At any rate enjoy! We love Italy and already know we want to go back again.

We don't do a lot of travelling. This trip is a trip of a lifetime for us. Don't know if we'll ever make it back to Italy or Europe, that's why we are trying to get in as much as possible. I know that cruising only gives you a taste of the city but c'est la vie!

Also, the ship's excursion gives us the most time (10hrs) compared to others like tuscanybus.com (8hrs).

Thanks for your input!

Unless I read this tour incorrectly, it starts from Florence. The ship docks in Livorna, which is a 60-90 minute drive from Florence (depending on traffic).

Another CC took this tour which is the one we will take because it is 1/2 day and leaves plenty of time to enjoy Florence. It also includes a fast track entrance to Pisa. Alot of steps ;)

 

https://www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Pisa-Half-Day-Trip-from-Florence-Including-Skip-the-Line-Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa-Ticket/d519-2428PISA_LT?aid=vcps

Hi jolgro,

 

Was the meeting point to leave at the same location as where it started in Florence? I'm trying to plan our time there before we arrive.

 

Thank you :)

Yes it was. I don,t know of course if they still use the same location. The tourguide specific mentioned to meet her again at the point she left us and not go searching for the spot were the busses left us.

I found that this Piazza was very close to the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore .

You are one of the first busses to leave the ship. It was more than an hour drive to Florence. I think you have around 4 or 4,5 , maybe 5 ours to spend there. Then on to Pisa, we had not so much time there because of the delay. But as I said; the ship was waiting for us [emoji6]

I hope this helps, have a great trip !

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We did the Pisa & Florence on your own NCL tour. Pisa was heaving but well worth it if you have never been before. Can't remember exactly how long we were there but under an hour i would say. Florence was amazing. Our guide booked us a table at a restaurant for lunch when we arrived then we were free to do our own thing. Had plenty of time to see what we wanted to see. Apparently a few who had tickets for David only saw David and nothing else, spent all their time queuing.

Our meeting point was Piazza di Santa Croce.

Unless I read this tour incorrectly, it starts from Florence. The ship docks in Livorna, which is a 60-90 minute drive from Florence (depending on traffic).

:eek: I should have posted this:

https://www.viator.com/tours/Livorno/Livorno-Shore-Excursion-Pisa-and-Florence-Private-Day-Trip/d22138-5292LIVORNO1

Thanks! I have so many notes for each port. Originally we planned to take the bus/train.

stickey_mouse,

I've always wanted to go to Pisa, even if it's just to take a photo with the tower.

Trying to get in as much as possible in such little time :)

We loved seeing the Tower of Pisa. It was so much more beautiful than I thought it would be. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Florence is awesome as well.

I hope my comments aren't taken as an attempt to rain on anybody's parade or control anybody's plans. To each their own! I just hoped to give some honest feedback on our experience.

We found Pisa so laughably underwhelming that we still refer to it in an inside joke manner. I think our trip there was a little more forgiving because we had 6 days in the area. But if I just had one day, I'm afraid I'd truly regret having gone (even more so than I do now!). I'd hate for others to make the same mistake. I would put Florence in the top five places I've ever been, and the thought of sacrificing Florence time for a trip to Pisa makes me cringe.

Again, to each their own, but I'm just giving my honest opinion.

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I hope my comments aren't taken as an attempt to rain on anybody's parade or control anybody's plans. To each their own! I just hoped to give some honest feedback on our experience.

 

We found Pisa so laughably underwhelming that we still refer to it in an inside joke manner. I think our trip there was a little more forgiving because we had 6 days in the area. But if I just had one day, I'm afraid I'd truly regret having gone (even more so than I do now!). I'd hate for others to make the same mistake. I would put Florence in the top five places I've ever been, and the thought of sacrificing Florence time for a trip to Pisa makes me cringe.

 

Again, to each their own, but I'm just giving my honest opinion.

 

 

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As much as I love Barbra Streisand especially when she sings Don't Rain on My Parade, you certainly did not rain on mine:D I love reading other opinions which I personally promptly ignore and sometimes I wish I had listened and sometimes not. For us we take the brief time spent in each port as that a brief time and decided long ago not to say, "I wish we would have done this rather than that". Besides if we miss something perhaps we will go on another cruise.

We did NCL's DIY excursion for Pisa and Florence . The Pisa stop is short .It was fun to see the Tower and Baptistry and get some further information about them . The guide was informative along the way . We loved Florence and of course, we would have liked more time in the city . The meeting place was easy to find and was the same point that we set out from . I would do it again.

I am also curious where the shuttle drops you off in Florence and the approximate time it drops you off as we want to purchase tickets to the Accademia Gallery to see David. The tickets are timestamped so there is not a lot of wiggle room. Any one done this before?