Mediterranean Ports

[yarramar]

We are on a Med tour on Insignia in September. I was reading Cruise TT port loads to discover that whilst in Livorno there will be a number of ships in port with a total (including insignia) of 6289 passengers. Does anyone who has experienced this number of people descending on a port know how it will affect our time in the port, e.g. as to lining up etc. I have not yet organized tours so can make arrangements to suit.

Dubrovnik and Corfu also have other ships arriving same day.

[JimandStan]

The number of passengers using the port wont effect your getting off of the ship at all. But after that.....watch it! :eek:

 

You are going to encounter additional traffic and increased volume at the local sites and attractions....which will slow you down significantly.

 

Crowd control is not one of Italys' strong points.

 

You'll probably have to pare down your plans, because of the flood of people, but there are some things that you can do to maximise your experience:

 

• Either choose an itinerary off of the beaten path (such as a winery tour), or, one where you can make a timed reservation (such as the Uffizi).
  

• If you will be in Livorno on a weekend or holiday, avoid outdoor attractions such as Cinq a Terre. Italian day-trippers love the outdoors.
  

• USE THE EXPERIENCE of your guide and/or driver. Let them advise you as to how to avoid the rush. Sometimes this will entail your attempting to be among the first off of the ship, other times they may suggest that you not debark until 10AM. Yes, sometimes you can linger over that second cup of coffee and still see everything on your list. Let your guide tell you how to do it!
  

[Azulann]

Did a Western Med. cruise in Sept. In Livorno and port for Rome had the grestest number of ships on the same port day. In Livorno, we had arranged for private tour for the day. Ship arrived at 7am. We were off ship by 8:00 to meet Guido Bandenelli and his black 8 passenger van and arrived at Lucca by 9:00. There were about 10 private vans waiting by our ship and people got to them before most of the ship tour busses even arrived. Outside of Rome, we took the train into Rome, not a problem getting out of port area. Ship had shuttle buses to take you to entrance to port.

Other ports we were the only ship, so it was easy to just get off and explore. Map out your stradegy ,and your type of port excursion. Seems like you are indeed doing your homework first. Have a wonderful cruise:)

[yarramar]

Thanks for the advice.

We were planning to spend the day in Florence. I realise that there is more to see than we could possibly do in a day, however, If it means queueing fo 2 hours to see david etc so that we hardly see anything maybe we should skip Florence, or are there tour guides who have priority access to sights.

[Friscorays]

Florence can easily accomodate 6000 tourists.

 

The real question is how many people will be taking the train to Florence, assuming that is how you are planning on getting there as that would be a potential bottleneck.

 

If you are specifically interested in seeing David, just prepurchase your tickets on-line direct from the museum and skip the line:

 

http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/Uffizi/default.aspx

 

Worked like a charm for us.

[Paulchili]

Thanks for the advice.

We were planning to spend the day in Florence. I realise that there is more to see than we could possibly do in a day, however, If it means queueing fo 2 hours to see david etc so that we hardly see anything maybe we should skip Florence, or are there tour guides who have priority access to sights.

 

This may be the one time it might pay to go with O shorex (if you find one you like).

They will guarantee that you get to Florence and back on time, see David without a long wait (if it's part of the tour), see the hi-lites and probably have some free time as well.

JMO.

[ClaudiaF]

Usually alot of taxis in the large ports.. but best to plan and book ahead esp. if private touring. Here are some people that i have used many times and recommend highly!!

:D

For tours from Livorno we have had great experience many times with

 

http://www.papillonservice.com

For Dubrovnik it depends where the ship docks but usually you can just walk into the city walls..and have never had a taxi problem there..

For Corfu tours email Dominic at :

taxi116@in.gr

[katz]

We were on Nautica in October and the captain changed our port schedule because he felt too many ships were in Santorini on the day we were scheduled to call. It worked out fine for us since we did not have private guides scheduled. As far as I remember, the private companies were notified and it did not create problems for the passengers who had made their own arrangements.

[sacarr]

Florence can easily accomodate 6000 tourists.

 

The real question is how many people will be taking the train to Florence, assuming that is how you are planning on getting there as that would be a potential bottleneck.

 

If you are specifically interested in seeing David, just prepurchase your tickets on-line direct from the museum and skip the line:

 

http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/Uffizi/default.aspx

 

Worked like a charm for us.

 

We have been there a few times. One day is of course not enough time in Florence. But it will be an exciting and memorable day.

 

I don't think that you need an organized tour. Many of the major attractions are fairly close together. A good map and guide book is really all you need. I do not remember having trouble getting in to the Accademia to see David but there is often a long line to get into the Uffizi. When we were last there you could book a time online for the Uffizi, The admission price is higher but if there is a line it is well worth it. I agree that Florence could easily absorb 6000 cruise ship pax, but you don't want to spend an hour of precious time standing in line. So I suggest that you reserve tickets to any museums you are interested in. When we did it we reserved and paid when we got to the museum. That may have changed!

 

Finally--As another has said: don't forget the Gelato!

Steve