Florence On Your Own Tour - Times?

[Kimmer17]

Just booked my Uffizi and Accademia tickets as a Combo pack. The company books one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. My afternoon time is at 3:30. Has anyone taken the Princess Tour? And if so, what time did you have to be back on the bus to head to Livorno? :confused:

[nna]

when I did it a couple of years ago, I remember having to be back to the bus at 3:30. we did get to florence early--but I can't quite remember when. 9 am?

[bcnvcanada]

It was a 3:30 in early May. It would be at least two hours before your scheduled departure from Livorno. Check the train schedule you may be able to do this' Also suggest a private tour compay may be able to assist you with slightly longer stay. Enjoy your cruise and time in Italy.

[Kimmer17]

Thanks for all your help. I will try to change my afternoon timeslot. It's great that I can come on here and get the answers I need.

 

K.

[Chesie]

Just booked my Uffizi and Accademia tickets as a Combo pack. The company books one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. My afternoon time is at 3:30. Has anyone taken the Princess Tour? And if so, what time did you have to be back on the bus to head to Livorno? :confused:

 

Haven't done a Princess tour but have been to Florence a few times and Uffizi. If you are limited on time, try to concentrate of the areas of the Uffizi you REALLY have to see. It is very overwhleming and can't be done in a day, imho. My DH isn't into the arts but I asked him to spend 2 hours in the museum. We concentrated on the must sees. It gets very crowded too. Just allow enough time. Better to see a small area and enjoy it then run around crazed.

[Pam in CA]

I've been to Florence several times and the traffic is... awful. Make sure you plan on a LOT of extra time to get to the ship. As you won't be on a Princess tour bus, if the bus you take is stuck in traffic, you could find yourself waving to the ship from the pier. I've seen it happen. :(

[Miss Jolly]

We used Tuscany by Taxi which was a far cheaper option than what the cruiseship offered and we could plan the route that we wanted to take. It basically was just a transport service rather than a guided tour as our driver had very little English but friends of ours had a fantastic driver with great English and so they had a different experience. It allowed us to have a scenic drive through Tuscany, spend time in Florence and have a stop at Pisa on the way back - all at an economical price so we were happy with this. Oh - they also helped us with our tickets to see David.

[sunsetbeachgal]

You might look into private transportation, as others have suggested-this way you can get off the ship ASAP and get a jump on the tour bus. We have taken the Princess "on your own" transports in several European cities, and find that your time is often shorter than you would expect. If the bus gets stuck in traffic on the way in, the afternoon meeting time does not change, so you just lose time.

[Kimmer17]

Thanks for all your help. I sent a message to the Rick Steves approved website that did my bookings for the Uffizi and Accademie. Their response was in order to change the time, there would be a 6 euro charge per ticket, if available. The problem with this is that I only got to choose 1 time when booking the tickets. They randomly gave me the 2nd. They also need me to fax them the change, along with my credit card again, oh, but not Visa, cause Visa has a secure anti fraud protection, so they need a card without it.

 

Sooooooo, my question, is has anyone changed their ticket at the time of pickup. Maybe an hour before your designated time?

[blueskyminuet]

I was there about 3 years ago, and they would not let us change our time at time of pickup. However, we just handed our ticket to the guy and walked in when a time was called at both the Uffizi and the David, and no one noticed.

 

If the Accademia is your later slot, the better if you are time crunched. We spent much less time at the David then at the Uffizi.

[bubbadog]

DEFINITLY change the timeslot to morning if you can,(hint)there are driver in rome,WE had some driver in rome,take us everywhere,and they are very nice,youmight want to check your roll-call and the ports of call board,for info,you are gonna love your cruise,hope this helps you a bit;)

[captainron]

I've been to Florence several times and the traffic is... awful. Make sure you plan on a LOT of extra time to get to the ship. As you won't be on a Princess tour bus, if the bus you take is stuck in traffic, you could find yourself waving to the ship from the pier. I've seen it happen. :(

 

As Pam has suggested, rather than take a bus, you might consider taking a taxi to Pisa and then a train form Pisa to Santa Maria station (d'twn) in Firenze (Florence)...less chance for delays. Only concern is at the station in Florence, hang onto your docs/wallets etc as the gypsies are as bad as Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

 

Trains in Italy are quick and efficient and you can precheck your train dep times online. Hope this helps.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[livinforcruisin]

We did Pisa by train, much much cheaper than the organised tours and it was very straightforward. It is the same train line to continue on to Florence. I did all my research on cruise critic, there are some fabulous directions. I believe we got the shuttle bus from the ship into town and then a tram / train for 1 euro to the train station and then straight on to Pisa or Florence. All for around 5 euros. Have a good look at it.

good luck