cruising-ghio Posted September 12, 2010 #1 Share Posted September 12, 2010 We're sailing on Sept. 28th from Monte Carlo to Venice. Thinking of taking Rome on own and Florence on own excursions from Regatta. Has anyone taken either of these? Were they good? Thanks for any input.:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruising-ghio Posted September 13, 2010 Author #2 Share Posted September 13, 2010 We're sailing on Sept. 28th from Monte Carlo to Venice. Thinking of taking Rome on own and Florence on own excursions from Regatta. Has anyone taken either of these? Were they good? Thanks for any input.:confused: Addition to my original post: We have already been to Rome and Florence, so basically just want to get into cities and walk around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aruba Posted September 13, 2010 #3 Share Posted September 13, 2010 I've done them. What Oceania is providing is transportation to and from, that's it...and at a very high price. So the excursions are only as good as you make them. The advantage of buying Oceania's transportation is that if traffic is heavy or the bus is late for whatever reason, Regatta will wait for you. It is much cheaper to arrange your own transportation by rail into Rome or Florence, but is more of a hassle -- and if there is a rail strike or some other delay and you miss the ship, it's up to you to get to the next port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruising-ghio Posted September 13, 2010 Author #4 Share Posted September 13, 2010 I've done them. What Oceania is providing is transportation to and from, that's it...and at a very high price. So the excursions are only as good as you make them. The advantage of buying Oceania's transportation is that if traffic is heavy or the bus is late for whatever reason, Regatta will wait for you. It is much cheaper to arrange your own transportation by rail into Rome or Florence, but is more of a hassle -- and if there is a rail strike or some other delay and you miss the ship, it's up to you to get to the next port. Thanks for info. These were my feelings too. I've been to Italy before and am aware that the Italians like to strike every now and then too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted September 13, 2010 #5 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Thanks for info. These were my feelings too. I've been to Italy before and am aware that the Italians like to strike every now and then too. Things like that can go both ways. We were on a Regatta Cruise to the Mediterranean in 2005 when the last Pope died. He actually passed while we were in route to Civitavecchia, and ALL of the ships excursions into Rome were canceled because of fear of confusion and congestion in the city. We had booked privately, and were able to get into Rome, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frqttrvlr09 Posted September 13, 2010 #6 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Short answer to "are they worth it?": no. Full disclosure: I didn't take the ship's (Insignia's) excursions. Read the description of the excursions very carefully. You will see that they are in part "drive bys." That is particularly true of Rome. You "see" things, but usually you don't actually get out and walk around. There is frankly a lot to see in the Monte Carlo port stop, including the many beautiful small and large towns/villages/cities along that end of the Cote d'Azure, in addition to touring around Monte Carlo to see the chapel, the palace, the part of the port with all the yachts, the Casino; then head to Eze, St. Paul du Vence, Nice. I joined a private tour from Roll Call of 5 other people, and we agreed in advance, with some compromises, what we wanted to do, which included NO FACTORIES (perfume being the popular one here); I very much was interested in art museums and art galleries, and the others wanted to shop, particularly in Nice, so I was dropped off to go to museums while they shopped. It all worked out wonderfully. The advantage to having a private guide/driver in Florence was getting an early start from the port directly to Pisa to miss the crowds, then going in to Florence and not having to stand in line to get tickets for the Prado, the Academia, his ability as a guide in a small car to not just maneuver around the streets (traffic was a mess) but also guides get to park practically net to the site. I could spend as much, or as little, time in e.g. the Prado as I wanted, and not feel rushed, or bogged down, by dozens of other passengers. As sites and not food was the objective, we grabbed a slice on the run and ate it as we visited the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, and then I asked if we could go to Lucca. It was not on our/my designed itinerary, but I badly wanted to go there, so off we went, and it was perhaps the best part of the day. He was well aware of when the ship left and we made it back with time to spare. But it was that kind of flexibility that I truly appreciated. Maybe next trip to Rome I will take the train and see the city on my own, but it was a real advantage to be in a small group of people with a guide who knew in advance that there was a labor strike going on at our first destination, the Coliseum, so we quickly redid our itinerary as he figured out Plan B since we wanted to go there some time during the day, and he had "word" that the strike would end in the afternoon. While he alternately was devising another plan, he told us what we were seeing on our way into the city (it was a very traffic-clogged trip as was noted by another poster). We saw the Trevi Fountain (a disappointment; much smaller, less romantic, more conjested, and jammed with tourists than I anticipated); we ultimately ended up doing a slight "speed tour" with our special Vatican guide of the Vatican museum in order to see it as well as St Peter's basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Square, and still see and got into the Coliseum (the strike was over at 2) before we had to head back to the ship. Our guide had called ahead to have someone get us tickets as he knew the lines to get in, due to the strike, would be enormous. This would not have happened on a ship's tour. It was worth every penny. We even had time to have pannini sandwiches outdoors in a little cafe in Vatican City right outside the Vatican before we embarked on our visit, and I had time to dash across the street to by a physical version of the International Herald Tribune. Everyone was happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyArf3 Posted September 19, 2010 #7 Share Posted September 19, 2010 We have been to Florence many many times and love it. We would like to hire a private driver from Livorno to Florence with perhaps a side trip to either San Gamig. or Sienna or Lucco... Who did u use and what was the cost? We will be getting into port on Tues, Nov.2 and have from 8 am -7 pm. HELP!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudiaF Posted September 20, 2010 #8 Share Posted September 20, 2010 These guys are great! http://www.papillonservice.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruising-ghio Posted September 20, 2010 Author #9 Share Posted September 20, 2010 Thanks I sent them an email and am awaiting a response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aohkay Posted September 21, 2010 #10 Share Posted September 21, 2010 ...and then I asked if we could go to Lucca. It was not on our/my designed itinerary, but I badly wanted to go there, so off we went, and it was perhaps the best part of the day. We recently went to Lucca as well. It was absolutely lovely; my only complaint was that we didn't get enough time there! We booked a wine tasting (Lucca Wine Tasting LRN -K) from Oceania which was very nice, but as other posters have mentioned, flexibility can be key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyArf3 Posted September 23, 2010 #11 Share Posted September 23, 2010 These guys are great!http://www.papillonservice.com Claudia, I cracked up at your quote- if the shoe fits...buy it in every color... my normal email name is imeldatoo.....but u need to be old enuf to understand that in relation to shoes.. By the way, I did contact Papillon and am in the middle of getting it all nailed down. Thanks loads !!! Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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