Tropiclady Posted January 21, 2011 #1 Share Posted January 21, 2011 For those of you who cruised before, what do you recommend? I especially am looking at the Florence/Pisa (Livorno port) as there is a few of us interested in seeing part of Tuscany especially with a wine tour. Oceania does offer and Excursion 11 looked very appealing. However, we will not get to see any of Florence or Pisa where as if we book privately and have our tour tailored we might be able to do both. One of the worries was that if the tour operator does not have us back on time and is not an Oceania tour than of course we are on our own to get to the next port. What do you experts think? Thank you. Tropiclady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted January 21, 2011 #2 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Do yourself a favor and take a private tour. Not only can you customize the itinerary and the level of activity to suit your preferences, but you'll be surprised at how affordable it can work out to be! I would not be overly concerned about getting back to the ship on time, Tour guides are professionals and will help you to plan a sensible itinerary that can be accomplished in the time that is allotted. To that point, it not feasible to see Florence AND Pisa AND do a wine tour during a one day port stop. The guide will help you to pare down your wish list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 21, 2011 #3 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Most reputable private guides will get you back on time We always plan to be back at least 1 to 2 hrs before we must be onboard Check out the ports of call here to find recommended guides Enjoy Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toranut97 Posted January 21, 2011 #4 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I think if you have things you really want to see and do, you might very weell prefer a private guide. Often private guides are economical too. On the other hand, we have gone both ways. We have enjoyed the ship's tours Oceania has arranged and found them very convenient and workable. We are not too good to ride on a bus with other travelers, and we often met people who became friends through the ship's tours. This is a minority opinion, but one which I feel ought to be expressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted January 21, 2011 #5 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I agree with StandandJim. Always do a private tour whenever possible. You control the agenda and you're not on a bus with forty other people, one of whom will ALWAYS hold up the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanny18 Posted January 21, 2011 #6 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'll chime in as well. There is nothing like a private tour -- you can go wherever you want to go for however long you want to be there. We have always done private tours all over the globe and have never had a problem getting back to the ship "in time." The professional tour people know they have to get back in time or they are totally out of business!! And you have to decide if you want to do the wine country or Pisa and Florence. If you want to go to Florence and Pisa, you can always take the train... Florence is a very easy city in which to get around on foot and on the way back you can stop off and take the bus to Pisa. Arlene;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicalkerry2002 Posted January 21, 2011 #7 Share Posted January 21, 2011 we had a great tour of the highlights of Florence AND saw some of Tuscany, with the lovely town of San Gimgiano(?sp), with Luca of Hills and Roads. We have booked him again for Nov, to take us to see the town of Lucca. Can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2kiwis Posted January 21, 2011 #8 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I agree with StandandJim. Always do a private tour whenever possible. You control the agenda and you're not on a bus with forty other people, one of whom will ALWAYS hold up the others. We always do private tours because they are much more cost effective and you can get to see more things as you do not have to wait for 40 people to get organised. We usually arrange tours for 6-8 people which helps share the cost, and also gives you friends to share the fun with. We normally arrange the tour and then post the details on cruise-critic and ask who else is interested. It usually takes about a day to fill the tour. Then, once on board ship we all meet up the first or second night. We have never met anyone we haven't got on with, and have made some great friends. We did a private tour in both Florence and Rome in 2006 and used Claudio Caponera, http://www.limoinrome.com, claudio@limoinrome.com who was outstanding. Good luck Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_Duffy Posted January 21, 2011 #9 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I agree with pp's. We always do private tours when we don't want to tour on our own. That way we can make sure we see everything we want to see. In our experience, tour operators will make sure that they get you to the boat on time, they don't want to get a bad reputation for having customers miss the boat (nor do they want the responsibility of having to help you to get to the next port). When we did our first private tour I was worried about similar things as you. I read reviews here and on other web sites and found a guide that had good reviews. Everything went smoothly, and all my worrying was for nothing! We ended up liking it so much more than any ship tour we've ever been on. We got to see more, we didn't have to deal with a crowd of 50 people all trying to see the exact same thing at once, and we didn't have to wait for people who were late returning to the bus. Just do your research and make sure that you get a reputable tour guide. These boards are a great place to find them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CintiPam Posted January 23, 2011 #10 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I concur with those who vote for a private tour over the ship's excursion for the same two reasons mentioned by wripro: you control the itinerary and you are not waiting for the last of 40 other people. That being said, if I am going only to one small place that port day easily accessible by train, like Lucca from Livorno, as I did last May, or Pompeii from Sorrento, rather than several geographically spread out places in one day, such as the Amalfi Coast, I vote for DIY with an excellent guidebook. For example, Rick Steves does a great job providing transportation information as well as great walking tours and sight tours in his many European guidebooks. Then I go at my own pace and where I want to dawdle I do rather than being forced to go at the pace of five or seven other people even on a private tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbow3fe Posted January 23, 2011 #11 Share Posted January 23, 2011 we had a great tour of the highlights of Florence AND saw some of Tuscany, with the lovely town of San Gimgiano(?sp), with Luca of Hills and Roads. We have booked him again for Nov, to take us to see the town of Lucca. Can't wait! Certainly, a private tour will allow you to see the sights of your choice however, I agree with stanandjim, you simply cannot expect to see Florence AND Pisa AND take a wine tour all in one day. So sorry, but you need to decide what you think is more important. Florence is one of the most fabulous cities in the world, Pisa is known for the tower and the small towns of Tuscany are awesome. Good Luck. Whatever you choose, will be wonderful. You'll want to go back and see more another time. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted January 23, 2011 #12 Share Posted January 23, 2011 You can't even do Florence in one day, let alone the other places. We spent four days there a few days ago and didn't begin to see everything there is to see. We prefer private tours as well, but have been known to take ship's tours on occasion. My main objection to the buses is (1) I can't get comfortable on them because there is never enough leg room (and I am far from tall) and (2) the groups are too large. But it's certainly not a matter of being "too good" for the bus! I have to say that I've never had a "bad" tour with Oceania. And many are excellent. By the way, when you ask about whether a ship's tour is better than a private tour (or vice versa) you need to remember that most ports of call are for short visits. If you are in a place like Tuscany, where is so MUCH to see, at best it gives you an idea of where you'd like to come back on a non-cruise vacation ... But I agree that in a case like Tuscany, private tour is best. That's the only way you can control the use of your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicalkerry2002 Posted January 23, 2011 #13 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Certainly, you could spend 4 days in Florence, but when only there for a one day stop on a cruise, and with a guide , you are able to choose your itinerary and see what you like, though perhaps not spend the time you would like to spend at each place. On a cruise stop, one can only ever get a wee taste of what the port has to offer. We also did a whirlwind tour of Rome on that same cruise, and are lucky enough to be embarking in Rome later this year, so will have 3 days there before sailing, to see the city well on this upcoming trip. We had a later departure from Florence in 2007(8PM if I recall), and we saw the cathedral and baptistry, had an hour to spend at the market, a half hour to see the REAL David(not interested in seeing anything else there), and we did get to see a couple of other highlights, before leaving Florence, and heading into the Tuscan countryside. Granted, we did not have a lot of time in the town of San Gimgiano, and we did not have a wine tour, but driving through the countryside, was lovely. I enjoyed the countryside and small town so much, that I would prefer to spend my second visit to Florence in the countryside rather than more time seeing the city. With the first time in Florence combining city and country, I was able to chose what I wanted to do the second time. In hindsight, the first time being all Florence, and the second time being all countryside would have been better, but at the time of the first cruise, I had no idea if I would ever be back to the area, so saw some of each! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted January 23, 2011 #14 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Scratching my head ... isn't that sort of what I said? Obviously a cruise stop doesn't give you 4 days in Florence ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicalkerry2002 Posted January 23, 2011 #15 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Sorry, Mura, wasn't trying to be critical of you, but I can see how it sounds that way when I reread...my apologies. It was more to address Rainbow's post...I think you CAN do more than just see Florence if you want, as the OP asked about( and here I am assuming OP stands for Original Poster, cuz I've never really known what it stands for!), as long as you are happy with a somewhat whirlwind tour. I DO think that all 3 things the OP hopes to do are a bit much, but 2 may be workable I was just trying to stress that I did see the things I felt needed to be seen in Florence, and I did get to see at bit of Tuscany as well, so it is possible. Marian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted January 23, 2011 #16 Share Posted January 23, 2011 No problem, Marian ... I was just wondering if *I* hadn't been clear! I do tend to be someone who would rather see a few things in detail rather than more superficially. (The use of the word "superficial" is not meant to be judgmental!) And with only one day, sure -- with a guide! -- you can see some of Florence, and some of the other things in the area. Just not all! But you certainly can get a good flavor of the area, no matter what your preference in terms of how much you see, and how much time you spend. I seem to remember pretty heavy traffic in the port vicinity as well ... but since we had a car and were not on a cruise when we spent time in Tuscany, I could well be misremembering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropiclady Posted January 23, 2011 Author #17 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thanks to everyone for their comments. It seems that we have a big decision to make but I think that we are now leaning towards just seeing Florence and Pisa in that one day. I am not sure if we will ever get back to the Tuscany area but never say never. Cheers, Tropiclady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie MeMe Posted January 25, 2011 #18 Share Posted January 25, 2011 If you make your tour plans early enough and get lucky to get one of the recommended guides you could possibly have a better private tour BUT you could also get the recommended tour guides 3rd cousin twice removed and fresh out of 2 weeks of English school. It has happened to me in several cities and countries. Here on CC the tilt is highly towards the DIY or private tours and CC is where many of them "hatch". It is OK and acceptable to take ship sponsered trips (you can even hold your head up It's OK). My husband prefers ship tours because when we first traveled and did not have as much for tours we found some main sights really "booked" up by the tours and you could not get in. Perhaps this is not a problem anymore but it can be. We have also learned from many guides that they prefer to work for the cruise lines because the tips are better and they get steady work. Some do ship tours and private tours the same days. Just keep in mind that the normal tone for these boards is private tours but ship's tours have many wonderful features too. Different strokes for different folks. Choose what makes you happy. Even some private some ship some DIY. It's all good. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie MeMe Posted January 25, 2011 #19 Share Posted January 25, 2011 We lived in Florence for 3 months in 1980 and I don't think we saw it all even in that time. See the cathedral/bell tower (we lived on Via Ricasoli which ends at the bell tower), see David at the Academie (our apartment was across the street) and the little church across from the Academy. See the art of the DeMici's-- masterpiece hung upon masterpiece. And yes the market is wonderful if you aren't shopping with a 3 year old. Rub the brass pig outside the market. And go up to the overlook and really enjoy the red roof vista of Florence. I so want to go back. You will love it. I also absolutely love the town of Sienna and the town of Assis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumhead Posted January 26, 2011 #20 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Does Oceania provide any schuttle service from the Italian, ports to the local transit hubs (train or bus)? It appears they just dump you off at the port!! Planning on Marina May 16-26 Athens to Barcelona. It appears the excursions cost more than the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pondnana Posted January 26, 2011 #21 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks to everyone for their comments. It seems that we have a big decision to make but I think that we are now leaning towards just seeing Florence and Pisa in that one day. I am not sure if we will ever get back to the Tuscany area but never say never. Cheers, Tropiclady A couple of years ago we stayed on in Italy after finishing a cruise in Rome. We rented a car and spent 5 days in the hill town region of Umbria/Tuscany. We stayed at a B&B just outside of Orvieto and had a wonderful time. You are right - NEVER SAY NEVER.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toranut97 Posted January 26, 2011 #22 Share Posted January 26, 2011 If you make your tour plans early enough and get lucky to get one of the recommended guides you could possibly have a better private tour BUT you could also get the recommended tour guides 3rd cousin twice removed and fresh out of 2 weeks of English school. It has happened to me in several cities and countries. Here on CC the tilt is highly towards the DIY or private tours and CC is where many of them "hatch". It is OK and acceptable to take ship sponsered trips (you can even hold your head up It's OK). My husband prefers ship tours because when we first traveled and did not have as much for tours we found some main sights really "booked" up by the tours and you could not get in. Perhaps this is not a problem anymore but it can be. We have also learned from many guides that they prefer to work for the cruise lines because the tips are better and they get steady work. Some do ship tours and private tours the same days. Just keep in mind that the normal tone for these boards is private tours but ship's tours have many wonderful features too. Different strokes for different folks. Choose what makes you happy. Even some private some ship some DIY. It's all good. :) Thank you for this. I always feel like an ignorant peasant around here when I confess that we usually (not always) do ship's tours. As you said, to each his/her own! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 26, 2011 #23 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Does Oceania provide any schuttle service from the Italian, ports to the local transit hubs (train or bus)? It appears they just dump you off at the port!! Planning on Marina May 16-26 Athens to Barcelona. It appears the excursions cost more than the cruise. This is something new for Oceania some ports will have shuttles but at this point no one seems to know which ports. Feel free to do some research on the ports. Maybe find private guides or join the Roll Call for your cruise & find others to share information or tours with http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=420 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbeansun Posted January 26, 2011 #24 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I'll chime in here having just done this in Oct/10. We booked well out and with a lot of discussion back and forth with Sunflower Tours/Giovanni Sirabella we decided upon a trip to Pisa in the morning and on to Florence in the afternoon. We were spoiled by a stunning tour the day before with Alain Dream Tours in Monte Carlo so the bar was set unrealistically high by that experience. Well, it didn't work out so well. 3 of us had booked reservations for climbing the tower and had thought we'd spend some time beforehand looking at the other sites in the Field of Dreams. Yeah, no so much as a number of them didn't open until 10am - oops, didn't see that coming and I didn't research that nor did the guide mention anything despite knowing what time we had reserved to climb the tower. The guide forgot to book our tickets to visit the Academia so that was messed up as well. We ended up feeling like we rushed all over, spent 3 hours on highways and didn't really have the time to experience much of Florence at all. Now I own the fact that we told the guide we wanted to go to Pisa and then to Florence so that part was my fault. I also own (at least half) of the blame for the mix up on the opening times in Pisa. With the benefit of hindsight I would have completely skipped Pisa and gone to Florence by some way other than the highway and stopped for some local wine/olives/cheese on the way back. It's tough, we'd never been to Italy before and you can only get so much information. When the guide asks you what you want to do it can be really intimidating because you really don't know what's possible or what should and shouldn't be done. Anyway, I guess the message is ask lots of questions and find out as best you can what really should and shouldn't be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted January 26, 2011 #25 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Research is very important in determining what one should see on a private tour. But so is logic. Think about it. Would you try to see Paris and another town in one day? Rome and another town on one day? New York and another town in one day? You can barely scratch the surface of any world class city in a week, let alone a day. Yet people are always trying to squeeze in someplace else along with Florence in one day that involves hours of driving to begin with. It makes no sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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