Med Ports for DIYers Gib Toulon, Livorno, Rome, Cagliari, Cadiz, Lisbon, Vigo

[Lyn Mc]

As I gleaned lots of info (good and bad!!) from the Boards, I thought I should give some info back

 

I will start out by saying that we are walkers, and pretty good/fast ones at that, so we always walk when we can. We do not ‘do lifts (elevators)’ and always take the stairs when we can, great exercise!! On this trip we were with friends who didn’t walk so much and we catered for them somewhat.

 

We very rarely take ship’s tours (having had disasters in the past) but we did take the ship’s shuttle bus in Livorno. Our explanation is below at that port of call:

 

Gibraltar – There was a charge for the shuttle bus. We walked and paid nothing. We have done the climb up the Rock/cable car before. Not the best port in the world but easily walkable to the Town. We have walked up to the cable car and round the rock and down to the halfway point. For those who don’t walk so easily you may wish to take a taxi/shuttle to the town and those going up the Rock will probably like to take a taxi if you are not good walkers. There was a shuttle stop just outside the port gate which said £3, we presumed that was one way but could be wrong. If it is return that would be worth it. Very good duty free prices paid £9.75 for a litre of Bombay Sapphire Gin, there is also a very nice Marks & Spencers. There is a new Quay area (Queens Marina) being built which we had hoped to find but followed a signpost to nowhere. So we went into Ocean Village, on the left just before the first shops after leaving the dock area. This was a really nice walk with some reasonable bars/restaurants. You could hear the planes taking off from the airport just behind this area.

 

Toulon – Le Seyne Sur Mer – There was a charge for shuttle bus to Toulon. We paid 2 euros each way on the local ferry to Toulon. We followed the directions from the RCL boards which was great information. Caught the local Ferry from the stop just across from the ship 2 euros each way, the guys know you are from the ship and they take your money and they go and validate the ticket for you and bring it back.. We actually got a free ride as we got on the Ferry when it was going into Le Seyne sur Mer (if it comes in pointing away from you, it is going into Le Seyne). The town looked very nice but we didn’t get off. We stayed on and went back to the stop across from the ship where we picked up some more passengers and then off to Toulon. We walked around and found the market, some lovely squares and shops and a lovely square to eat/drink. There was a small train which we would have caught from the area the Ferry drops you but this was oversubscribed and there was no chance to get this. We caught the Ferry back (sat at the front on the way back) 2 euros again. Lovely day.

 

Livorno – Florence. One shuttle bus took you to the Grand Plaza where you could get the local orange number 1 bus to take you to the station. We caught the ship’s shuttle bus to the station, this was a new thing for Celebrity, the cost was $18 for the bus, which you caught at 8.35 am – this got you to the station easily for the 9.10 a.m. train to Florence. Cost of the train ticket was 6.90 Euros each way. The shuttle bus was at the station for the arrival of the 3.40 p.m. train from Florence which arrived in Livorno at 4.50 pm. The shuttle waited until 5.00 p.m. and then took you back to the ship. We decided to do this as we had heard that the taxi drivers were not inclined to take passengers just to the station, and it ensured that we did not have to worry about getting local buses/going the wrong way and we got the trains we wanted. We would be quite prepared to get the local bus or even walk to the station if we were on our own. We have done Florence and Pisa before. Florence was absolutely wonderful just walked around catching all the great sites, wandered over the Ponto vecchio bridge and we splashed out on lunch at Café Rivoire.

 

Rome –Shuttle’s are supplied free by the Port – no charge. They take you to the gate at the edge of the Port and it is a 10 minutes easy walk to the station. Be warned if you need any assistance, i.e. wheelchair etc. You need to contact the station to arrange this at least 24 hours in advance. Some passengers from the ship made it to the station in wheelchairs quite easily but they could not board the train as no assistance had been booked. We caught the train to Rome cost is still 9 euros return. Trains are not the cleanest transport around but they do the job well and not bad on timekeeping, ours was only running 10 minutes late by the time we got back to Civitivecchia.

Fabulous day, wondered around all the sights and did the necropolis tour at the Vatican in the afternoon, absolutely amazing. We caught taxis everywhere, very reasonable, you have to be at a taxi stand to catch them but there are always lots at the main sights. Great day and stopped off for drinks at a local café on the way back to the ship from the station.

 

Cagliari – Port authority provide free shuttle. It’s not that far and we still wonder why they do this. Not too much to see here and we had been before. It was a Sunday and nothing open. Worst stop on the trip and if we go again not sure we would do anything other than stretch our legs in the park.

 

Cadiz – no shuttle needed, right in the town. Very blusterer on the port side of the island. We love just wandering around Cadiz. Fantastic walk right long the walls and across the beach, round to the cathedral, with nearly all sea views. Stopped in the square opposite the Town Hall for refreshments and then wandered around the shops.

Lisbon –You pass the Belem Tower, statue and Monastery as you approach the Lisbon bridge. It is amazing going underneath this bridge you swear that the ship will touch it! We berthed just past the bridge near to a huge flyover and in front of the old customs building.

 

There is a charge for shuttle buses and they kept telling you that you could not buy a ticket on the day. You could but you had to come back to the ship to do it.

We caught the tram for 2.50 Euros. The ship was docked at the Alcantara train/tram point. However, there is a tale to tell and we definitely did not do it correctly!! We left the ship with some scant instructions gleaned from a previous poster who said that you could catch the tram from near the ship and that you could get an all day ticket on the tram. Perhaps this is correct but it wasn’t as easy as that and we couldn’t find out where to get one of these day passes from!!

 

Trams 15 and 18 run along the Ave 24 de Julho towards and away from the city. Looking from the Ship, the City is to the right (nearside) (takes ~15 mins). To the left is Belem and you have to cross the road to go that way and get on at the stop we got off at.

 

We walked through the old customs building expecting to see at least a Tourist Information stand/person. Nothing. We set off straight ahead on a pathway which led to a foot tunnel under the electric railway tracks to get to the tram stops (in all about 400 yards/metres walk). However, we never found the tram stop, we should have walked to our right a lot further and we would have come to the 15E stop to catch the tram into the City. Instead we went up to the train station. We waited with another couple for a few minutes, they were also unsure of exactly where to catch the tram. A train then came along which had the correct destination (in 2 stops) so we hopped onboard. This train was definitely headed for the main station and we could have stayed on but had no idea where to get a ticket from. So we got off at the next stop (free ride) and went onto the street where we encountered a small café and a young girl who spoke very good English who told us to catch the next tram numbered 15E and pay on the tram. We waited for around 5 mins and got on to the right tram numbered 15E. Lo and behold the information saying there was a ticket machine onboard was correct – the ticket cost 2.50 euros p/p and the machine only took coins, luckily we had the change!! We stayed on the tram to the terminus at Figueira, then walked around sightseeing. Had great Pizza for lunch. We also went up the Santa Justa Lift which was good fun and great views.

 

Coming back we were not sure which side of the road we needed to be but a very kind local lady told us where to catch the 15E back to ‘the ship’ must happen all the time!! A few more passengers joined us and we got off the tram at Alcantara with no problem and reversed our way back to the ship via the tunnel. As we got off this tram we could see where we should have caught the tram in the morning.

 

Now, as the info we had stated that it cost 2.45 euros for an all day ticket we thought we had already paid for the return journey when purchasing our ticket in the morning. Turns out we were wrong and we should have put another 2.50 euros in the machine!! Ignorance is bliss so they say and luckily no one questioned us to find out exactly what tickets we had, everyone else was validating tickets against the machine as they got on the tram.

 

So, to this day I have no idea where to get the all day ticket from which I think now actually costs 4 euros. I never did see a kiosk selling day passes etc at the main road close to the tram stops. I think we must have had the cheapest day out of anyone on the ship but purely through ignorance and misinformation!!!

 

Vigo - No shuttle buses needed docks right in town. This port was much prettier than I remembered from our previous stop a number of years ago. We went up to the Park on the hill, big climb but worth it for the views. There is a lovely café at the top so we had refreshments before we made our way down to the beautiful squares and shops to wander around. There is a large shopping mall just across from where the ships dock and many passengers were there. However, just at the back of this was a small market place and where the locals and the crew were having lunch, fantastic fish restaurants, this place was buzzing at lunchtime.

 

Hope this helps some of you.

 

Lyn

[adventurenerd]

Hi Lyn Mc. thank you for the great informative post.

We usually don't take cruise tours neither. We like to keep our own pace.

 

We are taking TA cruise this fall and stopping at Cadiz and Lisbon as well.

 

Sounds like finding 15E train stop is a tough one. I have been reading threads to find out how to get to the ticket kiosk at Lisbon but no luck yet. Some one suggested to go to the subway station. can you answer some of my question? Is there a subway station near by the port? How long was your walk to the ship from 15E? How much was cruise charging for the shuttle ticket to the city?

 

Thanks!:)

[lucyintheskywithdiamonds]

did you find walking around in Rome easy or where there many missing sidewalks? thanks. we well be DIY in Rome, also taking the train from civi, planning to get off at Ostiense>then metro to Coloso.

[John Bull]

did you find walking around in Rome easy or where there many missing sidewalks? thanks. we well be DIY in Rome, also taking the train from civi, planning to get off at Ostiense>then metro to Coloso.

 

Might be useful - your Colosseum ticket is a triple-entry for the Colosseum, the Forum & Palatine Hill, and there's usually a long line for tickets at the Colosseum.

The metro at (next to) Ostiense is called Piramide, you take the metro Line B for two stops in the direction of Rebbibia to Colosseo.

But if you get off at the first stop (Circo Massimo) & walk down Via San Gregorio to the Colosseum, you pass the entrance to Palatine Hill. There's usually no line for tickets here, so buy your tickets here. Then you can by-pass the ticket lines at the Colosseum. Saves a frustrating wait.

John Bull :)

[adventurenerd]

Might be useful - your Colosseum ticket is a triple-entry for the Colosseum, the Forum & Palatine Hill, and there's usually a long line for tickets at the Colosseum.

The metro at (next to) Ostiense is called Piramide, you take the metro Line B for two stops in the direction of Rebbibia to Colosseo.

But if you get off at the first stop (Circo Massimo) & walk down Via San Gregorio to the Colosseum, you pass the entrance to Palatine Hill. There's usually no line for tickets here, so buy your tickets here. Then you can by-pass the ticket lines at the Colosseum. Saves a frustrating wait.

John Bull :)

 

John is right. There was a long long line when we went to the Colosseum last October. Luckily we had print out of tickets with us to bypass the line. There are few web sites selling the triple-entry ticket on line for not much more.

 

lucyintheskywithdiamonds; Rome is a friendly city for pedestrians but, those cobblestones are hard on your knees and feet. I suggest you to wear a pair of good walking shoes.

[Keith1010]

I am glad you took the time to post your experiences in these ports.

 

Keith

[lucyintheskywithdiamonds]

yes thank you all for the info. i'm planning to wear good shoes:)

[Lyn Mc]

Adventurenerd

 

There is a ticket machine in the underground walkway at the port which you use to get to the station/tram/roadway but this kept asking for our 'card' and would not issue anything until we put 'your card' in. This we have assumed meant the Lisbon travel card which could be 'topped up' with euros for further travel - this is the card everyone else seemed to have and which they were validating. There were also a couple of very dodgy people around and this walkway was not the most attractive place in the world!! I think people must mean the metro stations (subway) for the card but we never used these.

 

If we had got to the tram stop (which we found on the return journey!) it would have taken around 10 minutes. We found the roadway (buses use the same road/track) but because it did not have electric cables for the trams we assumed it didn't run along here but if we had carried on walking to the right we would have got to the stop for 15E. There is a board which tells you when the trams/buses are coming.

 

I seem to recall $18 return for the ship's shuttle bus in Lisbon.

 

Rome is very easy with a good map. We chose to go into the Termini but that takes another 20/25 mins after St Pietro so Ostiense seems like a great idea. Come out of the Metro station and there is the colosseum!!

 

Been to Rome 3 x times now and still not seen it all. Just choose 2 or 3 sites and see how the time goes. Remember that if you are catching the train back from Termini it is a VERY long walk to the platform for Civ.

 

Have a fantastic time.

 

Lyn

[adventurenerd]

Adventurenerd

 

There is a ticket machine in the underground walkway at the port which you use to get to the station/tram/roadway but this kept asking for our 'card' and would not issue anything until we put 'your card' in. This we have assumed meant the Lisbon travel card which could be 'topped up' with euros for further travel - this is the card everyone else seemed to have and which they were validating. There were also a couple of very dodgy people around and this walkway was not the most attractive place in the world!! I think people must mean the metro stations (subway) for the card but we never used these.

 

If we had got to the tram stop (which we found on the return journey!) it would have taken around 10 minutes. We found the roadway (buses use the same road/track) but because it did not have electric cables for the trams we assumed it didn't run along here but if we had carried on walking to the right we would have got to the stop for 15E. There is a board which tells you when the trams/buses are coming.

 

I seem to recall $18 return for the ship's shuttle bus in Lisbon.

 

 

Lyn

 

 

Dear Lyn;

 

Thank you very much for your very useful information.

 

We are DIY tour traveler as well. Information like yours are like finding treasures to me!:) I enjoy the planning part of the trip as well as traveling part. You will get to know many thing about the destinations and local info when you are researching.

 

We are looking forward to use the tram in Lisbon. Planning to use 15E and 28E. Was 28E very crowded? Did you go to the castle at the top?

 

Thank you:)

[Lyn Mc]

Hi Adventurenerd

 

The 28 Tram was not crowded at all but it was a very wet day and we were the only cruise ship in. You still have a good walk anyway even if you get the tram to the Castle. We did the castle on the last trip and we walked all the way up to it, well worth the climb.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Lyn

[adventurenerd]

Hi Adventurenerd

 

The 28 Tram was not crowded at all but it was a very wet day and we were the only cruise ship in. You still have a good walk anyway even if you get the tram to the Castle. We did the castle on the last trip and we walked all the way up to it, well worth the climb.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Lyn

 

Thank you Lyn.

 

It will be rainy season when we go.... rain or shine, we will have a good time;)

I heard that there will be 3 or 4 other ships on our Lisbon port day.....hope many people are taking ship tours.

[Dunmore2]

Lyn, thank you for so generously sharing your DIY tips.

 

Was the $18 for the port shuttle in Livorno for a return ticket? Did you buy the ticket on the ship? Thanks