Livorno

[carribbeanmic]

I have seen on these boards that there may be taxis at the port offering tours. Im having trouble hooking up with a group of 8 to do Pisa/Florence. Are there any tour companies at the port looking to book for group excursion on the spot? It is common practice in the Caribbean. I cant afford a private tour for two. Our cruise starts in 3 weeks and I would rather not do a ship sponsored excursion. Any info on dockside in Livorno will be helpful. Marilyn

[hylasgirl]

I have seen on these boards that there may be taxis at the port offering tours. Im having trouble hooking up with a group of 8 to do Pisa/Florence. Are there any tour companies at the port looking to book for group excursion on the spot? It is common practice in the Caribbean. I cant afford a private tour for two. Our cruise starts in 3 weeks and I would rather not do a ship sponsored excursion. Any info on dockside in Livorno will be helpful. Marilyn

 

 

So, you've tried on your Roll Call to arrange a private tour? Keep trying and know you have this possibility...

 

There are taxis at the port offering tours. I found them to be pretty expensive as Florence is so far away.

 

I do think if you keep posting and posting on your Roll Call for a tour share, that you will end up with someone to join. I just did a last minute booking and had a slow start with filling my tours with Romeinlimo... and finally I have 5 of us for Livorno and 6 for Rome. I am a 6 only girl... I like the viewing in a van for 6 verses 8. But, I do advise people to make sure their posting for tour shares show up on every page of a Roll Call. There are many newcomers and/or lurkers that will never read a previous page.

 

Keep posting... you'll find someone. I agree on ship excursions... I don't care for them at all. My first glimpse of Florence was with a ship tour... luckily on the same cruise someone offered us a spot on their Naples tour so I knew the difference of the two touring styles by the end of the cruise. I'll never do another ship tour in Europe.

[Keith1010]

I have seen on these boards that there may be taxis at the port offering tours. Im having trouble hooking up with a group of 8 to do Pisa/Florence. Are there any tour companies at the port looking to book for group excursion on the spot? It is common practice in the Caribbean. I cant afford a private tour for two. Our cruise starts in 3 weeks and I would rather not do a ship sponsored excursion. Any info on dockside in Livorno will be helpful. Marilyn

 

I have not seen services in Livorno like something you see in the Caribbean particularly when you are talking about a group of eight.

 

I would check out your roll call board.

 

Keith

[eyeball652009]

3 of us went to the end of the pier in Civitvecchia and picked up an excellent tour costing 200 euros to Rome. That was about 1/3rd of the onboard quote.

Don't know if it is of any use to you, but the company there were 'Rental Limosine' and the phone number 0039 329 6011177. The lady driver spoke good English and her email address is Albertinacottuno@gmail.com. Drop her a line. Her company may have cars operating out of Livorno. Highly recommended.

[hylasgirl]

We have seen many cars operating out of Livorno... we decided to take the train one year and just needed a taxi to the train station and we were met with MUCH denial as they all wanted to get a full tour for the day. Luckily we finally ended up with someone willing to give us a ride. On another note, it was much harder to find a taxi to get back to the port on our return. We will not do the train ever again from Livorno... LONG story but didn't prove to be a great DIY stop for us.

[baggal]

I have seen on these boards that there may be taxis at the port offering tours. Im having trouble hooking up with a group of 8 to do Pisa/Florence. Are there any tour companies at the port looking to book for group excursion on the spot? It is common practice in the Caribbean. I cant afford a private tour for two. Our cruise starts in 3 weeks and I would rather not do a ship sponsored excursion. Any info on dockside in Livorno will be helpful. Marilyn

 

Not every roll call is active and you may in fact not be able to put a group together. I know mine is so inactive that there's not even a meet & mingle scheduled.

 

Another suggestion, which is sort of a compromise, is if your ship sponsors a "transportation only" option. Usually its a bus that brings you into Florence and then you are on your own for several hours. Then you meet the bus at a designated time and spot for the return trip. Its less expensive that taking the ship's guided tour for the whole day, but about the same price as a private tour. It also eliminates the uncertainty of doing it yourself on the train and then back to the port. And, with the current Euro/dollar exchange rate, it might prove cheaper to pay the cruise line in dollars before you sail.

 

Who knows where the Euro will be this summer?

[carribbeanmic]

Thanks for the info. I have been posting for several weeks on my roll call. Rome in Limo is full. The train does scare me. Too many people will be on the train for last call to Livorno. I will keep on trying on my roll call, I just dont want to sound like a pathetic pest.

[carribbeanmic]

Not every roll call is active and you may in fact not be able to put a group together. I know mine is so inactive that there's not even a meet & mingle scheduled.

 

Another suggestion, which is sort of a compromise, is if your ship sponsors a "transportation only" option. Usually its a bus that brings you into Florence and then you are on your own for several hours. Then you meet the bus at a designated time and spot for the return trip. Its less expensive that taking the ship's guided tour for the whole day, but about the same price as a private tour. It also eliminates the uncertainty of doing it yourself on the train and then back to the port. And, with the current Euro/dollar exchange rate, it might prove cheaper to pay the cruise line in dollars before you sail.

 

Who knows where the Euro will be this summer?

I would like to go to Pisa and Livorno. Maybe with the train issues some DYI people will want to join a group with us.