Excursion Booking Timeline for Florence?

[jlovesee]

Hi all,

I have been reading along these forums for several months... but this is my first post so TIA for everyone's patience!

 

We are booked on the May 22 Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas 7 day Med. Cruise with four days prior in Rome. One of the excursions I am curious about is the Florence/Pisa 10 hr excursion. It was showing up on the generic list of RC excursions but when I checked on my specific "my cruise planner" that excursion wasn't available. At first I thought this was because it was sold out, so I called RC and now they are saying that most excursions arn't bookable until 60-90 days out. To put it bluntly I will kick myself if I miss out on Florence, its only 2nd to Pompeii. (might as well shot myself if I go on this cruise and miss that). So for this with any experience is the 60-90 day thing accurate?

 

If not, and lets say the Florence/Pisa Excursion is no longer offered anyone have any recommendations as to NON-Royal Caribbean excursions that include these two? Thanks in advance!

 

Jennifer

Edited February 17, 2014 by jlovesee

[QuattroRomeo]

Hi Jennifer, there are many companies to choose from that do this tour. Unfortunately the search function on CC is down for maintenance but when it comes back you can do a search here. Also use just an internet search for tours in Tuscany or from Livorno. One company is romeinlimo dot com. Then post your tour on your roll call to get others to join you! It is a much better experience than a ship tour. You will definitely not want to miss Pisa and Florence!

[bugeater2]

Hi all,

I have been reading along these forums for several months... but this is my first post so TIA for everyone's patience!

 

We are booked on the May 22 Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas 7 day Med. Cruise with four days prior in Rome. One of the excursions I am curious about is the Florence/Pisa 10 hr excursion. It was showing up on the generic list of RC excursions but when I checked on my specific "my cruise planner" that excursion wasn't available. At first I thought this was because it was sold out, so I called RC and now they are saying that most excursions arn't bookable until 60-90 days out. To put it bluntly I will kick myself if I miss out on Florence, its only 2nd to Pompeii. (might as well shot myself if I go on this cruise and miss that). So for this with any experience is the 60-90 day thing accurate?

 

If not, and lets say the Florence/Pisa Excursion is no longer offered anyone have any recommendations as to NON-Royal Caribbean excursions that include these two? Thanks in advance!

 

Jennifer

 

If Florence is that important to you, I would suggest you use one of your 4 pre-cruise Rome days and take the train up to Florence. It is only 90 minutes away and run from 6:30am - 10:00pm. This would give you maximum time to DIY in Florence and then use the cruise to visit Pisa at a more leisurely pace.

[jlovesee]

hmm... That's something to think about. The way we are doing the trip is 3 days at the beginning (arriving Monday morning and departing for the cruise Thursday afternoon), and then departing the cruise on Thursday morning, so we were thinking of just hitting something in Rome that interested us from the previous 3 days. But we could I guess take the train to Florence that morning and come back in the evening. Would that be douable? Our flight doesnt leave until 11:55 Friday morning so we can get back pretty late Thursday. Thanks so much for your help!

 

Jennifer

[Hlitner]

Before you hit the panic button on the cruise line excursions, keep in mind that there are quite a few other options. There are many private tour companies that will happily handle a Pisa/Florence tour request and you can probably get with some others on your Roll Call board. It is also relatively easy to get to Florence on your own, and once there, just about everything is within walking distance (with the exception of the Academia for those who do not like long walks).

 

Hank

[bugeater2]

hmm... That's something to think about. The way we are doing the trip is 3 days at the beginning (arriving Monday morning and departing for the cruise Thursday afternoon), and then departing the cruise on Thursday morning, so we were thinking of just hitting something in Rome that interested us from the previous 3 days. But we could I guess take the train to Florence that morning and come back in the evening. Would that be douable? Our flight doesnt leave until 11:55 Friday morning so we can get back pretty late Thursday. Thanks so much for your help!

 

Jennifer

 

I was thinking more along the lines of maybe a Wednesday pre-cruise day in Florence.

 

Arrive on Monday, get checked into your hotel and shake off the jet lag.

Use Tuesday for a full day of Rome site seeing.

Go to Florence on Wednesday.

You can site see some more Thursday am prior to embark if you wish.

 

By doing this, If you find something you loved (or something you missed) in Florence, you could go back during your cruise armed with a better understanding of the area.

 

Then use your disembark Thursday for more Rome site seeing before you go home on Friday.

[Off0nVacation]

Hello,

We too will be on the May 22 Royal Carribean Western Med. cruise!

Have researched some private tour companies, because we agree the excurisons to Florence do not meet our needs.

Some can be pricey, but they also offer to share an eight (8) passenger van as a transfer. Then you can go DIY, or book a tour while in Florence.

 

We'd be willing to share a transfer / share costs.

Looking forward to the Mediterranean!

[jlovesee]

Very neat! Would be tentatively interested in sharing a tour, what companies have you looked at?

 

Jennifer

[maryann ns]

You have to make such arrangements on your roll call.

 

Choosing between a day in Rome and a day in Florence is not easy. There are weeks and weeks worth of things to see in both places.

 

With limited time for Florence, your best bet is to take a private tour. Driverinrome is an excellent company I have used.

 

If money is an issue, then get Rick Steves guidebook, take the train to Florence and plan your own day.

Edited February 19, 2014 by maryann ns

[crazyventures]

Rome in Limo also offers a 9 hour Florence and Pisa tour. If you book for 6 people it comes out around $130 USD/person. They also offer discounts if you book multiple tours with them.

[Off0nVacation]

Very neat! Would be tentatively interested in sharing a tour, what companies have you looked at?

 

Jennifer

 

We researched the recommendations from Rick Steves books (if you are familiar?). WalksinsideFlorence... spoke with Paola, and she seemed to be reasonably priced and quite accomodating.

[jlovesee]

Ok did not know about the Rick Steves book I looked it up on Amazon and it seems like a pretty good idea (have all the Fodor's books which are ok...)

 

I looked into RomeinLimo since it seems like a lot of people here recommend them they are 550 Euro (or about $115 per person US dollars) for 6 people and you can add a guide in Florence for 250 Euro. This includes both Pisa and Florence. Though the more I look into it the more I wonder about the inteligence of trying to do both in one day and if I should just stick with Florence.

 

Also considering doing a Pompeii tour through an outside company too, Pompeii is a big reason I am wanted to go on this trip anyway, and I would hate to rush through it to go to a "sales tour"

 

Jennifer

[HMWCambridge]

Hi Jennifer

One suggestion is to splash out on Florence (Pisa as well would be a stretch) and do it yourself for Pompeii. On our first cruise (not RC) we booked a tour to Pompeii - but it also included a trip to a cameo jewellery factory and a tacky souvenir shop. The actual tour of Pompeii was good, but far too short.

Trains in Italy are really cheap and an interesting experience, you can walk to Naples station and Pompeii is a very short train ride - the ruins are directly outside the station. We paid a few euros for a registered guide when we got in there, he took a group of 10-15 and was great. If you do this, you can also visit Herculaneum which is also stunning, (Erclano) and often missed - they also have tour guides onsite. You just walk straight down from the station about 1/4 of a mile and you are there.

I hope that you have a great time and enjoy both Florence & Pompeii.

Helen