5 euros each to leave the ship

[rocker57]

Many years ago when I first started traveling overseas, I was given some great advice. I was told that when I get to a different country to look around and remember that I'm not in the U.S.A. Things will be different. So what? Just accept the differences and move on. The trip will be much more enjoyable. Getting upset about paying €5.00 to leave the port of Livorno will not change anything and will not help you enjoy your cruise. If this type of thing bothers you, then maybe going to foreign countries is not for you.

 

Where's the like button :D

[Cruise Junky]

I have seen ports, Naples for instance, where one must pay for a shuttle to get out of the port area into town. The issues were safety and security, which prohibited passengers to walk through an industrial port area.

 

 

I think you've got your ports mixed up. You're in the middle of everything in Naples.

[dmwnc1959]

Civitavecchia...6 vowels...and mine has 4 vowels and of course ending in a vowel. ;)

 

 

This is as close as I could write it out phonetically. How does this look?

 

Cheh-vit-ah-veck-EE-ah (say it quickly as it rolls off your tongue) ;)

 

:D

[kruisey]

On my next very long cruise which I am saving up like mad and doing without some of the delights of life for it.;)

My taxes,Fees and Port Expenses are $570 US. Enough is enough no dowling out 5 miserable euros on top of that lot :D;)

[Astro Flyer]

This is as close as I could write it out phonetically. How does this look?

 

Cheh-vit-ah-veck-EE-ah (say it quickly as it rolls off your tongue) ;)

 

:D

Based on my experience that looks right to me but you lived in Napoli so you'd know better than me. :P

Edited June 4, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Iamcruzin]

It's only €5.00. How much do we pay for the cruise? The excursions? The airfare? The drinks? The specialty restaurants? The tips? Etc. etc. etc.

 

Five euro is nothing compared to the total cost of the vacation. If I was that concerned about €5.00 I wouldn't even take the trip to begin with. Sometimes I think we just look for something to complain about.

 

Amen....

[Iamcruzin]

Civitavecchia...6 vowels...and mine has 4 vowels and of course ending in a vowel. ;)

Mine ends with an O as well:)

[Pushka]

A question then. We are getting the bus to Florence that leaves from Livorno city. This 5 euro bus - is that a separate one to get us to the gate only and then another bus to get to Livorno? Or is another bus (and higher euro) that gets us through the port gate and into Livorno? I'm just a bit confused as to where the five euro bus stops.

[Ethel5]

On my next very long cruise which I am saving up like mad and doing without some of the delights of life for it.;)

My taxes,Fees and Port Expenses are $570 US. Enough is enough no dowling out 5 miserable euros on top of that lot :D;)

 

Just keep in mind that "taxes, fees and port expenses" are mandatory fees paid by Princess to the government and ports. It is not money that the cruise line keeps and makes a profit on.

[hlperez]

A question then. We are getting the bus to Florence that leaves from Livorno city. This 5 euro bus - is that a separate one to get us to the gate only and then another bus to get to Livorno? Or is another bus (and higher euro) that gets us through the port gate and into Livorno? I'm just a bit confused as to where the five euro bus stops.

 

I was just about to add to this thread when I saw your message.

 

The 5 Euro bus takes you right to the city center, where there are buses to other places as well, it does not stop at the port gate.

 

When I was last in Livorno a few years ago, I paid 8 Euro for RCI's shuttle to the center of town. This bus is a "bargain" in comparison. In Barcelona you have to take the port bus at 3 Euro return, or the ship's shuttle at lots more money to get out of the port (though you can walk, but it's about 2 miles).

 

I am prepared to pay 5 Euro return for the shuttle into town, it's much less than a ship's shuttle or a taxi.:)

[caribill]

Every port I have been to in the past that did not permit passengers to walk from the ship to the port exit provided free transportation to/from the port exit.

 

This is a big change.

[Pushka]

I was just about to add to this thread when I saw your message.

 

 

 

The 5 Euro bus takes you right to the city center, where there are buses to other places as well, it does not stop at the port gate.

 

 

 

When I was last in Livorno a few years ago, I paid 8 Euro for RCI's shuttle to the center of town. This bus is a "bargain" in comparison. In Barcelona you have to take the port bus at 3 Euro return, or the ship's shuttle at lots more money to get out of the port (though you can walk, but it's about 2 miles).

 

 

 

I am prepared to pay 5 Euro return for the shuttle into town, it's much less than a ship's shuttle or a taxi.:)

 

 

Thankyou so much. That is perfect then.

[Esprit]

Blimey, It's only 5 euros!

 

Where the ship berths can be miles from the dock entrance and it's a busy industrial port.

 

Livorno is an unattractive town so you should book an excursion to Pisa or Florence. That way you can avoid the shuttle fee if it bothers you so much.

[insidecabin]

Counter-argument. Tenders got you to port. Same way cruiseline got you to port in Livorno. What you do after you get to port, that's your problem :)

 

My Europe cruise was with NCL. In Rome (Civitavecchia), cruiseline gave us free shuttle to bus station (way to train station was blocked off due to construction). But in Livorno, cruise shuttle was 12 euros per person, but took you all the way to train station, instead of the gates.

 

The port shuttles in Civitavecchia are provided by the port not the cruiselines.

Edited June 4, 2015 by insidecabin

[antsp]

I brought this topic up on principal and not about cost. In my opinion it's wrong that you have to pay to leave the port. In Livarno you have to. Naples is free, Civitchechia is free, it's the first time I'm aware of this. No it hasn't ruined my cruise, that's as good as ever. I posted it as a point to discuss on cruise critic, and that's what I did. Once again it gets personal and cc members attack you. Pam CA, the Rome example is wrong as Princess advertise the port as Civit....

[antsp]

Every port I have been to in the past that did not permit passengers to walk from the ship to the port exit provided free transportation to/from the port exit.

 

This is a big change.

 

I agree, new to me too

[Island wannabe]

I was just about to add to this thread when I saw your message.

 

The 5 Euro bus takes you right to the city center, where there are buses to other places as well, it does not stop at the port gate.

 

When I was last in Livorno a few years ago, I paid 8 Euro for RCI's shuttle to the center of town. This bus is a "bargain" in comparison. In Barcelona you have to take the port bus at 3 Euro return, or the ship's shuttle at lots more money to get out of the port (though you can walk, but it's about 2 miles).

 

I am prepared to pay 5 Euro return for the shuttle into town, it's much less than a ship's shuttle or a taxi.:)

 

Thank you I was wondering if the shuttle took you into town or only to the port enterance. Would you happen to know if it is walking distance from where the bus drops you to the train station or would you then need a local bus to get you there? This is one port I am a bit confused about as I would like to make my own way to Florence but am not sure how to get to the train station (other than by an expensive taxi)

[chengkp75]

I brought this topic up on principal and not about cost. In my opinion it's wrong that you have to pay to leave the port. In Livarno you have to. Naples is free, Civitchechia is free, it's the first time I'm aware of this. No it hasn't ruined my cruise, that's as good as ever. I posted it as a point to discuss on cruise critic, and that's what I did. Once again it gets personal and cc members attack you. Pam CA, the Rome example is wrong as Princess advertise the port as Civit....

 

What this all comes down to is the IMO's ISPS (International Ship and Port Security) regulations, that all members of the UN have to abide by. This creates secure zones in the port areas, and the port has to decide how they want to meet the security requirements of those areas. When a port has a dedicated cruise terminal, generally only the dock itself and the terminal are secure areas, and you exit the "port area" when you exit the terminal building. Other ports, where the cruise ship docks at a commercial pier that can be used by other types of ships as well, there is a pier area where cargo is staged for loading/unloading and this area can be quite large and is also required to be a secure area. These ports will not allow anyone, whether crew from the cruise ship, passengers, or crew from cargo ships, to walk through the port area for both security and liability reasons. They provide transportation of some kind, and everyone using it has to pay for it, as a means of offsetting the cost. Other places will allow people off ships to contact their own transportation (taxis), but these operators will have to be vetted according to the local ISPS requirements. In the US, this means that every taxi driver that enters a port area (remember that the curb in front of a passenger terminal is not in the port area) must have a TWIC card issued by Homeland Security (just as all US mariners have), and this costs $135 for 5 years and requires an FBI background check. Taxi companies in port cities will have a number of drivers with proper credentials, but not all of them will be allowed into port security areas, and generally the company will add a surcharge (whether you see it or not) to picking up/dropping off in a port area to offset the cost of documentation. I'm sure that if excursion buses pick up/drop off at the ship, they have added the 5 euro fee into the cost of the excursion.

 

While it is unfortunate that the cruise line does not mention this charge in their advertising of the cruise, to have them provide this for "free" for all passengers is not only not fair to the passengers who don't want to leave the ship, but actually would generate more revenue for the line since they would only have to pay the port a fee for the head count actually using the bus, not the total pax count onboard. And to think the line should provide this service without raising the ticket price or adding it to the port fees is just naïve.

[Red Hat Cruise Cat]

If you have a private tour arranged to pick you up at the terminal, do you still pay or does the private tour operator pay?

[Meanee]

The port shuttles in Civitavecchia are provided by the port not the cruiselines.

 

Pretty nice of them. I guess they build it into port fees, while Livorno puts it on anyone entering port who doesn't work there.

 

But Rome gets more cruise traffic. It's also an embarkation point.

[RocketMan275]

I brought this topic up on principal and not about cost. In my opinion it's wrong that you have to pay to leave the port. In Livarno you have to. Naples is free, Civitchechia is free, it's the first time I'm aware of this. No it hasn't ruined my cruise, that's as good as ever. I posted it as a point to discuss on cruise critic, and that's what I did. Once again it gets personal and cc members attack you. Pam CA, the Rome example is wrong as Princess advertise the port as Civit....

 

 

“When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.” - H.L. Mencken

[Loonbeam]

It wasn't meant to be a practical suggestion ;) My point is still that other than notifying passengers of the port rules, there is nothing else Princess can do...

 

As a side note, it looks like this started in 2013 when changes were made to the ports to better accommodate cruise ships structurally.

 

I can guarantee you that if Princess passed out 5 Euro notes to disembarking passengers, there would be a flood of people pocketing the note and then not exiting the gate.

[insidecabin]

Thank you I was wondering if the shuttle took you into town or only to the port enterance. Would you happen to know if it is walking distance from where the bus drops you to the train station or would you then need a local bus to get you there? This is one port I am a bit confused about as I would like to make my own way to Florence but am not sure how to get to the train station (other than by an expensive taxi)

 

Google maps is a good tool for this sort of thing.

(often the sat view will have ships in the image.)

see if this link works

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/43.5533232,10.3010402/43.5542205,10.3358588/@43.554862,10.3181014,16z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e2

if you stick the port on the left you can see the station on the right quite a way from the port.( I guessed where a ship may dock)

Edited June 4, 2015 by insidecabin

[gailjen]

I think gailjen is being taken a little out of context here and some unnecessary barbs are being thrown at her....but what's unusual about that on the Princess board. Let's just leave her out of this for a moment, you are on a budget, you have saved for this cruise, you have bought some HOHO tickets in advance or are going to do a DIY tours because that is what you have budgeted for and all of a sudden your are hit with a 5e pp tariff because you can't walk out of the port area. All Princess has to do is note this tariff in the Personalizer Itinerary and a person has knowledge of the fee. Otherwise to a person who has less cruising savvy then some of us looks at the "taxes and port charges included" provision and feel they have been had.

 

On the other hand, I have done a cursory search on the Italy forum and don't see any mention of this port fee in 2013 or 2014. There is however, a fairly lengthy thread started in March of this year on the topic and I suppose it could be argued that a person doing a DIY should have looked there but not everyone relies on Cruise Critic for their information. The underlying suggestion on that thread that this fee has been imposed to force people in to overpriced cabs and tours.

 

Another argument is advanced on the above thread is that tendering costs are included in your fare so why not the cost of moving you out of the port area like is done in many other ports?

 

Thank you for your concern, however I don't take anything personal, it's what boards are here for, everyone has an opinion.

 

Back when I took my first cruise on RCCI we were on a budjet with kids and 3 of our stops had these charges, Valencia, Livorno & can't remember the other 😕 the amount from memory was £100+ as these fares are each way per person. you can research something that you don't know exists, so we were disappointed and annoyed as I had taken the time to read the website before leaving.

[Thrak]

I wish I could be there and have to pay the 5€. If anybody needs me, I'll be at work....again.

 

First World problems...;)

 

:D

 

I can't agree more. I'm off to work as well.