Ship-sponsored or Independent in Florence/Pisa?

[#eurovirgin]

My husband and I are going on our first Mediterranean cruise the first week of April. I'm researching which cities we can safely plan our own excursions and which cities where it would be best to rely on ship sponsored excursions. So tell me about Florence/Pisa...is it a good place to go independent? I'm not sure where to start. I do know the ship docks in Livorno, which is some distance from Pisa & Florence. Is this a stop where it would be best to stick to ship sponsored?

 

[easyboy]

Try http://www.tuscanybus.com for independent tour

 

 

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[Beanb41]

My husband and I are going on our first Mediterranean cruise the first week of April. I'm researching which cities we can safely plan our own excursions and which cities where it would be best to rely on ship sponsored excursions. So tell me about Florence/Pisa...is it a good place to go independent? I'm not sure where to start. I do know the ship docks in Livorno, which is some distance from Pisa & Florence. Is this a stop where it would be best to stick to ship sponsored?

 

 

We are there in May and we shall be leaving the ship as soon as possible and catching the train to Pisa, visiting the leaning tower and then back on the train to Florence visiting the Uffuzi gallery and Accademina. Back on the train arriving back in Livorno around 5 .00pm. Interconnecting buses are approx. 1 Euro each. Total train 29 Euros. Entry to the tower , Uffuzi and Accademia will be purchased on line. Trains can also be be prepurchased on line

[George C]

WE did a great tour of Pisa , Florence and a winery by Papillion driver was great, we went with a few others from our cruise, van was a large very comfortable Mercedes. Ships tours are normally very crowded we did nothing but private tours between 6 and 10 people from our roll call, also cheaper than cruise tours

[#eurovirgin]

So what's the best way to organize 6-10 people to go in on a private tour? It's only me and my husband going, so we'd need to find a few more that want to do the same things we do.

[CruiserBruce]

So what's the best way to organize 6-10 people to go in on a private tour? It's only me and my husband going, so we'd need to find a few more that want to do the same things we do.

 

The Roll call boards are where you arrange group tours. Look here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=34

 

Find your cruise line, then your ship, then your sailing date.

 

Some tour vendors, like the wonderful Rome in Limo, have sections of their websites set aside for arranging groups as well.

 

Some reading around the boards you have spray posted on will get you a lot of info on each port, tour vendors, and many other valuable pieces of info.

[tatt2ed]

We did the 3rd sailing on the vista and did every port as part of a small group independent of the ships excursions. The tours were groups of 8 max and we saw so much more at every port. We didnt have to wait on stragglers and we truly got to customize every stop. Every tour operator we used i would highly recommended. Some ports we even did groups of 4 and to me that was the best, so personal and tailored to our wants and wishes.

[George C]

Our roll call was so active when someone said they had a excursion for 6 to 8 people it filled up within the hour sometimes, better tours only want a small deposit that is refundable, others that were not that good wanted the money up front

[CruiserBruce]

Our roll call was so active when someone said they had a excursion for 6 to 8 people it filled up within the hour sometimes, better tours only want a small deposit that is refundable, others that were not that good wanted the money up front

 

Have never put any money up for a recommended vendor here. Credit Card on file, but no money upfront.

[cruisemom42]

Some roll calls are very active, others are less so. Sometimes the activity starts slow and doesn't pick up until around the time of final payment (when most people start to feel really committed, lol....)

 

If you are planning to do a tour with all the iconic sites, you'll probably get others to join in -- you sometimes need to "sell" it a little. ;)

 

On the other hand, if you're on a smaller ship, or there are fewer folks on your roll call for whatever reason, it's more difficult.

 

Finally, be REALLY clear about your tour. If you don't want to have any 'ad hoc' shopping stops that eat up time, be up front with that info. I've had several tours nearly hijacked by fellow passengers deciding THEY wanted to spend time shopping when the guide presented an opportunity to do so -- despite my clear description that we wouldn't be spending tour time on shopping! :cool:

[cruisegirl19]

Eurovirgin,

What ship will you be on? We will be on the viking star at these ports in early April. Looking to share some tours.

 

Carol & Tom

[CruiserBruce]

As mentioned above, roll calls are the place to seek or arrange tour shares. Check here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1012

[b_cruise]

I agree with everyone..definitely find your roll call and share. You will love the independent tours more than the ships because it is usually a group of 8 ( at least all my italytoursharing.com ones were). I found u get to more of the sites first and they take u to family style restaurants...just all around more experiences for your dollar in my opinion.

 

When I first started going to Europe I booked private tours and ships tours then the roll call came to my attention. If u do book a private though, Joe banana limos does a great job. They were one of my first private tours. I was always scared to venture off from the ships tours in case the tour company was late returning but these companies have their reputation on the line and with social media now a days, I don't think it's an issue.

 

Good luck planning...half the fun. I'm working on my June July holiday!!

[tatt2ed]

I agree with everyone..definitely find your roll call and share. You will love the independent tours more than the ships because it is usually a group of 8 ( at least all my italytoursharing.com ones were). I found u get to more of the sites first and they take u to family style restaurants...just all around more experiences for your dollar in my opinion.

 

When I first started going to Europe I booked private tours and ships tours then the roll call came to my attention. If u do book a private though, Joe banana limos does a great job. They were one of my first private tours. I was always scared to venture off from the ships tours in case the tour company was late returning but these companies have their reputation on the line and with social media now a days, I don't think it's an issue.

 

Good luck planning...half the fun. I'm working on my June July holiday!!

Rome in limo rounds out the top 3. We used them all for our trip. Top notch

[euro cruiser]

It's certainly possible to get to Pisa and Florence on your own from Livorno, hundreds (thousands during the high season) of cruisers do it every day. It comes down to your comfort level navigating public transit and your willingness to do a little up front prep work, and the tradeoff of the time it takes to do so vs. the cost of a private tour.

 

From the port in Livorno you can take a shuttle bus into town, followed by a public bus to the train station,or you can take a taxi directly from the ship to the train station (this is an expensive option but it's fast and you can share the cab with others to reduce the cost). From there it's an easy regional train ride to Florence (Pisa is the first stop on this train).