La Spezia excursion help

[chrisdom3]

We are sailing on the Brilliance on 8/17/17 and are looking for some advice about excursions out of La Spezia. We are very interested in seeing Cinque Terre. I've been inquiring about the "Coast of Cinque Terre & Portovenere" shore excursion through RCL. When I ask the RCL Rep for 'further' information on this excursion they are very happy to help but are basically just reading the description that I have already read on their site.

 

I'm hoping that someone is familiar with this excursion or even a way from La Spezia to explore this area. We have only been to Livorno and are not sure what to expect out of La Spezia.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cat54]

I would post this under the Port of Calls. You find lots of useful information there.

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Brilliance!

[chrisdom3]

I would post this under the Port of Calls. You find lots of useful information there.

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Brilliance!

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[KiwiGal117]

We arranged for a private excursion to Cinque Terre, I can't give you the website here (our agent booked it). I highly recommend it, and it was much cheaper than the ship excursion (though there were six of us). If you want to e-mail me at m2j.nardi@gmail.com I'll send you the info. It was AMAZING. My favourite excursion by far - I want to go back.

 

 

I should add that you can take a train from La Spezia to Cinque Terre and see it on your own. We didn't do that so can't comment. But it's a relatively short trip from La Spezia to the area.

Edited July 13, 2017 by KiwiGal117
Train options

[bug42362]

My 18 year old daughter and I took the train and visited 3 of the towns on our own. Very easy and enjoyable day!

[chrisdom3]

We arranged for a private excursion to Cinque Terre, I can't give you the website here (our agent booked it). I highly recommend it, and it was much cheaper than the ship excursion (though there were six of us). If you want to e-mail me at m2j.nardi@gmail.com I'll send you the info. It was AMAZING. My favourite excursion by far - I want to go back.

 

 

I should add that you can take a train from La Spezia to Cinque Terre and see it on your own. We didn't do that so can't comment. But it's a relatively short trip from La Spezia to the area.

 

 

 

Thank you for your help! It's just my DH and myself but that would have been great when we had our 3 children. Those excursions cost us a bundle. DH feels safer about getting back to the ship with cruise lines excursions. He's fluent in Italian, which makes me comfortable about getting around on our own, so I'm hoping he wants to do the train!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[chrisdom3]

My 18 year old daughter and I took the train and visited 3 of the towns on our own. Very easy and enjoyable day!

 

 

 

I'm seriously considering that! From what I've read the towns are not far apart by train and the train runs hourly. I need to do some further research! Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[The A Team]

We did a Med cruise a couple of years ago & booked all of our Italian tours through Italy in Limo service (italyinlimo@gmail.com). All 3 places had the BEST guides... places to eat...personalized & cheaper than aboard RCCL. They made sure we were back in plenty of time. I would recommend them hands down :)

[CRUISEFAN0001]

We used RomeInLImo for excursions in both La Spezia and Civitavecchia (Rome) - outstanding in all ways - service, value, and enjoyment.

[FionaMG]

It is very easy to do Cinque Terre on your own by train. We did it a couple of years ago and enjoyed our day so much that we did it again last year.

You can walk to the train station in La Spezia in about 20 minutes. You go along the waterfront for a little bit and then cross over the big boulevard and up a pedestrianised shopping street. If you prefer, there will probably be taxis.

When you get to the station, go inside and there is a dedicated Cinque Terre ticket office. The staff are fantastically helpful. They sell you the tickets - last year it was 16 euros per person, but I think there are discounted tickets for certain age groups - and also give you a leaflet with a map showing the route and different stations, as well as the timetable. There are several trains per hour that you can use, depending on the time of year. They also sell guide books which give you more detailed information about the different stops.

Then it's a bit like a hoho bus. You can get off at each stop, spend time wandering around, or have a bite to eat or shop for souvenirs and then catch the next train when you're ready.

Our favourite stop was the first one, Riomaggiore. It was the best for souvenir shopping, if that's something you like to do.

We also liked the last one, Monterosso, which has a pretty beach, so if you think you might want to spend some time on the beach go prepared with swimwear and towels. We had some very tasty paninis for lunch at one of the beachside places there.

I hope this helps and you have a great day (and a great cruise too, of course). :D

 

Lots of info on here in English and Italian: http://www.cinqueterre.it/it

Edited July 15, 2017 by FionaMG
Added extra information

[judeniece]

We are sailing on the Brilliance on 8/17/17 and are looking for some advice about excursions out of La Spezia. We are very interested in seeing Cinque Terre. I've been inquiring about the "Coast of Cinque Terre & Portovenere" shore excursion through RCL. When I ask the RCL Rep for 'further' information on this excursion they are very happy to help but are basically just reading the description that I have already read on their site.

 

I'm hoping that someone is familiar with this excursion or even a way from La Spezia to explore this area. We have only been to Livorno and are not sure what to expect out of La Spezia.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

We joined with another couple and their son was 3 of us and booked through this agency info@italycruisesprivatetours.com

Very professional great English

We went to Pisa and then onto Florence but I believe they do lots of tours if u email them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Here's the ROMEINLIMO SITE for La Spezia tours (Florence/Pisa) - outstanding!:

 

https://www.romeinlimo.com/la-spezia/

[George C]

We did Brilliance last year 12 day cruise, avoid RCCL tours, we did Rome in Limo and also Papillion both excellent, look at roll call see if others have tours that need more people, all our tours except 1 was private with 6 to 10 people and all cheaper than RCCL

[chrisdom3]

We did a Med cruise a couple of years ago & booked all of our Italian tours through Italy in Limo service (italyinlimo@gmail.com). All 3 places had the BEST guides... places to eat...personalized & cheaper than aboard RCCL. They made sure we were back in plenty of time. I would recommend them hands down :)

 

 

 

Thank you for this info!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[chrisdom3]

It is very easy to do Cinque Terre on your own by train. We did it a couple of years ago and enjoyed our day so much that we did it again last year.

You can walk to the train station in La Spezia in about 20 minutes. You go along the waterfront for a little bit and then cross over the big boulevard and up a pedestrianised shopping street. If you prefer, there will probably be taxis.

When you get to the station, go inside and there is a dedicated Cinque Terre ticket office. The staff are fantastically helpful. They sell you the tickets - last year it was 16 euros per person, but I think there are discounted tickets for certain age groups - and also give you a leaflet with a map showing the route and different stations, as well as the timetable. There are several trains per hour that you can use, depending on the time of year. They also sell guide books which give you more detailed information about the different stops.

Then it's a bit like a hoho bus. You can get off at each stop, spend time wandering around, or have a bite to eat or shop for souvenirs and then catch the next train when you're ready.

Our favourite stop was the first one, Riomaggiore. It was the best for souvenir shopping, if that's something you like to do.

We also liked the last one, Monterosso, which has a pretty beach, so if you think you might want to spend some time on the beach go prepared with swimwear and towels. We had some very tasty paninis for lunch at one of the beachside places there.

I hope this helps and you have a great day (and a great cruise too, of course). :D

 

Lots of info on here in English and Italian: http://www.cinqueterre.it/it

 

 

 

This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much for all your advice and tips. I am even more certain now that this is the way to go, so excited!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[chrisdom3]

Here's the ROMEINLIMO SITE for La Spezia tours (Florence/Pisa) - outstanding!:

 

https://www.romeinlimo.com/la-spezia/

 

 

 

Thanks for this site! I think we may consider using them out of Civitavecchia to Rome.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Spike2015]

We took this excursion in June! We enjoyed it. We did not get to do the boat to Montorosa because it was too rough. We came back from Portaverne on the ferry and took the train out. All in all a great time and I would recommend it :)

[chrisdom3]

We took this excursion in June! We enjoyed it. We did not get to do the boat to Montorosa because it was too rough. We came back from Portaverne on the ferry and took the train out. All in all a great time and I would recommend it :)

 

 

 

Was it the RCL excursion? If so does it stop at the coastal Cinque Terre towns? The description doesn't indicate that, which makes it hard to decide.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Thanks for this site! I think we may consider using them out of Civitavecchia to Rome.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You are welcome...we enjoyed their service in La Spezia for Florence/Pisa equally as much as their Rome tour experience.

 

We reached out in advance to fellow cruisers on our same sailing and ended up in a 6-passenger very comfy Mercedes van...driver was outstanding and always parked us very close to all the sights - gave us much more time to enjoy everything about instead of a big crowded tour bus...

 

That also dropped the per-person cost to less that 1/3 of any such ship tour...

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[crosby99]

We are sailing on the Brilliance on 8/17/17 and are looking for some advice about excursions out of La Spezia. We are very interested in seeing Cinque Terre. I've been inquiring about the "Coast of Cinque Terre & Portovenere" shore excursion through RCL. When I ask the RCL Rep for 'further' information on this excursion they are very happy to help but are basically just reading the description that I have already read on their site.

 

I'm hoping that someone is familiar with this excursion or even a way from La Spezia to explore this area. We have only been to Livorno and are not sure what to expect out of La Spezia.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Here is a link to our review of a trip to Portovenere on Harmony last year.

 

http://www.modernlifeisgood.com/2016/09/22/visit-porto-venere/

 

It is very beautiful and well worth going, The Royal Caribbean trip was awfully short. Could easily have spent all day there.

Suggest looking to see if you can book independently.

[dpaxman]

Another vote for Rome in limo. They were fantastic for both la Spezia and Rome. We took Italy tours.EU for Pompeii/Sorrento and they were wonderful as well. We never took a RCCL tour as they were more expensive than a private tour (go figure).

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app