Visiting the Leaning Tower

[Grinch99]

Hi

 

We have holidayed in Pisa & Florence before but would really like to go into ( or up) the leaning tower as a shore excursion. Unfortunately Celebrity are not offering that as an option.

Does anyone know of any shore excursions were access to the Leaning Tower is included?

Alternatively, we quite like the sound of Cinque Terre but many forums on here refer to the accessibility issues, is it really that bad?

 

Many Thanks

Grinch

[CruiserBruce]

Yes, Cinque Terre is an access issue. For the most part, the cities are not at all flat- they are built into hillsides. Cobblestone streets. If you use the ferry, the gangway is not easy and flat. Using the train makes things a little easier, but some challenges remain.

[laurieb]

Hi

 

We have holidayed in Pisa & Florence before but would really like to go into ( or up) the leaning tower as a shore excursion. Unfortunately Celebrity are not offering that as an option.

Does anyone know of any shore excursions were access to the Leaning Tower is included?

Alternatively, we quite like the sound of Cinque Terre but many forums on here refer to the accessibility issues, is it really that bad?

 

Many Thanks

Grinch

 

Would you have free time in Pisa with Celebrity's tour? If so, you should be able to purchase your tickets there and visit the tower during your free time.

Have you looked into booking a tour with a private company? http://www.italytoursharing.com does an outstanding job with their tours; we visited Pisa on our tour with them and had plenty of free time to fo up the tour if we had wanted to. They also got us to Pisa before the big crowds got there.

[kuldalai]

Admission to the Leaning Torre is limited numbers in 15 minute increments . Best t pre book your admission in advance by date and time. that way you rock up with a voucher which you exchange for for your admission tickets and you are straight in . Day we went guy from Texas lobs up "where do we get the entry tickets ?" only to be told on a Sunday that teh next available tickets were the following Thursday !!! Not a very happy little Vegemite was he !!! Caveat Emptor .

[ljandgb]

If you are worried about access, going up the tower may be an issue

[Victress2007]

It is really interesting to climb those winding stairs at that angle!

 

Vic

[Grinch99]

Many thanks for all your help, some decisions to be made I think!

I don't want to be in a position first day with nothing organised and straneed in Livorno.

[Swice]

Livorno, Italy (Pisa/Florence)

 

We hired a private car (Nicola Scovenna) which met us at thedock. Our driver took us to Pisa and drove usaround the town for a few minutes before letting us out at the gate to theLeaning Tower/Church property. Nicola Scovenna arrangedfor timed tickets for us to climb the tour and enter the church. We were told to spend as much time as we wanted and spent about 90-minutesthere. He then drove us to Lucca for a greatafternoon. Our driver actually lives in Lucca and hedrove us around the “new” portion of the city for a few minutes and then tookus to the “old walled” city. Cars are not allowed inside the oldcity. He took us to a bike shop where we rented bikes for two hoursand we rode on top of the old city walls (very level andeasy). Then we rode the bikes through the skinny streets ofthe city and explored. Later, we met our driverback at the bike shop and he drove us around to another side of the walled cityand let us out at the edge where he pointed us to a gelato shop (CHEAP comparedto Rome) that’s been in business for nearly 100-years. Afterour snack and more time to explore another part of the town, we headed back tothe ship. Our driver stopped by a huge grocerystore/mall where we bought a large package of Coca-Cola for five euros to takeonto the ship. We could have donemost of this by train and saved a few dollars. But ourdriver arranged our tower tickets, we didn’t have to manage train schedules,and he took us directly to the bike shop in Lucca and to the gelato place andwe stopped by the grocery store. All ofthis was still less than expensive than the ship tour. I should point out we chose Pisa and Lucca because we were docked on a Mondayand some museums and attractions are closed in Florence on Mondays.

 

 

Read my full review:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=583756

[Hlitner]

We would never recommend any of the Cinque Terre villages for those with major mobility issues. Being able to walk (perhaps with a cane for some help) is vital in these places where there are uneven walk ways, slopes, steps, etc. As to the Tower, the Field of Miracles is easy enough to handle with mobility aids...but no way would one climb up the Tower unless they had full use of their limbs.

 

Hank

[pdmartyn65]

Hi. We did Livorno on the Norwegian Epic last October (2016). We were in Livorno on a Thursday. As we had had a long day in Rome the previous day, we did not want to do anything too strenuous, and decided just to do Pisa. I bought tickets via http://www.opapisa.it/en/tickets/buy/. You can only book 20 days in advance, so I marked it on the calendar and made sure I visited the site first thing in the morning that our date was available. You pick the time for your visit (we chose 10:30AM) and print your ticket. After we docked we took a shuttle bus to the Livorno Centrale train station (sorry, I can't remember if we had to pay for the shuttle or not.) Once at the station we bought train tickets to Pisa Centrale (and our return tickets at the same time) from the newstand inside the station (it was quicker than waiting in line at the ticket counter). I cant rememeber the price, but it was not expensive, around 10 Euro each. Once in Pisa (about a 30min ride), across the street in front of the station you catch a bus (I am relying in Google for this info, not memory, but I believe the LAM Rossa, Linea 21 at stop Stazione Fs 6.) If memory serves, we bought tickets at a kiosk inside the station, about 1 or 2 Euro. The ride was only 10-15 min and lets you off very close to the entrance to the Plaza of Miracles, Stop Torre 1. Walk throught the small courtyard full of vendors and through the gate and you are there. We could have taken the bus back to the train station, but it was such a nice day and we had the time, so we walked back to the station. It only took about an hour. I hope this helps with with your planning.

 

Paul (& Bonnie!)

Edited July 19, 2017 by pdmartyn65
Added some more information