Florence/Pisa overnight

[Kwilson51]

We are booked on the Ascent in May of 2024.  One of our stops is Florence/Pisa.  It is an overnight stop.  I was thinking of maybe doing a small hotel or Airbnb in Pisa by the ocean.  Not sure if anyone has tried this while in these ports.  Would love your suggestions.  We also would love to get a private driver and tour to do Florence and maybe a few wineries.   Would. Appreciate any HELP.  Thanks so much!

[euro cruiser]

With this opportunity I would do the overnight in Florence, a bigger city with more offerings in terms of both restaurants and hotels.  After all, you'll be on the sea every day on the ship but you only have a day in Florence.

 

You could take the train to Florence on your own on day one, see as much of the city as possible and overnight there, then have a driver pick you up in the morning for a Tuscany and winery tour, with a stop in Pisa on the way back to the port.  

[Kwilson51]

This sounds awesome.  What a great suggestion….. thanks.  Is the train easy to navigate?  And get to from the port?

[euro cruiser]

The train is fairly easy, and there will be a couple of hundred other cruise passengers doing the same thing so you'll have company.  Many of them will have done it before.

 

Some lines offer a transfer to the train station, if Celebrity does, that's the easiest way to get there.  It will be ridiculously expensive, but worth it to avoid the hassle.

 

If they don't they will have a shuttle bus to get out of the port, it's a large industrial port that you cannot walk around.  The drop off point for the shuttle buses is at Piazza del Municipio in Livorno.  Livorno Centrale train station is one and a half miles from the drop off point.  You can walk, take a taxi, or a public bus to get there.

 

The morning trains to Florence (the station is Firenze S.M. Novella) are all direct (they make stops, but you don't need to change).  There are trains at 8:12, 8:49, and 9:12 and the fare is only 10,40 euro.  You can buy the tickets from English language machines at the station or download the app and buy them in advance.

 

The Trenitalia web site is here: EN - Trenitalia

 

Even though those are the English language pages you still must use the Italian names for the stations, in this case Livorno Centrale and Firenze S.M. Novella.