Naples, Livorno and Marseille port excursion advice

[boxerlovers]

We will be on a MSC cruise in a couple of weeks and several of our port excursions were just cancelled due to not enough people. We have looked for other options on Viator and they don't seem to work for us since they are catering to the other cruise ships that leave later in the day than ours does, so many I checked on said they can't guarantee we would be back to the port in time (unless we want to spend $800+ for 2 of us for private excursions.) We may just wing it and see what we can find when we get off the ship.  My question is, if we do this, do you know if the independent taxi companies will still typically take a credit card? I just don't want to carry around a lot of cash.

Naples- June 29 possibly take a ferry to Sorrento or to Capri/Blue Grotto

Livorno- June 30 Florence and Pisa

Marseille- July 1 (also our 35th Anniversary, so really wanted to make the day special) Marseilles, Aix, Cassis

Thanks much! 😀

[edinburgher]

13 hours ago, boxerlovers said:

Marseilles, Aix, Cassis

As Aix and Cassis lie in opposite directions from Marseille, this will take time, lots of it, so expect any taxi to cost you $$$s as taxi and driver will be with you throughout. the many hours this will take, including when you are lunching..

 

You could compromise and drop Cassis as an example, and consider booking a shorex if one is offered such as "Aix on your own" which is really only a costly shuttle to get you there and back to the ship with free time in Aix to do  what you choose with your time there, including booking an upmarket restaurant for lunch.

 

Or Cassis, but unless you plan to take a boat trip around the calanques, it is not a town which is special in any other way,actually quite unremarkable,  although quite attractive around the waterfront.

 

Or head into Marseille, sightsee, and book a super special Bouillabaisse lunch in a bouillabaisse recommended  restaurant, not one of the "tourist bouillabaisse" restaurants. which are generally not  high quality and may be poor value for money.

Edited June 10 by edinburgher

[boxerlovers]

1 minute ago, edinburgher said:

As Aix and Cassis lie in opposite directions from Marseille, this will take time, lots of it, so expect any taxi to cost you $$$s as taxi and driver will be with you throughout..

 

You could compromise and drop Cassis as an example, and consider booking a shorex if one is offered such as "Aix on your own" which is really only a costly shuttle to get you there and back to the ship with free time in Aix to do with what you like with your time there, including booking an upmarket restaurant for lunch.

 

Or Cassis, but unless you plan to take a boat trip around the calanques, it is not a town which is special in any other way,actually quite unremarkable,  although quite attractive around the waterfront.

 

Or head into Marseille, sightsee, and book a super special Bouillabaisse lunch in a bouillabaisse recommended  restaurant, not one of the "tourist bouillabaisse" restaurants...

Thanks for the advice. This will be our first time in Marseille

[edinburgher]

15 minutes ago, boxerlovers said:

Thanks for the advice. This will be our first time in Marseille

Should you decide on staying in Marseille and doing very easy and diverse sightseeing there, do come back and ask as there is lots of info on past threads about how to DIY very easily without having to wander very far from the shuttle bus drop off/pick up point which is usually next to either the Vieux port, Fort St Jean or MUCEM.

 

This is an example.  Posts numbers 5/6 and 7 on this thread and use the link on post #6 for the easy sightseeing option.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3012386-excursions-scarlet-lady-irresistible-med-and-rome/#comment-67492412

 

And note that taxi drivers are not usually tour guides and may or may not speak limited english, so it may only be a costly drive.

Edited June 10 by edinburgher

[euro cruiser]

Naples is a very easy port to do on your own.  A ferry from Molo Beverello, adjacent to the cruise port, is an easy way to get yourself to the islands (Capri, Ischia, or Procida), Sorrento, or the Amalfi Coast.

 

Florence and Pisa can be reached on your own by train.

 

Italy is not like the Caribbean, there will not be a half dozen tour operators at the port looking to sell you something.

[Host Kat]

21 hours ago, boxerlovers said:

We will be on a MSC cruise in a couple of weeks and several of our port excursions were just cancelled due to not enough people. We have looked for other options on Viator and they don't seem to work for us since they are catering to the other cruise ships that leave later in the day than ours does, so many I checked on said they can't guarantee we would be back to the port in time (unless we want to spend $800+ for 2 of us for private excursions.) We may just wing it and see what we can find when we get off the ship.  My question is, if we do this, do you know if the independent taxi companies will still typically take a credit card? I just don't want to carry around a lot of cash.

Naples- June 29 possibly take a ferry to Sorrento or to Capri/Blue Grotto

Livorno- June 30 Florence and Pisa

Marseille- July 1 (also our 35th Anniversary, so really wanted to make the day special) Marseilles, Aix, Cassis

Thanks much! 😀

 

Hello @boxerlovers and thank you for your new thread here on the Italy Ports forum.

 

However, for questions regarding Marseilles, Aix & Cassis you need to post on the France Ports forum where they will be on topic. Your fellow Cruise Critic members that have been there or live there frequent that forum and provide feedback there. I often tell members it is best to limit inquiries to only one topic such as one cruise line, one ship, one port of call, etc. and of course, on the correct forum. They usually get more replies that way!

 

Hope this will be helpful!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[Hlitner]

I am not surprised that MSC cancelled multiple excursions.  The line does attract many Europeans and we assume that many of those folks are fine just going off on their own or perhaps taking a private tour.  

 

So you have a few choices.  You could do some pre-trip homework and also do some (or all) of the ports on your own.  We have been doing our own thing for about 50 years, and actually try to avoid ship excusions like the plague.  You can also look into private tours (try looking at the Cruise Critic Roll Call Board for your particular cruise) to see if others are trying to organize some smaller private tours.

 

All 3 of the ports you mention offer a lot of DIY options.   One can use trains, buses, or even a rental car in any of these particular ports.  You can use the Search function (here on CC) or just read through the Italy and France boards to get lots of ideas.  Just consider a place like Pompeii.  Yes, you can take a tour.  But you can also get there by train (from Naples) bus, or even a taxi.  Once at the site you can buy your ticket, get an audio guide, join an English speaking tour, or just walk the ruins as you please.  In Marseille, you can stay in town, grab a train to Aix en Provence, etc.  Livorno is more of a challenge because you need to get to the train station.  The easiest way is to get lucky and have a taxi at the port willing to do the short haul.  There is also a way using a bus, but we will let you look that up on the Italy Port of Call Board.  Once at the station you can take the next train to Florence (we really like Florence) or Pisa, Lucca, etc.

 

Hank