RCCL's excursion - Can we look inside the Duomo?

[Megedy]

Has anyone ever taken the Historical Florence & Accademia Museum excursion offered by RCCL in Florence? What did you think?

 

The excursion seems to include everything that I most want to see in Florence but the one thing that I can't tell from the website is whether or not the tour includes going INSIDE the Duomo or if we just stand in the square and look at the outside.

 

Does anybody know?

[hylasgirl]

We did this similar tour on the Brilliance, and we did NOT go inside... just admired from the square. BUT, I can say, after going back last year AND going inside, there isn't all that much to it. They will even tell you on the tour that all of the work went on the outside. Don't get me wrong, it is all incredible... but out of all the Duomos we went inside, this was the least impressive. BUT... if you get some time on your own, you can enter and it is free... and worth it if you have the time. Seeing the David at the Accademia is a MUST! It is my favorite piece of art I have seen so far. WOW!!! the entire room leading up to David is amazing. You will know what I mean when you go.

 

Of course after doing this itinerary again and having something to judge it against, I would NEVER do another tour with RCCL... I would find another couple and share a private tour... same money and you get to do whatever you want all day long. Ours picked us up in a brand new Mercedes mini van and the 4 of us paid exactly what the ship tour was offering with 50 others! We had the guide and driver for ourselves all day. If interested try www.driverinitaly.com or www.driverinrome.com they both do tours of Florence and it is such a better day for your money and time! IT was SO easy finding another couple that wanted to do this with us. I found them on my CC Roll Call and now we are great friends!

 

Have a great time!

[Megedy]

Oh I am disappointed to hear about the excursion. I had thought about getting a private tour but the ones available on my Roll Call have been Tuscany By Taxi which sounded more like transportation to the city rather then a tour. Maybe all of the tours are like that? I really wanted to have some kind of guide for Florence which is why I was leaning towards the RCCL tour but the websites of the tours you provided seem to have some of that as well. Do you know anything about Tuscany By Taxi? Is my first impression that it is just basic transportation correct or is it like the tours you suggested?

[Desertbelle]

We used www.driverinrome.com for all our Italy ports. Our experiences with the various drivers was exceptional. If God blesses me with the opportunity to get to Italy again, they will be the first people I contact.