Florence - Private tour vs Ship tours

[sailaway5]

We will be visiting Florence for 1 day in October and hear there is much to see in this city.

 

Would like to hear from anyone who has visited on either a Private tour or Ship tour and what you saw. If it is a Private company, who was it and would you use them again.

 

What are the must see's? Did you also see Pisa? We welcome any and all responses.

 

Cheers.

[GSPLover]

We will be visiting Florence for 1 day in October and hear there is much to see in this city.

 

Would like to hear from anyone who has visited on either a Private tour or Ship tour and what you saw. If it is a Private company, who was it and would you use them again.

 

What are the must see's? Did you also see Pisa? We welcome any and all responses.

 

Cheers.

There is mcuh to see in Firenze and the surrounding area. In one day you will only get a small taste. [i lived near Livorno for 3 years and have been there many, many times.]

 

If you have a sense of adventure I would strongly recommend a self tour. Get a good guidebook and learn all you can about the city. Taking the train to Firenze from Livorno is not difficult or expensive. Uneasy about the train idea, get a ship tour for a 'do it yourself' excursion (that way you can be certain that you will get back to the ship in time.)

 

If a museum or two is your thing, go online and book your tickets ahead of time. Avoid the lines. Check for links at http://english.firenze.net.

 

The view from the top of the Duomo is spectacular (albeit over 430 stairs to climb.) A trip (take a bus from the Statione area) to Piazzale Michelangelo Piazzale Michelangelo will give you another spectacular overview of the city.

 

Enjoy your cruise and your day in Firenze.:)

[Fblack]

Be careful about those all day private tours in Italy. I was on the Westerdam last October. The ships tours returning from a day trip to Florence came back quite late. The ship waited for them however. They will not wait for late arriving private tours.

 

Why were they late? The roads were blocked when a huge crowd of soccer fans nearly rioted after a game.

[NAS-KARR]

Always take private tours, you get way more for your money(IMO). As far as what to see ? Why don't you do some research and see what there is that might interest you so you then can map out a plan for FLORENCE, much more gratifying that way.

 

 

CIAO, :D

[Capsu78]

Private tours take the guesswork out of things. My guess is they take people off the ships to the same places every time. They can also get you tickets in advance. If you can put together or join a group of 6-8 and split the costs, its not too bad. They also know the routes and know where, when the traffic backs up so my guess is few people miss their boats due to the fault of the driver. Oh, and make sure, in advance, they have the sticker that allows them street access within center city. They won't drive in without it as the ticket is severe. They can get you right next to places which is a time saver.

 

The ships tours main complaints were that you have to wait for the group to get on , get off and most importantly get back on time to keep the schedule. I recall one story where the whole bus was ready to depart except for one couple. They didn't show for 45 minutes past when they were supposed to. They laughed about it and said, "Oh I set my watch an hour off". "Off with their heads" is what I would have wanted to say.

Also the buses waste time making a bathroom stop at a place with small facilities, and its an opportunity to sell you things you could be buying in Florence. And the buses have to park away from center city so you have to hike in, and back out, and wait for the bus to fill. It's not a laziness issue, but rather an issue of wasted precious time on a day you are already spending a couple hours on the road. However, I can't see a ship pulling away missing an entire busload of people.

 

As for independant travel, well you are on your own in all manners of speaking. You are at the mercy of Italian public transit. I would want to leave a safe cushion for this, again cutting into your small allotment of time in a city with too much to see in a week, let alone a day.

You might want to track this forum, where they discuss the sites and logistics in detail, including local experts.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g187895-Florence_Tuscany.html

Good Luck!

[Love Cruis'n]

We did private tours in Naples & Rome, but at our TA’s suggestion, did Florence on our own, and it was a good decision for us. We bought tickets to see David in advance (worked very well), and got a good map of Florence (for free from the tourist bureau). It is a small, compact town, very easy to do on foot.

 

The only thing I would recommend against is taking the train there from the dock. The day we visited, the trains were on strike, and being a Sunday, there were very few taxis’s dockside. Needless to say, a lot of folks that had planned to train to Florence were left in quite a lurch. We could not help but overhear in a lounge when we returned to the ship after a wonderful day. We used the ships “Florence on your own” and it worked our well for us.

[Moondawgie]

GSPlover, we will be in Florence on a Monday when the major museums are close. Do you know any that are open? If I wanted to go to Lucca, how would I do that other than a tour?

 

Thanks. I'm so happy to speak to someone who lived in the area.

[sailaway5]

We did private tours in Naples & Rome' date=' but at our TA’s suggestion, did Florence on our own, and it was a good decision for us. We bought tickets to see David in advance (worked very well), and got a good map of Florence (for free from the tourist bureau). It is a small, compact town, very easy to do on foot.

 

The only thing I would recommend against is taking the train there from the dock. The day we visited, the trains were on strike, and being a Sunday, there were very few taxis’s dockside. Needless to say, a lot of folks that had planned to train to Florence were left in quite a lurch. We could not help but overhear in a lounge when we returned to the ship after a wonderful day. We used the ships “Florence on your own” and it worked our well for us.[/quote']

 

Thank you everyone. This is just the type of info I am looking for. How did you get your tickets to see David in advance?

 

Also, for anyone who has done private tours, who was the tour company that you used?

 

Thanks again!

[EviesCruisin]

Hey sailaway- from a fellow roll call member

 

My husband's cousin lived in Florence for two years (in about 05/06 -so very recently). I'll be asking her what the must-sees are for the day and sharing with the board members once I hear back. I'm also sending her the cruise ship tours (as of now) to see if there are any that stand out to her, or if private tours would be a better deal..

 

-Evie

[cruiseluv]

GSPlover, we will be in Florence on a Monday when the major museums are close. Do you know any that are open? If I wanted to go to Lucca, how would I do that other than a tour?

 

Thanks. I'm so happy to speak to someone who lived in the area.

 

You could do it via train from Livorno, and change of trains in Pisa. It should take around one hour, maybe a little less.

 

Lucca is a lovely town.

[lszu]

Thank you everyone. This is just the type of info I am looking for. How did you get your tickets to see David in advance?

 

Also, for anyone who has done private tours, who was the tour company that you used?

 

Thanks again!

 

I was there in October. Did a private tour with Limo In Rome. We had a nice group of 8 in a mini-van. The main reason I'd suggest doing private tours is that the little vans can get places the larger busses can't. So instead of having to park far away and walk we could pretty much pull right up to things and get dropped off.

 

We got to see Pisa and a decent amount of Florence. Our driver arranged for tickets to the Accademia to see the David so we didn't have to wait in line.

[cruiseluv]

Iszu,

 

Do you ahve the website of Limo in Rome?

 

Thanks!

[sammiedawg]

The people who took the HAL all day trip to FLorence were most unhappy. They had little free time, the city was crowded, they had to walk miles because tour buses cannot get into the central city. Their biggest complaint was the 2 hours devoted to lunch in a mansion or museum. They wanted to be out touring. We did a private tour, his name was Guido, if you search the board you will find his link, I think it was Tuscany in my pocket ?? It was very expensive esp paying in Euro's but we enjoyed it

The private guides are very conscious of getting you back to the ship on time

Florence is one place a private guide really helps you get around quickly

[GSPLover]

GSPlover, we will be in Florence on a Monday when the major museums are close. Do you know any that are open? If I wanted to go to Lucca, how would I do that other than a tour?

Thanks. I'm so happy to speak to someone who lived in the area.

 

We were there on a Monday last June. Seems to me that most museums were closed (didn't check them all - :D )

 

Lucca is quite simple. (1) Take the train to Pisa (2) Change for a train to Lucca. Probably less than a hour from Livorno. I have not checked but I seriously doubt that there are any through trains to Lucca. (I just checked as curiosity got the best of me.) My hunch was correct. Also the travel time from Livorno is 45-60 minutes approximately. Check http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

 

Great town. Stay out of the bell tower around noon (the noise will kill your ears!)

[GSPLover]

How did you get your tickets to see David in advance?

There is a link at http://english.firenze.net

[texancruzer]

Hmmmm we had a really good experience using the ships "Pisa and Florence On Your Own" tour last November.

 

We are a couple who usually likesto rent a car and do our own thing or take a private tour. But as we booked this cruise very close to our sailing date I ran out of time to research and booked some private and some ship tours.

 

We basically got a bus ride to Pisa....a little background and history information along the way. Then our "guide" walked us to the meeting place and then to the Field of Miracles and then turned us loose. We only had about 1 hr.... but enought to see the Duoma, the Baptistry and the tower. Then back to the bus for the ride to Florence. Same deal. Then we were given 4 hrs. to explore on our own. We did not have any problem with "late people" and had a wonderful day.

 

Florence is amazing. Hope to get back there for more exploring.....one day is not enough let alone 4 hrs.

[sailaway5]

Hey sailaway- from a fellow roll call member

 

My husband's cousin lived in Florence for two years (in about 05/06 -so very recently). I'll be asking her what the must-sees are for the day and sharing with the board members once I hear back. I'm also sending her the cruise ship tours (as of now) to see if there are any that stand out to her, or if private tours would be a better deal..

 

-Evie

Hi Evie: I will be anxious to see what your husband's cousin say the "must-sees" are in Florence. I noticed you posted private tour info on our roll-call. Did you hear back from your cousin? Is the private tour preferred to a ship tour?

 

Thank you to everyone else for all of this valuable information which I have printed out for my Florence file. Still trying to figure out which is the best way to see this port.

[Binok]

We will be visiting Florence for 1 day in October and hear there is much to see in this city.

 

Would like to hear from anyone who has visited on either a Private tour or Ship tour and what you saw. If it is a Private company, who was it and would you use them again.

 

What are the must see's? Did you also see Pisa? We welcome any and all responses.

 

Cheers.

We used the www.romeinlimo.com company in 2006 for Rome, Florence, and Naples. There were 6 of us and we had wonderful experiences. I would not hesitate to use them again. You do have to get your own group together (we did this via our roll call) in order to make it affordable. It was less than the ship's tour and we could tailor the tour to our liking. They also purchased tickets for us to the various attractions so we didn't have to stand in line. We scheduled our return for an hour before the ship was to depart and we were always right on schedule. We are returning in October and I certainly plan to go the private tour route again.

[CruisinHalibuts]

is the way to go. Use Bob's Limousine Tours of Rome- www.romelimousines.com. We used this company for three different tours last year and can not say enough about them. Two major differences for us about taking the cruise ship tour vs. private when going to Pisa/Florence:

 

1) Buses from cruise ship could not enter the city center of Florence. They park and you walk into the walled City. Private tour drives you to each of the sites. Bob's limo tours had the permit to enter and drive in the city. This is a major time saver and extremely convenient,when time is short you want to see as much as possible. Also eliminates a ton of walking because you will walk enough!!

 

2) Statue of David-cruise line tour did not include the Accademia. Bob's Limousine Tours made all of the ticket arrangements for the museum and we were able to see the real statue of David. Also we didn't have to wait in line to enter.

 

Our english speaking driver was at the dock we we left the ship. We had a very nice drive to Pisa and talked alot. He was able to explain so many things. Drove us right to the Pisa sites parked, gave us an overview and we had time to visit on our own. It was so nice to walk right back to the car and leave when we were ready-no need to wait on other passengers. Also, we had a small back pack with us and were comfortable leaving it in the car because he stayed with the car.

 

Saw everything we wanted in Florence and had a very nice lunch. We were back to the ship in plenty of time. We booked our tours online with Bob and paid in Euro's upon our arrival. They also accept plastic. Used Bob's for a Vatican City tour in Rome and that was just as awesome. Bob uses some great guides and is very well aware of the short amount of time cruise passengers have.

[Love Cruis'n]

Iszu,

 

Do you ahve the website of Limo in Rome?

 

Thanks!

 

We used "Limo in Rome" for a private tour in Rome and were pleased.

 

Claudio is quite a character. In a pre-cruise email exchange I asked if there was anything we could bring him from the States. He wanted Peppermint Altoids - said he could not find them locally. So we bought him a Costo sized box. Turns out he was not our driver - had Fabrizo take us around - so we left the Altoids with him. When we came out of the Vatacin, Fabrizo tell us that we just missed Mr. Claudio, he took the Altiods, and left us two bottle of Chanti as a return gift. Whe we got home, there was an email from Claudio, appologzing for not greeting us personally. Yea, I know we had a good one when he provided us his cell phone number, just in case we needed to reach him.

[Moondawgie]

Thank you for all the information.

 

GSPLover - you are always so full of great advice and info.

 

I am a little afraid of the train although I would love to try it. How often do they strike? What is the alternative if you get off the ship and trains are not running?

[taxatty]

We and several of our friends have used Violetta Buti of beautyinitaly.com for both Florence (where she lives) and elsewhere in Tuscany and she has always been great. She will book tickets in advance to whatever you want to see, which saves a huge amount of time.

Les

[lovetodream]

We used "Limo in Rome" for a private tour in Rome and were pleased.

 

Claudio is quite a character. In a pre-cruise email exchange I asked if there was anything we could bring him from the States. He wanted Peppermint Altoids - said he could not find them locally. So we bought him a Costo sized box. Yea' date=' I know we had a good one when he provided us his cell phone number, just in case we needed to reach him.[/quote']

 

Hi there...I just found your post while gathering information about an upcoming cruise to Western Mediterranean.

 

DH and I are doing the Western Med cruise in November '08 and Livorno is one of the stops. This will be my 4th time to Italy but our FIRST CRUISE EVER! We are VERY independent travelers and we intend on doing each port excursion on our own...but NOT Livorno to Florence. DH and I were originally going to Tuscany et al in August '08 for 14 days but opted for a cruise instead.

 

Anyhow...DH wants to do LOTS in Florence, esp either the Uffizi or the Accademia. I am a bit of a "slower-take-it-all-in" type of traveler, yet I am ANXIOUS about missing the ship out of Livorno :eek:

 

I saw your post, especially your interactions with Caludio, and it sounds like EXACTLY what DH and I are looking for!

 

I REALLY like the thought of bringing a gift from the States...that was SO kind of you!!!! You sound like sweet people!

 

Can you tell me all you know about your limo service and how we might be able to get Claudio as our driver...I'm sure we can request him!

 

Thanks SO much for such great info! I really like reading your posts! You seem like great people :)

[GSPLover]

Thank you for all the information.

 

GSPLover - you are always so full of great advice and info.

 

I am a little afraid of the train although I would love to try it. How often do they strike? What is the alternative if you get off the ship and trains are not running?

 

I assume that you are still speaking of Lucca? There are buses. Local bus goes along the coast through Tirrenia (where I lived) and on to Pisa. About 40 minutes if I recall correctly. Not certain of time on bus to Lucca (would take a bit of research time as most online info is in Italian and I'm rusty.)

 

Train strikes are not that common. I'm well over 120 trains and have only encountered 2. In both cases the strike was less than one hour (had pizza with the crew during one of them.) By law, strikes must be posted in the media in advance (however that is sometimes ignored - surprise!)

[lovetodream]

We will be visiting Florence for 1 day in October and hear there is much to see in this city.

 

Would like to hear from anyone who has visited on either a Private tour or Ship tour and what you saw. If it is a Private company, who was it and would you use them again.

 

What are the must see's? Did you also see Pisa? We welcome any and all responses.

 

Cheers.

 

Hi! I just came upon your post! DH and I switched from a 7-day RCCL Western Med cruise to CCL "Freedom 12-day Grand Mediterranean" and we are sailing on October 1, 2008 out of Rome!

 

Are you also on this cruise????

 

I have posted on SEVERAL threads, boards, forums, etc trying to find another soul (or 2) who would be interested in sharing a private, Italian-based, escorted minivan tour (say 6-8 folks) from Livorno to Florence.

 

I have received zero responses!! Zero!

 

Are you on this cruise????? I hope so!!!

 

Thanks!