Legend -- Italy Cruise

[ggo85]

Has anyone taken the Italy cruise on the Legend (Rome to Rome) that goes primarily to Italy (also Croatia) but does NOT visit Greece, Turkey, Monaco, etc.? I believe it's only offered on one sailing in 2009 but there was a similar cruise in 2008.

 

We are considering it and wondered if anyone who'd taken it could provide comments or advice. Specifically: (1) did you have sufficient time in Venice and Florence; (2) for which ports did you think shore excursions (vs. doing it on your own) were necessary or unnecessary; (3) any tips in terms of port/starboard cabins, (4) is this a cruise where a balcony/larger stateroom is important, (5) other than Venice and Florence, are the ports interesting?

 

Any other thoughts, suggestions or tips would be much appreciated. Many thanks!

[DougYWG]

We took the July 22nd sailing on that exact itinerary. Lovely ship, had a great time. There are three sea days which we enjoy. You need that otherwise it becomes far too port-intensive, you get no chance to recover and you get back home exhausted.

 

You have two days in Livorno (for Florence & Tuscany) and two days in Venice. We think that's enough.

We took the ship's tour in Portofino for the Cinque Terre. You might be able to do that on your own but it's not so straightforward. In Livorno, we had a party of 8 and a private tour for Tuscany one day, on the second we made our own way to Sienna. Taking your own train to Florence is quite feasible. (We didn't do Florence since we had been there for 10 days two years ago.) We took the ship's bus to Taormina (from Messina) and at Dubrovnik. We did Split and Venice on our own. At Naples, the same party of 8 had another private tour for Pompeii and Amalfi coast.

I would think that choice of cabin is neither here nor there. The ship sails in darkness. Entering and leaving Venice is in daylight and you'll be on deck anyway. Spectacular! Take an inside and spend the difference on wine!

The shore highlights for us were Cinque Terre, Sienna & San Gimignano, Pompeii and Venice. I also have to say that Italy was too hot and humid and too many people. We knew that before booking but we were locked in to school holidays so you either go or you don't. We went. Be happy to offer any other opinions.

[Zhena]

We did this itinerary on April 13, with a few nights pre-cruise in Rome, then by train to Civitavecchia (we travel light). All ports are interesting and quite do-able on your own:

Portofino – missed this port because the seas were too rough to tender.

Livorno – First day short shuttle ride to bus, short bus ride to train station, train to Florence, walk to museums/sights (take bus #7 to Fiesole for a truly spectacular view of the city and countryside). Second day, train to Pisa. (Some passengers overnighted in Florence to have two full days there.)

Messina – bus or train to Taormino. So many of us converged on the bus station that they arranged a charter to take us there and return for us in the afternoon. Lovely, lovely hillside town.

Split – take a bus to Trogir (half hour), explore the old city for a couple of hours then return to Split for a walk around there.

Venice – two days is quite enough. Ship docked within walking distance (mile or so) of vaporetto station.

Dubrovnik – bus to the city to walk around the wall.

Naples - #1 bus or streetcar to station, then 20 minutes by train to Pompeii. To do the Amalfi coast as well you’ll need a ship or private tour.

Agree with previous poster – Italy was crowded in April, shudder to think what it’s like in the summer. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me at hotmail.com. My user name is heymargew.

[blambition]

We leave for this cruise in two weeks with a couple of days in Rome before hand. Needless to say we are very excited and are now counting the days.

We have tours planned for Rome, Naples (Amalfi coast), Taormina, and Tuscany along with taking the train into Florence for the day. Is there enough to do in Split just wandering around? We are not planning anything ahead of time for Venice, Split, Dubrovnik, Portofino as we thought we would just walk the towns. Any additional suggestions would be appreciated. I am sure we will buy a vaperetto pass in Venice so we can go back and forth on the canal. Any restaurant suggestions that will not break the bank? I believe in Portofino we will go back to the ship to eat as I have heard that that is one place where food is very expensive and it is not necesssary to eat in town if you do not have an excursion planned. Other stops we will most likely have lunch in the port. Venice we would like to have dinner if we can find a restaurant that will give us ambience without causing us to take a homeloan.

[ggo85]

^^^^

 

Thanks for all the tips. We'll be going in June so know it will be HOT!!! but were in the Med a year ago in July/August so have some idea what we're in for.

 

An interesting tip re staying O/N in Florence. How long does it take to get from the ship to town there? Can you make two day-trips of it?

 

Also, were there any ship-sponsored shore excusions that you particularly liked or did not like? I must admit that, even after 11 cruises, we tend either to take the cruise-sponsored ones or do the city (walking) on our own. I've very hesitant to take non-ship-sponsored tours for fear they won't get us back on time or, if we don't make the port (which happened on our last cruise at Palma due to a tug strike), we forfeit our $, or if we arrive late into port . . . you get the picture. I know that many people do it VERY successfully and much more cheaply but we're scaredy-cats!

 

Note: our itinerary does NOT go to Split (for 2009 they've knocked off one day and one port from the 2008 itinerary).

 

Any tips re the ship? My parents and I cruised it in 1996 to Alaska but it was a long time ago and a galaxy . . .

 

Do you know if they offer: (1) anytime dining and/or (2) tables for two? Is the pool scene obscene (crowded, chair hogging) on at-sea days or is it manageable? I read that they have an adults-only pool? Is that true and do they enforce it?

 

Finally, is there anything (ship or shore related) you wished you'd done that you didn't do (i.e., someone else raved about) or something you did that, in retrospect, you wish you hadn't done/had done something else.

 

Thanks again SO much for your help and advice!

[Zhena]

It takes about two hours from ship to Florence.

 

Sorry - did not take any ship-sponsored excursions so can't comment on them.

[DougYWG]

Fixed dining only. Tables for two should be no problem. You can request that but likely won't get it. Take what you get the first night then sweet-talk the maitre'd. It has never failed us on any cruise.

 

There is an adults-only pool. We were relaxing reading and some kids were making a bit too much noise so we got the pool attendant to scare them away.

 

There is no speciality dining room but they did offer a romantic dinner for two, aft on Deck 9. Limited to 20 people. It was an experiment but we loved it. (It was offered only twice on a 13-day cruise) They had red carpets laid out, there was a fixed menu with beautiful canapes etc etc. We started with a glass of bubbly and every course had its own well-chosen wine. The string duo played in the background. Service was attentive and very polished. They really pulled out the stops to make it an occasion. Cocktails started as we were leaving Livorno, the coast receded, the sun went down, the lights came on....

 

We got talking to the other couples and went on till well after midnight. It was a splendid evening. $95 per head, if I remember right. Well worth it.