Can I see Cinque Terre or any coastline from the ship?

Hello All,

This will be my first European cruise. I am wondering how close we cruise to the coast? Is it possible to see anything from the ship as we are sailing? I really want to see Cinque Terre from the water. Two of our ports are Livorno and Portofino. If we can't see anything from the ship, which port would you recommend to take an excursion to Cinque Terre? Are there benefits to taking it from Livorno or Portofino? it seems it is midway between the two?

So many questions I have as I start researching this cruise! Thank you all for your help!

Hello All,

 

This will be my first European cruise. I am wondering how close we cruise to the coast? Is it possible to see anything from the ship as we are sailing? I really want to see Cinque Terre from the water. Two of our ports are Livorno and Portofino. If we can't see anything from the ship, which port would you recommend to take an excursion to Cinque Terre? Are there benefits to taking it from Livorno or Portofino? it seems it is midway between the two?

 

So many questions I have as I start researching this cruise! Thank you all for your help!

Unfortunately, I highly doubt that you will see any of the Cinque Terre villages from your ship. Portofino, like the Cinque Terre, is also located on the Italian Rivera and is much closer to the Cinque Terre than is Livorno.

The Costa Concordia probably cured any captain of the urge to get anywhere near the coast.

We've been on several Med cruises and I was surprised at how quickly the ship gets away from land (unless there is no choice).'

Remember you are sailing at 5 or 6 pm (or later), so darkness is a consideration. Plus, even if they are 5-10 miles off the shore, you aren't going to see any detail worth looking at. You are going to see cliffs, maybe with some funny colored spots. No detail.

Your ship is scheduled to leave Livorno at 10PM. You might see some lights in the distance.

Ah, darn. I will have to figure out how to see it on the ferry then. I just started looking at the ports for the cruise and I am OVERWHELMED on how much there is to see and do! I have no idea how to weed it all out, but at least I have time.

Thank you all for your answers. :)