Harrijc

We had a wonderful time on two the tours we booked with ItalyTours.EU in May 2018. The first was a tour of Florence and Pisa from Livorno. The lovely young woman, Virginia, who guided us through Florence and the Accademia was outstanding. We will always remember the stories she told and the explanations of the art and architecture of Florence. I would highly recommend the Florence-Pisa tour from Livorno to anyone. Pickup at the port was on time and we made it back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

The weather did not cooperate with us during our Naples-Pompeii-AmalfiCoast tour but we had a wonderful time anyway. It was cool and rainy as we made our way through Pompeii so we moved along fairly quickly. A suggestion for improvement is to ask the guide to use a microphone with earbuds during the tour similar to the one used by the guide in Florence. I could hardly keep up with the fast pace and missed some of her expert commentary. This would probably not have been problem if it had not been raining. Our drive along the Amalfi Coast was incredible! Our driver was Gianluca and his commentary about Positano and Sorrento was amusing and informative. I still can’t believe how he was able to navigate the narrow, twisty road and still have a sense of humor. Now, that I am home I regret I did not buy more at the Limoncello factory. Again, I would highly recommend this tour.

For both tours, the drivers were prompt and courteous. The guides were knowledgeable and friendly while keeping control of the group. The vehicles were modern, clean and comfortable. Prices were significantly lower than those offered by NCL. You won’t go wrong using ItalyTours.EU.

Hi taxis were lined up as we left the arrivals hall. Grab a map from the small info desk and outside are port shuttle and taxi rank. We paid €15 in July and went straight to Sagrada. There is a guy who will sort you for each taxi so no queue jumping. Buy tickets for Sagrada online much easier. From there we walked back towards Las Pedrera and carried on towards Las Ramblas. The walk back is flat and easy going. Once back at the Columbus statue the port shuttle's are across the road.

Thank you so much. This sounds like what we will do.

Do you know if taxis are readily available at the port? We have 5 adults traveling together but don’t really want to take a tour.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/editor/separator.gif[/img]331963]That sounds great. I'm trying to figure out if I want to do Rome before the cruise or after. The day we arrive back to Civitavecchia is a Sunday and a lot to see in Vatican City will be closed. Sounds like it might be better to do Rome pre-cruise' date=' Tues, Wed, then part of day Thursday and leave on cruise Thursday. I don't think we have to be on the ship until around 3 pm. Anyone done it that way?[/quote']

 

We get into Rome on Monday after a red eye flight from the States and will stay in a hotel near the Pantheon. We plan to sight see on Monday pm until we crash and then do some sightseeing (walking around mostly) on Tuesday and Wednesday morning before the ship sails on Wednesday afternoon. After we return to Rome, we will have our 'formal' sightseeing tours - Vatican, Coliseum, Roman Forum, etc. for 2 days and then return to the States. I totally agree with everyone who says it's best to try and stay awake the first day as long as possible,

Hi again......Thanks for the quick response. I'm never quite sure where I can ask questions about tours but since you had good luck with them, I feel better about it. We will be on the May 6th cruise on the Epic out of Barcelona, so before when you will go. This is our first time to Europe ever and probably the only time, so I want to make sure to see as much as possible without going into debt! We have cruised many times but not over there and the cruisetours are so expensive. We go at that time because daughter's birthday falls that week and the weather here is nice for flying out anywhere. I hope it will not be too cool over there on the ship at that time.....it's hard to judge since we are usually in the Caribbean. Thank you so much and have a great cruise with your family........Patti

Hi Patti,

We will be on the May 9th cruise on the Epic out of Rome, so you will be on the ship when we get on in Rome. I've been researching shore excursions and ItalyTours.EU has a lot of very good reviews. If we use them, we will take the Best of Florence & Pisa on May 10 and the Pompeii, Sorrento & Amalfi Coast Tours on May 15. We are also looking at ItalyCruisesPrivateTours.com and DriveinRome.com. Weather in the Mediterranean should be in the 70's degrees F. Not too cool but not hot. We were in Paris last year during the first week of May and it was fairly cool with most days between 55-65 degrees F. But Rome is much further south so we're hoping for warmth. Hope I get to meet you.. . Jenny