Travel To Be Free

If we decide to go by ferry, is there a danger of planning to catch the last ferry from PortoVenere at 17:20 (5:20)  to LaSpezia?    

If there is a danger, how readily available are the taxis in front of the Grand Hotel?   

How full are the ferries the first part of September?  Are you able to get the upper outside deck easily?   Do you ever run a danger of missing a certain timed ferry or can you prebook a time?   

I checked with the cruise line and Celebrity Constellation will be docked.  I have two cruises I'm planning at the moment, so I messed up the name of the ship earlier.  lol

On the question regarding Pisa and Lucca, our ship has a pretty reasonable priced tour to those two cities.  You may want to check your excursions.  

5 hours ago, steamboats said:

La Spezia has one docking space and in case there´s a second ship in port that second ship has to tender. Usually the bigger ship gets the docking space (like Oasis Class ship - this year Allure of the Seas - will dock and a second has to tender).

 

steamboats

Do you know on September 3, 2020 what ships will be in?  Our ship is the Constellation of the Seas and I'm hoping we're able to dock.  🙂

What is the best way to go from Portovenere to Riomaggiore if the seas are rough and the ferry is closed?

Good morning!  We were on a boat tour of the CT last May and had to transfer into a smaller boat before going into the harbor.  I believe they only require this during certain months.   Do they still require this in September or do they allow your boat to pull up to let you off at the dock?

Good evening!   We'll be in LaSpezia on a cruise stop.  Going to stop in Portovenere and then will be taking a boat tour of the Cinque Terre.  We may stop at only one of the villages.  My husband and I were in Portovenere last year, however, only had a very short stop at the end of the day.  We decided then we would like to spend more time there on our next trip.  We'll have about 7 hours for the time in Portovenere and the boat tour.  

If we allot 2.5-3 hours for Portovenere, will this be enough time to do some shopping, hike out to Church of St. Peter and have a light lunch?   How many streets might have shopping?

Thanks everyone for the input.  I will give everyone the facts and have them research if they want to do the climb!!  

I agree....  CruiseMom42 is always extremely helpful!!

My husband and I have been to Pisa as a short stop on a land tour and just did photos, no climb of tower.   We will be in LaSpezia for a cruise stop with family.   They want to see the leaning Tower of Pisa, as so famous.  However, we are also trying to fit in PortoVenere and a short private boat excursion of the Cinque Terre.  
 

if we get a 9 o’clock tower entrance to do the climb, how long does it take to go up AND down and see the Cathedral, which opens at 10?

As we dock at 6:30, we could be at Pisa by 7:30, get the famous pictures and be on our way at 8:30.  If we wait until the tower opens at 9, we won’t be on our way until 10:30.  This 2 hours would give us more time in the CT.  

Any thoughts as to the importance of climbing the tower?

I am deciding between the following two transport companies for transport from Civitavecchi to Rome and then back at the end of the day:

  (1) NCC Airport Shuttle

  (2) Rome Shuttle Limousines

Has anyone had experience with either one or both of these companies?  

Are they reliable and punctual?

Good afternoon!  We were here last year and had a private boat tour from LaSpezia.  We had lunch in Vernazza.  They had us get from our boat into a smaller boat to be rowed into the city.  Is this normal?  It wasn't too difficult for the four of us that time, however, a member of our group this year had knee surgery about a year ago.  I want to be sure it's not too difficult in changing boats for her.  Any thoughts?  

This is so very true....  I had forgotten about this.  Thanks for the reminder!

We are in on a cruise to Naples (7-7) and are going to Capri first thing in the morning.  At noon, we would like to have a boat tour around the island, seeing the natural arch, large rock formations and maybe one or two small grottos.  (Not the Blue Grotto as extra time and cost.)  Then we would like to be taken to Sorrento and dropped off there.  I will be sending notes to a few boat companies.  What is a good amount of time to request for this type of tour?  Is 1.5-2 hours enough time?

Instead of the ferry, does anyone have recommendations for a private boat company in Portovenere that may do "short" excursions and have reasonable rates?

The Bellevue Syrene in Sorrento is the one I really like!!  

Il Geranio looks nice, how far from Capri town is this?  Do you need a taxi?  

Ristorante Panorama may be a good option as looks like close to Capri town....   (Ristorante Pulalli may be one I do if just my husband and I return.  Great location!)

We will be in Portovenere for 3-4 hours and then would like a short 2-3 hour tour that goes by the Cinque Terre and then drop us back in La Spezia.  Does anyone have any recommendations?

On 2/9/2020 at 11:39 AM, TMLAalum said:

As did John in the above post, we also spent 3 nights in Monterosso before we boarded a Celebrity cruise out of Civitavecchia with our first port-of-call being La Spezia. Our land visit to the Cinque Terre was disappointing due to crowds in all the villages during the day. It was more enjoyable in the evenings when the cruisers had departed.

 

This is my recommendation for LaSpezia. Don't try to visit the main Cinque Terre villages. Instead head to Portovenere!

We took the public bus to/from LaSpezia, although you could take a ferry. In Portovenere we took a one hour 3 Island boat tour, walked to the church & fort atop the hill, had lunch at a small bistro and enjoyed the relaxed pace of our day.

Here is a link to a Forbes article on Portovenere:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/catherinesabino/2019/07/14/9-reasons-to-visit-the-cinque-terres-gorgeous-sixth-townportovenere/#7a176e330264

The boat tour...  we would love a 2-3 hour boat tour of the Cinque Terre and then back to La Spezia from Portovenere.  Do you have a recommendation and approximate price?

Does anyone have a suggestion on Capri of a restaurant with a beautiful view?  I have one I love in Sorrento, however, the way we're doing our trip, we will be in Capri at lunch time.

Does anyone have a suggestion on Capri of a restaurant with a beautiful view?  I have one I love in Sorrento, however, the way we're doing our trip, we will be in Capri at lunch time.  

Planning a day in Rome for 7 Adults.  We are planning to take a transport company INTO Rome.  Going to end at St. Peter's/The Vatican.   The transport company said we should leave there at 4 as there could be traffic problems.  (Ship leaves at 7)  

(1) Would it be more reliable to book seats on the 4:38 (16:38) Express train back to Civitavecchia?  

(2) How close to schedule does this Express Train stay as far as getting back at 5:20 (17:20)?  

(3) If we book return with the transport company at 4, would you consider this enough time?

20 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

From what Port? Livorno? Try Rome in Limo.

From LaSpezia.

We are a party of 7 adults and would like to fit in Pisa first thing in the morning via van and then after drive to Portovenere.  Does anyone know a reasonable transport company?  We know train is probably cheaper, however, we are trying to make good use of our time so we can possible do a little of the Cinque Terre after Portovenere.