Oceania's Cinque Terre excursion (from La Spezia) ?

Does anyone have any recent information about excursions to Cinque Terre, when docked at La Spezia?

Also, what specifically does Oceania offer there?

Are there any choices to do this mostly "by sea", without a lot of walking?

Or does anyone have suggestions about private boat tours of Cinque Terre?

(Yup, we've posted that question on the Ports of Call section, too :))

Many thanks!

GC

Sicily By Mario does a tour from La Spezia to Cinque Terre. We did not use him for there but for other tours and he was great. You an also do it on your own fairly easily. We took a cab from the port to the train station in La Spezia and then used the train all day to go from one town to the other. There is also a ferry that will take you to all the towns except Corniglia which is the only one not on the water.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

End of October 2016 we did Oceania's boat excursion for Cinqua Terre. Viewed 4 of 5 from the water, 2 or 3 hours free time in the 5th, the 2nd town from the west or 4th from the east. People on another excursion travelled on the same boat but got off at a town on the point before the Terre. The boat tour is subject to weather, the alternative is the train. The boat used for the Oceania tours is the same type as used for the regular ferry runs through all of these ports.

Sorry for not providing more details, we are on a cruise now and Don't have the data readily available.

End of October 2016 we did Oceania's boat excursion for Cinqua Terre. Viewed 4 of 5 from the water, 2 or 3 hours free time in the 5th, the 2nd town from the west or 4th from the east. People on another excursion travelled on the same boat but got off at a town on the point before the Terre. The boat tour is subject to weather, the alternative is the train. The boat used for the Oceania tours is the same type as used for the regular ferry runs through all of these ports.

Sorry for not providing more details, we are on a cruise now and Don't have the data readily available.

Thanks. This is a help.

When you got off the boat, did you have to walk far to catch the boat elsewhere, or, if one preferred, could you wait near the boat drop-off/pick-up point?

Did the boat just wait there, or did the tour group catch a different ferry boat?

Did the boat have covered areas?

Approximately how big is it?

(We can get on/off okay. But walking long distances won't work, nice as it might be, and nice as it used to be...)

GC

Thanks. This is a help.

 

When you got off the boat, did you have to walk far to catch the boat elsewhere, or, if one preferred, could you wait near the boat drop-off/pick-up point?

Did the boat just wait there, or did the tour group catch a different ferry boat?

 

Did the boat have covered areas?

Approximately how big is it?

 

(We can get on/off okay. But walking long distances won't work, nice as it might be, and nice as it used to be...)

Same boat for return at the same dock, seats on rocks in the area or cafes close by, town is very small around a harbor, even smaller than Portofino. Used the same dock as the ferry, there is only one place for each town that this size boat can use, about 50+feet, can hold over 100 people with mostly inside seating. Only problem area may be getting on and off, they hold the boat straight to the dock, use a plank/ramp from the very center of the bow, has handrails and crew is helpful. At la Spezia, the boat came to load right at the Riviera, again using the bow ramp to load from the impromptu dock.

Thanks. This is a help.

 

When you got off the boat, did you have to walk far to catch the boat elsewhere, or, if one preferred, could you wait near the boat drop-off/pick-up point?

Did the boat just wait there, or did the tour group catch a different ferry boat?

 

Did the boat have covered areas?

Approximately how big is it?

 

(We can get on/off okay. But walking long distances won't work, nice as it might be, and nice as it used to be...)

Same boat for return at the same dock, seats on rocks in the area or cafes close by, town is very small around a harbor, even smaller than Portofino. Used the same dock as the ferry, there is only one place for each town that this size boat can use, about 50+feet, can hold over 100 people with mostly inside seating. Only problem area may be getting on and off, they hold the boat straight to the dock, use a plank/ramp from the very center of the bow, has handrails and crew is helpful. At la Spezia, the boat came to load right at the Riviera, again using the bow ramp to load from the impromptu dock.

 

Thanks so much.

This should work just fine, then.

Getting in and out of tenders (with some help if too much rocking) is okay, so this should be fine, too.

 

I'll still try to find a private tour, but it won't be so worrisome if we can't.

(It would be a great surprise for DH :))

 

GC

My guess is that the town the excursion would stop is Vernazza (perhaps arima22 can confirm). If so my recollection was that the area was pretty flat in that area...opening up to a square, surrounded by cafes.

Here is a picture that I found on the internet...

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=JIfPAy4R&id=87C0DC9830FABFDEDA7400D3B50861EC6323F0DF&thid=OIP.JIfPAy4RCL-R_s9563F7xQHaFj&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia-cdn.tripadvisor.com%2Fmedia%2Fphoto-s%2F0a%2F37%2F1a%2Fc7%2Fthe-ferry-landing.jpg&exph=412&expw=550&q=picture+ferry+dock+vernazza+cinque+terre&simid=608050350767540537&selectedindex=12&ajaxhist=0

Yes, and when you open up the whole series of photos on that Bing search site you will even see one of the ferry tied straight into that stone pier.

My guess is that the town the excursion would stop is Vernazza (perhaps arima22 can confirm). If so my recollection was that the area was pretty flat in that area...opening up to a square, surrounded by cafes.

 

Here is a picture that I found on the internet...

 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=JIfPAy4R&id=87C0DC9830FABFDEDA7400D3B50861EC6323F0DF&thid=OIP.JIfPAy4RCL-R_s9563F7xQHaFj&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia-cdn.tripadvisor.com%2Fmedia%2Fphoto-s%2F0a%2F37%2F1a%2Fc7%2Fthe-ferry-landing.jpg&exph=412&expw=550&q=picture+ferry+dock+vernazza+cinque+terre&simid=608050350767540537&selectedindex=12&ajaxhist=0

Thanks. These photos were just perfect.

I think the ship's tour should be great.

Do any of you remember the approximate per person cost?

CruiseCritic is *such* a help :)

GC

The Cinque Terre coastal ferry is delightful, both the views of the villages from the sea and the villages themselves. But you will save a lot of money if you DIY this trip! The ferry is pretty cheap and you just need to get to the pier from where your ship is docked. If it's too far to walk, I would think there would be a taxi to take you. The only concern is planning your schedule (you should be able to visit at least two of the villages, maybe three with an early start) so you are back on board before sailaway.

When at La sepia last year there was a port shuttle to the port gate, and from there to the ferry was only 5 minutes walk at most. We were at the end of the season and it was a public holiday so no ferries were actually running so can't advise on cost other than there was a big gap between the ferry price and the tour price. However on the day the O tours had a private boat (exactly the same as the ferries) and that was available despite the holiday.

This is the ferry website

http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/en/