5 euros each to leave the ship

[cazzer12]

Was the shuttle bus at Livorno a princess shuttle for 5 euros per person? And does this shuttle take you into the centre of Livorno?

[TxPepper]

Was the shuttle bus at Livorno a princess shuttle for 5 euros per person? And does this shuttle take you into the centre of Livorno?

 

The shuttle is independent of Princess services...but if you want to leave the port you have to take the port-sponsored shuttle. However, with that said, it was worth the price and it takes you to a central square. This is a round-trip price and unlimited in use if I remember correctly. [Ask me about the Constanta, Romania port huttle...grrrrrr.]

 

At the central square you can then catch a bus to Pisa which was 12Euro per person roundtrip (which is what we did)...or to Florence (don't know the price)...or catch another bus to the train station. Or just walk around.

 

There was a one-time shuttle bus that left at a specific time from the ship/port that would take one directly to the train station but I don't remember what the fee was for that. I think this was particularly targeted to those who were going to Florence.

 

Caveat: Trains, planes, and other forms of mass transit are notorious for going on strike at a drop of a hat in Italy...and France...and England. So if there is not an option to take a taxi or bus back to the ship, then I would give extra consideration to taking a ship sponsored cruise for those distances that are more than one-hour away.

Edited July 27, 2015 by TxPepper

[paul929207]

I believe the shuttle in question was provided by Livorno and took passengers only to the port gate. Passengers were not allowed to walk from the ship to the gate

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree about going to the port gate. There is no place for pedestrians to walk inside the port and it is very dangerous (truck traffic).

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

 

Well I for one would consider that five euro's to drive me safely out of the working port area is a bargain !

 

In these "working ports" cruise passengers are just a nuisance and most of these working ports would be quite happy if cruise ships did not call there.They make their living from CARGO :eek:

 

As an older cruiser I would be more than happy to avoid the long walk through a working port with all its hazards and I can imagine the dangers of trying to get children safely through.

 

 

Some places were cruise passengers are likely to spend money in their local area provide "free" shuttles but some places which are just jumping off points for tours to other area's do not.

 

Many ports around the world including ports in the USA will not let you walk through this is nothing new and has been happening for years.

 

regards

John

[AKman2495]

I'm not sure how feel about this but in Livarno today you couldn't leave the ship ( the port ) unless you paid 5 euros pp. you couldn't walk out the port, you either had to go by shuttle, taxi or princess tour. I do feel it's wrong for Princess not to actually get you out of the port for free.

 

I agree with the others who say that Princess is not the problem. Princess is not actually charging you to leave the port-the town is.

 

There is little you can do but complain to anyone who will listen. The city will collect its 5 euros, like it or not...

[emmak8]

Passengers should Know about the charge ahead of time. Only fair.

[RDC1]

Princess advertise an itinary sailing to Livarno, so yes they should pay. If delta flew you dallas and the wanted $5 for you to exit the airplane would this be ok. But don't woory the crew only have to pay€2

 

To use your analogy there are a number of places where international airlines fly you to airports, where you have to pay a fee before you can leave the airport. There are also some where you have to pay before they let you leave the airport and climb on the plane (Narita airport in Japan for example). There are also numerous places where the airport are far outside of the city and you have to pay some kind of shuttle service to actually get to the town.

 

There are also other ports where local port authorities do not let you walk off of the ship (St Petersburg comes to mind) without have a purchased service.

[satxdiver]

The charge leaves a bad taste in one's mouth and is simply a ripoff by the locals. It makes one want to not spend any money or the least amount in that port city. It definitely is not a good move on the part of the city so I hope they choke on it.

[pris993]

I have been to Livorno many times on several lines, Princess, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, to name a few... in recent years there is a charge for the local shuttle bus because it is an industrial port. This is a common practice in other industrail ports in Europe, only exception is when the port/local merchants provide a shuttle.

[Skai]

Then what does Princess do?

 

 

Stop going to Livorno until this "tribute" payment is removed.

[Astro Flyer]

Good luck with convincing passengers to avoid going to Florence, Pisa, Lucca & Tuscany wine tasting because a few passengers not on tours (independent or Princess) need to pay €5 to go into Livorno. :rolleyes:

Edited July 28, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Colo Cruiser]

Good luck with convincing passengers to avoid going to Florence, Pisa, Tuscany, etc because a few passengers not on tours (independent or Princess) need to pay €5 to go into Livorno. :rolleyes:

 

 

I know right! :eek:

[shredie]

Stop going to Livorno until this "tribute" payment is removed.

 

You're serious? :)

[Josy1953]

It is an unfortunate fact of life that local authorities impose charges that we (as cruisers) do not particularly like but we all have a choice as to whether we pay them in that in cases like Livorno we can choose not to leave the ship.

 

In Spain any purchases made on board are subject to Spanish tax so we do not buy any drinks (the only thing that we are likely to buy on board in port) on board until the ship leaves port. I think that the 5 euro charge in Livorno can be viewed in the same way.

 

For me Livorno does not have a lot to recommend itself unless you are leaving the ship to take a tour so when we visit there we will probably stay on board as we have been there several time and have already done all of the tours that we are interested in.

[Pushka]

La Spezia is an alternative to Livorno.

If your ship goes to a port outside the EU - eg Kotor or Dubrovnik or Istanbul you do not pay that Spanish tax.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Pushka

[murphyjl]

Was in Bergen on the Norway cruise this year. The port of Bergen is industrial and too dangerous for passengers on foot. A free shuttle was provided not sure if Princess or Bergen port provided it. Probably find Norwat can afford to lay on a free shuttle to promote the city. Italy on the other hand is skint.

[SwissDave]

The Livorno shuttle charge is not new. It has been in place since at least 2013. It is not a Princess charge.

 

http://www.livornonow.com/how_to_get_from_your_cruise_ship_to_livorno_city_centre

[flamomo]

Since ports in Europe tend to be "working ports", where cargo handling is going on in the immediate area of where cruise ships dock, it really is a safety issue. Walking thru those areas to get to the port gate cannot be considered safe, and it is sometimes a long walk to the gate too. Cruisers should not be dodging cargo traffic on the way to and from the gate.

 

In situation like that, one just needs to suck it up and consider it a part of the cost of their travels, and just pay and move forward.

 

However, it would be nice if the cruise line would publish things like that pre-cruise, so people would not be surprised with it. The usual expectation is that the port fees and taxes we pay as part of the cruise fare covers things like that.

[Matcodixon]

Stop going to Livorno until this "tribute" payment is removed.

 

This suggestion coming from someone that does not list a Mediterranean cruise in the history. No wonder..

 

Dixon

[tetleytea]

He practices what he preaches. What's wrong with that?

[Matcodixon]

He practices what he preaches. What's wrong with that?

 

Yes I totally agree!

 

"That's just funny, I don't care who you are!"

 

Dixon

[Level six]

I posted a thread like this on the Europe forum when I got back from my Med cruise in Feb 2015, except it was about NCL, who charged $12 pp to leave the port. No other means of transportation available except NCL excursions, pre-planned tours or the $12 bus. I was as mad as you are about it because I felt like I should have known about the fee ahead of time.

 

It is not the fee, it is just that it is not mentioned in any of the communications from the cruise line that bothered me. If you read the thread, you will see that I got flamed by some, supported by some, but basically I was the one who was blamed for either "not doing research" (which I did and had even asked about it on the forum before my cruise and was told it was a free shuttle), or "don't visit" or "blah, blah, blah".

 

The point is, the ship should not be able to list this on their itinerary if you are not able to leave the ship without paying a fee, and visit the town. If you are not able to do that, then the cruise line should not be able to advertise it as a port, IMO.

 

When you book the cruise, you should get an itinerary (like I did with my upcoming south pacific cruise) that shows when you will tender and if there is an associated fee with leaving the port, how hard would that be? Then passengers are told about the fee ahead of time and are expecting it.

 

Yes, it did show up in the patter the night before, but it did not say it was the ONLY way to leave port. We did not know this until we were off the ship and not allowed to walk into town. I understand it being a busy port, I understand it is a far walk, I understand ALL those things. I just don't understand why it is such a big secret to not let the passengers know ahead of time. Do they think we will all cancel our cruise or not book...........I don't think that is even a consideration. If you want to go to Pisa, Florence, etc, $12 pp will not stop you so why are the cruise lines so hush hush about it?

Edited July 28, 2015 by Level six

[Matcodixon]

Having been to the Livorno port on the Ruby Princess, I can say that if you took either a private tour or simply a transportation only tour, this fee was included. In fact, it seemed to be a total non issue at that time and never heard a single complaint about this. I guess very few had any desire to simply walk the very long distance out of the port. Paying for bus ride seems like a logical answer.

 

But that may be just me.

 

Dixon.

 

BTW Florence and Pisa are both beautiful and well worth the visit.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Matcodixon

[Pierlesscruisers]

Princess advertise an itinary sailing to Livarno, so yes they should pay. If delta flew you dallas and the wanted $5 for you to exit the airplane would this be ok.

 

Disagree. They advertised a sailing to Livarno, they provided you transportation there. Should they have to pay something for every passenger regardless of whether the passenger wanted to go into Livarno or not? That makes as little sense as the city (or somebody other than Princess) charging you in the first place. What that will probably end up doing is all the cruise ships just not even sailing into that port at all! I'd say that would be fitting and proper. The charge is nothing but corporate greed changed into local greed and exported to a port in Italy!

 

In your analogy, Delta, and most other airlines, would probably stop flying into Dallas! Well, they probably would keep flying until the passengers stopped going to Dallas anyway. ;)

 

Tom