Anyone done Celebrity's Cinque Terre excursion from Livorno?

[tartana]

Just curious if anyone has done Celebrity's Cinque Terre excursion from Livorno? I am booked to do it in September, and I'm just wondering how it was. Normally, I would have avoided the ships tour; however, I have read it's a very long, risky day to try to do that one on your own from Livorno. Hence, the ship's tour lol...TIA!

[pennys mum]

We did it in June. We took the coach to village one. Had about 1hour free time. Took a boat ride to look at villages 2,3 and 4 from the sea. Went to village 5 had laughable wine tasting event (through a shop) and then had about 3 hours free time. Walked about 15 minutes to a train station. Got off after 1 stop (7minutes) walked to coach and back to ship. I saw a posting recently where the people did it on their own and at least they visited all 5 villages unlike us. It was a very expensive tour and a long day.

[Livin Life]

We did the ship's tour, and, because of weather, it was not a pleasant experience. Once you are let off the bus, you will not see it again for several hours. You walk, train, and boat thru the villages. It was raining when we left the ship, and Celebrity did not cancel the tour and your cost was non-refundable at that time.

 

It rained hard the entire day. The worst part, which ended up being dangerous, was getting onto the ferry boat. You had to go over slippery rocks, and then waves were going above the ramp from shore to the front of the ferry. This ferry boat is not exclusive to your tour group, as you share it with any other tourists or locals wanting to take it at that time. We felt the ferry was overloaded. Additionally, because of the weather you could not see any of the picturesque scenery.

 

This tour was in April a few years ago at the end of our transatlantic crossing, and we were B2B to Greece and Istanbul. We both got bronchitis which affected us on the 2nd leg. There are no weather guarantees, and I am sure this could be a wonderful tour, but there was no flexibility from Celebrity once you left the ship. If we were to do this again, we would probably prefer a local tour company that could alter plans as the weather dictated.

[ORV]

Also keep in mind that after a certain time of the year the ferry stops running. You might to check what the schedule is on that. We took a tour after it stopped and took trains once we got out of the bus. No ferries.

 

I've been there twice and would highly recommend going. Very unique area.

[dutchclogs]

Any tour of the Cinque Terre is weather sensitive. We had to adjust a private tour on the day two years ago because the ferry was not running, the problem being as others post, the difficulty getting on and off. The train can also get very crowded although later in the year (we visited on a weekend in high summer) this is probably less likely. Still, it is a lovely place to visit if you can,

[TFLG]

We did it on our own. Took the train to the farthest village, then hiked to village 2. That nearly killed my wife and I was pretty tired too. If you are in reasonable shape it's a fun hike. Some of our group hiked to village 3. They were all just about dead after that hike as it's all up hill on that one. We took the train, there is a shuttle bus to the top. We enoyed a nice dinner with an amazing view. skipped 4 and 5, jsut took the train back to town. It was no problem at all doing it on our own.

[tartana]

Thanks everyone - You all describe it about the ways Celebrity advertises it. They do say the boat part depends on the weather, and if it is poor, that part is by train. I go in September, so we're hoping for a beautiful sunny day 🌞

[RickT]

We did this excursion 2 years ago While we don't normally do ships tours we felt the distance and risk with Cinque Terre made it worthwhile. We were not disappointed. It was nice to see the sights without worry that Traffic or other issues would cause us to be late. The weather was fantastic and we were really glad we did it.

[tartana]

We did this excursion 2 years ago While we don't normally do ships tours we felt the distance and risk with Cinque Terre made it worthwhile. We were not disappointed. It was nice to see the sights without worry that Traffic or other issues would cause us to be late. The weather was fantastic and we were really glad we did it.

Hoping for the same :) Thanks!

[A Sixth?]

We did it on our own. Took the train to the farthest village, then hiked to village 2. That nearly killed my wife and I was pretty tired too. If you are in reasonable shape it's a fun hike. Some of our group hiked to village 3. They were all just about dead after that hike as it's all up hill on that one. We took the train, there is a shuttle bus to the top. We enoyed a nice dinner with an amazing view. skipped 4 and 5, jsut took the train back to town. It was no problem at all doing it on our own.

 

Do you remember how much the train cost and how far from port is the station?

 

Only been there once and just walked to the bus station to catch a tour to Pisa run by the chamber of commerce

Edited August 5, 2017 by A Sixth?

[TFLG]

Do you remember how much the train cost and how far from port is the station?

 

Only been there once and just walked to the bus station to catch a tour to Pisa run by the chamber of commerce

 

Our ship was docked in La Spezia. There the station is about a mile from the dock there. It's a nice walk and you go right thru a large shopping area which made the wife happy. I don't recall the cost but it wasn't much.

[shirazcruiser]

We've done it twice and LOVED it both times. It's a wonderfully long day in the quaint villages. We had a beautiful made at our table pesto pasta in one of the villages which brings back fond memories.