Are day trips to Florence or Rome worth the time and money

[Evad 1]

Yes.....

[suizas]

Doing Western Med in August. Learning a lot here. Thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[bobmacliberty]

I'll also add that Cinque Terra was very enjoyable and fairly quick/easy to get to. I would have loved to see Florence but didn't want the 2 hours driving in each direction from La Spezia. We decided that we need to go back to Italy and spend a few weeks to really appreciate Florence and Rome (and Venice, and...).

 

Rome was definitely well worth it. We had a driver who dropped us at the Colosseum and then met us in the afternoon. We texted him when we were ready to go with a pickup location. After touring the Colosseum and the Forum, we walked to the Piazza Venezia for some lunch, and then walked to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. All very walkable (unless you have mobility issues). Our driver met us at Piazza Navona and dropped us for a few minutes at St. Peter's square before heading back to the ship. We did not try to do anything Vatican related other than walking around the square. HUGE lines. Again, we have a good excuse to go back to Italy. :D

[CelticMCO]

Do not miss Rome; just be sure to pre-book the "biggies" on your own (Vatican, etc.) as same day tickets/walk ups a mess/crowded/unavailable. There are many private tours that are great (shop them on Trip Adviser).

[grapau27]

Doing Western Med in August. Learning a lot here. Thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Great ports we have been to most many times you will love them and just ask if there are any you want to know about.

[OCruisers]

If you have never been to Florence or Rome, I could not imagine skipping those places, not matter how short the visit.

 

Also totally agree with the above post!

Better a short visit than no visit at all! ;)

[cruisequeen4ever]

Yes, they’re whirlwind days, but don’t pass up the opp! They’re worth the effort! I would recommend booking through the cruise line, though, due to the distance. Our bus broke down one time, but thank goodness it was a Princess excursion. Another time, we were stuck in traffic due to an accident coming back from Rome and would have missed the ship had it not been a Princess excursion.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[grapau27]

Yes, they’re whirlwind days, but don’t pass up the opp! They’re worth the effort! I would recommend booking through the cruise line, though, due to the distance. Our bus broke down one time, but thank goodness it was a Princess excursion. Another time, we were stuck in traffic due to an accident coming back from Rome and would have missed the ship had it not been a Princess excursion.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I would agree with this.

In June on Freedom there was around 200 people late getting back from Rome but the ship left 1 hour late to let the tours get back.

We were told there was a problem with the trains which were taking 4 hours to get back to Civitevechia.

We saw several people in taxis turn up when the ship was pulling out of port.

There are several tour options to Rome so take a ship tour but also make sure you get back to the meeting point on time because even on ships tours the coaches will leave you there if you are late and you will have to find your own way back to the ship.

[mispi]

Tip from La Spezia on your own - take hop on hop of ferry to Cinque Terre towns and make your own program. Not expensive and you will see very beautiful part of Liguria - condition and timetable in link:

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

[lvcrzn]

ROME IN LIMO! In one day, you will visit many more sites than with any ship excursion. Class “A”company. If you care to search, there are many positive posts about it.

[starrcards]

If you have never been to Florence or Rome, I could not imagine skipping those places, not matter how short the visit.

 

I agree with Bob. Any time you can spend in Florence orRome (especially Rome) is certainly worthwhile.

 

You can get a flavor of ancient Rome in a short time by visiting the Forum and Coliseum (they are adjacent to each other). The other thing to visit is St. Peter's. The ride to Rome from the port should be less than 2 hours.

[cabarr]

Absolutely must go ! We have been on Brillance Liberty and Serenade and each time have done a little something different on each trip.

Agreed not much to do in Citavecchia... Depending on traffic 11/2 hr drive and if you are on a RCI tour ship will wait for you if late....since so many tours go there. ( Actually lost a group of ladies busy shopping in Rome and another RCI tour picked them up!.... If you don't meet on time you are told group does not necessarily wait for you!)

Train a good option but when we met our tour bus by station the place was bedlam and a bit overwhelming!

We took the RCI family tour both times to Rome and was great and cheap and totally different both times! Quietest tour ever kids slept both ways... So did parents LOL!!!

We saw everything we wanted had time by ourselves for lunch and time to sightsee on our own and even walked to trivi fountain and Spanish steps.

Drove by the Vatican and had a great walking tour with a guide who was

Actually an archeologist on one of the sites near the Colosseum.

Florence/ Pisa had a fabulous professor of Art who took us thru the city and had a wonderful lunch in a local hotel .... Pisa was again tourist chaos

Tour buses galore! But we saw it and left!

My very favorite if you can't get to Amalfi is Cinq Terre absolutely loved it!

By train or boat very easy out of La Spieza ( RCI tour combines both)

Enjoy!

[vickiw0318]

Just wanted to add that train tickets to Rome (and other locations) can be purchased ahead of time on line.

[southerngirl8]

Definitely go into Rome! Take the "fast train" which is only available on days when a cruise ship is in port. Pre-book your ticket. It is a bit more expensive than the regular train that stops along the way. The fast train is direct into St. Peter's Station in Rome. 1 train in the am and 1 in the pm. Once you get into Rome, my advice is to DIY. Don't do the HOHO bus as it is a cluster in Rome! Take a cab from the train station area over to the Trevi Fountain. Then do a walking tour - Trevi- Spanish Steps- Pantheon- Colosseum. Then cab back to the train station. You will see a lot and this is a very walkable - doable for the day and not a huge rush. You will happen upon places for lunch and see the highlights. Or you can set up a "transport only" thru someone like Rome in Limo- and depending on your group size, you can always add a few more from your Roll Call. Rome in Limo will be a van to pick you up at the port drop you off in Rome and pick up back up at the same place and take you back to the Port. Either way, if you only have one day, and it is your first time in Rome, I would see the city instead of trying to see the Vatican and then feeling rushed. You will miss the best parts of the city.

[vacationlover_mn]

In Florence, booked an independent tour and regret it for many reasons, including the fact that though we were promised an English speaking guide, he barely spoke it. No regrets at all for overpriced Rome excursion that we booked from the ship- it was perfect!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[George C]

We loved our tour with Papillion to Pisa , Florence and a local vineyard for a wine tasting, seeing David was amazing tour was truly great had 8 passengers in a new Mercedes van with a great host/driver we did it with other people from our roll call, Did same thing with Rome using rome in limo, loved the small groups and cheaper than ships tour

[xray_kim]

I am taking my first cruise in September on the new Symphony of the Seas leaving out of Barcelona. It includes stops for for Florence and Rome, but looking at excursion it seems we would spend more time getting there than actually being there. How much can you actually see in a few hours in such iconic places? Are there closer alternatives worth seeing?

If you are adventurous and comfortable with travel via train we have taken the train from port into Rome(much quicker and cheaper) and then took the subway to points of interest..ie: Vatican,basilica,Tevi fountain,Spanish steps,coliseum etc. Quite easy to see all in one day as long as you don't need a tour(could probably get one tour in). You will definitely enjoy the atmosphere of Rome as opposed to being in a taxi or bus the entire day. It is just what you are comfortable with.

Florence is far from La Spezia but we also took the train from La Spezia into Cinque Terre and stopped at each little town to explore. A bit of a walk to train station (1/2 mile?)

[jchiefs13]

I am taking my first cruise in September on the new Symphony of the Seas leaving out of Barcelona. It includes stops for for Florence and Rome, but looking at excursion it seems we would spend more time getting there than actually being there. How much can you actually see in a few hours in such iconic places? Are there closer alternatives worth seeing?

 

ROME YOU MUST! If you know you'll get to go back someday no biggie, but ask yourself if you will be back, will you get this chance again?

 

For me, part of the adventure in heading into Rome from Civitavecchia was getting to the train station, buying a ticket from the ticket machine and getting there. You CAN plan this on your own if you're reasonably able-bodied which means you aren't waiting for the cattle call excursion, which would slow you down and take even longer to get there wasting more of your precious time. You can do it for a LOT less $ too - not that that should stop you because, again - when will you get this chance again?

 

The bigger question is where to go in Rome - because even if it was 5 minutes from the port there is so much to do you couldn't possibly see it all in one day. The coin I tossed in the Trevi on my first visit blessed me and I was able to return a second time, and there are still lots of things I'd like to do there or return to.

 

Florence is quite far from La Spezia. When we were there on Harmony in 2016 we did a tour of Cinque Terre. Well worth it!

 

YES. Cinque Terre was amaaaaazing and closer to La Spezia. If you were porting in Livorno then head to Pisa and Florence. Florence wasn't my very favorite. It was nice, don't get me wrong - but given where you'll be coming from Cinque Terre is definitely a more appealing option.

 

Cinque Terre is, for the record, another place that while amazing - I can imagine would be hard if you are not able to walk on uneven surfaces or easily get on/off the boats they move between stops on.

Judy

[Adventuresofmsrobinson]

We have a tour to Rome tomorrow I'll let you know how it goes. We spent more money and did a small group tour.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Pepsi36]

We didn't book tours in these ports, we got off the ship as soon as we docked, took the shuttlebus to the station in Civitavecchia/Livorno and and caught the train into Rome/ Florence. It was super easy, but you need to check the train times beforehand and leave yourself plenty of time to get back. We had around 5-6 hours in each city.

Many people did this, but it depends how at ease you feel doing things on your own.

We always used to do the cruise line's tours but after talking to some well travelled table mates we decided to try Rome and Florence on our own using the trains and found it to be quite simple to do so now we usually always go off on our own.

[Pstreet12]

We didn't book tours in these ports, we got off the ship as soon as we docked, took the shuttlebus to the station in Civitavecchia/Livorno and and caught the train into Rome/ Florence. It was super easy, but you need to check the train times beforehand and leave yourself plenty of time to get back. We had around 5-6 hours in each city.

Many people did this, but it depends how at ease you feel doing things on your own.

 

Off and on, we've spent about a month in Rome and never been bored. However, as others have said, a taste is worth having. I'd second the above post. Getting into Rome is easy on your own, and cheap on the train. The city center is tiny and easily walkable. If you want to save some money and do what you care about, buy a guide book (we like Frommers and Rick Steves) and plan your own excursion. Both will give you directions for how to get to the city, and both will give walking directions, how to buy tickets, price of tickets, subway directions, etc. You can definitely manage on your own if you want to. If you feel like doing it on your own is too much hassle, book a tour--but definitely go.

[funat55]

Another endorsement for Romeinlimo. Used them the first time we did the Western Med and will be using them again in July when we sail on the Symphony of the Seas. We got a great deal by booking three excursions with them and paying in advance. I had no hesitation because of the wonderful service we experienced the first time. It was great to be able to tell our driver "Ok we've seen enough of this sight" and move on to the next sight. Our drivers were also great about taking us to local eateries away from the crowds.

[vacationlover_mn]

We did the super expensive excursion in Rome, and no regrets- I wanted to see the Vatican (and Sistine Chapel) DH wanted to see the coliseum, and we both were happy :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums