Rome and Florence On Your Own

[katiebeth]

Does anyone remember how much time is allowed in Florence and Rome if you take the Celebrity transportation into each city. (On Your Own) I am looking at arranging private walking tours in each of these cities but am unable to confirm the amount of time we will actually be there. The shore excursions for Europe on the Celebrity website are not available at this time. I called the Shore Excursion desk at Celebrity and they couldn't tell me either.

 

Any information would be helpful.

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

[Andym]

Nancy,

 

We were dropped off at about 10am and met up again at 4pm. I have some notes and map for a walk yourself tour if you are interested.

 

Andy

[Keith1010]

I can't answer your first question but wanted to give you a recommendation for Rome. We were in Rome for a precruise just a few months ago and also visited Florence on the cruise.

 

We were looking for a walking tour for Rome and on Cruise Critic we learned of a company called Rome Walks and their web site is romewalks.com

 

Since we were there for a pre-cruise we did two different walking tours. They were both wonderful. We also recommended it to some friends who just came back from there trip and we very pleased.

 

If you sign up for a group tour they tend to keep them to eight or less or you can sign up for just yourselves. Again, not sure if you needed this information but we were very pleased.

 

Florence we did through the cruise ship that we were on. Regardless, we'll need to go back there as there just wan't enough time to see all that's there.

 

Keith

[katiebeth]

Andy and Keith,

 

Thank you both so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.

 

Keith- Thanks for the information on Rome Walks. I am going to check them out.

 

Andy- Thanks so much for the offer regarding your notes and a self-guided tour ... however, I think since it's our first time to Rome we are going to go with a guided tour. Thanks for the offer though!

 

Happy New Year to you both!

 

Nancy

[Keith1010]

Nancy, I'm glad it was helpful. As I mentioned we did two tours; one was of the Vatican and the other was of the Colliseum and the ancient city. Both were very good. Each tour guide had great expertise. Since the Vatican tour concentrates on all of the art work that was the background of our tour guide. The other tour guide who we had for the Colliseum was a history major and the background the tour guide provided about the history of the Roman Empire was wonderful. Again, both very good tours and I am thankful that I first learned about them on Cruise Critic.

 

They have a nice web site and then if you e mail them with questions you will first get an automated response confirming receipt of your e mail and then you will get a response about 24 hours later. We went back and forth a few times with all of my questions and then we firmed everything up.

 

Good luck on this and have a wonderful trip.

 

Keith

[Jarronwood]

Hi Andy

 

I would really appreciate your notes on the walking tour of Rome. Going on LOS next June 14 night classic med and one of the stops is Rome. I absolutely refuse to pay the astronomical charges the ship wants (and the tour companies) and anyway hubby and I prefer to be alone on this sort of thing

 

my e mail address is

 

josiematthews03@aol.com

 

Many thanks

[Andym]

I have sent it, let me know if I can help further

 

Andy

[aussie52]

Hi Andy, we are going on celebrity in ocotber and I would also appreciate your notes on your walking tours. Did you also do Florence on your own? or any other places in the mediterraneum. Any advice much appreciated. We have been to rome and Florence before on guided tours so were keen to explore on our own this time. Thanks Colleen

 

Our email is hardie52@optusnet.com.au

[bappo]

Hi all! we are on VOS in early June of 2006, and are mainly interested in seeing Florence on our own, having booked guides for Rome and Naples that have been reviewed on the boards. It seems to us, that perhaps, seeing Florence and Pisa might be do-able on your own. Or at least taking the ships ride into the towns, and designing your own itinerary for the day. I know you can get tickets for the museums on-line in advance, do u know of anything else that can be purchased in advance? Any restaurant recommendations? What about the old fort, heard somewhere that it has really remarkable views? Has anyone shopped for tagliamonte near the Ponte Vecchio? If so, let me know. Thanks.

 

 

Barb

[High C's]

Andy - you may be inundated with requests now that you've made the offer once! It is very kind of you, and yes, I too would love any information you have on walking Rome and Florence.

 

My email: jackiereid19@hotmail.com

 

Again - thank you!

[cornellcindy]

Andy, another request for your walking tours of Rome and Florence:D .

 

email: cornellcindy@mindspring.com

 

Thank you in advance,

Cindy

[Andym]

I have sent the details. These are just details of the logistics of a couple of trips that we did using the Celebrity's 'Rome on your Own' tour, where you are driven from the ship to the centre of Rome and then back again later in the afternoon. You are given a city map on the bus and the tour guide gives you lots of usefull information as you are driving along. We have never had to wait for anyone coming back to the bus and have always had more than enough time to do our own thing, including lunch.

 

We did Florence with another cruise company and took a more expensive guided tour. After 10 minutes we ditched the tour and did our own thing. If we ever went back, we would just use the bus to get to the city itself.

 

Get well prepared and read up on what you actually want to see at each place you go. You can't beat a good guide book, but there are lots of resources on line.

 

For Rome look at http://www.romebuddy.com

[itsanita]

Andy,

would you send me your walking tour of Florence. We too feel like this is doable on our own. We need to decide to either take the train or take Celebrity's Transportation. There is so much to see in Florence, we may just skip Pisa for this trip.

 

thanks

itsanita@msndotcom

[Andym]

Itsanita,

I have nothing on Florence. We went once 3 years ago and ditched the tour guide. She was uncontrollable and just doing her own thing. We walked all around the centre and took in all of the sighte using our guide book.

Since then whilst in Livorno, we have done the Tuscan countryside twice.

Andy

[Veevo324]

Andy - I saw some of your messages re: Rome tour guides. We're going to Rome for 3 days (29 May - 1st June) prior to a Celebrity Galaxy cruise. Can you advise me regarding Forum, Catacombs tour guides?

Also, do you know anything abt Cinqueterre, which we're thinking of driving to/taking a ferry boat to from Genoa.

Thank you.

[LJJQ]

Andy,

 

Please send me your walking tour of Florence. We were there in 2003 but used a guide. In July we're on the Millenium and plan on doing Pisa and Florence on our own. Thanks!

 

Larryjq@msn.com

[cornellcindy]

Thank you so much for the notes and map of Rome. Wonderful refresher and so helpful in our planning for our day in Rome.

 

Thanks again,

Cind

[Andym]

Veevo324,

 

If you go to the Colloseum and by the left had side of the tube station facing the Colloseum, you will see a wooden hut. From the widow of this hut you can pick upa a tour guide for the Colloseum for 10 euros plus the admission price. You will be taken directly into the Colloseum skipping the lines. We had an excellent guide. They also offer additional tours of the forum etc for a couple of euros more. The leaflet/map they gave us had details of a simillar tour of St Peters. i suggest that you do the Colloseum/Forum on your first day and then get details of the St Peters for the next day.

 

LJJQ

I'm sorry but I have nothing on Florence. We only went the once about 4 years ago.

[vjblk]

We sailed Celebrity's Constellation in October 2003. We did both their Florence on your own and Rome on your own as we didn't want to have to worry about train schedules, etc. We had quite a bit of time in both cities to see quite a few of the sites. In Florence, we did arrive there around 10 and left around 4. We had plenty of time to visit Bargello museum, the Pitti palace and the Basilica Santa Croce. We also had time for a nice lunch and some leisurely shopping. We opted to not visit any of the major museums this time. We hope to get back to see them some day. We enjoy just walking around a city and visiting a few things and seeing the archtecture of that city.

 

In Rome, we had a whirlwind day but was able to see the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Trajan Market, The Pantheon and Piazza Navona. We even had time for a leisurely lunch near the Pantheon. Again we opted to see as much as we could and opted to not wait in lines to see the Vatican/Sistine chapel on this trip. We did all this by walking through beautiful Rome. Our feet were tire at the end of the day but we were able to relax on the bus ride back.

 

If you chose to do it on your own, the best thing to do is plan, plan, plan. Get a good map and decide what your must sees are. We always pick only 3 must sees and anything else is gravy!

[goldenprincess53]

We took the ships bus for Florence and Rome "On Your Own". We were on the Royal Caribbean so our timelines might be different.

 

Florence: We left the ship in groups with a guide around 8:15 am. We arrived in Florence and walked from the Arno River to Santa Maria de Croce square arriving around 10 am. Received instructions from our guide to meet back at the square for 3:30 pm and we would be leaving promptly at 4 pm. Walked from Santa Croce to the bus by the river - seems to be a common meeting spot for all groups.

 

We had reservations for the Academia Museum to see David for 11 am. We walked (very quickly I might add) to the museum. Make sure you have a good map because you can quickly loose your bearings on these narrow streets and you cannot see overhead landmarks (like the Dumo) until you are practically on them. We did get into the museum on time and spent only an hr before taking getting a quick bite to eat and catching the "C" bus down to the river and we walked up to the Piazza Michangelo to see fantastic view of Florence from above. We got some of our nicest pictures from this spot. There are also several vendors selling various wares up here. Your bus tickets are timed so a bus voucher is good for 1 hr from the time you get on.

 

We took a regular bus down to the Ponte Vecchio and basically just walked the bridge, over to Uffezzi Gallery (outside only) around the Dumo and by 3:15 we were back at Santa Croce sitting down and having a cappuchino and watching the people. Wonderful day. Also lots of street vendors in the square. Really cheap buys are scarves and aprons.

 

ROME: Rome cannot be done in a day!!!!! I thought I could do it but no way. We left the port at 8:15 and arrived in Rome at 9:15 HOWEVER it then takes another hour for the bus to make its way through traffic and park in an underground lot near St. Peter's Square. You then have to walk from there to a spot just in front of St. Peter's Square (around 10:15 am) We did Rome on Wednesday and got to this location just as the Pope was saying Mass so we got some great pictures. We managed to see the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colisseum, Forum and the Piazza Navona. We left St. Peter's Sq. at 4 pm sharp (they don't wait) and it was a nice relaxing ride back to the ship.

 

Pros & Cons - it sure is nice to relax on the bus and let someone else fight the traffic who knows where they are going. It is reasonably cheap in comparison to the private drivers; you can do things at your own pace. The downside is time can be limited depending on traffic etc. and you may not get in as much as you would like. Again priorities prevail in your excursions. We took a private driver in Naples for Pompeii & Amalfi which was worth every penny.

[cruizinpooh]

Hi Andy,

 

Would it be possible for you to please send me your info to my e-mail. It's annypooh@bellsouth.net. I'd truly appreciate it.

 

Thank you!

 

Cruizinpooh

[itsanita]

Thanks for all the specific info...pick up times etc for the ship tours.

 

The Florence on your Own, by Celebrity, is $72 pp. For four of us, that's $288... with about 5 hours in Florence. No worries, easy transportation.

I have contacted a tour service and they will provide JUST transport for the 4 of us for E320. That's E80 per person plus tip. A bit more, but that would probably give us more time in the city, as we will get out of Liverno much earlier and can get dropped off where we want.

If we do it by train, its MUCH cheaper, but then we need to deal with the schedules, getting from the ship to the train station... and a possible (but unlikely I hope!!) train strike. We have pretty much given up Pisa, as there is so much we want to see in Florence...and we don't want to make ourselves toooooooo crazy, trying to "do it all".

 

Tough Decisions!!!

[Andym]

Don't give up on Pisa, you can get the driver to call in on your way back. You should have more than enough time with 45 minutes to take lots of nice photos. Dont forget the one where you are holding up the tower, everyone does it.

[soccergirl]

Andy, I could also use your info on Florence and Rome. This is our first cruise and also our first time in Europe so any tips would be appreciated. We are on the Insignia leaving Rome on May 11. My email is lcahn@cox.net.

 

Thanks!

[Normandie-BCN]

In the port of Livorno, just leaving the ship (at least for the Millennium) you will find taxis and cars for rent.