Independent sightseeing - Italy

[vinob]

Good morning folks,

Can UK cruise ship passengers explore ports in Italy independently for up and coming cruise July 2022.

Any information appreciated.

Kind regards, Viv.

[nijh]

The P and O site have a list of all the requirements for each port they visit.  According to that - no - you can visit by yourself.

 

https://www.pocruises.com/cruise-with-confidence

 

scroll down to the A to Z port guide.

 

[wowzz]

Independent port visits in *Italy have been allowed for some time.

[sandancer]

Just been. Highly recommend a tour company called Bella Italia. We did a tour from Livorno to Cinque Terra and it was great. Only 8 of us in the group so really personal service. I believe they offer tours all most of the ports in Italy. 

[vinob]

4 hours ago, nijh said:

The P and O site have a list of all the requirements for each port they visit.  According to that - no - you can visit by yourself.

 

https://www.pocruises.com/cruise-with-confidence

 

scroll down to the A to Z port guide.

 

Many thanks for the info.

[vinob]

3 hours ago, sandancer said:

Just been. Highly recommend a tour company called Bella Italia. We did a tour from Livorno to Cinque Terra and it was great. Only 8 of us in the group so really personal service. I believe they offer tours all most of the ports in Italy. 

Many thanks, 5 of us want to do Florence, will look at company.

[vinob]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

Independent port visits in *Italy have been allowed for some time.

That's good to know, last October you could only go off ship on the ships tours.  Many thanks.

[USCcruisecrazy]

4 hours ago, sandancer said:

Just been. Highly recommend a tour company called Bella Italia. We did a tour from Livorno to Cinque Terra and it was great. Only 8 of us in the group so really personal service. I believe they offer tours all most of the ports in Italy. 

How was Cinque Terra?  The wife actually wants to do a land vacation there, the Amalfi Coast, and Rome.

[sandancer]

Cinque Terra was beautiful. I’d do some serious research to decide which village to stay in. I would suggest you avoid high summer. It will be rammed. 

[Coral]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

Independent port visits in *Italy have been allowed for some time.

Just since the first of April.

[Strongbox]

Just got back last week.  Got a taxi in the port at Livorno intending to go to the station to go by train and he offered us a flat rate of 300ero for six of us to visit Pisa and Florence.  In Rome we hired Stefano rome tours in advance (we've had them before, they do other places as well) and have always been very good.

[Traderboy]

On 5/19/2022 at 12:23 PM, vinob said:

Many thanks for the info.

Very useful guide.

Thank you P & O

[nini]

On 5/19/2022 at 8:00 AM, vinob said:

Good morning folks,

Can UK cruise ship passengers explore ports in Italy independently for up and coming cruise July 2022.

Any information appreciated.

Kind regards, Viv.

Your question may be better suited for the Italy forum.

[vinob]

On 5/20/2022 at 6:16 PM, Traderboy said:

Very useful guide.

Thank you P & O

Many thanks, very useful.

[vinob]

On 5/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, Strongbox said:

Just got back last week.  Got a taxi in the port at Livorno intending to go to the station to go by train and he offered us a flat rate of 300ero for six of us to visit Pisa and Florence.  In Rome we hired Stefano rome tours in advance (we've had them before, they do other places as well) and have always been very good.

Many thanks, this is useful to know.

[rj59]

On 5/19/2022 at 5:52 AM, USCcruisecrazy said:

How was Cinque Terra?  The wife actually wants to do a land vacation there, the Amalfi Coast, and Rome.

Be aware that you have to take a train to get there, which will jammed with tour groups. I stayed in Monterosso on a Rick Steves tour, and it was absolutely wonderful until noon or so the next day, when a wall of cruise tourists got off the train, then it was impossible to move or do anything in the narrow town. It's difficult to get to the various towns, except by train, so I'd try to find some boat tour that cruises the coast. The Rick Steves books and videos are invaluable for that part of Italy, or he did one on Mediterranean cruise travel on your own (he actually did a tour series for my home of Bellingham, WA, during the Europe travel shutdown, and gives yearly travel talks here). I also highly recommend his Italy and cross-Europe tours, although they quickly sold out for this year, with all the pent-up demand for Europe. The problem with a Mediterranean cruise is that you're far from the major cities (except Barcelona), which limits time and opportunities, and it's difficult to include Rome/Venice/Florence on a cruise, but easy on a land tour (plus on an Italy land tour you get to visit Autogrill highway rest stops, which have the best espresso drinks I've ever had). 

[USCcruisecrazy]

2 minutes ago, rj59 said:

Be aware that you have to take a train to get there, which will jammed with tour groups. I stayed in Monterosso on a Rick Steves tour, and it was absolutely wonderful until noon or so the next day, when a wall of cruise tourists got off the train, then it was impossible to move or do anything in the narrow town. It's difficult to get to the various towns, except by train, so I'd try to find some boat tour that cruises the coast. The Rick Steves books and videos are invaluable for that part of Italy, or he did one on Mediterranean cruise travel on your own (he actually did a tour series for my home of Bellingham, WA, during the Europe travel shutdown, and gives yearly travel talks here). I also highly recommend his Italy and cross-Europe tours, although they quickly sold out for this year, with all the pent-up demand for Europe. The problem with a Mediterranean cruise is that you're far from the major cities (except Barcelona), which limits time and opportunities, and it's difficult to include Rome/Venice/Florence on a cruise, but easy on a land tour (plus on an Italy land tour you get to visit Autogrill highway rest stops, which have the best espresso drinks I've ever had). 

Thanks so much for the information.  I will check out Rick Steves Tours for sure.  Our last trip to Europe was just before COVID and we did the driving ourselves.  We planned everything out in advance, but already had some solid data from the 4 years we lived in Germany.  Again, I really appreciate you sharing the information.  We look forward to an incredible trip!  Cheers!