Booked Greek Isles cruise for 2024, does this itinerary afterward look reasonable?

[Thisguylikestocruise]

1st night Rome

 

9 nights Greek Isle cruise aboard Odyssey of the Seas from Rome(Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Ephesus, Athens, Naples) 

 

2 nights Rome

 

3 nights Florence via train(see city and Tuscany)

 

2 nights Rome

 

Will this be too exhausting or is it doable? Been to Rome before, so anytime spent there would be to relax and walk around a little. 

[CanadaRob]

Would go pre cruise, but yes doable

[Missusdubbya]

Not enough time for Florence and Tuscany IMO. 

 

If you flew in to Rome and out of Florence you would save a lot of travel time. 

 

I would switch it up to 3 nights Rome before cruise, travel to Tuscany by train on disembarkation day from Civi for 5 nights, fly home. 
 

 

[wikoffclan]

27 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

Not enough time for Florence and Tuscany IMO. 

 

If you flew in to Rome and out of Florence you would save a lot of travel time. 

 

I would switch it up to 3 nights Rome before cruise, travel to Tuscany by train on disembarkation day from Civi for 5 nights, fly home. 
 

 

Agree. Love Rome but Definitely need to plan more time for Florence and Tuscany

[LibertyBella]

Your current plan seems to involve a bit of running around.  I would definitely fly into Rome at least three days in advance so you can recover from jet lag, get settled, and start doing some sightseeing. I also like to arrive days in advance in case there are any international airline challenges, so I do not miss the cruise!

 

I understand that a return out of Florence may not have the best connections, so you will probably want to fly out of Rome for the return as well.  Luckily Florence is just a short train ride from Rome, especially if you book a high speed train.

 

The main decision is if you want to integrate the Florence component before or after your cruise.  You may or may not have to add any more hotel time in Rome, unless you really want to.

 

I am on a similar itinerary cruise of Rome to Athens next summer, and I am staying in the cities both pre- and post-, but taking day trips to all the places I want to see rather than booking lots of different hotels.

 

Yes, there is just always too much to see and do!  I have many pets, so I try to limit my time away, too.  Oh, for the years of my youth when I could spend weeks and months traveling without care--although I was much, much poorer!

[bonsai3s]

We did exactly that same itinerary on the Odyssey earlier this year. (DIY excursions at each port.)

 

Your plan is doable...and as you said, you have been to Rome, so you will decide how exhaustive it will be. Sounds like you know your way around Italy.

 

* Agree with everyone about spending a bit more time in Florence/Tuscany.(During my first visit to Florence almost 40 years ago, I wish I had spent more time inside the Uffizi Museum.)

[Thisguylikestocruise]

Thanks everyone. I’ve decided to arrive in Rome a few nights early, go on the cruise, then stay in Florence 5 nights after. Flights out of Florence are the same price as Rome when I looked at October 2023. Air France connects in Paris, and from there directly back home. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by Thisguylikestocruise

[Bigbob7777]

Maybe Milan in lieu of Rome.  Less crowded and airfare is usually $2-400 cheaper/pp.  just a thought.