Cunard Port Shuttles (Livorno, Ibiza and Valencia)

[BeachTunes]

Hello! 

 

Cunard newbie here and also a newbie to cruising the Med! We've been on several cruises to tropical, Caribbean and South Pacific ports, where the towns are usually close to the pier or a short walk away. This will be our first cruise to more "industrial" ports that will likely involve shuttle buses to the city centres. 

 

Just wondering if anyone can chime in about what to expect from Cunard regarding port shuttles in Livorno, Ibiza and Valencia.

 

• How often do the shuttle buses run?
• Should we expect line ups?
• If there is a cost, should we have Euros ready or may we charge the fare to our stateroom?
• Assuming guests booked on ship sponsored shore excursions get priority, should those exploring independently expect long wait times?
• Is there a way to find out the city drop off locations in advance?
• Are taxis typically readily available at these three ports as an alternative? (As an example, I read somewhere that taxi drivers in Livorno often reject short haul trip requests in favour of more lucrative full day tours.)

 

I have strategically booked our private tours at least two hours after arriving in the ports to account for potential delays and navigating the shuttles and public transit. We almost always strive to be back on board at least an hour earlier than required, just to be safe.

 

I realize I could post this in the ports of call forum for each location, but from what I've read, it seems that each cruise line handles these shuttles differently and independently so I figured I'd reach out to the experts here first! 

 

The daily program will undoubtedly have all the particulars for each port and I'm probably overthinking this but would like to be prepared. I'm a planning fanatic! LOL! Thank you all in advance for your assistance! 

[chryso]

I will be watching this with interest as I am on the same cruise.

[MeredithFairfax]

Hi, I’ve just returned from the Med and we visited Valencia (sorry, not the other ports). The shuttles from the ship were free and regular. They drop you off on the outskirts of the City by the Museu de les Ciences. You will be given a map. You need to either get a taxi or a bus from here. It’s very easy and costs €1.50 each on the bus. It takes about 10/15 minutes to reach the centre. You can catch bus number 95 or 35. 35 drops you by the Station and we caught the 95 back as it was a quicker journey. Alternatively you can walk into the city along the old river bed which is now a green open area and looks like a 45/60 minute walk (although we didn’t do this). 
 

Obviously you could get a taxi direct from the port if you prefer. 
 

The daily programme no longer includes much information about the ports, sadly. 

[BeachTunes]

@MeredithFairfax Thank you very much for this tremendously helpful info! 🙂

[2BACRUISER]

Livorno there is a port supplied shuttle bus takes you to the outside of port vonfines and then its a relatively short walk into Livorno centre itself. Most people do Florence or Pisa from Livorno but we actually spent the day on Livorno, did a canal boat tour followed by a city walk. Don't bother with the hoho bus nothing to see really.  Hth 

[BeachTunes]

21 minutes ago, 2BACRUISER said:

Livorno there is a port supplied shuttle bus takes you to the outside of port vonfines and then its a relatively short walk into Livorno centre itself. Most people do Florence or Pisa from Livorno but we actually spent the day on Livorno, did a canal boat tour followed by a city walk. Don't bother with the hoho bus nothing to see really.  Hth 

 

Thank you for the Livorno shuttle information! This is definitely helpful as we plan our day! :)

[seasickphil]

@BeachTunes

 

We have been to Livorno several times, the train to Pisa runs frequently and only takes about 15 mins so it is very easy to do on your own. There is not a lot to do in Pisa apart from the leaning tower. [ although it is certainly lovely to see ] In the past we have combined visiting Pisa with Lucca [a beautiful walled city ] but i believe that there is some maintenance work being carried out on the line between Pisa and Lucca, so i don't know if this would have any impact on being able to do that on your own.

[BeachTunes]

2 hours ago, seasickphil said:

@BeachTunes

 

We have been to Livorno several times, the train to Pisa runs frequently and only takes about 15 mins so it is very easy to do on your own. There is not a lot to do in Pisa apart from the leaning tower. [ although it is certainly lovely to see ] In the past we have combined visiting Pisa with Lucca [a beautiful walled city ] but i believe that there is some maintenance work being carried out on the line between Pisa and Lucca, so i don't know if this would have any impact on being able to do that on your own.

 

Thank you for this! Our plan is to do exactly that... Get ourselves to Pisa by train to see the tower followed by a pizza lunch. (Because both of us have dreamed of having pizza in Pisa since we were kiddos! LOL!)  I'm happy to read it won't be much of a hassle getting there and back.

 

While we'd love to combine Florence or Lucca with Pisa, we're going to keep the day simple to allow us more time on the ship that afternoon as it will be our first Cunard experience. We'll save Florence for a longer land-based stay. 🙂