European ports

[mkh531]

Trying to get ready for when the summer 2018 cruises are released. We (Me, dh, 2 kids 7 & 10) thinking of booking the Barcelona 5 day or 7 day. I have a question about Ports--I know Civitavecchia is a distance from Rome, so I'm prepared to pay for excursions into Rome, but what about Livorno (to Florence) and Nice? It looks to me like in Nice/Cannes we can just get off the ship and explore (no need to book excursion) but wanted to see what you all thought. I've spent plenty of time in Europe, especially France, so I don't need a lot of handholding, but if it's worth it to book an excursion I'll gladly do it.

Any other tips, advice etc on European cruises welcome as well! TIA!

 

[Dug720]

Livorno is not quite as far from Florence as Civitivacchia is from Rome, but it's still a distance. Those two ports I would (and did on RCCL this past summer) pay for excursions - not just excursions but ship-based because of the distance involved, and especially the horror stories about Roman traffic.

 

[mkh531]

Thank you! Yes I meant to ask about ship based vs other company excursions. That is very helpful. Did you enjoy your excursions on RCL? DH and I have seen many of the major sites in Rome/Florence/Pisa but by no means everything, and we want kids to see it all too.

 

[Dug720]

Thank you! Yes I meant to ask about ship based vs other company excursions. That is very helpful. Did you enjoy your excursions on RCL? DH and I have seen many of the major sites in Rome/Florence/Pisa but by no means everything, and we want kids to see it all too.

I did. I'd been to Florence for a week before, so I did a vineyard and wine tasting excursion there. Very nice - the sunflowers were all in bloom!

Rome I did their transportation to and from and wandered on my own with previously printed google maps and then with an Italian friend I met up with.

As a solo traveler, it was definitely less expensive to do the ship-based ones since I didn't want to do "private" with people I didn't know (and who can (from another friend's personal experience) decide among themselves that they want to change up the initial tour to something I didn't want to do).

 

[Imedley200]

We just did the 7nt Med in September (family of 3, including a 2yr old, plus grandparents). You'll want an excursion for Livorno. After 2 full days prior we skipped Florence due to the drive (over an hour one way). We went with DCL and went to Lucca & Pisa. We loved Lucca! 1/2 day there, walking tour & free time. It's not as touristy as other cities. Glad we saw the tower in Pisa but that was it.
For Naples & Rome we used Can't Be Missed tours and were pleased. We had families with us that were also using them for Florence. No knowledge for Villefranche as we couldn't tender due to the weather.

 

[bbel]

Im guessing by Nice you mean Villefranche?
Villefranche is a nice place to get off and wander, although theres not a lot to do there, there is a train station (about a 5-10 minute walk from the tender) where you can easily catch a train into Nice if you wanted to (I had a morning off and we caught the train, walked around a little and got some early lunch and made it back on the ship for just after lunch).
Cannes is also to nice to walk around, there's the old town and a fruit market, the designer stores, the 'red carpet', hand prints of famous people and a little beach area.

Are you looking at Naples too? There's so much to do in Naples, my favourites were Herculaneum, 'Climbing' Vesuvius, Capri and Pompeii.

In Livorno we also caught the train to Pisa which was cheap, easy and pretty quick (again got off early, caught a bus and train there and back and was back on the ship for work at 12).

 

[Dug720]

There is also a bus to Nice that is super easy to catch.

 

[mkh531]

Im guessing by Nice you mean Villefranche?
Villefranche is a nice place to get off and wander, although theres not a lot to do there, there is a train station (about a 5-10 minute walk from the tender) where you can easily catch a train into Nice if you wanted to (I had a morning off and we caught the train, walked around a little and got some early lunch and made it back on the ship for just after lunch).
Cannes is also to nice to walk around, there's the old town and a fruit market, the designer stores, the 'red carpet', hand prints of famous people and a little beach area.

Well, on one of the Barcelona cruises it says Nice and on another it says Cannes, but i thought those were the same Port? I guess not. I would prefer at least one port where i can just get up and go explore without a long drive. I had this idea that we could just get out in Cannes and drink wine and absorb the Frenchness of it all while my kids eat chocolate croissants.

 

[mkh531]

Are you looking at Naples too? There's so much to do in Naples, my favourites were Herculaneum, 'Climbing' Vesuvius, Capri and Pompeii.

I hadn't thought about Naples but now that you mention it, it would be fabulous! My kids would be really interested in those sights and DH & I have never been to them either. Is it a long trip from port to any of those?

 

[bbel]

Well, on one of the Barcelona cruises it says Nice and on another it says Cannes, but i thought those were the same Port? I guess not. I would prefer at least one port where i can just get up and go explore without a long drive. I had this idea that we could just get out in Cannes and drink wine and absorb the Frenchness of it all while my kids eat chocolate croissants.

I honestly haven't looked at this years itinerary so I could be completely wrong. Last summer we did half the Med season going to Cannes and the other going to Villefranche, so I just assumed...
But IMHO both are probably the most chilled ports.

 

[bbel]

I hadn't thought about Naples but now that you mention it, it would be fabulous! My kids would be really interested in those sights and DH & I have never been to them either. Is it a long trip from port to any of those?

Nope, if Naples is on your itinerary (again, I just assumed after past years), you dock pretty central, although it can be a long day if you want to fit in a few things (I did an excursion (obvs DCL as it was for work) which went to Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii, it was great but exhausting) Vesuvius we got a taxi from the port and arranged for it to wait for us (we did this one in a three hour break, but you would probably want a little longer). Pompeii is about 30 minutes from the port and Herculaneum we went by train so was cheap and pretty easy, about an hour away, including waiting for a train and walking there. IMHO Herculanium was far better than Pompeii, got there just after it opened and had the place to ourselves for about an hour, at it has actual bodies, and its easier to walk around...

 

[texasgingerbread]

We've used Giovanni with RomeinLimo twice. He is very familiar with the traffic and cruise customers. That's all he does and his company is amazing! I highly recommend him especially with kids. Going on an excursion with the masses from the ship would deter me if I had children in tow unless you're booking a semi-private.

 

[disneyholic family]

we're also waiting for the 2018 summer itineraries to be released..
in hopes of a med cruise..
i hope it includes villefranche - that was DD's favorite port on her cruise this past september..

 

[riot23]

Did the 7-night Med cruise in August. Rome we did on our own, taking the train into Rome from Civitavecchia. Was only a 10-15 minute walk from the gates of the port and a 10 Euro BIRG ticket. Florence we did an Adults Only Florence Transportation Only Port Adventure. Florence is quite far from Livornio and we didn't want to worry about making our way to and from. We enjoyed having the freedom to do as we pleased once we arrived, but the comfort in knowing we'd make it back to the ship without a problem.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

We've used Giovanni with RomeinLimo twice. He is very familiar with the traffic and cruise customers. That's all he does and his company is amazing! I highly recommend him especially with kids. Going on an excursion with the masses from the ship would deter me if I had children in tow unless you're booking a semi-private.

We are doing the 7 Night Med this summer and we are booked with RomeinLimo for Naples, Livorno, and Rome. We choose them based on their consistently high ratings, feedback, etc. In addition, just as this poster mentioned, they do these tours consistently and they *know* their way in and out/around the traffic as they are accustomed to it. It always makes me a little nervous being so far away from the ship however we'll be with another family on our same sailing and again, their consistently high reviews and knowledge of the area reassures me. I actually lived in Italy - graduated high school there, and luckily the next port is not that far, but we certainly don't want to put that to the test!

Have fun,
Heather

 

[texasgingerbread]

We are doing the 7 Night Med this summer and we are booked with RomeinLimo for Naples, Livorno, and Rome. We choose them based on their consistently high ratings, feedback, etc. In addition, just as this poster mentioned, they do these tours consistently and they *know* their way in and out/around the traffic as they are accustomed to it. It always makes me a little nervous being so far away from the ship however we'll be with another family on our same sailing and again, their consistently high reviews and knowledge of the area reassures me. I actually lived in Italy - graduated high school there, and luckily the next port is not that far, but we certainly don't want to put that to the test!

Have fun,
Heather

It's a great company. You'll have no worries and they treat you like VIPs. Enjoy!

 

[mae5731]

Did the 7-night Med cruise in August. Rome we did on our own, taking the train into Rome from Civitavecchia. Was only a 10-15 minute walk from the gates of the port and a 10 Euro BIRG ticket. Florence we did an Adults Only Florence Transportation Only Port Adventure. Florence is quite far from Livornio and we didn't want to worry about making our way to and from. We enjoyed having the freedom to do as we pleased once we arrived, but the comfort in knowing we'd make it back to the ship without a problem.

@riot23 We plan to do exactly this for Civitavecchia. But I made a post a bit ago as I'm fuzzy on how to get from the ship to the train station. I guess first are the port gates and Fort Michelangelo one and the same? Did you have to ask the shuttle driver to stop there rather than take you all the way out to the bus stop (that has a fee)? Or maybe even less confusing...how do I get from the ship to the train station?

 

[cruiser21]

It's very easy to take the train from Livorno to Pisa or Florence also taking the train into Rome is simple. We beat the ship bus iback to the ship by 2 hours- Traffic in Rome is bad. Naples depending on what you want to see can easily be done using public transportation. There is nothing wrong with ship excursions, but don't feel like it's necesssary if you're on a budget. It's pretty easy to get around Europe on a small budget. If you can afford a Limo I'm sure that's nice too.

 

[riot23]

@riot23 We plan to do exactly this for Civitavecchia. But I made a post a bit ago as I'm fuzzy on how to get from the ship to the train station. I guess first are the port gates and Fort Michelangelo one and the same? Did you have to ask the shuttle driver to stop there rather than take you all the way out to the bus stop (that has a fee)? Or maybe even less confusing...how do I get from the ship to the train station?

We got off the ship early in the morning and rode the shuttle bus from the ship to the Port entrance. Then we walked down the Main Street about 5 minutes, turn right towards the water, walk the street parallel to the ocean about 10 minutes and the train station will be on your left, can't miss it. There was a stand at the port with a free map of Civitavecchia, we grabbed one and found it useful.