We are going on a 14-day cruise on the Norwegian Jade from Southampton on May 30 to the following ports:

1.Malaga (Granada), Spain
2.Barcelona, Spain
3.Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
4.Livorno (Florence), Italy
5.Civitavecchia (Rome),Italy
6.Gibraltar, Gibraltar
7.Lisbon, Portugal
8.Vigo, Spain

Since the dollar has and still is declining in value we would probably be doing the sightseeing on our own. Are most of the ports walking distance to the cities and how easily can one get to the different points of interest? Is the Vatican to the Colloseum walking distance? Is the Tower of Pisa anywhere near Florence? What are your recommendations?

THANKS!

Pisa and Florence are two separate cities so walking is not in the equation and as I recall the Vatican to the colisseum is too far to walk. Genreally you will nedd to use public transportation or hire a car either ahead of time or just wait until you dock as there will be plenty of cabs and private tour operators just waiting for customers. We saved alot of $$ doing the med this way in 2002 but our course the USD was 1:1 to the Euro then. Have fun, Larry

One other item to take note of; both Rome and Florence are about 1.5 hours drive away from where the ship docks.

You will find alot more info over at www.crusiecritic.com - go to the "ports of call" section. Here are some brief thoughts on the ports I know - we did a med cruise with Celebrity 2 years ago.

Barcelona - probably not walking distance into the city if you want energy left when you get there but once into the main part, very walkable, doable on own with a little homework on what you want to see. Hop on / hop off bus may be good idea but cheaper would be to make your own lists of sights and use the metro from one to the next. Must see IMO - Sagrada Familia, walk the Ramblas, maybe Parc Guell - sit womehwere in Barri Gotic for tapas.

Villefranche - easy access to train whcih will take you along the coast to Nice, Cannes, Monaco - chose your destination and sights to see.

Livorno - port is a ways to train station, maybe get transfer and then can take train to Florence. An excursion or sharing a tour with others from your ship might not be a bad ides. You can find other shipmates on 'rollcall" section of Crusie Critic.

Citavecchia - really about the same advice as Livorno. If you want to maximize your time, again I advise a tour. It is easy to get lost, or at least off track, in Rome. Lines into Vatican can be very long, usually a tour is quicker. But to some extent it depends on your list of "must-sees".

Have a great trip!

I agree with the previous postings.

You are off a cruise ship and you want to maximize your time.

There will be taxi's at the ports for sure.

A taxi driver cannot be a tour guide but he can take you places you want to go.

It is a little late to get a tour guide now and have him get you tickets ahead of time ( but maybe you can still swing it.)

For Florence and Pisa ,have the same taxi/tour guide.
Then after you have seen what you want in Florence , he will take you to Pisa( on your way back to your cruise ship).

Again, if you want to climb the leaning tower of Pisa , you have to have tickets ahead of time.

I booked all my tour guides (and told them to get the tickets ahead of time) about 5 months before my trip.

suec1 gave you some good advice about Barcelona, Rome and Florence

The Barcelona port is always congested because there is one way in and one way out ,from the cruise ship to the city... so grab a taxi ASAP and get out of this area.!

You do not want to be walking around blindly in Rome....this is where a driver is very helpful for you to get from point A to point B..
and
remember you have a long way to go back to your ship.

(Hijacketwatch)
Percy

Hello Percy. Today the weather here was incredible. It was cold, rainy and we had these huge wet snowflakes and it seemed sort of like a blizzard excepts it wasn't cold enough to stick. Yeesh when is summer coming? I mean who can golf in this stuff?

Hi baldeagle777

Sorry to hijack your thread but I just want to answer jacketwatch.

Hi jacketwatch:
We had a terrible snow storm here over a week ago...one of those late Spring freak storms... it is all gone now but it was a mess for four days.!

Okay baldeagle777:

The reason that a driver cannot be your tour guide is because it is not legal in Italy.

That does not mean that he does not know anything, it just means he cannot take you inside places and start explaining things to you.
But
from his taxi or vehicle ,he can explain all he wants.

It is tough going in Rome so you have to be organized and have a list of places to see.

The Vatican itself will take you a few hours but you can cut it down to one good full hour if you must if you do not want to climb up to the Dome.
(I spent 3 hours here(Sistine,Vatican , St.Peter's Square))
And make sure you see Michaelangelo's Pieta here.

The Pieta is behind a glass enclosure.. Thanks to some de-ranged fellow from Australia who took a hammer to it years back.!!

Michaelangelo did this Pieta at age 24 ..can you believe that !!!

This time does NOT include the Sistine Chapel.........which could have a line up over a mile long...no kidding !!!

Here is a short list of places to see:

1. Coloseum
2.Arch of Constantine and Arch of Titus...these are nearby..take a picture here.

3.Forum of Roman Ruins
4.Pizza Navone...this is a lovely area with many fountains and an Obelisk inthe Centre.

5. Spanish Steps...climb these steps and take a few pictures.

6. Trevi Fountain...
of course you have to visit this place.
get out of the vehicle, turn your back to the fountain make a wish and toss a coin over your left shoulder..so it lands in the fountain.!!

7. Pantheon.

8. Vatican and St. Peter's Square ..but of course this is your FIRST place to visit,everything is secondary after the Vatican !

Percy

What I did during my trip last april was to book the day trip that was provided by the cruise line, all this provided was transporation from the boat to a central location in both rome and florence. This allowed me to td what ever I wanted for the day but still have a ride back to the boat. If you take a taxi in Rome make sure you have them start the meter, they will say they can turn it off for you and you think they are doing you a favor but trust me they are not. The taxi drivers drive so fast they can get you from the collosuem to the vatican in about 10 minutes and for about $15.00 american.

In Barcelona just jump on the port bus and for only a few euros you will find yourself dropped off at the start of Las Ramblas, taxis are often not to be had especially if there is a big exhibition on such as the World Mobile Fair. If you really want a taxi book on board before berthing, more expensive but at least you will not be left waiting around for the next taxi to put in an appearance.

If you want to see as much as possible in as short a time as possible have a look for guides in www.travel-library.com, loadsa information.