anitas

My husband and I have booked a cruise to the Med in May 2004. Has anyone every done this particular cruise? What were your experiences with the shore excursions? We would like to book our own shore excursions, they are usually less expensive then on the ship. Has anyone done this and if so what tour companies did you use? We are planning on renting a car in Livarno, good idea or not?

Thanks

Budman

If you are going to rent a car in Livorno in order to visit Florence & Pisa, I would recommend taking the train. You don't want to drive in Florence.

What other ports are you going to? I would recommend doing some research and do your own shore excursions.

jacketwatch

We did this cruise in 2002 on the same ship. I assume you are leaving from Barcelona, correct? As for the shore excursions I agree to book in on your own. We simply negotiated with a cab driver (there are many waiting when you disembark) and off we went, no problems. We had one fellow in Naples, Ernesto Nuccio, who is the most memorable cab driver/guide we have ever had. Just being around him makes you smile. Regrettably I do not have his card but maybe having his name will help. I agree with Budman for doing a bit of research first to see what interests you and going from there. As for the cost, we rented a cab in in Cititavecchia (Rome) for the entire day for 3 of us at a cost of 200 Euros. The boat excursion for actually LESS than what we saw was $170.00 PP! Bear in mind the dollar was 1:1 at the time. Sadly it is much less now. as for renting a car in Livorno we instead got a cab who charges about $300.00 vs. $450.00 from the boat for a tour to Florence and Pisa. Well worth it IMHO. In Malta there are glass blowing cottage industry type factories to see and of course buy some pretty neat stuff from. One final thought. Have you considered spending some time in Barcelona? If possible it really a cool city. Lots of art and great atmosphere. Good luck, Larry

anitas

Thanks for all the info. We are going to the following ports: Naples, Livorno, Nice, Cititavecchia, and Marseilles. From what I have read so far Nice and Marseilles you can take public transportation. We are planning on renting a car in Livorno and driving down to the Tuscany area. We are not interested in seeing Florance. In Cititavecchia I read that you can take the train into Rome, takes about 1 hour. In Naples we would like to see Pompelli and the Amalfi coast. My husband loves to drive. Has anyone ever rented a car in Naples and drove to these two sites? Is it better to do an organized tour?

Thanks

jacketwatch

I prefer doing it on your own. When your tired you can just call it a day, not to mention the privacy part. I suggest just doing your homework to see the spots most appealing to you.

Budman

In Naples, to see both Pompei and drive the Amalfi coast would be a push for time. If you know the "ropes" and have been there before, you could do Pompei and Sorrento and get back in time to make the ship.

In Naples, we did Capri, which amounted to waking down the pier to the left, catching the hydrofoil to/from.

Rome -- Get maps of the city, do your homework, and take the train. I would never do a taxi. Too expensive.

Go for the rental car in Livorno if you want to see Tuscany. We stopped in Le Havre France and rented a car to see the coastline.

In Nice, use public transportation.

Too much to see, so little time. Make the best of it.