Need Info Re Port Excursions
 

We will be on RCCL taking the Barcelona to Italy 7-day cruise. We are trying to figure out just how much we can see when the ship is in port for 12 hrs and allowing for travel time to sites from ship.

For example:
Livornia - can you see PISA and Florence? Civitavecchi - can you see Vatican and other sites in time alloted?
Naples - can I take tour of coast and do Capri?

I know we will be tired, but we don't want to miss anything!

Thanks for any help you can provide.

When we docked in naples, we hired Giovanni from wqww.tourofitaly.com to take 6 of us on a full day tour of the Amalfi Coast, stopping in Amalfi, Sorrento, Ravello, and Positano. Cheaper than the ship's shore excurion and a great day.

I have been emailing him regarding the tour. I am torn between doing just that and going to Capri. I guess you can't do both?

We spent the entire day on the Amalfi Coast, and could have spent more time in each town. If you just want the drive, and don't want to make any stops, you could probably do it in less time.

You cannot do the Isle of Capri and the Almafi Coast and do them both justice.

Remember you have to be back at the ship for a certain time.
Isle of Capri involves a boat ride ...which means a boat ride back and a long drive back to port.

You will have little time tostop and see the towns along the way like Sorrentos for instance.

This also means that while at Naples Port you will not be seeing Pompeii.

Yes you can do Florence and Pisa on your way back.
You should have a private guide/driver to take you to Florence and then on the way back to come via Pisa.

For Rome , yes you can see the Vatican and some of the other places but you will not have time for The Sistine Chaple.
Again a private guyide is your best option to maximize your sight seeing.

Holy cow Percy are you leaving tomorrow? The time has finally dawned. have a great trip and I will look forward to your TR. Cheers, Larry :-)

Thanks jacketwatch:

Yes I am leaving tomorrow and I will for sure do a trip report.

I learned a lot from you and once again Thank You so very much.

Sorry to hijack your posting Italy08...but I was in Italy last October off a cruise ship and I had private guides at every port.

This way I maximized my seeing of sites.
Some of the guides even got advance tickets for me to places where there would be a line ups.

That is why I say , you need to have a private guide if you want to see lots in a short time.

If you want to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa...then get tickets ahead of time...as they only let so many up at a time.... that is what I did !!
Or should I say what my guide did!

Pompeii was great.

In Naples I would try to do Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast..stop off at Sorrento and Positano... have a beer at a sidewalk cafe and people watch for a short while.

The towns a very nice and quaint but it is the drive itself that is terrific....some of the hairpin turns are like out of a James Bond Movie.!!!

Percy

Bon Voyage Percy. Have a great trip and I'll look forward to a knockout TR. :-)
BTW Italy08 we also did that cruise. are you on the Splendour? I recommend to do the sights on your own. Thats what we did and it was our very 1st cruise too but all went very well. We winged it. That is we found a cab in every port and they will be there, cut a deal and went. No mussn no fuss and those cabbies have experience you know. They know the popular sights to see. Also do a but of research B4 you go to see what you prefer seeing and just go. It'll be faster than waiting for a tour bus and less $$ too. Cheeers, Larry

Thanks alot for the suggestions. Can't wait to get there!!

One more sugestion and that is if you want to enter St. Peters you must be properly attired. No shorts, etc.

<<Civitavecchi - can you see Vatican and other sites in time alloted?>>

Yes. We just returned from a Med cruise. My family of six went to Rome from Civit. and saw the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's, the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain and a few other places, and had lunch in Rome. I didn't go because I'd been before. They loved the excursion and the driver.

I made arrangements with Claudio Caponera at www.limoinrome.com. Claudio was booked so their driver was Fabrizio.

Claudio made reservations for the Sistine Chapel and hired a licensed tour guide for the Vatican & St. Peter's so there was only a short wait to get in.

Our group was met at the ship by Fabrizio at 7:45 and was back between 5:00 and 5:30, tired but happy.

This tour was cost effective for us because there was a group of six.
Have a wonderful time on your cruise.