twin98, I would stay near the train station in Florence. The train station's name is FIrenze SMN, Florence has two stations, the high speed (Eurostar) trains departing from Roma Termini go to Firenze SMN. I cannot recommend a hotel in Florence.

The reason why I suggest going to Rome on Friday is so on Saturday you can visit the Vatican. You won't be able to do this on Sundeay and you really don't have time for the Vatican on Monday. If you prefer to return to Rome on Saturday, this will give you one full day (Sunday) and two half days in Rome (Saturday and Monday). Remember, Florence is a compact city, distances between the tourists sights aren't far; Rome is much much bigger getting from one tourist sight to the other will take much longer in Rome than in Florence. If I was travelling, I'd prefer to take a train late on Friday to Rome.

If you visit the Vatican on Saturday, from there I suggest going to Castel Sant'Anglo, at least see this from outside, the Panthenon (definitely visit the inside of the Pathenon) and then Piazza Navona. These sights are closer to the Vatican than Trevi, Spanish steps, etc.

I'd leave the reamainder of Rome sightseeing for Sunday. The Colosseum (from inside), the Spanish Steps, Trevi, etc.

Remember, the tourist sights will have long lines and will be crowded. Book a Vatican tour to avoid long lines. Another way to avoid long entrance lines is to buy a Rome Pass, (only if you'll use it for entrance to two sights). The pass gives you three days of transport in Rome and entrance to two museums free (discounted entrance to other museams after the first two). The Colosseum is one of sights that is included and if you'd like to visit another sight that's included in the pass, it's a good way to avoid long entrance lines.

twin98, which cruise ship/itinerary are you travellling on? Last year I did a 11 night Med cruise from Rome to ports of call in Greece and Turkey.

Hope this helps.

S Williams
That's our cruise. Celebrity Eastern Medit. Turkey,Greece, Amalfi Coast,
11 nights. Deft. will take your advice stay near train station in Florence.
Spend Thursday and all Friday thru the evening there. Sat I'll make resevation
At Vatican for tour .. Then on to sites close by Spanish steps etc.
Any suggestions for excursions on cruise Istanbul, Izmir is another town I was looking at.
Did you go to Capri, Pompei as well?
I will look on to the pass for Rome too.
Thank you so much!
-Twin 98

twin98, here's what I did in each port, keep in mind I don't like tours and prefer to travel independently.

Mykonos, by a ticket for the Celebrity shuttle to town, don't walk, the town is far from where the ship docks and the walk is on a long windy road which does not have a pavement. Once in town I just strolled around browsed in the shops, enjoyed the architeture.

Santorini, as much as I hate tours, I joined a shore excursion simply to get priority disemarbakation once we were tendered in port. The excursion went to Oia and a winery. If we'd had longer in port I would have definitely gone on shore independently. When I spoke to passengers who had done this, they told me the line at the cable car were more than an hour long to get up to town. I wouldn't like to walk on the path and I won't take a donkey ride even you paaid me. When we were in Santorini, the island was very crowded with three cruise ships in port. Maybe the shore excrusion was a smart move.

Rhodes, the ship docks in town, I walked around the town.

Athens, when to the Acropolis and Plaka from Pireaus.

Istanbul, hired a private guide, did more than what those who joined the Celebrity shore excursions did.

Kusadasi, booked a private tour with Ekol Travel. i think you meant Kusadasi instead of Izmir, if not, the itinerary may have changed for 2009.

Naples, hired a private guide/driver for the day, went to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii.

In Rome booked door to door transfers from hotel to port and port to airport.

You'll be busy in Florence and Rome, at least you can relax the first day on the cruise since it's a sea day.

sorry, about the typo...should read in Mykonos, buy a ticket....

Should have said went to Ephesus from Kusadasi with Ekol Travel.

Cruise critic is a good website to look at for information about ports/cruise ships, etc.

S Williams Yes We do go to Istanbul and Kudasi - I have just read that near Istanbul the village of Izmir is amazing. We are in Istanbul 2 days or basically one day 1/2. There seems to be so much to see in Istanbul so I am torn.
Mykonos did not offer very many tours now I know why. Athens seemed to have many to choose from. Ephesus, I could not decide. Santorini - I could not decide either..We do not go to Rhodes. (that is why we have two days in Istanbul I bet)
Capri)I saw there was an Amalfi coast tour that had PompeiI and Naples and Sorento.Looks like an amazing cruise, a busy one. We will be happy to have the three days at sea and yes the first day will be well needed after Florence and Rome.
Thank you so much for all of your help. I have looked at cruise critic a while ago I will go back on again to get some more info. Don't be surprised if
I wind up writing you again with more questions.

twin98, you definitely don't want to visit Izmir from Istanbul. Izmir is a port city and it is not close to Istanbul. See the sights in Istanbul, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Tokpaki Palace, Basilica Cistern, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, etc. You really have two half days in Istanbul, since you will dock in the afternoon on day 1 and depart in the afternoon on day 2. When sailing into Istanbul, go on deck as the ship approaches the port, you get a good view of the city.

From Kusadasi you can visit Ephesus and some other sights, the House of the Virgin Mary, museams, etc. I recommend visiting the terraced houses in Ephesus.

A large tour bus cannot get to the small towns on the Amalfi Coast. The Amalfi Coast drive is spectacular, I'd recommend this. I haven't been to Capri so I cannot compare the two.

If you are going to book some Celebrity shore excursions do this early so you get the excursions of your choice. However, in many ports you can do much better on your own making your own arrangements.

When I went last year on Celebrity the itinerary was similar to what you're doing this year, except we had two at sea days and one day in Rhodes instead of three at sea days.

Have a great holiday.

If you have any questions, just ask, I'll be more than happy to help you.

My advice is to goto Florence and just walk around. Any of the main tourist attractions will just gobble up your day time. I'd suggest you go see, The Duomo, Piazza della Signoria and The Ponte Vecchio.

You can see these places marked on this interactive map.
http://www.tuscany-villas.co.uk/interactive-map.html

In terms of eating I'd try Mario's. (but only if it's a Saturday)
http://www.tuscany-villas.co.uk/the-...n-tuscany.html

Oh, and if you've got luggage, there's a drop off at the main station.

Enjoy.

SWilliams you said you booked door to door transfers from hotel to port and port to airport. We were not able to do this since were arriving early. They said we had to pretty much stay in one of their hotels or else get to their hotel for pickup. We just did the one way on the way back.
The itinerary says Naples/Capri but one of the excursions incorporates all three Naples/Capri and Popmei and actually I think Sorrento. I need to look at it again or research other tours. It would have been nice to go to Rhodes as well!
Yes we realized sometimes making your own arrangements is much better when we have cruised with them before.
I am going to look in to the tours in Turkey, the one that you took.

Thanks again.

Happy Holiday.

twin98, the door to door transfers were not booked with Celebrity, we booked these ourselves. Last year Celebrity charged $85 per person for a transfer. We booked a van for 5 people, spilt the cost and paid 35 euros each.

It's your choice whether you join a Celebrity excursion or make private arrangements. The only Celebrity excrusion I booked was for Santorini, since the ship was be tendered there and there's nothing where the tenders drop passengers off. You have to make your own way from there up to the town of Fira. With 3 ships in port the day I was there this was a hassle. The Solistice is a large ship, (last year the Galaxyt had a simlilar itinerary) the so imagine how crowded the islands get with two or three cruise ships in port. Add to this the visitors who were staying in hotels on the island.

We were lucky on Mykonos we were the only ship in port. In Rhodes (I know you're not going here), there were two ships in port and of course the old town was crowded, fortunately for us, the other ship left earlier than we did, so we had a little more time to enjoy the island when it was a little less crowded.

Cruise critic is a great website, if you'd like you can even join a roll call and make arrangements for tours/transfers with other passengers on the same cruise. I'd been on the Galaxy last year, I'd read some of the reviews for ideas of what to do in port. Check out some of the reviews for the Galaxy's eastern Med itinerary, you'll get alot of information about the ports.

The only thing I should add about shore excurisons is that some people I spoke to were disappointed about the amount of time spent at a carpet demonstration/camea factory/etc. They felt that this time could be better spent exploring the sights.

The only reason why I have told you the company we used in Kusadasi is because I made the arrangements. For the Rome transfers, Istanbul excursion and Naples excursion were we had private arrangements, other people had made the arrangements. I can get you the name of the companies that we used, all were good, but this will take me sometime. Please let me know if you require this information.

here's the link, hope it works,

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberre...ship&ShipID=16

SWilliams

That would be wonderful if you could get that information. I know my husband was a bit weary of using private companies unless others had used them. You just never know.

I agree with the time spent at carpet I too feel the same way. We have only been on a few cruises but thinking back ..time was wasted. I want to make sure I see as much as I can in the short time that we have. You hate to book this an excursion with the ship and they be so disappointed that you were with so many people and were so limited in what you could see because of that. Sometimes a smaller tour is better. waiting around for so many people just takes up way too much time!!
Whenever you can get me that information that would be wonderful!
Thank you!

twin98, I'll start working on it, and contact the people who made the arrangements in Istanbul, Rome and Naples, this will take a few days, I'll report back when I hear something.

I do remember making inquires with one or two companies for Athens, we found them to be expensive and deceided not to arrange a private tour there. I'll check my information and post the Athens contacts later today or tomorrow.

I checked the Athens information. Unfortunately, I only have info for George who drives cruise ship passengers to the sights in Athens. George's email address is [email protected]. We got prices and found it to be too costly, since it was for transport only, and we had to pay extra for entrance to tourist sights and we'd have no guide. After much comtenplating we deceided to tackle Athens on our own, and we managed alright.

Have sent emails to my travel companions requesting info for you, I'll let you know when I hear back from them.

twin98, I have the information for you on Rome and Naples. Unfortunately, I cannot get the name/contact information of the guide we used in Istanbul, the person who made the arrangements in Istanbul is travelling at present.

The company we used in Rome for transfers is Rome Cabs, Www.romecabs.com

In Naples we booked with Marcello, his website is www.seesorrento.com/index_eng.html

Take a look at the Vatican's website if you are interested in their tour. Here's the link:- biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking

Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

S Williams - Thank you for the info.

Also do you know how long it takes to cover the entire Uffizzi I am trying to book my tickets on line for my Florence museums and do not want to overlap my times. I want to book the Academia too. What else would you recommend I pre book in Florence?

Thanks so much.

SWilliams The Vatican is totally booked for buying tickets on line. Coming back on Friday evening would we still have a problem getting in on Saturday to the museum without buying our tickets in advance?

twin98, tough question. I'm not sure what times are available for the Academia and the Uffizi on the Friday you will be in Florence.

The Academia is small and won't take too long, the Uffizi is much bigger. I'd try for the Academia first thing in the morning, and then go to the Uffizi later in the morning or around noon. Noon is a safe bet, in the sense that you will have plenty of time to see the Academia and stroll to the Uffizi. If you are there early, you can stroll to some sights near the Uffizi. Sorry, it's hard to say, I'm not sure how quickly see the Academia and how long it will take you to walk between the two, or if you'd like a break in between. Now this is where it get tricky, you need to go back to your hotel and get you bags and then go to the train stn for the train to Rome. I do recommend you check the train schedules back to Rome, and deceide which train you plan on taking back on Friday. I'd check this before making bookings. Remember, you can buy your Florence to Rome ticket in Rome at the same time you buy your Rome to Florence tickets.

An alternative, maybe to visit the Academia on Thursday, sorry I really don't know what time it closes. Remember, it's possible that you maybe tired from a long travel day. Personally, I think you may not enjoy it as much when you're tired, however, the Academia is small and won't take long to see. If you do this, you can start at the Uffizi on Friday morning.

As for the Vatican there is no way you'll be able to visit on Friday when you return to Rome. The lines are always long especially in the mornings. Besides booking a tour there is nothing that I know of for bypassing the long lines.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but you really don't have much time in both cities. "What else would you recommend I pre book in Florence", nothing you won't have the time to accomodate anything else. Besides, Florence is a great city in which to stroll around. In Rome, I'd look at some tours operators for the Vatican, simply because Saturday is the only day you'll have the oppourtunity to visit the Vatican, you certainly don't want to spend the better part of the day in line for the Vatican. I am assuming you are not in Rome the on first Sunday of the month, when the Vatican Museums are open and entrance is free. The Vatican operates tours, here's a link to their tours,
http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/...sita=10&step=2

Compare these to the tours operated by other companies and see which one appeals to you. There are many companies that operate tours of the Vatican, however, I haven't used any and cannot recommend any.

SWilliams
Thank you for the advice I looked in to the train times. They seem to be almost every hour or sooner. I booked the Uffizi for Friday no mornings open it's my own fault I kept putting it off but I would have been booking Saturday anywa since I added the other day.
So.. I booked Friday 3:45 and The Acadamia at noon. We can do some exploring early morning possibly see The Duomo or maybe the day before if we fit it in.
Then if we fnsh up early have lunch then on to the Uffzi.I figured we might as well have dnner in Florence then
take a 7 something train or later back to Rome.
I will check in to the Vatican tours.
Yes Saturday is really the only day. Sunday we cab explore more of Rome, though there are so many beautiful towns just a train ride away!
Thanks again.

Sorry for the typos I was using my small small keyboard.

twin98, no need to apoligize. I have lots of typos in my posts.

A few things come to mind....

Good to hear you were able to get reservations for the Academia and the Uffizi, you can stroll around Friday morning and you have plenty of time to see the Academia and get to the Uffizi in a little less than 4 hours.

When you book your train tickets ask for an Amica fare, this will give you a discount off regular train prices and are subject to availabily. However, amica fare tickets are only valid for a specific train, if you change the ticket you'll have to pay full price and a service charge. Do not buy an amica fare ticket from Florence to Rome unless you are certain of your departure time from Florence. The Eurostar trains are fastest on the Florence to Rome route.

I'm sorry I can't be more helpful about the Vatican tours, it may be worth starting a new thread asking for advice if you'd like to visit the Vatican on Saturday.

Have a great trip.