Med Excursion - Florence or Cinque Terre

[lat]

I booked the boat excursion for Cinque Terre. But I am still not if this is the right thing to do. We have 5 people, including my mother who is in her 70s, and my 2 DD (10 and 13). I already have tickets reserved at UFIZZI that morning. But it is a 2 1/2 hour trip to get to Florence.

I am not sure if we want to go to Pisa, it seems like it is a place you can just take one look and you can be done with, have some picture taken to show that you have been there..... Maybe I am downplaying it.

I also read that it is quite easy to take the train to go through Cinque Terre, which means it should be much cheaper for us.

What would you do? Thanks!!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Florence, Florence, Florence! It is amazing and beautiful. From our cruise, we did Florence on your own, just so we didn't have to worry about not getting back in time and changing trains etc. You would not be able to get to the Uffizi before about 10:30 though. I would skip Pisa; it is underwhelming and just takes up time you could be in Florence. I have a full review of Florence on my website in my signature. We spent 2 days there about a month ago and just love that city. The excursion from the boat last year gave us about 5 hours in Florence, which was probably better than we could have done on our own because we would have been taking earlier trains back to make sure we were on time.

 

[WanderGirl]

I just got off the June 8 Cruise in the Med, and I did the Cinque Terre Boat Tour. It was really good, but as far as mobility, if the sea is really choppy (and it was pretty er.. interesting.. the day I did it) even pretty spry people had trouble getting on and off the boat, walking without falling into walls etc. I don't think I'd recommend it for anybody who wasn't sure on their feet to begin with.

That being said, it was a really nice little trip down the coast, and left time in the afternoon to look around La Spezia (tour finished at approx. 1pm, from memory). The problem with the train is that it isn't very scenic - you spend a lot of time in tunnels, whereas with the boat you get to see the villages.

 

[fongds]

or was it just rough getting in and out. i also heard the boats came right to the magic....rather than tendering to la spezia first and then getting the boat? THANKS

 

[Jennifer_Anne12]

Florence was absolutely unreal and worth every minute of the 2.5 hr drive from La Spezia. The drive through the Tuscany region was beautiful, which took away from the long ride a little bit.

 

[pxlbarrel]

We just got off the Magic yesterday. We did the Discovering Florence excursion ... the WORST excursion EVER. The 2.5 hour drive took more like 3.5 hours and our tour guide tried to make up for it by walking very fast and talking very little. She kept saying, "I hope I'm not walking too fast." and when we told her she was, she'd ignore us and kept on walking fast. One time, she turned around and realized that the entire group was about 3 blocks behind her. We were so busy running after her, we didn't really see anything. The lunch was so-so...the sauce on the main meat dish was burnt. We had about an hour of free time which is usually rare and welcome .... but let's just say when there are about 4 or 5 cruise ships in town, there isn't a lot you can see when the mass of humanity decides to mass in one place!!

The ride home was just as bad because my brother and I were sitting in the front row .... and the sun was beating down on us.... and the air conditioning on the bus was crap. I thought I was going to die on that bus.

Everybody kept telling us to go to Florence because it's beautiful and I'm actually wishing we went to Pisa ... at least I would have a photo in front of the tower instead of sunstroke.

I'm sure that anybody with a different tour guide may have had a different experience. I did notice that our group was about 5 or 10 minutes earlier than other groups at the lunch place. ... no doubt because our tour guide had us on a slow jog. I honestly felt like the tour was some kind of death march.

 

[WanderGirl]

or was it just rough getting in and out. i also heard the boats came right to the magic....rather than tendering to la spezia first and then getting the boat? THANKS

- As far as I know nobody got sick on the boat, it was just rough getting in and out.

- The boat came right to the Magic to pick us up and we headed out from there.

- We were given the option to stay in Cinque Terre after the tour had ended and find our own way back, or we could also take the tender back to the ship, stay on the tender and continue on to La Spezia instead of changing boats.

 

[Anal Annie]

I booked the boat excursion for Cinque Terre. But I am still not if this is the right thing to do. We have 5 people, including my mother who is in her 70s, and my 2 DD (10 and 13). I already have tickets reserved at UFIZZI that morning. But it is a 2 1/2 hour trip to get to Florence.

I am not sure if we want to go to Pisa, it seems like it is a place you can just take one look and you can be done with, have some picture taken to show that you have been there..... Maybe I am downplaying it.

I also read that it is quite easy to take the train to go through Cinque Terre, which means it should be much cheaper for us.

What would you do? Thanks!!!!

I WAS going to try to do both Pisa and Cinque Terre on our own BUT we're in that port on a major holiday and I'm afraid the train schedule could be shortened. SOOO I think we'll just do Cinque Terre. I've also heard that Pisa is a one trick pony town, although I'd like to see the tower - but it would be more just to say we'd been there. I hear Florence is beautiful, but again, we're there on a major holiday & a lot of stuff will be closed. I'm not feeling a 2.5 hour train ride to see closed up shops & museums.

I am HOPING to do a combination of train & ferry for the Cinque Terre and may have to wing it depending on the schedules for the day when we arrive. My tentative plan for now is to take the train all the way to Monterosso (the furthest town) and to spend some time on the beach there. Then work our way back toward La Spezia via ferry & train. Thinking of lunch in Vernazza. May hike the last little trail (the one that is the shortest, easiest that only takes about 15-20 minutes). NOT planning on packing hiking boots or tennis shoes!! I have watched videos of some of the paths on YouTube...sandals wouldn't cut it on that trail between Monterosso & Vernazza. Plus that one takes like 90 minutes. From all I've read Cinque Terre is supposed to be very easy on your own...my only hesitation is this darned holiday on the day we're there. Apparently most Italians will flock to the coast for the day too so it may be crowded.

 

[lat]

pxlbarrel - did you talk to Disney after you got back on the ship? I would have asked for at least a partial refund!! But it did provide a good laugh, I am sure you can laugh about it now, not at the time for sure

Anal Annie - The day we will be there is 7/26, is that a major Italian holiday? I read that the train is pretty easy to do around Cinque Terre, but I think I will stick to the boat excursion just to have a peace of mind if it is a major holiday there.

 

[Anal Annie]

Anal Annie - The day we will be there is 7/26, is that a major Italian holiday? I read that the train is pretty easy to do around Cinque Terre, but I think I will stick to the boat excursion just to have a peace of mind if it is a major holiday there.

I think your date is FINE...we are there on August 15th which is a BIG one:

August 15, Ferragosto (Assumption Day), is a national holiday so many businesses and shops will be closed. You'll find celebrations in many places in Italy on this day and the days before and after, often including music, food, and fireworks. In some big cities like Rome and Milan, however, the city will empty out as Italians leave the city for the beaches and mountains.
Buon Ferragosto!
Ferragosto, August 15, is one of the most important Catholic holidays, because it's the day that the Virgin was Assunta in Cielo, in other words transported directly to Heaven to be with her son, Jesus, and also to look after those of us still here on Earth. As is the case with many other Christian holidays, Ferragosto goes back further and has Pagan origins, which in this case are multiple. On the one hand, in 18 BC the Roman Emperor Augustus declared that all of the month of August would be dedicated to the Feriae Augusti, a series of festivals and celebrations; the most important was held on the 13th, and was dedicated to Diana, the Goddess whose task it was to oversee the woods, the phases of the Moon, and Maternity. The services, which were celebrated in Diana's temple on the Aventine, was one of the few occasions in which Romans from all walks of life, masters and slaves alike, mingled freely, and the women, who made offerings to the Goddess throughout the year in the hope that their labor would be safe and happy, offered prayers to Lucina, the guise Diana assumed when she was acting as protectoress of Labor.
ETC, ETC, ETC....

 

[lat]

Thanks. Now I have to decide if I want to do the train or the boat excursion. More research time.....

 

[DisneyMomJen]

Definitely do Florence. We did the Med cruise last August and I was not sure if I even wanted to go to Florence since it was so far away from the Port. Talking to others who had been there changed my mind, although I was not overly excited. We did a private tour which was amazing. I really did not do any research since this was what I considered the last of our big tours, the other two being Rome and Naples. I just asked our tour guide to show us whatever we needed to see. If this is going to be your only time going to this area, do Florence. You must go there once.

 

[lat]

After reading all these, I think we have to pass Florence on this trip. It is a big city and there is a good chance we can visit again for a land only trip.

With my 2 girls, they are not thrilled to leave the ship as is (we are the type who just absolutely love the ship itself and the sea days. We did not even get off the ship much when we did the Easter or Western Caribean ones), the round trip min. 5 plus hour on the bus will just bore them to death.