Freedom of the Sea - LaSpezia

So we have come to day 3 and our second port. La Spezia, Italy is a commercial harbor so unlike most ports where you can get off and explore here you can get off but you need to arrange some sort of transportation in order to get to where you would like to explore.So this means when it comes to touring there are lots of options and in different directions and really made it hard for me to chose what I wanted to see. However I do know that a trip to Italy with my family will be in the future and and while there are some things I will not have to repeat there are others I now know will take more time. Many people ask what is the benefit of a cruise and really in this case it helps you decide if something is worth spending more time in or if the 5-8+ hours was just enough. It is also a quick way to knock things off a bucket list if yours happens to be very long. Not sure if I am sad or happy to announce that when it comes to travel mine is very long.
So again because this was the President's cruise there was an opportunity for a shore excursion with Micheal Bayley. It was a Tuscan Hot Air Balloon Festival & Wine Tasting, you could go as a rider or as a spectator. There were members of our group who had signed up for both opportunities but unfortunately the weather did not co-operate for this excursion they experienced hail and loss of power. Royal did reimburse everyone on these excursions and opened up more wine that anticipated.
Here are some of the other excursions you could chose from: Florence & Pisa Exploration with smart device, Florence & Pisa, A taste of Florence, Historical Florence & Accademia Museum, Explore Florence, Florence Sightseeing & Row Boat Ride, Florence on Your Own, Accessible Florence, Pisa,  Pisa & Luca Highlights, Pisa on your Own, Pisa City Sights, Portifino, Rapallo & Santa Margherita, Coats of Cinque Terre & Portovenere, Portovenere Independent Exploration, Carrara Marble Tour by Jeep, Wine Tasting in Tuscany and Italian Pasta Experience. These tours range in price from $59 USD to $399 USD.
Another couple of agents from our group decided to shuttle over to the train station and take a train to Florence to explore. They had pre bought their tickets online. However buying them online they did not know that the train workers were on strike from 9 to 5 everyday. So while they took the train to Florence and paid for a return they did not have a return that would get them back to the ship before the 7:30 pm all aboard. They ran into another couple and the four of them taxied back together to make it on time. When you venture out on your own that is a risk you take and then you would have to find your own way to the next port or home as the ship will not wait for you.
I will have to admit this was the hardest port to chose an adventure on as Pisa, Florence and Cinque Terre are all bucket list items

So we chose Portovenere & Cinque Terre

This tour included a bus ride to Portovenre. A Ferry ride to explore Cinque Terre  where we stopped to explore Monterosso. Then we took a train back to the buses as they are not allowed in Cinque Terre and then the bus back to the ship. The only thing missing was a helicopter. So the first day we did the French Riviera the second day we explored the Italian Riviera. 

 My next blog will discuss the day in detail

Want to connect here is where you can find me

www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca or www.exclsuivetoyoutravel.com

slough@exclsuivetoyoutravel.com