Florence shore excursion from Livorno

You may or may not be able to leave the cruise ship when you think you can. We've been on many cruises, and often the advertised time for disembarking differs from reality. Florence is about 75 miles away from the port. That being the case, consider taking one of the excursions offered by the cruise line. Yes, it will cost a bit more than doing it on your own, and you can do it on your own if all goes as planed. And there are many who will advocate doing it on you own. However, if you are off the ship on your own and encounter traffic delays, bus breakdowns, or any other kind of delay, the ship will leave without you. We've seen people running along the dock trying to make it back as the ship was departing. Several times. On the other hand, if you are on an excursion booked through the cruise line, the ship will wait for the group. That has happened to us. Once it was a bus mechanical failure, and a couple of times it was because an accident caused a huge traffic jam. The "extra" cost to take a ship excursion is a great deal less than the cost of having to get yourself to the next port. Just something to think about.