Alternative Transport into Florence

becky,

It would help to have a few more details such as when you'll be travelling? I just checked the Bahn.de website for an arbitrary date later this month, and it shows numerous rail trips from Livorno Centrale to Firenze SMN. Travel time varies a bit depending on which departure is used, but some of them are direct (no transfers) with a travel time of about 1H:20M.

I didn't check all the trips but most of them appear to be via Regionale trains, so no reservations are required. In order to save time on travel day, I'd probably buy tickets online.

I don't know how much time is required to get from the docks to Livorno Centrale. I didn't check return rail trips but there should be some that will get you back to the ship in time for departure.

Just a guess but perhaps you are looking for tickets beyond the summer ( early June?) schedule update.

Looking at April there are plenty of direct trains from Livorno to Florence taking 1hr 20 min.

I'm not having any luck with trenitalia because it shows my only
option is from Livorno to Rome to Florence.

This is a typical "failure mode" of online planners that often catches people unfamiliar with European trains unaware. If the schedule is not yet completely published the planner will try to use what is, to give you a solution anyway. And that leads to weird routes.

So always plan using a date in the next week or so. And then do not worry. Trains will run in the future too, and for regional trains you just buy a ticket at the station. Do not buy tickets for regional trains online as Trenitalia has made that quite complicated.

Isn't it likely a large group of people disembarking--one assumes with many others--from a cruise ship and wanting to go to one of Europe's most popular cities will find long lines at both staffed counters and ticket-vending machines at the Livorno station? I'd think buying online tickets would be the way to go.

Although there is a lot more to see in Florence, I feel I should point out that one can travel from Livorno to Pisa San Rossore Station in less than half the time needed to reach Florence, and options on the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa extend beyond the Leaning Tower. Going to Florence is going to mean close to 4 hours in transit if you include the travel time from port to train station and waiting time for train departure. How many hours will the group really have in Florence to see all those wonderful sights, anyway?

I also wonder about the ages of the group members and whether there's a possibility the train would be so crowded as to make finding seats difficult.

I considered suggesting trying to arrange a private transfer, but I wonder whether traffic conditions between Livorno and Florence might make a road trip longer than the fastest of the rail options. In any case, I don't think much could be done in that direction until a much more precise head count is available.

becky,

One other question....

Does the cruise line offer excursions to Florence? Perhaps that would be the easiest option and at least you'd be assured of getting back to the ship in time for departure.

I'm thinking along Ken's line, Becky. I know that lots of cruisers try to avoid ship excursions due to price, size of group, planned sightseeing itineraries, etc. However, given the difficulties of moving a group potentially as large as yours around and keeping everyone together in a crowded city, I'd go with the excursion.

There is a big spread between 8 people and 23 people! That there evidently isn't a firm commitment from these individuals bothers me; it's an issue if you, for instance, have to pre-commit to a transfer service for ___ number of people and then some of those people want to drop out. You eliminate that headache if all the individuals are responsible for signing on - and paying for - the ship's excursion themselves. As Ken also said, you're also assured of getting the tribe back to the ship on time.

Editing to add: it would be a lot easier to find a transfer for 8 than for 23.

We are visiting Florence on a cruise this summer with a group. We will have 8-23 people with us.

More information would be helpful. I'm especially interested to know if this is a day trip, especially when you dock and when you need to return to the ship. It will take 3 hours round trip just in travel time to get there. That does not include getting off the ship and then returning to the ship from transportation. Add at least 30-45 minutes each way.

Have you been to Italy before? Also, keep in mind a few thousand of your new friends will be trying to do the same thing. Personally, based on our times in Florence, I can't imagine being able to do anything of value in just a few hours.

There's also the need for early purchase of sightseeing tickets to consider. You wouldn't be able to do that without a precise head count.

becky, I urge you to extricate yourself from this frightening scale of professional travel agent work, for bargain-hunting first- time cruisers. This high-risk cat-herding project will haunt you for the next decade! Run, do not walk away.