Florence or Cinque Terre

How long do you have for the side trip? Florence is about 1 1/2 drive from where you’re docking. Florence has lots to see and needs at least a half day; ideally longer.

Just flip a coin and see the losing place the next time. "See that the next time." is not a bad attitude to have. This has made our trip planning so much easier over the years. There is no perfect answer to your dilemma. Pick one and don't look back. Personally I would prefer Florence.

We are there from 7-6 pm.

I think for your one day Cinque Terre would be best as you can see the beauty of the villages in just one day and not feel like you need to go back (Unless you want to hike the villages), we only spent two days there and feel like we did a lot and have no desire to return. Whereas Florence requires much more than one day and you may just feel so rushed.

I feel like I will have seen so much architecture and art already in
other places I am stopping in and I really am more about the natural
beauty of things, than buildings and statues

Based on this, go to the CT. I personally feel that Florence deserves MUCH more than 1 rushed day but if you're not into Renaissance art, architecture and history.... While the tower at Pisa itself was of little interest enough for us to skip it entirely (although I'd like to see the cathedral, baptistry and some other sites there sometime) we did enjoy our time in the Cinque Terre. That said, our experience was done independently over a stay of several days so we had more time, flexibility and freedom of movement. The weather also may not cooperate, as happened to a friend of our whose one-day tour ended up to be on a rainy day. Whereas Florence has more attractions for getting in out of the wet, the CT is somewhat short of those; maybe you're OK with that, though.

So I found a private tour that would take us to both Pisa for a quick
stop (1 hr) and cinque terre (3 lands)

Pisa and the CT are in completely opposite directions from Marina Di Carrara. I can't see how they'd accomplish this tour without a LOT of wasted backtracking time, Carrara south to Pisa, then north again to the CT, then south again to Carrara, or the other way around. No, if you want to visit the CT, do JUST the CT to reduce the transport/backtracking time.

I think the Vision is one of the mega ships. For an independent tour it will be difficult to off the ship by 9 and need to back on by 5 but still that is a decent amount of time ashore. How many people on board??

I am not sure how many people on board, sorry. But yes, it is a big ship. I do feel like visiting Pisa as well may definitely be very rushed and not allow us enough time to enjoy CT.

Pisa , in my opinion, is a waste of time. I'd try to spend the whole time on the CT. Florence is way more then architecture and is NOT a "green' environment but deserves way more time as well.

Vision of the Seas holds 2050 passengers/742 crew. I would assume that people taking ship-sponsored tours would be first to disembark but won't swear to it.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=83
(Edited)

Consider a significant number of the 2,000 folks on your ship will be headed to CT. You can check the schedule, but there's a good chance yours won't be the only ship in the area. Your experience will be nothing like what you see in Rick Steves' segment on CT. There will be hordes of others pushing and pulling on the small streets of the towns. The small town charm has been replaced by cheap tourist shops. See this.

I think fewer cruisers will be heading to Florence. Still you won't have near enough time to really see anything in Florence. You can wander around in the heart of the city and maybe poke your head in the Duomo.

I had read that CT gets extremely busy like that over the summer, but is better in the fall. We are going in October. Is that not the case?

You'll be there in early October. The crowds will have thinned from the summer peak season, but cruise ships are still bringing in thousands of day trippers. Also, historically October is the rainiest month of the year. There will be a better chance you'll have cool and wet conditions. The latest numbers I could find for October was 2020. In the first week of October, ships carrying 37,066 passengers docked at La Spezia. Numbers this year will probably be higher. This year, 7,746 passengers are expected to arrive at Marina Di Carrara. It's kind of like Disney World according to time of year. It varies from crowded to unbearable.

Of course, the best times to see CT is before cruise ship passengers arrive and after they leave. The differences in crowds in places that get cruise ship passengers, like La Spezia and Venice when the passengers are there and when they leave are stark.

Have you cruised before? Have you been to Italy before?

I have cruised before many times, but never to Europe. First time visiting Italy and France.

I have cruised before many times, but never to Europe. First time visiting Italy and France.

Will you have any time before or after the cruise? Where else will your cruise go? How long is the cruise?

YEs, before the cruise we are staying 7 nights in Barcelona and also visiting Madrid. The cruise takes you to Rome, Marsalle, Nice and Florence/Pisa.

It's this one?

https://www.cleancruising.com.au/cruise/RCIVIS005_20221001

Just a head's up that Civitavecchia is some distance from Rome but maybe you knew that. It's sort of too bad that your cruise starts and ends in Barcelona so you didn't have the opportunity to spend time on either end in a different location but glad you're at least able to give Spain some extra days.

Yes that is the one! We are arriving a week earlier and spending time in Barcelona.

YEs, before the cruise we are staying 7 nights in Barcelona and also visiting Madrid.

Have a wonderful time in Barcelona and Madrid.

I loved Pisa, but it requires a couple of hours, IMO, to do all 3 buildings. I think Pisa and the Cinque Terre would be way too much and too hectic. One day in the Cinque Terre was enough for us. It is probably the only area in Italy I have no desire to return to, so you could get your fill in one day and check it off your bucket list. If I only had a day in Florence, I would feel badly because there is so much to see that I would not be able to in just a day. Save Florence for another time when you can savor it over a few days.