Need Tour Advice ASAP

Wow, big decision. You have the options before you, and it's only you who can make the choice. Good luck.

I don't know if you will really have 12 hours. If it's a large cruise ship, assume you won't be on land for at least an hour after docking (which may not be on time either) and you'll want to allow plenty of leeway for your return (so you don't miss the ship) - the longer you're on the road, the more leeway. Whatever time you would have had in the CT is going to be at least 3 and probably 4+ hours less. That doesn't give you nearly as much time there and you'll use a lot of time getting from one town to another, waiting for the local train.

Are you sure it's going to be more than 3 hours driving time on the Lucca/Pisa option? Looking at a map, it would seem to be substantially less. Google maps says it's 1.75 hours Livorno>Pisa>Lucca>Livorno.

The Field of Miracles is a 1-2 hour stop. It's interesting to see the leaning tower, the cathedral is beautiful and the baptistry is superb. Lucca is a lovely town to enjoy.

Chani, it sounds like you are leaning towards Pisa ...... tish boom !!

The cemetery in Pisa is also worth visiting.

I would go with Lucca/Pisa.

As for feeling responsible for the group, you are not. It can't be helped, you can't argue with the Navy. Instead of trying to squeeze in the original itinerary, just go with the flow. This would have happened no matter who planned the trip.

I'm with Chani and Zoe in thinking that the Pisa/Lucca option is going to involve quite a lot less time in the van and thus more sightseeing opportunities. As Chani has already said, Pisa is more than that tower: the church and baptistry are wonderful, and I see Zoe has a great suggestion for the cemetery... Lucca has been a favorite of many, many of its visitors. That tour will, IMHO, provide a much less hectic day than the CT, and quite a number of picturesque and interesting things to see.

Wine tasting? What's not to like? :O)

I did a cruise about five years ago and did a shore excursion to the CT from Livorno. I thought it was well worth it and we had plenty of time. He dropped us at the first town on the CT and we took the boats to visit the other towns. He picked us up at the last town. Had time to eat lunch, walk the main path and on the way back we even had time to whip into Pisa and take a quick shot of the tower. Everybody on this board always wants you to have more time, but the essence of a cruise is a quick stop to explore so you can decide if it is someplace you want to visit in the future. I think you should stick with your plans and see the CT. That being said if you have not been to Florence, I would def. opt for Florence over CT. It makes a great day trip and you can really cover the a lot of the city in one day. We went to the CT because we had already been to Florence. The only caveat is that it sounds like the CT has gotten massively crowded so hopefully you are still able to get on the boats from town to town. Really 12 hours is quite a bit of time.

Thank you. As usual,you give very well thought out answers. The one thing I didn't mention was we have to decide as a group what to go with in order to maintain our group discount. I've asked the tour operator to consider a discount for the added van because we have had to subtract the guide in a few cities due to parking issues. The added cost has been a factor along with the added ride time,in the group looking at a different stop. As long as I'm looking at the Italian countryside,I don't have a problem with the extra time,but the others do. If I can get a discount, it would soften the blow of our butts being in the bus a little longer.
I'm hoping the group still wants to try CT,but I don't think we'll be miserable if we end up seeing Pisa/Lucca. Never being in that area before, I'm just out of the loop in knowing logistics due to the change in port. I can't make an educated decision based on no knowledge, so thank- you all for your input!!

i'm going to toss this in for kicks? These comments from you on one of your previous threads:

"We tend to gravitate towards out of the way, less touristy areas, even when in a large city. We also prefer to eat where the locals go. "

"For me, it's talking to the locals and eating what they love and what's special to that particular area"

If you're taking this trip soon, I can't underestimate how overrun with tourists the CT is going to be: it is anything but an "out of the way place" anymore. IMHO, the CT is best during less-busy seasons, and with the ability to stay a night or two to experience the evenings/early mornings after/before the cruise-ship hordes have departed/arrived. Those off-hours are also pretty much your opportunity to connect with any locals as well as they'll be much too busy otherwise just dealing with the influx of visitors.

Pisa and Lucca will be busy as well but I'm guessing Lucca less so, and Pisa will have more elbow room than the narrow confines of most CT villages. Just something to consider? There will be places to eat where the locals go in both locations, and probably more of them than in the CT.

As much as I love Cinque Terre, I was there in May, and it was already very crowded. The trains were late and packed liked sardines. I have seen my friend's pictures now and it is much worse. It is hard to walk down the streets at times because of the crowds.

I also love Lucca, have been there twice. It is much more relaxing. Lunch and a wine tasting sounds very good :)
Have never been to Pisa, so won't comment

Will the fact that we will be taking this trip on September 2nd make a difference in crowds?
I know that most of Europe takes their vacations in August. Do you think CT will be less busy in early Sept?

No, I don't think it'll really make any difference. It's very busy all throughout high and shoulder seasons.

September 2 is still high season.