Tour Florence in 1 day (Cruise ship port)?

It is good that you planning far in advance. In the future, do a land based trip as cruise ships don’t give you enough time to explore the main sites well.

If you haven't already, check to see if the ship has an excursion including transportation from/to La Spezia and museum entry tickets. It will cost you more but save you the headache of piecing it together. You will also be guaranteed to get back on the ship before it sails, if there are delays between Florence and La Spezia. FWIW, I'd just pick one museum and plan to enjoy it. I'd personally pick the Uffizi, walk past the Duomo and marvel at it, and buy a souvenir book with David in it. And I agree, go there on your own for several days another time to see it all. Florence is so lovely and walkable.

We did and excursion from a cruise ship to Firenze about 4 years ago, yes it was a bit pricey but we got to see David, the Duomo and Uffizi plus had a great lunch at a family restaurant in central Firenze. Plus we did not have to worry about the ship leaving without us. Or you can cancel your cruise and fly into Firenze for a week or two as suggested by others.

Pick on place. I would do Academia and see David, more manageable on a tight time budget. Have lunch afterwards (look for something that a tourists would not go into but it is very hard in central Florence) wonder around, experience the city and leave something to come back to. Have been in Florence the last two years in the fall and it is VERY busy. In August it be VERY, VERY crowded and VERY HOT. Plan accordingly and reserve your tickets! Enjoy your trip!

I have been to Florence twice and both times spend 3-4 days there. We did a cruise that had a pricey excursion to Florence. We didn't do it, but visited Lucca and Pisa on a much cheaper tour. Suggest going to Florence when you can spend more than a day there.

Also, doing Academia takes about 2 1/2 hours and Uffizi 3 hours. The Doumo is not open every day, so make sure it is open the day you want to see it. Doumo is at least an hour and more if you do the tower.
I don't think it is realistic to try to do both museums and the Doumo in a day.

...if the ship has an excursion including transportation from/to La Spezia and museum entry tickets. It will cost you more but save you the headache...be guaranteed to get back on the ship before it sails...

KC is spot on and I agree 100 %. If you are on an excursion through the cruise line, the ship will wait for the group to return. Not so if you are off on you own. And the difference between the cost of the ship tours and doing it on your own is not nearly as expensive as getting yourself to the next port on your own. On several cruises we have witnessed people running along the pier as the ship sailed away.

We've done many cruises, and our rule of thumb is that if the things we want to see / do are close enough to the port so that we can hoof it back if needed, we go on our own. Otherwise why have the stress just to save a few dollars.

Thank you all for your wonderful advice. We've decided to go ahead and arrange the shore excursion directly through Princess Cruises. I think that will be the easiest and least stressful. I do hope to be able to return to Florence in the future for a more extended stay!

Happy New Year!

Best,
Ryan

We've decided to go ahead and arrange the shore excursion directly through Princess Cruises.
That's probably the best choice. I hope you are not disappointed. It will be busy, crowded and probably hot.

If you do plan to visit Florence again, consider alternatives for this trip. We've been in Florence in early August and know what it's like then.

Have you done cruises or visited Italy before?

If you are unable to get tickets for your times, visit Piazza della Signoria ( free ) and the Duomo Museum ( small charge, rarely a line )