We were quite disappointed with the tour we booked. Firstly we felt it was very expensive for what we got... literally a bus ride for $A200. Apart from getting to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa Florence itself was a real disappointment and even Pisa was a bit of an anticlimax... what's all the fuss about? All you have is a round building leaning over... so does Venice and nobody makes a big deal about that. Florence itself wasn't an attractive place at all which is what we were expecting. It actually felt a bit like a slum, old, untidy and run down. Sadly not a place we'd return to.
Like Florence we were quite disappointed with Rome. Firstly we expected the private train to be a bit more luxurious but we found ourselves sitting knee to knee with the passengers opposite which was quite uncomfortable for an hour long trip. The train dropped us into Rome quite a distance from all the major sites which we didn't realise until we got int there so we ended up paying more for to go on the hop-on-hop-off bus. All in all $A250 which was very expensive for what we got. On top of that the bus wasn't worth the time. Rome itself is too over commercialised as is most cities of a similar nature. It definitely worth seeing and maybe even staying there for more than just a day but I doubt if we'd be rushing back again.
We did Pompeii and Sorrento on our own. Our tour of Pompeii was a little rushed and we didn't get to soak it all in as we would have liked but overall it was okay. Our tour guide was a female clone of Newman from the Seinfeld series and she was quite aggressive which took away from the tour a little. Sorrento on our own was nice and very relaxing.
Sorrento Rating:
We did Pompeii and Sorrento on our own. Our tour of Pompeii was a little rushed and we didn't get to soak it all in as we would have liked but overall it was okay. Our tour guide was a female clone of Newman from the Seinfeld series and she was quite aggressive which took away from the tour a little. Sorrento on our own was nice and very relaxing.
The Grand Bazaar was worth seeing but we found it was all a bit rushed and an all abit samey after a while. The jewelery was amazing and had to be seen to be believed. We ventured outside the Grand Bazaar after a while and it was much more interesting. We didn't venture too far though as we were worried we'd get lost and that would have been quite easy.
The Acropolis was quite interesting a worth seeing. the tour we we one was informative and the guide knowledgeable (as you would expect). Unlike some of the other sites we'd been to during the cruise we were given ample time on our own after the guided part of the tour which was good. Once again it was expensive but at least it was more enjoyable.
We didn't book a tour as we planned on staying in Venice an extra night after the cruise giving us plenty of time to wonder around on our own. Amazing place and definitely a destination to visit at least once in your life.
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