Barcelona is a fabulous port and perfect place to begin or end a cruise. There is so much to do within walking distance of the port gate and the metro system is steps away as well.
Not a great experience. A "pop up" village has been created at the dock for those that would like to wander through a simulated market of Tunisian goods. Tunisian band greeted us at the port, as well as camels for photo ops.
Everyone is clearly there for the ship's tourists. Highlight was getting my son's picture riding a camel...then we were back to the ship for fun around the pool.
Even if the stay had been longer I doubt we would have spent any more time off the ship.
The port for Florence is actually Livorno. A bus and 5-10 min. ride is required from the port to get to the center of town in Livorno. The drop off is very near the bus station, the beach, and the downtown area.
We chose to take a train over to Pisa rather than the 3 hour round trip for Florence. Pisa is a 15 minute train trip from Livorno and quite interesting. The best pizza of our trip came in Pisa from a "hole in the wall" spot with a wood fire oven. Also, good luck with local trains got us back to poolside activities early.
We liked the town of Livorno but didn't care for the effort involved to actually get to Florence. Had we not been a family of 4, we probably would have relied on a cruise line excursion to get to Florence.
Great port! Beautiful city on the water and lots of activity at the beaches. If you are interested in the fantastic shopping and browsing, easy ferries are available to get to nearby islands.
Definitely take the 30 minute open air train around the historic area of town, then walk the beach front and around the shops behind the major hotels.
Just a beautiful french town with the bluest water!!
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