VIKING OCEAN CRUISE
Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023
We took the optional Scenic Lucca & Pisa tour. Lasting 8.5 hours, it was a decent value at $129 per person. We had one of the earlier departure times at 0745 with an expected return at 1615. (The ship was scheduled to set sail for Rome at 1800).
Here is the description of the tour from the Viking website:
Marvel at the architecture in Pisa’s Square of Miracles, then admire one of Tuscany’s best-preserved medieval cities.
Upon arrival in Pisa, walk from the coach park to the Square of Miracles. Here, you will visit the 13th-century Romanesque Cathedral and circular Baptistery. During free time, you can ponder the famous Leaning Tower and explore the Camposanto Monumentale, called the world’s most beautiful cemetery. A scenic drive through Tuscany with your guide takes you to Lucca. The walls surrounding this atmospheric city, built in stages from the 11th to the 17th centuries, remain completely intact; you will feel as though you have stepped back in time as you pass through its ramparts. On a walking tour, follow the medieval bastions and cobblestone streets past the Basilica di San Frediano and Roman amphitheater. View the charming interior and artwork in the Cattedrale di San Martino. You will have time to explore its quiet warrens on your own.
Here is our actual timetable:
- 0745 Leave cruise port
- 0820 Arrive bus parking lot in Pisa
- 0845 Tour Square of Miracles
- 0925 to 1015 Free time (Visited cemetery and baptistery)
- 1045 to 1115 Drive to Lcca
- 1130 til 1215 Lucca tour
- 1215 to 1400 Free time for lunch and shopping
- 1400 to 1500 Tour of Cattedrale di San Martino.
- 1515 to 1615 Return to Livorno
The excursion is rated as DEMANDING. We walked over 7 miles (though not all in our tour group) and surfaces were often rough and uneven cobblestones with steps to negotiate. It wasn’t demanding in the way Pompeii or the Acropolis in Athens is demanding, but it did require stamina and the ability to walk long distances, often on uneven surfaces or cobblestones.
This was one of our favorite excursions on our three-week-long cruise, and for many reasons, some fortuitous. Our tour had only 12 guests (on a full-sized bus). All passengers were highly mobile and were fully engaged for the 8.5-hour excursion. The guide was extraordinarily well-versed in Italian history, culture, and art, and shared plenty of anecdotal tales along the way. The tour was a balanced mix of guided tour plus free time which made for a pleasant day.
Our first stop was Pisa which was a 35-minute bus ride from the cruise port. Once the bus parked at the satellite parking lot, we walked about one mile to the Square of Miracles at a quick clip. No stops. We were among the first visitors, so the views were unimpeded by crowds. Our Viking tour guide was required to hand us off to a “licensed” Pisa guide. We enjoyed a guided tour of the exteriors of the Baptistery, Cathedral, and Leaning Tower, then the “Pisa guide” passed us back to our original guide.
We stopped at a restaurant near the Tower where one could use the “free” bathroom when purchasing a “small item.” This was our first stop on the tour. (0925) We had an hour of free time and were advised on how to purchase tickets if we wanted to go into the Tower, Cemetery, or Baptistery.
Touring the interior of the Leaning Tower and climbing the 296 steps to the top required a more expensive, timed ticket and there was insufficient time and we had no reserved ticket. So we regretfully passed.
Instead, we purchased a 10€ ticket to tour the Baptistery and Camposanto Monumentale (covered cemetery) and spent an hour amazed. The enclosed cemetery is a treasure trove! The sculptures. The marble mosaics. The frescoes. The carvings. And if you look carefully you’ll find the answer to “Where’s Waldo?” We’re glad we saw the Leaning Tower. However, my travel motto for Pisa is “Come for the Tower, stay for the cemetery.” An audio tour is available, but we just explored it on our own.
If a tourist remarks “There was nothing to see in Pisa” or “Don’t bother with Pisa” I would wonder if they did more than look at the Tower. I cannot emphasize enough that this covered cemetery was one of the highlights of not only this tour but of the entire cruise!
The Pisa Baptistery of St. John was begun in 1152 and completed in 1363. It was constructed with two walls, a pyramidal exterior roof, and a domed interior wall, which provided an acoustically perfect space. Every 30 minutes, the building’s guardian stands in the middle of the structure and sings a few notes to demonstrate! It took only fifteen minutes to see the interior but a worthwhile 15 minutes.
We were unable to enter the Cathedral proper because we were there on Easter Sunday morning and the Archbishop was celebrating Easter Mass. We briefly stepped inside the back entrance of the church and took a quick peek at the interior.
After Pisa, we bussed to nearby Lucca. Next post…
About Bo Mackison
