Crystal Serenity – Livorno
Livorno was the first stop on our cruise after departing from our embarkation port of Civitavecchia the previous evening at 9 pm. We had already arrived a docked in Livorno by the time we awoke. You can see below that we were in docked right in the port. From our view at breakfast it was clear that this is a busy hub for western Italy.
Every afternoon we would have a copy of “Reflections”, the Crystal Cruises’ daily newsletter (typically 10 pages or so) delivered to our cabin. This newsletter was great to read as it would give you a snapshot of the history of the port we would be arriving at the next day, what shore excursions would be taking place and where to go to meet for them, a summary of the activity that would be taking place on the ship throughout the day, sailing times, and a lot more information.
This issue referred to Livorno as a the “Gateway to Florence” as it is the closest port to Florence and is still 1.5 hours away from Livorno by car. Livorno also provides access to Pisa, Siena, and Lucca. Having visited Florence in the past, we decided that we would explore Livorno and see what this cozy port town in Italy had to offer.
After breakfast, we walked off the ship, and boarded the complimentary shuttle bus that operated every 20 minutes between the ship and the center of town, Piazza Grande.
It took us about 10 minutes to arrive at Piazza Grande. Although there were multiple cruise ship in Livorno at this time operating their own shuttle services, everything was very well organized.
Our first stop or our self-guided tour of Livorno was to the visitor’s center located right next to where the bus dropped us. After grabbing a map we were on our way (with the help of our smartphones as well for better navigation).
Our first stop was to view Fortezza Vecchia. The majority of the ports and coastal cities/towns in Europe will have historic remnants of forts that were built to protect them from invaders from the sea.
While walking around the fort, we caught a glimpse of Crystal Serenity in background.
Returning back to the center of town, we walked along the canal network in Livorno.
Livorno also had a few nice sidewalk cafes and a beautiful outdoor market.
There was also and indoor market with a wide selection of meats and cheeses at different stands. There were also a few food stands and other types of shops inside the market as well.
In the mid-afternoon, we returned to the ship.
We headed back to the pool for some relaxation before heading to the cabin and preparing for dinner.
From the Sun Deck we were able to see some of the other cruise ships anchored in Livorno, such as this Seabourn ship beside us.
Arriving back in our cabin, we were happy to see that all of the shipboard credits that we were eligible to receive had arrived. In total for the both of us, we received $1900 USD in credits for our cruise aboard Crystal Serenity.
This total included: a shipboard credit as part of the Crystal Choice options of $600 USD each, a $250 USD credit each from Virtuoso by booking this Virtuoso Voyages cruise, and a $100 USD special credit each supplied by Crystal Cruises
We really started to look forward to our daily afternoon visits from our butler to see what treats he would deliver today.
Today, it was a vegetable medley plate.
We were scheduled to depart from Livorno at 7:00 pm. Every time Crystal Cruises departs, they play Louis Armstrongs’ “What a wonderful world” over the ships speaker.
You can see the Seabourn ship departing ahead of us.
The ship below is Silver Whisper, a Silversea ship.
Tonight we dined a Tastes located on Deck 12. The concept is shared dining where smaller servings are provided for everyone at the table to share.
The food was very good and the staff were great, Definitely a more relaxed atmosphere at Tastes that most of the other dining spots. We would actually have dinner here a few times over the course of the cruise.
After dinner we took a beautiful evening walk around the Sun Deck to take in the evening sky and the night lighting of the ship.
Later in the evening, we stopped by The Bistro on Deck 6 for a little dessert and coffee.
The assortment of fruits, desserts, and appetizers was impressive.
We did enjoy our day in Livorno, but if you have not been to Florence or Pisa, you would likely prefer to visit these spots over a day in Livorno. Again, it was nice but it does not have the breadth of attractions or fame as these other two destinations.
As mentioned earlier, there were shore excursions offered while in Livorno, the available shore excursion were (prices are per person, applicable only to this sailing, and in USD ):
- Panoramic Florence $599
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa $159
- Medieval Lucca and Countryside Estate $309
- Round-trip Motor Coach Transfer to Florence $139
- Michelangelo’s Florence and David $399
- Siena & San Gimignano Discovery $389
- Florence: All the sights $399
- Florence & Pisa in a day: $369
- Chianti Wine & Dine at Verrazzano Castle: $419
If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Crystal Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.
If you would like to receive more information, or book a Crystal Cruise, you can contact me here.
Vision Travel is proud to be able to provide my clients with special deals and shipboard credit. These can be combined with promotions offered by Crystal Cruise as well.
