Shore excursions in the Western Med?

[Carlye]

Hi,

My mother and I are booked on RC's Symphony of the Seas- Western Mediterranean cruise July 2023 leaving and returning from Barcelona. We are first time cruisers for Europe and this will be her 67th birthday trip. Trying to pick out shore excursions and honestly feeling a bit overwhelmed! Any recs for shore excursions would be greatly appreciated. Neither of us have been to basically all of the ports (I have been very briefly, 2 hours to Rome). The stops are as follows:

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Provence(Marseille), France 

Florence/Pisa(La Spezia), Italy 

Rome, Italy 

Naples, Italy 

We plan to be in Barcelona for the night before the cruise and then will leave put the day after disembarking, so have already planned tours for those times.

Thanks in advance!

Carlye 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by SpeedNoodles
changed title to actual subject

[ChessE4]

We enjoyed Pompei in Naples but next time will visit Capri. Saw Pisa once and that is enough. Next time it's  Florence from La Spezia. July in Italy is hot, so plan on drinking lots of water. Rome is a long day, but you can see multiple sites on a walking tour. We skipped the Vatican due to crowds. But what you do depends on interests and energy levels. We alternate longer and shorter excursions to avoid fatigue.

[cedricmr]

Good morning,
We are French and we know these destinations well (we also did this cruise 3 times).
Palma: there is the possibility of bus or taxi to get off the boat to the foot of the cathedral. Then you can visit the old town on your own without any problem. It’s a very pretty city.
Marseille: it is recommended to take the bus ticket with royal caribbean. It is more convenient. Otherwise, you have to walk in the port to enjoy the urban bus...
La spezia: pretty city to visit. Popssibilités to take boats to visit cinque terre. Or the train, you have to go to the station (by taxi because it goes up). Many, many people on cinque terre
Rome: royal Carribean excursion. Alternatively, a shuttle to get out of the port. Possibility to walk to civitaveccia. Or go to the resort to take the train to Rome. There is also a shuttle bus (but watch out for the car ciculation).
Naples: the port is directly in the city. Just go down and cross the street. It has bus discoveries (sightseeing) very interesting. Otherwise, from the port, a lot of boat connection to visit Capri for example