# Cruise ship drop off point



## Al Jos (Mar 3, 2009)

We will be arriving in Florence April 28 on a transfer by bus from our ship the Holland America Oosterdam. The bus should arrive in Florence about 0930 am.
We would like to know where the drop off  and pick up point may  be so we can plan our time. Information given to us indicated that it would be  "lungarno pecori giraldi or is the same as lungarno guglielmo pecori giraldi" We want to go to the Galleria dell'Accademia  and make a reservation now. What would be the taxi fare for 4 persons to get from the drop off to the Accademia ?? and  if we decided to walk what would be the distance (km) and approximate time it would take??.  We have a map of the city and would appreciate if you could confirm the normal location of the drop off point for buses coming from cruise ships.
Thank you


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## Lourdes (Mar 3, 2009)

*Bus drop-off point in Florence coming from cruises - day trip in Florence*

Ciao Al Jos and welcome to the DT forum!

I am glad you will have the chance to visit Florence on your cruise vacation, a beautiful city, full of history, amazing architectural monuments and artistic masterpieces.

You ask several things so I'll try answer each separately so you can judge your options better for the limited time you will have in Florence.

1. *BUS DROP-OFF*: The Lungarno Guglielmo Pecori Giraldi (quite a long name, it is often shortened to Lungarno Giraldi) is the most commonly used drop-off point for buses. 
It is relatively close to Piazza Santa Croce. I found several forums that say a guide with groups coming from cruises will walk you as a group to piazza Santa Croce which will then serve as your meeting point at the end of the day. If this is the case for your group, then you are more than halfway to the Uffizi Gallery by then and walking there is the best option.

2. *RESERVATIONS FOR THE UFFIZI*: If you want to get tickets beforehand since you never know how long the line might be, the museum sells tickets online with a 4 euro surcharge per ticket. Get them from here: http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/venue.aspx
The normal entrance cost is 6.50 euro, plus the reservation charge of 4 euro brings the total cost to 10.50 euro per ticket.
Just as reminder, the Uffizi is open Tuesday through Sunday 8.15-18.50 (good thing you are coming on a Tuesday!)

3. *GETTING TO THE UFFIZI*:
*by taxi*: You can either take a taxi from a "taxi parking stand" or call for one, you cannot hail one from the street. 
I don't recall seeing a taxi stand near the bus drop-off point but if I can, I'll take a walk in that direction in the next few days and check it out for you. There is a taxi parking stand for sure in Piazza Beccaria and another one in Piazza Santa Croce. 

You can call for a taxi at 055-4242 and wait for it to arrive. The meter starts running from the time the taxi heads toward your location.

Taxi fare starts at 3,20 euro and adds 0,10 every 113 meters or 15,5 seconds you are in the taxi. The ride from the bus point to the Uffizi is about 2,3 km and should take less than 10 minutes. So on average I think your taxi ride might cost you from 10-15 euros.

*on foot*: the distance from the bus drop-off to the Uffizi is shorter on foot (about 1.2 km or 0.74 miles) and should take you about 15 minutes. I've mapped the route on Google and then marked the bus drop-off in the image you can find at this link:
http://www.discovertuscany.com/img/forum/from-dropoff-to-uffizi.png.

*by bus*: there are small buses that go around the historical center. Right in front of your bus drop-off point you will find the start of the ATAF bus line "B". I've also marked the route the bus takes on the linked image above. The bus would bring you right alongside the Uffizi and takes less than 10 minutes to get there. You can buy bus tickets from the bus driver for 2 euros each.


Let me know if anything is not clear or if you have any other questions I can help you with. 
I hope you have a great time on your cruise and enjoy visiting Florence!


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## Lourdes (Mar 3, 2009)

I forgot to add that for taxis you start paying an extra supplement after 3 people, so in this case if you are 4 in a taxi you'd pay an extra 1 euro for the ride.


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## Lourdes (Mar 3, 2009)

*how to get to the Accademia from the bus drop-off point*

OH MY!! Sorry about that, I somehow read Galleria degli Uffizi and went from there, but you asked for information for the *Galleria dell'Accademia*! This is where Michelangelo's _David_ is located but just so you know, there is a copy of the _David_ in front of Palazzo Vecchio as well. Of course, the original, clean marble sculpture is beautiful and cannot be compared .

The Accademia is a smaller museum than the Uffizi (Italy's most important Renaissance museum) and that should leave you more time to see the rest of Florence, an outdoor museum on its own. 

*GETTING THERE*:
The Accademia is slightly further away than the Uffizi, not by that much - 1.8km - so if you feel like walking, you can certainly get there that way. It will take you a bit longer, more like 25 minutes walking.

If you don't feel like walking it, then I recommend the taxi - you can either walk to Piazza Santa Croce or to Piazza Beccaria and get a taxi at the stand there, that way you don't have to wait for it or pay the extra minutes it takes to get to you.

If you walk toward Piazza Santa Croce, you have the additional option of taking the small buses I mentioned in my previous post. In this case, you'd take the "C" bus. It goes to Piazza San Marco and the Accademia is literally just steps away. You can get timetables at the ATAF website (http://www.ataf.net/Template/DetailLinee.aspx?LN=en-US&idC=180&Linea=C)

Here is a link to the new map I made to show you the relative walking route from the drop-off, taxi stands and bus stops:
http://www.discovertuscany.com/img/forum/from-dropoff-to-accademia.png

*TICKETS*:
Since they are both state museums, you use the same website as before to reserve ahead of time. The cost is also the same. Here is the direct link:
http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/info_venue_accademia.aspx


Again, apologies for not answering your question correctly the first time. 
Now I've made up by offering details for Florence's two top museums, in case you have enough time in Florence .


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## Lourdes (Mar 19, 2009)

*futher questions on reserving museum tickets*

I was contacted directly for more information, so I am posting below the emails we exchanged in case it might prove useful to anyone in a similar position.

...................
*QUESTION:*

You have been most helpful and we appreciate the time you have spent researching this for us. One more favor to ask:

The direct museum web site you provided is *all in italian* which unfortunately we do not speak. Does the museum have an *english* language web site?  We have tried one site "info@tickitaly.com" but they declined (no availability) for the time and date that we need-April 28 between 10:30 and 12:30 for the Accademia. Is there any way that you can help - perhaps the museum direct ticket web site may be better but we can't fill out the form.

Best Regards and thanks again for all your help. Let us know if you post a reply on the forum!
A and S

.........................

*MY ANSWER:*

Ciao,

It seems I cannot give you a direct link for the English version so let me see if I can walk you through it.

Go to http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/uffizi/default.aspx

At the top right there are two fields - "email" and "password" - and right after that a *UK flag* to toggle into English.

By clicking "buy" several times you get to a calendar. Click on April and then the day, it seems there are a few spots left around noon.

The reservations are useful to get ahead of people in line, but if you can't get tickets ahead of time through this system - and it seems you can't through others either - then don't despair and just go to the museum directly as soon as you arrive in Florence. The online system only seems to offer 10 spots every 15 minutes, while through the line they let many more people in. You might get lucky and arrive at a time when the line isn't that long.
I am offering this as advice in case you aren't able to reserve entrances at the time you would like. I have never reserved through the site, so I am not sure if they ask for credit cards - can you let me know if they do?

I reserved a visit for the _Corridoio Vasariano_ over the phone last week and they just asked for my last name and then gave me a confirmation number I had to present at the reservation window to get my ticket. I then had to go to the "reservation line" in any case to wait for the next 15 minute turn so that I could get in. So if you are NOT requested to give any credit card details on the site, you could show up earlier and see if the line isn't long and take advantage of it. Of course this is not possible if you pay for them ahead of time.

Please let me know if this has been helpful? And if you can share how the entire system works, that would also be useful.

Best,
Lourdes

................

*REPLY:*

Thank you again for your help.

We clicked on the UK flag as you suggested and that worked fine. However, when it came time to *confirm the booking* online with a credit card, those instructions were *all in Italian* and some of the prompts were hard to follow.

We have a friend that came over that is Italian and she helped us fill out the form. Entering the credit card info was easy, however, the information that they requested at the bottom of the form needed interpretation.

Perhaps you can add my question as a clarification on the forum and then your answer to those who may be having a similar problem.  In particular "Annulla Operazione" and "Invio" needed to be interpreted for us and I think  that there was then another form that popped up to confirm.

Also, I must add that you need to register on the site with email and password.

Again thank you.


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## Lourdes (Mar 19, 2009)

I've translated the phrase found at the bottom of the credit card screen and the buttons from Italian to English below for everyone who might not have an Italian friend alongside to help in the booking .

_Annulla Operazione_ = Cancel operation
_Invio_ = Send

_Vi segnaliamo che questa e' una area protetta e che i vostri dati viaggeranno sulla rete in forma criptata con il massimo livello di sicurezza.
I dati della carta verranno conservati e protetti a cura della Banca._

We inform you that this is a secure area and that the data you enter will travel through the web in encrypted form at the highest level of security.
The credit card details will be conserved and protected by the Bank. 
[in this case, Monte dei Paschi di Siena]


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## Alice Sr. (May 9, 2009)

Ciao Lourdes,

This information is great!
Ringraziarla per la sua assistenza. (I hope this says thank you for your assistance - I used a translation site)

Alice


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## Lourdes (May 9, 2009)

*Prego! (You're welcome!)*

I am glad this information is useful!!  

Actually, since this might be useful for your future trip, it would be more correct to say: _La ringrazio per la sua assistenza_ or _La ringrazio per il suo aiuto_ (thank you for your help).
That is the formal way you would thank anyone you don't personally know.
Automatic translators have difficulty because they can't distinguish whether a "you" should be translated into the formal or informal sense in Italian (and other Romance languages) since the forms don't exist in English.

There are other ways to offer thanks. I share them as they might be useful: 
Grazie! (Thank you!)
Grazie mille! (Thank you very much!)

Both can be used in the formal and informal sense. Hope this might also be useful to everyone!


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