La Spezia (tours to Florence /Pisa) cruise port, Italy
A naval city at the head of a gulf, and the reason ships call is what sits either side of it: the Cinque Terre villages up the coast, Pisa and Florence inland. La Spezia itself is a working port with an arsenal in the middle, which is why it looks nothing like the postcards people come for.
Worth knowing. Shelley drowned in this gulf in 1822, sailing home from Livorno in a boat he had named for Byron's poem. It has been called the Gulf of Poets ever since.
What to do in La Spezia (tours to Florence /Pisa) for free
The port shuttle drops you at the gate and the centre is ten minutes on from there, flat the whole way. Via del Prione runs the length of the old town, and the covered market on Piazza Cavour is where the town shops rather than the visitors. The gardens along the seafront are the way back.
What costs money
The ship's own excursions usually cost more than booking the same trip yourself. Two things come with the price. The ship waits for its own excursions and does not wait for you. And if the port is missed, P&O refunds its own without you asking. A trip you booked yourself is a claim on your travel insurance, so check what your policy covers. The ship sells its own trips to all of these, and the desk is open on board if you would rather do it that way.
The Cinque Terre by train. Five villages on the cliffs north of here, a few minutes apart, and the train from La Spezia Centrale stops at all of them. Go early: by mid-morning the trains and the villages are both full.
Florence or Pisa. Pisa is about an hour and a quarter each way and Florence closer to two, so either one is the whole day and most of it is travelling. The ship sells coaches to both and the trains go from the same station as the Cinque Terre.
Which ship calls at La Spezia (tours to Florence /Pisa), and when
Every call here between 15 August and 28 November 2026, with the hours ashore P&O published. These times are a guide, not a promise: the captain gives the real ones the day before.
| Ship | Sails | Day | Ashore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arvia | 9 May 2027, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 19:00 |
| Arvia | 6 June 2027, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 19:00 |
| Arvia | 4 July 2027, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 19:00 |
| Arvia | 15 August 2027, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 19:00 |
| Arvia | 12 September 2027, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 19:00 |
How long you get ashore in La Spezia (tours to Florence /Pisa)
The published times give you about 12 hours alongside, depending on the sailing. Take off the time it takes a few thousand people to get off, and the time you need to be back on board before the ship leaves, and that is your day. P&O give the real hours the day before, and the all-aboard time is earlier than the departure time.
The other stops on these cruises
Every one of these is on at least one of the sailings that calls at La Spezia (tours to Florence /Pisa).
- AlicanteSanta Barbara castle stands on the bare rock of Benacantil straight above the town, held in turn by Carthaginians, Romans and Moors because whoever had the rock had the harbour.
- BarcelonaThe Gothic Quarter is built on the Roman town of Barcino, and the Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882: Gaudi knew he would not see it finished and said his client was in no hurry.
- Cadiz (tours to Seville)Probably the oldest continuously lived-in city in western Europe: the Phoenicians founded Gadir here around 1100 BC.
- Civitavecchia (for Rome)Rome's port since Trajan built it in 106, and his harbour walls are still under the modern quays.
- La Seyne-sur-Mer (for Toulon)A shipbuilding town across the water from Toulon, France's main Mediterranean naval base.
- MalagaPicasso was born here in 1881, in a flat on the Plaza de la Merced, and there is a museum of his work a few streets away.
Money and language in Italy
Euro (EUR, €). Cards are normal now, and a small bar or a market stall may still prefer coins. Onboard is always charged in sterling, so this only matters ashore.
English is common where the ships call and thinner a street inland.
| English | Italian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Buongiorno | bwon-JOR-noh |
| Goodbye | Arrivederci | ah-ree-veh-DAIR-chee |
| How much? | Quanto costa? | KWAN-toh KOSS-tah |
| Thank you | Grazie | GRAT-see-eh |
| Please | Per favore | pair fa-VOR-eh |
Free, and it works with no internet. Give it the dates you sail and it works out your own stops and saves the street map for each one. It shows you round the ship too.
All the ports written up so far, the things to do before you sail, or the ship pages for Iona and Arvia.