A friend and I are taking the NCL cruise out of Barcelona on July 8th with stops in Messina, Naples, Rome, Livorno, and Nice. Which ports are the easiest to do on your own? We have never cruised before, although we have been to Italy once.

We will be on that cruise also. In Messina we are renting a car because we want to drive around. After spending time in Rome pre cruise I wasn't sure we just wanted to take the bus to Taormina. Also our great grandparents were from Calabria so we may take the ferry over and ride around there (still working on that) In Naples we are going to Capri via the hydrofoil near pier and later in day are going to return to Naples and take the train (about 20 minutes) to Herculeneum. We will have seen Pompeii and hired a driver to see the AMalfi Coast pre cruise. In Rome we will be seeing the things we couldn't fit in pre cruise also. We have emailed and faxed the Vatican requesting tour for the Wed.7/4 we arrive in Italy but so far haven't heard which is usual. They don't get back to you till within the week before usually. In Livorno we have rented a car also.Although we want to see Florence, I understand it is so crowded in the summer I felt we would enjoy driving through Tuscany and enjoying the beautiful landscape. Last stop Villefrance and I understand this is a nice little town for shopping and there is a beach nearby. OR maybe we will take the train into Nice or Monaco. Won't decide till last day. Let me know what you are thinking of doing. Travel Bear.