We are arriving Livorno on July 30 and have arranged a day car rental pickup (Europcar) at Calata Carrara. Does anyone know the relative distance from docks to this pickup location and the accessibility? Should we try to get a taxi or can we hoof it?
I have secured a map of the area from google and the cruise port website and can see the lay of the land with the satellite view. I just don't know if the roads permit pedestrian traffic. We are not afraid to walk a bit, in fact, it would be a healthy move.
Has anyone actually rented a car and had the "experience" of the pickup and dropoff?
Cindy, I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, but the reality is that there are some unknowns. We rented a car on May 1 at Livorno (we have been there many times) from Maxirent who actually has an office in the main terminal building at the port. Previously, Maxirent (and some other companies such as Hertz) would deliver cars right to the pier. But, Princess insisted on tougher security rules (this might be common with the other major lines these days) and would not allow Maxirent to deliver cars on the pier. Thus, we were on our own to get over to the port terminal building (about a mile away) and the security folks would not allow us to walk within the port. The shuttle bus provided by the cruise line refused to drop us at the port entrance (apparently this was on orders from Princess) and we finally had to share a taxi (with another couple) who made it clear we had to pay him 20 Euros for the short mile drive to the terminal building. When we later dropped the car we simply walked back to the ship and the puzzled security guards simply waved us through the barriers. We later heard rumors that Hertz was able to get their cars through the security zone, but we never saw any proof that this happened. Since this is Italy, there is no way to be sure what policy will be in place tomorrow, next week or next month. That is one of the things that makes Italy so much fun, and also at times quite frustrating. This being said, after our cruise we spent 11 days driving in Italy (Amalfi Coast, Marche Region, and Tuscany) and had a wonderful time (we always love driving in Italy). On many trips to Italy (both on cruises and on land) we have simply learned to relax, take things as they come, keep our humor, and adapt to current conditions.
