Your recommendations needed? Naples tours

[AIRLINES BRAT]

Re: Joining Amalfi Tour

Hi,

How many people can join? What is the itinerary and how much would it cost? We are 5 adults.

----------------------------------------------------

Hi Cruise Traveler,

 

If you are on the Grand Princess, June 19, 2005 sailing, you might be interested in joining us on our Roll Call message board go to ...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=131849&page=5&pp=25

 

I don't know if we will have enough room for all five, if you are interested, we will attempt to accomodate you.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ :) ~ ~ ~ J O I N ~ U S ~ ~ ~ :) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

~ ~ ~ A M A L F I ~ C O A S T ~ W I T H ~ S T O P S ~ ~ ~

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ P O M P E I I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ;) ~ ~ ~ M U C H ~ M O R E ~ ~ ~ ;) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

We have booked a private guided tour while docked in Naples on Wednesday, June 22, 2005.

 

Our driver/guide is Salvatore ~ owner/senior guide of DriveAmalfi.

 

* * * 4/6 passengers is €500 euros * * *

* * * 7/8 passengers is €650 euros * * *

Have A Great Day

Sandra

[amd1234]

we are a couple interested in joining a group on an Amalfi,Positano, Ravello tour. We will be on the Millennium Sept 19 cruise.. Look foward to hear from you...

[dlhamlten]

Just Back from the Grand's Grand Med Itinerary 14-26 May

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I feel that I owe some time to write answers to some questions that others have since we gained so much valuable info from these forums ( Cruise Addicts, too ). We just returned from the Venice to Barcelona trip and it would take forever to give impressions, but ...... Overall, a wonderful trip with a varied and impressive itinerary.

 

Some misc comments :

 

The Caribe Deck Balconies ARE the BEST as we learned on this Forum. Large and half of it covered and half of it unprotected which is nice for sunning. We spent a lot ot time on the balcony with 2 chairs, 2 chaise lounges ( ask Steward on first day to get limited cushions ) and a small table. Very good for sailaways and arrivals and the Dock in Venice ( the second one since they moved after the first night ) was breathtaking. We were Portside Forward C-210 and had very little noticable movement on only 2 days since seas were generally calm.

 

Weather was very hot in Athens so be prepared for even hotter days ahead which can make climbing the Parthenon steps arduous. Long lines everywhere for main attractions which are bothersome but probably unavoidable. Just be prepared to wait and our Guide in Istanbul said the traffic congestion and crowds were the Worst she had encountered in 20 yrs due to nice weather, a National Holiday and Free Admission for their citizens to the Mosques and museums.

 

The Capt was Alan Wilson as answered earlier. If that is important to you, then you should know he is a younger looking and very warm Scotsman with that great accent ( like my Grandfather's ) The Cruise Director was leaving after our cruise to go home so there will be a new one.

 

The Princess Check-in in Venice was a shambles perhaps because it was their first there this Season. Just be aggressive like all the other rude people and get to the front of the inside waiting area and stand in line if you get there before Noon when they start the process. Huge throngs of passengers with only 2 X-Ray stations and then more lines to surrender your Passports which are returned onboard on the second last day after Turkey.

 

We were able to avoid the 2 to 2 1/2 hour waits at the Vatican Museum you have read about because we were part of a Private Tour arranged by other Cruise Critic readers. It was much better than being herded on the Ship's buses with 50+ other passengers and less expensive.

 

Food is highly subjective. We were overall disappointed since we are Platinum Circle and feel the quality and taste has slipped. You will not go hungry and the unlimited lobster tails toward the end of the cruise tend to erase other weak items. While we have always selected Early Fixed saeting, my wife and I will opt for Personal Choice next cruise. There are many long days of tours on this port intensive Itinerary and lots of cahnces to get back to the Ship later than scheduled with too little time to relax befor Dinner. Also, around the 6Pm start time is when many sailaways begin which you will miss.

 

Obviously I could go on and on, but I need to end on a happy note. The absolute highlight of our voyage was a Private Tour I organized with 2 other Forum reader couples for Naples. Nine hours including a personal guided tour of fascinating Pompeii, thrilling rides along the breathtaking Amalfi Coast with many picture taking stops and a fantastic saeside lunch near Positano at a charming family-owned restaurant. No forced stops at Cameo Factories for shopping. ( But if that is your passion, there was a Cameo artisan right on the Ship for several days and you could watch him in person. )

Should a Naples Tour interest you, I highly recommend getting directly in touch with the affable, prompt, safe, courteous Giovanni of

 

http://www.info@Benvenutolimos.com

 

who operates this service with his Father and will pick you up right at the Ship. He was great !

 

Bon Voyage

[Breezey]

dlhamlten

I am taking this cruise in September and booked the Caribe deck as I had been on the Golden two years ago and loved the balcony. Wish I would have known to ask for 2 lounge chairs and pads on the first day.

 

Taking staunch Celebrity cruisers with us so sorry to hear the food was disappointing (this is their first non-Celebrity cruise).

 

Just curious as to the variety of formal dress. Based on your cruise, did you find many gowns and tuxes on formal nights?

 

Thanks for the tip on Giovanni. Prefer the private tours and looking forward to seeing the amalfi coast

[Crusier98]

We had Salvatore of DriveAmalfi at ***** who is from Amalfi and it was definately the best Tour of our cruise and we were glad we got to see so much more than we anticipated. DriveAmalfi had three tours from our ship and the other drivers were Adriano and Roberto who both got rave reviews.It was a great day made better by the information provided here.

[SheilaNC]

Great to read your review of DriveAmalfi. We booked Salvatore for our October Med Cruise. Now I'm really psyched about that wonderful day. Thanks

[sydney777]

Tour in Naples-using DriveAmalfi- can't get Salvatore and he is giving us Adriano or Roberto has anyone ever had them? Everyone says use Salvatore but if he is not available am I safe to say these guys are ok? My cruise is 6/17 but I booked this long ago and now read some bad stuff on this company. HELP Cindy sydneyalice@aol.com

[SheilaNC]

Just read on another Web site that the other drivers received good reviews from those who used them...the person writing used Salvatore but described the responses of others on his cruise. Hope that helps.

[Claire1]

We went to Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello with Giovanni Lerusce giovanni.lerusce@tin.it

 

Giovanni was amazing. The best guide I have ever met. He was a careful driver, very knowledable about the city and area (has lived there 35 years) and was all aroung great. He took us to a fabulous restaurant in Ravello with views overlooking the coast line. I can't say enough good things about him. His address is below:

 

 

 

via Quisisana, 35

Castellammare di Stabia (Napoli) Italy

tel-fax +39 081 8715021

m.phone+39 338 3244002

[mosster]

Hi,

Is there still space for 2 more for the Naples drive tour? We're a honeymooning couple on the Grand Princess for 19 June too. We've only just discovered cruise critics and the roll call... and we're leaving tonight for Rome! We'll still be checking this post, so let us know if there is space.

Otherwise, see you on board on 19 June :D

 

 

Re: Joining Amalfi Tour

Hi,

How many people can join? What is the itinerary and how much would it cost? We are 5 adults.

----------------------------------------------------

Hi Cruise Traveler,

 

If you are on the Grand Princess, June 19, 2005 sailing, you might be interested in joining us on our Roll Call message board go to ...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=131849&page=5&pp=25

 

I don't know if we will have enough room for all five, if you are interested, we will attempt to accomodate you.

 

We have booked a private guided tour while docked in Naples on Wednesday, June 22, 2005.

 

Our driver/guide is Salvatore ~ owner/senior guide of DriveAmalfi.

 

* * * 4/6 passengers is €500 euros * * *

* * * 7/8 passengers is €650 euros * * *

Have A Great Day

Sandra

[muse_clio]

Just Back from the Grand's Grand Med Itinerary 14-26 May

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I feel that I owe some time to write answers to some questions that others have since we gained so much valuable info from these forums ( Cruise Addicts, too ). We just returned from the Venice to Barcelona trip and it would take forever to give impressions, but ...... Overall, a wonderful trip with a varied and impressive itinerary.

 

Hi dlhamlten, we've got a group going to the Med on the Grand Princess on 16 May 06 from Venice. The same cruise almost exactly a year later! I think 3/4 of us are on the Caribe desk, so YEAH! If you've got a bit of time once you get settled back home, maybe some day you'd be willing to "drop by" our forum and give us any ship tips/shore excursion tidbits?

http://www.cruisecritic.com/interests/groups.cfm?ID=74

 

One thing i'm wondering is: what did you NOT pack that you wish you had, and what DID you pack that you never used..... Thanks for the post!

[cdncruiser]

Just got home from the Brilliance OTS 12 night cruise. I booked with Salvatore of driveamalfi and I can wholeheartedly recommend him. He was at the pier when we arrived, his vehicle is clean and very comfortable for 6 passengers. He is extremely knowledgable and made our day wonderful. He has the timeing down to a fine art and we didn't miss anything. Pompeii was fascinating, the Amalfi coast is breathtaking and the towns along the way were all different and exciting to tour. He took us to a restaraunt in Ravello that had a great view and 26 "flavors" of pizza. I would not hesitate to recommend Salvatore to anyone. If you have specific questions, feel free to email me at rasmcruise at shaw dot ca . Laurey

[PETRA4U]

FOR NAPLES WE ARE BOOKED WITH

Francesco Marrapese

 

 

website: http://www.francescomarrapese.com

380 euros for 6 people.

 

We are very excited and cannot wait. I have enjoyed reading everyone's reviews.

 

will let you know how ours goes.

 

 

 

:)

[Browezilla]

Another point on cruise shore excursion versus private drivers, just to be sure you're comparng apples to something like an apple :-) Many shore excursions also provide lunch, direct transport to/from the ship, and a guide where you are going (e.g. most private drivers do not "guide" you in Pompeii - Benvenuto being an exception). So when you're adding up costs for comparison, you should add in all of these. I've found that cruise shore excursion are roughly 20% higher than what I could get a private tour for if I don't include lunch. If I piece together public transportation myself (or rent a car), I can save a bundle.

 

I do a mixture of private, self-guided, and shorex. I've only ever had one bad shorex (the boat only had 1 of 2 motors working). When I complained about it to the RCCL shorex desk, they refunded in full our cost to everyone in my party. I've been burnt more than once on private tours (e.g. a driver stranded us on a remote beach. I had to ask a resident if they could take us to the ship, one tour started 90 minutes late because the driver was waiting for the 9th and 10th passengers to show up, a driver substituted an alternate beach which was not as nice as what we had planned). In each case, I used drivers highly recommended on the boards. A word of caution, you will rarely find a negative report on the forums because the person that has the negative report about them puts enough pressure on the appender to get it removed (e.g. threatening legal action). I also have personally known people left at the dock due to a private tour getting back late (granted, it is very rare).

 

I think shorex are great for excursions that push the time envelope or are far from the ship. They also are great if you don't want to spend the time doing the research. However, they do have the "move as the herd moves" mentality, and in general I find they could get in 20-25% more siteseeing if they cut out shopping stops and tightened up the time to re-herd folks onto the bus. They also have limited stops because of the re-herd problem. This is where a private tour excels.

 

So, I still do all 3 types. Mostly I do-it-on-my-own and private tours, but I do take the occasional shorex.