Just off Celebrity's Galaxy in the Med.....(my 2 cents on the ports)

[TourDeCruise]

Linda: Good idea on the Celebrity transfer; we did the same from port to airport. You'll have an absolutely fabulous time. We look forward to hearing all about it. As for a tip, be aware of Rome, Naples, and Athens pickpockets (Rome & Naples driving is not the best either -- caution crossing streets). In Rome, I saw 2 sets of young women working the scene -- 4 teenage girls and later 3 young women with babies & a sheet of cardboard to distract tourists. They work in little groups. These are wonderful cities, but just scan the area and keep purse/valuables in front of you. My husband's hint was do as much as you can do in ports. Have fun on this wonderful cruise! Kathy

[TourDeCruise]

Just a note to say I started putting together my Corinth/Mycenae review and will post it when I am finished.

[juliejoe]

Thank's for letting us know it's in the works. - We're watching for it.:)

Julie

[stipmom]

Do you think you will be posting your Corinth/Myceane review by Thursday.?We leave on Friday and am planning that tour. Thanks, Michele

[TourDeCruise]

Michelle: Yes, I will make a point of completing it by tomorrow or Wednesday night to give you time to ask questions and for me to answer them.

[TravelCouple]

TOFUBEAST:

Can you tell me how the bedding (linens) were in your Galaxy cabin? I'm used to sleeping with a duvet - summer or winter - i just love my down comforter:-) I'm worried that the blanket or covers on our bed will be thin & flimsy. I'm thinking of bringing my own! (Vacuum packed of course). How are the pillows?

In the cabin rooms, do we have control of the air conditioner?

 

Please advise. Thanks!

[tofubeast]

You can control the a/c in your room. REgarding the bedding, we just slept with the blanket on. We always take off the cover (ever since seeing a special on 20/20 about hotel bed covers). The bedding was alright, but nothing special. So if it is that important to you, bring it with you. We just didn't think about it the whole time.

[TravelCouple]

Thanks Tofubeast........you've helped make a decision for us. (Ick ...I saw that 20/20 special too. Very disturbing).

One last question: Are the beds pushed together? Or do we actually get a queen size bed? Or I think they indicated king size in some rooms.

[tofubeast]

For us, they pushed the beds together. We were in a Cat 4 deluxe ocean view cabin. Perhaps when in concierge class or higher it is different? not sure. I believe it was a queen size..or maybe a tad bigger.

[TourDeCruise]

Introduction

 

In my review, I’ll attempt to interweave information such as background information, how long we spent, what basically there is to see at the sites, a few historical bits of information, and my experiences while there. This review is lengthy, but I’m hoping it will answer different questions you may have. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

First, to clarify: we did not take an organized ship tour, but hired a private driver to go to the Corinth Canal, Ancient Corinth, and Mycenae. The cost with Spiros (*****@yahoo.com) who pre-arranged our driver Takis was 250 Euros for 1-4 people for around 8.5 hours. We only had the two of us, since we couldn’t find anyone to join us as most people we met had not been to Athens before and wanted to see the sights there. The 250 Euro cost for just the 2 of us was definitely worth it. We skipped lunch in interest of seeing as much as possible.

 

We had been to Athens before and being avidly interested in ancient civilizations, we were so looking forward to both places, particularly Mycenae. Ancient civilizations have been my passion since first seeing pictures of Egypt when 8 years old. Fortunately, I found my husband who also shares these interests.

 

To us, Mycenae and Ancient Corinth were a thrilling highlight of the cruise, especially given that the Mycenaen site is around 3500 years old, Ancient Corinth is around 2500 years old although much of it was built and re-built during Julian Caesar’s rule (1st century BCE), and the view for both places is so breathtaking.

 

Starting off that morning though I was a tad skeptical that this day could come close to all the wonderful places to which we had been in the previous 10 days. We had just been to the absolutely phenomenal Ephesus the day before, the best day of the cruise. So when we set out for Corinth and Mycenae the following day, our enthusiasm waned because Ephesus was behind us and industrial Athens was the present. I was convinced this particular day would in no way compare to the extraordinary day in Ephesus, the earlier excursion to the magical Delos, our visit to the fascinating ancient Akrotiri that we missed during our 1st time to Santorini when the site was closed for excavation, and our pre-stay in Rome where we focused on Roman sites. I was still overwhelmed from the previous day with my mind still fixated on Ephesus. I expected this day could possibly be anti-climatic. I was about to be proven wrong.

 

I really should have known better because after our pre-stay in Rome, Orvieto, and Civita di Bagnoregio, I thought the 3 enriching Italy days would have to be the best part of the cruise. Then we went to Delos a couple days later and wondered how anything could top Delos, then onto Akrotiri for which we waited years to see, then onto Ephesus with the same sentiments that it would be impossible to be as inspiring as Rome, Delos, and Akrotiri.

 

Our day started off going through the industrial area of Athens, which is not a pretty sight and the traffic was horrendous. As the beautiful countryside and Aegean Sea views replaced the industrialization, my enthusiasm lifted measurably. The drive, once you get out of Athens, is beautiful and peaceful with the sea views, lush rolling hills and mountains, farmland, and small towns.

 

Corinth Canal

 

I won’t spend much time on the canal because it is a relatively modern canal completed in the 1800s, although the ancient Corinthians under Periander at the end of 7th century BCE and later slaves under Nero’s command during 1st century AD tried to chop through the isthmus. The canal also wasn’t the main purpose of our excursion. We spent around 10 minutes there at the restaurant and outdoor vendors and looking at the canal from the bridge. It was nice but better places were around the corner.

 

Ancient Corinth

 

Our 1st stop after the canal was Ancient Corinth. At this point, the rural scenery was spectacular. The ancient Acrocorinth fortress perched on a mountain top hovered high above the ancient ruin we were about to visit. Ancient Corinth did not have the crowds that many ancient sites have, so we pretty much had it to ourselves without the plethora of people to detract from the experience. It makes it extra amazing when you basically have the site to yourself -- the silence, solitude, and oneness with these ancient sites.

 

The Temple of Apollo is from 6th century BCE and the theater is from 5th century BCE. The rest of Ancient Corinth is “newer” – from 1st century BCE when “new” structures were built or re-built during Julius Caesar’s rule. You’ll see some “newer” 1st century BCE Corinthian columns near the entrance and museum. This will be your opportunity to see a style that was developed in Corinth itself, therefore named accordingly, primarily used by the Romans, and like the Doric and Ionic orders adopted throughout the world even in present day. Also, you’ll see some Composite columns which are a combination of Corinthian and Ionic capitals. The Temple of Apollo being much older has the more simplistic Doric columns. In many cases, these different styles of columns help to differentiate ages in many of the sites you will visit, including Corinth.

 

Ancient Corinth has a theater (located just outside the enclosed area), odeon (also just outside enclosed area), an agora, ancient “shops”, remains of dwellings or public buildings, and a sacred spring and fountain. The Apostle Paul preached, was detained/arrested, and acquitted at Ancient Corinth, but I never determined the “preaching” location within the site. We spent around 1-1/2 hours at Ancient Corinth and the archaeology museum. We did not visit Acrocorinth.

 

We saved to last ascending to the Temple of Apollo because this would be the highlight. As we toured the other structures, the seven remaining limestone columns of the lovely Temple of Apollo towered over the site and never left our view. I was taking pictures and shooting video as I ascended the small hill to the temple. My husband kept telling me the photo ops would get better as I climbed. I found that hard to believe because the photo ops were already amazing. But he was right. The backdrop of the mountains behind the Temple of Apollo is stunning. And when you look at the Doric columns, you realize they are monolithic, which is unusual. Most of the time at sites, you will see the seams of the rings on temple columns. This was a remarkable treat to see monolith columns this time. We toured the small archaeology museum at the site before leaving for Mycenae.

 

Mycenae

 

Note: our taxi driver and others called Mycenae “Mikines” (sp?), pronounced like Me-key-ness and not like we pronounce it or as you hear it pronounced on TV.

 

Mycenae involves a lot of walking downhill and uphill to see all the structures. We were happy about that because we routinely like to get a lot of exercise, especially after our feeding feasts on the ship. Ancient structures from this once-mighty kingdom start down the road with the Tomb of Agamemnon, across the road, below the Lion’s Gate, and dotting the path to the top of a hill/mountain. The taxi can take you from the Tomb of Agamemnon to the other part by the Lion’s Gate or you can walk uphill on the road to reach the other part. If you have a book with a site map (I had one at home but didn’t bring it), you might want to take a copy of the map so you don’t miss anything. Maybe the ticket booth or museum shop has a site map, but they didn’t give us one. Most of the structures are grouped together by the Lion’s Gate up to the hilltop, but some are a little spread out. Mycenae has various tombs, houses, a granary, palace, an underground cistern, a cult altar (not on my map and pretty much inaccessible from what I could see – no path getting down there), and a small archaeology museum. We spent around 3 hours at Mycenae, including the museum.

We knew a lot about Mycenae, but were not prepared for how beautiful it would be. It far surpassed our expectations as far as how much was there and the beauty of the setting – much lovelier than the tour books show. We had seen History Channel specials, read books on the site, and three times saw the movie Troy that features the King Agamemnon, his brother King Menelaus of Sparta (husband of the mythical or perhaps real Helen of Troy), Achilles, and the attack on Troy. The Lion’s Gate itself appears in the movie.

 

We first stopped at the beehive Tomb of Agamemnon (also known as Treasury of Atreus, who was Agamemnon’s father) which is a short distance from the other structures, including the Lion’s Gate. The story of Agamemnon started to come alive although most likely this is not really his tomb but a tomb of a predecessor. Then onto the other part of the ancient site we journeyed. We climbed down the hill to the Tomb of Aegisthos who was Clytemnestra’s lover with whom she conspired to murder her husband the King Agamemnon, who had been away for a long time fighting the Trojan War.

 

Fast forwarding to present day, at this point I needed to change my now-full video camera DVD. My husband ascended to the Lion’s Gate while I took care of swapping DVDs. Not knowing where he went, I continued down to another tomb and set of ruins. I approached the other tomb not aware of what would be before me and peered down at the marker. I was standing in front of the beehive Tomb of Clytemnestra herself. No one was around as I went into the cold and silent tomb hoping the over 3-millennium dead, accomplice-to-murder, Queen Clytemnestra wouldn’t dare to haunt me. It was an ethereal moment that I had this particular tomb to myself. My voice echoed in the tomb as I narrated my experience to the video camera.

 

I located my husband shortly after my Clytemnestra tomb adventure. He had been scouting out the best camera angles for me and taking in various structures. As we climbed the path to the top, we noticed less and less people making the trek. People collected around the Lion’s Gate and Grave Circle A, but many did not continue all the way to the top. It was in Grave Circle A, the royal tomb, that the Mask of Agamemnon (although probably not his, but yet older than his time), gold crowns, and other royal burial treasures were discovered. The actual treasures reside in the Athens National Archaeology Museum although replicas reside in the archaeology museum onsite at Mycenae. The onsite archaeology museum also has a lot of (real, not copies) pottery and utensils that were excavated.

 

In one of our daring -- or maybe insane -- moments, we climbed part of the way down into the very narrow and dark underground cistern with the help of a gentleman (maybe he worked there?) who had a feeble flashlight. The flashlight barely provided any light so this was an adventure of descending blindly down the small and winding ancient steps without a rail to brace oneself. Heaven only knows what is at the bottom as we gave up going all the way down. Next time I’d want to be tethered to the top, so they could pull me out if needed. ;)

 

Visiting the structures along the way, we gradually made our way to the top. The view from the top is absolutely breathtaking with the very green rolling / hilly terrain and lower ruins it overlooks. We had already visited the lower structures, except for the inaccessible cult altar that the top view exposed.

 

The 3500-year-old site is extremely fascinating with its prominent role in history (or “pre-history”!) and for setting preliminary stepping stones leading to the eventual Golden Age of Greece. Like Rome and many other great civilizations, Mycenae, once a great power, fell for reasons not unlike other vast empires and kingdoms. But at this moment, I experienced the powerful greatness. Standing at the top and overlooking these ancient ruins of a once very powerful kingdom, with all its personal and historical drama, was one of those exceptional moments where time froze and captured this special memory that I would always treasure.

[juliejoe]

Oh Wow Kathy! Thank you so much for your marvelous review!

 

We watched Troy just a couple of months ago - I'm going to rent it to watch again and get busy doing more reading in preparation for seeing these sites.

 

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Julie

[LynnSD]

Kathy - Thank you for taking the time to write such a wonderful report. It really helps to know what to expect - sounds like we will be following the same route as you as far as the ports before Athens, and then we have this tour booked through Spiros on the 7/25 Grand Princess. Now I feel confident that we made the right choice, much as I hate not seeing the Acropolis again.

 

Anyone out there interested in joining us?!

 

Any chance you will be writing your memories about the rest of your day in Nauplia and Epidaurus?

 

Thanks again -- Lynda

[TourDeCruise]

Lynda: We didn't go to Nafplio or Epidauros. At first Spiros indicated we would have time for the Corinth Canal, Ancient Corinth, Mycenae, Nafplio, and Epidauros. I couldn't see how without cutting down time at the sites, which we weren't willing to do. We only had time for the Corinth Canal, Ancient Corinth, & Mycenae and didn't even take a break for lunch. There was a lot of driving with just these three places, plus we wanted adequate time at each place. We left around 7:50am and we weren't back until around 4:20pm. Are you in port longer than we were? We were there from 7:00am until 5:00pm, but didn't get cleared to leave the ship until a little after 7:30am and had to be back on ship no later than 4:45pm. In the morning, it was around a 10 minute walk out and through the terminal (we could have taken the shuttle to save a few minutes); we had the furthest slot away -- Millennium had the closest. We should have been back to Athens earlier, but we hit a lot of traffic coming back into Athens especially due to a sudden heavy rainstorm. It sounds like you have the same interests we do. Hopefully, your husband will enjoy all this as much as you! You're going to love it!

 

 

Lynda and Julie: I bought some books on eBay and read them before going, plus watched the History Channel & History International shows. Let me know if you have questions about these or any of the other places. Glad I could help.

[LynnSD]

We are in port a little longer - boarding is at 5:15 for 5:45 departure - but I also know that my husband won't go all day without lunch!! Your report will help us figure out how to plan our time.

 

I'd love it if you recommmended some books. I've been thinking I'd better get the history and mythology straight... I think Delos and Mycenae are the two places I'm most looking forward to. Anyway, school is done Friday so we'll have time to do some reading.

 

Thanks again!

[cruisingmimi]

Hi everyone,

 

JulieJoe: Have you decided on your Vatican Tour yet? I saw your post on another board and wondered what you decided. I am researching this now for our Oct. cruise. Did you select a tour company and which one? There is a guided Vatican organized group tour we were going to do but it does not include a guided tour of the Vatican Museums (only the Gardens & Sistine Chapel). I have reservations about attempting to wend our way through the Museums without a guide. I have read that people that have done it on their own regret not doing a guided tour. This would be my feeling also.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Mary

[stipmom]

That was a great review on Ancient Corinth and Myceane. Thanks for posting it before I left. I might try to rent Troy before I go and watch it as I pack. Michele

[juliejoe]

We have requested a SCAVI tour and are still waiting for a response from the Vatican as we will "build" the rest of our Vatican time around it. The ideal would be to get a SCAVI tour in the a.m. then book a tour of the museum following it. We will probably just use the Vatican guided tour. I know we will get more out of it with a guide and we want to shorten the wait time for tickets.

 

Julie

[TourDeCruise]

When watching the movie Troy, keep in mind that the movie does have some inaccuracies and changes from both history, myth, and Homer’s Iliad but at least the movie is based on some accepted history and myth (no monetary coins were around back then, Achilles’ cousin wasn’t really his “cousin”, Helen and Achilles may or may not have been real people, Helen may not have made it to Troy or might have gone back with Menelaus, etc.). We don’t know how much of “history” and Homer’s Iliad are true either. No different than a multitude of other movies and recorded history that change fact, reflect biases or differences of opinions, or what makes a good story. Since this is a 3500-year old story, no one knows for sure. But at least the movie will provide a foundation for that time period and some history that is most likely basically true.

Lynda: Good luck getting the “mythology and history straight”! If you figure it out, let me know! The scholars and archaeologists and general population don’t always agree among themselves. Some of the mythology is legend that could have some historical basis. Then there are the early Greek beliefs of heroes and kings being sons of the gods and goddesses or a god and a human or that the hero has the ability to become eternal or a god. Homer, for example, could have embellished the history part of his story with myth or grandeur. Achilles and Helen of Troy are two examples. I asked our taxi driver about Helen of Troy and he said Helen was a real person. Others say she was not.

Most accept that Atreas, Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and Aegisthos were real people. At Mycenae, the tombs are labeled as Tomb of Agamemnon or Treasury of Atreus (same tomb), Tomb of Clytemnestra, and Tomb of Aegisthos, but the scholars and archaeologists consider these just to be labels and the tombs could actually be of someone else and not of those as labeled. I read in one of the books that the Tomb of Clytemnestra could be Agamemnon’s tomb. The Tomb of Agamemnon could be that of his father’s or someone else. Likewise, the Tomb of Aegisthos could be of someone else. Most consider the Mask of Agamemnon, found in one of the 6 shaft graves of Grave Circle A, not really to be Agamemnon’s mask, but a mask from 350 years before Agamemnon. They do believe that the graves of Grave Circle A did belong to royals (Agamemnon’s ancestors) because of the gold masks, crowns, and other valuables that were found.

Note: In my review, the top of the hill (summit) is where the remains of the palace are. I should have written that. I left out some of the “soap opera” of the Agamemnon family to not make the review any longer than it was, but their story is very interesting.

Here are some of the books I have. I purchased all in the US, except for the ones I have noted in parentheses. I have others, but these are the best ones I have related to Mycenae, Delos, Pompeii, and Herculaneum.

Greek Mythology, Gods and Heroes - Iliad - Odyssey by Marilena Carabatea, 1997, ISBN 960-500-102-0 www.dalini.gr (I bought this book in the Athens cruise terminal for 11 Euros; there was a different Greek Mythodology book for 1/2 the size (1/2 # of pages) for around 9 Euros)

Mycenae, the monuments and the finds, brief illustrated archaeological guide by Petros G. Themelis, Ephor of Antiquities (not dated, but seems of past decade)

Mycenae, a Guide to Its Ruins and Its History by George E. Mylonas, Director of the Excavations, Athens, 1970

Mycenae-Epidaurus, Argos-Tiryns-Nauplion, a complete guide to the museums and archeological sites of the Argolid by S.E. Iakovidis, Professor of Archaeology, Athens 1998, ISBN 960-213-035-0

The Peloponnese, a traveler’s guide to the sites, monuments and history by E. Karpodini – Dimitriadi, Archeologist, Athens 1996, ISBN 960-213-013-X

Minoan and Mycenaean Art by Reynold Higgins, 1997, ISBN 0-500-20303-2

Delos Monuments and Museum by Photini Zaphiropoulou, Ephor of Antiquities 1993 (I bought this book in Mykonos, 6.50 Euros)

Herculaneum, Italy’s Buried Treasure, a vivid re-creation of life in Pompeii’s sister city by Joseph Jay Deiss, 1985, ISBN 0-06-015376-8

National Archaeological Museum of Naples, quick guide, by Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli e Caserta, 1999, reprint 2001, ISBN 88-510-0014-X (I bought this book at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples 7.50 Euros; this book was recommended by travel expert, Rick Steves)

Herculaneum by Giorgio Giubelli (I bought this book in the Naples cruise terminal shops; they also had it at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, which was out of the English version though, around 14-15 Euros)

Herculaneum, the excavations, local history and surroundings, 2000, ISBN 88-510-0140-5 (I bought this book at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, 7 Euros)

Pompeii, 2000 years ago and today, 2003 ISBN 88-7204-306-9 (I bought this book at Pompeii from one of the outside vendors in 2003 -- it has the narrative labeled with same numbers as the labels at the site)

Great Treasures of Pompeii & Herculaneum by Theodore H. Feder, 1978, ISBN0-89659-021-6

Searches on the Internet will produce a lot of information too.

Kathy

[TourDeCruise]

Woops. I said the movie Troy and Homer's Iliad is a 3500-year-old story for Agamemnon, Achilles, & Troy. It's around 3200 years. 3500 years is the age of the oldest Mycenaean civilization finds in Mycenae, which pre-date Agamemnon's reign. In my opinion, the stories and tradition are mostly likely interlaced with both myth and real historical events.

[Queenk2]

Kathy.. I loved your review, but I do have a question. We have already been to Naples and have done Pompeii. We were planning on either a taxi to Herculaneum or the train. I see that you took a taxi. Did you pre-book this or did you just get one when you exited the ship? May I ask about the cost. If it is HOT and in July I am sure it will be, a taxi sounds great! I just don't know about arranging this. Please respond here or E mail me at Queenk2@aol.com

Thanks- Karen

[TourDeCruise]

Karen: We did not pre-arrange transportation but just took an available taxi from outside the Naples security/cruise terminal. When you exit the building, there will be drivers offering tours of Naples. I heard one driver say "Ercolano" (town with Herculaneum), so we inquired about cost. It cost us 50 Euros roundtrip (fixed price ahead of time) for the 2 of us, plus we gave the driver a tip, plus around 10 Euros each for Herculaneum. The driver waited for us at Herculaneum for the 2 hours and 45 minutes we were there (we told him 2-3 hours; determine how much time you want and ask taxi cab driver for price; I wish we told him 4 hours -- I would have liked more time but that would have cut into our lunch and time at the archaeology museum). He parked on a nearby side street but was looking for us when we exited the site. It took around 1/2 hour driving each way for a total trip of around 3 hours and 45 minutes. Get there early if you can. It probably gets more crowded as the day goes on. Celebrity's excursion was in the afternoon.

 

He would have dropped us off at the Naples National Archaeology Museum, but we decided to go back to the ship for lunch and then we walked to the museum after lunch (around a 20-30 minute walk).

 

Let me warn you that the driving in Ercolano itself is an adventure. Getting to Ercolano wasn't too bad because there was a highway, but Ercolano has small, narrow streets and a lot of traffic.

 

We had been to Pompeii too, so we wanted to visit Herculaneum and the archaeology museum this time. Herculaneum isn't as expansive as Pompeii, but there is a lot there and it is more intact than Pompeii. In 3-4 hours (I'd rather have had 4 hours), you can see most or all of Herculaneum unlike Pompeii where it takes much more time (couple days) to see most everything. We really enjoyed Herculaneum (like Pompeii) and the Naples museum has many of the exquisite frescoes, mosaics, statues, and other objects excavated at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Based on my experience, I believe Herculaneum has more mosaics and frescoes at the site than Pompeii does. It was really a fantastic day for us and exactly what we wanted to do.

 

Only regret other than it would have been nice to have another hour there (except I wanted ample time at Naples archaeology museum which is great): I wish I would have had a site map of Herculaneum when I was there because I ended up missing a couple things. I have books on Herculaneum, so I did study up on Herculaneum before I went there. I don't know if the ticket office or bookstore has a map, but they did not give us one with our tickets. If you have any books with the site map in it, you might want to copy it and take it with you or look for one at the bookstore. (I got my books on eBay -- except for Pompeii book that I bought there, but I bought 2 more books on Herculaneum and one on the Naples archaeology museum when I was at the museum.).

 

Rick Steves' Rome (or Italy) book, which also has some information on Naples and Pompeii in it, came in very handy for the Naples National Archaeology Museum because it said what was in the various rooms. The Naples museum bookstore also has a site map of the museum for .50 Euros (1/2 Euro), which I advise getting if you go to the museum because the museum is big and easy to miss things.

 

Let me know if you have any more questions that I might be able to answer.

 

Kathy

[Queenk2]

Thank you soo much for the info!

[LynnSD]

Yes, thanks again Kathy. Are there guides-for-hire at Herculaneum, or are you on your own if you arrive by taxi?

 

And I assume that you felt the walk to the Archeological Museum was safe? Are there taxis around in the afternoon, or is it too short a trip? We have missed the museum twice because it was closed, and are determined to see it this trip.

 

The Grand also does their excursion to Herculaneum in the afternoon, and I was concerned about the heat, so following your plan might be the answer.

[TourDeCruise]

Lynda: I didn't notice guides-for-hire there, but then I wasn't looking. Does Pompeii have them? If so, a good chance Herculaneum does too. They have the audio phones there too like they have at Pompeii -- so you might consider the phone. I think (but I'm not sure) you dial up the number displayed on the structure to get the audio description. A tourist we met said the audio was informative but a bit too dramatic.

 

You'll recognize some things, like the termopoliums, those bars with the food bowls, like they have at Pompeii. One tourist announced, "There's where they went to the bathroom." Obviously, he didn't know what they were.

 

I often listen to what a nearby guide has to say and since I speak/understand Spanish very well, I pick up a lot that way too and translate for my husband! There are some markers with narrative explaining some information and also markers saying which structure is what.

 

In Naples, be careful of the streets you use. We took Via Toledo which is a big shopping district street (shops close around 1 or 1:30 for the afternoon but there are street vendors still out). Via Toledo runs up right next to the museum. Keep your purse in front of and close to your body and just be vigilant. We did not have any problems nor did we see any pickpockets or any dubious people. I felt reasonably safe but asked my husband in advance to stick close by. I opted not to take pictures on the way up, so my camera wouldn't be exposed as a temptation.

 

Another option is to do Herculaneum and have the taxi take you directly to the museum afterwards. The driver might be able to recommend a pizza place or restaurant nearby (Naples of course is famous for pizza since it was invented there) for lunch. Then walk back from the museum or have the taxi take you back.

 

The taxis tend to want the bigger fares instead of the shorter trips. I don't remember if the taxis were still there in the afternoon. If they aren't around the cruise terminal exit, you might try getting one on the busy street between the cruise terminal and the castle (right in front of the cruise terminal). I'll ask my husband if he remembers taxis after lunch. We like to walk, so we went with that option (but we only had 80-85 degree weather).

 

The museum and Herculaneum are great. What an incredible collection at the museum from Herculaneum and Pompeii! You'll have a wonderful day with both Herculaneum and the museum. I missed the museum the 1st time too and was determined not to miss it this time.

 

Kathy

[Queenk2]

Kathy.... like I told you..we also want the museum BUT it is not airconditioned and if the temp is near 100 with humidity to match, we may opt for Capri in the PM by hydrofoil from the dock! Weather will determine our pm plans!