Naples Port

[KOPITE 96]

We are joining Explorer2 on October 30th for Ocean Horizons and we will be well on board by midday. My question is does anybody know where we will be docked? I believe that if it is Stazione Marittima that it is only a short walk into the centre and we would love to see part of Naples for a couple of hours. Any advice and tips would be appreciated. 

Also has anybody any updates on the airport situation please, we are hoping that it has improved?

Thanks Sue.

[2BACRUISER]

IMO Naples is a dump, the docks area is pretty rough and busy as hell with traffic. There is a ho-ho bus which does two routes never used myself as prefer to stay on ship, Archaelogical museum is ok if you are mega interested in Pompeii, but its a pretty grimy city otherwise. Check your sail away time as your back on board time may be as early as 4pm which wont give you much time, not heard any recent muttering re airport but cant see it improving in the short term. Sorry to be so negative but just what i think. 

[KOPITE 96]

Thanks 2BACRUISER all opinions are appreciated so that we can make an informed decision. Thanks for your honesty.

[suekay]

We love Naples as a port stop.....so many possibilities.  Pompeii,  Herculaneum, Sorrento, Capri, Ischia....and all so accessible by ferry or train. Sorry can't help with the original question as we've never departed from Naples. We have docked both at Stazione Marittima and the main commercial dock and it's easy to get downtown from either (we walked)

[suekay]

I've just read the OP's question properly and realised that there wouldn't be time to go to any of the places I mentioned. I still think it's worth having a wander round downtown, grimy and busy though it is

[KOPITE 96]

Thanks suekay, we just wanted to try and walk in and experience the vibe and our daughter wants pizza from a traditional place lol.

[suekay]

You'll be able to do that easily from Stazione Marittima, just walk over the road and up the hill. If you are docked in the commercial port as we were a couple if times, you can still exit left and walk along the main road to Stazione Marittima.  One time we exited right and tried to find the train station without success. When we asked a lady, she took us in her car. How kind was that?!  She did take us through a dodgy looking back street  district full of graffiti  so I was glad we weren't still walking.  The main roads are fine though, just very busy with heavy traffic

[Miller Cruiser]

We too are joining this cruise. It's our fourth TA crossing, but got to admit, dreading arriving into Naples airport after all the negative feedback.

[ormy]

We sailed from Naples in June - airport absolute shambles, never again from Naples.

Yes you can easily walk into town - busy, dirty and not a lot to see. We did Ho-ho bus but it was a waste of time, not at all impressed with the city. But Naples was the gateway to a wonderful cruise on Explorer 2, just sorry you will have the Naples Airport experience.

Enjoy.

[edinburgher]

Lots more info on the Europe/Italy Ports forum and if you use the search facility only threads with Naples in them will appear so you don't need to scroll through other Italian ports looking for Naples.

 

This might be useful. It is a typical thread you would find on "search".  I replied on it recently.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2675283-diy-naples/?tab=comments#comment-58204700

 

And for what might interest you in particular, Tripadvisor reviews for Naples too.

 

Scruffy it may be, but Naples has several hidden treasures waiting to be explored.

[ormy]

Sorry  Edinburgher but we never want to see/visit Naples Airport or City ever again and apart from the museum, to see the treasures of Pompeii, would just stop on the ship. 

[edinburgher]

Ormy, I know you had the same negative experience as us with Naples airport and we won't fly through there again with Marella until the situation is resolved.

 

Having said that, we had visited the area on a land trip, based in Sorrento, and the city itself twice previously, but we were still spoiled for choice.  If you can look beyond the scruffiness there is much to discover.

 

We also stopped more recently on a ship in Sorrento and revisited Herculaneum as there had been more finds since our first visit and more areas were opened up.

 

There is also Pozzuoli, where you can find the Solfatara and the Flavian amphitheatre. A suburb of Naples so only minutes by train or by using the new metro line, but totally different to the old city centre.  Info online.

Edited September 6, 2019 by edinburgher

[ormy]

Totally agree, but Sorrento and Herculaneum are not Naples City, the original post was asking about Naples in particular. The whole Campania region is stunning, we have visited this area many times.

[edinburgher]

The suggestion of Pozzuoli was for yourselves Ormy. Thought you might enjoy leaving the ship but seeing something new in nicer surroundings.

 

OP should try Tripadvisor, previously mentioned above, as everyone has different preferences for sightseeing.

 

Lots of helpful suggestions on there, also with the maps so easy to see what is closer to the port.

 

As for pizza, just about every pizza place with either takeaway or dine in we passed had really yummy looking pizzas.  On the link above from the Europe/Italy Board, there are suggestions, and Tripadvisor and a general internet search should bring up more.  This is definitely the city for great pizza as it was invented here.

Edited September 6, 2019 by edinburgher

[Pensioncruiser]

Just to put my two pennoth in on this post been to Naples many times, once even when they had the bin strike, and find it no worse than  some of the Caribbean shanty towns but with more character our main worry is the reports on the airport, we have a cruise booked for next year, which looks a fantastic itinerary with a couple of ports we have not done and others we love, we were informed at the time it was bonded luggage, which we now need, but no way could we go through what is being posted both on this site and others at the airport so at the moment are looking into re booking but will probably wait to see if things improve will be very disappointed if we have to change our plans 🤞

[ormy]

I would email Marella and ask what they plan for next year at Naples Airport, something will have to happen otherwise I can't see anyone, who knows the situation, booking a cruise out of the Port of Naples. A great pity because the itinerary is a very good one. Cannot understand why they cannot introduce  " Bonded Luggage " even that would still leave a long walk to coaches.

[Pensioncruiser]

17 minutes ago, ormy said:

I would email Marella and ask what they plan for next year at Naples Airport, something will have to happen otherwise I can't see anyone, who knows the situation, booking a cruise out of the Port of Naples. A great pity because the itinerary is a very good one. Cannot understand why they cannot introduce  " Bonded Luggage " even that would still leave a long walk to coaches.

Thanks ormy I have contacted them and they informed me that they had no problems and have actually sent me an amended booking stating that the luggage is bonded and explaining the process which is identical to that at Dubrovnik and Barbados. Watch this space 😲

[ormy]

Now that is certainly good news, should solve a lot of the problems.

[dronnygirl]

Hi PC, is that just for next year? We sail in a couple of weeks so hopefully things will have improved. I'll let you know when we return.

[Pensioncruiser]

Hi dronnygirl  yes it is September 2020. We go next Saturday but that's on D2. Hope all goes well for you and it's better, fortunately you are aware that you could have problems which whilst still not good is useful😉

[ollienbertsmum]

I have been to Naples a few times as a port stop rather than embarkation so I cannot comment on the airport.

 

I love Naples as a port stop because it offers so many tour opportunities.  I might also add that we have been there on a bin strike.  It was a bit smelly but we were just walking to the train station to get to Sorrento.  Last year our stop there was cancelled because of bad weather (end OCtober) and I missed the Amalfi drive.  I was disappointed to miss Naples, I will have to try again next time.   There will be a next time.  

 

On one of our trips we just walked around Naples.  This was in April.  I don’t think we would have enjoyed the walk if we had been there in the middle of summer.  We enjoyed the (fading) architecture of the old buildings and got to neighborhoods with washing and mopeds.  It reminded us of where my husband was raised  in the old town of Gibraltar.   We had a pizza which was much moister than I am used to, it one of the best ever pizzas I have had because it was the day after my birthday. I had had one more drink than I should have.  Who would have known that pizzas are so restorative.  

 

Our walk must have taken about 4 hours.  We were not rushed because we had the whole day in port.  The OP probably wont have so much time, but still could go for a couple of hours - as long as they have checked that their watch is on European time and they check before they leave the ship exactly what time they have to be back.  The streets are confusing even with Google maps (probably need to be updated to work off line before you leave home), allow twice as much time as you expect.  Go with an open mind.  

[dronnygirl]

Hi ollienbertsmum, we are on a b2b so will have a full day in Naples, we intend going to Herculaneum but then wander round Naples. I will remember your comment about the pizza!

Been to Gib many years ago and know what you mean about the architecture, visited again last October and was amazed at all the new buildings.

[ollienbertsmum]

2 hours ago, dronnygirl said:

Hi ollienbertsmum, we are on a b2b so will have a full day in Naples, we intend going to Herculaneum but then wander round Naples. I will remember your comment about the pizza!

Been to Gib many years ago and know what you mean about the architecture, visited again last October and was amazed at all the new buildings.

 

We have also walked around Herculaneum.  It is quite a doable site - much less overwhelming than Pompeii.  You will have plenty of energy left for a walk around Naples.   I have always wanted to visit  the Sansevero chapel in Naples.  Unfortunately we have taken the same cruise  each year (NCL Epic), it calls in to Naples on a Tuesday, the day the chapel is closed.  You may have more luck. 

 

I agree at alll the new buildings in Gibraltar.  The fact is that people have to live somewhere.  When I arrived here 35 years ago people accepted squeezing in houses - sleeping in sitting rooms, sharing a room with your granny  etc, but now everyone rightly wants to live to a reasonable standard.  Homes needed to be built.  This year we have struggled with Govt campaign to build new schools.  We needed bigger schools but it feels like we live in a construction site.  Three mega schools are supposed to be ready on Sept 16th and only 3 more to go. ...  

[dronnygirl]

4 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

 

We have also walked around Herculaneum.  It is quite a doable site - much less overwhelming than Pompeii.  You will have plenty of energy left for a walk around Naples.   I have always wanted to visit  the Sansevero chapel in Naples.  Unfortunately we have taken the same cruise  each year (NCL Epic), it calls in to Naples on a Tuesday, the day the chapel is closed.  You may have more luck. 

 

I agree at alll the new buildings in Gibraltar.  The fact is that people have to live somewhere.  When I arrived here 35 years ago people accepted squeezing in houses - sleeping in sitting rooms, sharing a room with your granny  etc, but now everyone rightly wants to live to a reasonable standard.  Homes needed to be built.  This year we have struggled with Govt campaign to build new schools.  We needed bigger schools but it feels like we live in a construction site.  Three mega schools are supposed to be ready on Sept 16th and only 3 more to go. ...  

How strange,  it was 35 years ago when we first visited and the border was still closed so we had to drive all the way to Gatwick so we could fly into Gib for a wedding.  Many changes since then! 

Thanks for mentioning  Sansevero, I just looked it up and it looks amazing. We will try to get there.

[buzzybuzzbuzz]

Had a great day in port, headed for Herculaneum and then went on to Sorrento, came back to Napoli by ferry. Don't know if that's possible on your timescale though?