OOSTERDAM, 14-DAY ULTIMATE MEDITERRANEAN EXPLORER, July 14, 2024 Departure, Questions???

[seaaz]

This is YesFan giving a shout out!

It's been more than a decade since we took our first cruise aboard the Oosterdam to Alaska.  This is a reunion for us to be back aboard this lovely ship.  

Looking for info regarding excursions in ports of call on this 14 day cruise.  Are HAL daily excursions worth booking, or is it better to go through a company like Viator for daily excursions?  Also, we are coming to Rome 8 days prior to the cruise and will be traveling south to Salerno, the Amalfi coast, Capri, Naples, and Rome in that order.  Any suggestions as to special places to visit along these stops?  One more question;  when we head out to Civitavecchia on the morning of the 14th, is it best to take the train from the main station in Rome followed by a taxi to the ship? Or are there better options to get to the port/ship? 

Thanks in advance and looking forward to communicating with other cruisers on our journey aboard the Oosterdam!

[Sir PMP]

I'll be on the Oosterdam in October, when in Naples, think Herculaneum instead of Pompeii, you can do it yourself by train. Depending on where you're staying in Rome, you can also take the train from Vatican station instead of the main station which is further out, the train goes every 30 minutes to Civitavecchia and is a 45 minute ride.

Hal excursions depend on what they offer, a walking tour you can do yourself.

[McDeb2119]

We took the train from Rome Termini to Civitavecchia. It was fine. We then took a port shuttle bus to the port area.  I think it was 4€ per person. It’s not far so a taxi might be better.  We’ve also arranged private transport with a larger group. Can be done via Viator.  We do a mix of HAL excursions and doing our own thing. But in the Med we usually like to do beach days in Greece, walk around the towns. In Naples, we chartered a boat that took us up the Amalfi coast and over to Capri. They picked us up at the port in Naples. 

[seaaz]

Thanks for your comments.  We are hoping to connect with some folks on our cruise in advance, so we can plan out a few small group tours along the way. 

[CruiserBruce]

4 minutes ago, seaaz said:

Thanks for your comments.  We are hoping to connect with some folks on our cruise in advance, so we can plan out a few small group tours along the way. 

The place to connect with others on your cruise is the Roll Call, located here:

 

 

[pirate cruiser]

We went to Pompeii in Sept.-since it was our first trip to Naples it was awesome but if  we go back I definitely want to go to Herculaneum-if I had to choose one I would pick Herculaneum.