Princess - Naples, you've been warned!

[Hlitner]

you're kidding right? naples is not an example of ordinary italians. those people live where cruise ships do not dock. while i agree naples is not so wealthy, it hardly demonstrates how traditional, lower income italians live and work. if you want to see how ordinary and respectful italians live, work, eat and play, you'll need to rent a car and just drive.

 

I suspect the "Neopolitans" and other Italians who live in the Naples area would be shocked to hear that are not "traditional Italians." I guess this non-Italian label would also apply to those who live in Genoa, Sorrento, Civitavecchia, Savona and many other Italian cities that host cruise ships. We have driven over 15,000 miles within Italy and I can assure you that those folks you see running around Naples are true Italians! That being said, we find Naples an excellent city to avoid and appreciate that the Italians have built a decent road network that bypasses the city :)

 

Hank

[HMSDingy]

I suspect the "Neopolitans" and other Italians who live in the Naples area would be shocked to hear that are not "traditional Italians." I guess this non-Italian label would also apply to those who live in Genoa, Sorrento, Civitavecchia, Savona and many other Italian cities that host cruise ships. We have driven over 15,000 miles within Italy and I can assure you that those folks you see running around Naples are true Italians! That being said, we find Naples an excellent city to avoid and appreciate that the Italians have built a decent road network that bypasses the city :)

 

Hank

 

I'm somewhat surprised of this comment by someone who has traveled extensively throughout Europe. Surely you must of found something good about Naples and the city's history..

[STLPilot]

And I guess traditional American Natives are those that own the casinos right?

 

Look guys my only intention was to help first timers who may be sucked into a walking or bus tour of Naples. And this isn't the first time I've been there. It's been 22 years and it's much worst.

 

You have Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii and the Almafi coast to enjoy on your only day there. I heard a lot of people wishing they didn't take that tour. I also spent 1 hour walking around and was very uncomfy with my wife. These are my opinions, that's it.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

I dont understand why people flame each other when warnings are given out, most of us know the risks but some are blissfully unaware so its good for them to know so they can keep an eye on their possessions.:)

[Hlitner]

WOW! Naples and casinos certainly would be far from my thoughts. As to the history of Naples, yes, it city has a great history. But the recent history of the city can best be summed up in their infamous "garbage crisis." Of course there are some nice things about Naples (they do have decent pizza) such as their archaeology museum, but when compared to the rest of Italy....Naples would be somewhere near the bottom of our list. When you consider that in the region of Naples you have Capri, Ischia, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, Heruclaneum, Pompeii, and even Procida, it is hard to justify spending time in Naples. If this insults some Naples lovers, than I humbly appologize....but tis the way it is!

 

Hank

[sidari]

To respond to the op and the reason for the thread, a month or two ago i was getting a haircut and i always go to the same guy... his father is Italian and he himself was born in Italy, i was telling him about our cruise itinery which includes Naples!

 

His response was make sure you keep an eye on your possesions and your hands in your pockets in Naples! he himself having been there many times believes that it is probably one of the worst crime area`s in Italy but also said it was an ok place.

[jameybano]

It is true that the surrounding areas of Naples have a lot to offer, but I would love the opportunity to visit Naples to:

 

1. Eat REAL pizza!

 

2. See the Veiled Christ sculpture. Really beautiful

[browneyes7]

We've taken two Med. cruises (2008 & 2009), and each time Naples was literally full of garbage. They had had a garbage strike going on for at least a year. Was there still garbage everywhere? We are going back in October, and I'm really hoping they have removed all the garbage!:(

 

I'm sorry. I put the wrong dates on this. Our Med. cruises were in 2007 & 2008. We are going again in Oct. on the Carnival Dream. I really hope the garbage strike is over! I would love to spend more time in Naples......but without the garbage.

[browneyes7]

Browneyes7,

 

Are you still on the 10/15 sailing on the Dream? We have not heard from you over on the roll call. Hopefully you will rejoin us soon.

 

Didn't mean to hijack thread......

 

Regarding Naples, I think there are good and bad parts of every city!

 

Happy Sailing

 

Hi luvcdays!

 

Yes, we are still sailing on the Dream 10/15. We just returned from a Transatlantic/Baltics cruise less than a week ago. That is why I haven't been on the boards for a while. We are resting up for the next one!:)

[cruisemom42]

I dont understand why people flame each other when warnings are given out, most of us know the risks but some are blissfully unaware so its good for them to know so they can keep an eye on their possessions.:)

 

 

Certainly it is good to give a warning, but when the OP calls Naples a "slum" and tries to blame the cruise line for even offering a tour that includes the city...well, I think that's a bit much.

 

IMHO, folks should do their own research and make an informed decision about how they want to spend their day in port. I was just amazed when I cruised with my mom (only time I have taken a majority of ship excursions) how many people would get on the bus without any knowledge of where they were headed that day or what they would be seeing....:cool:

[browneyes7]

Who in their right mind would wear a Rolex to walk around Naples in?

 

I've seen women wearing what looks like big diamond rings!! I guess they could have been cubic zirconias, but I would never wear anything that would tempt someone.

[browneyes7]

slp123. I'm so happy to hear that the garbage strike is over! We'll be there in October, and it will be much more pleasant to walk around the city without having to dodge piles of garbage. :)

[texancruzer]

Been there twice now on cruises. First time we headed straight out of town on a private tour of Pompeii, Ravello, Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento and then ferried back to Naples. This last trip I was sick with a nice head cold so we opted to stick close and did a 3 hr visit to the Natl. Archeological Museum (to see all the stuff they took OUT of Pompeii) then for some pizza and back to the ship.

 

While I am glad we went to the museum and drove around a bit before we went for pizza...... if we get back this way again - we will definately head out of town again. While Naples was only a close second to Athens in the graffitti department..... it also had a very hard edge to it. There are buildings still not rebuilt or even cleared from when they were bombed in WW2 :eek: We did have a wonderful very young taxi driver (didnt speak any English) who tried very hard to show us a good time in Naples (we had worked a set price for what we wanted to do) but over all we did not care for Naples at all.

 

I personally would much rather spend my vacation time enjoying the spectacular scenery that surrounds this area. Just my opinion.

[as19111]

Texancruzer, I think your opinion of Naples is much easier to accept and understand as your opinion and solicitation of your impression of Naples.

 

The op has "warned" us to stay out or it's our own fault. We all have to learn in our own ways. It's fine to hear that someone is disappointed in a port, or that they felt uncomfortable in a situation. Opininon noted and safety precautions should be taken. On the other hand, there is no need to trash a cruise line or an entire city for their decision to tour the city of their own choosing.

 

We didn't set foot in Naples simply because we wanted to see Pompeii and we received so many recommendations for the Amalfi coast. Should we have the good fortune to return to Naples, we might give it a try with this information as part of our planning.

 

STLpilot, it's not the message, IMHO it's how you express it that's flaming.

[texancruzer]

My motto is " is takes all kinds to make the world an interesting place" or " if we were all the same it would really be boring " Same difference :D

 

With that in mind - everyone has an opinion and subsequently is entitled to it. Some are stronger than others and some are more vocal about them than others......

 

The whole purpose of this forum is to get information. Not only the absolute kind (directions, price of train tickets etc) but also the subjective type too...... ie: personal opinions. I try really really hard to remember my own advice and not post a heated reply to those I do not agree with or find harsh etc..... just keep going and figure that person must have had their own reason for posting what they did. I do however slip up occasionally ;)

[tada]

We went to Naples back in October as part of an Easterm Mediterranean cruise on Carnival. We were taking a boat down to Sorrento, but had some time to kill that morning. So we walked around Naples. It was filthy, but we never felt unsafe. We saw people doing their morning routines, getting coffee, going to the University, the usual. We saw bakeries that looked good, and the people are friendly. If you do not like scooters whizzing by with no regard to people, you will hate Italy in general. It's a main mode of transportation. But the town was covered with garbage.

 

We went to Sorrento by boat, then Pompeii by train. We then got greedy and tried to squeeze in Herculaneum to see it's ruins. We started to run late. We asked some vendors outside the ruins if there was a taxi to the train station. They said no, but they would give us a ride. The English speaking lady called her non-English speaking (or limited English speaking) male friend to take us to the train station. He looked very young and European. Huge sunglasses, blond tipped hair, jeans with wallet and chain, etc. He started walking us to an underground parking structure to give us a ride. As we started walking down in the dark structure, my wife looked at me and said "we can probably walk from here" out of fear. But I trusted him. He took us to a nice new air conditioned Hyundai and proceeded to take us to the train station. On the way, in broken English, he said he was from Naples and asked us how we liked it. I thought it would be wise to tell him it was a lovely city. He agreed and smiled. When we arrived at the train station, I asked him how much in my very limited Italian. He said no charge, but I did give him a few euro coins that I had in my pocket. No more than I would give as a tip. He actually refused it, but I insisted. He said "Ciao" and wished us a good trip.

 

As I said, Naples was filthy with trash, but the people were friendly. I did not wear money belts or guarded myself with fear. We were just casual, and that was our first time there, not our fiftieth. Using common sense is the key to travelling. Wearing expensive jewelry, and using an expensive phone (and I carried and used an iPhone) will obviously draw attention, as it would in any US city. But I used the phone in private without drawing attention.

 

There are too many stories, true and not, about the crime in Italy. At no time did I use a money belt, and actually carried euros in my pocket, along with one credit card, and we were on stuffed metro trains in Rome. I never saw thieves, people throwing babies, people putting paper under your nose, or anything like that. We did see two men, that I assumed were pickpockets on the train platform in Livorno. They had a dog, that I assumed when people would lean over to pet, they would pickpocket the person. But within minutes, and I mean maybe two minutes, uniformed Italian police ran them off. And no one ever petted the dog.

 

Just use common sense as you would when visiting a large US city.

[hat776]

We took the hoho bus. The Art tour takes you round the museums, galleries etc. The area is very run down and rather depressing. The buildings need a face lift.

We then took the Bay of Naples/Posilippo tour and it was lovely. Well kept villa's and water front.

We also walked from the ship to the Piazza del Plebiscito/Galleria area. It was only about 30 min from the ship and gives you a good idea of the grandeur of Naples in bygone days. Via Toledo also seemed safe and interesting.

Alot of effort is being given to give naples a well needed face lift so i'm sure things will continue to improve.

[AJ28]

Before our cruise, we had heard of the reputation of this particular city (ie garbage, pickpockets, dirtiness of the city etc)

 

We walked from the port up to the train station but we walked on crowded sidewalks and just kept aware of other people. We did not take a lot of money on us, and we did use our money belts.

 

We even asked locals for directions to the train station.

 

We did not feel threatened at all and would visit Naples again. We had previously visited Capri, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast on a land trip so walking around Naples and taking the train to Herculaneum was great!

 

Just be aware of your surroundings and in our opinion, Naples wasn't all that bad (all cities have grungy areas). (Spring, 2008 trip)

 

Just our thoughts (we are both in our early 60's)

 

Hia Cruzisme! We will be in Naples next week and I am pleased to read from your post that it is possible to walk from the port straight to the station as this is what we had hoped to do. We will not wear jewelry, and will use our moneybelts (like we do at all ports), and keep aware of people around us. It is just good sense. We also intend to visit the Herculaneum. AJ

[chuds]

Where did you pick up cab for Capri ? How long was the journey :)

[Alsacienne]

I'd just like to add my tuppence worth, having spent quite some time in Italy over the past 50+ years ...................

 

Before 1815, Italy was two nations, the north and the south. They came together to form the Italy we know. The North is the industrial and financial centre, think Milan, Rome, Venice, Turin and Genoa. The South is more agricultural, and the difference in climate between Venice and Naples for a start means that the life style is different. Milan and the north is a region where rice is grown, hence risottos, and Naples and the south where wheat that provides durum flour is grown, hence pasta dishes and pizza.

 

There are different cultures and lifestyles, but generally southern Italy (ie south of Rome) is 'poorer' than the 'affluent' north.

 

In ALL Italian towns, pests on scooters who make random snatches at handbags and other valuables are sadly common. Pickpockets thrive on large groups (eg coach tours) and it is common knowledge in all ports which ships (including cruise liners) visit, when and for how long.

 

Many of us are still under the misconception that those who take cruises must be loaded with money and other desirable items as do those who need money do tend to target cruise passengers during their short stay in the port.

 

I would politely suggest that all valuables that you don't need for your time ashore remain on board. This includes tempting jewellery, expensive phones and only carry the amount of money that you can afford to lose. Gents will benefit from using the pockets in the FRONT of their trousers ......... leave that leather bill fold on board and carry a small purse or even an envelope or plastic bag in your pocket with your wealth. A fanny pack presents no problem for a would-be thief with a penknife. Ladies should wear their handbags across their bodies, not just dangling from a shoulder and should have the business part on the side away from the street. Day packs should be worn across the FRONT of you, not on your back and this applies to the 'rucksack type' of handbag.

 

Please be street aware, and if you find yourself in a situation you can't handle, SHOUT LOUDLY AYUTO! (eye -oo -tow)