krazikatt

As you disembark check the info booth at the dock...ask directions to the train to pompeii/herc.

 

Alternately walk across the street from the ship dock and ask how to get to the Pompeii train. There is a city bus...#1, I think, which will eliminate the walk to the train station.

 

Respectfully disagree that you cannot do both in one day(get an early start). We did, and while we did not do an exhaustive visit at Pompeii, we were happy with our visit and then, on the way back we decided to get off at Herc...which we did and had a wonderful tour which was better than Pompeii, in our opinion.

Okay that's good to know! I have already been to Pompeii but my husband hasn't and so we wanted to go there, but I really wanted to see Herculaneum too!

It looks like you have the train information for your planning, so will only add another item for Pompeii. The line up to get tickets to get in can get quite long. There will likely be guides forming impromptu groups and they can buy "skip the line" tickets. I understand your budget is limited, but there could be value in saving an hour or 90 minutes in line. (We had a semi-private tour on the 20th and walked by approximately 40 NCL cruisers who had paid for transport and just left to get their own tickets, and talked to one frustrated cruiser who's family had time for an early lunch for about an hour.)

Oh that's great to know, thanks! Okay, it looks like you can buy the tickets online. There are a bunch of sites offering "skip the line" tickets and they are all at a premium. Then there's the actual Pompeii site that took me here for tickets:

http://www.ticketone.it/biglietti.html?affiliate=ITT&doc=erdetaila&fun=erdetail&action=tickets&erid=988882&index_ytix=0&jumpIn=yTix&scrollToAnchor=ticketTable

These tickets are WAY cheaper than the others, but it doesn't say anything about skipping the line. I wonder if all online tickets allow you to skip the line? Also, it looks like in order to skip the line you need to enter at the Porta Marina entrance (not sure thought?)

Thanks, all, for the great info!

I also found this while Googling: http://www.italylogue.com/things-to-do/how-to-visit-pompeii-and-herculaneum-in-one-day-without-a-tour.html

Officially 30 minutes. If you are waiting to board the ship they will not toss the lines and sail away.

 

We always plan for 60 minutes just in case something should happen and 90 minutes when the logistics are complicated or the distance is far.

Awesome, that's super helpful, thanks!

I'm trying to avoid excursions because we already pretty much spent all of our money on airfare and the actual cruise. So I'd like to take the train from Naples to Pompeii and Herculaneum, but I had some friends tell me it was too crazy and not to try it. Would like to get some other opinions from people here from people who have done it.

The two hour thing is when you FIRST board the ship and a bigger deal in the states.

 

They will post each day an all aboard time that is 30 minutes before departure.

In reality, they will let you board one minute before if the walkway is still attached.

 

So, you have some leeway.

Ah, thank you! This is helpful :)

I am all about seeing ports independently, but for Rome I would take the ship shuttle to the city or schedule a private transfer. Most of the other Med ports are easier but Rome is really far from the ship.

Yeah, the problem is cost. I can take a 48 minute train to Rome for 42 Euros round-trip for a family of four... while I'd spend hundreds to do an excursion. And they say driving can take like 80 minutes. So I was trying to save time and money. I researched the port and there is a shuttle that takes you from the ship to Largo della Pace, and then it's a 20 minute walk to the train station from there (looking at Google, the walk looks nice).

My question is just really about timing. When do I need to be back standing in front of the ship? People were talking about lines and such and I don't remember there being huge lines on the other cruise I did. Just trying to figure out what time I need to be standing in front of the ship to get back on it.

I was on the Epic last year doing those cities. Are you embarking from Civitavecchia? If you're already on the ship, all aboard time is 30 minutes before departure. Naples is much smaller, we hired a van from Aldo Limos, he met us where the buses and taxis are. I'm not He took us to Positano (Amalfi Coast), Sorrento and Pompeii. I'm not sure where the train station is in Naples. The trains are modern and everything ran on time. Granted, any train system works better than the LIRR!

Nice is also a smaller port. Depends upon where you want to go.

Thank you! No, we are embarking in Barcelona. So then you think our timing would work in Civitavecchia? Sounds like it will. Good to know about the other ports. Thanks!

Hey all,

I'm fairly new to cruising (I've been, but it was a LONG time ago, and it was a short cruise to Mexico). I'm trying to book things like trains to/from cities (i.e. Civitavecchia to Rome and back) and I'm not sure how to work the timing. I read that you need to be back 2 hours before the ship leaves, but do they mean be back at port, or be back standing in front of the ship 2 hours early?

So, if my train is scheduled to arrive back in Civitavecchia at 4:45, and it's a 20 minute walk to the shuttle from the train station, and the shuttle comes every 15 minutes... let's just say I'd be back standing in front of the ship at like 5:50 assuming my train is 15 minutes late and I just missed the shuttle and had to wait for another one. The ship is scheduled to leave at 7pm. Does that give me enough time to get on the ship, or should I book an earlier return trip on the train? And if I book an earlier train, how much earlier?

Also - Civitavecchia is really the only port I've looked into yet. Do all ports have shuttles and such and take forever to get to the ship, or are some ports much smaller? Like in Nice or Naples, do I need to plan as much time?

THANKS!!