HELP - NOT BOOKED ANY TRIPS SAILING ON 16th JULY

[Ronniethed]

Hi - a week to go and we have still not booked any trips - apart from emailing a taxi firm in Santorini. We are two couples and looking for long half day tours that are not too strenuous. What do people recommend as a'must do'for Sicily? Can we pick up a tour on a minibus in the port? In Naples can we get a trip that goes to Pompei and then along the coast? On Ephesus can you just pick up a trip for 2 in the port at around the same cost as the Celebrity tri[s?

 

If anyone has two spaces on a Pompei and Epehsus trip, two of our party may be interested. Many thanks - looking forward to meeting up with fellow Brits, other Europeans and those from across the pond.

[LOP]

contact Romeinlimo dot com. We have 3 excursions booked with them...

[jerandder]

We just returned from our trip. In Naples, we did a full day tour of Amalfi coast and Pompeii (You can't do both in a half day) We used Francesco Marrapese and were very happy with him. He reserved us a guide for Pompeii, which cost an add'l 100 Euros. Bear in mind that if you are there on a bank holiday, you will hit lots of beach traffic. It took us 90 mins to get to Sorrento, so we were only able to do that town, plus Positano, where we had lunch. Then we needed to quickly get to Pompeii, as you need at least 2 hours there to do it justice. We did hit traffic on the way back to the ship, but made it back with about 45 mins to spare. As an aside, the ship was held up about an hour as one of the ship's excursion buses didn't get back before all-aboard time.

[Route6A]

Francesco Marrapese is outstanding. We also booked him for a day's tour of the Amalfi Coast a few years ago, and he is by far the best driver/guide we have encountered in Italy. He drives safely, speaks excellent English and is quite charming.

[Beaniemom59]

We used Kusadasi Tours in Ephesus and they were very reasonable and you definitely got more than your money's worth. The cost included a tour guide and a driver, admission to the sites, and lunch. Of all the ports, this was the most enjoyable and we were at the sites way ahead of the ships tours. We were in Ephesus and looked behind us and it was like a flood of people walking down the street of Ephesus - we were leaving and they were just arriving. We had plenty of time at each of the sites to see everything that we wanted to see - no rush whatsoever. Would highly recommend them!

[cynbar]

Don't forget that the ship offers shore excursions in each port ----- many people here on cruise critic prefer to arrange private shore excursions, but it usually takes some work, and you're getting pretty close to your departure. You can also check your roll call here on the message boards, sometimes other cruisers on your voyage are looking for people to share the tours they have already arranged.

[2theship]

This is probably your roll call:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1062335

 

It's not a very active one but if you read through, you may find people who have arranged tours who could use some others to fill out their group. Also, you can register there for the Celebrity "Connections" party that they provide for Cruise Critic members. The link to sign up for that is at the top of the roll call page.

 

Additionally, check out the "Ports of Call" boards where you will find information specific to each port. You can find out there if it's practical to do a port on you own or if you should book through the ship.

[barn3y]

Hi you can get to Pompeii by train and it does not cost very much. You can also catch the ferry over to Capri or Sorrento. This is really easy to do and costs about £16.00. You can walk to the train station or ferry from the ship.

[andawayigo]

Francesco Marrapese is outstanding. We also booked him for a day's tour of the Amalfi Coast a few years ago, and he is by far the best driver/guide we have encountered in Italy. He drives safely, speaks excellent English and is quite charming.

 

We used his services Nov '09. Quite handsome also.