Caserta or Sorrento (and Almalfi)?

[kyan]

I will be on a Western Mediterranean cruise (Royal Caribbean International - Liberty of the Seas) in June 2014. The ship is scheduled to dock in Naples from 7 AM to 6:30 PM.

 

Should I go to Caserta and see the Royal Palace and gardens? When you buy tickets to see the Royal Palace, is it a guided tour (like the White House) or do they just let you tour the palace on your own following a marked path?

 

Or should I go to Sorrento? If I go to Sorrento, should I take a hydrofoil boat there on my own or should I go on one of the ship's shore excursions?

 

RCI has a 5-hour shore excursion for Sorrento for $49 per person (doesn't include lunch):

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=cruiseDetails&packageCode=LB07M250&date=&selectedCurrencyCode=&ProductCode=NPA1&DestinationCode=

 

RCI also has a 9.5-hour shore excursion for Sorrento and Almafi for $149 per person (includes lunch):

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=cruiseDetails&packageCode=LB07M250&date=&selectedCurrencyCode=&ProductCode=NP07&DestinationCode=

 

Based on the descriptions of the two RCI shore excursions, is it worth the extra $100 (with lunch included) to also go to Almafi?

 

Thanks.

Edited December 28, 2013 by kyan

[Hlitner]

I should wait for Eurocruiser to respond since he is responsible for convincing us to pay a visit to Caserta (we loved it). It is relatively easy to get to Caserta on an inexpensive train and then you can walk over to the Palace. We paid our admission and everything was self-guided. I do not recall if they had guided tours...but we did not feel any need for a guide (although we tend to dislike any tour). Keep in mind that the "gardens" part of the grounds are a huge area and not a good fit for folks who do not like very long walks. But there were some carriages that you could hire to take you around the garden area if necessary.

 

As to Sorrento, it is easy to get their on your own via the jetboats/hydrofoils or you can take the very inexpensive Circumvesuviania Line train (it runs every 30 min and takes 65 min one-way). But before you go running to Sorrento you might want to decide if there is enough there to keep you happy. Another easy option is to go to Capri...which we find more interesting then Sorrento (am sure some others here will disagree).

 

As to the tour to Amalfi, we think that the best places to visit along the Amalfi Coast are Positano and Ravello. Amalfi is fine for an hour walk, but not worth an expensive tour. And the reason most cruise line tours do not include Positano is that large tour buses are not permitted to enter the city. You must go to Positano on your own or on a very small car/van tour in order to actually go down into the city and enjoy the atmosphere. Some cruise tours will deceive cruisers by saying something like "you will get to see Positano." This means your large bus will stop along the Amalfi Drive (road) at the top of the city, and you will be able to look down and "see" the city (from a distance).

 

Hank

Edited December 28, 2013 by Hlitner

[euro cruiser]

Caserta is a wonderful day trip from Naples, easy to get to by train or bus. For those on a land trip there is now a large underground parking garage right in front of the palace.

 

I've only had a guide at the Palace when I brought a large group there and we hired our own; as an individual you can rent the audio guide where you purchase the tickets. In the past few years they've created all new signage for each room that includes an English language version so you can simply walk around and read the room cards.

 

The gardens are fabulous but would be overwhelming for the physically challenged. There are carriages, as Hank mentioned, as well as electric buses that you can use to get around.

[kyan]

Caserta is a wonderful day trip from Naples, easy to get to by train or bus. For those on a land trip there is now a large underground parking garage right in front of the palace.

 

I've only had a guide at the Palace when I brought a large group there and we hired our own; as an individual you can rent the audio guide where you purchase the tickets. In the past few years they've created all new signage for each room that includes an English language version so you can simply walk around and read the room cards.

 

The gardens are fabulous but would be overwhelming for the physically challenged. There are carriages, as Hank mentioned, as well as electric buses that you can use to get around.

 

Thanks for the information.

 

Is there also a place near the royal palace where you can get lunch?

 

Thanks.

[euro cruiser]

I think Hank mentioned finding a place, I never have (and I did look once, but gave up and went back to Naples for lunch).

[Arubamoose]

I am sooooo happy to find info on Caserta here on Cruise Critic - especially from Hlitner and Euro Cruiser!

 

My grandmother was born in Caserta in 1898. She married a man with dual US and Italian passports. They were forced to leave in 1932 because of his American citizenship due to Mussolini.

 

She told me stories about how she played in the palace gardens as a child. Her parents were furniture makers and she lived with servants, studied with the nuns and continued through to gymnasium (our college equivalent - quite the feat for a woman in that era).

 

I wanted to go there on our last cruise stop in Naples but Pompeii was a bigger draw. We plan to go there on our next trip in May. We are uber independant cruisers - rarely taking excursions - even those not sponsored by the cruiselines. (The only cruiseline sponsored excursion we ever took was in Jamaica because we had our young kids with us.)

 

I find the information on CC to be very valuable. I would love to hear more about Caserta. I have a few things planned besides the Palace - the Market Square and finding Sant'Antonio da Padova church (where my grandmother was baptised).

 

My husband would love to see the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli. I have heard about Casertavecchia but am unsure of the logistics of getting there.

 

Any info would be welcome!!

[euro cruiser]

Assuming that Sant'Antonio da Padova is on the street by the same name, it's quite close to the palace. In case you haven't come across the Diocese web site, here's their information on the parish: http://www.diocesicaserta.it/scheda_p16.html. I did a similar trip a couple of years ago; my maternal great grandmother was born and raised in a frazione of Caserta and I went to find her parish church.

 

If you're going to take the train from Naples, be aware that the regional trains to Caserta may use the auxiliary tracks beyond track #2. It's about a 2-3 block walk from the main track head to these tracks. (This was true the past three times I went there, including March 2013, but that doesn't guarantee that this is still, or always, the case)

 

I went up to Casertavecchia a couple of years ago in the very off season; it was so quiet I started to wonder if everyone had left the place. The town was quaint, the church was okay but not great. I suspect that it's a very different place in season.

Edited January 3, 2014 by euro cruiser

[Hlitner]

I think Hank mentioned finding a place, I never have (and I did look once, but gave up and went back to Naples for lunch).

 

Yes and I did once post the info on that place. But for some reason the CC Search is not bringing up really old posts so I can't find it. But DW and I can give directions to where we went. When you exit the Palace and look straight ahead you will see the train station in the distance. At this point, make a 90 degree left turn and walk off the Palace Grounds to the first city street. Cross this street and make a left turn and start walking. Within a block (or two) you will come to an Italian restaurant (on your right) that has a pretty expansive menu including pizza (not always easy to get pizza at lunch in true Italian restaurants. DW still remember that there were very few folks in that place at lunchtime...until around the time we were going to leave. Then a professional tour guide came in with her group....and she mentioned to us that we had chosen the best place to eat in town.

 

Hank

[Arubamoose]

A

 

I went up to Casertavecchia a couple of years ago in the very off season; it was so quiet I started to wonder if everyone had left the place. The town was quaint, the church was okay but not great. I suspect that it's a very different place in season.

 

How did you get up there? Bus? Taxi? I have found some info on busses up there but are unsure of logistics. Being so close it may be worthwhile to take a cab but worry about the return to town.

 

Thanks!

[euro cruiser]

Because it was off season and so quiet I took a cab; the driver waited for an hour while I wandered around town and then brought me back to Caserta. I don't think I would have found a cab there to bring me back at that time of year.

 

In season I'd probably go with buses, but that really wasn't a viable option at the time I was there.

[I-Cruiser]

The palace and gardens at Caserta is wonderful but the Sorrento and Amalfi Coast is out of this world.

IMO if this is your first time to the area and/or have yet to do the Amalfi coast this is what I would have done.

We have done the Amalfi coast several times using Sorrento top car.com...

You could find others to join your tour on your roll call.

 

We did Caserta on a private tour including hiking Mt. Vesuvius. A fun thing to do.

You might be able to do Caserta and Sorrento if you have a private driver..

[samavarcruiser]

That is what I would rather do, take a private tour to Caserta and then to Sorrento, don't miss Sorrento and if you have to choose, I would rather go to Positano then Caserta, only my 2cent :)

[Hlitner]

That is what I would rather do, take a private tour to Caserta and then to Sorrento, don't miss Sorrento and if you have to choose, I would rather go to Positano then Caserta, only my 2cent :)

 

Very interesting and just shows how different travelers can vary in their opinions. We have spent a fair amount of time on the Amalfi Coast (two vacations in Praiano plus more then a dozen cruise port days) and consider Sorrento our least favorite place in the region. It is not that there is anything wrong with Sorrento...but rather we find so many other places much better. But we do agree that so much depends on one's personal likes and dislikes.

 

Hank