Salerno

[suec12]

As we are approching the Med. sailing season, I am wondering is your ship docking in Salerno? what are your plans? we are looking at a sail for next Oct. I was hoping to get from Salerno to Ravello but not sure how doable this is going to be as a DIY day. Thanks!

[Hlitner]

As we are approching the Med. sailing season, I am wondering is your ship docking in Salerno? what are your plans? we are looking at a sail for next Oct. I was hoping to get from Salerno to Ravello but not sure how doable this is going to be as a DIY day. Thanks!

 

It is quite doable if you have a full day in port. You have a few options. 1. Just rent a car and drive yourself. You could easily spend time in both Amalfi and Ravello (and possibly Positano with a long day). There is plenty of parking at Ravello and a decent paid parking area in Amalfi (on a long pier ).

 

2. It can be done with public transit. You would need to take the regional SITA bus from Salerno to Amalfi and hop off. You then would catch the bus from Amalfi (it leaves from the square right outside of town) to Ravello. This all does take some time but it can be fun. But keep in mind that the buses are a bit slow. The SITA bus (which runs about every 30 min) takes nearly 1 1/2 hours just to go between Salerno and Amalfi. We can drive this same route in about an hour. And if you want to go to Ravello you will have to wait for the next bus (which can be at least 45 min) and then it takes nearly 30 min to get to Ravello. With a rental car we can drive from Salerno directly to Ravello (the road cut off is before you get to Amalfi) in about an hour.

 

Hank

[little_st]

I am planning the route from Salerno to Amalfi Coast and thinking to take a SITA bus.

 

Does anyone know we can get off the bus in the top of route and take some photos?

 

Or we take photo from the bus only??

 

Thank you.

Edited June 8, 2015 by little_st

[Hlitner]

I am planning the route from Salerno to Amalfi Coast and thinking to take a SITA bus.

 

Does anyone know we can get off the bus in the top of route and take some photos?

 

Or we take photo from the bus only??

 

Thank you.

 

No, you will generally not have any time to get off the bus for photos. This is a public bus (often crowded) that moves on a schedule and only stops to let off (or board) passengers.

 

Hank

[epixx]

Why not take the ferry, at least one way, from Salerno to Amalfi, and then bus Amalfi to Ravello? The ferry ride from Salerno to Amalfi is quite scenic and only takes 30 minutes.

[Bobal]

Why not take the ferry, at least one way, from Salerno to Amalfi, and then bus Amalfi to Ravello? The ferry ride from Salerno to Amalfi is quite scenic and only takes 30 minutes.

 

Totally agree. I wouldn't consider taking the bus when there are frequent and enjoyable ferries right to Amalfi. You then catch the bus right on the quayside up to Ravello. Very easy :)

[norwegianwood57]

Keep in mind, salerno is an industrial port. You cant just get off the ship and go. A shuttle is needed to first bring you to the city.

 

This May, the port authority decided to close all traffic and unload their containment ships. We waited 2 hours for the shuttle. Tours were cancelled. I shudder to think what happened to private tours.

 

Celebrity still says Naples on their itineraries and in brackets it is Salerno. They are managing to fool many people into thinking its just as good. Its not.

 

It is 1.5hrs by car from Salerno to Naples and that is when there is NO traffic.

 

It is much cheaper for them to dock in salerno, it is industrial not intended for tourists.

 

There should be an outcry for Celebrity to stop lying on their itineraries. Salerno is NOT Naples.

[Hlitner]

Keep in mind, salerno is an industrial port. You cant just get off the ship and go. A shuttle is needed to first bring you to the city.

 

This May, the port authority decided to close all traffic and unload their containment ships. We waited 2 hours for the shuttle. Tours were cancelled. I shudder to think what happened to private tours.

 

Celebrity still says Naples on their itineraries and in brackets it is Salerno. They are managing to fool many people into thinking its just as good. Its not.

 

It is 1.5hrs by car from Salerno to Naples and that is when there is NO traffic.

 

It is much cheaper for them to dock in salerno, it is industrial not intended for tourists.

 

There should be an outcry for Celebrity to stop lying on their itineraries. Salerno is NOT Naples.

 

While we admit to not understanding the cruise line's motivation for using Salerno, we doubt if it has anything to do with docking/pilot costs. These costs are simply passed along to passengers as part of the so-called port charges. We do agree that Salerno is not a desirable port when compared to Naples (or even tendering at Sorrento) but this seems to follow a trend we see with several cruise lines. And it is not just Salerno. In the past 5 years many lines have started using Toulon instead of Marseille and La Spezia in place of Livorno. While each of these ports does offer some pluses, they are generally not as good (in terms of options) as the ports that are now being replaced.

 

Hank

[suec12]

Well really Salerno (have not been) sounds ALOT like Livorno (been 3 times) IMO there is nothing easy peasy about Livorno - have to get out of the port, not a whole lot to see in Livorno, then need to get to train station for DIY. Now I haven't heard that the port was shut down for unloading but it certainly wasn't walk off the boat and head out. I have not been to Marsaille but my impression it was also industrial as opposed to Vlllefrance sur Mer, Cannes or Nice. So maybe Salerno is a work in progress and no more difficult than some of the others - Citavecchia is industrial too. So hopefully Salerno could be OK for touring the lower parts of the Amalfi coast, maybe not Pompeii or the archeology museum in Naples. I'm thinking, but really just "blowing smoke" that if they truly shut down the port, that Celebrity would not leave alot of passengers behind - surely they were aware of the muck-up.

[little_st]

Keep in mind, salerno is an industrial port. You cant just get off the ship and go. A shuttle is needed to first bring you to the city.

 

This May, the port authority decided to close all traffic and unload their containment ships. We waited 2 hours for the shuttle. Tours were cancelled. I shudder to think what happened to private tours.

 

Celebrity still says Naples on their itineraries and in brackets it is Salerno. They are managing to fool many people into thinking its just as good. Its not.

 

It is 1.5hrs by car from Salerno to Naples and that is when there is NO traffic.

 

It is much cheaper for them to dock in salerno, it is industrial not intended for tourists.

 

There should be an outcry for Celebrity to stop lying on their itineraries. Salerno is NOT Naples.

 

Oh! No, I booked Celebrity Silhouette in Sept and the first second port is Salerno. It's difficult to organize this trip. :mad::confused::confused:

 

Thanks for all advice.

[norwegianwood57]

It is just so much more difficult to do tours from salerno then from naples.

 

I have been using the Contact Us feature on the celeb site, asking them to use Naples and if not, then not to lie that Naples is the port. Say it like it is, the port is Salerno.

[suec12]

IMO Celebrity is not LYING - afterall Salerno is in print as where the ship is that day and you can get to Naples from Salerno - on other itineraries they designate LeHarve (Paris) and Warnemunde (Berlin). Maybe not ideal but go for it, try to get it changed back to Naples or even Sorrento (where we would tender, also probably not ideal) but I don't see it as they are lying. As it's because they are cheap - who knows how those negotiations go down. Obviously many of their itineraries have much higher port costs / charges than the Oct. 2016 sailing that we are both on.

 

Personally what I am finding frustrating is the variety of opinions about the port of Salerno - makes planning difficult - some people seem to have no problems, other report issues with the X shuttles and more. We can all watch as this Med season progresses and see what other cruisers report.

[norwegianwood57]

Yes sue you are right. Celebrity does say that. I guess I am just used to docking in Naples. We have docked there 4 times. Salerno was a first and it was a fiasco so I am of course prejudiced against it. We got off the shuttle and walked into town. There is not much to do there, unlike Naples.

 

Yeah, I have to get used to change, just wish the change was for the better.

[little_st]

Seems this trip from Salerno to Livorno is difficult to plan because of transportation.

 

It was a big different from the port of Spain or Portugal last year.

I went to Funchal, it was very easy to find a cab in the port.

Many cabs waited there for cruise and just negotatied the price.

Easy for full day private tour.

 

Now, every port need to well prepare the transportation to the town, unless no moeny issue.

 

:confused::confused:

[mickey89]

Don't recommend car hire for Amalfi coast due parking difficulties, too much wasted time.

Try a shared tour, visit http://www.aldolimos.com they arrange tours just like people on CC Roll Call. Priced at approx 55EUR/person will be cheaper than car hire - Aldo is a fabulous driver/guide, ask him to take you to La Tagiata the restaurant high above Positano overlooking the Bay of Salerno - you will never forget the day.

[jody75]

Personally what I am finding frustrating is the variety of opinions about the port of Salerno - makes planning difficult - some people seem to have no problems, other report issues with the X shuttles and more. We can all watch as this Med season progresses and see what other cruisers report.

 

We docked at Salerno last month, it is probably the worse port you will ever dock at on a cruise ship. That said your choice is either stay onboard for the day or better still arrange a private tour. Your difficulties are exiting and re-entering the port due to the amount of industrial traffic, it is a major ferry port and a distribution centre for Fiat new cars.

[celebrity]

We docked at Salerno last month, it is probably the worse port you will ever dock at on a cruise ship. That said your choice is either stay onboard for the day or better still arrange a private tour. Your difficulties are exiting and re-entering the port due to the amount of industrial traffic, it is a major ferry port and a distribution centre for Fiat new cars.

 

Do we have to take a shuttle to get out of the area or are private tours allowed to enter the port area?

[TourDeCruise]

Our private driver was able to enter the Salerno port last month to pick us up with no problem (or at least he did not tell us us about any problems and he was on time) and with little problem getting back to the ship. The driver had to take a convoluted way back through the maze getting back to the ship that included going through the Fiat car lot. The way he tried to get back initially was blocked and port officials made him back out and attempt another way. When we got back to the ship around 1:15pm, we saw an exceedingly long line of loud and frustrated Celebrity passengers who were voicing their frustration over not being able to get the shuttle. Some loud protests made it sound like some were missing tours although I don't know if they were private or Celebrity tours; I think possibly at least some were Celebrity tours that were cancelled or $ refunded, but I didn't have any personal conversations with them to verify it or get details.

 

I suggest you email or call Celebrity and see if you can get some assurances that your tour guide/driver will be able to pick you up or that your Celebrity tours won't be disrupted or canceled by potential delays. Unloading/loading container ships apparently took priority over the running of the shuttles, which is not the way to do business when a major ship is in port with paying customers.

 

Are we able to walk out of the port? Or do we HAVE to take the shuttle because of the traffic or security (Livorno won't let you walk out/back in for security purposes)? It looked like a short walk of a mile or less although it was very congested with traffic, containers, and cars.

[waterbug123]

 

There should be an outcry for Celebrity to stop lying on their itineraries. Salerno is NOT Naples.

 

They aren't lying. If your ship docks in Salerno, your itinerary will read Naples (Salerno.) It's no different than itineraries that read Rome (Civitvecchia) or Pisa/Florence (Livorno.)

 

And Salerno is actually a good place to begin an Amalfi Coast drive if that happens to be what you want to do that day. If you dock in Naples, you'll spend at least an hour getting TO the Amalfi Coast before your actual drive along the coast begins.

[norwegianwood57]

Naples is far superior to Salerno. To reach Capri from Salerno almost 2 hours, only one hour from Naples.

 

The main problem here is the port congestion and traffic. Celebrity will only wait for its own tours to get back. They will not wait for private tours. A way for them to make sure cruisers take their tours , I suppose.

 

As for walking off the ship. NO way. When we were waiting for 2 hours for the shuttle, I asked the Celeb Cruise rep to send down a security team to walk passsengers back to the ship. It was denied. No one can walk from the ship out of the port area. All are dependent on the shuttle. Im glad that some private tour guides are savvy and know how to get out of the containment area, but not sure that all do.

 

Not a good port to dock in.

 

Yes I too am writing and calling Celebrity to reinstate Naples.

[cruisemom42]

And Salerno is actually a good place to begin an Amalfi Coast drive if that happens to be what you want to do that day. If you dock in Naples, you'll spend at least an hour getting TO the Amalfi Coast before your actual drive along the coast begins.

 

Of the five or six really interesting opportunities for cruisers in this area, Salerno is ONLY better for those doing the Amalfi Coast or Paestum.

 

All others are much easier from Naples.

Edited June 11, 2015 by cruisemom42

[suec12]

So if I understand it, you must use the shuttle to get out of the port - a Celebrity shuttle that they charge you for? or is there a port shuttle just to outside the entrance and a different Celebrity shuttle into town? Also is this port a ferry port for boats along the coast or do you need to get to a separate port for that?

 

I'm hoping that perhaps this port is a "work in progress" that will begin to run more smoothly. I'd like to think Celebrity doesn't want a ship full of unhappy passengers and that X doesn't really want their clients bottled up while containers are unloaded. We just took a Baltics sail on the Silhouette - it was the first Baltics sail of the season. Embarcation in Amsterdam was horrible and Stockholm was also a logistical snafu. I'd like to think it did have something to do with being the first sail of the season and Celebrity will work out the kinks - like maybe in Salerno? But keep writing them Norwegianwoods - maybe they will change it back to Naples - its a big port, you'd think there would be room for us.

[celebrity]

Getting very stressed out over this. Not sure why this has become a Celebrity issue as I am booked on Royal for Sept 2016 and docking in Salerno. I was planning on using Rome in Limo

once again for a private tour to the Amalfi coast and Herculaneum.

We used them previously from Naples to the Amalfi coast and Pompeii. If this could possibly cause a delay in missing the ship then I am not doing it.

Thoughts?

[rmurray847]

Getting very stressed out over this. Not sure why this has become a Celebrity issue as I am booked on Royal for Sept 2016 and docking in Salerno. I was planning on using Rome in Limo

once again for a private tour to the Amalfi coast and Herculaneum.

We used them previously from Naples to the Amalfi coast and Pompeii. If this could possibly cause a delay in missing the ship then I am not doing it.

Thoughts?

 

Nothing is ever guaranteed, I suppose, but 3 years ago, when our RCI stop was in Salerno, we had no issues. BUT, we were on a private tour and our driver was standing there waiting for us when we disembarked. (The photo I took from my balcony looking down on the dock shows his car right there. He was practically able to pull on the ship!). On our way back, he took us to the exact same spot...no issues. If things have changed, I sure can't speak to that.

 

But it was an AWESOME spot for doing the Amalfi Coast. We never went to Naples (and didn't want to). It was perhaps the most whirlwind day of my tourist-ing life, but what great memories. We did the Amalfi Coast, with brief stops in Amalfi and Positano (20 minutes in one, 40 minutes in the other). Then we drove to Mt. Vesuvius and walked to the rim. Then we had lunch near Vesuvius. Then we went to Pompeii, where we had just under two hours. Then back to Salerno. It was CRAZY (and no, we did no one site justice...it was a sampler). But we actually got back to our ship with time to spare and huge smiles on our faces. Could we have done something similar from Naples...perhaps. But we had no issues with Salerno. Yes, it is industrial and the port is NOT attractive. But the town is NOT as big as Livorno either, and leaving the port was lovely...lots of very nice shoreline in that area.

 

This is just my experience, and it's from 3 years ago. But I personally have fond memories of that port stop, and never once felt cheated by Salerno.

[celebrity]

Nothing is ever guaranteed, I suppose, but 3 years ago, when our RCI stop was in Salerno, we had no issues. BUT, we were on a private tour and our driver was standing there waiting for us when we disembarked. (The photo I took from my balcony looking down on the dock shows his car right there. He was practically able to pull on the ship!). On our way back, he took us to the exact same spot...no issues. If things have changed, I sure can't speak to that.

 

But it was an AWESOME spot for doing the Amalfi Coast. We never went to Naples (and didn't want to). It was perhaps the most whirlwind day of my tourist-ing life, but what great memories. We did the Amalfi Coast, with brief stops in Amalfi and Positano (20 minutes in one, 40 minutes in the other). Then we drove to Mt. Vesuvius and walked to the rim. Then we had lunch near Vesuvius. Then we went to Pompeii, where we had just under two hours. Then back to Salerno. It was CRAZY (and no, we did no one site justice...it was a sampler). But we actually got back to our ship with time to spare and huge smiles on our faces. Could we have done something similar from Naples...perhaps. But we had no issues with Salerno. Yes, it is industrial and the port is NOT attractive. But the town is NOT as big as Livorno either, and leaving the port was lovely...lots of very nice shoreline in that area.

 

This is just my experience, and it's from 3 years ago. But I personally have fond memories of that port stop, and never once felt cheated by Salerno.

 

Thanks for the reassurance. We won't do Pompeii but definitely the Amalfi coast and possibly Herculaneum. Let's be honest, Naples is not attractive..at least in my eyes. It was the gateway to Amalfi and Pompeii.

I'll be following the posts before my cruise next Sept and hopefully garner info that will benefit us.

Thanks again!