Allure off shore Naples

[sparklymermaid]

Has anyone booked a RCI tour for Naples?

[CRUISEFAN0001]

We took the tour of Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii (all day) last month on ALlure instead of Naples, and found it to be one of the best cruise tours we've ever taken.

 

Naples certainly has its own nice things, but the tour we took was simply amazing.

[aggie1]

We docked in Naples on the NOS. Used Aldo Limos out of Sorrento. Aldo was born & raised in Sorrento. We were 4 couples, first went to Pompeii, then to Positino and ended up in Sorrento. Fantastic tour and Aldo was awesome. His wife Christine met us for a late lunch in Sorrento. I would highly recommend Aldo Limos. Pat

[John&LaLa]

We did Sorrento and then Amalfi coast by boat. Took all day, loved it

[gingernm]

Hi,

 

Have done the Versuvious and lunch at a vinyard tour. Quite expensive but very good.

 

Going to the crater is an awesome experience, but you need to be quite fit. There is a considerable walk on very loose, steep surfaces to get to the actual crater rim. Take plenty of fluids or purchase plenty at the stop prior to entering the national park. Little hut at the volcano charges a small fortune for drinks.

 

The vinyard lunch is very good. With the chance to sample some wines, this is really just to sell you their products, but the wines are pleasant.

 

Rob.

[John&LaLa]

Hi,

 

Have done the Versuvious and lunch at a vinyard tour. Quite expensive but very good.

 

Going to the crater is an awesome experience, but you need to be quite fit. There is a considerable walk on very loose, steep surfaces to get to the actual crater rim. Take plenty of fluids or purchase plenty at the stop prior to entering the national park. Little hut at the volcano charges a small fortune for drinks.

 

The vinyard lunch is very good. With the chance to sample some wines, this is really just to sell you their products, but the wines are pleasant.

 

Rob.

 

They used to have a funicular. That is where Funiculi, Funicula comes from. We bought a music box in Sorrento that plays it

[myklemire@hotmail.com]

We did the Capri on your own package. We had intended to try and go to the blue grotto. However because of sea and land conditions the blue grotto was closed.

 

We were essentially walked from the port to the ferry by a guide (Giovanni). On the way across he met with everyone and offered a one-hour tour of the island. He was who told us the blue grotto was closed. He also explained that in order to see the blue grotto you will generally wait two hours and then have three minutes in the cave. He recommended the one hour tour in its place at a cost of $22 US.

 

We ended up being a little skeptical (My GF and I are 40 and 39 respectively) that this was a simple upsell. However it was clear at the ferry docking the blue grotto was indeed closed and so we decided for an hour we would risk it. I am glad we did. We both enjoyed this one hour excursion.

 

Additionally Giovanni sold the train tickets that transported you to the top of Capri. He sold them at face value and while the line seemed massively long was only about a 20-30 minute wait. Probably closer to 20 but we were not paying close attention.

 

Giovanni also made a recommendation for lunch. Al Capri' Don Alfonso Caffe. This restaurant is to the left of the exit of the train about 10-15 store fronts down the road at the exit. It has views overlooking the town and port. Several folks did eat there and said the food was good but a little on the expensive side.

 

We actually did not know its exact location when we exited and while we happened to walk in the right direction we ended up having lunch at Isidoro. Which is also to the left but closer to the train station. They have seating on three floors. I did not see the view from the terrace as it was full at the time of our seating. Possibly views of the port and town as well. Instead we took a two person balcony table and had a really nice lunch. We had a bottle of wine, individual apps, and individual pizza's (all very good) and enjoyed our view of the bustling street below. All in with wine and a few bottles of water we paid about $50 euros each. Wine was between $30 and $35 euros.

 

After this we were able to walk the streets a bit. And then elected to take the pedestrian steps down to the port to meet back up with our scheduled ferry departure.

 

We loved this excursion. We tend to enjoy taking our time and would prefer to miss something entirely than be rushed when viewing or visiting something we want to see. This excursion offered the perfect balance of going with the crowd and free time to explore.

 

No doubt you could do this without RCI but I can tell you we were glad to have Giovanni to help us think through our day at the outset.

 

Other days we did do on our own (La Spezia, went to Pisa, and Rome, went to the coliseum). But I am the money guy and in our relationship and found that I was happy with the value I got in return for this excursion.

 

Whatever you decided to do I hope you have a great time.

[Magic Man]

Is the Blue Grotto closed allot for weather?

[sparklymermaid]

Thank you for replying. I am still procrastinating. We are a young sixties couple..LOL. I am not a leader who can organize. Its also hard knowing whether to see Capri or Pompeii? The fear of being late back to ship haunts me too.

Edited July 10, 2015 by sparklymermaid
duplicated

[sparklymermaid]

We did the Capri on your own package. We had intended to try and go to the blue grotto. However because of sea and land conditions the blue grotto was closed.

 

We were essentially walked from the port to the ferry by a guide (Giovanni). On the way across he met with everyone and offered a one-hour tour of the island. He was who told us the blue grotto was closed. He also explained that in order to see the blue grotto you will generally wait two hours and then have three minutes in the cave. He recommended the one hour tour in its place at a cost of $22 US.

 

We ended up being a little skeptical (My GF and I are 40 and 39 respectively) that this was a simple upsell. However it was clear at the ferry docking the blue grotto was indeed closed and so we decided for an hour we would risk it. I am glad we did. We both enjoyed this one hour excursion.

 

Additionally Giovanni sold the train tickets that transported you to the top of Capri. He sold them at face value and while the line seemed massively long was only about a 20-30 minute wait. Probably closer to 20 but we were not paying close attention.

 

Giovanni also made a recommendation for lunch. Al Capri' Don Alfonso Caffe. This restaurant is to the left of the exit of the train about 10-15 store fronts down the road at the exit. It has views overlooking the town and port. Several folks did eat there and said the food was good but a little on the expensive side.

 

We actually did not know its exact location when we exited and while we happened to walk in the right direction we ended up having lunch at Isidoro. Which is also to the left but closer to the train station. They have seating on three floors. I did not see the view from the terrace as it was full at the time of our seating. Possibly views of the port and town as well. Instead we took a two person balcony table and had a really nice lunch. We had a bottle of wine, individual apps, and individual pizza's (all very good) and enjoyed our view of the bustling street below. All in with wine and a few bottles of water we paid about $50 euros each. Wine was between $30 and $35 euros.

 

After this we were able to walk the streets a bit. And then elected to take the pedestrian steps down to the port to meet back up with our scheduled ferry departure.

 

We loved this excursion. We tend to enjoy taking our time and would prefer to miss something entirely than be rushed when viewing or visiting something we want to see. This excursion offered the perfect balance of going with the crowd and free time to explore.

 

No doubt you could do this without RCI but I can tell you we were glad to have Giovanni to help us think through our day at the outset.

 

Other days we did do on our own (La Spezia, went to Pisa, and Rome, went to the coliseum). But I am the money guy and in our relationship and found that I was happy with the value I got in return for this excursion.

 

Whatever you decided to do I hope you have a great time.

 

Thank you fro replying. We are a young couple in the 60's. I am still procrastinating, Capri or Pompeii. I am not good at organizing groups and I am paranoid we do not get back to the ship on time .

[myklemire@hotmail.com]

I would think to really enjoy Capri you would not want to have mobility issues. Age to me is just a number and 60 is still young. I will give you a little more information on Capri on your own to hopefully reduce any boat leaving without you anxiety. I think we left the ship at 8:45am local time. We met Giovanni (our guide) once we disembarked. I believe we caught the 9:30 ferry. It was about an hour to Capri.

 

We then basically immediately boarded a boat for the hour long tour I mentioned previously. After the tour we had from approximately 11:30 until 4:10 o'clock on our own. We met up again with Giovanni at 4:10 and he provided us tickets on the 4:40 return ferry. We were back on the ship with more than an hour to spare. One recommendation-if it is a warm day you will prefer to sit on the first level of the ferry as the AC will be much more effective. I had zero issues with the time. It was actually a very nice day given how hectic a day Rome is I would strongly recommend.

 

 

However if you do Pompeii my understanding is you will want a guide at Pompeii. Unfortuneately I do not know if that is necessary if going through the cruise ship.

 

My GF and I discussed Pompeii and ultimately decided while interesting historically it really is a tragic place and not something we wanted to do with such a limited time.

 

As to how often the blue grotto is closed I do not know the answer. I do know it was closed until 1:00 on the day prior as well. It sounded like it is closed often enough to be a concern. The access to the blue grotto is by row boat only. So if it is a particularly windy day it may be closed for safety reasons.

[lisaloo]

We did the Leisurly Sorrento tour. It was 5 hrs total - minimal level of walking into town from bus stop with 2.5 hours on your own. We loved it - had a nice lunch, shopping and visited the cathedral.

[Life is Good Cruising]

Has anyone booked a RCI tour for Naples?

 

Our first time going to Europe which was quite a few years ago and didn't know if we would be back, so for Naples and through RCI, we booked the Exclusive Amalfi Coast, Positano, Sorrento & Pompeii - NP08 . It was a bit pricey but well worth it to us, we enjoyed the tour immensely. We had 20 passengers on this tour, our private tour guide stayed with us at each stop and was extremely knowledgeable. Lunch was served in Sorrento at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, food was good. The views from that hotel, the Almalfi Coast and Positano were simply breathtaking.

[smartpeach]

Getting a private tour /excursion will cost so much cheaper than the cruise line's. You'd also get a much more individual attention. You can custom make your tour and you don't have wait for other passengers. But I suggest to only hire a private tour for the excursions that are difficult to do on your own. Such as tours to the Amalfi Coast. There are many recommendations of private tours on the italy Ports of Call board.

 

Doing it your own will cost only a fraction of the ship's tours. Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri are very easy do on your own in Naples. You just have to take a train to Pompeii (only costs a few euros). When you get to Pompeii you have option of getting your own guide there . You pay around €10 per person. The guide will wait for 10 people to sign up to join the tour. This is a much smaller group than the cruise lines' which can mean dozens of people per guide.

 

The ferry (hydrofoil) going to Capri and Sorrento is very close to the Port. Just get your own ticket.

 

 

:)