Viator vs Celebrity Pompeii excursions

[emilyalice]

There appears to be a considerable difference in price between the ship's excursion to Pompeii and the Amalfi coast and the identical tour albeit 1 hour shorter by Viator. Has anyone any recommendations ?

[Mr. Click]

While I cannot compare these two tours I would avoid Viator at all costs. We booked a tour with them in Barcelona last September and when we had a problem and called their "emergency" number we were told "too bad, you missed your tour, find something else to do" Once we did connect with the tour group it was mass confusion getting started, our "small group tour" had 30 people on it. Check your roll call, check the cruise critic thread for Italy for other ideas. There are a lot of great small tour operators who cover this area. It was 4-5 years ago but we had a great small group tour that someone on our roll call organized. Picked up at the dock, took us to Pompeii for a great guided tour and then down the coast to see the sights and towns and a nice lunch. Look beyond the big ones.

[dutchclogs]

I second Mr C's suggestions. The price difference between a private small group (6-8 pax) tour and Viator may not greatly differ but the small group tour will almost certainly offer a better experience.

 

Your Roll Call is a great place to start. If you do a google search for shared tours (sorry, we can't mention specific companies) you may find other possibilities that will interest you.

[Softball20]

Viator is a also just a tour broker, a middleman. They don't actually do the tours. As others have mentioned, check out your roll call, as well as the port sections of these boards. Trip Advisor is also lots of help in finding private vendors, as is google. There are lots of great options out there.

[ighten]

Check your roll call - even if they are full check out who people are using and check on tripadvisor (dont forget to ignore the obvious fake reviews)

 

Even if they are full a quick post on the roll call to ask if anyone wants to share a trip will get you a response as its so popular.

 

Personally I would look at going to Herculaneum - its more complete due to the way it was covered and a much better experience.

[Gonzo70]

I had a terrible time on Celebrity's Pompei excursion. The tour started with a lengthy stop at a dump of a tourist trap for shopping. Of course there were some stragglers that stayed even longer than were told, but we had to wait for the entire coach bus worth of people to return. Then we stopped at another tourist trap for a snack followed by a lot of waiting. Then the tour itself was very boring in that we moved at a snail's pace and because the group was so massive we at times couldn't hear the guide well. My wife and I became so bored we told the guide we were gong off on our own and asked what time we should be at the bus.

 

Viator however is probably not the best company to go with; try and find a small group tour with a highly regarded company. Likely won't be much more (if any) than Celebrity's tour, but likely will be a MUCH better experience. Research on Cruise Critic's port of call board, your roll call and Trip Advisor.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Gonzo70

[Tedferg]

We used Aldo Limos and Rome-in-Limo on two separate occasions - both were excellent. Small groups and these tour operator's website have a facility to 'share tours' so if you do not have enough to fill a group they will no doubt have others from your ship.

[kissmeyoufool]

Go with rome with limo the best you will have a full day and they will get u a private tour guide for

 

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[kissmeyoufool]

Sorry something went wrong

Private tour for Pompeii small price there was a group of 8 I arrange through our roll call excellent day

 

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[LucasLounger1]

I'm in agreement with the previous poster - avoid Viator. We had two bad experiences with them, and my sister one. They are quick to take your money, but not so quick to provide services as booked.

 

Since they are just a consolidator, you can book anything they sell directly with the service provider.

[mickey89]

Go with rome with limo the best you will have a full day and they will get u a private tour guide

 

Disagree totally, http://www.aldolimos.com is unbeatable. Aldo born and bred in Sorrento and knows the area like the back of his hand. Don't forget to ask for the Merc Sprinter - superb comfort for 8 people.

Edited January 22, 2017 by mickey89

[Charles4515]

Disagree totally, http://www.aldolimos.com is unbeatable. Aldo born and bred in Sorrento and knows the area like the back of his hand. Don't forget to ask for the Merc Sprinter - superb comfort for 8 people.

 

There are a bunch of good tour companies out of Naples. I have used RomeinLimo and APTOURS, https://www.aptours.it/en/Shared_Shore_Excursion. I thought the driver with APTOURS was better but going to Pompeii you also need a guide. The driver can not be your guide. The guide RomeinLimo got us for Pompeii was great. Since guides are licensed they are likely all good but anyone booking Naples should make sure that the company books a guide in addition to a driver.

 

I agree about not booking with with Celebrity or Viator as they are both middleman.

[hcat]

We had a wonderful ship 's excursion to Pompei through Celebrity on a comfortable coach bus, arrived earlier than many other busses & had one of our best guides ever. Only extra stop was at the end for great pizza..

 

Once used Viator to book an excursion in Great Britain..eventually they advised the one we wanted to Oxford was cancelled and were substituting one to Bath..we ended up cancelling this cruise altogether but would not book thru them again.

 

cruise line or direct contact with tour co is preferred

[Hlitner]

Celebrity and Viator have something in common. Neither one is the tour provider! You are simply booking an excursion through a third party (contractor). Viator, like Celebrity, simply contracts with local tour providers. Want the best deal? Book directly with the actual tour provider. Want an even better deal? Just take the train to Pompeii Scavi.....go to the Entrance to the ruins, buy your ticket....and join a guided tour (if you want a guided tour) which is organized near the entrance. The cost of these tours used to be 10€ per person (might be higher now) plus you do need to pay the admission cost of 11€. Once you add in the cost of trains admission, etc..it will cost you less than 30€. One can save money by simply getting an audio guide.

 

Hank

[Mr. Click]

A side note on Tripadvisor now owns Viator so you will see a lot of promos, posts, etc pushing Viator on Tripadvisor now. Tripadvisor was my go to site in the past but now I really have to take them with a big grain of salt.

[thepoint]

Research Joe Bananas Limos. We used them several different times in several different ports. We found them to be excellent. Our private tour of Pompei was outstanding.

[Beanb41]

Viator is a third party booking agent who sub contract their tours our and clip the ticket enroute. They don't always use the same contractors for their tours so some will get positive reports and others perhaps not.

We booked the Celebrity tour from Salerno to Pompeii return last year and it was the 4 hour am tour. The benefit we had was that our guide who spoke appalling English managed to get us into the complex relatively quickly and then the tour went downhill. There was a full 52 seater bus in our tour and any more than about 12 people on a tour is comparable to herding cats. Our sound system was intermittent and after a short period of time we were spread all over the complex like a herd of cows. Every now and then we would catch a glimpse of our guide and some familiar passengers and would follow them. We had done a private excursion through Ephesus earlier in the cruise and after that Pompeii was an absolute disappointment. Why they include modern sculpture in the complex is beyond me. We are not fans of ships tours because of the large numbers, cost and lack of attention to detail but in this instance the cost was cheaper than I could find privately so I took it.

If I had to do it again then I would pay extra for the smaller number on a tour. One learns more and has greater flexibility which makes for a greater day out

There are many ticket sites on the web to avoid queues but most also clip the ticket as they purchase through the official site.

Below is a link to the official government website to purchase tickets

 

http://www.coopculture.it/en/heritage.cfm?id=1

Edited January 22, 2017 by Beanb41

[Northern Aurora]

We used Aldo Limos and Rome-in-Limo on two separate occasions - both were excellent. Small groups and these tour operator's website have a facility to 'share tours' so if you do not have enough to fill a group they will no doubt have others from your ship.

 

We were on a Aldo Limo tour in 2015, and it was excellent.

 

We also have been on several RomeinLimo tours through the years, including one at Pompeii, and also thought they were so well done. Our RomeinLimo tour shared tours have had a maximum of eight people. On the one at Pompeii we agreed to pay for the licensed guide, which was arranged by RomeinLimo, and he was so worth the additional cost.

[griffy116]

We used Joe Bananas, after research and recommendations. They were FABULOUS. We had the private guide and he was worth every cent. There were 5 of us and the cost wasn't any higher than booking through the cruise. We got there when it opened. As the other tourist started to arrive, some tried to push past us and we didn't stop them. Our tour guide did. He made sure we were taken care of superbly. I can highly recommend them. Pompeii was a stop we were all anxious to see and having a guide was invaluable. They were waiting at the pier with a sign with our name. They had ice cold bottled water for us.

[cruisin lady ca]

I encourage you, as did earlier posters, to check your roll call.

 

I found a tour of the Amalfi Coast which included Pompeii that was offered by Shared Tours Mondo Guide for Rick Steves (http://www.sharedtours dot com). We needed a group of 6 to book the tour. This were so many people signed up through our roll call that we were split up into two small buses (max. 19 per bus). The advantage of the smaller buses is that they can drive down into Positano. We had a tour guide with us on each bus for the entire day in addition to the guide at Pompeii. The cost was very reasonable and each person made their own reservation to join the group through the website.

 

With the exception of an excursion to Ephesus which was a Celebrity excursion, all of the excursions we took on our recent cruise on Reflection (Italy and Greece) were set up by members of our roll call. As such, the costs were lower and we dealt directly with the tour operators. I would use all of these tour operators again and recommend them without hesitation.

Edited January 23, 2017 by cruisin' lady

[villauk]

After checking your roll call, go to the 'Ports of Call' section as there are many recommendations for private tour operators over there ;). You will find information for all of your other port stops too :).

[neenee61]

Another vote for Joe Bananas. I organised 4 tours with 8 people each last October. Our Pompeii tour was fantastic. Very good pricing and they also have a shared tours site

 

 

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[4774Papa]

We have used Viator all over the World and never had a problem with any of their tours.

One thing about Viator tour is you must distinguish between there shore excursions designed for those on a cruise ship vs. those in hotels. The cruise ship excursions almost always meet you at the dock. The other tours you must go to a specific meeting place and be there by a specific time.

 

Usually, Viator has a local tour company that handles the tour, but they won't publish that company, otherwise people would go directly to that tour company.

[bunnyette]

If you are the slightest bit adventurous, you can take the train to Pompeii or hire a taxi for the day. The taxi will wait for you.

 

When you get to Pompeii, you can hire a guide or just get a guidebook and I believe they have audio guides.

 

You get to explore and see as much as you want.

[Charles4515]

 

 

 

Usually, Viator has a local tour company that handles the tour, but they won't publish that company, otherwise people would go directly to that tour company.

 

 

Yes, and it makes more sense to go directly to those local tour companies which are easy to find than book with Viator. You can read the reviews on the company actually giving the tour. With Viator you don't know which company they will contract you out to.

 

 

 

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