Naples - Private tour with Marcello

[Mermaid 2]

Hi ClaudiaF
I enjoyed your review, also- and didn't know they had a website(?). No, not exactly ever a secret place-it was also quite crowded 3 years ago, mostly with Italians, but not as expensive. Still, it's nice when daytrippers can be surprised with a new "discovery"! That must be why we are not mentioning the name here..?
[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[petersonwith3]

Just back and I agree with FANC6....Marcello was interesting, the tour was fabulous and the lunch (at the same place as FANC6-not the other 'secret' restaurant) was unbelievable--especially for 18e!

Tina

Carnival Jubilee 5/94
Disney Magic 5/01
Star Princess 5/03

Carnival Conquest 12/03
RCCL Brilliance 5/04

[mrstrouble]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ECBoca2:
posted 05-10-04 11:49 PM
A warning about Marcello's private tour in Naples to the Amalfi Coast.
This was the most disappointing and expensive tour we had on our recent Med cruise.
Buyer Beware!!!
With all the wonderful reviews of Marcello we were shocked by our experience.
We were 3 couples shaing this tour.This is what you will get for your money:
A taxi driver who is very enthusiastic - about himself! His English is hard to understand and he only talks about how popular he is and how stupid his fellow countrymen are. We were in horrible traffic from the Naples port which he says is everyday now.
After an 1 1/2 in the van with 3 stops for photos we arrived at his family's restaurant. You will pay 30EU in addition to his driving fee for lunch. How many people in the best of places pay that much for lunch?
The view was wonderful but the food was very overrated. I have had much better in South Florida. The best was the dessert. You don't have to go to this restaurant but he has built his tour around it primarily and he rests on his laurels from earlier tours. We learned nothing about this area and spent most of the day in his van. He drops you at Pompeii where you pay another fee for a guided tour and he has coffee for 1/1/2 hrs.
He discouraged us from stopping in Sorrento and didn't give us any opportunity to shop the whole day ( ladies didn't like that!). We spoke to others on our cruise who loved Sorrento and had a wonderful time there.
Really try to make a clear choice about this private tour. You may be better to take a ship's tour here if it is your first time in this port or take the hydrofoil to Capri and a taxi ride to Pompeii or the train if they aren't on strike.
Eileen<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[mrstrouble]

Hi. Is this guy Marcello with sorrento limo. If not what company was he part of I am cruising on the ML on July 20th and have been going crazy doing research and my husband is not letting me book a van unless I have the people to fill it. i dont want to be stuck with the cost. I am also from Boca Raton, Fl.

[Linda-E]

Four of us took a tour with Marcello in May. I mostly agree with FANC6, but after listening to nine hours of why everyone is "stoopid": the tourists, the cruise ship tours, the locals, etc. we were really ready to end the tour. We saw spectacular views, had a lovely lunch, and visited places we would never have found on our own, but Marcello's attitude and constant stream of negative comments made the day much less pleasant. He ranted and raved about this thread!!!

[Mermaid 2]

Linda:
Tina just returned from her tour in June, and seemed to enjoy Marcello's company quite a bit. Perhaps he has calmed down a bit since your experience, responding to all the feedback? She posted a detailed review yesterday on this board. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[cruisin96]

Well if he has calmed down then I hate to think what he was like before ! Marcello Motormouth a pain in the **** and in the ears !

[Mermaid 2]

Here's a link to Tina's review, which has details of her family's recent day with Marcello (about halfway down, under EXCURSIONS), hopefully to balance things out a little (Oh gosh, there's my libra acting up again!)

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=109097554&m=277109932"]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=109097554&m=277109932[/url]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[Glendamcd]

What about Gennaro with Sorrentolimo, any news
on how he does a tour

Glenda

[cactusrose]

About Marcello. We hired Marcello as our driver for the Amalfi Coast and had a perfectly wonderful time. Yes Marcello is Italian, which mean he is passionate. While some people have commented that he is too talkative, I found that his passion only added to our experience.

Marcello is more than willing to tailor his tours to your tastes. What he is best at is showing you a part of Italy that most tourists are not aware of. If you just want to shop, hire a taxi to take you to Sorrento. If you want to spend most of your time at Pompeii, then take the train. If you want to see towns off the beaten path without everyone trying to sell you something, then hire Marcello. I will not hesitate to hire him again. The day we spent with him was one of the highlights of this cruise.

1952 - Excalibur (freighter)
1972 - Song of Norway, Caribbean
1980 - Hawaii American Curise line, Tahiti
09/01/2002 - Veendam, Alaska
05/29/2003 - Pacific Princess, Alaska
11/26/2003 - Star Princess, Australia/New Zealand

5/28/2004 - Star Princess, Venice to Barcelona
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff00ff&cdt=2004;05;28;21;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]

11/06/2004 - Diamond Princess, Mexican Riviera
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00ff00&cdt=2004;11;06;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

[mad4cruising]

Cactusrose, thank you so much for the positive feedback. I am looking forward to my day with Marcello this September.

I also want to see the small towns -what Marcello calls "His Italy" That was one of the reasons I decided to hire him as our guide. His correspondence has been very professional and personable. Based on this, I feel that I will probably enjoy our day more with him than any other.

I would like to know, however, if he gives you time to get out of the car and explore the small untouristy towns he shows you, or do you only see them from the car. As I said, I love small,off the beaten track, towns and villages, but I also love getting to know them, a bit, as well.

Thanks in advance, Cactusflower. I am very glad that you had a wonderful vacation!

[mad4cruising]

Excuse the error, I meant Cactusrose! Thanks again!

[MVPinBoynton]

Mad4cruising,
Marcello will stop anywhere you want for as long as you want. That is big advantage that private tours have. You are in charge of what you do.

I have been lurking on this post since I have given my opinion about Marcello many times. He has a unique personality and I found him to be a very pleasant person and an outstanding guide to spend the day with. I look forward to doing a tour with him again somedat. I can certainly understand why someone would find his pride in his country and repeated proclamation of it to be a bit much at times; but you will never forget your day with him. If you are the type of person that wants a driver that just drives, Marcello is not for you. When you select a private tour, you definitely want to read the various posting and decide what you want in a guide. There have been some very objective posts in this thread that should certainly help. If you want to meet a very passionate Italian that will provide you with a special day, I think you will be very pleased with Marcello. If you are lucky enough to be able to book him, since his schedule fills very quickly, you will probaly be quite pleased like the majority of cruisers that reviewed his tours.

Mike


See our reviews and pictures at [url="http://www.thepreismans.com/"]Mike and Carol's Website[/url]

Costa Classica 3/94
Celebrity Mercury 4/98
Carnival Destiny 4/99
Crown Princess 7/01
Norwegian Star 11/01
Grand Princess 12/01
Sun Princess 3/02
Celebrity Constellation 11/02
Brilliance of the Seas 6/03
Navigator of the Seas 11/03
Jewel of the Seas 06/04
Tahitian Princess 02/05

[cactusrose]

mad4curising. Marcello will provide you with the experience that you want. He will however, discourage you form spending you precious time shopping or visiting the tourist towns. His reasoning is that you will have plenty of opportunity to do all the shopping and touristy things in Florence and Rome. If you want to spend time exploring the towns, then that is what he will provide. We were with another family that wasn't as interested in exploring the small towns or experiencing as much of the Amalfi coast as we would have liked but it worked out well as we both compromised a bit and got what we wanted out of the experience. There was also some roadwork that cut into our time and the other family wanted to spend more time in Pompeii and Sorrento so we didn't have very much time to explore. This port has a lot to offer and not enough time to do it all. I would encourage you to decide on what you want to do up front. You can spend about 2 hours in Pompeii and also drive the Amalfi coast, but you may not have enough time to spend exploring each town. We will be going back and plan on spending at least a week there so we can really explore this beautiful area. I only hope Marcello is available when we return. Around every curve is a more breathtaking vista than you can ever imagine. It's glorious.

PS Try the Limoncello. I've had many versions, homemade and store bought, but there is something special about the Sorrento Lemon's. . . . Yummy!!!!!!!!!!!

1952 - Excalibur (freighter)
1972 - Song of Norway, Caribbean
1980 - Hawaii American Curise line, Tahiti
09/01/2002 - Veendam, Alaska
05/29/2003 - Pacific Princess, Alaska
11/26/2003 - Star Princess, Australia/New Zealand

5/28/2004 - Star Princess, Venice to Barcelona
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff00ff&cdt=2004;05;28;21;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]

11/06/2004 - Diamond Princess, Mexican Riviera
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00ff00&cdt=2004;11;06;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

[This message was edited by cactusrose on 06-13-04 at 12:40 PM.]

[This message was edited by cactusrose on 06-13-04 at 12:41 PM.]

[petersonwith3]

Just one more note.....I do think that Marcello has heard about this negative thread and I am sure that he has feeling about it. He never mentioned it to me but he did ask me on many occassions if I was having a nice time and if I had any requests.

At one point, he told me that he is still 'learning' and that he is trying to show people the real Italy. Our feedback, when given hosetly and to him directly, is helpful. He is a warm-hearted person and not malicious in ANY way. I am not sure why people are frequenting these boards and acting in such an ugly way.

If you find it hard to enjoy Italy and Marcello you probably would have a hard time with just about anything.

Carnival Jubilee 5/94
Disney Magic 5/01
Star Princess 5/03

Carnival Conquest 12/03
RCCL Brilliance 5/04

[Mermaid 2]

cactusrose:
you will LOVE spending more than one day on the Amalfi Coast and touring again with Marcello.
The extra time exploring hidden corners of that region will surely be indescribable!

I am 100% sure that Marcello reads these comments, because he is a professional, and highly responsive to the needs and opinions of his clients. And obviously, from the concern and care he showed on your recent tour, it HAS helped him alot, even if not all the feedback was positive. Some of the negative comments got reposted in full, which seems both very agressive and unfair, and gives this thread a negative tone, but overall most people seemed to really love his tour.

[que sarah sarah]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] We used Marcello for a tour last September while we were in the Med on BOS .We are going back on BOS again in October in the Med . We have book with Marcello again . IMOP [B]WE[/B] think his tour is wonderful

Good on you Tina [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;5;26;19;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]
<marquee behaviour=alternate>till we sail Brilliance of the Seas Greek Isles etc
</marquee>
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=dc143c&cdt=2004;10;5;19;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]
<marquee behaviour=alternate>till we sail Brilliance of the Seas Venice etc
</marquee>

[img]http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/sarah.gif[/img]

Sovereign 96,Grandeur 97,
Grandeur 98 twice,
Enchantment 99 twice,
Voyager 00 twice,
Explorer 01 twice,
Millennium 01,
Explorer 02 thrice,
Brilliance 03 twice,
Navigator 03 twice,
Brilliance 5/04,
Brilliance 10/04,
[img]http://www.gifs.net/animate/dog-wagger.gif[/img]

Que Sarah Sarah
(Wherever there's sea, there's me)

[Mike Andrews]

We have used Salvatore of DriveAmalfi(driveamalfi@hotmail.com) twice and recommened him without hesitation and would say he is probably the best private driver out of Naples.

[AIRLINES BRAT]

[url]http://www.gifs.net/animate/mermaidswim.gif[/url]

[atltravel]

although a little late, I just found this thread. I used marcello in 1999, and had a great trip. but like everyone has said, I did my research, told him what I wanted to see and where I wanted to go. I had a list of restuarants and only asked his opinion of which to eat at. He took us to one in ravello I had researched, sat with us, ordered for us (since it was very local and very italian) and it was one of the most memorable meals I have ever had because we didnt have a menu, he asked the lady who owned the resturant pick everything. I will never forget it. But I had hired Marcello as a driver and only a driver. I did not expect anything else. I am not one who uses guides, I research and like to do things on my own. So like most said- it depends on what you want and expect. But clear that up front first. Like I did when the guide I hired in Tangier tried his damnest to take me to his "friends" rug shops. Finally he just followed me around while I shopped to protect me more or less.

PS. Try raffaele ([email="raffaele.aversa@libero.it"]raffaele.aversa@libero.it[/email]) with [url="http://www.sorrentocardrivers.com"]www.sorrentocardrivers.com[/url] , but than again, he just drives me.

Karen

[SteveS]

We enjoyed our day with Marcello very much. Lunch was wonderful. I would do it again.

[park3850]

We went with him last year and have scheduled him again this year. Enjoyed the tours and his chatter. I expect we will again!

JB and Rose

[didi7]

[quote name='petersonwith3']We will be using Marcello on June 5 and I will certainly post our experience. More than once, he has emailed me to explain the use of a guide in Pompei.

He has been nothing but wonderful in correspondence so far, I am hoping the experience described above is just a fluke.

Carnival Jubilee 5/94
Disney Magic 5/01
Star Princess 5/03

Carnival Conquest 12/03
RCCL Brilliance 5/04[/QUOTE]

Hi. Will really appreciate hearing what you think of Marcello. I've booked him & his two other vans for a group of people. So, I'm getting anxious! Thank you.

[Compass Rose Monica]

I'm not sure if my comments will help. My group had Adriano for our tour guide and he was great! My husband's family is from Naples, so I knew all about the Italian way of driving. I asked him to drive "gently" and he did. We had a great tour: Drove to Santorini (stopped for about an hour), then to Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. Lunch in Positano - he dropped us off and picked us up at the designated time. We found a great place for lunch on our own ([font=Arial]Ristorante La Cambusa on the beach)[/font]. My Med cruise journal: [url="http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/Cruise03.html"]http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/Cruise03.html[/url]
Monica ;)