Help with Excursion in Naples

[taylortime05]

I’m trying to decide between these 2 excursions.  I know my hubby would enjoy visiting Pompeii and we have no worries with the ship excursion getting back late.  However, we both like smaller groups and the 2nd tour is so much cheaper.   ItalyTours guarantees to get us back on time.  Which one would you pick & why?  

 

1) Ship Excursion with NCL - 9 Hour Large Group Tour  - $269 per person - Amalfi coast & Pompeii

 

2) Semi-private 8 hour tour with 4 others from our cruise - (6-8 people) - 69 Euros per person -  Naples, Sorrento & Positano with ItalyTours.EU

 

Thank you so much for your feedback.  

[Heartgrove]

@taylortime05We did the ItalyTours EU Pompeii excursion in October 2019 while aboard the Nieuw Statendam. The driver of the minivan met our small group just outside the terminal in Naples. He drove us to Pompeii and handed u@taylors off to a local guide for Pompeii. Then we met him again for the drive to Sorrento where we had maybe two hours for lunch, etc. A quick stop at a Limoncello outlet and scenic outlook stop before being back at the ship with about 45-60 minutes to spare. Recommended!

 

We are back in Italy this October and may do another tour with them.

Edited May 24, 2022 by Heartgrove

[mapleleaves]

if those are the only 2 options, I'd choose 2.

 

But you might also consider hiring a private driver for the day, and plan your own itinerary. For instance I would consider a long lunch in Sorrento and the limoncelo tour a waste of my time.  I'd rather have that time to GO TO Positano, grab a slice of pizza and wander around, rather than see it from an overlook.  It was reading the details of the excursion that made me choose to go private.  You can find 2 other couples from your Roll Call to join you and share the cost.  I got carried away with our itinerary and added an extra hr, but geez, I'm there, so why not see and do what I can, right?

[taylortime05]

22 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

if those are the only 2 options, I'd choose 2.

 

But you might also consider hiring a private driver for the day, and plan your own itinerary. For instance I would consider a long lunch in Sorrento and the limoncelo tour a waste of my time.  I'd rather have that time to GO TO Positano, grab a slice of pizza and wander around, rather than see it from an overlook.  It was reading the details of the excursion that made me choose to go private.  You can find 2 other couples from your Roll Call to join you and share the cost.  I got carried away with our itinerary and added an extra hr, but geez, I'm there, so why not see and do what I can, right?

I'll need to so some research and then post on our roll call.  Our roll call has not been very active. When I went on a cruise a few years ago out of Barcelona we joined a group and most of our tours were private with 6-10 people.  We had the best time and met some wonderful people.  

[MrsKMB]

I'm using JoeBanana in Salerno. I went ahead and booked a private tour because I didn't want to deal with finding people to join us. If they had a small group available, I would've joined it. 🤷‍♀️

[trotzoll]

We're doing that same tour (Italy tours) in Naples. We've never used them before, but they came highly recommended. We are touring with a group from our ship. 

[klfhngr]

We just did the Pompei tour 2 weeks ago, we wished so bad that we did it ON OUR OWN! The tour is way to long, and being in a group sucked. If we ever go back, we'll do on our own and finish it so much sooner that we can do more things in port!

[puravidagal]

We're sailing on Princess in September for 3 weeks and booked 2 tours with ItalyTours following recommendations on our roll call. Communication with them is fast and they seem very efficient. So, if that helps you decide, that's our 10 cents' worth.

We're looking for a Pompeii and Herculaneum trip with a live guide (for both locations would be nice) from Naples on October 2 when we dock. This is our first trip to Europe and of course we don't want to make any giant snafus because we're novices, even though we're in our mid-70s, LOL. It seems that of the 2 tours I've found (Viator and GetYourGuide), both only pick up at Starhotels Terminus. Has anyone ventured from the cruise port to this location? Rome2Rio suggests a taxi as fastest means to get there, but I'm just looking for folks' input. Any suggestions anyone has would be most appreciated. Thanks!

[euro cruiser]

Do you have a specific budget you are trying to stay within?  

 

There are many options that don't involve a package tour that you have no input into or control over.

 

At the high end, you could hire a car service to pick you up at the ship and take you to each site, then return you to the ship.  The guides would be an additional fee, or you can join a guided tour with a licensed guide at the site.

 

For less money you could use public transit to get to the sites and join guided tours at the site.

 

Many folks here join the roll call on their ship to find a couple of others who are interested in doing the same thing so they can share the cost of a private car service.

[Over from NZ]

https://italytoursharing.com/

We used these guys for 4 ports last time and they were excellent. They had one that leaves from Naples and does the Amalfi Coast & Pompeii. Both amazing places. Make sure you pay extra and get a guide at Pompeii though - otherwise it doesn't mean anywhere near as much. 

[puravidagal]

Thanks Euro Cruzer and Over From NZ for your thoughts. We would gladly have gone with ItalyTours.eu for the Pompeii tour, but they don't include Herculaneum. We did settle on Pompeii/Herculaneum with Viator upon recommendation by our travel agent who has used them numerous times without problems returning to the ship. There are 5 hours to spare with this, so getting back should not be a problem, barring catastrophic bad luck! The local tour company conducting the trip gave  some instructions which seem pretty clear for pick-up at the PicNic Bar which seems like a popular watering hole. We're not too thrilled about the site saying they max this tour at 52 people, but no one seemed interested in doing these two sites, so we planned ahead. Of course, if anyone on this cruise is interested in sharing a private tour (this comes out at about $98 pp), we're happy to do so. There's plenty of time to cancel this Viator trip. Thanks again. 😊

[euro cruiser]

2 hours ago, puravidagal said:

We did settle on Pompeii/Herculaneum with Viator upon recommendation by our travel agent who has used them numerous times without problems returning to the ship. 

 

That's interesting, and possibly just lucky, since Viator isn't a tour company, it's a reseller.  Your TA has no control over the operator who actually provides the service, so just because it went well in the past, there's no way to project that to the future.

 

Have you posted on the roll call for your sailing to see if you can find others who want to do the same thing?  A group tour like this will be a quick overview at each site, and that's it.  

[puravidagal]

Hi Euro Cruiser (sorry for misquoting your profile name in my earlier reply). Yes, I did post about a tour to Herculaneum and Pompeii (#45 here:) 

but got no takers or no advice. To your recent reply, what I meant to say was through his experience with Viator, my TA has never had a report of a problem with any of their providers either on his own trips or those of his client. There are 2 hours in Pompeii, 90 minutes in Herculaneum, a 40-minute lunch and of course the coral/cameo factories, time permitting. I'm estimating minimum time of 6-1/2 hours counting driving time; Viator says approximately 8-9 hours. There should be a live guide with over 6 participants, audioguides with less. This is acceptable to us, but if it turns out to be 52 as they state max, there's no info about headsets on the website. I'm trying to clarify this with Viator and the provider but haven't gotten a response yet. If I don't hear anything in another day or two, I'll move on to an-yet-to-be-developed plan. It's just difficult to get these two sites in a single-day tour, at least I haven't found many. So, we'll see. Thanks for your input here. Definitely worth mentioning. 😉

[cruisemom42]

There've been many reports about issues with Viator here on CC. Most recently someone who was counting on an airport transfer got stood up last minute..... kind of harrowing.

 

Eurocruiser is absolutely right that Viator is only the middle-man. They do not give the tours themselves. They are relatively reasonable in terms of refunding you but my point is this:  I want a good tour, not a refund for a bad tour or an issue. When will you be back in Naples for a do-over?  In all likelihood, not soon. And do you really want to spend time with 52 new friends in the coral and cameo factories?  I can answer that one:  no, you do not.

 

If going to both Pompeii and Herculaneum is important to you, why not look at one of the well-regarded private tour operators?  They can make it happen and it probably will not be any (or much) more expensive than booking two shore excursions through your ship.

 

I know it seems intimidating, but it is also extremely easy to visit these two places on your own using the local train or a combination of bus and train. The train stop at Pompeii is literally steps from the main entrance. The stop for Herculaneum is just a few blocks, straight down from the station. 

 

Edited to add:  Two reports about Viator just within the last month.

 

Report #1 about Viator stranding passengers at airport:

 

 

Report #2:

 

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by cruisemom42

[euro cruiser]

If you're willing to try doing this on your own, using public transit, we can walk you through it step by step.  

 

City Sightseeing has come back post-Covid with their bus to Pompei, which may feel more comfortable than trying to navigate mass transit:  Audioguide in 5 languages (city-sightseeing.it)

[puravidagal]

Thanks Cruise Mom 42 and Euro Cruiser. Both of you have given great advice and we'll definitely reconsider our plans. I really appreciate your input. This is a HUGE trip for us since we're combining 2 weeks of land trips on our own with the cruise. Because of Covid, we've had several years of planning time on the land part and we're doing our own thing with that and really looking forward to it. The shore excursions have proven to be a bit of a chore, but the assistance from each of you has been invaluable. Thanks a bunch!

[mskaufman]

We did the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii and thought it was excellent.  However, at a $200 pp difference I would go in the other direction.

[jewls674]

Cruising on Carnival Pride Oct 1 2022 and looking for one more couple to join our Pompeii/Amalfi Coast tour with ItalytoursEU.  Message me if you might interested in Joining.