Naples - short port day 8:30-4pm

[CanuckOnaBoat]

There are not a lot of options for Naples port excursions with DCL on June 18th. We are interested in -

1) Pompeii and hike on Mt. Vesuvius
OR
2) pizza making

I'm fine with a non-DCL excursion but don't want to do DIY.

For the Pompeii trip - I'm getting quotes for almost 1000 Euros for 6 hours! There are 4 of us - 2 kids and 2 adults.

What tour companies are you all using in Naples? Has anyone found any options with a better price for a Pompeii/Vesuvius excursion? I assume we need something from 9am - 2:30pm (I like to be back well before all aboard)

 

[ljhayes]

Is Vesuvius a requirement? Is Disney offering a "Pompeii on your own" excursion? We're sailing NCL this summer and we decided to do the "on your own" (which is just transportation to/from Pompeii) and then we're getting our own tickets and I booked a private guide via Viator. It's a little under $450 for 4 of us all said and done. I have been looking at other options that would include Vesuvius or Herculaneum but a lot of them still don't include transportation or they're at least twice as expensive.

 

[auntlynne]

In case you decide you can DIY (or info for others).

We did Pompeii on our own - by taking the Circumnavigation train. Bought tickets in a shop near the port. Walked to the train. Drop off is at the ruins. We did not use a guide. Just explored. Way less than having someone drive us there. And got to ride a train! (I was hobbling with a knee injury I got on the TA crossing).



Here’s an example of one-way private transfers. Cost is total for guests, not pp.

https://daytrip.com/u/naples-to-pom...0-TyJoBUGgHuG76hBSGwjAjaapSmyx1YaAp7aEALw_wcB



Admission to the ruins starts at €19 for adults. Looks like under 18 is free if you buy tickets in arrival (not online, with PDF printout).

Find an audio guide and wander. This version does not require ship to arrive at scheduled time.

 

[Flossbolna]

We did Pompeii on our own - by taking the Circumnavigation train. Bought tickets in a shop near the port. Walked to the train. Drop off is at the ruins.

We took the train, too. It was easy to do. But we took the metro to the train station. Seemed like a fairly far walk.

 

[Mommb]

There are tour companies that can customize a tour for you for less than $1000. On our trip to Naples in 2019, we did a day-long private tour for 4 people with Joe Banana that included an olive grove, a limoncello factory, making our own pizza, and a guided tour of Pompeii. It was a highlight of our cruise and got us back to ship in plenty of time. You wouldn't have time for all that, but I found just as an example a tour that includes Pompeii for under 600 Euros: https://www.joebananalimos.net/cruise-port-tour/pompeii-sorrento-positano

I would contact Joe Banana and ask what a shorter tour would cost.

 

[msmama]

We did Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii through Disney. I have no recollection of what it cost, but it was worth every penny.

We went straight to Mt. Vesuvius from the ship. If I remember correctly, not all tour providers could get to the end of the paved road, where the hike really starts, so some folks were walking fairly far before they even got to the start of the hike so you may want to double check that with any provider you chose (the cruise busses got as close as they possibly could). FYI - I'm NOT a hiker and the path is gravel so sometimes it's like you take two steps and then slide one back down. It was hot and pretty brutal, started out cloudy but the sun burned off as the day went on, but I made it to the top and was quite happy. There's a gift shop at the top (no water, no toilets). Down was pretty slick and by the time we made it back to the bus, there were several of us with quivering legs.

Then we stopped at a Cameo factory. It wasn't listed on the itinerary but it was air conditioned and had a bathroom. We watched a video on how they made the cameos, were able to watch an artist, and there was a gift shop. Some said the sales people were pretty pushy, but I somehow managed to avoid them.

Then we went to Pompeii. There's a little plaza outside the entrance with a market of people selling souvenirs. They were pretty pushy. We had free time for lunch and gelato and then had a tour of Pompeii. You'd need more than one day to see the whole thing, but with our guide we were able to hit the highlights.

I usually travel one adult/one child, so going with Disney excursions is almost always worth it for us, so, like I said, I can't speak to cost, but the excursion was incredible. We followed this day with a full day in Rome and then a full day in Florence/Pisa, so by day 4 were were EXHAUSTED.

 

[CanuckOnaBoat]

Is Vesuvius a requirement? Is Disney offering a "Pompeii on your own" excursion? We're sailing NCL this summer and we decided to do the "on your own" (which is just transportation to/from Pompeii) and then we're getting our own tickets and I booked a private guide via Viator. It's a little under $450 for 4 of us all said and done. I have been looking at other options that would include Vesuvius or Herculaneum but a lot of them still don't include transportation or they're at least twice as expensive.

Ideally we would have done this - but for some reason I'm nervous with doing so when the timing in the port feels tight to me. Vesuvius is to take my son - who's into volcanos (or any natural disaster).

 

[CanuckOnaBoat]

In case you decide you can DIY (or info for others).

We did Pompeii on our own - by taking the Circumnavigation train. Bought tickets in a shop near the port. Walked to the train. Drop off is at the ruins. We did not use a guide. Just explored. Way less than having someone drive us there. And got to ride a train! (I was hobbling with a knee injury I got on the TA crossing).


View attachment 849386
Here’s an example of one-way private transfers. Cost is total for guests, not pp.

https://daytrip.com/u/naples-to-pom...0-TyJoBUGgHuG76hBSGwjAjaapSmyx1YaAp7aEALw_wcB

View attachment 849385

Admission to the ruins starts at €19 for adults. Looks like under 18 is free if you buy tickets in arrival (not online, with PDF printout).

Find an audio guide and wander. This version does not require ship to arrive at scheduled time.

thank you! It's definitely cheaper than a private transfer by at least 200 Euros!

 

[Flossbolna]

Vesuvius is to take my son - who's into volcanos (or any natural disaster).

But wouldn’t Pompeii fulfill this? There you see what the volcano did. I thought that was quite impressive to see how large a town was just buried in ashes.

 

[Dug720]

when the timing in the port feels tight to me.

To me, that is a reason to use DCL excursions. You do a private tour, you're depending on them to get you back on time, and if you DIY you're depending on yourself. With DCL you know the guides are going to be keeping a close watch on the time.

See the thread about NCL leaving people for what can happen if private tours (or DIY peeps) are late. You'd be on your own and/or having to fight with the tour company to get you back to the ship.

 

[MrMagoo]

We found a great tour guide for Naples using Tours by Locals.

We wholly recommend doing private. With a tour group from Disney, you are just part of a group and don't get one
on one interaction. You can also tour at your own pace without waiting for a group.
Last year on our Greek Isles cruise we did 3 private and 2 Disney and the private were SOOO much better!!!

The private operators always try to make sure you are back to the ship on time.
Yes, I know about the group left behind by Norwegian but I do believe I read that someone in their group also had
some medical problems during the tour causing them to arrive back late. I could be wrong about this though.

But in Europe, we have no problems booking private. Will not do this in Mexico though.

Our tour guide at Naples was Giusseppe. We found him through Tours by Locals but he has a private business you
can book him through. It is Leisure Italy, www.leisure-italy.com.
He was our driver and tour guide which was great as he had his own vehicle which was nice so we weren't cramped in a big bus, plus our personal guide through Pompeii. Tickets into Pompeii were also included.
He would probably try to have you off the ship by 8:30 but will also have you back an hour before all aboard time.

You could also look at Tours by Locals to see if you could find another private guide that might meet what your are looking for.
(The only ports we could not find a good private guide was in Chania and Mykonos. After our Disney excursions there
we REALLY wished we could have gone private!!)

 

[anricat]

We used Pompeiin for a private tour and had an amazing day: http://www.pompeiin.com/en/Pompeii_and_other_tours.html
(Trip report for 2018 Med on the Magic in my signature has a rundown of that day.)

Honestly, for a shorter port day, you might just want to do Pompeii. It looks like Pompeiin does a combo tour, but they are quoting 8 hours for that. Their private 8 hour tours are around 600 Euros for 4 people, it appears, so shorter would probably be less. Worth reaching out. They were wonderful and recommended by others here on the DIS.

 

[CanuckOnaBoat]

To me, that is a reason to use DCL excursions. You do a private tour, you're depending on them to get you back on time, and if you DIY you're depending on yourself. With DCL you know the guides are going to be keeping a close watch on the time.

See the thread about NCL leaving people for what can happen if private tours (or DIY peeps) are late. You'd be on your own and/or having to fight with the tour company to get you back to the ship.

Thanks ! I've done many cruises with independent excursions and always account for the risk. Plus some independent port excursion companies- provide you a "don't miss the ship" guarantee. Unfortunately - DCL excursions aren't always an option depending on your status. By the time we were able to book many excursions were already filled. And I'm also seeing many that are not family/kid oriented. This wasn't the case years ago with Disney when they had more options for different age levels.

Edited to add: But yes- we should always be aware of this risk and plan accordingly.

I appreciate everyone's help in brainstorming and raising different points. It's useful for others reading the thread to see thinking out loud.

 

[CanuckOnaBoat]

We found a great tour guide for Naples using Tours by Locals.

We wholly recommend doing private. With a tour group from Disney, you are just part of a group and don't get one
on one interaction. You can also tour at your own pace without waiting for a group.
Last year on our Greek Isles cruise we did 3 private and 2 Disney and the private were SOOO much better!!!

The private operators always try to make sure you are back to the ship on time.
Yes, I know about the group left behind by Norwegian but I do believe I read that someone in their group also had
some medical problems during the tour causing them to arrive back late. I could be wrong about this though.

But in Europe, we have no problems booking private. Will not do this in Mexico though.

Our tour guide at Naples was Giusseppe. We found him through Tours by Locals but he has a private business you
can book him through. It is Leisure Italy, www.leisure-italy.com.
He was our driver and tour guide which was great as he had his own vehicle which was nice so we weren't cramped in a big bus, plus our personal guide through Pompeii. Tickets into Pompeii were also included.
He would probably try to have you off the ship by 8:30 but will also have you back an hour before all aboard time.

You could also look at Tours by Locals to see if you could find another private guide that might meet what your are looking for.
(The only ports we could not find a good private guide was in Chania and Mykonos. After our Disney excursions there
we REALLY wished we could have gone private!!)

I love Tour by Locals - we used them the first time at the end of our British Isles DCL cruise. I've been in touch with them and several guides via Airbnb Experiences. I'm going to check out Leisure Italy.

The fact that Giuseppe is both tour guide/driver is a big plus. That has been hard to find.

Thanks for the comment on Chania and Mykonos - those are the only 2 ports we have DCL excursions and now you are making me re-think. Maybe they are both just a nice place for a stroll and nice lunch.

I agree about the private tours - we always get so much more out of them. Plus with small kids - we can go at our own pace without stress.

I tend to shorten whatever private excursion I am doing to be back at least 2 hours before All Aboard. And that creates a problem with the tour length in Napoli. But it's ok - it's an excuse to go back for a longer visit another time.

 

[CanuckOnaBoat]

We used Pompeiin for a private tour and had an amazing day: http://www.pompeiin.com/en/Pompeii_and_other_tours.html
(Trip report for 2018 Med on the Magic in my signature has a rundown of that day.)

Honestly, for a shorter port day, you might just want to do Pompeii. It looks like Pompeiin does a combo tour, but they are quoting 8 hours for that. Their private 8 hour tours are around 600 Euros for 4 people, it appears, so shorter would probably be less. Worth reaching out. They were wonderful and recommended by others here on the DIS.

Thank you! Yes- I agree about maybe we are doing too much in too short of a time. I will reach out to Pompeiin just to get their feedback about feasibility.

My worst case scenario is just wandering Naples.. or even just enjoying the ship with a few people left on board!

 

[kiford]

It's a lot to do both Pompeii and Vesuvius in one day. We spent over 8 hours in Pompeii a few years ago on a trip to Italy, and we'd all been there before, so it wasn't our first visit. Then, on another day, we did a climb up Vesuvius and a tour of Herculaneum. Also a very long (and exhausting day). Vesuvius and Herculaneum are possible to do both in one day as Herculaneum is smaller than Pompeii, but be prepared to be tired! There is a bus tour company at the Circumvesuviana stop for Herculaneum that will take you to Vesuvius so you can climb; they give you time to be back at the parking lot and return you to the Circumvesuviana stop. Then, you can walk down the hill to the end of the street to get to Herculaneum. (there's also an amazing little hole-in-the-wall pizza place halfway down the street).

 

[Agent 86]

We took the public train to Herculaneum instead of Pompeii.

It's smaller than Pompeii, but WAY less busy.

Ostia Attica (near Rome) was my favourite of the three "ancient, buried sites" we visited. But, Herculaneum was good. It enabled us to get back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. We may have even just made it back in time for lunch, I can't quite recall.