Shore excursions, part 3: Naples

Naples - Carol and I would like to do a tour of Pompeii where we are not pressured into hurrying. I would also like to see Herculaneum if we had the time. I have asked Carol to check with her friend Joanne who is a classics professor whose specializes in this area to see if she has any suggestions of how long we should allow in each place and other suggestions.

• Pompeii - There is one big bus tour (NP03) of Pompeii that is 4 hours and costs $69.00, but this also includes the cameo factory. I would be annoyed if we had to leave early in order to see the cameo factory (tourist thingy). The drive to Pompeii is 45 minutes each way. So this means you are in Pompeii about 2 hours. Carol can say if that would be enough.
• Herculaneum - There is one tour (NP06) that runs 3 1/2 hours for $64.00. Guess what, you also get to go to the cameo factory!! The drive is not specified.
  

At this stop I am thinking that we might want to look into a private tour. I have been online and found references to several private tour guides. The most recommended is a woman named Barbara Giambiatissta (barbaraguide@hotmail.com). The last price quote for her was $75 per person, small group, but I am not sure how long the tour, where she picked up, etc. Other recommendations are Salvatore Lucibello of DriveAmalfi who can be contacted at info@driveamalfi.com and Tony at tonyguidepompei@tele2.it. I think we will have to contact some of these to see what the prices will be. Some say that the fluctuating Euro will make it more expensive to do these private tours.

Another question is whether we need to have a guide or can we figure it out on our own? See this discussion at slowtrav.org. Here from Cruise Critic is another take on the matter with a link to another private tour site:

We used AP Tours (www.aptours.it) for the Naples area and while I don’t recall the cost for the 4 of us, it was less than $1000, and we had an air conditioned Mercedes mini van with a wonderful driver at our disposal for the entire day. I discussed and planned our day in advance via email. For example, I just looked and 4-6 people for 9 hours – Pompeii & the Amalfi Coast will cost 475 Euros – total. (Although if you want to see Pompeii, I’d strongly suggest you find the extra 100 Euros for a licensed guide which AP will arrange for you – really made the place come alive for us.)

Shore excursions, part 2: Livorno

So the first shore excursion that I am wondering about is:

Livorno - Here is a report on the port of Livorno which most people use as a gateway to Florence and Tuscany. Do we want to go to Florence? Pisa? San Gimignano and Volterra?

• Florence is about 1.5 hours from the ship. There are several ship excursions that take you there - with tour about $150 (LV01), just bus $85 (LV07). If we go do we want to see any of the museums or galleries, for example, to see Michelangelo's David? The Uffizi? Some of the ship tours include these museums and the admission reservations for them. We could also take the train that goes to Florence. It costs much less and sounds like fun, but what about a tour guide? Also if you want to go to the museums, you need to make reservations ahead of time to avoid long lines.
• I would like to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. There is only one ship excursion that goes to Pisa and goes inside the tower (LV49). It costs $99, three hours. This pretty much means that there will not be time to go to Florence also (although there might be time for some other shorter tours). There are a couple of others that go to Pisa and just look around. It is supposed to be very charming and lots of stuff to do there.
• There is one ship tour to both Florence and Pisa that does not go inside (LV05). Cost $179.
• The trip to San G and Volterra is all day and costs $145 (LV02). It takes about 1.5 hours to get from Volterra to the ship.
• Finally, we could just stay in Livorno. There is even a ship excursion in Livorno for $30 (LV32).

We can check on private tours for these areas, for example, we could do Pisa and San G. Or some other combo if we do a private tour.

Next: Naples and Pompeii

Shore excursions, part 1

Okay, we have the hotels lined up but now it is time to get serious about what shore excursions we want to go on. Some of the excursions have limited availability so if you have your heart set on something we have to decide. If you wait until onboard, there is chance you will be stuck with less attractive choices. Carol and I are talking about a get-together in April to talk about this face to face, but you have to have an idea about what you want to do before we meet.

If you go to the Celebrity website (click here), and then choose to "Manage My Reservation" you can register online and then see the shore excursions, etc. You will HAVE TO register online at some point before we leave because you have to check in online for the cruise no later than three days before we leave. So you might as well register now (you don't have to check in now)!!!!! It might ask you for a confirmation number or reservation number. If you did not already get this from Alex, send her an e-mail.

Anyway, you can print out all of the shore excursions they have listed at this point which is a 48 page brochure or just look at the excursions online.

Note: here is a link to someone on Cruise Critic recommending pre-booking.

Next - Livorno