DIAMONDRCL

we just saw it a month ago on the Harmony. And it was fabulous. don't know if you'll have the same cast or not, but we really enjoyed. I usually think the stage shows are cheesy, but this one was really fun. It helps when you know all the songs already ! We had a ball

Check here. It´s marked on google as "Port Spezia - Cruise Shuttle Bus Stop Pont" ;).

 

I haven´t walked to the train station but it´s 15 to 20 min.

 

steamboats

it was a healthy hike. probably took us 30 minutes

I've seen people actually going formal less and less over the last decade and a half.

Heck, this year, I saw people in the dining room in shorts. And baseball caps.

I blame in part the advent of "anytime dining." It's no longer experience it was at a set table, at a set time, with the same people. And frankly the change in society to go less and less formal everywhere.

The dining room is often half empty or more. People don't even bother showing up.

This year might be the first time I didn't even bother packing even a suit. A decent shirt and a pair of slacks is all I do now.

so I wouldn't worry about formal night. Nothing is enforced from what I can see.

we bring a small container of laundry detergent always. We rinse clothes we want to reuse in the sink and hang them on the chairs on our balcony to dry. if you don't have a balcony, you're pretty much out of luck. you'd have to send them to the ship laundry.

we went with this outfit, based on the numerous reviews on sites such as Travel advisor

http://www.pompeiiprivatetourguide.com/

I thought it was NCL is Walmart and Carnival is the Goodwill Store! :D:eek::p

(Or is it the other way around??)

ROFL

I almost spit out my lunch...

ours was the RCL "Sun Viking". Absurdly small by today's standards, but we had a great time!

thanks so much for the ideas. I think we found exactly what we are looking for! private tour, private car to take us there, a guide with a lot of positive comments behind her, and a company with a very high rating on various travel sites

My wife and I have only cruised on Norwegian, we have always enjoyed our cruises with NCL.

 

We are considering going on a cruise with Carnival in August. What are the biggest differences between Carnival and NCL?

 

What is your favorite cruise line?

 

Thank you

Budget lines, but most people consider Carnival to be the "Walmart of the High Seas". NCL would be considered a tad better

but it depends on your purpose for cruising -- relaxation and some nice extra touches, or party party party with the sorts of people who you see in Walmart? Which is fine for lots of people. We tend to peg our ship (and destination) choices based on what it is we are envisioning -- is it all about the ship? Or the destinations/excursions? Or do we want to drink ourselves into oblivion daily and nightly with lots of other fun partiers? It tends to focus our choices

RCL Harmony of the Seas, July 3 outta Barcelona!

I do internet searches. So many guides. so many companies. so many options. I only have a week and a half til we leave. I need to pick one soon. ugh

guess that's why i continue to use ril and their fabulous guides! They hire top notch tour guides based on what the client is looking for and leave the driving to them :)

 

 

sent from my iphone using forums

ril?

Have a look at Context Travel. Their guides are extremely knowledgeable, and they can arrange for a driver in addition to a private tour. Not cheap, but if this is important to you, it may well be worth it.

 

I have just spent two entire days in Pompeii (I'm actually staying at a hotel near the site as I type this). I think three hours is shorting yourself if you really want to see the best of it.

 

Also, I don't think there's a need to do both Herculaneum and Pompeii. They are more similar than different, and you get the wider variety in Pompeii. (In Herculaneum there are fewer of the public buildings that have been excavated.) Frankly I was just at Herculaneum, and I don't think this is the year to go. Some of the very best houses are closed for restoration as well as the large Palaestra. While in Pompeii they have opened several houses recently that have not been viewable for a while. Plus the Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii has recently had all of its frescoes cleaned -- the results are wonderful. It was a must-see before and now it is even better.

Good feedback. I had the same question. should we attempt both or not?

thanks

Ww choose to do it as a private tour and it cost us 100 euros :)

I would be great with that. What I'd like is someone to point me to a place on line where I can make such a booking.

The going rate a couple of years ago was 100 euro for about a 2 hour tour at Pompeii. The guides would try to gather a group of 10 together and then split the cost at 10 euro per person. Obviously fewer people means more per person.

 

I never priced the guides at Herculaneum, but assume they work on a similar scale.

 

Edited to add: I will be at Herculaneum in 3 days' time. If I remember and if I see guides there, I'll ask.

any recommendations you have would be very much appreciated! Would love to do a small group thing that hits both sites.

Sailing on the Harmony of the Seas soon. Pompeii was one of the most amazing things i saw 15 years ago on business. I want to take my wife there on our cruise when we port in Naples. Must be indepth. Pompeii only or Pompeii and Herculaneum.

We want one that picks up directly at the dock. Probably last most of the day. Want one indepth. We don't want/need the amalfi coast or Sorrento legs. I can envision a tour with a solid 3 hours in Pompeii alone, perhaps also a shorter trip to Herculaneum

Recommendations? I do searches on the web and there are soooooooo many. And it's not clear which are good and in depth and which are not. Or where the excursion begins and ends.

Anyone have a recommendation for us? this is a trip of the lifetime for us and I want this excursion to the be the jewel of the trip

We are definitely not snobs. We are definitely not rich, but we are veteran cruisers.

1. The dining experience has become worse. We have been cruising more or less for 20 years, although we took some years off in the middle. The difference between now and the early 2000s even is striking. Especially in dining. The advent of unassigned tables and the automatic tipping that goes to the wait staff seems to have made the dining experience less special. We used to really get to know our wait staff and table mates. Now they have little incentive to really serve you the way it used to be. They're pretty much going to get tipped whether you love them or not (unless you purposely tell the ship to remove your tipping charges). Meals, including the food, in my mind, even on the same ship and lines has become less of an event. Less special. Even in the formal dining room, seeing people arrive in shorts, flip-flops and tank tops, often with baseball caps unremoved. The whole experience has more more akin to going to Carraba's than to a nice formal meal. Even on the same ship or same line, to us, the quality of the food has declined.

2. Cheap tickets/cruising with the masses. Rudeness. Crowds. Crude people. Kids running everywhere. it kinda sucks. It's like being at 6 Flags now more than being on something more relaxing and special. Am I'm not talking about the bargain lines. Yes, you can go with the more upscale lines, but frankly it's not in our budget and we get so many extras being Diamond members on RCL that I can't see giving that up. The ignorant and the rude are now more likely your neighbors than people with common sense. sad.

3. People stiffing their room and wait staff. I realize why the automatic tipping became common - people were stiffing the room stewards and dining room staff. So now we all suffer. And the super-cheap go to the desk and have all their tipping charges removed. It's hurt the staff. I think they have LESS staff on board now and the service overall has declined. I hate that. These people generally work their butts off 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. I feel bad for them that people are stiffing them. And again the automatic tipping to me hurts personal service compared to even 15 years ago.

4. price of drinks. still outrageous. at least now you can bring on two bottles of wine each. But the way they search you for booze after a shore stop is dismaying. If you're going to be that hard-core, at least make the drinks more reasonably priced.

5. Photographers. ugh

6. The shows. Well this hasn't ever changed. The shows for the most part are cheesy. we saw a comedian last year who we had seen 3-4 years before on another ship. He used some of the SAME material. groan. Anyway, the happy peppy dancing floor shows have always been a snoozer to me. but to each his own

Sailing on the Harmony of the Seas soon. Pompeii was one of the most amazing things i saw 15 years ago on business. I want to take my wife there on our cruise when we port in Naples. Must be indepth. Pompeii only or Pompeii and Herculaneum.

We want one that picks up directly at the dock. Probably last most of the day.

Recommendations? I do searches on the web and there are soooooooo many. And it's not clear which are good and in depth and which are not. Or where the excursion begins and ends.

Anyone have a recommendation for us? this is a trip of the lifetime for us and I want this excursion to the be the jewel of the trip

Sailing on the Harmony of the Seas soon. Pompeii was one of the most amazing things i saw 15 years ago on business. I want to take my wife there on our cruise when we port in Naples. Must be indepth. Pompeii only or Pompeii and Herculaneum.

We want one that picks up directly at the dock. Probably last most of the day.

Recommendations? I do searches on the web and there are soooooooo many. And it's not clear which are good and in depth and which are not. Or where the excursion begins and ends.

Anyone have a recommendation for us? this is a trip of the lifetime for us and I want this excursion to the be the jewel of the trip