Naples/Salerno

[tabby50894]

Our ship, the Celebrity Equinox, changed the port from Naples to Salerno. It was very easy to take the local bus, SITA to Amalfi (and beyond if you want), but would have been very difficult to do Capri on your own. The port requires a shuttle to the city since no one is allowed to walk in the port area. The ride to Amalfi took a little over an hour and was stunning. We enjoyed seeing Amalfi, sitting at a sidewalk cafe eating pizza and sipping limoncello. The problem was the return to the ship. No provision had been made for everyone wanting to come back at the same time and there weren't enough shuttles. Hundreds of people waiting and one shuttle showed up after 20 or so minutes, and another coming in another 10 minutes - supposedly the last one. Complete chaos as people tried to push their way on to the shuttle bus. It was a wonder that no one was injured. Celebrity needs to step up and coordinate the shuttles with the city.

[Softball20]

Was this recently? Do you know how many ships were supposed to be in Naples that day?

 

Thanks

[Hlitner]

We have never ported in Salerno but have driven there several times when we were vacationing on the Amalfi Coast. Getting around the Amalfi coast with public transit (or even shuttle buses) is not very efficient and makes it difficult to explore all the highlights of the area. From Salerno we would certainly recommend going to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Personally, if we had a full port day in Salerno we would simply rent a car for the day. This would make it easy to explore the entire coast (and drive up to Ravello) without worrying about waiting for shuttles, finding a bus to Ravello, etc. If you share a rental car with a 2nd couple the cost for an entire day is about $30 per person. The only negative is the parking situation at (or near) Positano, but there are some good strategies for dealing with this situation.

 

Hank

[Softball20]

We're on the Noordam next month, and we're supposed to be docking in Naples. I've seen a couple of these threads about some ships not going to Naples, for whatever reasons, so I'm curious. It doesn't matter to me - as long as we can get some notice to the driver we hired if there is going to be a switch. Of course, I'm sure that these companies are used to this and monitor it, as well. We're heading to Sorrento, Positano and Ravello, so not being in Naples would actually be easier. No worries - it is what it is and it will be a wonderful day.

[Hlitner]

This situation with ships changing their port from Naples to Salerno is a new thing. Naples is a large port with quite a few docking postions and can normally handle all the normal cruise traffic. Somebody had posted that there were some contruction projects in the Port of Naples and perhaps this is why we are seeing some of the port changes. Another alternative to Naples is Sorrento (a tender port). Going to Salerno opens up some new options not normally available to ships in Naples such as visiting the ruins at Paestum.

 

Hank

[Capricruiser]

I was in Naples today and there was only one cruise ship tied up at the cruise terminal, the Thompson Dream. No congestion obviously. I did not notice any construction at or around the cruise terminal, but Naples is a huge port so maybe it was at one of the other commercial or container docks.

[tabby50894]

We were in port Sept 8, 2011.

 

In response to Hank, driving yourself has advantages, but you need to have nerves of steel driving along the coast so I'm not sure that's for everyone. I'd prefer having someone else do the driving, and enjoy the view. There are a number of alternatives, but the bus was only a couple of euros and the view was great. In addition, I don't think this solves the problem of the shuttles. The port in Salerno is commercial and I don't believe there are any car rental companies on site, so you still have to take a shuttle into town to get the car.

Edited September 19, 2011 by tabby50894

[Racbolt]

I dont know if you will get this message but we are joining you on the Russian Experience evening tour in St. Petersburg. There are 4 of us so that will make up the 6 people. Looking forward to meeting you.

Rachel and Derek, sue and Dave.

[George C]

We did RCCL tour of Capri ( it was only ships tour we did) it was a great tour, I assume Celebrity would have the same