Napoli - Naples - Pompeii - Sorrento Italy

[thunefeld]

The NCL Spirit Southern Europe * Eastern Mediterranean Cruise

October 26-Nov 6, 2013

Venice > Greece > Turkey > Western Italy > Barcelona

 

We took the NCL Shore Excursion “Flavors of Sorrento and Pompeii” because we really wanted to see both Pompeii and get a feel for the Sorrento Coast and this was a highly rated trip on the NCL site. We had a phenomenal guide who was a deep resource of information, both entertaining and educational.

 

A “down side” to this trip was (count them!) three (3!) “side-trips” for an opportunity to buy something, “endorsed” by the excursion. Bah, humbug! The first was at Pompeii. NOTE: The salespeople at each “shopping” stop are waiting for the buses like sharks going after a baby seal. The only good thing about the forced stops: The rest rooms were clean. Guide books say that these type of operations kick back 30-50% of revenues to the tour company.

 

Picture this: Here we were, a half hour into the trip, forced to watch a Cameo sculpting presentation (really? 40 people crowding around one guy carving a cameo?) and then WAIT for 30 minutes while 15% of the bus-riders dawdled and shopped with the strategically placed salespeople selling sculptures, cameos and leather goods at greatly inflated prices. At least they had clean rest rooms. The entrance to Ancient Pompeii, a life long dream, was 100 feet away and we had to sit in the busy, noisy, exhaust filled, bus-filled square waiting for our guide and the shoppers buying overpriced merchandise.

 

Finally, into Pompeii! It was as grand and wonderful and mysterious and intriguing as we’d hoped, incredible in every respect, a splendid frozen-in-time peek into Roman life 1950 years ago. Our guide was awesome – but the tour of the ruins, too short (only 90 minutes!!) so we will be back.

 

I cannot imagine spending fewer than 5 hours in Pompeii to really absorb it all. The good thing about this excursion was that we departed the ship at 8 a.m. and despite the forced march through the cameo store, still beat the bulk of the crowds into Pompeii (it wasn’t NEARLY as crowded as Ephesus, Turkey, 3 days before).

 

Then, on the bus for a long ride to Sorrento along the beautiful and famous coast. Our second side trip was for lunch at an Agriturismo “farm” located just 2 miles inland from Sorrento where we crowded into an old barn to listen to how olives used to be crushed, then herded to an outdoor kitchen demonstration of how to make mozzarella and ricotta cheese, then herded to a lunch with good salads, pasta, bread and wine – with ample time (of course!) and opportunity to purchase cheese, wine, trinkets, etc. It was pleasant enough if you like that sort of thing (free clean restrooms). To be fair, my wife Ann enjoyed the entertaining and informative cheese-making demonstration and the lunch was good.

 

Finally, after a very nice lunch (we agreed, better than the food on the ship), we were back on the bus for downtown Sorrento. Again, our guide was great – fun and entertaining. For those of us who cared more for history than trinket-buying, he drew routes for us to walk on our maps. Then we were dropped off at the third “shopping opportunity” – a demonstration-of-inlaid-woodworking - with an opportunity to buy – and plenty of salespeople to “help” you.

 

At least at this last stop we had 90 minutes on our own in Sorrento and did not have to wait for the shoppers. We walked directly into the old town following our guide’s map and Rick Steves’ chapter in his book, Naples and the Amalfi Coast.

 

Although Sorrento is a fairly old (medieval) city, it was definitely a tourist town – like any US tourist town (tourists wandering aimlessly through myriad t-shirt and trinket shops, sucking ice cream cones, lugging cameras, taking snapshots of everything). We walked around to some of the sights through the typical narrow streets, but one tourist shop looks like another whether you’re in the USA or Europe, and Sorrento is a big-time tourist town.

 

The coolest thing we found, thanks to Rick Steves and our guide, is Piazza Tasso – not so much the Piazza itself, but the deep gorge to both the north and south if it. The gorge divided the city for 2000 years until 200 years ago when the Piazza portion was filled in to make the Piazza. If you walk inland for just a block to the green railing you’re looking down into the gorge to medieval buildings and stairs (carved in the 5th century per Rick Steves) that were occupied and used for centuries until the Piazza was created. When the Piazza was filled in, it created a very humid, lush “jungle” in the now-enclosed gorge below, thereby rendering it uninhabitable.

 

So, to sum up, I don’t think we’ll ever return to Sorrento (a certified tourist trap), but will most definitely return to Pompeii (unbelievable!). Shame on NCL for marching us through three forced “shopping” expeditions, but kudos to our guide who transformed what could have been a mediocre day into a very interesting one.

 

Terry Hunefeld & Ann Dunham

Inn At Moonlight Beach Bed & Breakfast

San Diego

 

 

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If you’re on an NCL shore excursion, the process for disembarking for one of their paid shore excursions is streamlined, straightforward and efficient like all of the processes on NCL. This is quite a feat considering that there are sometimes thousands of cruisers getting off the boat to board dozens of different buses.

 

However, if you wish to do your own thing, and be among the first off the ship, here is a tip: For example, we wanted to do Athens “on our own” and it was our first port of call – so we had no experience with the disembarking process. We wanted to be in the first group off the ship to “beat feet down the street” to get to the metro and to the Acropolis when it opened at 8 a.m. to beat the crowds because Rick Steve said that the best time to be at the Acropolis is before the tour busses disgorge throngs of tourists at 10 a.m. He was dead-on correct!

 

BEWARE: NCL Spirit arrived at the cruise terminal at 6:40 a.m. We were told by two different NCL employees the evening before that there would be an announcement as to when we could disembark, so to be “waiting in our room” or in a “public area” until the announcement. We were discouraged from queuing up near the stairs or elevators prior to the announcement. When we had not heard anything by 7:20, we wandered down to see what was happening only to find that disembarkation had begun 25 minutes before! I inquired why (again asked 2 separate NCL employees) who replied that the ship does not make announcements before 8 a.m. So, there you have it… if you want to be first off before 8 a.m. on an NCL cruise, you need to be aware. My motto after this misinformation was to ask multiple different NCL employees the same question until I got the same answer THREE times. That seemed to work okay.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for posting your trip report.

 

I am glad you enjoyed Pompeii. It is spectacular.

 

We do enjoy Sorrento but we visit the town on our own not through a ships tour.

 

Keith