First Med cruise-do you like these ports?

[Fouremco]

Great post Cathy. I'm gathering info for a 2015 med/TA cruise and this is just the type of info I love to collect.

[buzzybuzzbuzz]

Hi Cathy, we did the day in Rome as you describe it to the last detail, such an easy and enjoyable day to do.

 

In Naples we took the Hydrofoil 24E to Capri, jumped on the little bus 1E and went up to Anacapri, I persuaded my wife to take the chairlift to the top 10E and we had lunch and a couple of drinks with the most amazing view. We got the chairlift down and jumped back on the bus back to Capri town where we wandered amongst the crowd and soaked up the atmosphere, make sure you leave enough time for the Fenicular Railway down to the marina as it can get very busy in the late afternoon.

[vivi9909]

Very nice itinerary and Equinox is a very beautiful ship.

 

The two ports of call I would regret to miss are Kotor (close to Dubrovnik) and Santorini (more interesting than Mykonos to my point of view). However, do not regret the fact that you don't go to Athens; Istambul is much more interesting.

[CathyCruises]

Great post Cathy. I'm gathering info for a 2015 med/TA cruise and this is just the type of info I love to collect.

 

I am happy to help, but 99% of my experiences have been DIY which I know a lot of people don't like to do. But feel free to ask and I can tell you what we did.

 

One of the only places we did tour was on the Amalfi Coast. Hooked up with folks from our roll call one time. We did the Amalfi drive, saw Positano, Sorrento, etc and had lunch in the restaurant high on the hill which was fantastic, then slept off the wine and limoncello while the driver whisked us to Pompeii. That was definitely worth doing. We also did a RC tour in Ephesus, which is petty difficult to get to on your own.

 

But in almost all other ports, on multiple cruises, we have figured it out and done it on our own and loved it!

[Fouremco]

I am happy to help, but 99% of my experiences have been DIY which I know a lot of people don't like to do. But feel free to ask and I can tell you what we did.

 

One of the only places we did tour was on the Amalfi Coast. Hooked up with folks from our roll call one time. We did the Amalfi drive, saw Positano, Sorrento, etc and had lunch in the restaurant high on the hill which was fantastic, then slept off the wine and limoncello while the driver whisked us to Pompeii. That was definitely worth doing. We also did a RC tour in Ephesus, which is petty difficult to get to on your own.

 

But in almost all other ports, on multiple cruises, we have figured it out and done it on our own and loved it!

We've considered but never taken a ship's excursion, preferring to be DIY'ers. We spend a huge amount of time doing it - thank goodness for retirement - but that's half of the enjoyment of the cruise! But this will be our first med cruise, and as you say, some excursions might be hard to arrange on one's own.

[Pushka]

Personal opinion - Naples is disgusting!! :(

 

Naples was our favourite port. We got a group together on CC and hired a driver. Spent the morning driving around to Positano and Amalfi coast which has stunning scenery. Lunch in a delightful restaurant with perfect pizza and handmade ravioli. After lunch we drove to Pompeii and had an archaeologist give us a guided tour. A wonderful day. Make of it what you will.

 

That cruise combines our cruise last year of Western Med with this year's tour of eastern med on the Equinox. You will love it.

Edited January 12, 2014 by Pushka

[horatio123]

YES!! We are booking tomorrow...thanks everyone!

[dodger1964]

YES!! We are booking tomorrow...thanks everyone!

 

Have great cruise. The only problem with these itineraries is the feeling of exhaustion after the numerous days in port.

[Scarlet and grey]

Naples was our favourite port. We got a group together on CC and hired a driver. Spent the morning driving around to Positano and Amalfi coast which has stunning scenery. Lunch in a delightful restaurant with perfect pizza and handmade ravioli. After lunch we drove to Pompeii and had an archaeologist give us a guided tour. A wonderful day. Make of it what you will.

 

That cruise combines our cruise last year of Western Med with this year's tour of eastern med on the Equinox. You will love it.

 

Did a tour like this with Rome in limo, wonderful day! Loved Pompeii! Used a guide and well worth the cost, split between a group of 8 from our roll call and turned out very reasonable. One of our favorite ports!

[Pushka]

Did a tour like this with Rome in limo, wonderful day! Loved Pompeii! Used a guide and well worth the cost, split between a group of 8 from our roll call and turned out very reasonable. One of our favorite ports!

 

 

Yes. We used RIL in Livorno. And share a shore excursion in Naples. Both were excellent.

 

The ships tour passed us while having lunch. The restaurant owner called out to ask them in. One woman said they only had 20 minutes in total and had to find the bathroom in that time.

 

DIY. :p

[Iluvcruising2]

Fabulous itinerary, I think.

[Tommy3putts]

Scarlet, totally agree about La Tagliata. We had lunch there this past August one of the best meals of our entire two week vacation! Great food and views. I am in love with the Amalfi Coast.

[Tommy3putts]

Salerno? Is that true. I've not seen or received notice of the change. Salerno is no where near Naples. I'm not a huge fan of Naples so Salerno would be great!

[Tommy3putts]

Oops. My mistake. Wrong ship. I'm on the Reflection in June

[nojoke]

Hardly matters since there is SO MUCH one can do from Naples.

By the way it can be charming doing a walking tour with a local.

another option in Naples is: take a cab (or ship excursion) to Herculaneum. We did it in November 2013, and enjoyed it even more than Pompei--lots more buildings still standing, and you can see it all in less than 3 hours. Just be absolutely clear with the cab driver about the total fare!!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I also like Herculaneum. It is smaller than Pompeii but more intact and interesting.

[shoelover536]

Have never ocean cruised and thinking about grabbing a spot on the Equinox sailing out of Venice on the 7th of September....overnight in Venice, Dubrovnik, Mykonos, overnight in Istanbul, Naples, Rome, Florence, Nice, Barcelona with 3 days at sea mixed in. Would you say this is a good mix of ports or should I chose another itinerary or ship at a different time?

 

 

I'm on this cruise! Please join us! :D

 

PS: it doesn't dock in Naples, it docks in Salerno, which for me seems better because it is more convenient to tour Pompeii/ Amalfi. Also, the France stop is Toulon, not Nice. Thinking of doing Aix for that stop.

 

If you do book, come to our roll call. Also, I'm doing tours with Rome in Limo for florence, rome and Pompeii/amalfi. So far its just me and my husband (36 and 41 respectively), but I'm looking to find people to share. If you book the cruise and want to join, let me know (jacquegregory536 at gmail dot com).

 

This should be a great cruise. We are staying a few days in Venice on the front and a few in barcelona at the end.:D

[CathyCruises]

another option in Naples is: take a cab (or ship excursion) to Herculaneum. We did it in November 2013, and enjoyed it even more than Pompei--lots more buildings still standing, and you can see it all in less than 3 hours. Just be absolutely clear with the cab driver about the total fare!!

 

Or, if you read my post above, you can see how easy it is to take the train. . .

 

For those going to Toulon, Aix is nice, but I would try to get to Les Baux. We rented a car for the day (from Marseille) so we had complete freedom. We also loved Cassis, and from there you can do a boat trip up into the Calanques: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g196673-d545932-Reviews-Boat_Tour_of_Calanques-Cassis_French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence.html

 

By the time we saw it, it was too late in the day but I will def. do on my next trip! But Cassis itself is just beautiful and well worth a stop.