Maudie

http://www.shareashoreexcursioninitaly.com/home

We will be on the Ruby Princess next year and are looking at options for our shore time in Naples, Rome & Florence. Has anyone used these people? We have four in our party but maybe be able to get another 4 to make up the maximum 8 for their mini-buses.

I would appreciate any info, thanks in advance.

qwovadis

cruisecritic.com port reviews these are usually inflated price

Go a fair amount better to hire a driver/guide cheaply

at the port.. or even better hop a local train

Naples for me last 4 euro train to Pompeii/Sorrento 20 min

had a wonderful cheap time eurocheapo.com cheap budget tips

for each city watch out for all the scammers on and off the

ships some scam for hundreds of euros...

triathlete

Sorry, Im not familiar with the company you list. I would, however, recommend you check out this link:

http://bit.ly/vyndkk

For Ruby Princess excursions. Here you can select your sail date, and get excursions tailored to your cruise backed by a 3rd-party consolidator that offers guarantees. They also offer package discounts if you book for multiple ports.

Good luck!

Maudie

qwovadis, thanks for your reply. I guess hiring someone at the port is a good idea but I think we would like to have something sorted before we go. In Naples we would like to do a drive along the coast. I will check out the eurocheapo site though. Thanks for the advice on the scammers too.

That is an interesting site, triathlete, thanks for posting. I will have a good look at all those excursions.

Thanks again.

Percy

Here is who I had , with great satisfaction.

For Rome you can contact:

Executive Limousine Rome at [email protected]

They are very good and have a driver to pick you up at the dock and then he drives you to Rome , where you meet your guide.

For Florence and Leaning Tower of Pisa contact:

Italian Limousine Service at [email protected] and

ask for Paolo ( he was terrific). His wife had triples a few years ago !!!
If you want tickets ahead of time he can get them for you... like for example you have to have a ticket to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa.


For Naples contact:

[email protected] , his name is Giovanni Rotondo and what a

pleasant happy man he is.

He will take you down the Amalfi Coast and make sure you are back in time for the ship

Maudie

Hi Percy

Thank you so much, just the sort of info I can use. I appreciate your time in posting. I will chase them up.

Thank you again
Maudie

Percy

Maudie

You are more than welcome.

We are all here to help each other !

Maudie

Percy, just out of curiosity are these people with a company or individuals you have used?

I know this sort of seems weird but how do I verify who they are if I just send off an email?

Just being cautious, one never knows these days!

Maudie

Oh whoops, I did some googling I think I can answer my own questions about the first two. Sorry Percy.

Percy

For Rome our driver met us at the dock.... holding up a sign with my name on it.

He drove us the 53 miles to Rome and we meet our Tour Guide there.!!

What a guide !! When I saw her I went "gulp"!!!. She was about 25 years old and a dead ringer for Catherine - Zeta Jones....

made it a bit difficult to look at some of the sites...but I forced myself.

For Florence:

Paolo ,also works for a company but he had his own vehicle.
He got us tickets ahead of time for some of the museums and also to see the Statue of David.

For Naples:

Giovanni, works for himself. He is about 30 years old. Good looking, slim, and always happy with that infectious smile.

I sat in the front seat with him and as we drove down the Amalfi Coast, I felt like James Bond , going around those hair-pin curves!!!

Your in for a treat.

But you know in Naples there were so many good guides waiting at the dock to just take you anywhere you want to go.

So if you booked a tour guide and for some reason he did not show up...you are not really stuck !!

Good Luck

Maudie

Percy, you are a treasure! Thanks so much for all the info. Sounds like we would be doing the same things as you. Loved your descriptions of "Catherine" and Giovanni - what a hoot.

Have you been on any cruises to the Caribbean? We are on a repositioning cruise so will end up at Ft Lauderdale, the deal to continue on for another 7 days was too good to resist. We will be stopping at Princess Cays, St Maarten, St Thomas and Grand Turk.

Thanks again.

Percy

Hi Maudie

Never been to that part of the Caribbean,I mainly did the western part which included Grand Cayman, Costa Rica, Cozumel etc.

I have done the Panama Cruise.

Good for you for doing the extra 7 days, it will be a needed break after crusing the Atlantic for 5 days.

Have a good time.

Maudie

Oh that's a shame, I was hoping to pick your brain further

Yes, I am sure we will be pretty tired after all that site seeing and cruising.

Again many thanks for your help.

Kind regards
Maudie

Percy

Sorry about that but I have not been to the Eastern Caribbean !

diann24

We did a med cruise a year ago. We hooked up with people on cruise critic who were seasoned travelers and they planned all of our visits at each port. They were all fabulous, and economical compared to the ships costs. I would try and get to know the people on cruise critic sign up for roll call. It is the best way to meet and greet prior to the sailing. For Rome we had a private man who spent all day with us and another couple. Our first day we covered so much, territory and gained so much knowledge. It was well worth it in price since time is so priceless. My most enjoyable cruises ever. Enjoy---

Maudie

Hi diann24, thank you for your suggestions. I have looked at the roll call for our ship on cruisecritic - lots of information there. But I do not find that site easy to read with all the members "advertising" their cruises it takes so long to wade through all the posts.

But I am slowly getting some ideas that I am following up. I am sure we will have a wonderful time and meet some great people.

Thanks again.

KARIME2

I used driverinrome.com when we did our med cruise back in 05. We used them in Rome, Florence and Naples. We had for 2 days the son - Daniele and another driver in Naples. Great trip and very personable. Daniele took us to the highlights and we stopped along the way so we could shop. Boy we shopped at every port.

You can also go on cruisecritic.com and sign up for your cruise. We chatted with alot of people on there prior to our cruise. You can also get more to join your own tour if you all like the same things. Which is really hard.

Maudie

Thank you Karmine2, I will have a look at that site. Sounds like you had an awesome time.

As I said above I really don't find the cruisecritic site to be easy to read and tend to only skim bits and pieces. We are happy to just do our own thing. Thanks again.

Eschew

Percy, you have not been to to the Eastern Carribbean? I'm shocked!

Maudie, you can try Rome Cab. They are reputable and has good reputation. I contacted them last year and wanted to use their service but it didn't work out as we did not have the number of people we needed to make it cheaper. They were helpful and gracious even though we didn't use them.

Maudie

Thank you Eschew, I will give them a try. That seems like a reasonable price too. I didn't have any luck with the suggestions Percy gave me, sent emails but no replies.

Thanks again.