Percy

Eschew:

Yes, I have not been( yet ) to the Eastern Caribbean!!!

When I think of going it is hurricane season and then I wind up going to Europe.

But I have to get to the Eastern Caribbean.

Maudie:

Gee that is too bad about those e-mail addresses I gave you.

I have all their business cards so I just took the e-mail address off the cards. Hmmmmmmm!!!

But you know sometimes you do not get a reply to your email until weeks later.

I know because I gave an e-mail address to a person in who was taking a tour to St.Petersburg Russian.... this person did not hear from the tour guide in St. Petersburg for a month and then finally got a reply. !!!

She took the guide and loved the experience.

But I always wonder about those sloooow replies !

Maudie

Hi Percy, can you get to the Eastern Caribbean before I go, then I can really pick your brain!!! Just kidding. I think we might be there during hurricane season - hope the ship is fast so it can out run one - yikes!

Oh well, you never know I still might get a reply then. I some times wonder if there are 1000's of emails all just flying around out there looking for somewhere to go.

The ship tours from Naples all go to a cameo factory - we have no interest at all in spending our few hours in port at one of them. That is one reason we would like to sort something out for ourselves. We really aren't "tour bus" type people.

I shall keep looking and I might find a reply from one of those companies soon.

Eschew

Maudie: for Naples, your choice could be Amalfi coast, Pompeii ruins, Sorrento, Capri. Can't see them all on one day so you will have to pick one. Cameo factory? Don't waste your time. Cameo shops are all over the place there. I am surprised that the ship is doing cameo factory tour (opps .. I forget, they get percentages of sales)

Percy: Hurrican doesn't affect Eastern Carribbean as much as the Western Carribbean so it would be safe even during the hurriacne season. The frequency of Hurricane there is much lower. I have yet seen any cruise ship get caught with a hurricane. They avoid them and make different port stops. There are plenty of islands around southern and eastern Carribbean so even if it becomes a dealer's choice, you still can't go wrong anyway.

Percy

Maudie:

With a tour guide at Naples you can do
Pompeii Ruins , Almafi Coast and Sorrento...but no time for Capri.

Eschew:

Thanks.

Yes, I have to get down to the Eastern Caribbean soon.

Maudie

Oh no, not intending to do "everything". I think Pompeii deserves more than 2 hours so we shall keep that one for when we can return on a longer trip.

We would just love to spend a day driving the Amalfi coast, stopping off for photos, having a glass or three of wine and a yummy lunch at some little place with a stunning view - assuming the weather is kind. Just a relaxing enjoyable day with our friends and plenty of laughs.

Good news about Hurricanes too!

Maudie

Oh and I love this board so much better than CruiseCritic! Such nice people and its so MUCH easier to read.

Percy

I think with a guide you can do Pompeii, then drive the Almafi Coast .... stop for photos along the way ... and then relax with wine and lunch at Sorrento and then

shop a little at Sorrrentos.

Your guide will know when you have to head back to the cruise ship.

Anyway when you make contact with a guide ask him about this.

Eschew

It all depends on how much time you have at Naples, and what day of the week. We were lucky that we landed on a Sunday morning. Most people were in church and hardly any traffic in the morning.

You will need a minimum of 4 to 6 hours to do any type of justice for Pompeii. By the way, there is a very nice store that carries a lot of Cameo (and other mercahndise) at the market just outside the Pompeii ruin. It is right at the front corner, you can't miss it. I am sorry that I did not remember the name of the store. DW bought a Valentino purse for a very good price.

For the Amalfi coast, you want to enjoy it "slowly". Forget about the wine, do the lemoncello, and lots of it. There is certain charm when it is clouded over, maybe even a light drizzle may add to the atmosphere, add on a rainbow or two ...

Capri is just a pile of rocks and I will leave it at that. It is definietly over-hyped, just like Cabos. And I whole heartedly agree with the comment about here versus cruise critic. I am on both board but I post here a whole lot more often.

Maudie

Thanks heaps for your suggestions, especially the limoncello. Naples will be a Friday for us. Yes, slowly, slowly does it.

Yes Pompeii will wait another few years until we can to it justice, it's been there a while now

Hadn't even considered Capri really, that is a place that may or may not have to wait for the future.

I have been looking at our Roll Call on the CC site, it just takes so long to wade through all the posts. About 3/4 of the page are people "advertising" how many cruises they have done or are doing, just not my scene at all. I am more than happy to meet new friends on a cruise but I don't need to live the their pockets and have parties and drinks planned months before we go. But that's just me!

Eschew

I typically signed up for the roll call, find out what are the chatters on the ship or the destinations. I may even showed up at the meet and greet (only sometimes) and hear what the group discussion were like. I have met some truly nice people, and I have changed my excursion booking based on their experiences (example: adding Terrace houses for Ephesus) and comments. But, on the other hand, I have also met the type that you described: how many trips in thhe last year and how many times they have been where, yada yada yada ... I have no patience for that and I just politely bowed out.

Capri's claim to fanme is probably from that old movie with Sophia Loren in it. The rock formation, the Roman Villas, the Harbor are all quite charming. If you only have part of a day, the Almafi Coast would be #1 if you enjoy the relaxation and good scenery.

Maudie

Hi Eschew, lovely chatting with you by the way.

Oh I agree, I have picked up some interesting snippets of information on the roll call but the rest of it leaves me cold.

We had a fantastic day out in Hawaii with some people we shared a taxi to Pearl Harbour with, they live in Brisbane which is a long way from Perth but they have managed a quick visit here earlier this year and we communicate by email regularly. We all just clicked and made for some very happy memories as we sailed back to Sydney.

I am so looking forward to seeing the Amalfi Coast, another one of those places I have always wanted to see and can tick it off the bucket list - that for some reason just seems to get longer rather than shorter.