A few hours off cruise ship in Naples

Personally, I would do neither. Hop the train to Pompeii. Pompeii is massive and worth a solid half day or more. Return to Naples and spend the balance of your time in the great museum there which has most of the recovered items from Pompeii. The other time we were in Naples we caugth the ferry to Capri - an easier trip.

I agree with Frank. I have found the cruise tours to be excessively expensive and you are at their mercy on timing. And I can vouch for how marvelous the museum in Naples is. Most people say go to Pompeii first and then see the real things in the museum afterwards, so I would concur on recommending the trip to Pompeii first thing in the morning. I believe that you can get a tour when you arrive in Pompeii. And a guide makes it so much more alive and interesting.

Agree. Forget the cruise line offer. We went to the ruins by ourselves. Had a hard time finding the right train to Pompeii but made it. Right across the street from where the ships dock there is a tobacco store where you buy the ticket for the city bus that takes you to the train station. The city bus is actually a very long train that rides the rails right in the middle of the street. Our bus that day had a biker bounce off it. The traffic is complete mayhem. The Capri deal is worth considering too. Once again you can arrange for this trip right off the ship by yourself and save a few bucks.

I wouldn't spend my only day off the ship going to Capri. I totally agree with the others to go to Pompeii.
Pompeii is amazing. If you're not interested in that though, I think going to Sorrento is very worthwhile. We love Sorrento. It's very easy to get to from Naples by train.

Thanks for all the wonderful responses. Please allow me to expound on this a little more and get your further advice. I have heard all my life that a drive on the Amalfi Coast is something not to be missed. Is that true? If we take a train to Pompeii, will we miss that drive entirely? Also - here is a quick recap of what the cruise ship offers for tours: There are 3 different tours for $150 per person: 1) Sorrento & Amalfi Drive, OR 2) Amalfi Drive and Pompeii, OR 3) Sorrento & Amalfi Coast by Motor Launch (all 3 of these last 9-1/2 hours). The other/most expensive option ($345 per person) is: Almalfi Coast, Positano, Sorrento & Pompeii. What do you all think? I know we won't have much time at any one place but it would be nice to get a flavor of many things. Thanks very much.

Karen, I think we need a little more info especially on your prior travel experience. Is this your first cruise in Europe? first trip to Europe? I assume what you are really asking is for us to recommend one of the three ship excursions. I don't think any of the additional info you posted will change any of the above recommendations. For those of us who are experienced with European cruises will continue to recommend that you skip the ship's offering. Too expensive, too much hurry up and wait, too limiting etc. We have done six European cruises (twice to Naples) and my original rec stands.

By the way, Jerry, the long bus on tracks is the tram (No. 1) and there is a city bus on tires that will take you to the station. It is a little quicker but the tram is more interesting. When returning the bus to the port is on the far side of the bus staging area directly in front of the train station. And there is (was) a guy in a booth that will direct you.

Hi Frank. Thanks for responding. To answer your question, this trip is for myself and my 20 year old daughter. It is our first time to cruise AND first time to Europe. I am not a complete wuss, but am a little nervous about trying to find different transportation and locations. Maybe my expectations are too high, but my main goal is to have a (mostly0 stress-free vacation, but not have to pay exorbitant prices to get that. Trying to summarize, we would like to see the sites of Naples, definitely want to explore Pompeii and would love to be driven on the Amalfi Coast. Can you recommend based on this? Thanks again.

You may want to research a private car and drive/guide. The problem with bus tours down Amalfi coast is that bus cannot go into Positano. Also there are unscheduled strikes in Italy all of the time; last time we were there the guards at Pompeii were on strike in the AM. Our driver changed the schedule so that we could get in all we wanted (Almafi coast, lunch in Positano etc. and returned to Pompeii in the PM after strike was over; bus/train/tram will not give you any flexibility if you need it. We used bestlimoinrome.com

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. I will definitely check their website. Thank you very much.

Ok, that is what I was sensing from your comments. And Naples maynot be the best place to get your feet wet using local transportation. The cruise ship excursions are the way to go for completely stress free but you pay for that in several ways. On our first European cruise we did about half of the excursions. Now it is rare for us to take even one. Our seventh cruise will be this Oct and we probably will not book anything from the ship. And we have also spent about 300 days in Europe so finding the right train, local transportation, etc. is not stressful for us anymore -- but it was the first couple of times.

For Naples -- there is not much to see in Naples. The museum is great but the rest is kind of gritty. From what you described I would opt for the Almafi Drive and Pompeii. Pompeii is unique and you really should that. Sorrento is nice but not unusually nicer than many other cities along the coast. I assume you may hit Portfino or other ports of the Italian coast. I would avoid any nine hour ship excursions as matter of principle. They can be grinding and very tiring. When we do opt for a ship excursion we prefer the shorter ones so you can have a little time for yourself in that port.

Good luck

You and your wife sound like very experienced travelers and I'm envious. I also wish we could hire the 2 of you to show us around Naples. I have been on trips before where there we so many arrangements to be handled that I came home not feeling the least bit relaxed - and I do totally understand what you are saying about "paying the price," but I guess I will bite the bullet and pay the cruise lines to shepard us around this time around. Thanks very much.

I think Ron's idea to hire a private driver is the perfect answer. That way you could see the Amalfi coast, which is amazing, Positano and other small towns, and you could also go to Pompeii. I wish I could recommend the private driver we had, but I can't find his card...if you start a new post asking people to recommend who they've used, I'm sure you'll get lots of responses. You and your daughter will be so close to the Amalfi coast and Pompeii, it would be a real shame to miss going there.

Karen, we used Mariano Fiorentino at www.pleasantravel.com He is an absolutely great guide. He will promptly answer your email with price and an itinerary to suit you. He is in demand so do it today. Have a great trip.