Voyager of the Seas

[Poochmamma]

My husband and I are taking the voyager cruise in September. We are trying to decide "rent a car", "train" or "private car" for our Naples stop. We are wanting to visit the ruins in Pompeii, Herculaneum, Sorrento, Positano and possibly Amalfi. Figuring we will run out of time for Salerno.
Are rental car stations available in port? I have been to Naples a few years back but, our trip to Capri was on a Ferry.
We are also wanting to go to the Livorno boat tour and the Viareggio beach. Taxi ride? Looks like boat ride is city center. Not sure about Viareggio?
Any help would be very much appreciated.

[David Lacey]

Please, please DO NOT hire a car. I once made the same mistake and it nearly destroyed me. The roads are packed, the Italians drive like lunatics and there are scooters EVERYWHERE with 3 (or more) passengers on them!! Use the trains and public transport to get around. They are fast, cheap and frequent.

[Poochmamma]

Thank-you David for your help. We will map out our transportation through the train stations and public transportation per your posting. Thank-you again!

[Mdeda]

You might want to spend the extra money and take the cruise tour to see all of that. That is a lot of traveling for a day on your own and I would be afraid of missing the ship's departure that night. David is correct, the driving there is crazy!

[am2350]

My mom, aunt and uncle and I took the Voyager cruise last year. By chance, I found a wonderful company that offered private drivers. It was the BEST decision ever! Our very professional driver, Alberto, dressed to the nine picked us up right at the cruise ship terminal exit. We went to Pompeii and spent 2 hours. (I recommend getting a tour here otherwise you'll have no idea what you are looking at. We were able to pair up with another group of 4 or 5 people and we split it, which made it reasonable). Then we went on to Positano (absolutely incredible place), had lunch at La Tagliata (you MUST ask to eat here if the driver doesn't suggest it) and then we ended with some brief time in Sorrento before catching the ferry back to Naples. The ferry takes about 30 minutes versus an hour drive back to the port and allowed us to see Sorrento, too. I highly recommend the tour company. www.aptours.it Best of luck!

[dewana49]

We are booked for the Voyager of the Seas in June of 09. I have been working with Rome In Limo for the 3 ports in Italy. Nice/Villefranche is still an undecided. We have decided to just go into town at Marseilles and walk around. That will be the last day of the cruise and we figured we would be ready for a easy, relaxed day.

Any ideas on Nice/Villefranche? I know we want to go to Monte Carlo and other than that I'm lost!

Also, any good hotels in Barcelona (pre-cruise)?

Thanks

Dewana

[grey nomad]

We are on Voyager next week and our first stop is Monaco.
We found a couple of good sites which were helpful
www.Visitmonaco.com
www.Villefranche-sur-mer.org

sorry can't help with hotels -try looking on www.trip advisor.com - reviews for hotels
we found an excellant hotel in New Orleans about 4 years ago before our first cruise and another gem of a hotel in Venice through the site

good luck