July 8th Naples

The cruise ship port is at the foot of the city providing easy access to this busy metropolitan area. With nothing pre-planned we decided to walk into town and explore. As we left the pier, we spotted the ubiquitous “hop-on / hop-off” double deck bus. The price for a family of four was 66 euros, much less expensive than the ships Naples excursions and much more appealing to our teens. The bus runs three different routes and by chance we started with the “B” route which takes you along the shoreline of Naples and up into the seaside hills. The tour lasted 1.5 hours and we had taken dozens of pictures. All four of us enjoyed the sunshine and the wonderful seaside vistas. We returned to the city centre and walked the main shopping district. A shopkeeper provided a suggestion for our wish, which was to have a “real” pizza. He directed us to Brandi Pizzeria, founded in 1889 and once again all four of us were delighted. We had a mouthwatering pizza (one pizza could feed two people) and listened to a musician serenade the three ladies. Each pizza cost $9.50 euro which we thought was good value considering the quality and the bonus entertainment. We then took the line “R” hop-on / hop-off tour. This circuit lasts only 45 minutes and provides limited entertainment. It would be a useful route if you wanted transportation between the main attractions in Naples. Our day concluded with a Gelato and a short walk back to the ship. Dinner was in the main dining room and we found the service to be equal to that in the specialty restaurants and the food was good with a broad selection. Once again the ship’s singers and dancers put on a solid performance of hits from the 70’s. The girls knew about half of the songs.