COMPLETE TRIP INFORMATION

The trip dates are September 16-23, 2017.  We plan to board the boats Saturday afternoon.  Some of you will no doubt want to arrange to be in Italy for some time before or after the trip...or both!  Sailing dates would be the 17th through the 22nd. This will be a round trip charter beginning and ending in Castellemare di Stabia on the southern end of the Bay of Naples...and in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius! Please remember that you MUST have a current passport with at least 6 months before it expires.

I have never been to Italy.  The thing I love about these trips is going to new places for the first time.   Come with me and share the joy of discovery and adventure!   We will start and end our trip in Castellammare di Stabia...in the shadow of Mount Vesuvious.  Being so close to Pompeii and Herculaneum, do make time to visit those sites as part of your land tour.  In all cases, we will probably be secured alongside somewhere almost every night.  It is my current plan that we visit places like Capri, Sorrento, and Amalfi^[1].

To get a geographical overview of the area in which we plan to sail, you can view Google maps by clicking here.

These are just some of the towns and villages along our route.

• Castellammare di Stabia -
  Built over the ruins of Stabiae which was also destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79.
  
• Capri -
  A popular destination for movie stars and the otherwise rich and famous.
  
• Amalfi -
  Once a maritime republic as relevant as Pisa, Venice and Genoa.
  
• Sorrento -
  With views across the Gulf of Naples to as far as Procida. Its name refers to the sirens who lured Ulysses.
  
• Salerno -
  An important commercial center that was the site of Allied landings during WWII.
  

Click here for a nautical chart view of the sailing area.

Click here for a Google Maps view of the Amalfi Coast and the Bay of Naples.

The choice of whether to explore more of Italy before or after our cruise is entirely up to you. Clearly, there is much to see, do, and taste!

Click here for the official Italy Tourism page.

I will update this page as new information becomes available.  If you are on my mailing list, you will be notified of all updates on this trip as well as my domestic offerings.  If you would like to be on my mailing list, contact me.

I have reserved two boats for our trip.  Click the links below to see photos of a representative boat.

Jeanneau 54 (Skipper Lemart Presley)

Click each link to see the exterior, layout, and salon for a Dufour 560. (Capt. Rob Chichester)

The cost of this trip is $1700 per person. The price assumes double occupancy in the cabins and includes the boat, provisioning, an experienced and/or licensed captain, damage waiver insurance, some portion of the marina fees, and refueling.   It assumes 9 crew plus your skipper for a total of 10 people on board.

If I add additional boats to the trip, they MAY not all be the same model in which case the price per person for people on those boats may vary.  However, I have tried to price the trip to avoid or at least minimize any variation in price as a function of boat selection.

The price does not include airfare, meals eaten ashore, personal alcoholic beverages, land-based lodging, individual travel insurance, or other incidentals.

A deposit of at least $500 will reserve your berth or a place on the wait-list.  Depending on where we are in the payment schedule, the required minimum first payment may be more than just the deposit.  Please read and understand the payment schedule and the cancellation policy below.  If you are wait-listed, the cancellation policy does not apply while you are on the wait-list.  I need at least 9 committed people to make this trip viable.  The cancellation policy published here applies to everyone on any boat in this flotilla.

Given the trip price and including an initial deposit of $500, there will be a total of six (6) payments spaced approximately 3 months apart. Before sending your deposit, please read and understand the cancellation policy. It is understood that receipt of your deposit means that you understand and agree to the cancellation policy as posted.  If you have not already made a reservation with me, please include with your payment your name, address, preferred telephone number, email address, and an indication of whether you will be travelling with someone else.  For information on payment options, click here.

Individual travel insurance is NOT included in the cost of this trip.  I always recommend that participants consider purchasing their own travel insurance policy.  Please see the FAQ question on travel insurance for more information.

Please note that if your first payment falls after the due date for the deposit or any subsequent payment, your first payment must be at LEAST in the amount of the total of all payments due up to the date of your payment.  For example, if your first payment is made after September 1, 2016, your payment must be at least $980.  This will be the case whether you are a confirmed participant or being placed on the wait list.  If you are wait-listed, and you have paid by check, your check will NOT be deposited until you are confirmed.  If you have paid by credit or debit card and you are wait-listed, you will be refunded your payment by check on request OR after the June 1, 2017 if you are not confirmed as a participant before then, whichever comes first.  No further payments from wait-listed crew will be necessary until you are confirmed as a participant at which time the balance of the total amount due at that time will be required to reserve your berth.

Charter companies have very strict policies regarding cancellations.  There are significant financial penalties for cancelling a charter boat reservation.  The following policy is provided to help avoid that situation.  I STRONGLY recommend that you purchase your own travel insurance to protect your investment in this trip.  In the event you must cancel, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can try to find a replacement or confirm someone from the wait-list, if any.  If you are on the wait-list, the cancellation policy does not apply.  If I can find no replacement within 2 weeks for someone who must cancel their reservation, the following cancellation fees will be assessed.   Check the FAQ page for information on travel insurance underwriters.

I reserve the right to modify this cancellation policy up until the time that I begin accepting payments.

You have three options for paying for your trip. Each method is fully described below.

You should consider making your airline reservations as early as practical.  Economic pressures will make airfares volatile.  The flight information below is for those coming out of Northern New Jersey.  There are generally no direct flights from the United States to Naples, Italy.  Do your due diligence.  While there are connections from major European airports, flight to and from those places may cost more or less. You also may find that you can save money by booking a separate ticket for the flight to Naples from the EU airport of entry.

We will board the boat(s) in Castellammare di Stabia which is at the southern end of the Bay of Naples.  Once in Naples you can take a train, bus, or maybe a ferry to Castellammare di Stabia.  Depending on everyone's travel plans, we may be able to arrange one or more taxis as a group.  The process would reverse at the end of the trip.

If you wish to investigate reserving a hotel room or other accommodation during our trip, I recommend using Booking.com. Some of us have used that site to arrange for housing in the past. We have found some lovely accommodations at VERY reasonable rates.

A pre-trip meeting was held on June 24 at 2PM. It was a virtual meeting with online and dial-in capabilities.  The recording of the meeting is now available online along with all forms referenced in the meeting. If you have questions after reviewing the meeting recording and documents, you are invited to contact me. The pre-trip information is a linked here.

Should you have any questions Rob can be reached via email or call him at: