Garry Partridge in Pompeii ... money well spent.
"It was a brilliant tour, taking in so many famous places.
"We got off the ship in Naples and walked through part of Naples to get to the ferry terminal, for a 45-minute ferry ride to the island of Capri.
"When we arrived on the island, we rode on a funicular up the side of the mountain to the main square of the town of Capri, which is where all the rich and famous people go.
"The island is quite mountainous, which I hadn't known until I got there.
"We walked through a garden to go and see the Faraglioni rocks, which are large rock stacks poking out of the sea, and had a fantastic view of the rocks and all the yachts moored there.
"I couldn't get over the colour of the water, it was just amazing.
"There was a stall there selling lemon drinks made from local lemons.
"The lemons were huge - bigger than cricket balls - and the drinks were absolutely delicious.
"We then caught another ferry to Sorrento, where we went to a traditional old restaurant in Tasso Square and had a really good three-course lunch.
"There were musicians playing and we were looking out onto the square, which was filled with flowers; it was just beautiful.
"After lunch we were dropped off at the obligatory shop, where they wanted us to buy something, but we were bored so we wandered down the hill and found some old Roman ruins, all covered in ivy.
"It was an incredible thing to just stumble across; I can't believe they didn't take us there as part of the tour.
"From Sorrento we went by bus along the Amalfi coast and if I have ever had my breath taken away, that was it.
"You come around the corner and it's 'oh, wow'.
"Mount Vesuvius came into view and then we arrived in Pompeii, where we did a guided tour of the ruins, which are the result of Mount Vesuvius erupting in AD79 and were only rediscovered in the 18th century.
"It was a very hot day and there are no trees there, obviously, but we really enjoyed the tour, which was done through headsets.
"There's also a cameo factory there, where Mavis bought some cameo jewellery, then we were taken by bus back to the ship."
Value for money
Princess Cruises' 10-hour tour taking in Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri costs from $239 a person.
Garry says it was money well spent, given that the tour covered several major attractions and included a three-course lunch with wine.
"I would definitely recommend the cruise and particularly that tour; it was excellent," Garry says.
WHO Garry Partridge, of Adelaide, on his sixth cruise.
WHAT Visiting Capri, Sorrento and the ruins of Pompeii, Italy.
WHERE Via the port of Naples, on Italy's west coast.
THE SHIP Garry cruised with his wife, Mavis, on Princess Cruises' Star Princess (princess.com). They cruised for 14 nights from Venice to Rome, via Croatia, Greece and Turkey.
As told to Jane E. Fraser
Have you done an interesting shore excursion? Drop us a line at travelshd@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
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