Blog Day 2 – It always amazes me how quickly people ‘gel’

Day one of our Sorrento stay was beautiful – this is probably one of the most spectacular parts of the Italian coast, with its high cliffs and volcanic backdrop. We woke to a clear and warm morning – not too hot for our intrepid guests, with nearly 300 departing in staggered groups for Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Serene sea near Sorrento in the morning

For them the day would include lots of walking and climbing through ancient sites, interspersed with a five course Italian lunch close to the ruins. (We often hear that guests enjoy the lunch so much that many want to forego the afternoon visit for a leisurely discussion over a bottle of Italian wine!)

The ruins of Pompeii - a tour we include on our "Pompeii is Something So Wonderful", or "Sicily is the Key to Everything" cruises

For us on the ship it was a busy day. I had meetings in the morning with the ship board team and then in the afternoon my crew from the Travel Channel arrived. In between I managed to climb up the hill and 120 steps into the town – I really don’t know why I didn’t take the free bus but I do have a thing about walking everywhere when on a cruise ship as I do have a tendency to over-indulge at dinner!

Most of our guests were back onboard by around 5.00pm and soon the bar was busy with people recounting their tales of the day. One of the groups on this cruise is from the American Archaeology Association, and their group leader is Dr Steven Ellis from the University of Ohio. Steven and his American team are excavating part of Pompeii and the group travelling with him were able to detour from the main site and visit the excavations. It was a great experience by all accounts. It seems that we have some really great lecturers travelling with us on each cruise. Only last year Mary Beard accompanied one of our shore excursion coaches. Wherever possible, we ask our experts to be part of our shore excursion groups, and that adds so much to the whole touring experience.

After another lovely dinner at the Marco Polo it was time to catch up with our travel agent guests. It seems each day is getting busier for me but I hope to post some photos tomorrow of our team including Julie Peasgood who many of our British readers may remember from TV dramas such as The Bill and Brookside.

With little time to load my daily pictures – I’ll be sure to do one long blog when I get back !