Your excursion begins at the pier where you'll be transferred to Sorrento and your motorcoach for the drive to Pompeii. This UNESCO World Heritage Site exposes the remains of a lost city buried deep beneath the ash when Mt. Vesuvius violently erupted in 79 AD.

Explore the grounds on this guided tour of the excavated city. Your guide will point out the remarkably preserved remains that hint at daily Roman life. Known as a vacation community for high society, Pompeii had a forum, amphitheater, gymnasium, shops and an aqueduct that delivered water for irrigation, fountains and private baths.

Some of the ruins are remarkably preserved with elaborately detailed mosaics and colorful frescoes decorating the interiors of wealthy homeowners' villas. The dining room was the most highly decorated room of the house. As you walk the dining rooms, you can imagine guests reclining on large couches covered with pillows while servants brought platter after platter of food. More elaborate houses could have several courtyards with fish ponds or baths.

Pompeii had a lively commercial life. Most of the shops and storefronts along the Via dell' Abbondanza were open to the street, sometimes with serving windows or counters holding bins or built-in storage jars, and their business owners had living quarters behind or above their stores. While walking around the ruins, you'll need to watch your step as many roads in Pompeii are lined with sidewalks a foot or more above the street level.

The eruption of Vesuvius was a monumental natural disaster that killed thousands and entombed the city, yet preserved a moment in time more than 2,000 years ago.

Afterwards, you'll return to the motorcoach and drive to a cameo factory where artisans apply skills handed down for generations, intricately carving seashell or coral into beautiful pieces of jewelry and keepsake souvenirs.

Your return route follows the coast to Sorrento for the shuttle transfer back to the pier where your cruise ship awaits.