My wife and I have been to Rome several times so we know and have scene many of the great sites. On this trip we where on a cruise with our college aged niece and nephew and only had one day. We do not like being corralled like cattle on an overpriced group cruise excursions. So if you are seeking an express very detailed and comfortable personalized experience for the day than this is the tour for you. Our guide Giampaolo was excellent as he has a PHD in art history and was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. He mixed our day perfectly with new sites that my wife and I have not scene on previous trips plus several of the must see's for the kids like the Coliseum, The Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, The Parthenon and many of the notable monuments. The added bonus was he knew this terrific restaurant that had an amazing lunch buffet for only 10 euro. Do not think typical American slop style buffet as the food was amazing, fresh and delicious with a very busy local corporate work crowd enjoying lunch. We where picked up on time in a very new Mercedes van our driver was supper friendly and funny and we arrived back to the port with plenty of time to spare. For four adults it was $300.00 cheaper than booking a bus tour with cruisers and made for a terrific intimate family experience.

As we have never reserved a tour outside of our cruise ship, we were little reluctant to book, but after hearing great things from others, and wanting a tour that included all the things we wanted to see, we booked with Viator. Viator contracts out these small tour groups of up to 8, and we ended up with Fabrizio Rossi, a fantastic driver and guide that owns his own van. It was clean and neat, and he even brought along a special seat for our daughter (and a baby seat too). He picked us up right in Civitavecchia at our cruise ship, and got us back early for dinner and undocking. We arrived in Rome, via tollway for speed, and first headed to the Vatican Museum, which gets busy early. Fabrizio gave us vouchers for tickets and told us where he'd meet us later, giving plenty of time to peruse the treasures of the Vatican. He then took us to a local square where we had a great lunch of local pizza sold by the kilo. There was also a farmer's market that was fun to explore. Then we headed through the streets of Rome for awhile before heading to the Trevi Fountain. Fabrizio headed around the block, which gave us plenty of time to throw a coin and take a photo. We headed back out into the city where he led us to a parking area near the rear of the Coliseum. He gave us our vouchers and waited while we took our time touring the ancient landmark. This is where our daughter was so excited to visit. After that, we headed past the Hippodrome and up a small road only locals know about to see an overlook where we could see a lot of ancient Rome and the Forum. On our way back to the ship, Fabrizio stopped by an ATM for us to grab some extra cash (for a great tip)! Then he led us to a local gelato shop where he helped us order the best cones we had on our trip. We wouldn't hesitate to use Viator (or even Fabrizio personally) again! It was great to get a local perspective in such a historical place. Fabrizio can be contacted directly at fabriziorossi75@gmail.com.

This was an amazing experience far exceeding our expectations. Right from booking with Irene everything was easy and organized. Pick up from our cruise ship was exactly as planned and we were taken to Rome for our first tour. Francesca was an incredible tour guide and tailored the tour for our two children aged 10 and 13. They were enthralled the whole time right from the Colliseum to the Vatican. The next day we were promptly picked up for our tour of Pompeii. Our driver was very friendly and knowledgeable. Eliza met us at Pompeii and she was an amazing guide. We loved every minute. Our tour finished with the Amalfi Coast, so beautiful and we felt very comfortable with our great driver. Irene suggested La Tagliata restaurant and it was beyond incredible. Great food and the view is even better. I would highly recommend this tour group and we can't wait to use them again in our next trip to Italy.

Our group of 6 families with teenagers had the greatest of times during our visit to several Italian ports! Our tour guides were knowledgable, friendly and passionate. Our drivers were careful and attentive. The emails with the company were always answered promptly and were very informative. They did everything to make our visit a success. Thank you, Irene!

The Private Cruise Excursions was wonderful, beyond our expectations. Irene organized it. She answered all of our questions and was fantastic through the booking process. Then the day of the tour, our ship docked into the port of Civitavecchia. The driver was waiting for us and it was a quick ride into Rome. We met our guide, Simona, outside the Colosseum for a personal tour and then on to the Roman Forum. We ate lunch in this nice and quiet café in the Piazza Navona and then went to the Vatican in the afternoon. Simona did a superb job. She offered interesting commentary, not only about the sites, but about the Romans themselves and their culture....how they lived, what they did for entertainment and challenges in their daily lives. It really brought the tour to life. She also knew her way around which helped us avoid the crowds. She was fluent in Italian and English. This was immensely helpful. Our family highly recommends Private Cruise Excursions and specifically Irene and Simona. It was a five star experience we'll never forget.

This tour was fabulous! Our driver (Jack) was excellent as we negotiated through the narrow roads in Sorrento, Postitano and in Pompeii. Our Pompeii guide Salvatore was very knowledgeable and funny and kept everyone engaged. This experience was very memorable and is highly recommended for all travelers that wish to experience this part of Italy.

Our private guide Rossana was warm, enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. She steered us expertly through the tourist crowds, letting us skip the lines and avoid the herds, while still seeing everything we wanted to see. Fabulous and highly recommended!

Our personable guide (and brand new father!) Salvatore met us at the train station at the arranged time, then led us on a personalized 2.5 hour tour of Pompeii. As we negotiated the rain and throngs of visitors he cheerfully (and expertly) answered all of our questions. There are much cheaper ways to do, and the train ride from Naples to Pompeii is a multi-stop hassle, but our visit was memorable and well worth the extra cost of the tour.

Booked a private tour with these people and it went from 8.00am - 6.00pm, the driver was great, good knowledge on all sites, arrived on time, spoke good English and was an excellent tour guide. Recommend this company, also used them for airport pickups.

Note: This review was incorrectly posted to the Walks of Italy page initially, because I initially contacted that company to arrange a private tour of Vesuvius/Pompeii. Walks referred me to another tour company, Private Cruise Excursions, for the planning of the private tour, so the credit really goes to Private Cruise Excursions. For our recent trip to Rome, Irene of Private Cruise Excursions, arranged a wonderful day-long private excursion to Vesuvius and Pompeii for my husband and me. Irene was very accommodating and answered my questions by email and made sure to arrange the day according to our preferences. The day started with pickup at our hotel in Rome by our driver for the day, Leonardo, a friendly but unobtrusive young man and a great driver. First stop, the spectacular Mt Vesuvius, where we hiked up to the top and toured on our own. Leonardo waited for us, then drove us to have lunch al fresco at Cantina del Vesuvio, where we toured the vineyard and wine-making facilities, guided by the charming owner herself and enjoyed a delicious meal ( and plenty of the house-made wine) and Easter pie for dessert. Loved the house dogs, too! Then it was on to Pompeii. Really, as fantastic and beautiful as Rome is, this tour was a definite highlight of our trip (for my husband, THE highlight). Our guide was the warm, welcoming and brilliant Rossana, who had a wealth of knowledge and great stories about the amazing sights of Pompeii, thanks to her many years of giving tours there. She immediately made us feel comfortable. Her love of this fascinating place was obvious. You know you have a great guide when you see other people hanging around and attempting to listen in on her every word. Her stories really made the city come alive. She sent us on our way with lots of hugs, like old friends. Leonardo delivered us back to our hotel. A long, but truly a great day and well worth the price. Highly recommended!! Thanks for organizing a great trip, Irene, and thanks to Leonardo and especially Rossana for a special day!

My family of four thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. Our driver, Pasquale, did a great job of driving and explaining his experiences during the Amalfi Coast portion of our tour. Eliza was our guide for the Pompeii segment of our tour. She was a wealth of information and explained the history of Pompeii as well as what life was like at the time of the disaster. Both Pasquale and Eliza were very warm, friendly and professional. Great fun!!!

We had a WONDERFUL time with Cecilia in Florence and Enrico in Pompeii. Christian was our driver in Florence - he was very friendly and funny. He took us to this scenic viewpoint for panoramic views of the city. Cecilia designed the perfect itinerary for our time in Florence - minimizing walking for my parents while maximizing our cultural exposure. Her passion for art history was very evident. My mom couldn't stop raving about the Mass Cecilia arranged for us to attend at the Duomo - it was a special Gregorian one with the archbishop and 20 priests. (Thankfully, Cecilia translated the Italian homily for us!) My brothers are still dreaming about the bistecca fiorentina from the place Cecilia recommended. Enrico was such a knowledgeable guide. We truly appreciated his insights and his patience with us since we could not stop photographing the stunning Pompeii. We saw how hectic things got with those giant tour groups so really appreciated having a personal guide. He even took us to this lookout point where we saw the best view of Pompeii. Umberto was such a warm and hospitable driver. He drove us to a family-run farm-to-table restaurant where I had the best meal of my entire life. We’ll never forget our magical visits to Florence and Pompeii/the Amalfi Coast. Thank you especially to Irene for going the extra mile to accommodate our special requests during booking!

My wife, daughter and son-in-law took the Pompeii tour on April 1 in the morning. Our tour guide was Elisa who met us, right on time, at the train station. She got us to the front of the line for tickets, and we began our tour, just the 4 of us. She is an archeologist and was very knowledgeable about Pompeii-it's history and what every day life was like. It is an amazing experience going through the city and learning all the little details about it. She kept the info flowing non-stop except to answer questions. We saw plenty of other large tour groups with headphones on. I have done one of those in Rome and really prefer the more intimate private guided tour. Elisa was an excellent guide and we learned so much from her. We also booked the National Museum tour that afternoon, (Reviewed under that attraction) and went with her in a private van to Naples, right to the front door of the museum. The van also took us back to our Sorrento Hotel. No more trains, cabs, etc...I great way to save time and hassle.

My wife has always wanted to 'do' Pompeii and wanted to see if we could add this to a family trip to Rome. I looked at the train options at it was a long way but these were not cheap and still involved getting a taxi at the end. All round it looked like too much agro. Then we found this company on the interweb and decided after some checking with the hotel conceirge to give them a go. We took a trip from Rome to visit Pompeii with a tour and then on to Positano for lunch, a look around and then return to Rome. This was a 12 hour trip starting at 7am from our hotel. We were transported in a Mercedes Vito people carrier that was very comfortable, which is just a well as it's 2.5 hours to Pompeii. Our driver was very friendly, safe and knowledgeable. At Pompeii we were handed over to our guide who took the four of us on a walking tour. He was brilliant. Not only did he know about absolutely everything but we also had a great discussion on current politics as well. As there were quite a few tours taking place, having our own guide was great because it meant that we had no trouble hearing and he could adjust the tour to suit us. It was very hot and we were there for a few hours but well worth it. Our driver then took us to Positano along the coast road where we were able to stop and take some amazing pictures. He took us right down as far as you can go by car into Positano and then guided us down to the restaurant on the beach for lunch. As a seasoned traveler you can't help thinking that you are about to get 'stuffed' but the food was excellent, setting beautiful and very reasonably priced. We had a few hours to have a good look around before being taken back to our hotel, enjoying a good sleep along the way. This wasn't a cheap trip but was a fantastic way to do it as it was completely hassle free and a great way to add something extra to a trip to Rome. This company where very easy to deal with and provided an excellent knowledgeable and friendly service. I can't recommend them highly enough.

I had numerous emails to/from Irene, who coordinated the excursion for my husband and I. We weren't on a cruise but staying in Rome and wished to visit Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. She worked with me on details to make the perfect visit, explaining options and gave us exactly what we asked for. We had the option of being picked up at our hotel in Rome, but we instead chose to train to/from Naples and start our tour there. This way, when we were finished, we were able to be dropped off in Naples for a couple of hours of site seeing (pizza eating) before catching our train back to Rome. Our driver, Umberto, we waiting for us at the platform with our names on a sign - very easy to find. He was very informative on the entire trip and answered all of my many questions about the area. I was very comfortable with his driving and I can't say that about many of the taxi drivers in Rome that I had experience with! The van was comfortable and made for a relaxing trip. He first took us to Pompeii, where we had Lello as a guide. I do know that the company uses many drivers and guides, but if you have any way of getting either of these two, especially Lello for Pompeii, ask for them! We happened to visit 2 days after a major rain storm so we weren't able to tour the entire Amalfi Coast but after visiting Sorrento, our driver, Umberto, checked in with a friend and gave us options on what to do next based on how much of the coast road was open. We opted to go as far as we could and stop to take photos, returning to Naples a bit early. Since we were early, Umberto stayed with us in Naples and took us to the train when we were finished. This was a nice added bonus that we didn't expect. After our tour, I was once again contacted by Irene to make sure everything was perfect on our tour. I felt that her customer service and communication throughout the entire experience was exceptional and I would definitely use this company again!