Waking to a picture perfect day in our first port stop of Sorrento, Elysia and I relished the opportunity to have breakfast in our Penthouse Suite.

Served by our butler Sasa, we indulged in fresh fruit, poached eggs, muffins, yoghurt and pancakes – a little eager perhaps but the menu just looked so

delectable!

Sasa laid the table with silverware and linen as we enjoyed a cup of tea on our balcony before leisurely making our way to the tenders to head into glistening Sorrento. The benefit to overnighting in the port was that there was no rush to disembark the ship – we had two days

to experience this divine part of Italy.

Catching the tender to shore, we heeded Sasa’s advice to purchase tickets for the fast ferry to Capri.

He took the time out during his several hours off to escort us to the tour desk near the pier and, for only 16 euros 50 each way, we enjoyed a 20 minute ride to the nearby island where we planned to have lunch and do a spot of shopping.

A picturesque island, Capri’s rocky coastline is is dotted with shops, restaurants and taxis that look more like colourful convertible limousines.

The heat was palpable, so a gelato was definitely in order before we

made a good attempt at reaching our luggage limit with the myriad of stores offering everything from white linen garments to scarves, jewellery to shell frames.

Whilst most shop owners were blissful to deal with, watch out for a few who won’t let you try on their clothes for

fear of soiling them – quite a foreign concept (pardon the pun) for my friend and I who were keen to spend some money with them!

Shopping has a knack for making me hungry and what better option than a caprese salad, pizza and pasta for lunch? I could feel the scales shift in preparation with

the food I had already consumed but, when in Italy…

Fresh tomatoes, unlike any other I have tasted, layered with melt-in-your-mouth bocconcini and mint leaves as a healthy starter before I sampled my first Italian pizza – a thin doughy base lathered with tangy tomato sauce, shredded prosciutto,

mozzarella cheese and herbs.

Whilst it was possibly the plainest pizza I have ever consumed, the flavours literally exploded, making me realise that it’s not the amount of toppings on a pizza but the quality of the ingredients that makes all the difference.

Elysia and I bask in the sun for a while before heading back on the fast ferry, avoiding the leering men insistent on selling us tacky t-shirts en route to Sorrento.

An afternoon relaxing by the pool was on order as we try to acclimatise to the all-inclusive

offering aboard this glorious ship. Ordering a host of cocktails it was still such a novel concept that we didn’t have to hand over our cabin key to pay for them!

Tempted by the local Tarantella show in the Galaxy Lounge, we decide instead, to head back into Sorrento to meet Shore Excursion Manager Daniel Steyne and Hotel Director Christian Krempl for dinner.

Catching the free shuttle bus from the port up the winding hills to the main part of town, the most difficult decision we had was where to eat.

Restaurants peppered the main square of Piazza Tasso that was decked out with twinkling fairy lights as tempting aromas filled the balmy summer air.

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Words: Natalie Aroyan