Shore Excursions Star Clippers Rome-Southern Italy

[Off2seeAlaska]

My husband and I are sailing Sept 7th 2019 on Star Clippers. Our ports of call are:

Civitavecchia – Ponza, Palmarola – Sorrente – Amalfi – Giardini Naxos – Lipari - Civitavecchia

The ship offers few shore excursions, but there are plenty available online that look good.

(I did get the itinerary through the cruise line to better prepare)

My questions are

1. Pompeii vs. Herculeaun : For those of you who have been to both, is there one that you would choose over the other?

We are leaning toward Herculeaun for the better preserved art, but don't want to miss out on seeing such an iconic site as Pompeii.

The tours online that offer both don't fit into our ships itinerary.

2. Capri vs. Positano:  We'd love to see both, but it doesn't seem that time will allow.

3. General Advise: If you've been to any of these ports, was there a wonderful excursion you did by yourself, with the ship or a private company that you can recommend?

Thank You so much for any helpful advise!! This forum is such a fount of information!!