Dean Martin was almost right about Napoli – it was the sun, rather than the moon, hitting my eye as I enjoyed my pizza pie, but it was definitely amore.
Outside La Piazzetta’s window, across the Bay of Naples, was the backdrop of Mount Vesuvius and in front was a perfecto pizza covered in bubbling mozzarella.
I’d made my lunch with chef Piero, who had prepared the dough earlier and gave me a hand stretching it out into a circle.
I dolloped on fragrant tomato sauce, creamy mozzarella and a handful of torn basil leaves, then it went on to a paddle and into the fiery wood-burning pizza oven for a few minutes before it emerged looking bellissimo.
Naples is the birthplace of pizza, which started life as tomato sauce and bread in the 16th century, and it’s where the famous “margherita” was created. After Italy’s unification in 1861, a savvy Neapolitan came up with the idea of adding mozzarella and basil to create the colours of the new Italian flag and named it after Queen Margherita.
My pizza-making excursion in the gritty, but fascinating, city of Naples was part of a cruise on board the refurbished Grand Princess. Dean Martin – real name Dino Crocetti – was one of the inspirations for the newly added Crooners martini bar, where the waitress will shake your cocktails at the table.
Part of Grand Princess’s multimillion-pound makeover was the new atrium’s International Cafe, the bright and breezy Alfredo’s Pizzeria (which rivalled my attempt) and the intimate Vines wine and tapas bar. Grand Princess, which sails from Southampton during the summer, is a foodie’s dream, especially on a cruise that takes in culinary hotspots such as Barcelona, Corsica and Rome.
Italians are known for their love of food and Grand Princess’s Sabatini restaurant served up course after course of tasty treats from salt-baked sea bass and rosemary flatbreads topped with Parma ham, to pasta.
The new Crown Grill offers steaks of all cuts and sizes, but beware the chef ’s deliciously indulgent pudding taster – it isn’t small, no matter what your smiling waiter tells you
Two old favourites, the adults-only Sanctuary relaxation area and Movies Under The Stars screen, can still be found on board, but the distinctive Skywalkers disco has been replaced by One5 nightclub. It suits the relaxed atmosphere. The cruise also has a well thought-out wine menu, overseen by chief sommelier Veronica, who helped Vines manager Tetyana take us through a New World red wine and cheese tasting session.
Sitting around a “stammtisch” communal table, we were given three glasses of vino and taught how to appreciate them with the accompanying cheese.
Vines also runs “champagne and praline” and “white wine and seafood” tasting sessions at about £10 (R120). And wine-lovers can enjoy French wine on an excursion from the Corsican capital, Ajaccio.
On the way back to the ship we stopped at wine merchants Le Chemin des Vignobles in Ajaccio, where yet more Corsican tipples were poured. Eventually, as we drove past San Francois beach overlooking the azure sea, that Dean Martin song popped into my head again and the world started to shine… almost as if I’d had too much wine.- Saturday Star