Cruise Port. - Bari

I wouldn't want to miss the chance to see Alberobello or Matera. Google those towns & read a little about their history & architecture.

When you consider the entire price for your vacation, the activities are usually a very small percentage of that money. Try not to skimp in the area that will give you the most memories, the reason you are going to Europe.

The "new city" of Bari, laid in a square grid, is uninteresting. The old city somewhat resembles an Arab casbah and is more picturesque. It has a couple of 12th century churches, the Cathedral and St. Nicholas church, housing the remains of the saint better known as Santa Claus. It is one of the few places in the world where Catholics and Orthodox pray under the same roof, pilgrims come all the way from Russia and often there are more rubles than euros in the alms box.

If the weather is good, the Trani Cathedral - in white stone and directly by the sea, is a really beautiful place. I do not know another church in the world set so close to the sea.

Old Town Bari with the Church of St. Niccolas is very interesting. It is a place of pilgrimage for Russian Othodox. When we visited a Russian Orthodox service was taking place in the crypt while a Roman Catholic service was being held in the main sacristy. Trani is a beautiful seaside city that has the oldest synagogue in Europe.
I do not consider those prices high for the chance to see the amazing sights at Alberobello and Matera that are inland from Bari. I recommend you book this tour or find a private tour shared with others to these two places. Look at the roll call for your cruise on Cruise Critic to see if other passengers are arranging private/shared tours.

To be that close to Matera and Alberobello and not visit either would be a shame. Both are world-class sights. Since you can only choose one, I would pick Matera. If you do some advance reading, you will better understand what it is you're seeing.

To echo Suki, $69 isn't a "very expensive" tour for Matera, and the other prices for tours aren't considered particularly expensive either. I see that you're also going to Rome? A fair amount of folks on the forum have paid over $100 pp for a quality, small-group early-entrance tour JUST to the Vatican Museums That's with no transport from/to your hotel. You can do the museums for less, of course, but for day tours which involve an hour of transport both ways, such as Matera, or a specific benefit, such as seeing the Sistine before the mob overruns it, there will be a cost involved.

Hi Everyone - thank you so much for your advice.
Yes, in Rome, we have private tours booked totaling over $500.
Per your sage advice we will not skimp on tours elsewhere.
Right now we plan to visit Matera and Bari (St. Nicola) during our visit to Bari.

One of the reasons for taking an expensive ship's tour in a 6-hour (!!) port is that they will hold the ship for a late-returning proprietary tour. They will not hold it if your taxi or train is late.