Note from bethohio3: When I contacted ItalyXP, they explained to me that are an aggregator and work with a lot of vendors, and this tour was given by one of those vendors. They communicated with the vendor, who confirmed there were 54 people in one tour group in Pompeii, but the vendor claimed the tour left on time, that the tour was fine, and that the food was fine.
ItalyXP requested I remove my negative feedback from TripAdvisor (since it hurts their on-line reputation) and offered to refund my money themselves, since the vendor refused. I accepted the offer to refund my money, but not to remove the negative feedback. Although it was a specific vendor that was the issue, I believe my review is still valid and it is unfair to TripAdvisor users to remove a negative review.
It's been a couple of days and I haven't heard back from ItalyXP about a refund.
We used ItalyXP for transfers only, not escorted tours, and they were excellent. Couldn't have asked for better service. I read your review, and I see nothing offensive about it - it was your experience, and readers appreciate honest, personal experiences … good, bad, or indifferent. If you dealt with ItalyXP through a third party or agent, I would have them be your advocate. As far as removing your review, it would be an injustice to the travelling public and to what TripAdvisor stands for. I wish you luck. We are really at the mercy of the local operators that are hired and feedback should be welcomed by the companies they represent.