European map
Friday 8 May
Arrived at Hotel Cris in Mestre, Venice, early afternoon. Caught bus to Venice Island & then water bus to San Marco & Rialto. Incredibly beautiful (not at all dirty or smelly as I had been led to believe), & San Marco all gold! Quite surreal to wander round the Rialto.
St Mark's Square
Both the buses & water buses were full.
Went to Italian restaurant for dinner but did not meet up to expectations.
Saturday
Caught taxi to docks which was about 5 km away & cost €40 despite sharing with some Canadians.
Very easy boarding of MSC Lirica around midday. Ship impressive - lovely spacious cabin & tasteful decor throughout. Not as many on-board activities as we have been used to, but great food & a good show in the evening.
Sunday
Landed in Split, Croatia, at 8 am & departed at 6 pm. It is very beautiful, & very old (4th century, yet lots still standing & even inhabited!) Climbed the Bell Tower so had a great view of the whole area. After exploring the palace, we went on a bus to see the nearby countryside & beaches. One of the nearby islands produces beautiful white marble (which the White House is made from).
Diocletian Palace with Bell Tower in the background.
View from the Diocletian Bell Tower
Trying out the local beer called Ozujsko which also comes in draft & tastes better. Both €3 each.
Monday
Day at sea en route to Santorini.
Jane won €300 playing bingo. Clocks put forward by an hour which meant we were late for Captain's cocktail party & missed the formal dinner. Outstanding show which managed to avoid all language problems with seemless choreography. Great gymnastics, juggling, strength & balance, with a little singing & dancing for variety.
Tuesday
Santorini by day (8am-3 pm) & Mykonos by night (8 pm-3 am).
At Santorini we had a choice between going up the mountain by cable car or donkey. Both cost €5.
We opted for cable car as advised by cruise director but I walked back down on the cobblestone/donkey path. The stepped cobbled path was hard on the donkeys & full of donkey shit so smelly for the tourist. The weather was a bit overcast but Santorini is very quaint, though expensive according to the BPI (Beer Price Index) where the local beer at €8 was almost double the price onboard our ship. No wonder Greece is struggling in the EU!
Jane went gambling in the casino & lost some of her winnings.
Photos of Santorini looking down from the main town, Fira.
The selfie stick that Jane banned is getting some good use!
Our MSC ship is the one on the left.
All the buildings & the main town are on top of the mountain.
Arrived at Mykonos after passing by ? Islands. Caught the water bus (€2) from ship to the old port of Mykonos. Had fun exploring the narrow alleyways & touristy shops at night which brought back fond memories of our last visit 2 years ago. We found a pub with wifi & Mythos draft beer.
Wednesday
Day at sea. 600 nautical miles from Mykonos to Dubrovnik at an average speed of 30 knots compared to about 5 knots sailing the yacht. No luck at bingo today! Played Rummikub & enjoyed a relaxing day on board. Had lunch with a lovely old Austrian couple.
Announcements throughout the cruise in 5 official languages (Italian, English, French, Spanish & German) a bit frustrating & lengthy.
Thursday
In the morning Jane went to bingo to give back more of her winnings while I went to gym, which is getting busier each time as passengers start to battle the bulge. I was riding the bicycle as we came into Dubrovnik at midday. We caught a local bus from the new port to the old town, which was absolutely amazing. We walked around the old city's walls, & were blown away by the spectacular views. The combination of dramatic scenery, fabulous old buildings, quaint cobbled streets with great restaurants, & the history of the place made Dubrovnik our favourite stop yet.
Photos taken from outer wall which cost 100 Kuna ($18) each to go up & around.
Back on board the ship with the new city in the background.
There was another gala night tonight (luckily, as we managed to largely miss the 1st one), with the best dinner yet, & a fun procession by the waiters, all carrying flaming baked alaskas.
Friday
Arrived in Ancona, Italy, around midday & spent the afternoon exploring the city. It was a bit of a let down after Dubrovnik, but had some Roman ruins from around 200BC & some impressive churches. The ugly port rather dominated the city.
Saturday
Cruise ended back in Venice. Disembarked around 11am & caught people mover & bus to Hotel Vienna near Venice Mestre train station, arriving midday.
Caught bus & water bus to Murano to watch the glass blowing before returning to Piazza San Marco. I went to the Doge's Palace, while Paul explored, tried some beers & bought a hat! The Doge's Palace is quite the most impressive place I have ever seen! The artwork throughout is absolutely stunning, but most impressive is the fact that law, government, the prison system, in fact civil life as we know it (including censorship!), seems to have developed there. The route is very cleverly done, as you go from the "law courts" down the Bridge of Sighs to the prison cells, just as the prisoners would have done, & the contrast is phenomenal!
We then went to the Rialto for dinner & had the best lasagna & pizza ever!
Panoramic view coming into Venice from the gym on Deck 11 at the front of the ship.
Murano Island, Venice, after the glass blowing demonstration.
