Cruise diary
Thursday 13th August;
EasyJet flight delayed by 1 hour but rest of journey ok, hilton hotel in Mestre very nice. Purchased a 48hour travel ticket. Bus into Venice. Walked to the Rialto Bridge, reasonable meal close to the canal. Vaporetto back to the bus station. Drink at hotel.
Very warm.
Friday;
Bus in, walk via Rialto bridge to St Marco Square, very busy. Quick lunch, vaporetto across to San Giorgio Maggiorie bell tower with spectacular views. Gelato then a ride on a Gondola, this was very pleasant. Back to hotel then swim. Bus back in, vaporetto to San Marcuola, walk to Fondamentadella Della Misericordi for a meal, restaurants were very busy. Disappointing meal and bus back. Shattered but a really nice day. Treated to a full on thunderstorm at midnight.Very warm.
Saturday;
Left hotel at 11:00 with a short taxi ride to the ship.
Set sail at 6pm, weather again very warm.
Very nice meal in the grand Pacific restaurant. Bit of a boogie.
Sunday;
Nice breakfast, very angry storm came in. Myself & Gilly went for a jacuzzi in the storm which was weird with the thunder and lightening.
Arrived at Dubrovnik late due to the storms. Usual bun fight to get off the ship. Walked to the old city, a long walk but some nice views, especially the looming dark storm. Nearly made it into the old city before the heavens opened, probably the worst storm I’ve been out in, took shelter in a bus stop, moved to another location but got absolutely soaked, very dangerous with the lightening plus flooded roads. We all decided to bail out and clambered onto a shuttle bus, at the last minute I jumped off as it looked to be brightening up, the others stayed on the coach and went back to the ship to dry out.
Rain and thunder eased off and eventually stopped. Dubrovnik was lovely with lots of streets and lanes with cafes, shops etc. did the walk around the walls which was good. Trek back to ship, storm clouds looming again.
Weather – wet but warm.
Monday;
Day at sea.
Very sunny and a bit breezy equals sun burn.
70s dance class was fun.
Meal plus 70s disco till late. Knackered.
Tuesday;
Arrived early at Piraleaus.
Got 2 taxis who took us to the Acropolis who then offered to take us around the sites and back to the ship for €25 each. Started off with the Acropolis which was extremely busy and hot, next stop was the Olympic temple the very original. Next up was where they were changing the guard which was amusing. Then we went to the first modern day Olympic stadium 2500 years ago. The drivers then dropped us off at Plaka (sp) the old town, had some souvlaki which was expensive and dull. Old town was nice though. Back to ship, driver wanted more money which he didn’t get. Dined in the Asian restaurant which was very good, plus went for a round of Tequila shots.
Wednesday;
Kusadasi-turkey
Very hot.
Myself, Gilly, Philip, Gaby & Clare jumped in a taxi to Ephesus, walked through the remains of the old roman city which was pretty stunning and not too busy. Clare slipped on the marble but luckily was ok. In particular the old library was stunning. The taxi then picked us and took us to Adaland where we met Tom & Sarah who had caught the bus. Very big & expensive water park, the youngsters however were in their element with the number of slides. I did a couple of the slides but wasn’t allowed to wear my glasses which was a real pain.
Taxi then dropped us off near the port and we wandered through the shops. Experienced baclava which was very tasty. Quiz and then a very tasty meal. Then off to the White night disco.
Thursday;
Day at Sea, warm but windy, no sun burn this time!
Gilly feeling under the weather, she went back to bed.
Myself and Tom went for a massage followed by the usual quality meal.
Tour of the onboard shops followed by a Jazz nightcap.
Friday;
Arrived at Split around 10:30am, warm and sunny, disembarked at 11:00am.
Tour of the taxi ranks and tourist shops, Gilly found a reasonable deal to take us to krka national park by minibus, journey took about an hour.
Very picturesque place with a big river and a series of waterfalls. Myself, Phil, Tom & Sarah went for a swim in the river which was nice. GoPro packed up, didn’t help dropping it in the water!
Back in time for a quick spin around the old town which was lovely, nice meal again.
Saturday;
Venice arrival
Warm and sunny
Off the ship around 10:30
Vaporetto into San Marco, wandered around Venice, not as busy as before, vaporetto back to cruise terminal.
Fantastic memorable holiday with so much packed in.
The Collection pictures here…
