Best Of

Wan - I loved Istanbul and would not balk at visiting again. The one place that we did not have time to get to that I would have liked to visit, was Dolmabahce Palace, which is relatively close to the hotel, down by the water. I thought about going there the day we went down and walked to the cruise port, but it closes relatively early, and I did not want to rush through in 1 hour. I was very happy we visited the Archeological Museum, as the guides frequently referenced it.

Part 2
Day 8: Bodrum, Turkey. Gullet boat transport from cruise terminal to port area. Then, a walking tour up to Castle and its museum dedicated to Underwater Archeology discoveries. Afterwards, an opportunity to walk up to the site and ruins of the Tomb of Halicarnassus. Very interesting. Gullet boat transport back to cruise terminal. At 3:00 pm, gullet boat cruise of the harbor area, and the boat anchored off a cove, where a handful of us went swimming. Very refreshing. A great day and a good way to say goodbye to Turkey and our wonderful local guides.

Day 9: Santorini, Greece. We were so happy to visit Santorini, especially after the February earthquakes has shut down the Island. Cruise ships are still limited, so we were one of only two ships visiting, meaning that we did not have to deal with crowds. Beautiful sail in as the sun came up. This is a tender port, using local tenders. For now, all guests are tendered to the ferry port, as the other tender port is still closed. It was a beautiful day, and the wildflowers were blooming. First we had a guided tour of the ancient archeological site of Akrotiri. Then, we went to Fira, where we had time to explore. We had lunch on our own at a restaurant overlooking the caldera. Then we drove to Oia, the town known for the blue domes. We had time to explore the town, take pictures of the domes, walk to the castle area, and stop for a liquid refreshment. A wonderful day. This was the night of the wonderful outdoor barbeque dinner on the ship.

Day 10: A sea day. It was nice to relax.

Day 11: Itea, Greece. When we booked this trip, i knew that we would be in Greece on Greek Orthodox Easter weekend and that would impact the tour. Itea is the port that provides access to Delphi. This was Good Friday, and Delphi was closed in the morning. So, we had an opportunity to take a long walk along the lovely waterfront and pop into a Church during Good Friday services. After lunch, we headed to Delphi, where we had an excellent guided tour of the site and the Museum. It was a warm, sunny day and the site was very green, with wildflowers.

Ordinarily the ship transits the Corinth Canal in the afternoon, after morning visits to Delphi. We were scheduled to transit at night, which would have been a unique experience. During dinner, the Captain announced that due to high winds, the water levels in the Canal were too low to transit. Thus, the ship was going to dock and passengers disembark, at Katakolon. While disappointing, we took this in stride, as these sorts of things happen when cruising.

Day 12: Athens, Greece. Instead of arriving in Athens in the morning, we had a four and a half hours bus ride. It was a pretty drive, and we stopped at the Corinth Canal to take photos from above. This also meant that the morning visit to the Acropolis was cancelled - and it was closed Easter Sunday. Fortunately, we had visited the Acropolis on our previous trip. The group had a quick buffet lunch at the Grand Bretagne and then toured the National Archeological Museum. The Hotel, the Grand Bretagne, is nicely located on Syntagma Square near the Paraliament Building and within walking distance to many sights. The food was good and the rooftop bar and restaurant, where breakfast was served, have a fantastic view of the Acropolis. Our room was on a quiet courtyard, which I liked, as the Hotel is on a busy street. It was, however, quite small, with little space for a second suitcase and to spread out a few things. The desk was covered with the coffee/tea service and cups, glasses for the minibar and piles of books and magazines. But, the bed was comfortable and the bathroom nice, and the closet was fine. We did go up to the rooftop pool for a quick swim, and enjoyed it.

In the evening, our TDs offered an orientation walk. They pointed our some restaurants and some sights. Afterwards, we kept walking to the area next to the Agora, below the Acropolis, and dinner at an outdoor cafe overlooking the ruins. Afterwards, we further explored the area.

Day 13: Easter Sunday in Athens. This day was unique to our tour because of the holiday. We started out with a guided bus tour along the amazingly empty streets, stopping at the Olympic stadium for photos. Then, we went to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, where we had a tour, including the rooftop gardens, with great views of the Port and the City, then toured the new opera house, and the Library. Then, we went to a beautiful seaside restaurant, Ark, where we had a multicourse Easter lunch, which was excellent. Lots of lamb. After returning to the Hotel, my husband and I walked through a nearby park to Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus and watched the changing of the guards at Parliament. Cocktail party and dinner that night at the Hotel. Excellent dinner, but I could only sample it, after our big lunch.

Day 14: We had a reasonable morning transport time to the airport. Smooth checkin, and flights, Lufthansa to Munich, and then Munich to Chicago.

We really enjoyed the tour. Highlights for me were Turkey, Mykonos and Santorini. Later, I will post some thoughts on attire, etc.