Trip Report -- Venice and Dalmatian Coast September 2024 - (part 2)
Day 3
The next morning the ship-based tour director gave a presentation of the shore excursions for the rest of the tour. I must say that his information was much more detailed than in the Tauck itinerary overview when we selected our excursions prior to the trip from their website. Tauck should incorporate his information as most guests changed a significant number of excursions based on his information. In addition, the weather was much cooler than earlier cruises even just the week before, so we changed our choices away from water or beach-type excursions.
This afternoon we arrived in Korcula and tendered to the city to have a walking tour (choice of active or leisurely), a stop for gelato (yum), and presentation of the Moreška – a Sword dance performance dating back hundreds of years, with local musicians (who appeared to be pulled from their middle school, but it worked and felt authentic) playing a modern composition in a nearby theater.
Day 4
Our port today was Hvar – an island off the coast of Croatia. Again, we tendered to port and chose a 4-wheel drive excursion tour of several cars. This was an amazing experience, not only to see this island, but also to hear stories from our guide/driver about life on the island and recent Croatian history. If you enjoy small, individually lead tours, this one is a gem!
Back on the ship, one of the tour directors who grew up in Yugoslavia gave an informative lecture on life under Tito and then the civil war. She said that she was proud of Tito for being neutral and holding off Stalin & the West but in contrast, also told us that her grandfather disappeared, being arrested and sent to Tito’s gulag island to never be heard from again. In a lighter story, she also told us about going over the border into Trieste, Italy, to buy two pairs of blue jeans, one for yourself and a larger pair to wear over the first pair to bring back and then sell in Eastern bloc countries.
Day 5
Dubrovnik was our next stop and familiar to all Game of Thrones fans (starting in season 2). It was another tender port, and we chose to tour the city and have a tasting of locally made wines. It was interesting to hear that Zinfandel originated in Croatia before its popularity in California. The seated wine tasting was informative and nicely paced in a museum setting in the town. After the tasting we considered climbing the city walls to see the amazing views, but noted the crowds from several large cruise ships had arrived, so we opted to return to the ship. However, Tauck arranged a lovely evening event after dinner at the Rectors Palace. It was wonderful to see the city at night and rather less crowded, just pleasantly populated. We enjoyed the local musicians performing at the palace while sipping some quite good sparkling wine.
Day 6
Our next stop was to dock in Kotor, Montenegro. It was an easy walk off the ship here and it puts you right there at the sea entrance to the city. Kotor also known as the city of cats. Cats everywhere and even a (very small) cat museum for cat lovers! There were many choices for excursions this day – we chose a walking tour of the city, but there were options for a tour of the Blue Cave by boat, a sail to the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks, or a bus ride up a narrow mountain road with 25 switchbacks (I’m sure you’d never forget that trip). Tauck then hosted a dance group performing Montenegrin dances/singers and recorded music accompaniment in the ship’s theatre. Don’t miss the sail away as the views of Kotor Bay are amazing!