Dubrovnik to Rome Aug 12-22

Thought would start new thread as tomorrow we board SD2 for ten days. Will do best to report in. This will be our tenth voyage but first since August 2013. Sitting on balcony of Hotel Bellevue atop cliff overlooking rocky beach and bay. Highly recommend the hotel. Only a mile from the old city but calmer here. Short distance to port tomorrow (hotel says 5-10 minutes by taxi). Am watching SD2 slowly come across the water toward the old city. As we board tomorrow I'm assuming the ship will anchor near the old city port so those ending this voyage have a day to visit. When we stopped here on SD2 about five years ago we anchored with stunning view of the old city including swimming and water sports. We will be going in town later to the take the cable car up to Mt. Srd and will look for SD staff and guests in town.

Sounds like a nice hotel! I look forward to your reports!

Bon voyage to you JES4845..... a few reports would be appreciated, Hum agrees with Knotheadusc.

Good morning all. It is now Friday 14 August and we are at sea this morning on our way to Sarande, Albania. The main reason to go there is to visit the ruins at Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage site about 19 km from Sarande. We have signed up for the YLA and will report.

Yesterday was our first port - Kotor, Montenegro. Very lovely medieval town up against the mountains that ring the Bay of Kotor, forming Europe's Southernmost fjord. Hot sunny day. Crew advised SD used to be one of the few coming there but today we are joined by Silver Spirit docked and Mein Schiff 3, a much larger German cruise ship anchored well out in the bay. We anchored very close to shore for a short tender. Seeing the large German tenders and the lines waiting to come back reminded us why we all love SD!

At last night's welcome reception Captain Lund said we are 86 guests from 16 countries. Seems a bit older and thus far more sedate group. Where is Ho Hum and others of you when we need you?!? Christophe and Pablo are on this voyage so we know we are in capable hands along with Zoran, Goran, Jerry, Emmanuel and others we have met on past voyages. No children other than a few well behaved teens. Many seem to dash to dinner early and not too many at TOY bar or piano bar after dinner. We need meet a young Russian couple on their honeymoon at the piano bar over after dinner drinks last night. A quite handsome/beautiful couple who were very engaging and friendly. We hope to meet more guests as we go for the next week.

Excellent meals as one who expect. Mussels on lunch menu yesterday never disappoint. Last night was a Confluence Menu with various choices all divine. Tonight in Corfu we stay late in port and dinner will be Topside. Dancing is on tap after dinner so we will see if this crowd can let its collective hair down. I'm hoping the youngest - the teens and Russian honeymooners - lead the way!

Great stuff, much appreciated.

I am interested in your impressions of Sarande. Now that we live in Germany, I'm looking to visit places that aren't saturated with tourists. Montenegro is another destination I may try if I get the chance.

Maybe I'll even do it SeaDream style. I am definitely overdue.

Glad to advise on Sarande. We are almost there. Sitting at pool all AM with friendly Belgian couple. They were on SD to Sarande before and confirmed what SD club director said last night which is main reason to stop in Sarande is to go to the Butrint ruins. Will advise on other stops. We were in Fiskardo, Greece before and it seemed off the tourist path. Will let you know how it is now. Then it was charming sleepy fishing village with nice small harbor with cafes. A few boutique hotels with a handful of rooms each were being built. Eager to check out status in a few days.

Well I won't do this justice as Ho Hum would but we are starting to detect personalities among the guests, if you catch my drift. All part of the fun of an intimate SD voyage. There is one couple who were noteworthy from embarkation during which they insisted the concierge escort them pronto to the hotel manager to guarantee their outdoor dining seats for the voyage. Meanwhile the rest of us had to wait in line for 10+ minutes until the concierge returned. The Mrs. was later overheard saying to the concierge that she better not find out that people had already taken her coveted front sleeping under the stars spot. The kicker was today on the tour to the interesting ruins at Butrint south of Saranda. She had brought along a stuffed monkey doll and placed it in every picture she took! I had a strong sense of déjà vu that Ho Hum reported on her or her twin on a voyage some years ago! The monkey was in contention with her matching polka dot hair ribbon and shoes for the most ridiculous thing to happen in Butrint since it was founded by the Trojans in the 3rd Century BC.

Saranda is on a wide beach lined semi circular bay. Lots of cafes hotels and beach clubs all along the promenade for 2 km or so. Very crowded given the building boom after it turned Westward in the 1990s. Couldn't tell quality of the hotels from the bus to our ruins tour. Seemed nicer from the outside than I had expected. Beach rings the bay but isn't very deep mainly little places to rent beach chairs and umbrellas. Traffic was a bit crazy in a bus with narrow one way streets up and out of the beach area. It is one of the sunniest places so we can see why it is developing as it is. Guide said sales of vacation homes are booming primarily to Scandinavians before Albania joins EU in the future.

Thanks for the report on Sarande! I had seen some pictures and it looks really beautiful, but I'm not one to enjoy crowds.

We went to Fiskardo on our last SD cruise and really liked it. In fact, my husband said he'd like to rent a cottage there for a week and just unplug. I think I'd like that, except it would remind me that I wasn't on a SeaDream cruise! :)