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TMS9539

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  1. You can take a ferry to Palencia.  You have to buy the ferry tickets on the ship - you can get them the first day you board.  At least that's what I was told when I called NCL.  We are going to be there in a few weeks and wanted to do a private snorkeling excursion but decided it wasn't worth it.  We are going to do the Monkey River Eco tour through the cruiseline and then just hang out on the beach at HC for the afternoon.

  2. I've been looking into Bruges for a transatlantic we are taking in the spring.  Here's the options I've found:

     

    1. Take a tram to the train station and then take the train to Bruges, where it's then a 20 minute walk to the center.  The trains run only once an hour.  Tom's Port guide does not recommend this because of the time involved.

    2. Book a private taxi to pick you up and take you to Bruges, then return for you at a specific time.  I emailed one of the taxi companies and the cost is 110 euros round trip.  They said you are dropped at the market squares.

    3. There is a shuttle bus service that leaves every half hour and costs 20 euros.  It's called cruise express.  You can google and find reviews on Tripadvisor.  You can also book on Viator - it's probably the same company since Viator is a middleman, but I don't know that for sure.  It will also be a 15-20 minute walk to the center.

    4.  Pay the money for a cruise ship excursion.  That will also involve walking from the bus parking to the center.

     

    I haven't decided which option to take yet - probably either #2 or #3.  I am also going to reserve a walking tour for us.  There seem to be several to choose from.  I don't want to take the walking tour with 50 of my fellow passengers so will book that separately from the cruise line.  After the walking tour we will have lunch, do a canal cruise, and poke around a bit before heading back to the ship. 

     

  3. I preferred Aix over Cassis. I really wanted to take the boat excursion out to the calanques in Cassis but the boats weren't running because of the weather. It was a cute little town but not much to see. Aix is bigger and has a lot more to offer. The history is really interesting and there is a lot more to see. There were several outdoor markets when we were there - one for food and one for non-food items. The architecture was beautiful and after our walking tour we loved just walking around and browsing the markets.

  4. We used That Dam Guide for several tours. We were there during tulip season so our tour went to Keukenhoff and the tulip fields, but they also offer a countryside tour. In addition to the tulip tour, we also did a city walking tour and a red light district walking tour. Everything about our tours with them were first rate, so I would highly recommend. http://thatdamguide.com/amsterdam-windmill-tour/

  5. We were in Amsterdam for 6 nights in 2016 and stayed at the RHO Hotel, just off of Dam Square. It was a budget choice and we were really happy with it - very central and easy to get around. It has some mixed reviews, mainly because of noise due to being so close to everything, but we had a room higher up and in the back and we slept great even with the windows open. Amsterdam is very easy to get around in - the tram system is really easy and you can walk to a lot of places. We took several tours with "That Dam Guide". They were great. We did a walking city tour, a walking red light tour, and a tour out to see the tulip fields. If you want to tour the Anne Frank house be sure to purchase tickets well in advance.

  6. Thank you for your posting- we do full transit west to east in January.

    How was food in the Horizon Court? We have never cruised this long before,

    so it will be an adventure.

    How was the weather? I am a bit nervous because we are very acclimated

    to our north Washington coast.

     

    It is a shame about the horses, so very sad.

     

    Food in the Horizon Court was fine. Some days it was better than others, and overall I thought lunch was better and had more variety than dinner. They did serve what to me was an excess of pork, which I try to stay away from, but there was plenty of other meats too. I certainly did not go hungry, that's for sure.

  7. We had good weather. It was hot in Cartegena and Panama City. In Costa Rica we traveled several hours from the port to Monteverde, and it rained the whole time we were there. But we were in a rain forest - I don't think it rained closer to the port. The day we traversed the canal was mostly cloudy. It rained for about 30 minutes in the morning, and I think again in the afternoon, but not enough to be a problem and not while we were going through the locks. We were grateful for the clouds because otherwise it would have been really hot, and we spent a lot of time out on deck that day. I think that's about it for the rain. I was afraid we would get a lot of rain, but we didn't. The last few days as we got closer to Los Angeles the weather got cooler, and the very last day was down right chilly - enough so that people didn't go to the pool. The rest of the time the temperature was warm.

  8. We were on the Coral ocean to ocean itinerary. We had mini-suite C211 and were really happy with the room, and the room steward.

     

    This was probably my favorite cruise. The few months leading up to the cruise were very stressful, so all I wanted to do was relax. This cruise was perfect for that, because there were very few ports. We did a tour in Cartegena to the old fort and the old town, and in Costa Rica we went to Monteverde Cloud Forest. Both were private tours booked with others on our roll call. That's the only two times I got off the ship.

     

    Going through the Panama Canal was the highlight. There is an observation deck at the very front on decks 10 and 11 that were never crowded. I don't think most people know it's there. You have to walk past the staterooms all the way to the front, and there's a door that looks like you're not supposed to open it. It has a sign that says emergency exit (or something discouraging like that). But it's fine to open it, and it's the best view on the ship for going through the locks. The narrator on the bridge kept referring to the people on the catwalks on decks 5 and 6 - but we were on 10 and 11. I have a feeling there were a lot of people wandering around on decks 5 and 6 looking for the observation decks!

     

    The service was great, the food was good enough, and there was never a wait for the elevators. The pools were never crowded which I really appreciated because I love to swim. I read books, watched movies, drank wine, and watched the ocean go by. We saw turtles and dolphins and watched the seagulls diving for the flying fish. I did make a larger than I would have liked donation to the casino also. :eek:

     

    We went to several movies in the theatres and a couple of the "destination expert" talks, but we didn't go to any of the shows. We went to the dining room only once and ate at the specialty restaurant once. I think if was the Bayou Café. It was okay but only because we got it as a free promotion. It wouldn't be worth the extra $29 pp to me. The rest of the time we ate in the Horizon Court. The pizza out on the pool deck was quite good.

     

    Both embarkation and disembarkation were really smooth. Especially getting on the ship. I doubt it was even 15 minutes from the time we arrived until we were in our room. We took a cab to the airport and the fare was $59 plus tip. We gave him $70, so it's about the same cost as the princess transfers.

     

    One big negative to me: In Cartegena there was an excursion where people took a horse drawn carriage ride through the old town. I always hate seeing that because the horses are never in very good shape - but this was worse than anything I've ever seen. The horses were emaciated. One of the horses was struggling so hard to pull the carriage that it was literally trembling. It really made me sick to see it. Those horses were in bad enough shape that they needed medical intervention, and instead they were being forced to work in the awful heat. Princess should be ashamed to use vendors that take such poor care of their stock.

     

    I'm happy to answer any specific questions if I can. As I said, we didn't do much. It was heavenly. :halo:

  9. I just got off the Coral Princess last week. The beds were great. I think they were memory foam and I found them really comfortable.

     

    The pillows, not so much. They were feather pillows and they flattened out as soon as you put your head on it. We asked for extra pillows, and that helped. Some people are allergic to feathers so they must have other pillows on board, but we didn't ask.

  10. We are planning a full transit cruise on Princess. Possible dates are Nov 20 - Dec 6, or Jan 21 - Feb 4. According to my research January is better weather-wise. However, the price for the November date is $900 per person less than leaving in January. My question is: Is the weather in January $900 per person better? If it's going to pour rain all day for the entire cruise then we'll pay the extra money and go in January. But if we're looking at some showers and maybe a few rainy days I think I would rather take the savings and go in November. (Plus it's sooner!!). I get really conflicting reports researching on the internet, so would love some feedback from the experts on cruise critic. Thanks.

  11. On the deck plans some cabins have black triangles and some have red dots. I am sure that this signifies something, but I can't find a key to decipher it. Does anyone know what they mean? I want to make sure that I don't book a connecting cabin. I did that by mistake once and the noise level from the room next door was awful because the connecting door didn't provide any insulation. Thanks.

  12. Take the people mover to Piazza Roma - it's about a 3 minute ride. Then take the vaporetto (water bus) to St. Mark's square. It's a beautiful ride down the Grand Canal. If I recall you can take the fast line, about 25 minutes, or the slow, which is about 45 minutes. The slower vaporetto has more stops, but they both go the same way.

  13. Let's see if I can wrap this review up. Better late than never, right?

     

    Wednesday, May 17, 2016 - Venice, Italy

     

    We didn't arrive in Venice until close to 2pm, so we packed up this morning to get it out of the way. The sail in to Venice is really amazing and not to be missed. Our balcony was on the wrong side of the ship, so I went down to the promenade deck to watch. I'm guessing a lot of people were on the top deck, because it wasn't crowded at all. Venice is just beautiful.

     

    http://s112.photobucket.com/user/tmsiegrist/media/IMG_1289.jpg.html?filters[user]=23569605&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=2

     

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    http://s112.photobucket.com/user/tmsiegrist/media/IMG_1283.jpg.html?filters[user]=23569605&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0

     

    We had decided not to stay any extra time in Venice, so we only had the afternoon and evening. It was the right decision for us, but it really wasn't enough time. I definitely hope to go back one day!

     

    We got off the ship as soon as possible and headed for the people mover with a group of cruise critic friends. It was really easy but I was glad to be with other people to help find my way. We took the people mover to Piazza Roma and purchased a day pass for the vaporettos. We then boarded the vaporetto to St. Marks square. I really think I could spend all day just riding the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal. Because we were short on time we took the faster vaporetto, so it took us about 25 minutes to get to St. Mark's square.

     

    http://s112.photobucket.com/user/tmsiegrist/media/IMG_1322.jpg.html?filters[user]=23569605&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=3

     

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    St. Mark's Square was crowded. Really really crowded! It was a little overwhelming - kind of like Times Square during a holiday weekend. We had tickets to enter St. Mark's cathedral at 3:35. It is free to go in but you need tickets, and the lines to get tickets can be long. So we bought tickets online in advance for 2 euros each to avoid standing in line. We weren't sure if we'd even use them, but they were so inexpensive it was worth having them, and as it turned out, we were there at the designated time, so we went in. You are only allowed 10 minutes in the church, but it was enough unless you do some of the other rooms, which cost extra. It was beautiful and worth the time to see, so I'm glad we did it.

     

    Afterwards we went to a little shop for Tracy to get a mask, and then we caught the vaporetto back to Rialto Bridge, where we were meeting up for a tour at 4:30. We took a walking tour and pub crawl with Allessando Schezzini, who is recommended by Rick Steve's. I really can't recommend this highly enough. It was so much fun and such a great way to end the vacation. First he took us on a walking tour, which took us away from the crowds and gave us a glimpse of Venice aside from the tourist attractions.

     

    http://s112.photobucket.com/user/tmsiegrist/media/P1040612.jpg.html?filters[user]=23569605&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=5

     

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    At 6pm the pub crawl began. We went to three different pubs for wine and appetizers. I was expecting maybe a glass of wine at each of the stops, but no. This is Italy and the wine flowed freely. Whenever a glass was empty it would be filled. Needless to say, a grand time was had by all. We went on this tour with several people we had met on these boards so by now we already knew them. It was really fun. The first pub we were inside, but the other two we were outside. So there we were, hanging out on the streets of Venice drinking wine and relaxing with friends. It was a perfect way to end the cruise, and we hung out talking for quite a while after Alessandro left us to go home to his wife. Eventually we headed back so we grabbed a vaporetto. By now it was getting dark and the lights were coming on, so we got to see the Grand Canal from a different perspective. It was beautiful at night too.

     

    Finally we hopped on the people mover, where Tracy led an impromptu sing along, which pretty much everyone on the people mover joined in on. I did mention the wine was flowing, didn't I? This had been a fabulous vacation, but we had an early flight, so we grabbed a snack and headed to bed.

     

    Because of port rules, we either had to exit the ship at 6:30 am, or wait and disembark later with everyone else. Our flight was at 10:55 am and we couldn't risk not getting off in time. Fortunately when I found this out I was able to call and have the driver pick us up at 7:00 am instead of 8:00. I had been told to allow time to clear customs. Well, apparently 6:30 in the morning is too early for people to go to work in Italy... or something. We walked off the ship at 6:30 and did not go through security, customs or anything. At 6:32 we were standing at the curb waiting for our driver. Easy peasy. Our driver showed up a few minutes before 7:00 and we headed off to the airport. The check in counter wasn't open yet when we got there, so we got in line. But it opened within 15 minutes and we checked in and found our gate. We did have to wait a while for the gate to open, which I found odd, but we had no problems. I had heard horror stories about the Venice airport, but we had no issues.

     

    All in all, this was a vacation of a lifetime. I'm sorry it took so long to finish this review, but I hope it's been helpful to those of you still in the planning phase.

  14. Tuesday, May 16th - Dubrovnik, Croatia

     

    We didn't have an organized excursion today. Dubrovnik is easy to DIY, so that's what we did. Since we weren't on a schedule we didn't get up and out quite as early, but eventually we exited the ship and took the ship's shuttle to old town Dubrovnik. The shuttle was $15 per person each way. I think a taxi would be cheaper, but we got off the ship and the bus was there so we got on. It was very convenient.

     

    That first view of the walls of Dubrovnik... WOW! I was kind of tired today and wanted to take it easy, but when I caught a glimpse of the walls I was instantly energized. I just wasn't expecting it to be as amazing as it is. Dubrovnik is this perfectly preserved medieval town and it's really impressive. First you see the walls, then you walk through the gate and are on the Stradun, which is the main promenade. It's really fantastic. I was disappointed not to go to Istanbul and Ephesus, but I can't regret going to Kotor and Dubrovnik. I loved them both.

     

    Tracy needed a new memory card for her camera so we spent a bit of time wandering the streets of Dubrovnik looking for a place that sold what she needed. Apparently they don't make the memory card for her camera anymore, but we eventually found a little camera shop down a side street where the guy offered to transfer all her photos to a flash drive to free up space for her. He was very nice and did it free of charge. It took about 20 minutes so while we waited we wandered the streets a little bit.

     

    We followed Rick Steve's advice and walked through the town to the Ploce Gate to enter the city walls. I felt fine this morning after the hike in Kotor until I started climbing the steps of the wall. Then my legs instantly reminded me that I had climbed up 1350 steps the day before and that was quite enough, thank you. No matter, I pressed on and eventually the stiffness worked itself out. There are a lot of steps but nothing like the day before. The steps aren't constant and we were stopping every 5 feet to gawk at the views and take pictures anyway. I understand why Rick Steve's recommends starting here and am glad we did. It was awesome. We did walk the entire way around, but if you only are going to do part of the walls you really wouldn't want to miss this section. It's all great, but that first section was definitely the best. While we were on the walls the wind whipped up and some really dark clouds rolled in. We thought we were going to get soaked so we did the last bit kind of fast because we didn't want to get caught in a storm.

     

    It still wasn't raining when we left the walls so we walked up to the place to catch the cable car for the ride up Mount Srd. However, they were closing due to the storm that was still threatening. We were disappointed but took the opportunity to use the restroom there.

     

    We walked back down toward the old town and Tracy suddenly realized she had left her camera in the restroom. So we turned around and walked back up as fast as possible. We were definitely getting our exercise today. When we got there they had closed and locked the restroom so I had to go bang on the gate and get someone to give us the keys. It had been at least 20 minutes or more, so we did not expect to find it and Tracy was consoling herself that at least she had the flash drive, and the only photos lost would be the ones from that day. And then the miracle - the camera was still there!

     

    And then the next miracle - the cable car re-opened as we were standing there. The storm never materialized and the skies cleared up, and away we went up Mount Srd. The views from the top were, of course, amazing and we spent a while up there wandering around and taking pictures.

     

    After we came down Tracy wanted to shop, so I left her and headed back to the ship. I had wanted to go to the Dominican Monastery museum but I decided against it. I was out of energy for the day and I didn't want to force myself to do it just to check a box on my list. And I wanted time to call home before the ship left port and my cell phone stopped working. So I headed back to the ship and relaxed.

     

    This was another great day. If you do nothing else in Dubrovnik make sure you get up on those walls!

  15. Sunday - May 15th

     

    This was another sea day. I'm pretty sure that the LCR game I described in my last post actually happened on this day. Other than that, I don't remember much. I'm sure I spent it reading and relaxing. Whatever I did, I know I had a great time!

     

    Monday - May 16th - Kotor, Montenegro

     

    They say you should get up early to watch the sail in for this port, but I didn't. I figured I would catch the sail out instead, so I slept in. However, Kotor was absolutely gorgeous. The town is surrounded by mountains and the scenery was just stunning. If I had it to do over again I think I would make more of an effort to get up early.

     

    My plan for today changed because of weather. I had originally planned to hike to the old fortress in the morning. Then I had bought a ticket through Viator for a boat ride to Our Lady of the Rock and Perast for the afternoon. I ended up not using the boat ticket, but it was only $20, so not a huge loss.

     

    It was raining this morning and I didn't want to hike in the rain. Tracy had organized a tour to Perast and Our Lady of the Rock, so I told her if she had any cancellations or no shows to call the room and I would go instead - and that's what happened. There were two people who didn't show up and one person was sick.

     

    Just a side note - if you join tours through your roll call, show up! It didn't matter on this particular tour, but on most of them it would. Aside from making it more costly for everyone, it is highly likely that there is someone who would have liked to be on the tour and wasn't able to join it because it was full.

     

    Anyway, there was a group of about 15 of us and we had a huge tour bus all to ourselves. The drive to Perast took no more than 30 minutes, and the scenery was incredible the entire way. The road is right next to the water, so you have the view the entire way. Fortunately it stopped raining on the way, and except for about three drops that afternoon, it didn't rain again for the rest of the day.

     

    Once we got to Perast we boarded the boat for the 5 minute ride to Our Lady of the Rock. For those who don't know, this is a man made island with a church on it. The church is beautiful, and the stories that go with it are very interesting. The church is filled with "offerings" from people who had their prayers answered. Everything from crafted silver artwork to common household items. And the view from the island is, of course, amazing. I really liked this. Although there's nothing to the island except the church, I can't imagine not going here if you're in Kotor. Highly recommend!

     

    We then took a short walking tour of Perast. It's a really beautiful, old medieval town. I think it's the oldest town in Montenegro, but I could be remembering wrong.

     

    The tour also included a walking tour of Kotor, so that was next. It was nice, but I don't think it was really necessary. Kotor is pretty small so it would be easy to DIY. I missed part of it anyway because it stopped raining, so I left the group to hike up to the old fortress. Yay! This was the one thing I really wanted to do in Kotor, so I'm glad the weather cooperated.

     

    The hike consists of 1350 steps up the mountain. It is strenuous, but it's not too terrible. Distance wise it's only 3/4 of a mile. It took me less than an hour to make it to the top, and I'm not very fast. This was without a doubt the highlight of the day for me. It's a really neat hike and the surrounding views get better with every step. The worst part is that the fortress is built into the mountain and goes up - so when you reach the first ruins you think you're there, but you actually have quite a way to go before you reach the top. It was really cool though, hiking through the ruins. I took my time and took a ton of pictures. The view of the ship, and the water with the surrounding mountains really can't be beat. And of course the ruins fire up the imagination. I saw a woman in wedge heels and a dress doing the hike. Power to her, but I wore sneakers. It took me just as long to walk down as it did going up. It's less strenuous going down, but you really have to pay attention and watch your footing on the way down. I'm so glad it stopped raining and I got to do this. I had been really looking forward to it, and I wasn't disappointed. This is another highly, highly, highly, recommend. Even if you're not in great shape (believe me, I'm not!) just take your time and do it. I promise you, you won't regret it!

     

    After the hike I met up with Tracy briefly, and then walked around a little bit. There is a cat museum in Kotor and I paid the 1 euro and went in, just out of curiosity. It's really just a bunch of postcards and magazines with pictures of cats. I only spent 5 or 10 minutes. Later I met Tracy back at the ship and we watched the sailaway from the Galaxy lounge. I would have liked to be on deck but it was kind of cold, so we settled for the view through the windows.

  16. You may want to go do a little reading on the stadium. While there was a stadium here thousands of years ago and a few bits of it were incorporated into the modern structure, what you see today was basically erected in the 1890s for the revival of the modern Olympics. This is not in fact a "well preserved" 2000 year old stadium.

     

    Yep, you're right. I stand corrected. I didn't take notes so I'm doing this all from memory. Think I got my stadiums confused.

  17. Saturday, May 14 - Athens

     

    Tracy and I split up again today. She joined a tour that went to both Athens and Corinth. I went on a tour of Athens only, with Private Tours of Athens (http://www.privatetoursathens.com).

     

    In addition to a driver, we also had a private tour guide. Her name was Poppi, and she was fantastic. She knew everything about the ancient Greeks, mythology, the architecture etc. It really helped to bring it all to life.

     

    Our first stop was the Acropolis. I didn't find the climb to get up there difficult at all, but I guess it depends on your age and fitness. One person in our group was wearing a medical boot on her leg (like a cast, but removable). She made it up with not much difficulty, and on the way down her regular shoe fell apart - but she still made it, and with a smile the whole way. We all thought she deserved a prize. And fortunately she had another pair of shoes in her back pack, which was amazingly good planning on her part.

     

    Of course the Acropolis is amazing, and Poppi told us all about the history and culture, and all the myths and legends about the goddess Athena. We could see the rock that the apostle Paul preached on. Apparently he was not very successful in Athens. They only gave him 5 minutes at a time to speak and the people weren't very receptive, so he left Athens and went to Corinth. Which I guess is why the bible has the book of the Corinthians and not the book of the Athenians.

     

    From the Acropolis we saw the temple of Zeus, and then went for a closer look at the Olympic stadium. It is so well preserved you would never guess that it's thousands of years old. It was really impressive. I would have liked to go in but we didn't have time so we just saw it from the outside. Since it's completely open on one side we still got a good look.

     

    From there we drove to Lycavettus hill for a scenic overview of this city. As usual we didn't have much time, but I'm really glad we didn't miss this. The view was stunning, with the Acropolis off in the distance. Everywhere we went we could see the Acropolis, so I imagine it's hard to get lost in Athens.

     

    Then we went to watch the changing of the guard. I thought they must hate being stared at like that, but our guide explained that it was a real honor to be chosen, because only the tallest and best looking were selected. Shows how much I know.

     

    We went to the Placa for lunch, where I had the best meal of the entire trip. Our guide recommended a restaurant, and she said the kabobs were particularly good, so that's what I had. A variety of things were ordered, and every plate was piled high. Here in America we are used to big portions, but these portions were large even by those standards. We all tasted each others food, and it was all good, but I have to say mine was the best. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the restaurant. I think the food in Greece is good no matter where you go though.

     

    We had a little time to wander around the Placa after lunch. It was mostly just a bunch of cheesy souvenir shops as far as I could tell. But still charming.

     

    After we met back up with our guide we walked through the Placa to the ancient agora. This was my favorite part of the day. Most of the ruins aren't very well preserved, but we were walking along paths in a garden like setting and it was beautiful. And we were walking where Socrates and Plato walked. It's hard to describe the feeling of that, but it was awesome. I saw the house that Socrates taught in. I'm so glad I chose a tour that went here.

     

    From the agora we went to the Acropolis museum. Our guide took us through and explained all the important things and why. This is a great museum and worth going to.

     

    I wasn't that excited about Athens to begin with, but I loved everything about this day. I think that having a private guide made the day a lot more enjoyable, because I got explanations of what I was looking at. In my opinion, the extra money spent on having the guide was well worth it. I wouldn't change anything about the day, and I hope I get a chance to go back for a more in depth visit.

  18. Thursday, May 12th

     

    Today was a sea day. About 11 am we were told that our ship was being diverted to help a disabled fishing boat packed with almost 300 refugees. The boat had been drifting at sea for 15 days, so I know these people really needed help. I think we reached the boat at about 2 pm, and were there for a long time - until about 7 pm. Our ship was prepared to take all those people on board, but in the end it wasn't necessary as the Italian Coast Guard sent a ship that could accommodate them. They did bring a woman who was 9 months pregnant to the ship and she was helicoptered out. We were told both mother and baby survived.

     

    It was rather sobering to be on a ship living in luxury and realize that, quite literally, right next to you people were fighting for their lives. For me at least, it was pretty impossible to just relax and enjoy the day, knowing what was going on. I spent most of the afternoon on our balcony watching and worrying (not that there was anything I could do). I did try to read and relax, but with very limited success.

     

    Speaking of reading... I am an avid reader, since I was a kid. It's not unusual for me to read 5 or 6 books on a 7 day Caribbean cruise. On this 12 day Mediterranean cruise I read about 1/2 of one book. Now, it was a big book - over 500 pages - but still, not a lot of reading got done. There was just always something to do or someone to chat with.

     

     

    Friday, May 13th

     

    Today we were scheduled to go to Mykonos, but because of the refugee situation we did not make it, so we had another sea day.

     

    Did I want to go to Mykonos? Yes.

     

    Was having another relaxing day at sea a hardship? No.

     

    I can't remember what I did in the morning - I think we spent some time on the lounge chairs on Raffles terrace (always a favorite spot). That afternoon I met up with some cruise critic friends to play LCR, which is a dice game that involves no skill whatsoever. There were about 15 of us and each person put in $3, with the winner taking all. It was a lot of fun and got a bit rowdy, but all good natured fun. I didn't win.

     

    After all the drama of the day before, today was very relaxed and enjoyable. Everyone I spoke to felt the same way I did - that if we had to miss a port, Mykonos was probably the easiest one to let go of. My big plan for Mykonos had been to go to lunch and eat Greek food in Greece. I love Greek food, and fortunately I would have my chance in Athens.

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