cojuqui Posted August 25, 2015 #1 Share Posted August 25, 2015 (edited) I took this 10 night Eastern Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity Solstice. My trip took place June 24 - July 7, 2009. I know, I know, that was 6 years ago. It was my first big trip like this and first time abroad. I had never done a review. I had read several before travelling but didn't think I could write one. Now , several cruises later and I have written a few reviews. I chose to go ahead and write one for this trip, but I just kept it for myself. I don't know why, but I decided to go ahead and post it here in hopes that it helps in their planning. I took a lot of notes during my trip and saved my info, but I 'm sure there are things I forgot unfortunately. At least with the review, the things I might forget eventually, will be written down now. Anyway, I'll go ahead start my review now....... Thanks for reading. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Edited August 25, 2015 by cojuqui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 25, 2015 Author #2 Share Posted August 25, 2015 What a whirlwind trip this was from the beginning. Julio and I were invited to be Best Man and Matron of Honor at our dear friends’ wedding. By the way, we are going on a cruise for our wedding they said. Oh and by the way we are getting married in Greece they said. Okay, let us think a minute……. We’re in. First they looked at a Princess cruise but quickly changed their mind and settled on a Celebrity Cruise on the Solstice out of Rome to the Eastern Mediterranean. We didn’t even have passports and this was going to be 6 months away. No problem. We were blessed enough for the bride to have a “help the wedding party get there” fund in her wedding budget so that helped some. Time to seriously save and get to planning. The first thing after we ordered our passports was to look at flights. We live near Dallas and looking at flights from Dallas to Rome were about a thousand dollars. Time do more research. After some… a lot….. of time reading and trolling the internet, I found that it would be about $300 per person cheaper to fly into Paris than it was into Rome. Great, no problem. Now , how to get to Rome on the cheap. More reading and more researching. Take the overnight train from Paris to Rome. We could arrive in Paris in the morning take in a few sites and then get the evening train and wake up in Rome. Perfect. It seems as though American travel/ticket agents mark up the prices on the rail tickets A LOT. I looked at the trains website in London and saw the tickets were cheaper, unfortunately we weren’t coming from London, we were coming from Paris. I ended up going to the French website and comparing what it was asking for to the British website and getting our train tickets, with sleeping compartment for less than half of what it would have cost from a U.S. website. Our flight left Dallas Ft Worth at 5 pm and headed for Paris. Neither of us had been out of the country before and we were ready. Ready for a day in Paris, then a 10 night cruise and then another night in Rome post cruise. Not much pre or post time unfortunately, but we were limited on time and funds so we made the best of it. We arrived in Paris about 9:30 the next morning. We didn't sleep much on the plane. I dont know what we were thinking, but we watched “Taken”. We were so excited with our first glimpse of Paris below us. Once we landed, we took the train to Garre de Lyon train station to store our luggage for the day and to head out from there. We got there and easily found the signs for the Luggage Lockers one level down. We got our suitcases secured and headed out. We took a taxi over to the Eiffel Tower to begin our day. It was neat to see all the art and craft booths along the street. We arrived quickly at the Eiffel Tower and were just in awe!!!!!!! We were on a limited time schedule so we didn't take a trip up to the top to sightsee. We hope one day to come back for a longer visit, so an abbreviated one will have to do for now. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 25, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted August 25, 2015 We had a boat trip on the Seine planned. Unfortunately our planning did go exactly as we thought. I was under the impression that the boat ride was one way and we would leave the Seine behind and continue on down river. It was a round trip and we recalculated and found a metro stop nearby and figured how to get where we wanted to next. We bought a snack to have for lunch on the boat and it was perfect. They narrated what all we were seeing and we loved the architecture and the history. The bridges were spectacular as well. We truly enjoyed the peaceful boat ride and seeing the city from the water. Once our boat ride was over, we made our way by metro over the Notre Dame. What a sight. Pictures I have seen before and since don’t do it justice. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 25, 2015 Author #4 Share Posted August 25, 2015 As much as we wanted to stay longer and look around at Notre Dame more, we were on a schedule and had to hit the next stop. The Louvre. I will admit after seeing The Davinci Code, I was more excited. I really could have spent a couple days looking at everything, but we had our sights on one lady and we made our way to see her. I was glad to see Winged Victory as well. Our time there was too short but worth it since the trip to Paris was an “extra” just to save us money and not our destination. I was glad within the few hours we were there, we got to several things. My list of things to see is longer for next time. We returned to the Garre de Lyon and collected our bags with no trouble. From there we made our way to the Platform at Garre de Bercy for our overnight train. Before getting there, we stopped at a market and bought some sandwiches and drinks and snacks for the train ride. Even though we had our ticket confirmation printed out, we still needed to go to the ticket counter to collect our actual tickets. Good to know. Julio stayed with our bags and I got the tickets. Before we knew it, it was time to board our 7 pm train. The views of the French countryside was beautiful. We had to surrender our passports as we would be travelling into Switzerland overnight before heading into Italy and they were needed for verification. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 25, 2015 Author #5 Share Posted August 25, 2015 We had an interesting night sleep. We had a shared compartment. When we boarded there was a younger couple in with us. In Firenza in the middle of the night and older gentleman with a HUGE suitcase got on and joined us. The compartments aren’t air-conditioned so you have a choice of sleeping with the hall door open to the A/C from the hallway or keep the compartment window open and have the breeze from outside. We chose to leave our window open. Loved the scenery going by on our way into Rome in the morning. Crazy side note. Over night my friend back in Texas texted me that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett had passed away. I thought I read wrong at 2 a.m. , but I woke and heard it confirmed on the train. We didn't have enough time as it turned out with the line to store our luggage at the train station in Rome and look around much so we decided to head out to the port and get to the ship early. As luck would have it, several of our friends were on the same train as we were. They had spent the night in Rome the night before. We left Texas at 5 pm local time on June 24 and only got what sleep we could on the plane and on the train. We didn't look too bad for 11 a.m. June 26 on the train to the port. (yes even though I hadn’t showered or slept in a bed, I DID bring shirts to change. Can't’ have all those photos in the same shirt). We arrived to the port with no problem and got the first glimpse of our home for the next 10 nights. We dropped of our bags and check in was no problem. Before we knew it we were on the ship. We stopped to check out our room and put our carry on bags away. We were in cabin 7160. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 25, 2015 Author #6 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Next stop lunch. We had a yummy lunch and dessert with a few friends and then headed to a lounge area for the mandatory safety briefing. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the ship and getting our bearings. What a beautiful ship!!!!! We had the 6:15 seating for dinner and it worked out great. There were 23 of us all together on this cruise. We had 3 tables all together with varying seats. We rotated some evenings and not everyone always ate in the MDR. For my first meal on board I had the Turkey Puffed Pastry for dinner and Creme Brulee for dessert. So delicious. This was a sign of good eating to come. After dinner we participated in the Vodka Tasting and had a great time. The wedding couple had a suite so we had our own Welcome Aboard celebration in their suite with drinks and great memories. After some went to bed and some went to get a snack, a few of us went to hang out in Club Quasar for some dancing and fun. It’s been a long two days, we called it a night and looked forward to our next day in Sicily for our first port day. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellenh Posted August 25, 2015 #7 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I'm loving your review. So glad you decided to share it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted August 25, 2015 #8 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Enjoying your review. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 25, 2015 Author #9 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I was up early the next morning and took a walk around the deck. I was pleased to notice us going by a Volcano. I learned that it was Mt. Stromboli and it’s most always active. There was just a BIT of wind this morning, We arrived in Messina Sicily as scheduled. This was a later port arrival, 10 a.m. Nice to have a leisurely breakfast and get off the ship. We had booked a Celebrity excursion to Tindari to see the Black Madonna. We had most post planned on our own, but we booked a few thru the ship as it was the easiest to do to see what we wanted and hear some history as well. The town square in Messina was beautiful. They also had a gorgeous clock in the square. Soon enough we were on the bus with a great tour guide who was very enthusiastic about the area and the history. The drive to Tindari was beautiful. We saw such beautiful scenery which included Mt. Etna. We got a great look at the road we drove up on. The first view out of the bus window of the Sanctuary at Tindari was beautiful. Overlooking the sea is just breathtaking. The town here was founded about 400 B.C. It is remarkable to be in a place that dates back so far. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 26, 2015 Author #10 Share Posted August 26, 2015 No flash allowed inside the Church, but the Black Madonna was such a sight to see. She is made of a cedar wood from Lebanon. She is of Byzantine origin and they say that she was smuggled out of Constantinople in the 8th century. The ceiling inside the Church was stunning. The colors were still so bright. The Greek ruins in the area down from the church were a great start to our Greece journey. Dating from 400 BC, it was amazing to see tile work as intact as it was. They had some glass urns that had been recovered and put back together. I cant imagine the stories these urns could share. We made out thru a little market area and bought a snack and then headed back down the hill to where the bus was waiting to take us back to Messina. So glad we got to see this area and experience the views. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 26, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted August 26, 2015 We made it back Messina and took some time to walk around the town. It was a Saturday and we were surprised there wasn’t more activity. Julio found his next car though. The statue of the Madonna welcomes everyone into the Port. We got back on board with a bit of extra liquid goodies in our bag from a local shop. We put our stuff from the day away in our cabin and headed back up on deck to check out the view of the city from there. I love the old buildings. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 26, 2015 Author #12 Share Posted August 26, 2015 The view was neat to see the Straights of Messina, the passage between Italy and Messina. Its a busy passageway for commuters, merchants and bird and sea life. We headed back inside to the MDR for dinner with a few folks. I had the lobster ravioli and it was so delicious. The service in the dining room is great. Our waiter chats a lot and laughs with us as we try to learn a few new words in Greek. After dinner several of us headed to our room where we had a tasting of our own of what we picked up in Messina. What a great bunch of fun. From there we headed later to the Sky Lounge for a bit of Karaoke. Alcohol helps a lot let me just say. Plus there was time for a “wow honey you did a great job singing” kiss. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 26, 2015 Author #13 Share Posted August 26, 2015 We have two sea days on this cruise and the first is on Sunday, June 28th. We had a casual start since the night before ended late and ended with drinks. We went to a wonderful Sunday brunch and enjoy all the ice sculptures. There was no shortage of delicious things to eat. Especially dessert type goodies. After lunch time we headed back up to the Quasar Lounge for a latin dance class. We had a great time with our friends. Sometimes, we showing them how it was done. Celebrity Solstice is a unique ship with a Hot Glassblowing Show. They have several pieces for sale at the end of the day after the last show, but sadly we kept missing the late one. To gear up for our time on the different Greek islands, we were happy to find they had a Basic Greek Language Lesson. I had checked a book out from the library before we left that was a pocket sized version and it included all languages we’d need on this trip (plus German that we didn't need). We took the lesson and definitely used the cheat sheet they gave us. We went to a Trivia game called “Around the World Challenge” We didn't do so well, but it was fun learning things we didn't know about other parts of the world. Tonight was the first formal night and we had a beautiful sunset in the Mediterranean. We headed to the Solstice Theater after dinner for the Captain’s Welcome Toast. It was nice gathering while everyone was all dressed in their finest. Celebrity does it up right! Perfect end to a fabulous at sea. Tomorrow is an early start in Athens. I’m getting ready to check something off my bucket list that’s been there before I heard the term “Bucket List”. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted August 26, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) Very long port day today and I’m very excited. We dock at 7 pm and don’t sail away till 7 pm. I plan to enjoy every minute. We have our Greek phrases ready to go and a quick breakfast before departing. We walk out of the port area and followed the sidewalk along the water and crossed over the street on a pedestrian bridge to the Piraeus Metro station. We purchased an all ticket for 3 euros. We caught the Green Line train and took it to the Thission Station. As we walked along the pedestrian path to the Acropolis , we caught some views thru the trees. We had brought our own literature so we went to the ticket booth and just bought a ticket to enter and walk thru on our own. We had beat all the tour buses there so it was quite nice. Even though there was scaffolding and repairs going on, I was still in awe as I saw the Parthenon. There were still loads of people though even with it being early. Lot’s of restoration work being done. What a sight to see when it’s all complete. We enjoyed looking around and see all the other temples as well. It was so fascinating to see and read the history of everything we were seeing. I have a love of history and this is definitely one place I wanted to see in person. I called my Mom just to share the moment I had been waiting for since I was a teen. It was 4 am in Texas. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Edited August 26, 2015 by cojuqui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted August 27, 2015 #15 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Connie, I am happy to have stumbled upon this review today. For your first trip out of the USA you really picked a doozy! Thanks for sharing and including so many great photos. Keep it coming! Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted September 1, 2015 Author #16 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Connie, I am happy to have stumbled upon this review today. For your first trip out of the USA you really picked a doozy! Thanks for sharing and including so many great photos. Keep it coming! Norris So glad you're following a long even though It's been a while. Yes, it was quite the experience for sure. I was glad to have had the time to review and plan everything we did. We really enjoyed everything we did. I am enjoying reliving it while I type it all. You have an amazing trip coming up as well. I would love to see more over there and visit Spain as well. I plan to check out your reviews. I love reading them. Connie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted September 1, 2015 Author #17 Share Posted September 1, 2015 After we left the Acropolis, we walked back to the metro station and took the train over to Lykavittos Hill. We paid 1.5 euros to take the funicular to the top. I will say there are a lot of steps to get up to the funicular station. We rode the train up to the top of the hill, which runs every half hour. The ride took about 5-10 minutes. Once we got to the top, we were surprised by the stunning views. There is a beautiful little white church at the top as well as some refreshments for sale. We brought along our own snack lunch with us so we just purchased drinks. We started the zig zag trail down the hill and found a park bench to have our lunch with the amazing view of the Parthenon beyond. Once down the “Hill”, we hopped back on the Blue Line Metro and headed to The Plaka. We had heard a lot about the open air market and wanted to check it out. We saw a great sandal shop and I wanted to check it out. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted September 1, 2015 Author #18 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I had the most amazing sandals made. They were crazy expensive, but even as write this review, I love them. They were $45 euros. OUCH!!!! I looked and can’t believe I didn't take a photo of them then. I took one now (excuse all the wear they show, they are well used). We spent a long time look around The Plaka and buying several souvenirs there. We had a snack and enjoying just watching all the people. Finally we decided it was time to take the metro back to Piraeus and head back to the ship. We watched a tractor trailer backing onto a ferry headed to another island and took in the sights of Athens. We took the same pedestrian walkway over the street. Here is a view. Once back on board and cleaned up, we noticed several of our group were already having drinks poolside so we headed that way to join them. I didn't want to leave the railing. The sun beginning to set as we left Athens so so pretty. What an amazing day!!!! Kalispera (good evening) We did dinner on our own tonight and check out nightlife. We had an early start again the next day for Mykonos and didn't stay up too late. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted September 1, 2015 #19 Share Posted September 1, 2015 So glad you're following a long even though It's been a while. Yes, it was quite the experience for sure. I was glad to have had the time to review and plan everything we did. We really enjoyed everything we did. I am enjoying reliving it while I type it all. You have an amazing trip coming up as well. I would love to see more over there and visit Spain as well. I plan to check out your reviews. I love reading them. Connie Connie, thanks for the compliment re my reviews and if you are reading the upcoming Emerald Princess one in October pop in and say hi. Although it's a long and expensive flight to get to the Med ports it is so rewarding when you step ashore each day. It's not the Caribbean, although that's fine for a sunny winter break but it isn't History in your Face the way the Med ports are. As there are so many countries and historic cities around that vast area it'll take a while to see all that are worth seeing. We took our first Med 11 months ago and as soon as it was over our next summer cruise didn't take long to decide upon. That's just 3 weeks away now as we are flying into Rome for two days before the cruise. We stay in Barcelona for two days after. There are so many lines covering the Med each summer and a great choice of itineraries. I imagine you will return to see more. In the meantime write when you can as I am sure there are many people following along on this great trip. Cheers! Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searoses Posted September 1, 2015 #20 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Bimmer09....can't wait to read your upcoming review!....would you be able to tell me the name of the hotel you stayed in across from the pantheon last year?.....looking to firm up choices for our long-awaited trip now next october....decided on reflection....I am still very much looking forward to bathing in the sea in poisitano!.....regards,searoses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bimmer09 Posted September 2, 2015 #21 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Bimmer09....can't wait to read your upcoming review!....would you be able to tell me the name of the hotel you stayed in across from the pantheon last year?.....looking to firm up choices for our long-awaited trip now next october....decided on reflection....I am still very much looking forward to bathing in the sea in poisitano!.....regards,searoses Hi- the hotel is the Albergo del Senato and we are staying there this year also. The rooftop bar is my sunset watching spot. The square is noisy with buskers during the day (but they are good musicians/singers) The hotel is immaculate. [/url] Rooftop view I've written a Tripadvisor review of the hotel under the name BavarianChicagoUSA which I think was published in Dec 2014. It will be under the Excellent category. I included interior photos I believe. Over 2200 excellent reviews there so to make it easier to see mine here is a link.. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187791-d191099-r245738926-Albergo_del_Senato-Rome_Lazio.html I hope this helps. Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searoses Posted September 2, 2015 #22 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Yes and thank you....I was an avid reader of your review and look forward to your next one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted September 4, 2015 Author #23 Share Posted September 4, 2015 We docked at Mykonos about 7 am. This port can be docked or tendered. We were lucky to dock and just get off the ship. We had set up a meeting with the folks at Kosmos Rent A Car at 9 am since we weren’t sure what time we would be there. We walked out to the gates and the representative was there with a sign. Today’s adventures would be Julio and I along with the wedding couple. We were quickly taken to their rental office were we signed the paperwork for our Jeep for the day. Next stop, those BEAUTIFUL Mykonos beaches. The people at Kosmos gave us a detailed map of Mykonos. Honestly though, we just followed different roads around and stopped at several beaches along the way. Just beautiful views all day. There were several popular beaches listed on the map but we just pulled over and swam at places that looked interesting to us. We brought our own snorkels and masks for the couple beach days we knew we’d have. The water here was amazingly clear. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojuqui Posted September 4, 2015 Author #24 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Next stop…..another beautiful beach with interesting rocks. Julio enjoyed jumping off them. Our final beach stop of the day was in Ftelia. Great restaurant with wonderful Mojitos and a beautiful view. The bruschetta was pretty amazing too. Connie PAST CRUISES: Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251655 Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913 Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...8#post39476968 Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413 Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searoses Posted September 4, 2015 #25 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Jackpot for me on this review....looking for exactly that to enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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