Live(ish) Report - Celebrity Ascent - June 18, 2024 - Greece, Turkey & Italy

[Miaminice]

On 6/23/2024 at 3:13 PM, Cruiscs said:

How was the hike up?

well, we are pretty fit walkers and usually make the stairs in under 20 minutes. But we did pass many people who had to stop and rest in the little shade there was. And I definitely have to say that it was easier for us as well at other times. The heat was a real factor.

[Miaminice]

4 minutes ago, dock said:

Thanks for the great review.

Nice to see a Turkish Buffet that night onboard. 

How was the Iskender Kebap place ?

 

We will be on O and stopping in Kusadasi within the next few weeks. 
 

How was Ephesus Shuttle. We’ve booked them for a Private Walking Tour of Istanbul. 
Thank you. 

The Kebab was good and tasty. However, Baydöner - which was the name - seems to be a chain. So although the service was very friendly, the restaurant lacked a bit of charm. But it was good.

 

There are also many restaurants around the port / fish market area which also looked very good. Selda also recommended them, but when she heard that I don’t eat fish, she mentioned Baydöner.

 

We have booked with Ephesus Shuttle a couple of times now. And they were always very good. Quite a few people followed our previous recommendations and all came back praising them. So I am sure you’ll also enjoy them.

[ladylemondrop]

Your photos are fabulous and I love all your recommendations for places to eat and visit in Rome, I have been before but have made a note for when I return! Really enjoying this report thank you 🤩 

[Miaminice]

Celebrity Ascent - June 2024 - Greece, Turkey & Italy - 9 - Rhodes

Rhodes is a port very easy to do on your own. If you are there for the first time, you really don’t need any kind of excursion.

 

As you can see on the fist photo, everything you need to see for a first visit is within easy walking distance. Just follow the bay at the port until the road leads through a gate, behind it continue on along the smaller Mandraki Bay. At its end, close to a big church building, there’s a small entrance to the harbor from the sea. Both sides have columns with statues on them. It is said that this is where the Colossos of Rhodes once stood.

Turn back and visit the New Market before you go back through the Eleftherias Gate. You can’t miss it. It’s almost overgrown by beautiful Bougainvillea. Keep right, enter the old town and walk up the Street of the Nights to the Grandmaster’s Castle. Then just go with the flow and enjoy this city that to me feels like it takes you back in time.

 

[Miaminice]

We have been to Rhodes numerous times before and actually quite like it. 
 

Last year we had rented a scooter with Elephant Rent a Moto, who are just a short distance from the port exit away, and drove to Lindos. 

This year we stopped there once more, rented a very comfortable ride again and drove along the western coast.

 

 

We stopped at Mandraki harbor for a few pictures, before we took the coastal road past the airport.

 

 

 

 

Along way we enjoyed the view of secluded beaches and eventually turned uphill towards Emponas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

In the hills we stopped at a viewpoint recommended to us by Alex from Elephant Motos. A cute little terrace with a shop selling local wine, oil and honey.

 

 

 

 

 

When we reached Emponas, it wasn’t really what we expected. Only a  few shops and restaurants and many many tourists who just arrived in two tour buses.

 

 

 

So we continued our trip to Apollonas where we drove by a very inviting taverna. The time was right, so I turned the scooter around and we stopped for lunch. Sitting in the shade with a light breeze and enjoying the genuinely friendly service was really nice. And the food very delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

A fact also known to the local cat which had decided to become best friends with us… 😁

 

 

[Miaminice]

We continued driving down the road back towards Rhodes town and along the way the sound of the cicadas was so loud that we could easily hear it through our helmets and over the sound of the motor. The road was lined by colorful Oleander and lush green olive trees. And in some parts we passed through the charred remains of forests which fell victim to last year’s bad fires.

 

Unfortunately I couldn’t take too many pictures because I was driving, but believe me, it was a very pleasant drive and scenery.

 

 

 

 

Back in Rhodes we returned the scooter and since we still had plenty of time, we walked into the old town through the Marine Gate. However, it was extremely full and crowded. We didn’t want to ruin the feeling of such a relaxed and nice day, looked at each other and turned around to have a drink up in the Sunset Bar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beachlover1989]

I am loving all of your pictures and recommendations - fabulous!!

[Spif Barwunkel]

Your thread has been a very enjoyable replay of our May 2023 cruise on the Beyond. Nicely balanced and thought out with a good eye, a pleasant tone and a coherent presentation, it's the next best thing to an in-person revisit. 

 

Despite the blatant, in-your-face pastry pic (post #88), as if the pizza pic wasn't enough, I was able to self-medicate and somewhat control a severe case of the "slobbers." As a result, my tee shirt and keyboard were spared a dampening of spirit, if you will. 

 

Beautiful journeys to be continued.... 

 

 

[Miaminice]

Celebrity Ascent - June 2024 - Greece, Turkey & Italy - 10 - Mykonos

 

We woke up to beautiful weather and the usual wind which is guaranteed on Mykonos. The only dock on Mykonos was already taken by an MSC ship, so we had to tender. Our Captain kept the Ascent closer to the entrance of the little harbor than we had ever seen it before to shorten the ride on the tenders. Giving the strong wind it was not an easy task. Cudos bridge team!

 

 

[Miaminice]

Since I don’t just want to tell you what we did but also give you a little advice I included the map for your information and marked a few things. 
 

 

First of all, you do not need to book a tour to see Mykonos! It is as easy to explore on your own as they come!

 

 

When you get to the port - by tender or shuttle from the dock - make your way along the waterfront to the small blue domed church close to the smaller pier. 

 

 

 

If you want to see the ancient ruins on Delos, you could buy tickets for the ferry and guided tours right there. The cruise lines use the same ferry.

 

[Miaminice]

Turn left and walk along some newly constructed restroom and you‘ll see the house with the red balconies on the left. I think it is one of the photos you can find on all of my Mykonos albums of the past years.

 

 

Turn left again and you are basically right in front of the Panagia Paraportiani. Construction of the church started in 1425. You might recognize it, because it is depicted on many postcard images and commercials for the island.

 

 

 

 

Go straight and follow the alleys near the waterfront while keeping to the right and you’ll find the restaurants of Little Venice. You might run into Petros the Pelican, the island’s mascot, over there 😁

 

 

 

 

Little Venice

 

 

 

From Little Venice you can already see the Mykonos‘ landmark, the iconic windmills Kato Milli.

 

[Miaminice]

 

 

From the hill of the windmills just venture out into Chora/Mykonos town. Meander through the colorful alleys, enjoy the shops, restaurants, churches, whitewashed houses and brightly painted stairs and balconies. Don’t follow a map, on the contrary! We would actually recommend you get lost in the streets and explore. Don’t be alarmed, you can’t get lost… you’ll always end up in the port‘s bay somehow. And it’s never more than 10 minutes away.

 

As you can see by the pictures, we also did the first part of the route I suggested above.
 

Behind the windmills we rented a scooter, because on all of our previous visits, we had never left Chora. So we took the little ride and drove to Ano Mera, a village about 8 km away. 

 

[Miaminice]

Ano Mera has a nice little village square and is home to the Panagia Tourliani monastery.
 

 

 

 

The monastery is beautiful structure from the 16th century with a marble facade and a marble bell tower.

Entrance fee for the church and museum is just €2. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

After visiting both we walked past the restaurants at the square but a little cute terrace restaurant caught our attention on the way to the scooter.
 

 

 

The friendly owner lady invited us in and we sure did not regret our decision. We only had Tzatziki, baked feta cheese and cheese rolls with honey and sesame, but they were absolutely amazing.

 

 

 

I wish I would’ve had some room for the Moussaka I saw on another table but I just couldn’t eat that much again.

[Miaminice]

Happy about our find we returned to Chora and also entered the labyrinth of alleys. As always, we enjoyed the atmosphere at first.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But at one point we were literally squeezed against the wall by two tour groups from Celebrity and one from MSC. Huge groups following a number. The ones in the back already panicking because the couldn’t see the guide at the front anymore, because he or she was around a corner already. It was crazy and everyone walking through the 4 feet wide alley on their own got really annoyed.

 

Eventually Birgit said: Let’s not ruin the nice experience we had so far and let’s go back on board. 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Miaminice

[Miaminice]

That’s what we did. We took a tender back to Ascent and enjoyed a cool drink at the Sunset Bar. 
 

 

Later, after dinner, the Ascent‘s Grand Plaza was filled by passengers going wild dancing to the silent disco. Even when you don’t participate, it’s fun to watch and listen to the not so silent participants. 😁

 

FYI if you wanted to follow our lead and go to Ano Mera but don’t want to hire a scooter, there’s a public bus going there from near the tender/shuttle stop.

[mac_tlc]

Absolutely stunning pictures and a great description of a self-guided tour! Thank you for sharing.

 

 

mac_tlc

[CardowMD]

The water from the ship was gorgeous, but even more stunning was the video from the higher elevation in town! Will be stopping in Mykonos end of August, I can only hope the weather and seas are as amazing!

[dock]

What a great review!

We’ve  done Mykonos a couple times on cruise stops and once on a land trip. 
 

I thought that was enough, but your pictures have me thinking that maybe I have one more Greek Isles cruise left in me lol!

Looking forward to the next port. 
Thank you for taking the time to post.