This next post from Mandrew's parents talks about the incredible experience they had on their 12 day Mediterranean cruise. Neither of us have been on a cruise before, but HOLY CRAP it sounds like they had an awesome time! The idea of packing all that action into such a short time blows our minds... we're pretty sure Mama Bean (Donna) somehow extracts her endurance from red wine. =) Enjoy!
The Ship
Our ship, the Norwegian Cruise Lines "Spirit"
Ship's main lobby On May 18th, we boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Spirit for our Mediterranean cruise.
The Spirit is an older ship, but still a fine one. It’s quite big - 881’ long and holds 2,018 passengers and 962 crew. It has 12 decks, including the main open deck with a pool and multiple hot tubs, and a separate water play area for kids. The main “lobby” is on deck 7.
Our inside cabin (which was small but adequate) was on deck 8. The Sprit has a large buffet area (which was a bit crazy early in the mornings), a large “get served” dining area, Windows, another mid-sized dining area, and several specialty restaurants. We normally had breakfast in the buffet – to get a quick start… but enjoyed a relaxed dinner in Windows. Normally the food was very good. The Spirit has a large theatre in which we enjoyed a good variety of professional shows. It also has a large bar/lounge at the front of the ship, where we would have a drink as we entered and left some ports.
The best part of this cruise was its itinerary: Barcelona, Toulon, Florence, Rome, Naples, Day At Sea, Mykonos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens, Day At Sea, Venice. We jambed a lot of sightseeing into about 12 days.
The Spirit is an older ship, but still a fine one. It’s quite big - 881’ long and holds 2,018 passengers and 962 crew. It has 12 decks, including the main open deck with a pool and multiple hot tubs, and a separate water play area for kids. The main “lobby” is on deck 7.
Our inside cabin (which was small but adequate) was on deck 8. The Sprit has a large buffet area (which was a bit crazy early in the mornings), a large “get served” dining area, Windows, another mid-sized dining area, and several specialty restaurants. We normally had breakfast in the buffet – to get a quick start… but enjoyed a relaxed dinner in Windows. Normally the food was very good. The Spirit has a large theatre in which we enjoyed a good variety of professional shows. It also has a large bar/lounge at the front of the ship, where we would have a drink as we entered and left some ports.
The best part of this cruise was its itinerary: Barcelona, Toulon, Florence, Rome, Naples, Day At Sea, Mykonos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens, Day At Sea, Venice. We jambed a lot of sightseeing into about 12 days.
Toulon
You already know what we did in Barcelona, so let’s start with just a few words and pics from Toulon. Toulon is a military harbor with a French naval base. In WWII, it was occupied by the Germans, who scuttled the French Fleet. It was then bombed by the Allies, destroying much of the port. It rained almost the whole time we were there – so it wasn’t our most pleasant port of call. We just did a self guided walking tour in the town, took a bus to the nearby beach area, and hid out for a while in a nearby restaurant.
 Looking into the Toulon port |  Ship yards |
Florence
You know what this is In the Livorno port, we did the ship’s Florence and Pisa On Your Own excursion. That just provided us with a bus to Pisa, and then to Florence. We did our own exploring.
The Pisa stop was fairly short. We just walked about Miracle Square, checking out the Leaning Tower and other buildings.
The Pisa stop was fairly short. We just walked about Miracle Square, checking out the Leaning Tower and other buildings.
Duomo (Church) in Florence Our Florence visit was more hectic. We pre-purchased tickets for a specific time to enter the Accademia (Academy of Art), but the bus drop off / pick up point was quite far from there, so we had to walk pretty quickly to get there in time. It was nice to see Michelangelo's David, his Prisoner statues and some other works of art… but we didn’t feel it was worth the time and money. (We weren’t allowed to take pics in the Accademia.) But, we still had time to do most of a Rick Steve’s audio guided walk back through the heart of Florence. We saw some cool buildings, fountains, etc.
Rome
Inside the Colosseum For our visit to Rome and Naples, we signed up with an independent tour company called Can't Be Missed Tours. They were half the price of the ship excursions but probably gave as good or better tours. We used local trains to get between the port of Civitavecchia and Rome.
We toured the inside of the Colosseum and could imagine gladiators swinging swords at one another. We enjoyed a nice pizza wine/beer lunch at the Trevi Fountain, and we checked out Vatican City (Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica).
We toured the inside of the Colosseum and could imagine gladiators swinging swords at one another. We enjoyed a nice pizza wine/beer lunch at the Trevi Fountain, and we checked out Vatican City (Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica).
 Trevi Fountain |  Inside St Peter’s Basilica |
I knew that to enter the Sistine Chapel men’s knees aren’t supposed to be exposed, so I brought a pair of jeans to change into… but our guide suggested that if I just pulled my shorts down some, that might do. So, I went gangsta – with my shorts halfway down my ass (under my shirt) and I got in. =)
Naples
Amalfi Coast Once again, we went on tour with Can't Be Missed Tours – this time checking out the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, and Pompeii. The Amalfi Coast is rugged and gorgeous. Driving a big bus along the narrow twisty roads is a job for a brave road warrior – which our driver was. There isn’t a lot of living space, but people make the most of what there is.
Although it came to a very hot end, Pompeii was cool to see.
Although it came to a very hot end, Pompeii was cool to see.
 Close neighbours |  Cast of a Pompeii victim |
Mykonos
A view of Mykonos After Naples, we spent a day at sea on our way to the Greek island Mykonos. It is a small but pretty island that we just walked around, with our new friends Joanne and Dean. The key site on the island is the old windmills. Dean and I took advantage of the opportunity to take a dip in the Mediterranean. It was chillier than I expected.
 Old windmills |  Small beach in town |
Istanbul
The Blue Mosque behind us We did our own thing in Istanbul, using a free walking tour document to guide us. We used the local tram to go between the port (the Findikli stop) and the heart of the city.
After we got off the Sultanahmet stop, while I was trying to figure out how to get to the Blue Mosque, I let a nice young local sales guy latch onto us. He promised to take us to the mosque, and then to a bazaar and his uncle’s rug store (if we wanted to). He not only led us to the mosque, but brought us right to the front of the line, probably saving us a 30+ minute wait. We removed our shoes, Donna put a scarf on to cover her hair, and I put a wrap around to cover my knees. Then we went in and enjoyed the mosque.
After we got off the Sultanahmet stop, while I was trying to figure out how to get to the Blue Mosque, I let a nice young local sales guy latch onto us. He promised to take us to the mosque, and then to a bazaar and his uncle’s rug store (if we wanted to). He not only led us to the mosque, but brought us right to the front of the line, probably saving us a 30+ minute wait. We removed our shoes, Donna put a scarf on to cover her hair, and I put a wrap around to cover my knees. Then we went in and enjoyed the mosque.
 Inside the mosque |  Egyptian obelisk built in 1450 BC and later moved here |
Sure enough, when we exited the mosque, our friend was waiting for us. I wasn’t so keen on going to the bazaar or rug store, so I offered him a tip, which he refused, asking us to come along for just a while. He led us through a bazaar and then along some streets to his uncle’s rug store. His uncle greeted us and he and another man led us up a staircase to the “rug room”, which had no one else in it. Donna was pretty nervous about this, but I didn’t feel threatened. We let him quickly show us a rug, tell us that it was x thousand dollars, and then I told him that we couldn’t afford it and wouldn’t be buying a rug. We left the shop, and found our way back to the Hippodrome to resume our walking tour.
We enjoyed the rest of our walk, and had a unique lunch experience in an outdoor hookah café.
We enjoyed the rest of our walk, and had a unique lunch experience in an outdoor hookah café.
 Gate of Salutation in Topkapi Palace |  Partaking in the local wares |
Ephesus
View near the bottom of Ephesus The port is actually Kusadasi, but we didn’t spend any time there. We instead went on a ship excursion to Ephesus. Ephesus is an ancient Greek city built in the 10th century BC. The city flourished after it came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC, when it grew to up to 50,000 people. The town was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614 AD. The city's importance as a commercial center declined as the harbor was slowly silted up by the Cayster River.
After the tour, we were taken to a shopping mall, where actors in Roman costumes put on a show. It included a brief sword fight between soldiers, which was fun to watch.
After the tour, we were taken to a shopping mall, where actors in Roman costumes put on a show. It included a brief sword fight between soldiers, which was fun to watch.
 The Theater which could seat 24,000 |  A little show to lure tourists |
For the last part of the tour, we were offered to partake in a little drink and snack, while observing how Turkish rugs are made. Since we were near the ship at that time, we bailed to avoid the sales job.
If every 10 minutes or so, someone doesn’t ask if you would like to see some rugs - then you are not in Turkey!
If every 10 minutes or so, someone doesn’t ask if you would like to see some rugs - then you are not in Turkey!
Athens
We toured Athens on our own. It would have been complicated and time consuming to use public transit to get from the port in Pireaus to Athens, so we took a cab (~20 Euros) to the Acropolis.
Most of the important Acropolis buildings, including the Parthenon, were constructed in the fifth century BC. It was a fair climb up to the top of the Acropolis, but the sites up top and views of the city were well worth it.
Most of the important Acropolis buildings, including the Parthenon, were constructed in the fifth century BC. It was a fair climb up to the top of the Acropolis, but the sites up top and views of the city were well worth it.
 The Parthenon |  Looking down on Athens |
The plan was to then walk down and through the Ancient Agora, but we went the wrong way for a while, and by the time we got to an entrance for the Agora, we were pretty hot, tired, and hungry. So, we did a quick straight walkthrough of the Agora. When we came out the other side, there was an outdoor café just waiting for us to sit down, have a big drink, and enjoy a pork gyro lunch.
 Stoa of Attalos |  Good long drinks |
We did a little more wandering around after lunch, then grabbed a taxi back to the ship.
Venice was our cruise’s last port of call. We arrived at 2pm on the 29th, so had some time to do some exploring that day… but we didn’t fully disembark until the next day. We then spent a few days exploring Venice, which you'll hear about in our next post!
- Jimmy Bean
Venice was our cruise’s last port of call. We arrived at 2pm on the 29th, so had some time to do some exploring that day… but we didn’t fully disembark until the next day. We then spent a few days exploring Venice, which you'll hear about in our next post!
- Jimmy Bean
Photos from the Cruise
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