Over the years I kept reassuring everyone that cruising was not my type of vacation trip. That idea totally changed after I reluctantly took my first 7-day cruise with my partner and a couple of dear friends — it was really fun.
There is nothing like being on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, feeling totally captivated by gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.
One of my favorite things about cruising is the Sailaway. I swear that I physically and mentally feel lighter and more at ease as I watch the cruise ship sail away from land. I love that feeling.
I think cruises are great trip option —keeping in mind that there is a ship to suit everyone. Cruises offer something for everyone, you wake up somewhere new everyday, cruises are worth the money, you get to make new friends, you just unpack only once, enjoy delicious dining and incredible entertainment — what else is there to want?
I’m just looking forward to the new adventures the new ports will bring about.
The ship
Itinirerary
Ports of call
1. Barcelona — Spain
Barcelona, located in Catalonia Spain, is Europe’s largest metropolis on the Mediterranean coast, and one of the world’s major global cities. Today, Barcelona balances itself on the cutting edge of architecture, intellectual life, and style. Indeed Barcelona won the 1999 RIBA Royal Gold Medal for its architecture, the first time that the winner has been a city, and not an individual architect.
3. Gibraltar — Spain
Gibraltar shares a northern border with Spain, but is a UK Overseas Territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. It has an area of 6 sq.km. and a 1.2 km border with Spain.
5. Marseille — France
Located on the SE coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, Marseille is France’s largest commercial port, and is also the largest French city on the Mediterranean coast. It serves as a gateway to the lush fertile region of Provence and all its cultural contributions to gastronomic excellence, impressionistic art, and ancient architecture. This cosmopolitan city with 300 days of sunshine a year, clear blue skies and the down-to-earth warmth of its residents, boasts a trading history that goes back more than 2,500 years.
6. Genova — Italy
Genoa is an important seaport in northern Italy. It is also known as ‘the Superb One’ due to its illustrious past. Today it rises from the sea, with two massive towers providing striking landmarks.
7. Livorno — Italy
Livorno is the third largest port on the west coast of Italy, and is well known for supporting cruise ship tourism to Florence, the Tower of Pisa, the hill towns of Tuscany, Cinque Terre with its enchanting villages, and the Chianti wine region, generally with time allowed for visiting some famous outlet stores of famous fashion houses. However the port of Livorno itself has a lot to offer visitors. Criss-crossed by Medicean canals that are still navigable, and with its port overlooked by towers and fortresses, this well-planned city is most appealing.
8. Roma — Italy
Rome, the capital, and largest city of Italy, is full of unending possibilities. It can be reached from the port of Civitavecchia in approximately ninety minutes either by train or coach. Rome greets visitors with a multitude of faces, such as the Ancient City with ruins like: the Colosseum; the seven hills; the Roman Forum; and the Sacred Way, the path used for triumphal processions.
9. Napoli — Italy
Naples is an historic city over 2,500 years old, sitting on the west coast of southern Italy by the Gulf of Naples. Located halfway between two volcanic areas, Mount Vesuvius and Camp Flegrei and with numerous tours and cruise excursions available at the port, one may be inclined to miss out on what Naples itself has to offer. It has some of the world’s best opera houses and theatres, and is often called an open-air museum because of its many historic statues and monuments.
11. Heraklion — Greece
Heraklion is the largest urban centre in Crete, the capital of the region, and the economic centre of this Greek Island. It is a town with modern buildings, but it is probably the surrounding area of amazing beaches, delightful villages, and impressive gorges that accord it its popularity. Heraklion is home to some of Greece’s most important archaeological sites.
12. Kusadasi — Turkey
Kusadasi is a resort town on Turkey’s Aegean coast and the centre of the seaside district of the same name. While best known as a starting point for visiting Ephesus, once one of the most beautiful cities in the world with a history dating from 3000 BC, there’s also a delightful range of activities in town. Places of interest include: the City Walls, of which one gate remains to-day; the peninsula at the end of the bay with its castle and swimming beaches; several aqua parks with wave-pools and white-water slides; Ladies Beach, once segregated but now open to all; and Dilek Peninsula National Park.
13. Istanbul — Turkey
Istanbul (Byzantium from 660 BC, Constantinople from 330 CE, and Istanbul since 1930) is the largest city in Turkey and the fifth largest city proper in the world. It has dominated the Straits of Bosphorus, in the NW of the country, for 25 centuries, and as Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was a metropolis of stunning splendour when the great capitals of Europe were mere villages and is the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents.
14. Mykonos — Greece
Mykonos is the principal town of the island of the same name, which is part of the Cyclades, and could well be described as the most sophisticated of the Greek Islands. Visited by innumerable international celebrities – you may even see some enjoying a coffee on the sidewalk – it is not surprising that it is considered by many to be one of the top tourist destinations in the world. It is also an island with beautiful landscapes, scores of churches, some fascinating monuments, and windmills.
15. Athens — Greece
Athens, the capital and largest city of Greece, is also one of the world’s oldest cities with an unparalleled history that spans around 3,400 years. Experiencing long periods of sunshine throughout the year, and known as “the cradle of Western civilisation”, it is a ‘must-see’ destination for world travellers. The city contains a fascinating variety of different architectural styles, ranging from Greco-Roman through Neo-Classical, to Modern.