Mediterranean Cruise – Trip Photos

~ stashy

Hey! I’m back from our cruise to the Mediterranean. 🙂 It was a fantastic trip! But I’ll start out with the not so good: our flight home from Venice was delayed by over 5 hours because of a careless remark by a fellow passenger. What was an otherwise seamless transport from sea to air was marred by what the captain of the flight called “an asinine comment”. Apparently during the check-in process, someone on our flight made a comment about airport security – we never found out who it was or what the person said or if the person was detained afterward. We were kept in the dark about the situation until after we reboarded the plane. We had all originally boarded the flight on time but the plane just sat on the tarmac for over an hour until we we told that due to a “technical issue”, we had to to take all of our stuff and deplane. Then we had to go through security screening again – we thought it was a mechanical issue with the plane so we all joked that we were going through screening again to provide us with “something to do” while they fixed the plane. They had one screening station for the entire flight! 😡 The Italian police and fire department were called and the cargo hold thoroughly checked. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 11:30am but we did not leave until close to 5pm. It wasn’t the worst thing by any means for us, we just got home later than we had anticipated. But for many fellow passengers who had connecting flights, they missed their flights and were put on the next available flight – some were rebooked for flights departing 2 days later! 😮 So, please please even if you think it’s a funny joke, don’t utter any comments about airport security while in the airport / airplane. They take this stuff seriously! 🙄 I said to the SO, “Imagine if this had happened when we were flying out to Venice and missed the cruise ship?” Ugh!

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Here’s a picture to thank you for reading the above. 🙂 It’s a shot of our cruise ship from a hilltop restaurant in Santorini, Greece.

Now, with that out of the way, onward to the good stuff! 😛

These are mostly photos of the ports we visited – I’ll devote a separate entry to the cruise experience itself (which I’ve tentatively named “Cruising Life for Type A Personalities” 😉 ). The cruise was for 7 days and our ports included: Venice (Italy), Dubrovnic (Croatia), Kusadasi / Ephesus (Turkey), Santorini (Greece), and Katakolon / Olympia (Greece). We arrived one day in advance of the sail date to have extra time in Venice – and also recommended by our travel agent in case of a flight delay (see above!) so we actually had 2 days in Venice to explore. The weather overall was wonderful, the only day that was a complete wash-out was our first day in Venice – the downpour was so bad that Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square ) was nearly empty. The following day the sun came out so we walked back to the square and saw the difference between empty vs crowded. We also experienced a short flash storm in Olympia, Greece but thank goodness it happened after our tour.

Venice, Italy

Highlights: canals, St. Mark’s Square, Doge’s Palace
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Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square)
Eating pistachio and stracciatella gelato from Bianco right in St. Mark's Square.
Eating pistachio and stracciatella gelato from a shop right in St. Mark’s Square.
One of the many awe-inspiring grand rooms inside Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace). Every surface is covered in ornate paintings / decorations.
One of the many awe-inspiring grand rooms inside Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace). Every surface is covered in ornate paintings / decorations.
View from inside the
View from inside the Bridge of Sighs.

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Dubrovnik, Croatia

Highlights: Walled City, Medieval fortresses, Game of Thrones

The weather was much warmer than we expected but so clear that we could see for miles.
The weather was much warmer than we expected and so clear that we could see for miles.

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Hey, this is still primarily a beauty blog! I rocked the Essie Gel Couture polish in Pinned Up for the trip - it wore amazingly well. Not a chip and I wore it for 12 days in total.
This is still primarily a beauty blog! 😛 I rocked the Essie Gel Couture polish in Pinned Up for the trip – it wore amazingly well, as expected. Not a chip and I wore it for 12 days in total.

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Inside the Walled City - we are so amazed at the polished stone ground, they're reflective and probably slick when it rains.
Inside the Walled City – we are so amazed at the polished stone ground, they’re reflective and probably slick when it rains.

Ephesus, Turkey

Highlights: House of Mary, Library of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, Great Theatre

There is a small house which has been confirmed as the last place where Virgin Mary lived before she died (no pictures allowed of the interior - it is very simple and small). Behind the house there are water spouts where visitors can collect holy water.
There is a small house which has been confirmed as the last place where Virgin Mary lived before she died (no pictures allowed of the interior – it is very simple and small). Behind the house there are water spouts where visitors can collect holy water.
This site boasts one of the best preserved Greek and Roman ruins. It's like going back in time and showcases marble streets, a library, and a grand stadium.
This site boasts one of the best preserved Greek and Roman ruins. It’s like going back in time and showcases marble streets, a library, and a grand stadium.

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I’m not going to post too many pictures of my visit to Ephesus – I’ll save that for a detail post on the organized group tour in a cross over collab post with Joyce of Local Girl Foreign Land coming up in early October! 🙂

Santorini, Greece

Highlights: Firá, Catholic Cathedral of Fira, Archaeological Museum
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Eating freshly grilled squid / calamari - and Greek salad, of course.
Eating freshly grilled squid / calamari – and Greek salad, of course.

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Big tip for Santorini - take the cable cars up but walk down the path to get back to the port. The line-ups are crazy. But watch out for runaway donkeys and donkey poop!
Tip for Santorini – take the cable cars up but walk down the path to get back to the port. The line-ups for the cable cars are crazy. The path is scenic but watch out for runaway donkeys and their poop!

Olympia, Greece

Highlights: site of original Olympic Games, Temple of Hera, Archaeological Museum of Olympia

The site of the original Olympic Games was much different than we had pictured in our minds - it was much greener than we expected. And most of the buildings were pretty much gone except for a few pillars here and there - a lot of imagination was required here.
The site of the original Olympic Games was much different than we had pictured in our minds – it was much greener than we expected.
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And most of the buildings were pretty much gone except for a few pillars here and there – a lot of imagination was required here.
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Our tour guide was able to provide a lot of historical information on how the structures would have looked, and what functions they served.

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We were almost ready to head back to the ship when we had a flash storm, but it resulted the most beautiful sunset that evening:

This is probably one of my favourite shots of the whole trip and is now my phone wallpaper.
This is probably one of my favourite shots of the whole trip and is now my phone wallpaper.

If forced to choose, our favourite place was Santorini, which was a surprise since we didn’t have huge expectations like we did for Dubrovnik (don’t get me wrong, we still loved Dubrovnik) – visiting Santorini made us vow to return to Greece to further explore the country. Have you been to any of these places?

PS. I know this question will be asked, I used Canon Powershot SX610, a point and shoot camera, for all the photos. 🙂

PPS. I’ve been really jet lagged for the past few days (6 hr difference) but I’ve started getting back into reading blogs. I’ve noticed a lot of my comments aren’t showing up on your blogs and I think they’re going into your spam folders – please take a moment to check. I guess WordPress doesn’t recognize me anymore being away on vacation!

PPPS. Yes I bought some makeup on the trip. I’ll do a haul post next week! 😀

92 thoughts on “Mediterranean Cruise – Trip Photos”

    1. That donkey was probably the cutest and most chill one. Many of the others were quite bull headed – they all wanted to get pass each other. I got squished between a donkey and the wall at one point!

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  3. OMG what a fantastic trip despite the ahole at the airport who delayed you coming home😡 Your pictures are gorgeous and your so lucky to have the experience of visiting those amazing places 😃

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    1. Yeah, that one thing really put a damper on the whole trip – we had no issues at all up until then.
      Of course, we’re not planning our next vacation – haven’t narrowed down where yet! So many places….

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  4. Santorini has been on my list to go to for about 3 years, it’s so expensive to actually stay there though that holidays are always so expensive compared to other areas of Greece/Europe! Dubrovnik is also on the hitlist of places I’ve wanted to go to.

    Italy having visited Milan is now potentially where we might go for our honeymoon!

    Glad you had a great time!

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    1. It’s expensive everywhere to stay in the “hot” cities. Venice hotel rates were insane too. The cruise was a great way to sample a bunch of places and decide if we want to go back – we’d definitely go back to Greece and Turkey for further exploration in the future!

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        1. Just the one, in Ephesus! Nowhere near any conflict zones. They did say that their tourism has been suffering a lot. Many cruise lines have cancelled stops there.

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  6. What a fantastic trip! I loved Venice so much, though we only stayed 2 days. Definitely want to go back – when we went, St. Mark’s Square was covered in scaffolding and Lavazza ads, as I guess they were doing some restoration work.

    Croatia is on my to-see list, as well. So beautiful.

    Sorry you had to deal with a troublesome delay (I do love to use the word “asinine”). Some people.

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    1. We totally got lost in the streets of Venice! It was quite stressful lol. Some of the buildings had scaffolding when we were there too – it seems that construction takes years there!
      I love the word asinine! I had to quote him verbatim! 😆

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  7. Eeee, pictures!
    I started reading about the flight mishap, then had to go back and re-read the beginning to make sure that the flight was delayed on the way home, rather than on the way there. Would have been an absolute disaster to miss your ship!! Luckily, your travel agent knew what they were doing and booked you an extra day just in case…anyways, what a dummy the fellow passenger was. What in the world would possess someone to even think about saying something that would cause a security threat in an airport?!
    These pics are amazing – love the one of the sunset! I also had a chuckle at your nail shot in Dubrovnik, lol. Was there a reason you preferred Santorini to Dubrovnik? Both places are on my travel bucket list (Greece is still a contender for our honeymoon…still haven’t made up our minds yet).
    Can’t wait for “Crusing Life for Type A Personalities”! 😉 I’ve often wondered if I would enjoy being on a cruise…

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    1. Yeah… if that situation had happened when we were going to Venice, we would have missed out on 1 day there. We would have been mad but all wouldn’t have been lost. I’ve heard horror stories of people missing their ship!
      Santorini was just so beautiful – the views and the restaurants. We loved Dubrovnik but felt that we had exhausted what we would like to see there, whereas we felt we could have liked more time to see more of Santorini.
      Well, you know that I read 3 books on the cruise… if you want to carve out time to do some reading, a cruise is a good option! The SO read 4 books himself. 😛

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      1. Interesting to know about the two of you already being able to go through everything there is to see in Dubrovnik…we have friends who’ve gone to one or the other, but not both, so it’s interesting to get a comparison on which one has more to see.
        4 books, that’s impressive! Did you finish any knitting projects on top of the books? 😀

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        1. I’d love to see more of the ancient ruins – yes, felt so small! It’s incredible they were able to build these so many years ago.
          Uh oh, what were you saying about me! 😛

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  9. Love this a lot!! The photos are great.. The narration is always on point. I felt like im reading a novel.. Love the pop of “Essie nail polish” feature.. Haha and Yas! Santorini is one of the places that I would love to visit one day (if possible☺️). The sunset viewing in Santorini is the most Romantic part which lots of lovebirds loves to witness. I cannot wait for the Book 2 on this trip!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

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    1. Haha you’re too cute. My SO rolled his eyes at me when I took that nail pic in Dubrovnik! 😆
      You have to visit Santorini one day! It’s just beautiful and so relaxed. We wished we could have stayed longer than the day.

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      1. Currently following a Philippine Telenovela that’s shot in Greece and yes it makes me want to go there even more. My hubby’s brother always go there for a vaca too and boy! I can’t too $$$ hahhaha 😂😂

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    1. Yes, me too. It’s not ideal but at it was at the end!
      PS. I just left a comment on your blog and I’m pretty sure it is in your spam folder. Grr WP is still being a jerk to me. I guess I can’t take a vacation!

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  15. Stashy – it all looks sooo good! And your nails lasted as well!! I’m super impressed 🙂
    Santorini looks amazing! And eating gelato in Italy 🙂 Those two are definitely on my travel wish list.
    The flight home dramas – ugh! That must have been so frustrating when all you want is to go back to the comfort of home.

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    1. Eating gelato in Italy and Greek salad in Greece are musts! 😉
      It would have been better not to have had the delay – SO was super grumpy – but I’m glad they do take security seriously. I’d rather be safe than sorry.

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  17. Yay welcome back – we missed you! 😉 Looks like an AMAZING trip! I’ve only ever been to Venice out of the places you visited and I loved it – I could just “get lost” there, eat pizza and gelato and drink wine all day. It was a lot dirtier than I expected though – think that’s due to the lack of green space.

    Greece looks awesome – it’s on our list to visit one day. Cruises have always intrigued me but I get seasick very easily so the thought of being confined on a ship makes me panicky…:S

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    1. I was like, WHO ARE YOU! Then it clicked! ClassicMaggie!!! I love the name Pretty Ruff Life hahaha. Still plays homage to Ms. Maggie! 😉 I see you’re updating your blog layout too!
      I didn’t find Venice that dirty but I was warned. I guess the pouring rain cleaned everything out? 😆
      Ooh if you get seasick then a cruise is definitely no-go. We didn’t get seasick but we’re not prone to it – it definitely does get rocky on the ocean. But, you HAVE to visit Greece one day! It’s amazing, just the 2 places we went to made us want to see more.

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  22. Those pictures are seriously and unbelievably enviable and I could able to collect all those memories I’ve spent in St Marks square, Venice last september and surprisingly, Santorini and Mykonos are two of my favourite spots in Greece which are already on my bucket list and wish me luck to see those pretty soon. I’m feeling so happy for you and be blessed like this as always

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  27. Loving the trip photos! Thanks for sharing what type of camera you used. I’ve been wanting to get myself another point and shoot camera since last year. Can’t wait to read about your cruise experience.

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    1. I sometimes wonder if I should just shoot everything on my phone but I do think the images are more crisp on a real camera. I’ll likely have the cruise experience post coming up next week. Just need to edit some of the photos. 🙂

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  30. Look amazing!!! I’ve never been on a cruise before. That Essie nail + Croatia background was beauty blogger perfection! 😀

    You make me wonder what that careless passenger said too. 5 hours for a joke. It could not be fun for the authorities or the passengers affected. Well, better be safe than sorry though.

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    1. Hehe my SO walked away from me when I took that nail photo… shaking his head. 😛

      I do still wonder if that passenger was detained! I mean, if we had to be inconvenienced, that person should have been MORE inconvenienced!

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  33. These photos were really good! Santorini always looks surreal so me in photos. Beautiful. Did you find it had a lot of tourists? It seems to be a European hotspot these days so I’m curious.

    Also, glad to hear the Essie gel polish stood up well. 12 days is forever in home manicure time, I really need to pick up a few colours.

    Thanks for sharing!

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