After roaming around Rome with my family we made our way to the cruise boat that next day. To my disappointment I found out that there were no laundry machines on the ship so I found a laundromat close to the pier and did my laundry then. There, we met a nice couple who had already been on this ship for two weeks and would be getting back on again. After doing laundry we jokingly said see you on the ship even though realistically we probably would not see them because the ship was so big. Even the man said that he had a colleague on the ship with him who he never saw the entire trip. Well fun fact we ended up seeing them 6 different times all on different days, my mom and I would jokingly say "oh look there's the laundromat man!" As we walked onto the boat and explored a little I was amazed with how gigantic it was and the interior was stunning. Above are photos of the ship on the inside and out.
We got settled in and I unpacked all my stuff. The room had a lot of convenient storage space in them so it was super nice because I like to organize all my clothes separately.
It was close to dinner time at this point so we decided to go to the dining hall. The dining hall is more of a fancy place to eat. We agreed that we would always have dinner in the dining hall because at some ports my aunt and uncle would split up from us so it would be nice that we knew we would always get together for dinner and talk about what we did that day. The dining hall was fancy and I liked the way it was set up. Each course was a small enough size that all together it made a perfect meal, and you did not leave feeling overly stuffed. I really liked that I got to try so many different kinds of foods because I am not a picky eater. We ate upstairs at the buffet every morning for breakfast. There were so many different options it was crazy. I really liked the build your own crepe and omelette stand. We never really ate lunch often because lunch time was when we were usually on the ports exploring so it was nice to have a big breakfast than a big dinner. When we did have ocean days and stayed on the ship there were so many other options than just the dining hall and buffet. You could almost eat somewhere different every day of the cruise it was crazy. Some of my favorites were: a burger place, a build your own pizza stand, and a small Dutch cafe. Above are a select few of the different foods that I had.
The first full day on the ship was a sea day because we were heading to Dubrovnik in Croatia which is quite the distance from Rome but I was excited because the further South we went the warmer it got! On this day we passed an erupting Volcano which was cool to see, it had been erupting for a couple of weeks now and their was a town on the island so hopefully they had all evacuated. I also gambled for the first time in a casino. I won a decent amount that day but it went a little downhill after that, luckily on the last day I pulled through and ended up coming out about even with all of the gambling money I spent on the cruise.
Later that night there was a Captain party on the deck with free champagne and a toast from the Captain. After our formal dinner we went and well the champagne was really good. I took my dads and than my aunt help my glass two different times so I could go get more. Thanks Aunt Kathy love you lots for helping me sneak the champagne haha! Also every night on the ship their is(was) a show. Two of the performances were from this dance group. Each show told a different story and I had an amazing time watching it. I have fallen in love with the art of Contemporary dance and music lately and they had done a couple of Contemporary dances both nights and they honestly almost made me cry. The choreography was stunning. Other nights they had a comedian and a magician who were both excellent as well. The shows were definitely something to look forward to every night. I would order a strawberry daiquiri and get a jar of peanuts before each show. I would go a little earlier and get good seats to save for my family and I.
On to the ports! The first one was Dubrovnik. Our cruise director told us that out of all the ports we would stop at, Dubrovnik would be the coolest one to kayak in. I knew that was my mission and it honestly was not too hard to find a kayaking company but the problem was that I forgot a swimsuit and we had already spent 20 Euros on a taxi drive to get from the port to the heart of Dubrovnik. My solution was simple, I bought another swimsuit and I love it. We walked around town for a little bit got some delicious ice cream and than we headed to the meeting point to Kayak. I was the only one Kayaking so I got put with a stranger. He was a student studying abroad as well and he was from South Korea. While Kayaking we visited a cave that you could only get to by kayak. There they gave us snorkeling gear and there was also a cliff that I climbed up and jumped off. At first I was nervous and it was a struggle just to get up but it was worth it once I had jumped. We continued to Kayak around an Island and our tour guide had told us about some history and legendary stories. Finally at the end we sat in our kayak and watched the sunset, it was breathtaking. Here are some of the photos that I took with my Go Pro while kayaking!
The next day we arrived in the Port of Montenegro. Here we had a scheduled excursion through the cruise line so we were able to get off the ship sooner than others. Our excursion involved riding in a tour bus up probably the tallest mountain in Montenegro. The road was so narrow that two cars could
not get through without one pulling to the side and with out tour bus being so big cars had to back up so we could get around them. Looking down was not the best option because there were times that we were very close to the edge and I was scared. Once we were at the top there was a small village on the other side. Here we were greeted with wine and some traditional snacks from Montenegro. The wine was pretty good so we bought some to bring back onto the boat. We toured the village a little bit than headed back down the other side of the mountain. Here we could see the oldest town of Montenegro which looked very crowded from the top but it was not so bad once we got down. After the excursion we walked around the main square like any typical tourist, than headed back onto the ship for the night. I met someone named Karen at the pool who was looking for someone to join them on their deep sea diving adventure and so I took the opportunity to try it and see if I could get certified to dive. We were planning to go the next day in Kassiopi. I was excited but also nervous because I did not really know the full plan and I did not know the lady that I was going with.
So that morning Karen and I got breakfast and were off. She reserved a car to drive and it would be there for us to pick up near the port. When we got there they told her she had to have an international ID which they did not tell her when she made the reservation. A couple of other families were fighting it as well so we layed low. A taxi would have been way to expensive so we tried to find a bus. An hour has gone by now and things aren't looking too good. We couldn't find a bus to get us there and back on time. We realized that we were probably out of luck and could not go. At this point I wished there was a way for me to contact my family, but there wasn't. Karen wanted to just get back on the ship but I suggested we just go to a beach. We found a bus that took us to a beach about an hour out.
Though the day had not turned out like it was supposed to I tried to make the best of it. At first we could not find the beech. If you look at the bottom right photo we thought that it might had been that (which would not have been worth the hour bus ride we just endeavored!) The middle photo on the left is actually what the beech looked like and it was gorgeous. I took my GoPro out into the water but of course half way through my SD card was full, maybe I just don't have the best of luck today. I did love how clear the water and I am very glad I had my water shoes with otherwise stepping on those rocks at the bottom (top right picture) would have been hard. When we left the beach to get back on the bus later that afternoon the bus driver was very upset that my swimsuit was on under my clothes. I honestly was dry for the most part but their were noticeable wet marks on my clothes. At first he was going to make me stand the hour bus drive even though Karen had dry towels that she began to wrap around me. I got a little nervous that he was going to kick us off but eventually he forgot about it. With that said he did hold a grudge. He did not even drop us off at an actual bus stop let alone the bus stop near the port. He dropped us off up a hill about half a mile away from port and he just pointed down and said "ship there you get off." We laughed it off a little because we had time to make the walk but I was just exhausted from the whole day changing around that I just wanted to lay down.
Though a very long day I had a fun night. I met up with my parents who were at the pool and told them all about the day. I relaxed by the pool and later that night we watched the first contemporary show. They danced to songs like: Dust in the Wind, Never Enough, and Human. Also I am not really sure about this video on the left. My mom and I were racing down the hall and I got a little ahead!
That next day we had another excursion through the ship. We were in Olympia and we visited an olive farm where we learned about the process of olive making along with many other things. It is a family business and the daughter actually makes soap out of the olive oil. After the tour of the whole garden they gave us a full Greek meal for lunch. Than they showed us traditional Greek dancing and got us to all join in. We walked around doing certain back and forth steps on our feet in a long snake line. Once we were back from olive farm I went into the touristy shopping malls and bought a traditional Greek dress that I will be able to wear at Sorority Greek events so I'm excited!
So tonight while in the dining hall we found out some disappointing news. We would not be able to port in Athens the next day due to weather conditions. My dad was pretty upset because seeing The Parthenon was on his bucket list since High School. There was nothing to do and we used it as an excuse saying now we just have to come back! Instead we would be porting in Crete.
Porting in Crete was actually pretty fun. My parents and I went to see the ruins of Knossos. There an English tour guide was just about to start so we got lucky with timing. It was hard to imagine the palace because so much had been destroyed from natural disasters but once we went to the Archaeological museum I could picture it a lot better. At the site of the palace their are reconstructed remains of the complex, vibrant frescoes, and other details indicating that the Minoans were a highly sophisticated society. Once you get to the museum you can see more remains that have been preserved. Knossos, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. As the capital of the Minoan civilization on Crete, Knossos is associated with many great stories in Greek Mythology. Throughout our tour we learned about the stories of these ruins and had the opportunity to imagine what life would have been like back than.
One of my favorite parts of the museum was seeing the Minoan painting. They have parts plastered wall painting from the palace and they put them together. Than based off of the pieces that were missing they recreated the image. When looking at these you can see which part was from the original painting and which part had been recreated, it surprised me how accurate they can get through the restoration process and it was a nice highlight to see throughout the museum along with all of the different pottery. I also really enjoyed seeing the different little coins and pieces of metal that had designs on them. Each design was something different. Some coins had religious themes on them with others showed little stories during the old-palace period. The museum definitely brought the whole palace to life!
In between the ruins and the museum our taxi driver took us to one of the oldest churches. The taxi driver was really nice and we got lucky. When we first got off the ship all the prices to go to these places were super expensive but we found a driver who was willing to do it for a lot cheaper after a little convincing of course. (my dad is really good at negotiating almost anything he lives for it.) After that we walked around stores for a while and we ran into a fish spa. Our cruise director had talked about these during one of his talks about things to do. Little fish eat the dead skin for your feet and honestly it sound weird but I just had to try it and luckily I convinced my mom too as well! I also had to make sure she tried the famous Tredlink. These are typically a cinnamon rolled cone with ice cream inside of it. You could have other things inside as well such as fruit or you could simply just have the base. They are super good and I have had them at every place where I've seen them.
Our next stop was Thira. Here we took a boat ride to Oia. Oia is a coastal town on the northwestern tip of Santorini, a Greek Aegean island. The town has the famously known whitewashed houses carved into the rugged clifftops that our painted a sea blue color. The island has been seen on many famous
TV shows such as the latest season of the Bachelorette and is a overall a famous picturesque touristy spot. Most of our time here we walked around Oia to see the beauty of the Island so there really isn't much more to say because these photos say it all. Though we did have a bit of an adventure heading back down the hill to get to our ship. My mom and I took a donkey down the treacherous curvy path because the cable car line was almost 2 hours long. I thought this would be a fun experience but the pathway was so elevated and narrow that I was very scared I would fall off any second. Falling off would not have been fun because not only was it a rocky path but this path had about 100 donkeys on it and lets just say donkeys use the bathroom wherever they please. My mom loved it she had a great time so clearly riding an animal just isn't for me. Luckily I found two puppies in the restaurant near the bottom that lightened up the treacherous experience I had just encountered. Overall though, Thank you Oia for showing me how beautiful this world can be!
One more ship day and we head back towards Italy. On this ship day we relaxed for the most part in the pool and hot tub. I tanned for a little bit and we also played some card games. My family and I
love playing the card game called May I. We
especially play it during the Holidays so it was a lot of fun to play it since I won't be with my family during Thanksgiving. I also got my nails done which was ridiculously expensive but my dad won a $100 gift certificate at the beginning of the cruise and he let me use it since any massage would not have been good for him after the surgery. At night I put on my white dress with Gold lace that I got from Greece. These dresses are traditional in the Greek islands and I got one because I knew I could use it for some Greek life events back at home for my sorority. Honestly all of Greece has helped me feel a bit more connected with Greek life back in Kearney and I am so lucky to experience it. Though sad that the cruise is almost over I am excited to get back to my home away from home in Olomouc.
Our last day at Port was spent in Naples, Italy. Here we took a tour through the cruise to see the ruins of Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy, has erupted more than 50
times. Its most famous eruption took place in the year 79 A.D., when the volcano buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii under a thick carpet of volcanic ash. The dust “poured across the land” like a flood. Two thousand people died, and the city was abandoned for many years. A group of explorers rediscovered the site in 1748, they were surprised to find underneath the thick layer of dust and debris Pompeii was mostly intact. The buildings, artifacts and skeletons left behind in the buried city are displayed and the place helps us have a good idea of what the ancient world was like. Our tour guide was amazing and she made a couple of jokes as well saying one of the ruins of a building was actually the first ever Mcdonald's which obviously isn't true but hey maybe it was some type of food place. After the tour we walked around Naples for a little bit, but for the most part we were exhausted so we headed back onto the ship for one last experience of the night life abroad.
The next morning we were back in Rome. We got off the ship, and at first I was not completely sure how I was getting to the airport but than I found a bus going straight there from the port so it was convenient. I said my goodbyes to my family once again. I headed to the airport and my fall break was officially over. I know that I will be back in Rome one day so I am not too worried about that I just have to have some faith in the Trevi fountain and slowly start saving up again. Back to Olomouc I go!
Here are some pictures of the towel animals that were made for us each night at the cruise!
Honestly though if you read this all thank you becuase this was extremely long but I loved how it turned out!!