Thoughts on a 10 Day Adriatic Cruise

It's been about a week since we finished our cruise on the Spirit on the 10 day Venice round trip Adriatic.

For those that just want a short synopsis: The cruise was great. No major complaints and only a couple of really minor points. We had great weather and great people on the ship and mostly wonderful ports of call.

Ask about anything and I'll try my best to answer.

The ship: The Spirit is in excellent condition regardless of her 25 year age. I didn't notice any sign of damage or excessive wear. The cabin (303) was excellent and there were no loose drawers or chips in the paint/wallpaper. This was our third cruise (Odyssey and Pride) and I didn't notice any differences on the ship from when we cruised on the Pride 2 years ago.

Crew: Excellent as always. Captain Othello Ghoshroy is a personable fellow but I didn't talk much with the senior staff other than the CD and Chef. The Captain has a bit of lead foot. This is good that you'll get to your port quicker but it's bad since you will feel the sea more.

Jes Paskins was our chef and was the only person on board that we had sailed with. Creative and talented chef. Extremely personable. Loved his cooking demonstration and as mentioned elsewhere he was roped in Liars Club and held his own against the entertainment staff.

Simon Gillespie was our cruise director. High energy and a lot of fun. No complaints here. Synchrony was the house band and we loved them the best of all of the three we have seen. Generally upbeat, definitely eclectic, and 4 people in the band could sing. We especially loved Alex, the bass player. Days of 8ight (Darlene and Raleigh) were fine but there was a noticeable lower level of energy when they swapped sets with Synchrony. Paul Anderson was the ACD and guitar player for the Horizon Lounge and was excellent.

Crew we loved: Roberto at the Sky Bar (thanks for the fresh Bloody Marys and frozen concoctions). Wesley, Joao, and Nikola were the servers with a smile and waiting drinks in their hands. Lucy was our Stewardess and did a great job.

A few rapid comments:

- Found out that the senior staff get to invite a guest for a cruise every so often. Met Chef Jes's brother on this cruise. Staff Captain Franko also had his wife and baby daughter on board.

- There were two young children on board. The above mentioned baby girl never cried and was the center of attention wherever she and her mother went. A second young girl (~12?) was extremely well behaved and was travelling with her mother and grandmother. I know the board has been very against children on board but I've seen a dozen children across three cruises and there has never been an issue.

- Afternoon tea. Food is wonderful as always (raisin scones with clotted cream. Yum!) However, the tea selection was very limited and many of the teas listed in the menu were not actually available.

- 3 Casual, 6 Elegant, and 1 Formal night.

- MDR was listed as open for lunch every day, though, we never ate lunch so I can't be certain. Time was always 12:30-1:30.

- MDR was listed as open for breakfast every day from 8:00 to 9:00. We ate down there once. We noticed that food is sometimes different in the MDR than the Veranda. Bacon is crispier and when you order herring you get a full herring instead of the pickled herring that is Veranda.

- We docked next to the Star Pride in Dubrovnik. Couldn't notice any differences other than color from the outside. They had their kayaks out for the day.

- We tried to have a Marina day in Sami but it was cancelled at the last second due to rougher than expected waves.

- We hit the roughest seas in Opatija where it was an adventure to get back to the boat. Our tender waited 40 minutes at the dock to even try the trip back and it was a roller coaster of a ride. The tender before us got stuck on the water and took three tries to dock to the ship and managed to yank a railing off the gangway when they tried to tie up.

- Beautiful weather in all ports except for Opatija which had rough seas. Rough seas crossing from Gallipoli to Sami. It was bad enough to wake my partner and upset his stomach. No rain (maybe a very brief shower) in ports for the entire 10 days. Venice sail in and sail away were perfect.

- No smokers on board as far as I could tell. Didn't have the problem in the Horizon lounge that we had on the Pride.

I'll comment more on the itinerary later.

Cheers,

Jeff

Thanks, Jeff. You took us back to last year in the Adriatic on the Spirit! Loved every minute and had calm seas. Sorry! We are embarking on the Legend and hoped Paul the guitarist would be with us. We really like him! Look forward to your comments on the ports you visited.

Margaret

Thoughts on the itinerary.

The 10 day cruise was Venice -> Sea -> Galipolli, Italy -> Same, Kephalonia -> Katakolon -> Corfu -> Dubrovnik -> Split -> Opatija -> Venice (overnight)

We also did 2 days pre-cruise in Rome and 2 days post-cruise in Modena. We had both been to Rome and Venice on separate occasions. All other destinations were new.

A couple of comments before we get to the actual cruise.

- We took the train up to Venice from Rome on the day of embarkation. Other than lugging the suitcases through Roma Termini the process was really easy. A quick 4 hour trip and we were in Venice and heading to the dock. It would probably be just as easy starting from Naples, Florence, and Bologna since those are the on the direct high speed line to Venice. Turin and Milan would be on a slightly slower train direct or a change in Bologna to stay on the Rossa/Argento lines.

- Forgot to mention our biggest complaint with Seabourn this trip. Venice was baking hot on the day we arrived and as most of you know there isn't much shade from the sun on the North side of the Giudecca Canal and San Basillio Port. We had been walking back from lunch for ~40 minutes and got to the Port for check-in. The Seabourn agent at the terminal welcomed us and told us to get out our passports for the security station. Once through the station there wasn't any other Seabourn rep to tell us where to go so we ended up walking to the ship. That was a death march... When we got to the ship the first person we met commented on our exhaustion and asked why hadn't we caught the shuttle. Ummm maybe because no one told us about it?

- I liked the first sea day because it gave you a chance to acclimatize to the general flow of the cruise.

- It would have been great to have an extra sea day somewhere in the middle of the itinerary. 8 ports in 8 days was a bit much especially with site heavy Olympia-Corfu-Dubrovnik-Split all in a row.

Rome - We had two different guides on the two days we were there. First day was the usual sites - Forum, Coliseum, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, etc. Nothing terribly special. The second day was the more interesting tour including areas such as Coppode district, EUR, the Keyhole on the Aventine Hill, Gianicolo Hill, the Olympic Stadium, and Ponte Milvio. Lots of things that even the guidebooks don't mention. These are our favorite types of guides.

Venice - I really liked the overnight at the end. It gave us a chance to explore the city and you didn't have to worry about getting a hotel room. Venice is a special town however it is overrun with tourists and seemed way busier than the last time I came 10 years ago. We had a private guide for both days at the end of the cruise and thought she was the best guide we had the entire vacation. Day one was a walking tour from the ship to the Cannaregio district. This was specifically to walk through the Jewish Ghetto and to wander through some of the less tourist infested areas. Day two was Murano and Burano.

Galipolli - Most of the people that went on tours (ship or private) ended up in Lecce. From those that went I heard there was a long ride to the city, a lot of walking, and more churches. Beautiful city but nothing so different from Florence or renaissance towns. We only wandered around the old town after being advised that the new town is only interesting if you wanted to shop. There are also a number of beaches nearby. This was our least favorite port. There were hordes of Italian tourists and the buildings in the town itself are really worn down compared to other cities. I wouldn't bother paying to go into the castle. There isn't much to see, though the 9 sided fort/tower was kind of cool. The cathedral is quite nice and the pharmacy right next door is interesting. Walking back to the ship is quite a trek...

Sami - We grabbed a taxi right outside the port and visited Lake Melissani and Drogarati. This was a fairly cheap option to see the two main attractions in the area. Total time was about 2 hours and costed 50 Euro which the port advisor had mentioned would be the average price. Both attractions were described to me as being lesser versions of the Blue Grotto and Carlsbad Caverns but I’ve never been to either so I wouldn’t know. We thought both sites were beautiful and since they are in caves you get a reprieve from the heat outside. We didn’t wander the town much but others mentioned that it was kind of seedy if you got off the main area along the water.

Katakolon - I had hired George prior to the cruise and he was waiting for us right outside the gates. We had arranged for an extra tour to the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bessae to go along with the trip to Olympia. The temple is in a fairly remote region and took about an hour to get to. It’s also high up on the mountains so there are some fantastic views on the drive there. Due to the isolation the temple is one of the best preserved Greek temples and is in much better condition than the Parthenon in Athens. A trek to get here but we thought it was worth the time. Afterwards it was 40 minute drive to Olympia. George had a DVD explaining the site as well numerous books (our favorite was the before and after flip book) that he loaned to us when we went into the site. Olympia is definitely a place to go if you like ancient ruins even if there is very little standing. The two reconstructed pediments from the Temple of Zeus were amazing. For us Ephesus and Delos were both better preserved sites, but Olympia is a still a must do.

Corfu - I had hired Spiros for a 5 hour tour of the island and he was a blast. We first drove north for some scenic views of the island but were thwarted with haze and some early morning clouds. We still managed to find some incredible scenery from the top of the high hills. Spiros pointed out the olive, cypress, and fig trees as well as showing wild annis, rosemary, and thyme growing everywhere. A very lush island. Next was a drive westward for the scenic views over Palaiokastritsa and a stop at a local shop where Spiros made us a surprise snack of fresh bread, local olive oil, local feta cheese, and garden tomato. Yum! After visiting the abbey in Palaiokastritsa (very touristy now) we crossed to the SE part of the island to visit the Achillion Palace (worth it) before driving to the old town where we were dropped off and walked around before grabbing the Seabourn shuttle back to the dock. BTW, if you are looking for beaches head to the western or norther side of the island since the eastern side seems to have mostly pebble based beaches.

Dubrovnik - As mentioned before we tendered right alongside our sister the Pride. It’s great that Seabourn is able to dock outside the old harbor because you don’t have to wait with the hordes outside the PIle gate for a bus to the port. We had a guide through our travel agent who took us through a walking tour of the old town. After that we had a car that took us to the top of the hill overlooking the city. You can get to the same point taking the cable car. Highly recommended to come up here for fantastic views of the coast. Next we headed to Cavtat which ended up being a sleepy little tourist area where a lot of yachts docked. It’s a quiet town that would be great if you were looking for a beach. Not much to sightsee though. The drive to Cavtat was impressive and reminded my partner of stretches of the Pacific Coast Highway in California. We also visited Konavle, south of Cavtat where there is the remains of the ancient Roman aqueducts. Well worth a visit and there is a very nice restaurant at the site. We walked the walls of Dubrovnik as the last thing and this might be a good suggestion. Crowds were lighter and the heat had dropped somewhat. First thing in the morning might be okay too.

Split - Here we had a Virtuoso tour. Split is another lovely city with abundant history. Our tour started with the Diocletian Palace. We visited the basement and then masoleum/cathedral. This was followed by a walk through the streets going in and out of the three gates (Iron, Gold, Silver). Afterwards we went to the Mestrovic Museum to look at the sculptures from this master. One of the most important sculptors of the 20th century who lived in the US for 15 years but is not really well known in the US even though his sculptures are found throughout the US.

Opatija - Another private tour through our travel agent. Opatija is the heart of what is coined the Croatian Riviera. There are 4-5 towns one right after another on the coast with a 12 mile walking promenade. Architecture is decidedly Austrian. We started our tour by driving to Pula on the other side of the Istrian Peninsula. We drove there to see the Roman architecture that is some of the best preserved in the world (especially the ampitheater). It’s about 1.5 hours away but well worth the trip. On the way back we stopped about a kilometer away from the dock and walked the promenade with our guide who pointed out the various famous hotels and gardens in the area.

Modena - All about cars and food. We had a private guide arranged by our travel agent. She took us to a Parmasean Reggiano farm and a Balsamic Vinegar production site. The food was amazing! The area is also home to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Pagani. We visited Ferrari and Pagani as well as touring a private collection of Maserati cars. Modena itself is a small town and the tourist old city is very small and walkable in an hour or so. A good portion of the nightlife seems to be concentrated in this area.

Bologna - We stopped here on our way back from Modena on the way to Rome. We had a quick walking tour of the old city which has some impressive architecture. It’s different from other Italian cities in that brick and terra cotta are the main building materials instead of marble and travertine. Definitely visit the Basilica which is immense. Also interesting are the market district, Church of St Stefan, and the Two Towers. If it’s on the way then the city is worth a stop to see.

For the cruise ports - Sami is a very relaxed day. Galipolli and Opatija are also very small towns that can be relaxing too or you can add lengthy side trip to Lecce and Pula. Corfu for us was all about travelling around to see the beautiful scenery. There is plenty of history too but it seems secondary. Katakolon is all about Olympia. If you have already done Olympia or have no interest in ruins then it’s another relaxing day. Split and Dubrovnik are very heavy sightseeing days. If I was going to put the ports in order of like it would be (from least): Galipolli, Sami, Opatija, Katakolon, Split, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Venice

As always I would be happy to answer questions that anyone might have

Hope Jes and Simon will be on the Spirit in the Caribbean in November. Be nice to see familiar faces.