PurpleTraveller

I am thoroughly enjoying your review and was delighted to see your beautiful photos of the Jurassic Coast. This is one of our favourite areas of England and when we are departing from Southampton we spend an extra couple of days there so that we can hire a car so we can revisit the area. The coastal walk from Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door is wonderful to do. Thank you for your review and I look forward to following along. 🛳️

We have used the X80 bus from Piraeus into Athens and back and it worked perfectly for us. We got off the ship at about 7.30am (sorry, can't remember the exact time) and walked the short distance to the bus stop. We waited about five minutes and got on an empty bus with two other couples. When we got to the stop nearest to the Acropolis we all got out and the driver also got out to show us where to walk to go to the Acropolis and also where the bus stop was on the opposite side of the road to return to the ship. There was no queue at the entrance to buy our tickets and we were up in the Acropolis before the tour buses arrived and got too crowded. After a day of sightseeing in Athens we got the bus back to the ship mid afternoon. The bus was fuller for the return trip but we still got seats. It was an easy and inexpensive way to visit Athens.

You're very welcome! Katakolon is in Greece and the port for Olympia. A very pretty village where we had a wonderful day visiting Olympia and walking around the village.

Thank you for the link. I don't get the emails so very much appreciate you posting the link and everyone posting that they are available so that I can get the points. 🛳️

In 8106 on Reflection there was noise each morning from the anchor or ropes being deployed and also vibration from the thrusters. It did not worry us as we are up early but it could disturb others. We did not have any motion as we had calm seas but if the seas were rough there would be movement. We could see out of the window from the couch and bed but could not see the ocean or helipad unless we were standing. This was our cabin 8106. Our window was fairly clean and I could take photos through it. This photos was taken through the window early one morning in Katakolon. We loved this cabin and would happily stay in it again.

I was in 8106 on Reflection and there was no movement at all but we were in the Mediterranean with calm seas. It was a great spacious cabin and we loved the location. The amount of movement will depend on the seas.

Thank you for doing this Live report. I will be on the same itinerary on June 2 and it will be my first cruise to Alaska. I was on Crown in the Baltics in 2017 and had a great cruise so are really looking forward to cruising Alaska on her. After the cruise I will be travelling around the Rockies including Whistler, so look forward to your report from there too. I haven't been to Whistler since 2005 and it was winter then so are also looking forward to visiting in summer. Hope you have a great cruise! 🛳️

Wow, beautiful photos! I hope the weather is that good for my Alaska cruise in June.

I love cruising in the Mediterranean! We always combine a cruise with land trips on either side but would recommend arriving at least two or three days prior to the cruise to get over jetlag and see some of the city you are starting at. Rome is one of my favourite cities in the world and there is so much to see and do there. If you have the time it is also good to spend a few days after your cruise at your ending city maybe Barcelona or Athens if it is different from where you embarked. We like to cruise in June when it is warm and sunny but the school holidays haven't started so it is slightly less crowded. I haven't sailed with MSC so can't help there but the Mediterranean is my favourite place to cruise as there are so many port days in wonderful places.

Sapphire Princess is my favourite Princess ship and from my trip to Norway on her, there are lots of great viewing areas to see the scenery. I will be on Crown Princess for a 11 day Inside Passage from Vancouver on June 2 so look forward to your report. Have a great cruise! 🛳️

I think ships usually moor and then you will tender to a small dock in Portofino. Your itinerary should show whether you dock or tender. There are quite a few restaurants in Portofino but I haven't eaten in any of them so sorry I can't give a recommendation.

In Kotor, Montenegro the old city is just across the street from the dock where the tenders go to. The old city is flat and easy to walk around and there are plenty of cafes and restaurants to sit down and have a drink or a meal. The old city is lovely but you could go to Lady of the Rocks Church Island and Perast (you do sail past the islands and Perast on the way to and from Kotor). Don't miss the beautiful sail in and out - one of the best in Europe. Mykonos is very easy and flat to walk around and very pretty and is great to just wander and visit the windmills. Lots of cafes and restaurants to sit for a while with a drink or meal. Corfu you will probably have a shuttle to get to the old city and once there it is fairly flat and easy to walk around. The old city is great to walk around, shop, visit churches and museums and the old fort is also interesting to visit. Once again lots of cafes and restaurants. Athens once you get there from the dock has so much to see. The Acropolis and Parthenon is the big attraction and there are a lot of other ruins such as the Forum and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The Changing of the Guard and the old Olympic Arena are also interesting. The Plaka area at the base of the Acropolis has lots of cafes and restaurants. I haven't been to Argostoli. These are all things you can DIY but of course there will be lots of excursions you can do, some of which will be easy and relaxed. Hope you have a wonderful cruise 🛳️

Both are good itineraries but for a first time visit I would definitely choose the first one. Athens and Istanbul are great cities to visit and Santorini is beautiful. Leave Croatia for your next cruise.

My favourite obstructed oceanview cabin on crown class ships is now guarantee only as it is in the forward section and is the lowest category. When I cancelled and rebooked my current Alaska cruise to get a much better price I was unable to keep the cabin I had booked. Fortunately the new booking was with the "Three for Three" promotion so I did not have to pay extra for the next category up but I am now not in my favourite cabin. I was not told of the change to guarantee only for the lowest category before the existing booking was cancelled.

When I did a Princess excursion to Taormina the bus parked in an underground parking lot on the edge of the town. We had to get an elevator up to street level. Maybe if the elevators are busy when you return, you may have to go down the stairs in the parking lot and that may be what they refer to in the description. I wouldn't think you would have to walk up the stairs in the parking lot as they would try to stop in the street to let you off before parking the bus in the parking lot if the elevators were out of order. The walk from the parking lot into town is flat and easy but the paving stones can be slippery particularly when wet.

How wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed your day. Trondheim is such a lovely city to visit. Thank you! 😊

Some of your ports you can DIY if you can't find a tour that you like. Honnigsvag itself is quite small though we did walk through it after our morning tour to North Cape and also did walk to another small fishing village in the opposite direction from the ship to Honnigsvag. We did a great tour in 2019 from Honnigsvag with Blue Puffin (blue-puffin.com) to the North Cape and fishing villages. You could check with them but they do book up quickly. In Trondheim it is an easy walk into the city which is very pretty. We walked to see the Cathedral, Old Town Bridge, the colourful river warehouses, Kristiansten Fort (great view) and went to the Army and Resistance Museum (free in 2019). In Tromso we had a bit of rain in the morning so we got the local bus into town and visited the Catholic and Tromso Cathedrals and saw the Arctic Cathedral from afar. We then got a local bus around the island and then visited the Botanic Gardens which are really close to the dock. In Bergen we got the port shuttle to the port entrance then walked into town where we went to Bryggen ( the old warehouse area), the Bergen Castle area with a number of old buildings, the Cathedral, City Park and St John's Church. A very pretty place to wander around. A lot of people got the funicular up to the viewpoint. Hope you have a great cruise 🛳️

Yes, the city has become vibrant and a huge improvement from many years ago when it was not very nice to visit. Lots of new hotels, apartment buildings, restaurants, cafes and infrastructure such as the light rail make it a great place to visit and live.

The tower was demolished in September 2018 and the wharf building has restaurants and bars. The surrounding area is parkland, a foreshore walking path, apartment buildings and the old train station has been converted to shops and markets are held there on weekends.

Since your visit in 1988 Newcastle has been completely revitalised with the steel works closed and industrialisation moved to the north side of the harbour. It is still a busy industrial port but the city is completely different now. There are now great coastal walks, beautiful beaches for swimming and surfing, restaurants, markets, parks and basically totally changed to what it was like 30 years ago. My son lives just outside Newcastle and we love visiting. The fort is fun to visit and the ANZAC Memorial Walk is a favourite.

I think doing a cruise is a great way to get a taste of Europe particularly if you add extra days before and after your cruise to spend extra time in those cities. A cruise allows you the ease of seeing a number of places with not having to worry about booking multiple hotels, unpacking once, not having to wrangling your luggage, not dealing with planes or trains, meals readily available and the ability to relax once back on board. If you go to somewhere you fall in love with you can then do a longer land tour there in the future. A cruise will not allow you an in depth experience of a place but it is still great to visit a port and have a wonderful day. I have done three Mediterranean cruises of 17, 21 and 10 days and had a wonderful time on every cruise. I always combine a cruise with time in Europe on land tours and always spend time in the departure cities beforehand. Some cities like Rome I have visited multiple times for up to a week at a time and I still haven't seen everything I would like to. Last year I combined a ten day cruise of Italy, Montenegro and Croatia with four weeks in Spain which I find is a great combination of enjoying my love of cruising with experiencing a place well. Go on a Mediterranean cruise and enjoy every moment! 🛳️

After sailing Princess exclusively for ten years I tried Celebrity last year and loved it. I have now decided that itinerary and price are most important to me and I will not choose a cruise on loyalty alone but of course we are all different. While Princess and Celebrity are more similar than different there are a few things that may matter for you. Princess allows smoking in the casino and the smoke smell can drift into the areas nearby. There is no smoking on balconies or in cabins and smoking is restricted to the smoking areas and casino. Princess has self service laundries which is great on a longer cruise. Caribbean Princess is an older ship. Service on both are great but I thought the food and service in the MDR was better on Celebrity. I personally would not choose a guarantee as I like to know where I'll be on the ship but many are okay with that. Whichever you choose have a great cruise! 🛳️

Clothing such as short sleeved tops with long pants for men and long or capri pants or short sleeved dresses (below the knee) for women are appropriate for religious sites and also for dinner. Shorts and short sleeved or sleeveless tops can be worn at most other places during the day. The weather in June can be very warm and humid.

Last year the shuttle in Dubrovnik cost USD15 per person for a return trip. In Corfu the cost was USD10 per person for a day pass. They were charged to your on board account. In Kotor you will tender to the dock that is directly across the road from the old city of Kotor. I was on Celebrity Reflection.

I was in Katakolon in June last year. The train station is a very short walk from the dock - it took us between about five to ten minutes to walk there. The only issue was that despite what the website showed there were no trains running on the day we were there and we ended up pairing up with another couple who were also waiting for the train, to get a taxi to Olympia. I don't know if the train wasn't running just on the day we were there or it wasn't running at all. We were there on a Sunday. This is a photo of the times of the trains shown when we were there. You may want to see if anyone who goes there before you, once the cruise season starts, reports on information about the train. Hopefully the train is running but have a Plan B if necessary. There also is a bus that goes to Olympia but we didn't use it. Hope you have a great cruise. 🛳️