cavaaller

thank you for your lovely comment @Traveling Fools; I hope you will have a wonderful cruise - 10 days precruise sound like real luxury. enjoy! 🙂

I am sure that you will love it!

We had a fabulous cruise - staff was exceptionally kind and helpful. We loved the ports, we loved our suite. We would go back in a heartbeat. Thank you - everybody - for reading my ramblings and reacting and commenting. I hope, your cruises will be as delightful as ours was to us!

The flight back was uneventful. Only problem we encountered was the usual extremely long wait for our luggage in Francfurt (+2h) Reminder to self: Always always avoid flying in to FRA if possible! Airport staff explained to us that they don't find people willing to work for the low wage they are offering. So the problem will not go anywhere any time soon.

The suite was lovely (just extremly noisy as already mentioned so maybe avoid 6129)

Our Suite

Then we went on a last tour around the ship to the basketball court the pool deck the movie under the stars one last look at the terminal in Piräus and the sunset

With all the activities and port intensive days we had not had a single martini - so we had to squeeze that in on the last night. I do not remember the name - it was a dessert martini something like black forest sth?

After our wonderful excursion in Athens we had to pack our suitcases (so dreadful!) and then headed for our last supper at luminae. Our Amuse Bouche (Almond Cheese on Marinara Sauce) Apps: Smoked Tomato Soup: Salmon No pic of the burrata - but it was not good this time. the cheese tasted a bit fermented (like acid) Entrée: Roasted Turbot filet mignon (perfection!) and my beloved cheese-cake and look at our view:

Our last stop was the former kings palest (now the president's house) where we witnessed the changing of the guards. It was kind of cute - but personally I do not think it would be worth a big detour to witness this.

One highlight was the drive up to the Lycabettus Hill The gif does not do the view justice...

Next we drove by the Parliament and made a quick stop at the Olympic stadium

Next stop - of course : Akropolis Word of caution: Though they say, the visit is accessible - I really wouldn't call it that. There is an escalator and they are really doing all they can to help you But with the myriads of people and school classes visiting and the slippery cobble stone and the heat (no shadow), and the steep incline of the pathways it is not a comfortable visit. But: The Akropolis is a must see of course.

We arrived in the port of Piräus in the middle of the night (2 o clock). The port is not the prettiest one - and we had to close the balcony door because of the fuel smells. After breakfast we met our fabulous guide Christos Alexandridis (I wholeheartedly recommend Christos - you can find him on Facebook - he will adjust any tour to your needs - 6 hours cost us 200 E / 4 pax) We started in the Piräus Marina And then went to see Zeus temple

Although the ship is buzzing at night (so many entertainment options) you can also always find the perfect spot if you just want to relax quietly.

We had a fantastic day. Unfortunately, it was ultimately overshadowed by our football club's bitter defeat in the semi-finals. But the positive thing was that we were able to watch the game undisturbed in the library and it was so lonely that no one bothered that we got "annoyed".

The show was fantastic.The whole ensemble participated.

We had big plans for the evening: The Show Ensemble was going to perform the Broadway Show. (I have a problem with the lighting every time they don't have the lights on (only outside light) due to the thermal insulation glass. So we went to dinner quite early and had: Pigs Foot Carpaccio (ok) Creamy Tuscan Kale Soup (wonderful, the soups have been consistently good) Yellow Beet Risotto (delicious) As Mains we had the Scallops to share (suggestion of our wonderful head waiter) Poached Cold Water Lobster Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb (very good) followed by baked alaska and my beloved cheese cake

I want to thank everyone for their kind words and reactions. I really appreciate every single one of them!

Some random photos showing the beauty of Nafplio

On the way back, we wandered through the narrow streets again. Nafplio is really lovely.

We particularly enjoyed the detour to the city beach. The water was 22°C (at least that's what a nice Greek guy told us who told us his life story on the beach). It's a shame that we didn't have any bathing suits with us, it would have been really great to swim here.

Nafplio The tender process in Nafplio started at 7 a.m. this morning. An escort was organized for retreat guests for that you had to report to Michael’s Club. It went absolutely smoothly. The tenders anchored directly opposite the old town of Nafplio. Taxi and HoHo tours were offered here: and you can also explore the city very easily on foot. We walked up to the fort (white arrow) we also wandered around the old town a bit. we saw the Venetian lion: