Our Amazing European Adventure! Navigator of the Seas & Norwegian Epic Review w/pics

[C2CMH]

Thanks for the quick response. Did you say what category or cabin numbers you had in your review? Thanks

[ShellDil]

Thanks for the quick response. Did you say what category or cabin numbers you had in your review? Thanks

 

We were in cabins 8608, 8606 and 8604 category E1

[ShellDil]

After our Mt Etna experience, we piled back into the van and began our decent to Taormina. We were all hungry and we were all a bit sleepy! Antonio mentioned that this sleepy phenomenon happens all of the time and that it’s from being at the higher elevation with less oxygen. Sure, I’ll go with that! We enjoy our views as we ride along and in about an hour we arrive at the first of one the most charming little towns we’d have the pleasure of visiting this trip! Taormina. Antonio dropped us off at the top of what seemed to be the main street and told us when we should meet him again, in order to be sure to be back at the ship in plenty of time. He also gave us a perfect restaurant recommendation for lunch. Tucked away just a bit from the main road to not draw only tourists, but close enough to satisfy our growling stomachs!

 

 

Amongst our group we had pizzas, pasta dishes, bruschetta, calzone, mozzarella, and of course wine. Everything was fantastic! Megan and I shared the bruschetta and a pizza Diavola which was spicy salami (this is our pepperoni), onions and hot pepper flakes. Yum! Grand pop had a pizza with gorgonzola, ham and walnuts! There were many different varieties to choose from.

 

After lunch we walked the medieval streets of Taormina. It was charming as could be. This would be the first port where we visited and I would say “I LOVE this place” with absolute enthusiasm, but it certainly was not the last!

 

It may have been over run with tourists and the standard tourist shops selling postcards and magnets, but going beyond that, the buildings and flowers and the charming art shops and gelaterias were enough to make you stop and take it all in and just soak in the charm of this ancient town! There were stairs leading up, steps leading down, all covered in the most beautiful flowers. Every terrace had its own flowers as well. We even saw a wedding party at one of the churches.

 

The view of the sea from one of the main piazzas was so beautiful. The perfect place to stop and enjoy a gelato! This time I had orange and Nutella! I also got my magnet – I collect magnets from all of the towns or cities where I visit in the world and hang them on my “magnet” board in my office. It’s going to fill up nicely after this trip!

 

 

We had enough time to stroll the street, but wished we had a bit more time. We didn’t have time to get to the Greek amphitheater. I guess we’ll have to put Sicily on our list for a definite must return to place! For sure we loved it here and for sure there is so much more we’d love to see.

 

The beauty of a cruise – sometimes you get to a port and experience the island or town and feel as if you have seen what you came to see and coming back would be ok, but there’s not a great need to do so. Other times, you go to a place and fall in love with the country or city – the people, the landscape or just something clicks and you just know you will be back. Well, I felt this way here! We’ll be back to Sicily at some point!

[ShellDil]

We returned to the ship right on time and got ready for dinner in the MDR. As I mentioned, we had MTD, but we did usually make reservations for approximately the same time each night. We loved this option. We could eat about the same time, but not one of the two preset times. We ended up at the same table each night and our waiter and assistant got to know us well, very well! Other than the one or two nights when either Keith and I or my parents went to specialty restaurants we all ate together as a party of 6.

 

So, tonight would be the first night in the MDR since night one, last night, we ate at Chops. We never found the food bad, and we never found it to be great. It was good. To be honest, I think for me, my opinion may have been a bit biased because we were having such great food and such large meals when we were in port! To have had the lunch we had in Sicily, which was so good, and so fresh - and then come onto the ship and have dinner just a few hours later, it would have had to be phenomenal to blow me away. I had the Roasted Garlic Soup and the Tiger Shrimp with Rice. It was good, it was a light feeling meal and had the shrimp been served so I didn't have to take them out of their shells, it would have been much better! It just made for a messy way to eat. My mom had the same entree and didn't enjoy it.

 

Alex participated in the teen club and enjoyed it - a lot. This is unusual for him. He usually isn't such a social kid and would rather hang out with us or just go back to the cabin, but I think he really liked having his own place to go to get some time away from all of the togetherness. At his age that is important. He made friends and enjoyed the activities his age group offered. He's 13.

 

Megan went one night, I think maybe this first night, and didn't enjoy it at all. She is 11 and felt like her group was mixed with too many younger kids. She said the activities were boring and felt compared to what her brother was doing her group didn't do anything fun. She never went back.

 

My parents went to the Celine Dion Show and enjoyed it a lot.

 

When Alex came back from the teen club, it was about 11:55 and he ordered his first of many room service pizzas. Oh boy - that kid can eat!

 

Off to bed! Tonight we set our clocks ahead one hour as we head to Athens! And tomorrow is a Sea Day!

[mrsfecura]

 

 

So, I'm obsessed with footwear for my October Med cruise because I know we are going to be walking, walking, walking. AND I'm notorious for always bringing the wrong shoes (ie: All flip flops on a week long trip to San Francisco...ugh really? Did I even THINK about all those hills and hopping on/off cable cars?!). So I see Mimi is in what I think is those Sketchers Go Walks? Thinking about picking up a pair of those b/c they seem comfy and super light. Any idea if she liked them during the cruise?

[cruisebabe50]

So, I'm obsessed with footwear for my October Med cruise because I know we are going to be walking, walking, walking. AND I'm notorious for always bringing the wrong shoes (ie: All flip flops on a week long trip to San Francisco...ugh really? Did I even THINK about all those hills and hopping on/off cable cars?!). So I see Mimi is in what I think is those Sketchers Go Walks? Thinking about picking up a pair of those b/c they seem comfy and super light. Any idea if she liked them during the cruise?

 

Hate to butt in but about the Sketchers Go Walks.... I love them. They are super light and work great for doing lots of walking!

Okay back to your regular scheduled show.....

[ShellDil]

Hate to butt in but about the Sketchers Go Walks.... I love them. They are super light and work great for doing lots of walking!

Okay back to your regular scheduled show.....

 

Yup, loved the Sketchers Go Walks! They were an absolute must! My mom, my daughter and I all wore them nearly every day. Some days I would have loved to wear a nice pair of sandals with whatever dress I was wearing, but those Go Walks saved our feet! They were a great discovery for this type of touring! I was wearing a fit bit (pedometer) and most days we walked on average 7 or 8 miles! No to mention the steps we climbed! Also in most places you will be walking on either cobblestone or climbing on uneven surfaces, like at the Acropolis!

[mrsfecura]

Hate to butt in but about the Sketchers Go Walks.... I love them. They are super light and work great for doing lots of walking!

Okay back to your regular scheduled show.....

 

Yup, loved the Sketchers Go Walks! They were an absolute must! My mom, my daughter and I all wore them nearly every day. Some days I would have loved to wear a nice pair of sandals with whatever dress I was wearing, but those Go Walks saved our feet! They were a great discovery for this type of touring! I was wearing a fit bit (pedometer) and most days we walked on average 7 or 8 miles! No to mention the steps we climbed! Also in most places you will be walking on either cobblestone or climbing on uneven surfaces, like at the Acropolis!

 

Ooh yay! Thank you both! I'm definately going to pick up a pair!

[gbntmom]

What a great review & beautiful pictures! Thanks so much for sharing with us. I, too, am a obsessive planner, so I'm enjoying the details (and time) you put into this. My Dad & I will be sailing this fall and then I am taking my daughter next summer after she graduates high school. Looking forward to the rest of the story....

Janet

[ShellDil]

Tuesday, June 11th, Sea Day

Well, I really had hoped to post more this weekend, since it's a holiday here - I thought I'd have more time! Turns out I'm busier than I thought! Sorry about that! I'll do my best to do better!

 

We set our clocks ahead an hour last night since we are sailing towards Athens. I slept like a log! We planned to meet my parents at 9:00 for breakfast in the MDR, but I didn’t even wake up until 9:00! No problem there, today’s our first Sea Day! Once everyone was up, the kids, my parents, and I all went to a nice and relaxing breakfast. Keith went to find some chairs and to get some sun. Today was his kind of vacation! Lying in the sun, nothing to do – that is the type of vacation he lives for!

 

So, breakfast in the MDR was so much nicer than in the Windjammer! So calm! A nice selection on the menu, as well as a little buffet of their own! We were seated with two other couples. We very much enjoyed breakfast here and would come back on mornings that we didn’t have early port times.

 

We also checked out the Peek a Boo Bridge area:

 

And then it was time for our cruise critic meet and mingle. It was held in the Dungeon. I’ve only been to one other Meet and Mingle, on another cruise line and this one was far better! We had what I felt to be a great turn out! Even had to find extra chairs so everyone had a seat! It was so great to finally meet people who we’d been chatting with for so long! Some of us had met after sail away, but there were a lot of new faces to go with our screen names! RCI did several raffles and gave away little gifts which was very nice. I was glad to have attended. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures!

 

Then the kids and I went up to the Helipad:

 

It was a bit windy up there!

 

Next up we found Keith, found some chairs and I started my day of relaxation! Reading in the sun. Lovely!

 

 

The weather was fantastic, just a bit of a breeze. Alex went off for the teen photo scavenger hunt and after a bit Megan went to her age group’s activity. This was the first time ever I think I’ve had both kids in their respective clubs at the same time. I just napped in the sun. Heaven!

 

Tonight was formal night, so at about 5:00 we went back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. The kids were back, and Alex wanted a pre-dinner snack. He decided that since he didn’t usually find anything on the menu he liked for an appetizer, why not! Teen boys, the never ending pit of a stomach! So- while we got ready, he got room service. Pizza for him, and we got the cheese platter and opened our other bottle of wine we brought on board. We really liked the RCI room service selections. We thoroughly enjoyed sitting on our balcony with our wine and cheese just watching the sea go by.

 

 

[ShellDil]

Dinner was good. Our servers have realized that Alex likes his steak. A lot. And he doesn’t like any of the sides. They now automatically just bring him two steaks, no sides. Do you want to see a happy face on my son? Bring him two pieces of steak! Without him asking!

 

 

 

After dinner, Alex left us for the teen club – I think he wandered back to their cabin sometime by 1:00. The teen curfew is 1:00. This is tough on a parent. You want to be sure your kid is back, but are exhausted and want to sleep! You want them to have a great time, but again, want to sleep! He’s in the adjoining cabin….I told him to make sure he comes in to let me know he’s back when he gets in. That seemed to work for us. Again, we left our balcony’s open, but not the connecting inside doors. When he’d get in, we’d lock our doors out to the balcony.

 

My parents, Megan and I went to the show that night. It was the Broadway, Then and Now. I thought it was just ok. I didn’t recognize most of the songs. The performance was good, but I had no idea what shows the songs were from. My daughter is heavily into Broadway. She performs with a local theater group and she enjoyed the show.

 

 

Off to bed – tomorrow is Athens!

[cw2go]

It's tomorrow already...hurry!!! :p

 

Awesome review!

[ShellDil]

It's tomorrow already...hurry!!! :p

 

Awesome review!

 

As soon as I get the Athens pictures uploaded we'll be good to go! :D

[ShellDil]

Wednesday, June 12th, Athens

Today was a very early morning! I was up before 5 am! Again, I think it’s the anticipation of the upcoming day, but we also had to meet our guide at 7:30 am to see Athens! I do like a little quiet time before getting our little group of four going in the morning. Sometimes it’s quite a challenge to get Megan out of bed. She’s never been what I’d call a morning person!

 

This morning we thought we’d give room service a try. I liked that you could order a hot breakfast and this worked out well for us. Although there’s not a lot of room for trays or plates, we managed to juggle everything and quite enjoyed eating on our balcony as we waited to go to our meeting spot.

 

 

Today we’d be joining Catherine and Ger again, as well as another family from England who we’d also met on Cruise Critic. Jan, Shane, their son Andrew and their grandson, Harry – from England. Again we arranged to meet at the Champagne Bar about 15 minutes to our scheduled tour so we could walk off the ship together to find our guide all as one group. We did so and easily found our guide Georgia and our driver, Paul, from PK Travel, (Athens by Taxi). The port was a crazy mess out there, but they very quickly whisked us into a nice large van and off we went! As we drove through Plantaris Georgia started to tell us about what we were seeing and the history of the area. We paid a bit extra for a guide for the day, in addition to just a driver and it was very well worth it!

 

We drove past one of the stadiums used in the most recent Olympics.

 

Our first stop was the Acropolis. Yes, we had heard that private tours often arrive before the crowds, and it seemed to be true! When we arrived the parking lot was almost empty! We waited while Georgia went to get our tickets for us.

 

And then a group of Greek Army men marched by - what was going on? Well, turns out they were just raising the flag for the day. Georgia said it gives the Army something to do.

 

Georgia gave us an overview of what we’d be seeing and first we stopped at the Acropolis Theater. This was a little bit of a surprise at first for me. I almost had forgotten that this ancient theater was still in use for current performances!

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

Then we made our way up to the Temple of Athena Nike. Every step was even more impressive.

 

 

 

We walked through the Propylaea and saw the Parthenon!

 

 

 

Georgia gave us so much information and made the whole Acropolis come alive for us. Telling us stories of what it would have been like back in its heyday! I can not imagine being there without a guide. We had a good amount of time with her where she explained what each of the major temples were and told us more and more about each one. And then she gave us about 25 minutes to explore on her own.

 

[ShellDil]

I think the sheer size alone is striking! The fact that so much still stands today is also amazing. The restoration is going on right in front of you and that’s quite interesting.

 

 

Much of what you see on the temples are replicas – some of the original pieces are in the New Acropolis Museum, which we would visit later this day, other pieces are in the Elgin Museum in England! For example, all of these godesses are replicas. But that doesn't take away from the beauty of what you see here at all.

 

 

The views from the Acropolis are stunning.

 

Below we could see the Temple of Zeus. This would be our next stop.

 

[Irish Cath]

Hi Shelley,

 

I have been away and have neglected my own review - and although I havn't had a chance to read yours yet your pictures look so amazing I think I may just forget about mine !!

This is bringing back such brilliant memories for me, so thank you.

 

Catherine

[ShellDil]

Hi Shelley,

 

I have been away and have neglected my own review - and although I havn't had a chance to read yours yet your pictures look so amazing I think I may just forget about mine !!

This is bringing back such brilliant memories for me, so thank you.

 

Catherine

 

Thanks Catherine! It's been a lot of fun to write. Definitely like reliving our trip again! Your Sicily portion helped me out with remembering my entry though - I didn't have quite the details I thought I did ;)

 

You should finish your review. I'd love to hear about your trip from your perspective!

 

It does take a lot of time, mostly to get through all of the pictures - but in the end, hopefully it will be worth it.

 

Welcome back from wherever you were - hopefully someplace fun! :D

[ShellDil]

 

Much of what you see on the temples are replicas – some of the original pieces are in the New Acropolis Museum, which we would visit later this day, other pieces are in the Elgin Museum in England! For example, all of these godesses are replicas. But that doesn't take away from the beauty of what you see here at all.

 

Let me make a correction here - the original pieces are in the British Museum, taken by Lord Elgin, called Elgin Marbles. Too many details to keep straight! Got the names but not the specifics there at first! Whew - didn't want to mislead! ;)

[ShellDil]

After leaving the Acropolis, we visited the Temple of Zeus. Funny thing was when we were up at the Acropolis Georgia kept referring to this huge structure we could see and it kept sounding like she was saying the Temple of Juice. I knew that wasn’t right of course. It never occurred to me that she meant Zeus until I had this blank look on my face and my son caught it and looked at me and says “ZEUS mom, Zeus…not Juice!” He’s pretty into mythology and was following right along with everything, even though the look on his face in most of the pictures is pretty grim. It was if he was playing a game as to how grumpy he could look in a picture. Just wait until you see some of his expressions in Ephesus! Agh! But even though I was taking him away from his friends and computer for about a third of the summer, I’m pretty sure he was nearly as fascinated with all of the ancient history as I was! Anyway…after he read my mind and clarified that there is no god of Juice…we moved along to the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

 

 

In its day, back in 131 AD it was one of the largest in the ancient world and the fact that it stood in an open space made it even more impressive. There were a total of 104 columns, of which only 16 are preserved today.

 

One fell in 1852 during a storm and still lies on the ground. Can you imagine the sound it must have made?

 

 

From here you can also see Hadrian’s Arch, on one side was notated the City of Athens, the other side, the City of Hadrian.

[DreaAST]

This is a great review! The pictures are awesome!!

[ShellDil]

After leaving the Temple of Zeus, we drove to the Panatheniac Stadium – this is the original stadium built for the first modern Olympic games. It was built in 1863 for the games in 1896. We had a quick picture stop here.

 

Next we wanted to be sure to catch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We arrived with a few minutes to spare, so Georgia suggested we check out the artifacts in the metro station at Stygmata Square. Sure – why not! What a gorgeous Metro Station! And yes, it was filled with artifacts on display. We spent about 10 minutes walking through, it was like a mini museum!

 

We came up, and got to the Parliament building just in time to see the Changing of the Guard ritual. Quite unusual. They do this either every 30 minutes or every hour – I can’t remember which.

 

It’s a very serious position. They can’t smile, or flinch or talk.

 

Georgia told us stories of when there were the riots in Stygmata Square a few years ago and one soldier was photographed with tears on his face from the tear gas being shot into the crowd – but he couldn’t leave his post or move until he was released from his duty by his superior. And even more amazing, another soldier who’s kilt was caught on fire by a pipe bomb who refused to leave his post until he was given the ok by his superior. He stood stoic at his post unflinching until given the ok to move, fire and all.

 

 

Luckily when we were there it was a calm day, all we saw were the thousands of pigeons and the people who seemed to think it was fun to buy pigeon food to have the birds sit all over them! Odd….

 

there was one lone protester on the corner across the street.

[ShellDil]

This is a great review! The pictures are awesome!!

 

Thanks so much! I'm really enjoying going through all of the pictures and sharing them. Makes being home a little easier! :)

[ShellDil]

Continuing on with our day in Athens! Next we drove to the Hill of Lycabettous and had a beautiful view. This is the highest point in Athens and is in mythology credited to being created by Athena.

 

 

On the way to the Plaka, which is the oldest section in Athens, we passed this super cool statue! It’s the Running Man!

 

What’s in the Plaka? Food! And many shops. It’s mainly closed to traffic. Here we left Georgia for maybe an hour or more? We were given time to eat and shop for a bit and then we’d meet here later. She gave us some suggestions on what to have for lunch and then we were on our own. Each of our own families split up and went our separate ways for this time.

 

I would imagine pretty much all of the restaurants in this area served basically the same things. Gyros! Of course other Greek specialties as well. We chose to sit down and eat as opposed to counter service. We all ordered gyros – they were served flat on the pita style bread instead of wrapped, which made them a bit challenging to eat. But we managed! Other than G-pop, we all enjoyed them. I’m not sure what he expected, but we soon started a running joke that he was looking for maybe a ham and cheese sandwich in Athens? Or wherever we were! The rest of us loved the authenticity of the food. The seasoning was phenomenal as well as the freshness!

 

The meats were hanging in the restaurants and you would see them shave the meat for each serving.

 

Our server noticed that G-pop didn’t really enjoy his meal and brought him something else. They didn’t speak much English at all, so trying to explain that he didn’t really want anything else didn’t go over well. I can’t remember what they brought my dad, but it was another full plate of something that he really only picked at. Turns out he really isn’t a fan of Authentic Greek Food! They also brought us a huge plate of lamb k-bobs, which we were told was “on the house” which was nice, but none of us are big lamb eaters.

 

So, when it came time to pay, as best as we could tell, he wasn’t charged for the second meal and we weren’t charged for the lamb either. Then this older Greek man who spoke NO English came over and starts talking fast and waving his hands and has a 2nd bill. What we eventually figured out was that since my didn’t didn’t like his food, which he never complained about, just didn’t eat - now mind you, there was a TON of food, so none of us cleaned our plates, but anyway – the man brought us a second bill that was LESS – he deducted my dad’s meal because they couldn’t make him happy! This was totally unnecessary and unexpected! Definitely was a pleasant experience!

 

After lunch we had some time to shop, I got my magnet, the boys, their postcards and Megan got a nice leather backpack that she would later see in Italy for several Euros MORE! It was a good experience all around in the Plaka!

 

 

[ShellDil]

After our lunch and shopping, we walked to the ancient Agora.

 

First we went to the museum which is in the best preserved building in Athens, the Stoa of Attalos, dating back to 2 BC! The museum has many of the artifacts that have been found at the site.

 

 

 

Here the open square was transversed by the Panathenaic Way, a covered walkway, surrounded by public buildings. The Agora was a center for social and religious activities, commerce, theater and athletic performances were held here as well.

 

We walked to the Temple of Hephaistos, which is also very well preserved, I believe it was at one time a church, which helps to keep the ruins preserved.

 

 

And then we left the Agora...can you believe our day in port still wasn't done? Nope, we still had one more stop to go! Our next stop was the New Acropolis Museum.