Spirit May 6-17 Mediterranean Cruise Review With Photos

[Chrocruiser]

Thanks for the advice. We hadn't planned to take a tour to Olympia as we've been to Ephesus, Athens, Pompeii, etc and have heard that you really need a good guide and strong imagination to get a lot out of Olympia. We had planned instead to take the tourist train to the beach / winery and have a more relaxed beachy/port/shopping day like we had in Mykonos on our last cruise on the Spirit..

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review!

 

In Katakolo, we suggest either to take the touristic train or take a taxi to Kourouta Beach. Then you can stroll around the harbour followed by a lunch at a restaurant called - Fillia - right on the harbour. The restaurant is held by local girls who cook only local products. We were there 2 years ago and we can highly recommend it ( high ratings on Tripadvisor).

[marbleski]

Here are a few photos to go with the Venice Arrival. Also a correction, after looking through my photos I noticed a ship in port upon arrival. There was a RCCL ship in port when we arrived. By the time we returned to the ship early in the evening it was gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the RCCL Ship docked in the background,

[marbleski]

Thanks for the advice. We hadn't planned to take a tour to Olympia as we've been to Ephesus, Athens, Pompeii, etc and have heard that you really need a good guide and strong imagination to get a lot out of Olympia. We had planned instead to take the tourist train to the beach / winery and have a more relaxed beachy/port/shopping day like we had in Mykonos on our last cruise on the Spirit.

 

I am the most puzzled by Koper to be honest. I just have no idea what to see / do there!! For Malta we might take the bus to Mdina or do a beach day. The blue lagoon looks awesome but might be horribly crowded.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review!

 

In Koper I put together a small group tour of six thought Istranka tours. We visited the capital Lubjania, toured Skocjan Caves and drove through Trieste Italy on the return to the Spirit. The caves were our trip highlight and should not be missed.

 

In Olympia I put together a group of 8 and we visited the Monastery, Agricultural Co-op and toured the Olympic Site and Museum. We used Travel Insiders. This was a close second trip highlight. Olympia was fascinating, we ensured we hired the best guide to show us around. Her name is Saskia and she is unbelievable. She is the best guide we have had in all our travels. She made the site come alive. If you are fan of sports and the Olympics this guided tour is a must. More details and pics to come on these tours.

 

Highly recommend both tour companies.

[marbleski]

Venice Day 1 - Murano

 

Once we had our vaporetto pass in hand we asked the ticket agent which bus to Murano. She pointed left and said stop F. Sure glad we asked as it was the furthest stop after A, B, C …. you get the picture. Not far, but it would have taken some time to stop at all the bus platforms and look over the routes and times. Once we found our bus stop it took a few minutes to figure out the routes, stops and timetable. Lucky, we figured it out in a hurry as our vaporetto arrived shortly thereafter.

 

One of my Venice highlights was riding the vaporetto’s. Endless photo opportunities. It was pure joy riding the canals watching the private boats, water taxis, ambulances, couriers, gondolas, supply boats, architecture, bridges, people and so on. The atmosphere of Venice portrayed in the movies was spot on. Although this was my second visit to Venice, I still had to pinch myself and say WOW I’m really riding the canals in Venice.

 

First, we stopped at Murano, the closest of the two islands. We got off at the Colonna stop and leisurely walked the canals, crossed bridges and browsed the endless number of glass blowing shops. After awhile all the shops looked the same.

 

We noticed signs pointing to a vaporetto stop. Once we found this stop we looked at the posted route map and figured out the fastest option to Burano. We went a stop or two and transferred to the bus for Burano. So far so good with our bus connections.

 

Some photos from Murano.

Up Next Burano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[littlelulu01]

In Katakolo, we suggest either to take the touristic train or take a taxi to Kourouta Beach. Then you can stroll around the harbour followed by a lunch at a restaurant called - Fillia - right on the harbour. The restaurant is held by local girls who cook only local products. We were there 2 years ago and we can highly recommend it ( high ratings on Tripadvisor).

We rented a car from Diaz Travel. Cost was minimal- I think around 25 euro for the day. They are located at the port as you exit. They gave us a map and instructions to just follow the tour busses. Easy drive to Olympia. Peaceful beautiful place with a nice museum. One can read up/watch some YouTube videos in advance to get the feel for the history. Definitely worth the easy drive. GPS on our phones worked fine for return. We stopped at San Andres beach right near the port and had a swim and some lunch prior to returning the car. Diaz Travel also sold tickets upon arrival for bus to Olympia but we wanted to hit the beach too so went with the car rental.

 

Op- thanks for your review. Throughly enjoying the details.

[marbleski]

We rented a car from Diaz Travel. Cost was minimal- I think around 25 euro for the day. They are located at the port as you exit. They gave us a map and instructions to just follow the tour busses. Easy drive to Olympia. Peaceful beautiful place with a nice museum. One can read up/watch some YouTube videos in advance to get the feel for the history. Definitely worth the easy drive. GPS on our phones worked fine for return. We stopped at San Andres beach right near the port and had a swim and some lunch prior to returning the car. Diaz Travel also sold tickets upon arrival for bus to Olympia but we wanted to hit the beach too so went with the car rental.

 

Op- thanks for your review. Throughly enjoying the details.

 

 

Renting a car is a great option. From my observations is should be fairly easy drive. A few hours on the beach would be a great idea in the summer heat.

[marbleski]

Venice Day 1 Burano

 

The bus to Burano took about 20 minutes. We stood up the entire way, leaning on the rail behind the captain and his mates. Having done very little research on Burano it was a pleasant surprise. It was stunning. Very colourful with well-kept homes and shops. We shopped, ate gelato and explored quaint residential side streets. For some reason I was expecting a small canal with a handful of colourful homes but there is canal upon canal of them.

 

Getting a wee bit tired we decided to make our way back to the Spirit. Our luck of perfect timed connections ran out.We arrived at the bus stop just missing the bus. Looking at the schedule we had a 20 minute wait. As the departure time neared people seemed to come from everywhere. Where did they all come from?

 

There was a staff person at the stop and we were among the first in line. We were sure we were in the right line when all of sudden the attendant said the bus to Venice was on the other side of the bus stop. By now there had to be a hundred or two people squeezed in. Most everyone turned around moving to the opposite side. In the meantime, we found out we were at the right stop after all and missed our bus.

 

Next bus was scheduled in 30 minutes, so we were told by the attendant. About 10 minutes later another bus came by and the attendant said take this bus to Venice. Not sure why it came early but we were happy to hop on and grab a couple of seats for the return. Being tired and ready to call it a day the return trip seemed to take forever. The excitement from riding the vaporetto's earlier in the day waned a wee bit. We had one transfer which went smoothly and back to people mover we went.

Tip – when you get off the bus in Burano take the time to look at the return times and plan you day accordingly. It was close to 8:00 pm when we arrived back at the ship. We had hoped to make a return into town to ride the vaporetto's at night. But the long day got the better of us and we ate on board and called it a night. Looks like a third trip to Venice is in our future.

 

Arriving in Burano

 

 

A nice place to rest the feet and enjoy a gelato in the late afernoon sun.

 

 

Lots of interesting windows and doors to photograph while the spouse enjoys shopping

 

 

Colourful curtains across every front door

 

 

Always one more bridge to cross to have peek at the other side

 

 

Everyone has a boat or two outside their home. Dinner time, everyone must be home

[jimswims]

This is great! I am taking notes and I love your pictures. I am looking forward to reading more as we will be on the Spirit on 7/29 for the 11 day cruise. This will be our 3rd time on the Spirit as it is one of our favorite ships.

[LTC]

Your pictures of Burano are amazing! Enjoying your review.

[marbleski]

This is great! I am taking notes and I love your pictures. I am looking forward to reading more as we will be on the Spirit on 7/29 for the 11 day cruise. This will be our 3rd time on the Spirit as it is one of our favorite ships.

 

 

Spirit third time ......... nice. Our favourite ship too. At this rate I hope to be finish my review of the remaining ports before you leave. lol. If you have any questions send them along.

[marbleski]

Venice Day 2

 

Our Australian friends joined us today. We took the people mover to Piazzale Roma and caught the vaporetto to St. Mark’s Square. We took the slow moving vaporetto, on purpose, as it stopped at every bus stop on the route. It was a little overcast and we caught a few rain drops along the way.

 

During our journey along the Grand Canal I listened to Rick Steve’s audio tour on my phone. It was interesting as he pointed out the sights along the route. We got off at S. Zaccaria, one stop past St. Mark’s Square. We walked toward St. Mark’s Squares stopping to view the Bridge of Sighs along the way.

 

We walked around the square then explored the maze of streets and canals of Venice. Late morning both couples split for some free time LOL. We agreed to meet again at 2:30 pm at the Rialto Bridge. Wanting one more ride along the Grand Canal we made our way back to St. Mark’s Square and took the vaporetto, getting off a few stops past the Rialto Bridge.

 

After getting lost a few times we made it on time to meet our ship mates at the bridge. The remainder of our time in Venice was spent wandering the streets in the direction of Piazzale Roma, where we caught the people mover back to the port.

 

Some pics from Venice. Up next our small group tour in Koper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marbleski]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tmackel]

Awesome pictures!

 

We did a Med cruise on Spirit in 2014 and really enjoy it. Your review make me want to go back soon. I'm taking notes! :D

[marbleski]

Awesome pictures!

 

We did a Med cruise on Spirit in 2014 and really enjoy it. Your review make me want to go back soon. I'm taking notes! :D

 

 

Thanks for the comments. Happy to be able to provide a tip or two to a fellow CC member.

 

Get your notebook ready and take some notes from our day in Koper. With the exception of Venice this 11 day cruise had completely different ports than the 12 day Grand Med cruise offered on the NCL Spirit a few years back ......... before they dropped both Istanbul and Ephesus from their ports of call.

[marbleski]

Koper

 

Since I had great success organizing private tours through our roll call on two previous European cruises, I gave it a go once more. Koper was one of three ports I identified as needing a local tour operator.

 

Istranka Shore Excursions and Tours was my tour operator of choice. I contacted them several months prior to our cruise and after a number of emails with Tour Director Ivan we put together a tour to suit our needs. With the itinerary and cost finalized I posted the details on our roll call. We got a couple of hits and our tour was confirmed.

 

TIP - join your roll call and jump right in. Either organize or join an organized tour. Don’t hesitate joining tours posted by your ship mates. The good tours will book fast. You’ll soon realize those organizing or joining private tours are just like you …. that’s why they are on CC too.

 

We paid for our tour in cash (Euros) at the Istranka kiosk on the pier. By 8:10 am or so our guide Goran had us in his 8-passenger van and on the highway to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It was about 19 degrees and sunny when we left port but shortly before arriving in Ljubljana it began to rain. Goran showed us the radar on his phone as we got hit with a burst of heavy rain. Timing sure sucked. Goran gave each couple an umbrella and off we went.

 

Goran was very knowledgeable and great to converse with. The heavy rain put a damper on our spirits. Ivan was quick to react and with our small group he moved us swiftly between inside sites. The rain stopped within the hour but it remained overcast for the remaining time we spent in the Capital City.

 

Four of us took the optional funicular (4 euros return) up to Ljubljana Castle. With limited time we did not tour inside the castle. Goran showed us around the castle courtyard, St. Georges Chapel and the prison cells inside the tiny penitentiary. We took the last 30 minutes of our time in Ljubljana as free time. We used it to wander about the bridges while the other couples did their own thing.

 

With Goran’s help we purchased a fresh made to order sandwich of meats and cheeses. With food in hand we departed Ljubljana at 11:50 am for the 45-minute drive to the caves. Our tour time was 1:00 pm. This was best option for us. Those travelling in peak season will have more departure times to choose from which might provide you the opportunity to either visit Lake Bled or take a side trip to see Predjama Castle.

 

Goran purchased our tickets, pointed out the washrooms and brought us to visit the small museum downstairs (included in ticket). The museum provided information on the early cave explorers. Take time for a short visit and break from the sun which was now making an appearance.

 

Since onsite guides were provided for the tour Goran waited for us in the van. The 1 pm tour was divided into three groups. We were in the first group which consisted about 30 people or so. There were stops along the way where our guide would gather us together and provide brief but interesting commentary.

 

The number on tour could swell in peak season. Have no fear as there is very little commentary and tour size should not matter much. Goran gave us the heads up when the tour was about to start so we would be among the first in line. At first, we were behind the guide but part way through we moved to the very end. This provided more time to take it all in and we would scurry along when needing to catch up to hear the commentary at each stopping point along the way.

 

This highly anticipated cave tour exceeded our expectations. It was our number one cruise highlight. All the Disney imagineers in the world could not dream up such a spectacular natural underground wonder. Truly amazing walking high among the narrow cliff side path with the roar from the gorge/river flowing deep below. This UNESCO heritage site ranks among the most important caves in the world. Note - photos inside are not allowed. You can take them at the end of the tour as you exit the cave. TIP: once you arrive at the cave entrance be sure to get in the first group. This will get you out quicker and provide more time at the other end where we took the short walk for the view of the river flowing underground into the gorge.

 

We departed the caves shortly after 3:00 pm and returned to the ship via the port city of Trieste Italy. We were dropped next to our ship around 4:15 pm.

 

I would highly recommend Ivan with Istranka tours. His correspondence was excellent. He delivered what he promised.

 

Koper Photos ....... up next Split

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marbleski]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marbleski]

Split

 

Another DIY day with our Australian friends. We walked to Diocletian's Palace and purchased tickets to climb the bell-tower at the Cathedral of St. Domnius. Make this your first stop to enjoy the 360 degree view up top. There are plenty of interesting things to see, so take your time and study the detail in everything below. The top of the tower also provides a great visual of the area you will explore throughout your day. The metal stairwell is open so there are no walls to hide the gain in elevation. I found it a little queasy, but I have a fear of heights. Keep a close eye on your young children when climbing the stairwell.

 

After the bell tower we explored the meandering medieval alleyways, purchased a few local goods, and picked up some sweets at the candy shop. We exited the old town at the back wall and strolled around the streets outside the wall. We took a refreshment break to sample the local beer and fresh juice. We used the break and free WiFi to check in with family back home. We did more walkabouts and at the end of the day we did the underground DIY tour of the sub structures of Diocletian's Palace. It was interesting but after a while one room looked like the other. It would have been much more interesting visiting with one of the local walking tours. We purposely kept this site for the end of the day as it was our last stop on the way back to the ship. The cool temperatures were also nice at mid afternoon,as were the sparse crowds.

 

You could easily do a ½ day activity elsewhere nearby and spend your last few hours at Diocletian's Palace before walking back to your ship.

 

Photos of Split. Up next Corfu, another DIY day.

 

View of Spirit from the Bell Tower. You can see the walking distance from the ship.

 

 

Another Bell Tower view

 

One more Bell Tower View

 

Stairway to the top. Steep and open.

 

View of the Tower at the Exit

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by marbleski

[marbleski]

Medieval alleyways

 

More alleyways with shops and restaurants

 

Exit/Entry at rear of Palace for those entering from the port/water side. This entrance was the front when it was built as the port side entrance was surrounded by water.

 

 

The cellars

 

Open area between the cellars

 

The waterfront

[dd likes to cruise]

We are doing an 11 night cruise on Spirit in October, so far the same ports you’ve reviewed. I am copying the info. So glad I found this thread. Love your pictures. More excited than I was before. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[satdan]

Thanks for the details! We are doing this cruise in Sept. Any chance you can post any of the dailies?

 

Dan

[GrandmaHofmann]

In Katakolo, we suggest either to take the touristic train or take a taxi to Kourouta Beach. Then you can stroll around the harbour followed by a lunch at a restaurant called - Fillia - right on the harbour. The restaurant is held by local girls who cook only local products. We were there 2 years ago and we can highly recommend it ( high ratings on Tripadvisor).

We hired a guide and car with George's Taxis. We were the first at Olympia and did the entire area, departing just as cruise people were beginning to arrive. We also had some time in the small city close by to shop and saw the Floka and drove around the whole area. Our guide stopped and asked some locals if we could help with the olive collection, which we had fun doing. We drove up to hotels belonging to his friends for the best views around. It was a very economical tour and we were back at the ship about 1, I think. Had time to eat and explore the port.

[pkbpickering]

We are doing this same cruise end of September so reading your wonderfully detailed review is a major help.

Can't wait to read the rest!!

 

Peggy

[marbleski]

We are doing an 11 night cruise on Spirit in October, so far the same ports you’ve reviewed. I am copying the info. So glad I found this thread. Love your pictures. More excited than I was before. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

Thanks for following. Glad to be of help.

 

These ports are fantanstic and the Spirit is such a great ship. If you have any questions send them along.

[marbleski]

Thanks for the details! We are doing this cruise in Sept. Any chance you can post any of the dailies?

 

Dan

 

 

Dan,

 

I did not keep any. Next time I will take pictures of the dailies for those who are interested.

 

Enjoy your cruise. The water will warm by September .......enjoy a few hours at some of the beaches.

[Call_Me_Al]

From earlier in your review, this picture of Dubrovnik - we ate at the restaurant that is marked with the arrow. It was right on the way towards the fortress. Restaurant Orhan, a family owned and operated place.

 

 

 

The food was great, service was very nice as well, view was AMAZING. My wife raved about how amazing the sauce was in the mussels she ordered. We spoke to the waiter about his acting role in Game of Thrones.

 

I'm really enjoying your review and pictures. Its really bringing great memories back and I wish to be on the Spirit again!

Edited June 18, 2018 by Call_Me_Al
For some reason it is blocking the picture whenever I hit save. no idea why.