Just back! Our VIKING SKY-mazing 7 day Ancient Mediterranean Treasures - 6/25 to 7/2/2022. Full trip report with tons of pix!

[Sleep7]

Athens (actually all of Greece) is sandal heaven!!

 

 

The shuttle to and from the ship picked up and dropped off across the street from Hadrian's arch just off the Plaka area. It's an easy landmark to find.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Still day one!! It's been a doozy!

As a festive touch on embarkation day, there was a smiling waiter to welcome you with a glass of sparkling wine no matter how many times you got on or off the ship.

I hope they weren't keeping track of how many I enjoyed..😁

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

6:00pm Athens port talk with truly delightful cruise director Jenna Beaudoin.

 

[Sleep7]

And then last but not least dinner at Manfredi's.

It has now become our Viking "tradition" to try and have dinner there the first and the last night of the cruise. We were lucky.. no reservations available for that night but they managed to fit us in.😊

 

 

 

 

And just like that.. day one of our Ancient Mediterranean Treasures cruise had come to a close and it was MARVELOUS.😴

[Sleep7]

SUNDAY - ATHENS, GREECE

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

An hourly shuttle was run from the ship to Plaka again.😊

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Good morning again Athens!

Peeled ourselves out of bed for a tasty breakfast in the World Cafe.

 

 

Also saw that the World Cafe was having a special seafood buffet tonight.. table for two please!🤗

 

 

[Sleep7]

We chose the optional "Acropolis and Plaka by Foot Tour."

Masks were required by Greece on the buses.  Happy to oblige.

 

 

 

On the way into town we learned a few key Greek phrases from our lovely guide.

Please excuse the phonetic spelling.

Ef Harris Toe - Thank you.

Ne - Yes

Ochi - No

Ya, Yassa or Yassas - Hello or Goodbye

Kalimera - Good morning

[Sleep7]

OK.. here is the good, the bad and the ugly about visiting the Acropolis at the very end of June.  Contrary to what my family thinks I'm not usually a whiner. 

We have been to the Acropolis twice before both times in the fall. And now I know why Autumn is a much better time to visit this astounding archaeological site. 

In the summer (this was the end of June)  it was BOILING HOT and there is literally NO SHADE at all.  We came, we saw and we ran.  Took a few snaps for posterity and then had to flee.  Even armed with a hat and umbrella for shade it was just too much for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Back on the air conditioned bus we also visited the Panathenaic Stadium and then were dropped off at the same place that the shuttle buses picked up from.

We thought we would walk around Plaka and then take a later shuttle back to the ship but it was just too darn hot.. maybe my family is right.. maybe I am a whiner..😳

 

 

Another shot of the grandeur from the bus.

 

 

 

We did enjoy a "Freddo Cappuccino" as recommended by our middle daughter as well as admiring the spice selection and then it was back on the bus to return to the ship asap.  I no longer use the phrase "Hotter than Hades."  It has now forever changed to "Hotter than Athens at noon at the end of June."

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Another interesting lecture on the Ancient Greeks.

 

 

Also.. FYI.. you need an E-Visa for Turkey on this cruise.

I didn't realize that until one of the helpful posters on my roll call mentioned it.

Very easy.. bought it online a few weeks before the cruise.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Capped off the day with the "seafood extravaganza" at the World Cafe.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

More treats from the sea and from the dessert station.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Also spotted another ship sailing alongside The Sky as well as an incredibly glorious sunset.

 

 

[Sleep7]

MONDAY - HERAKLION, GREECE

 

[Sleep7]

Good morning Crete!

The sunrise that greeted us was almost the mirror image of the sunset from last night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

A perfect Eggs Benedict in the World Cafe for breakfast.

 

 

[Sleep7]

I know what we are doing for dinner!

 

 

 

Left a little note for our fantastic cabin attendants..

 

 

 In the morning I dropped one of Sam's pills and we couldn't find it.  After our room was made up.. what was sitting on the night table?? The teeny weeny pill that we couldn't find!!

Happily I saw the Staff Captain at lunch told him it's the little things that separates good from great. The two of them finding the pill and being so thoughtful as to leave it out for us was GREAT!

 

 

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, Sleep7 said:

1:45 and the cabins were ready!!

Cabin 4111.. a slight downgrade from our first Viking cruise cabin last fall. 

On that sailing we had received an email from Viking a few days before we left asking us if we would like to upgrade to a Penthouse Veranda cabin from our Deluxe Veranda cabin for only $199 a person, which we jumped on right away.  I loved the extra space and was slightly disappointed we weren't offered the same upgrade this cruise. 

HOWEVER.. the disappointment almost immediately disappeared once we got in the cabin. After putting away all of our stuff, it was yes maybe a drop smaller, but just as functional and lovely as the PH Veranda from last fall. So this cabin story does have a very happy ending.

Even happier was that our suitcases were waiting for us inside!

 

Ha, we had 4111 summer of 2021 for an Iceland cruisecon the Sky.  I understand since then it was upgraded with 3 drawers inside the closet.  Did not like the long walk to the elevators especially when we were forgetting something and having to walk back.  Love the Sky though.

[Sleep7]

A shout out to this marvelous item.  If your jewelry gets dull on vacation keep this in your travel bag.. it really works!!  Unsolicited opinion.. I just hate dirty diamonds.

 

 

Another shout out to the hair dryer that is in the cabin. It was so fantastic on our last cruise I actually didn't bring my own.  Again I inquired at Guest Services about purchasing one and again they said they weren't available for sale. I wish I had the nerve to accidentally have it fall into my suitcase but my mother raised me right... there will be no pilfering hairdryers on vacation!

P.S This hairdryer story has a happy ending..

 

 

[Sleep7]

Enough about missing pills, jewelry cleaners and hairdryers..

Back to Heraklion.. 

We booked the included "Heraklion and Archeological Museum" tour.

There was also a shuttle from the pier to the center of town. 

Here is the schedule.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

We had a lovely guide who took us through the Heraklion Museum and did an amazing job of explaining just about every artifact on display.

 

 

 

 

 

As a jewelry lover it fascinated me to see that people have not changed over the last five thousand years. They still love to adorn themselves and groom themselves as evident from all of this jewelry and even hand forged tweezers from Minoan Society during the Bronze Age.

 

[photopro2]

Thanks so much for these wonderful posts. We will be travelling through the same ports in a couple of months. As well as being informative your enthusiasm is infectious and the photos are also building our excitement! The images of the daily are particularly helpful for planning. We look forward to following the rest of the series.

[Sleep7]

Then some free time to walk around the town..

 

 

 

Back to the ship for a little bit of lunch and a little bit of wine!😁

 

 

 

Then back into town for some more browsing..

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Bought a teeny and absolutely adorable pair of sandals for our neighbor's daughter.  They are watering our plants while we are away.