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]

And the Underground Basilica Cistern that was featured in the James Bond film "From Russia With Love."

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

And a whole bunch of Fezzes (looked the plural up) just because it's a pretty picture!

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

🙋‍♀️OK.. back to 2022 and back to the ship!!

 

This sad sight... means your luggage is going to be packed back up soon..😭

 

 

One last lunch at the World Cafe..

 

 

[Sleep7]

Then we walked around the Asian side (right off the ship) and kind of went on a hot and sunny wild goose chase..

If you are looking for designer goods to buy in Istanbul, the area where are all the fancy shops are is called Nisantasi.  It was about a 45 minute to an hour walk from the ship and we were sweating bullets by the time we got there.  Left empty handed though.. didn't have what I was looking for.🤷‍♀️

We did go into the Swisshotel and it had a glorious view from the lobby.

 

 

No bracelet but did find some interesting varieties of potato chips! 🙃

 

 

[Sleep7]

We came full circle and ate our last dinner on the ship as we did on the first.. at Manfredi's and it was delicious.

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Very full from dinner we strolled the deck for a while..

Two sides of the ship.. two sides of Istanbul.

One modern.. one ancient.. the old and the new all together in one beautiful city.

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

SATURDAY - ISTANBUL - NEW YORK

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's my girl Liesl on the bottom left!😍

[Sleep7]

A great Latin expression to describe my detailed journey home is "Creatio ex nihilo" which means creation out of nothing..  Nothing remarkable happened.. just like to document everything.😃

Some might say this entire trip report is just that! lol!!😉

 

So I packed our bags and we waited in the cabin until 11:45pm.  At first I thought we would roll our own suitcases off the ship down to the bus but after seeing how far it was and how many escalators there were I put my bags outside our door at 9:30pm and they were taken soon after.  It was clear from the Viking Daily that the Viking knew our bags needed to be in the terminal and ready to go before midnight.. and of course they were there waiting for us.  👌

 

We assembled in the Atrium at midnight.. there were about 15 of us?

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

It was very quiet..

 

[Sleep7]

About a 30 plus minute ride to IST and for being  one in the morning the airport was pretty busy.

I guess passengers at major airports are like patients in hospitals.. it's a 24 hour a day operation.

Istanbul's airport is like their cruise terminal.. brand new and cavernously beautiful.

 

 

 

 

There is a Skyteam Lounge upstairs and a lot of shops all open and doing business at 2am.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Our flight to Paris boarded a little late but arrived pretty much on time.  I slept for most of it.

 

 

 

Woke up for a few moments over the Alps.. so beautiful!

 

 

[Sleep7]

Our connection in Paris was an hour and twenty minutes (about an hour since we landed a little late) and we REALLY hustled to get to our second flight.  We arrived from Istanbul in Terminal 2E but our Air France flight to the USA left from the M terminal which you had to take a tram to and go through security again.  The flight was half boarded when we got there.  As observed earlier about LHR by Blue willow.. when you book your tickets do leave yourself plenty of time to connect to your next flight.  I would say at least 2 hours at minimum.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Aaah.. now about our flight..

I wish I could say we are "business class" folk but most of the time we are not so this was a special treat.

When we bought our airfare for the cruise round trip coach tickets were just $250 or so less than coach going and business class coming home so we grabbed it.  I guess coach was pretty full at that time and business class was looking for passengers?🤷‍♀️  I was happy to oblige.

 

 

Also we chuckle that when we do fly Business Class we take pictures to remember the occasion like we are the Beverly Hillbillies!

Edited July 4, 2022 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

 

 

[BoredWok]

Great post of your trip! We are going on the Viking Sky on the Mediterranean Antiquities cruise in December and have been trying to get information from travellers on the port tours which has proved to be difficult. Your postings cover some of our ports and has proven invaluable. Can't thank you enough. We travel from Athens to Ephesus/Crete/Rhodes/Florence/Naples/Monaco/Marseilles/Barcelona.

[Sleep7]

 

 

Grace Kelly in "High Society" over breakfast.

I love that in the movie she wears her actual engagement ring from Prince Rainier.. it's a 10 carat emerald cut.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Didn't watch it but what an appropriate movie choice!

 

[Sleep7]

Almost there..

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

I have never seen this feature before.. maybe because we usually are on Delta planes when we fly transatlantic but what a cool view when we are getting ready to land at JFK.

 

 

 

 

 

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, Sleep7 said:

🙋‍♀️OK.. back to 2022 and back to the ship!!

 

This sad sight... means your luggage is going to be packed back up soon..😭

 

 

One last lunch at the World Cafe..

 

 

I see the closet was outfitted with drawers since we sailed the Sky in July 2021.  Its true and good news!

[TayanaLorna]

Great trip report!  Thank you so much.

[Sleep7]

Well our plane has landed.. our cruise is over and I'm ready this very moment to book our next one.

It was a perfect week filled with all delightful things.. smooth seas.. beautiful places.. lovely accommodations.. fascinating tours... outstanding food and drink.. fantastic service and of course the BEST company! 

Thank you for coming along with me and for sharing the smiles.

Upon saying goodbye to the passengers our cruise director quoted an old Navy saying wishing everyone “Fair Winds and Following Seas”  and that's just what the past week has been.💗

 

 

[cruisinchrissy]

Brilliant cruise review. Thank you. 

[Sleep7]

23 minutes ago, BoredWok said:

Great post of your trip! We are going on the Viking Sky on the Mediterranean Antiquities cruise in December and have been trying to get information from travellers on the port tours which has proved to be difficult. Your postings cover some of our ports and has proven invaluable. Can't thank you enough. We travel from Athens to Ephesus/Crete/Rhodes/Florence/Naples/Monaco/Marseilles/Barcelona.

👋Hello BoredWok and thank so much for your sweet words.

I'm so so so glad that my posts were helpful to you!  That's awesome. 

You are in for such a treat in December.. the cruise sounds amazing!

If you have any other questions I'm always happy to answer them.. just post and I will respond.

[Sleep7]

3 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Great trip report!  Thank you so much.

Thank you so much TayanaLorna!!  I'm so glad that you followed along and that you enjoyed it.

Have an awesome time on your cruise in February and get to Old Navy quick before the winter coats are put out!😁