The Adriatic and Italy on Celebrity Reflection June 3, 2022

[PurpleTraveller]

4 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

Wonderful review so far!

 

Thanks! I hope you enjoy the remainder of the review. 😊

 

[dani negreanu]

7 hours ago, Lastdance said:

We are also going to Olympia in October...the town looks quite nice; thanks for the information on the taxi, just in case the train is on a hiatus.

 

I have very little faith in the train... seems to me this train is "fata morgana" 😁 

 

If you don't want to spend money on a "special" taxi, try "Katakolon to Olympia Bus Service", and send them an inquiry email. For 10 Euro pp return, it was a very good deal, and we had more than 2 hours at Olympia.

[sgmn]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

If you don't want to spend money on a "special" taxi, try "Katakolon to Olympia Bus Service", and send them an inquiry email. For 10 Euro pp return, it was a very good deal, and we had more than 2 hours at Olympia.

We also used the Bus a couple of visits ago. The ship docks right in the cute little town. There are people selling the Bus transfer right outside the port gates. 

Last time we were there we just strolled around the town and had a lovely Greek salad and beer overlooking the dock. 

 

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, sgmn said:

The ship docks right in the cute little town.

 

I forgot to mention that this really cute little town has also a very interesting museum --

 

"Katakolon Museum of Ancient Greek Technology is a small museum situated next to the train station at the entrance of Katakolon town".

 

DH, who is a technology buff, has found it fascinating.

[Lastdance]

Two of my cruises visit Olympia, so if I miss it on the first one, I will enjoy the lovely town; hopefully, I'll make it to Olympia on one of my cruises.  I have a friend that had to see it by traveling from Athens and she was a little disappointed due to travel time.  

[JeanieC,Aston]

Hi PT

Coming from Australia I thought you might have thrown a Googlie down the wicket on the Main Square.

They love their cricket in Corfu.

[calicakes]

Following along.  We're on Reflection in September.  We're arriving in Rome on the 13th, cruise leaves September 16th.  I booked my skip the line Vatican tickets today.   I'm not impressed with the coffee that Celebrity offers.  In fact, I purchased a travel aeropress in order to make my own coffee( I drink it iced).  I'll probably bring along some cold brew concentrate too. 

[PurpleTraveller]

17 hours ago, sgmn said:

We also used the Bus a couple of visits ago. The ship docks right in the cute little town. There are people selling the Bus transfer right outside the port gates. 

 

There was no one at the port gates, just a couple of taxi drivers, when we were there. It may have been because it was 8.00 am. Do you have any idea what time they arrive to sell the bus transfer tickets? Thanks.

[PurpleTraveller]

6 hours ago, calicakes said:

Following along.  We're on Reflection in September.  We're arriving in Rome on the 13th, cruise leaves September 16th.  I booked my skip the line Vatican tickets today.   I'm not impressed with the coffee that Celebrity offers.  In fact, I purchased a travel aeropress in order to make my own coffee( I drink it iced).  I'll probably bring along some cold brew concentrate too. 

 

Thanks for following along. Bringing your own aeropress is a good idea. We certainly won't be trying any speciality coffee or tea on Celebrity again. Hope you enjoy your visit to Rome and have a wonderful cruise.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

12 hours ago, Lastdance said:

Two of my cruises visit Olympia, so if I miss it on the first one, I will enjoy the lovely town; hopefully, I'll make it to Olympia on one of my cruises.  I have a friend that had to see it by traveling from Athens and she was a little disappointed due to travel time.  

 

Wow, Olympia is a long way to go to from Athens. Hopeful you will get there from Katakolon on one of your cruises - much easier than from Athens. Enjoy the town as it is very lovely.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

June 7 - Dubrovnik

 

We woke to another beautiful morning. As we turned right into the port we sailed past the Franjo Tudman Bridge which was named after the first President of Croatia and was completed in 2002.

 

 

The ship docked at 8.00 am. There were shuttle buses to go to the old city which cost USD15.00 per person but unlike the shuttles in Corfu the cost was only for a return ticket and not a day pass. This didn't matter to us as we decided that it was such a lovely morning that we would walk.

 

After a quick breakfast we left the ship at 8.15 am to walk to the old city. The walk took us about an hour as we kept stopping to look in shops and at the view. There were some very nice looking resorts on the seafront.

 

 

 

We got to the Pile Gate st 9.15 am and quickly bought our tickets to the city walls at the entrance right next to the Pile Gate and Onofrio Fountain. They cost 250 Kunas each and we paid with a credit card. We made our way up the stairs to get our first views over the Pile Gate, old city and the Onofrio Fountain.

 

 

 

 

It was all just beautiful! We made our way along the wall towards the Bokar Tower and looking over to Fort Lawrence. There were a number of kayakers getting ready to leave for their kayak excursions.

 

 

 

 

As we rounded the corner to the ocean side you could see how high we were above the water.

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

It was wonderful to walk along the walls admiring the views over the old city.

 

 

 

 

We stopped for a cold drink at Bar Salvatore which was on the wall where we could look over to Lokrum Island and watch the kayakers. Eventually we got to Fort St John where we could see the Old Harbour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

We walked around the Old Harbour to Fort Revelin where we had great views back towards the Old Harbour and Lokrum Island.

 

 

 

 

 

As we walked further up the walls we could see the Dominican Monastery and the views just got better.

 

 

 

 

 

As walked higher up the walls we could see just how massive the walls are and the views over the old city got better and better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

We got to the Minceta Tower, the highest point of the walls and the views were magnificent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent quite some time at the top of the tower taking in the views before starting our way back down.

 

 

 

 

 

As we prepared to leave the walls we got our last view across the rooftops.

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

After leaving the walls at 11.15 am we filled our empty water bottles at the Onofrio Fountain. We then made our way into the narrow lanes of the old city.

 

 

 

 

We had lunch at a tiny sandwich bar where we enjoyed sitting in their air conditioning. After lunch we walked through a lovely square where there was a market and past the Rector's Palace to the Cathedral. The first Cathedral of Dubrovnik was destroyed by an earthquake in 1667. This Cathedral was completed in 1713.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then walked along the waterfront of the Old Harbour past the Sponza Palace, Bell Tower and Orlando Column onto the main street of the old city.

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Next we walked up the stairs to the St Ignatius of Loyola Church which was built between 1699 and 1725.

 

 

 

We then enjoyed walking through the laneways. There are many restaurants in the lanes.

 

 

 

We walked back to the ship and it was a lot quicker than our walk in the morning. We got back at 3.30 pm and had another look at the Franjo Tudman Bridge.

 

 

We had dinner at the Opus Dining Room again and then went to the Sunset Bar. The sunset was beautiful!

 

 

We had a wonderful time in Dubrovnik!

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by PurpleTraveller

[EnthDegree]

17 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

We had a wonderful time in Dubrovnik!

 

 

Drat and double drat!!

We had hoped that you would have taken the cable car to the top of the Srd to get the sunset pictures from there. Perhaps someone else will post their experiences of the ride to the top and the photo opportunities there!

Having said that - keep up the good work with your travelogue. We await each new post with baited breath!

[PurpleTraveller]

20 minutes ago, EnthDegree said:

 

Drat and double drat!!

We had hoped that you would have taken the cable car to the top of the Srd to get the sunset pictures from there. Perhaps someone else will post their experiences of the ride to the top and the photo opportunities there!

Having said that - keep up the good work with your travelogue. We await each new post with baited breath!

 

We had every intention of going up the cable car but to be honest, once we were back on board we were too lazy to go back out again and the Sunset Bar was calling our name. 😊 The sunset would have been fantastic from up the top.

 

[OysterD]

4 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

Thanks for following along. Bringing your own aeropress is a good idea. We certainly won't be trying any speciality coffee or tea on Celebrity again. Hope you enjoy your visit to Rome and have a wonderful cruise.

 

Brilliant pics, what camera are you using? I'm debating taking my 10yr old DSLR camera with me which takes great photos but weighs a ton! 

Also I know you said you were very disappointed with your English breakfast tea...as a Brit, I need a couple of cups in the morning to start the day off, did you notice what brand tea they're using? Do I need to bring my own Twinings tea bags and just ask for hot water?! 

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, OysterD said:

Brilliant pics, what camera are you using? I'm debating taking my 10yr old DSLR camera with me which takes great photos but weighs a ton! 

Also I know you said you were very disappointed with your English breakfast tea...as a Brit, I need a couple of cups in the morning to start the day off, did you notice what brand tea they're using? Do I need to bring my own Twinings tea bags and just ask for hot water?! 

 

Thank you! All photos were taken on my Oppo A54 phone which is an Android. I have a DSLR but didn't bring it as we were travelling light but I'm happy with the photos I took.

 

For the life of me I can't remember what brand of tea was on board and I love my tea! I know that the tea I made for myself in the Oceanview Cafe was 1,000 times better than what was served to me at Cafe al Bacio. I want to say Twinings but I can't be sure. Sorry. Maybe someone who knows can chime in. You could bring your own tea bags and use the hot water available at the self service drink area in the Oceanview Cafe.

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by PurpleTraveller

[dani negreanu]

2 hours ago, OysterD said:

did you notice what brand tea they're using?

 

I'm a green tea only drinker, and it was Bigelow.

 

[OysterD]

20 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

I'm a green tea only drinker, and it was Bigelow.

 

Thank you, that explains why it tasted awful then! 

I'll take some Twinings with me!

[PurpleTraveller]

40 minutes ago, OysterD said:

Thank you, that explains why it tasted awful then! 

I'll take some Twinings with me!

 

What I do remember is that along with orange and apple juice they ran out of English Breakfast Tea bags at the self service stations in the Oceanview Cafe one or two days before the end of the cruise, so it is a good idea to bring your own.

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by PurpleTraveller

[sgmn]

8 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

There was no one at the port gates, just a couple of taxi drivers, when we were there. It may have been because it was 8.00 am. Do you have any idea what time they arrive to sell the bus transfer tickets? Thanks.

Sorry no, its was a few years ago we did Olympia and this last June we weren't looking as not going. Though to be fair DH and I aren't early risers 

[Provence55always]

Gorgeous photos of Dubrovnik brought back a lot of memories. We spend 6 weeks in Croatia 20 years ago island hopping. The seafood was amazing and so inexpensive we used to enjoy dinner every evening for under 20 Euro with wine. We finished our trip with a week in Dubrovnik in a lovely apartment facing the Cathedral. I know from friends that Croatia has now got very expensive to holiday there.