Live from the Sun Princess: Rome to Barcelona - 8 June

[GK95]

7 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

 

Park 19 is still non-operational. We were walking the track up there yesterday and saw lots of young disappointed faces checking things out.

 

Princess' focus on getting younger families on board seems to be working but with Park 19 out of the picture for now they'll have to overcome some bad PR I'm sure will come from this. Conversely as a Boomer, we're disappointed there's no sports court with basketball or pickle ball.

Park19 won’t be operational in June. Disappointed as we’ll be on the cruise this coming Saturday. And a bit surprised there’s no sports courts! 

[Gardenbunny50]

Great reporting!  We will be relocating the Sun Sept 23 16-days from Southampton to FLL..  I booked it August of 2023 at a great price because I wanted all those sea days to be able to experience all the new changes for this new Princess ship!  We do have 5 port days but then 8 sea days in a row!

Have just started reading CC posts and reviews - obviously new ship wrinkles to iron out, but appreciate all your detailed tios and comments.

We did this 21 day Med in May last year RT Barcelona - great ports and we did do Kotor.  It was beautiful sailing in - someone from Kotor had told me it was beautiful and like a fjord - and they were not wrong.  So sorry it is being susbstituted now.

We did the Princess excursion to Capri and Godfather and thoroughly enjoyed them!  We thought Godfather tour might be “iffy” but drive up to top and walking in the village was stunning. It was great fun.

Note on Capri - it is a tight schedule even with Princess but a few if us broke away from group at free time (before lunch) to take the chair lifts up to the top - so worth it, a gorgeous day,  awesome views!!  We got back down and group had left to lunch spot.  We found someone who told us where it was and came in just at appetizer time….whew!  So ask name of lunch restaurant before if you do it.

Capri is seriously crowded but so glad we went.

[mrell345]

If you get a chance, could you get pictures of the wine lists, MDR and bars if they are different?

[mrell345]

1 hour ago, mrell345 said:

If you get a chance, could you get pictures of the wine lists, MDR and bars if they are different?

1 hour ago, mrell345 said:

If you get a chance, could you get pictures of the wine lists, MDR and bars if they are different?

I just got an answer on another thread. https://spaces.hightail.com/space/ESQe8HAkls
 

I don’t need this anymore, thanks.

[Drdarkknight]

 

We woke up at 6am ahead of our excursion. This gave us enough time to get our backpack ready for the day and grab some breakfast. We tried out The Eatery. The line wasn’t too long and we found a great spot to sit outside. 

 

I really like the actual port of Naples. Very nice to look at. Our excursion met in Princess Arena for 7:25am and the disembarkation was also rather efficient. By 8am we were on our way to our looooong excursion: Sorrento and Amalfi Coastal Cruise. It was only half the group today, with my dad, uncle, sister and her boyfriend all choosing to go to Pompeii (I’ve already been). 

 

We started by driving to Sorrento, which took about an hour. We weren’t given a guided tour in town or anything, which was fine. We had ninety minutes to explore on our own. We went down and checked out the shops on Lemon Lane. My mom and aunt started shopping so we broke off from them and found an outdoor patio and had an Italian beer. At 11am we had to meet up with the guide again for lunch. Some in our group started panicking and had another tour guide calling our guide because she wasn’t there yet. I thought that was a bit of an overreaction. She rocked up right at 11am on schedule. 

 

Next was lunch at a place called Ristorante La Basilica. We had gnocchi in tomato sauce, pollo al limone and lemon cake. It was all pretty good though pizza would have been nice given the area. Each table was also given a bottle of wine and since my mom and aunt don’t drink wine my husband and I got to have it all to ourselves. 

 

Then we were back on the bus and off to Salerno. Everyone took a bus nap as it was about another hour drive. We boarded the boat in Salerno and got great seats for the way there. We were able to purchase beer for €5 and it took about half an hour to get to Amalfi Town. 

 

Amalfi Town was underwhelming. I could see how it might be charming but it was massively overcrowded today. You could barely move. The church was gorgeous and we found some really good pizza by the slice, but overall it was very chaotic compared to Sorrento. We headed back to Salerno on the boat (I had a Prosecco this time) and were back on the bus by 4:50pm. 

 

We got back around 5:30pm, right on time, but the cruise terminal was chaotic. We were sent up some stairs only to find out at the end of the terminal we were going back down the stairs then around some more to get on the ship. I really wanted a shower before dinner so every second counted. 

 

Dinner tonight was Italian Night, which was fitting. Except when you have very recently had a lot of Italian food to compare it to, it doesn’t quite hit the spot the same. It was still pretty good. I had beef carpaccio, arancini, striploin steak and the Love Boat Dream and cheese plate for dessert. 

 

Afterwards my husband and I tried to listen to some Irish music at O’Malley’s but it was busy and we couldn’t be served. We grabbed some drinks at Bellini Bar and then went to find my parents at the Princess Arena, as they were saving seats before the production show. 

 

The show tonight was Viva La Musica, the Latin show. My parents grabbed seats around 9 and we had really good ones. By about 9:30pm it was only 50% full. It did eventually fill up for the most part, but there were definitely still some seats available. 

 

I have mixed feelings on the show itself. The Latin dancers were fantastic as was the band. I loved that one of the main singers was actually Latino. As a millennial I appreciated the song selection. And I appreciate Princess trying something new. But I still found it a bit cringe and a bit corny and not as well polished as shows on other cruise lines.

 

Everyone was pretty tired after that so my husband, my sister and I headed to Bellini’s for a quick nightcap and to see how the Latin Party was going (okay). Now it’s time for bed. The clock moves forward tomorrow and it’s our first sea day. 

[Esprit]

I'm guessing the ship is just a means of transportation for you and somewhere to eat?

Enjoy Crete.

[beshears]

I just seen you were going to do a review on the Sun Princess, I believe starting the 8th of June, and you still may be on this ship. There are 7 or 8 of us that may be doing this ship the first part of next year, and I'm wanting to read/see everything that you or anyone else might be writing here, and give me an idea of the Sun ship. I'm almost the spoke person for the ship we take, so I try to find out as much as possible before we start cruising.

[juicyjuju]

Great photos! Thanks for taking the time to post 

[jennybenny]

8 hours ago, Esprit said:

I'm guessing the ship is just a means of transportation for you and somewhere to eat?

Enjoy Crete.

That's the measure for a good cruise for my family, if they ate something memorable and delicious. We restaurant search every port, and every city we visit. 

[Drdarkknight]

 

Despite moving forward an hour last night we found ourselves wide awake by 7:30am. By 8:30am we decided we might as well go get some breakfast, so we headed down to Horizons. I had a croissant and the All-American breakfast with some really good hard boiled eggs. 

 

Then it was up to the pool deck which was surprisingly chilly (I guess it was only 9:30am). I was surprised there were no bars open at the pool on a sea day. One finally opened at 10am but the rest didn’t open until 11am and there was nobody walking around. Chairs are actually pretty ample, especially if you’re not picky about being in the sun. It wasn’t until the afternoon that everywhere within eyeshot looked full. 

 

At noon my dad, sister and her boyfriend and I all went to the Tuscan Wine Tasting at Sabatini’s. They have improved their wine game compared to my last couple Princess cruises. For one thing, the sommeliers actually seem to know what they are talking about. I liked the addition of the food pairings as well. And as for Sabatini’s the restaurant - this might be the most gorgeous restaurant I’ve seen on a cruise ship. I do miss Vines, though.

 

Then it was back to the pool. A guitarist called Christian Bispo was playing and my husband and I loved him. He played a lot of 90’s alternative music and is very talented. We will definitely be checking him out a few more times over the next 11 days. 

 

We decided the pool seemed rather crowded so we wandered back to the Dome and Sea View area to go for a swim. It was insanely windy and the pool looked to have been half drained because of it. It wasn’t much fun so we didn’t stay very long before heading back to the main pool.

 

By this point (roughly 3pm) the pool deck was really crowded and I was a little over it so we decided to go for a wander. We only got as far as Crooners where we stopped for a drink. Crooners has gotten quite the uplift. There’s old timey radios and a massive amount of space. My favourite part was the ceiling which looks like piano keys. The acrobats were rehearsing in the piazza while we were there. It looks like it will be a cool show. 

 

Then it was time to change for formal night. We had dinner reservations right at 5pm. I ordered the prosciutto, escargot (twice), beef tenderloin with shrimp and turtles cheesecake for dessert. 

 

From there some of us headed to the Arena for the show. The artist was Nathan James and he was amazing. His vocals were outstanding. Highly recommend. 

 

In the piazza at 9pm was the Dancing Through the Decades party. We grabbed some seats up on deck 8 that overlooked the main action. It was so cute watching older couples dance (some had some serious moves). 

 

During this time my husband and sister’s boyfriend had gone hot tubbing so I asked them to try and grab a table at O’Malleys so I could finally see a show. They succeeded! I couldn’t physically see the Irish duo playing but I could at least hear them. Kindof. It is LOUD. It could be fun if everyone was singing along to the music and making it a whole kitchen party but these were just groups of people talk-yelling at each other. It got much better as they started to clear out. It’s nice being able to have some draft beer here, though service is slow. 

 

Our last event of the day was the Laugh Lounge with Danny Posthill. It was packed! Unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of his comedy. It started off promising but devolved into fart jokes and I just lost interest. 

 

We met up with my parents afterwards and went for a nightcap at Good Spirits at Sea. Unlike the other ships I’ve been on, Good Spirits is a completely separate bar from the rest of them. And it’s also totally gorgeous. All that’s missing is windows but otherwise the place is really nice. I’m sure I’ll be back. 

 

Tonight was a late one as it’s now 12:45am. We are in Chania, Crete tomorrow. 

[beshears]

Thank you for your input/pictures on your review now. I was glad to see the champagne tower once again.

[KimberlyC]

On 6/7/2024 at 12:10 PM, Drdarkknight said:

we found out on 28 April

Thank you! 

[Drdarkknight]

 

We woke up at 9am for our day in Chania, Crete. We didn’t have much planned as we were originally supposed to be going to Santorini. This was cancelled back in March and replaced with Crete. I would have been pretty upset but, truthfully, I already had a lot of anxiety over how crazy the cable car lines would be and found the cancellation disappointing but a relief at the same time. 

 

After a quick breakfast at The Eatery we disembarked and followed the signs into the terminal. The process to get the free shuttle into Chania was very efficient and we were dropped off around 10:40am. The drop off point is about a fifteen minute walk from old town and it is HOT. 

 

We walked to Old Town which was very cute, particularly the harbour and the small alleys with gorgeous flowers. We had lunch at a restaurant called Taverna Semiramis which had the cutest terrace. Even though we were outside it was cool because of the cover and some fans. I really wanted to try local everything so we got some wine from Chania as well as some local cheese, stuffed vine leaves (did not like), pork souvlaki and minced meat crepes (delish). 

 

After lunch we walked to Kertos Beach, which was about fifteen minutes away. It was gorgeous and very busy. I wish we’d stayed longer and rented an umbrella. My husband, dad and I all got in the water for a good 45 minutes. It was so refreshing. 

 

Then it was time to head back to the ship and it was a thirty minute uphill walk back to the pickup point. I have no idea how I made it. I wish the shuttles dropped you off a little closer. Getting back on was equally as efficient. 

 

It was only around 3:30pm when we returned so we decided to go for a pool swim. We tried the Wake View pool first but it was packed. The pools on the lido deck are bigger so we went up there and swam for a bit. 

 

After changing for dinner we went down to O’Malley’s for awhile. We were feeling snacky so I got some crab and artichoke dip that was pretty tasty. I also tried my first ever Guinness and I liked it! After we were there about an hour the guitarist from yesterday we liked started playing. My husband had ordered chicken wings at the same time as me and they took almost an hour to come out. By that point it was basically our dinner reservation time. 

 

We next rushed to dinner at Horizons. One of our waiters was off sick and our drink waiter only came around once so service is still a struggle. I had the smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail, chicken cordon bleu and a sundae. Temperature control was a bit of an issue tonight. 

 

We got out just in time for the event I was most looking forward to: Silent Disco! I did Silent Disco on Celebrity twice and absolutely loved it. It was pretty similar here, although there was only two channels instead of three (classic hits and modern hits). It was pretty popular and everyone seemed to have a good time. My husband has never been and kept calling it “weird, but good”. 

 

Afterwards since we weren’t tired I gave my husband a choice between a string duo or a cocktail show and he chose the string instruments. They are called Cats String Duo and from Ukraine and they were so good! They played some really surprising songs, like Creep by Radiohead. Another musical artist I’ll be keeping an eye out for this cruise. 

 

When they finished we ran across the hall to O’Malley’s which was actually pretty dead. Pro tip: if you want to find a seat go when the poker demonstration is on. We were eventually met by my aunt and uncle, and my mom. They went to the production show Vallora and called it ‘ludicrously bad’. Glad I chose the silent disco. 

 

We hung out at O’Malley’s for Christian Bispo’s last set of the night. At this point I was at what I call the drinking crossroads: go to the club night in the piazza and probably hurt tomorrow or go to bed despite being a little hyper. I chose bed. We have another sea day tomorrow and I want to enjoy it fully so I made the right choice.

 

[Drdarkknight]

 

We slept in a little on our second sea day and eventually made our way down to breakfast a little after 9am. That will be our last time eating there as my husband has decided he doesn’t like it. He tried eggs Benedict the first time and found them dry and today he tried the ham and cheese skillet and I guess it was also sub par. I’m not a breakfast person so my all American breakfast of hard boiled eggs, a hashbrown, sausage links and a mountain of bacon is pretty big for me. 

 

We went up to the pool after breakfast and the chair hogs were out in full force. It wasn’t even 10am but I couldn’t see any free chairs (though hardly any showed signs of human life). I ordered a Prosecco to my chair since the bars weren’t open and then we went swimming for a bit. 

 

We had another wine tasting at noon, this time the International Wine Tasting back in Sabatini’s. This reminded me a bit of a tasting I went to on Celebrity as it was a walk around style tasting, which I’ve never seen on Princess. Twelve wines for $29 is a pretty good deal. They even had a raffle draw and some charcuterie and canapés. My one critique was that the space was a little too small. It would have been better in one of the main dining rooms, with the stations a bit more spread out. Otherwise, a great event. My favourites were the American Chardonnay and Spanish Crianza.

 

Then it was time for lunch. Originally we’d planned on sushi but my husband decided he was too tipsy for sushi. We next tried Alfredo’s but it was a thirty minute wait. We headed to O’Malley’s and found a table and then we sat…and sat…and sat…until 1:30pm passed and food was no longer being served. The menu we eventually got was the after 9pm menu. So I guess they’ve learned they should serve food all day and now do a limited menu. At least that’s what I’m assuming. Everything was good and my husband liked the scotch egg I made him try. 

 

We went back to find everyone on the pool deck afterwards. We were in the Dardanelles Strait! I thought for sure that would happen overnight so I was very excited to see it. The captain said around 4pm we would be able to see Cannakale and the ruins so I changed for dinner super early so I wouldn’t miss it. 

 

It was pretty cool. I always like it when you’re really close to land. We were able to see some ruins and the Martyrs Monument. We were up on deck for a couple minutes before my parents realized their balcony was on the right side to be able to see everything so we headed down there since they didn’t have the glass windows. Someone was trying to give commentary but it was almost impossible to hear. While we were on the pool deck a few guests asked me if I knew what we were looking at and I was able to give a quick history lesson.

 

Then it was time for dinner. I had the crab cake, French onion soup, carbonara, chicken and a chocolate tart. The carbonara was to die for. Remember, I’ve been on three Princess cruises in the last year and I’ve gotten the carbonara every time and I’m not kidding when I say this carbonara was better than what I got in Rome. Our waiter was sick again but the drink service did improve somewhat. 

 

We next went up to the Dome to queue for their cirque show. It was a little too early at 7pm so we left the guys at the bar and the ladies went out to the pool to watch the end of Back to the Future. I wish they’d show more movies like that. I’d watch them all the time. 

 

When we got back to the Cascade Bar outside the Dome all the guys went ‘thank god!’. As it turns out the Cascade Bar takes 50 people before one of these cirque shows. Once they hit 50 people you have to queue outside until everyone is seated. We were let in at 8:05pm and it was pretty much full up immediately between the first 50 people and the remainder. And then it’s a 30 minute wait for it to even start…I wish there was a reservation system in place. It just seems such a waste spending almost two hours of your night trying to get into a thirty minute show. They disappear to have added some seats behind the lighting guy on the upper deck. I think someone said capacity is now 250.

 

It was a really, really good show. Everyone in my group liked it and all eight of us went. Pro tip: sit on the right hand side if you’re facing the stage. We were three rows up and a lot of the side action occurred right in front of us. It’s a bit nuts trying to leave at the end. Everyone is trying to get on the elevator. We walked to the far end of the ship to skip the crowd. 

 

We went to Princess Live for their 80’s music trivia. We almost won but didn’t with 38/42. Then it was time for the 80’s party in the piazza and almost nobody over the age of 10 danced. The bulk of the cruise director staff was there and they tried but no omen would come up. My husband and I had a nightcap and headed to bed. We’ve got Istanbul tomorrow and an early wake up so maybe not the best night for a big party, 

[friedicecream]

Thanks for these updates. I'm sailing next month.

 

How's the temperature on deck during the day and at night?

 

I know how to check the weather in the port cities, but I have no idea how to get the weather at sea.

[Drdarkknight]

1 hour ago, friedicecream said:

Thanks for these updates. I'm sailing next month.

 

How's the temperature on deck during the day and at night?

 

I know how to check the weather in the port cities, but I have no idea how to get the weather at sea.

I’ve found the temperature on deck to seem fine. Not sure of the exact temp but I’ve remained comfortable at day and night (though in the day I’m mostly in the shade). I would recommend wearing shoes on the pool deck rather than bare feet - it gets HOT. We’ve taken to wearing our flip flops all the way to the start of the pool 

[AbbyGirl]

Thank you for the update. I'll be tuning in as we get on the ship in Barca on the 22nd. I've already told our 11 yr old son that Park 19 won't be open and he's very disappointed but I know him and he'll still find a posse and have a blast, that I have no doubt.   

 

Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

[Drdarkknight]

 

When my alarm went off at 5:30am I quickly hit the snooze button. Next thing I knew it was 6:24am and our tour was meeting in thirty minutes! We got ready in a mad scramble while my mom grabbed us the necessities of food and caffeine. We made it in time. 

 

Today we were in Istanbul doing an excursion through Princess. Our first stop was to the Blue Mosque. I had to laugh about how the Arabic name is something profound but westerners call it the Blue Mosque because it looks blue 😂. We were there quite early in the day so the crowds weren’t ridiculous yet. They are very serious about having your shoulders, knees and head (for women) covered. My mom didn’t wear a long enough dress and they gave her a potato sack to put on. The mosque itself is breathtakingly beautiful. 

 

Up next was a walk toward the Grand Bazaar and a carpet demonstration (or, as I always call these, the obligatory shopping stop). The carpets were gorgeous but way too outside our budget so we quickly left. I hadn’t had anything to eat and we saw a coffee shop next door and grabbed some Turkish delight. It was delicious! Very different from the disgusting stuff we have in Canada. I had a pomegranate pistachio one and my whole family liked it. 

 

Next up was the Grand Bazaar and on the way there we saw about eight little kittens! They were so cute. We only had 45 minutes at the bazaar unlike the advertised 90 minutes. I didn’t really feel like I needed more. I found the sales pressure rather intense and I was uncomfortable being there alone when I walked ahead of my husband. We had two purchases we wanted to make and we succeeded at both: saffron and a lantern. We even had time before the meetup to try Turkish coffee (gross!). 

 

Then we walked to Topkapi Palace. By this point it was incredibly hot out and we’d done a significant amount of walking. People started asking about when lunch would be, since in the itinerary it said lunch would be before Topkapi Palace. We were told we wouldn’t be having lunch until 2pm. This is not good, especially with a group who’d been travelling since 7:30am. 

 

By the time we got to Topkapi Palace I was really struggling. I’m incredibly sensitive to the sun and to heat. I had to sit down. The group went ahead and my husband stayed back with me. Within minutes I realized that I was sweating profusely and my arms had broken out into heat rashes - not good. We’d already gone through five bottles of water and it was only 11:30am. 

 

Instead of joining the group on the tour we went in search of a shady place to sit and try to regulate my body temperature. We found a cafe by the exit and a seat in the shade. I started feeling better after about thirty minutes. We grabbed a small sandwich while we were there too, which was quite good. 

 

The group had two hours scheduled at Topkapi Palace. When there were thirty minutes remaining my husband and I got up to try and find a washroom. As it turned out, our guide was at the cafe. She saw us and asked if we wanted to go inside the palace. Since I was feeling better, we said yes and we got to explore after all. We weren’t able to see anything in detail but at least we got to take a look. 

 

I never really recovered after that and more folks began complaining about the heat and how hungry they were. We finally reached the boat for our lunch cruise shortly after 2pm. They did a good job with the lunch. It was authentic Turkish food which I appreciated, as I often find food on excursions is westernized to make it more appealing. I particularly enjoyed the meze (various dips) we received at the start of the meal. We also got to try some Turkish beer. 

 

I know we were warned countless times about crowds and traffic but I didn’t really experience any of that. Maybe we got lucky or I’d built it up worse than it was. But the heat really got to me. On the way back to the ship my heat exhaustion was so bad I thought I was going to be sick. 

 

As soon as we got back onboard I went and took a cold shower to try to get my body temperature down. And then I just collapsed in bed until it was time for dinner. Even getting up for that was a struggle but it was surf and turf night. 

 

Because lunch had been so late we had changed our reservation to 7:30pm. So tonight we’d actually be dining on deck 6 with the more traditional dining times. It wasn’t noticeably different, although we only saw the drink waiter once the entire night. I had the steak tartare, tortellini, surf and turf and chocolate mint cake. All were delicious. 

 

Because dinner was so much later than usual we missed a lot of the earlier activities and I was still feeling pretty crummy from my heat exhaustion, so my husband and I decided to do a movie night in our room. The selection available is massive. It was nice to have a low key night. 

[Wishing on a star]

I so appreciate your posting!!!!

I am glad that you were very thorough and truthful about the day at Istanbul.

Beautiful?  Your photos look incredible!!!

Worth risking your health..  No.   People with conditions and things like  diabetes would not make it.

And, that might include myself.

Princess should not be offering such a demanding excursion, with no cool break or food.

Edited Thursday at 07:57 PM by Wishing on a star

[juicyjuju]

I'm loving all the details. Your photos are really terrific. Hope you feel better 

[spethstation]

22 hours ago, Drdarkknight said:

they gave her a potato sack to put on

WHAT 😂

[Drdarkknight]

 

We were in Mykonos today but it was an afternoon/evening stop which meant time to catch up on some sleep. Somebody should have told my body because I was wide awake by 6:30am. By 8:30am we had just spent enough time vegging and decided to go grab a super light breakfast at The Eatery. 

 

It was actually very windy outside when we went to sit down. We went up to the pool deck to see if we could spot any islands. I ordered a mudslide and was chatting to the bartender who mentioned she was worried we wouldn’t be able to dock because of the wind. Thankfully it died down within about thirty minutes.

 

We met up with my family at 10:30am at the Americana Diner for brunch. Service was insanely slow there. We weren’t served food for an hour. Because I’d had breakfast I only ate some chicken wings (they were okay) and then shared my aunt’s Mississippi Mudpie dessert.

 

We went back to the pool deck again since we’d docked in Mykonos and I had myself a Mykonos mimosa (or at least that’s what I called it). We had purchased the shuttle tickets from Princess for $8.95 to ride in and out of town all day. It ran efficiently. The buses were easy to find and we were on in no time. It was a very quick drive and we were dropped off at the Old Port. 

 

It was a quick walk from there into Mykonos. We spent most of the day just wandering the various streets and shops. Everything was so cute. Last time I was in Mykonos I stayed in Kalafati and was mostly just in town for dinner and nightclubs (and getting attacked by a pelican but that’s a story for another day) so this was a great way to see a different side of it. There were also lots of cats. 

 

Compared to yesterday it felt a lot cooler and we definitely took a couple beer breaks to try their local Greek beer, Mythos. I made the comment that I was starting to enjoy exploring independently more than excursions, mostly because I appreciate the freedom. 

 

We had a late lunch around 2:30pm at Katerina’s, an iconic spot - and well deserved reputation. My husband and I split the fried cheese, feta and pepper stuffed mushrooms and fried calamari and it was fresh and delicious. Several of my family members got the mussels and raved about them, which is saying something because we’re from the east coast of Canada and our mussels are the best. Half the group also split two bottles of wine. We chose two different bottles so we could try two different indigenous grapes. 

 

We wandered awhile more after this, including up to the famous windmills. We finished our day in Mykonos with a (very expensive) cocktail at Semeli Bar. Then it was just a matter of walking back to the shuttle bus. We were back onboard the Sun Princess by 6:30pm. 

 

I changed quickly and then my husband and I met my sister in Princess Live for Movie Madness. We expected some simple trivia but they’ve really improved compared to my last two cruises. They give multiple clues to guess a film and you get points based on how many clues it takes for you to guess. We missed winning by one point. 

 

Dinner followed. Since a lot of people get off in Athens tomorrow it was a bit of a farewell dinner. I had the corn and crab tart, aglio e olio spaghetti, pork belly and baked Alaska. After dinner my husband, my mom and I all went to the Arena to see Naathan Phan. My husband and I had previously seen him last year in Alaska. It was a similar show but he made us laugh and my mom seemed to enjoy it. He got a standing ovation at the end. 

 

I wanted to grab a drink at O’Malley’s but I also know tomorrow is going to be a long, hot day in Athens so I’m back in the room about to turn in for the night. 

[JGmf]

Thanks a ton for taking the time to share your trip with us.

 

I'm like you, the planner, and will also be taking the trains from airport to Rome and cruise port when we do a similar itinerary this in August on the Island Princess. 

 

I'm loving your photos - kinda underscores how awesome the food in Rome is versus what is service on the ship...

[Amy G]

Will you please post the disembarkation schedule when you get it?  We are trying to book a luggage service for our upcoming cruise.  Thanks!  

[InFullertonCA]

@DrdarkknightI’m sorry to be so specific, but I’m curious as to which excursion you booked in Istanbul if you’re willing to share it?  I’m trying to decide which one I will book for my trip in August.  Thank you for all the great info!