At sea, en route to Naples

Santorini

Santorini. No line for the tender at about 9am. A bit of a wait for the cable car, but it's better than walking up! I started with a bit of a wander through Fira before starting the longer walk to Imerovigli — uphill most of the way. I didn't do the walk down to Skaros rock fearing the climb back up! But I was able to see similar views from the town. After the walk back, I picked a random restaurant very near the cable car exit. Not the greatest view, but the moussaka was good. Very hot sitting in the sun, so I headed to an indoor bar to cool off a bit.

By about 1:30, I was definitely certain I wouldn't make it until sunset at ~6:30pm, so I headed to PK Bar on the cliff and asked if I could use my reservation credit early which they allowed. So, I had a pair of drinks from their house specials section before taking the donkey trail back down to the tender.

After a short nap, I was up to catch the entire Cirque de Machine show. Lots of staging — I wonder if it was a semi-permanent booking for many weeks or months.

Sea day

Sea day. The usual schedule — up early for coffee and breakfast, pool deck until the loyalty event, back to the pool deck until the belly flop contest. Price is Right in the afternoon, casino with mixed results. The headliner show was good, but too tired to enjoy it — same show tonight, so I should be able to see it.

Messina — Mt Etna & Taormina

Messina. Small-group tour to Mt Etna and Taormina. Weather wasn't great — no view of the sea or the top of the volcano, no Etna view from Taormina — but at 6000ft we were mostly above the clouds and rain, no active lava flow, and hiking the dormant craters was worth the long drive. The highway tunnels are pretty amazing. Taormina: sweets, pistachio and chocolate bars at the same shops as last time; a bland lunch I should have checked reviews for; public gardens (they were shooting a movie or TV show) — pleasant, but not as amazing as the theater. Back at the ship after sunset, about 7pm.

Odyssey embarkation, Civitavecchia

Odyssey embarkation. €2.70 latte and croissant at the big kiosk, morning sun on the roof patio near the fort. Walked to the shuttles at 9:45, terminal by 10am — priority luggage drop and a Suite-card swap put me in the first boarding group at 10:30 (one of the few places the full Royal Plus benefits are recognized). Muster, towel station, lime & coconut, then a sunny pool-deck recliner until rooms were ready.

Split, Croatia

Split. Viator tour: Diocletian's palace — unlike the palace tour I took in May, this time I learned who Diocletian was and why the palace is in Split. Not as stunning as the story, but impressive for 1700 years old. Then 45 minutes to Trogir ('pocket Venice'): marbled alleys, a very good prosciutto sandwich at an outdoor café, bus back in Split at 3pm. Morning in the casino: got my point balance over 2,000 — down over $200 at times, walked away up $200. Evening: Gold Art Duo headliner (seen before, stayed for most). First free room-service breakfast — wouldn't do it again.

Sea day

Sea day, morning. It was a mistake not heading back out into Piraeus after the tour — the walk wasn't far and there was plenty of time. Weather improved slightly, sun poking through. Skipped the headliner for another early bedtime; awake at 5am as a result and caught the sunrise. Canceled next week's Santorini beach club in favor of unstructured time in Fira, possibly staying for the 6:30pm sunset. Tried to reserve a table — payment went through but the site said it failed. Not much planned; will finally start the book.

Athens, Greece

Athens. First time here — Acropolis ship excursion as the must-do checklist item. The bus ride's "highlights of Athens" were extremely limited, but the guide ("shortie") made up for it with history and Greek mythology. Weather beat the forecast: occasional light rain and breeze, a shell without umbrella was enough. The climb wasn't bad. Headed back down about 40 minutes early and wandered until I found espresso. The ship was too far from anything at the terminal to make the walk worthwhile. Tonight's headliner is Tony Tillman — at least the third cruise with him on it — probably skipping for an early night before the sea day.

Santorini, Greece

Santorini. Royal Beach Club first thing — 7am meeting made the morning rushed since Windjammer didn't open until 6:30. At the club by 8:15; getting off the tender was interesting with rolling seas rocking the boat. Chill vibe, decent free beer but kept it light with the Oia and Fira tours after. Lunch at the club was good — chicken skewers and Greek salad the favorites, plus good Greek desserts. Then Oia (about a 30-minute drive) — nearly identical to Fira with fewer alleyways to explore; wandered shops, sat with a beer in the ~90 minutes at each. Decent enough day to keep the same tour booked for next week.

Sea day

Sea day. Morning working with Muse on future trips. Loyalty event lightly attended — "the numbers show why" — though most of the Pinnacles were there. Pizza, a casino-bar drink, the ice-skating show (Four Seasons theme, easy to follow), the belly flop, then sun on deck. Evening: back in the casino losing too much money. But a Serenade sailing looks possible before the Panama crossing — kills the San Diego exploration, adds an overnight in San Francisco. Santorini beach club meets at 7am tomorrow.

Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor, Montenegro. Scenic morning sail through the bay to the anchorage — weather not great, not terrible. Royal tour: bus to Perast, ferry to Our Lady of the Rocks, very prominent entering the bay. Would have liked a waterfront lunch but the tour clock was ticking. Back to Kotor for the old-city walking tour — light rain killed the headset, and after 30 minutes standing in the rain with sciatica, dropped the tour for beers. Wandered the old city instead — every alley a surprise — rain stopped, cats came out. Would return for the old city and the hike up to the church. Tender lines the only downside (peak around 5pm, last tender 7pm). Love & Marriage in the evening — left after the first half.

Venice → Ravenna → Explorer of the Seas

Venice to Ravenna to Explorer. Morning: beer and food at Laguna ("enjoyable location"), a spritz to check off the list, gelato, buranelli cookies from a market stop, espresso and croissant at Dolce Vita. Packed out and bussed from Tronchetto — five busloads of cruisers. Ravenna: at the port by 2pm, slow security with all the buses arriving at once, then quick. Rooms ready — muster done, passport in the safe. Errands: booked the first Japan 2028 cruise, cut the Coke Zero amenity rewards, gave up the fixed MDR seat, sorted Ravenna station transport. The NextCruise woman, Alessandra, was on Brilliance earlier this year — recognized her. Casino: back-to-back wins, OBC turned to cash, up $400 including OBC. ("The trick is not to lose it all!") Tonight's show was repeat ventriloquist Celia Muñoz — left early, as expected. Cruise director Michelle (on Odyssey May last year) speaks many languages; ran into a Brilliance bartender in the Windjammer. Halloween balloon drop — stayed awake and mostly sober.

Murano, Burano & Venice

Dinner last night, since I did go out: anchovies and onions to start, cuttlefish with squid ink for main — both flagged typical Venetian, both ok, nothing I'd ever seek out again. Long walk to the tour meeting point — the shorter route needed a Grand Canal transit, so I took the bridge route. Made it on time. The gallery after the glass-making demo was amazing, no pictures allowed — if I read the prices right, a drinking glass was over €100. Short walk around Murano; sciatica acting up (Aleve tomorrow). Burano was the better stop by far — no idea why Murano gets more attention. Shops lining the main street and canal; with sciatica still bothering me I found a café for a bite and beers, then a beer-focused café for one more. One photo: a house tracking flood waters — November 2019 was a bad month.

Venice

Up early for the 8:30 tour — coffee and a croissant on the way, the only one with a latte. Small group of 16; the guide's a historian and former teacher, 30 years in Venice — a firehose of information. Great energy and love for the city, but I stopped retaining anything after the second hour. Rialto market and bridge, gondola ride, St Mark's and the Doge's Palace — 6 hours total. Bought a Hard Rock shirt right by the gondola. Seagulls inside the Rialto fish market — saw one get lucky and steal a fish. Morning threatened rain; sun was out when the tour ended. Wandered back with beer stops and an ATM stop, destination Punta della Dogana — the point of land at the Grand Canal entrance. Favorite stop: Laguna Bar, facing the setting sun with enough foot traffic to be interesting. Big pizza slice at lunch; the hotel does free food at 6:30. But I should go out.

Madrid → Bologna → Venice

Flight 45 minutes early, big tailwind — 1050kph ground speed. Expecting the usual EES issue, but the kiosk sent me to the gate (2nd try) and the e-gate worked (2nd try, agent holding the passport on the scanner). Running low on Schengen days in the 180 window, but plenty by next May. Half-liter airport beer: €5. Then Bologna: bad rudder, emergency landing where there were no crosswinds. Fire trucks lined the runway; it was a very normal landing, just not at the right airport. Through immigration again — the agent stared at my data on the screen a while before waving me through. Buses to Venice, about 2 hours; hopefully at the hotel by 6pm, and hopefully the luggage made it. Underway just before 6pm. At the hotel around 7 — passport handed over, welcome drink and finger food on offer, a welcoming room tour. Debated going out, but with a 7:30am departure tomorrow and a 6am alarm, I opened the chilled Prosecco instead.