The Greek Isle cruise was amazing ,commencing in Ravenna and finishing in Trieste due to flooding from torrential rains in Italy . Ravenna is a great spot to spend a couple of days , it is less touristy and more of a “local” feel . We walked mostly as its a small town but did take the local bus to the Mall. Sampled some great restaurants and went on a Mosaic tour for which the city is known.
Our Cruise was aboard The explorer of the Seas , it is a Voyager Class ship which is much smaller than our previous ship the Odyssey . The crew and amenities were awesome though and shared nightly dinners with two amazing young ladies from the U.K. Our visits took us first to Kotor Montenegro where it rained the whole time in the excursion to Our Lady of the Rocks. This lovely church was assessable only via boat , it was located just off mainland Kotor and was still awesome to experience even while we were being drenched! One of the highlights here for me was in Perast where I ordered hot chocolate to warm up and received a literal cup of chocolate….It was warn however and I ate it! LOL! . Next stop Corfu Greece, sunny and bright a welcome change from the previous rains. Walked into town to experience some of the architecture and the local market. Mykonos was next , very sunny as well , by this time we were wishing for cloud cover and some rains ….Just some. We went on an excursion to the small island of Delos the birthplace of Apollo the Sun God and his twin sister Artemis the moon goddess. This is a UNESCO world Heritage site with loads of very interesting monuments, statues and ruins from the 3rd Century BC . The Aegean Sea surrounds the island .One of the interesting points for me were the. Any cats around with most having a left ear missing. It was explained by our guide that this missing ear alerts the Vets who visit the island that those cats are already spaded or neutered .
Argostoli was interesting as well but the next stop was my favorite! Athens was the pinnacle of the Greek Isles for me, the Acropolis was long ago on my wish list and finally I was there. The ruins did not disappoint and our tour guide was a walking wealth of Acropolis knowledge. The hills across the way were aptly known for the place where Democracy was founded making Athens the birthplace of our Democratic existence. The city of Athens boasted monuments, historical firsts and great weather . Our Cruise was rerouted to Trieste instead of ending in Ravenna as planned, it was a little hairy at first but we made it to Mika where we spent our last three days in Italy. Milan was just ok for me , very touristy and somewhat rude restaurant and store vendors. Our hotel The Hilton Milan was great and close to Milan Central station (a fabulous building in it’s own right). See my experience in pictures below. Message me to help you with your visit to Italy or any of my awesome experiences in my Blog. Enjoy !

We spent eight days touring Rome, Florence and Ravenna each city as interesting and educational as the next. We had visited Rome before but wanted to go atop St. Peter’s Basilica revisit some of the phenomenal architecture ! Florence is one of my favorite cities and I wanted to revisit an Italian restaurant from my visit six years ago. I still love it! Ravenna was a city to the north of Florence where we were to board our Greek Isle Cruise. This time was great to have our feet on land and to appreciate Italy’s offerings. I enjoyed climbing to the top of St. Peter’s and viewing the lower level , so awesome! The Swiss guards were a first viewing for me but so excited to see them , architecture was brilliant and saw some not seen before on my previous trip to Italy. The food was superb as always , my favorite being pizza and hand made pasta, seafood takes third in the lineup for me .😜See my time in Pictures below. I will help you to plan your own Italian jaunt when you are ready , my contact information is on my welcome page . Enjoy!

Me! Yes I went on my first transatlantic cruise in April 2023 aboard the beautiful Odyssey of the seas ! One of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum class ships which glided across the Atlantic Ocean over an eight day period into the heart of Europe. Odyssey combines cutting edge technology with luxurious amenities and boasts activities to keep your body and mind engaged for the entire fourteen days on board . The ship has a rock climbing wall, basketball court, pickle ball court (which is my new go to game for exercise) , North Star that extends over three hundred feet above the ship for a view that is spectacular! The ship was manned by the best crew ever , the vessel was spotless and the food was great ! We visited Izumi and Playmakers restaurants in addition to Windjammer and Main dining room for our main meals while onboard and enjoyed immensely.
The journey across the Atlantic seemed daunting for me prior to the start of the cruise but soon I was having a fantastic time with trivia daily, onboard gym time, quite time in the solarium after breakfast each morning with my book, Jacuzzi time prior to breakfast , jogging trail most days and of course shows and dancing every night. Their premiere show was “The Book” was showcased in the gorgeous indoor theater the Two70 . Dancing the nights away was my favorite activity just before my nightly casino visit to challenge the slots.
Cruise commenced in Ft. Lauderdale ,sailed across the Atlantic visited Valencia Spain,Marseille France , Mallorca Spain, Malaga Spain , Pisa Italy on our way to cruise completion in Rome(Civitavecchia ) . If you are considering a Transatlantic Cruise you will not be disappointed with choosing The Odyssey of the Seas. I will be happy to help you plan your holiday via their fantastic voyage about this ship. I will post some of my experience in Pictures and videos below. Enjoy!