My Big Fat “Geek” Cruise

I am back, and I am “Geeked out”.. oh and obviously after spending 7 nights on an All Inclusive Cruise preceded by 3 nights in Italy I have gained a few pounds too !!..

My trip started with 3 nights in Venice (Mestre), exploring all the sights of Venice and including walking on the (sloping) roof terrace of the stunningly ornate Basilica in St Mark’s Square.  I will do a separate blog later covering Venice and my stay in Mestre, but for now I will just say that as a City that has long been on my wish list it thoroughly lived up to my expectations.

Sunday – After our short city break in Venice it was time for Part 2 of the holiday – 7 nights on board the Norwegian Star for an Eastern Mediterranean Cruise.

Monday – Dubrovnik:  We opted for a Cruise Line shore excursion – which was specifically for Game of Thrones, as my husband is a fan of the programme – and led by an extra in the show who was extremely knowledgeable and supported the tour with a flip book of scene photos and then showed us how HBO (the producers) had used the location and added some of their own CGI.   This was a fantastic tour, and although not a fan of the show myself the climb to the fortress, and walking the city walls was amazing.

Tuesday – Kotor: a port which I had previously visited for the Majestic Princess launch in April this year, but lovely to return to and show to my husband the spectacular Fjordland scenery

Wednesday – Katakolon: Gateway to Olympia – we were unsure on whether to visit Olympia or not but following tender ashore we picked up a local organised tour and had a couple of hours to wander this area, although just from the edges as time did not really allow for full admission to the site, where the Olympics was started.

Thursday – Pireaus – port of Athens: Here, I had pre-booked hop-on-hop-off bus tour tickets offering 2 routes, one line serving the Port through to the Acropolis, and connecting there to the City line.  As the Acropolis was the main choice for this we spent several hours exploring this amazing site – more walking & steep stair climbing.  Before joining the City tour to do just the city loop showing the sights of Athens City which does have some impressive buildings but is mainly a very modern commercial city.

Friday – Day at Sea, to explore the other areas of the ship that we had not yet covered, I will do a separate blog also on the Norwegian Star and my own honest opinion on Freestyle Cruising – watch this space..

Saturday – Split: Here, we had again pre-booked a short 1 1/2 hour Game of Thrones Tour to explore the Diocletian Palace used for filming.  The city of Split is a lovely port and only 10 minutes stroll past some lovely boats in the harbour takes you in to the centre, housing the Palace as the main attraction but also a bustling market area and some lovely shops and pavement cafes.

All in all, I walked over 45 miles in my 10 day trip but owing to the food (& drink!!) consumed – still put on 4.5lb… and I really do have to pay a huge credit to my husband for not only some great photography, but a lovely 10 days together..

 

 


About Me

Hi my name is Frankie, and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to my page and to tell you a little bit more about ME... Coming in to 2019, sees me celebrating 30 years in the travel industry since starting on a High Street travel agency…

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