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During our 12-day cruise in the Mediterranean from Rome to Venice, we sailed aboard the Pacific Princess, which is a great ship for anyone who prefers a more intimate and classy cruising experience. At 30,277 tons, it’s less than one-third the size of most mega-ships. And with a capacity of just 670 passengers (double occupancy), there’s rarely a line-up for anything including lunch, the show lounge or going ashore.

This more intimate atmosphere aboard the Pacific Princess is no accident. The ship is one of 8 upscale vessels originally built for Renaissance Cruises in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When Renaissance went bankrupt, Princess bought 3 of the ships and renamed them the Pacific Princess (replacing the original Love Boat), the Tahitian Princess and the Royal Princess. Some of the other former Renaissance ships have ended up with luxury lines such as Azamara and Oceania.

As you would expect from a more upscale vessel, the décor aboard the Pacific Princess is refined and elegant, with the public areas decorated in Victorian style with wood paneling, brass railings, classical paintings and lots of marble and rich carpeting. The staterooms have dark wood trim, blue carpets, cream-coloured walls, and blue and gold bedspreads. This is a classy looking ship.

We had a reasonably sized balcony cabin (216 sq.ft) with twin beds converted to a queen, and a sitting area with a small sofa, coffee table and desk. The storage space was a bit spartan, particularly for a ship that does long voyages and world cruises. And we had to lift up the bed to get our suitcases underneath because it had a railing that dipped lower than the box spring.

Our stateroom had a small balcony with two chairs and table. We used it every day, especially in the late afternoon as our ship pulled out of port.  It was also great to walk out there in the morning to get a sense of what the day’s weather would be like as we prepared to go on an excursion.

In the public area, the sun deck is well laid out with lots of shade area around the outside, a medium-sized pool with two hot tubs, lots of sunning area around the pool, and a second level of lounge chairs on the deck above, overlooking the pool area. At one end is the pool bar, and at the other there is a small area for the band which played late each afternoon. I sat at one of the tables in the shade almost every afternoon writing my blog, listening to the music and enjoying a glass of white wine!

There are several great choices aboard the Pacific Princess for dining and entertainment.

The Club Restaurant is the main dining room, and it had two dinner sittings — usually 6:00 and 8:15 pm. It’s a cozy and elegant room with raised seating in the centre, and large windows on three sides.  The food was very good, there was a good variety including vegetarian and healthy living choices, and the service was excellent.  

As usual, we chose the second sitting because we hate rushing to dinner after an afternoon excursion, and we like the slower, more leisurely pace of the later service. Our wait staff were terrific, and they took the time to chat with us and entertain the girls with tricks and napkin folding demonstrations. On the Italian-themed night, they all dressed up like Gondola sailors and our two waiters — Crispen and Mancel — posed for photos with Sam.

The other dining choices include the Panorama Buffet, which serves buffet style dishes along with more simple options like pizza, and two alternative restaurants – Sabatini’s Italian and the Sterling Steakhouse.  Sabatini’s serves a set multi-course Italian meal that includes a large selection of hot and cold antipasti, pizza, pasta, a choice of seafood or meat, and dessert, all for an extra charge of $20 per person. The Sterling Steakhouse serves up a choice of appetizers, various cuts of steak including porterhouse and rib eye, and dessert for an added cost of $15 per person.  We dined once at each alternative restaurant, and enjoyed the steakhouse the most.

There are several bars and lounges around the ship, as well as a small casino. The Casino Bar offers live piano music before and after dinner to the rhythm of slot machines, roulette tables and black jack tables. The Club Bar, located just outside the entrance to the main dining room, serves up drinks in an intimate drawing room setting – you’ll find me there before dinner! The Pacific Lounge sits on deck 10 overlooking the bow and is the place passengers meet to dance, both to live music until 11:00 pm, and then afterwards when the lounge turns into a disco.

Our favorite night spot was the Cabaret Lounge, which puts on two shows a night ranging from the ship’s dancers and singers, to comedians, solo singers and illusionists. Our dance troupe from Australia was very talented and put on a three different shows, including a tribute to the “Rat Pack” and a French themed evening with Can-Can dancing called “Bonsoir Paris.”

 In addition to an attractive library complete with faux fireplace, the Pacific Princess has a couple of boutiques, a small gymnasium, a full service spa and an internet café.  The gym is equipped with a good variety of exercise equipment, and was never busy during our trip (not altogether surprising given the number of days we spent in port). The spa offers the traditional range of massages and treatments, and has a private mineral hot tub perched over the stern with a marvelous view of the sea.  

The Internet Café is another story. The instructions on how to sign up for service were confusing, there was no one available to help until the first sea day - a week into the cruise, and the connections were very unreliable. In addition, unlike the internet service on some cruise lines, there was no way to draft email text before signing on to the live connection and incurring time charges.   However, while the spotty internet service was a pain for me as a heavy user, it wasn’t an issue for most people.

The crew and officers aboard the Pacific Princess were terrific, which I think is a product of a smaller ship where everyone gets to know each other sooner and better. It’s hard not to run into the cruise staff several times a day on this ship, and the waiters in the dining room were more friendly and relaxed than on many larger vessels we’ve been on. As a result, we got to know a lot of the officers and crew quite well, which added to the enjoyment of our cruise.

The downside of a medium-sized ship like the Pacific Princess is that there are fewer public areas, and less choice for entertainment and activities. For example, there are none of the new-style attractions found on the mega-ships like water slides, rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, mini- golf courses, extensive shopping plazas, etc.  And smaller, more upscale ships tend to attract an older audience with fewer kids than on the larger ships.

The bottom line is that the Pacific Princess is for people who want a more refined and intimate cruise experience than they would find on larger ships in the premium market, including on the larger Princess ships.  For cruising traditionalists like my wife Gail and me, it was great and we would love to sail on her again. However, for our 18 and 20-year old children, it was good but not as much fun as sailing on the larger ships where there’s more to do and younger people to do it with.   

 

We walked down the gangplank of the Pacific Princess for the last time, feeling sad that our wonderful 12-day Mediterranean cruise had finally come to an end. But as we left the pier and saw our water taxi waiting near the western end of the Grand Canal, our disappointment instantly turned to delight.

In front of us stood the glorious City of Venice – the centuries-old masterpiece of art, architecture, canals and bridges that rest on an archipelago of low-lying islands in a lagoon on Italy’s Adriatic coast.

The “Serene Republic of Venice” was established in the 8th century, some 300 years after the first Venetians crossed the 4 km stretch of water from the mainland to escape the barbarian invasions. The lagoon proved to be a good defense, and the Venetians prospered, becoming one of the most influential and wealthy societies in the world, and the longest running republic until its breakup in 1797.

As we motored along the Giudecca Canal in our water taxi towards Piazza San Marco, we could see where the Venetians had spent those riches. Peaking up through the red-tiled rooftops of centuries-old houses, there were beautiful churches, clock towers, mansions and palaces almost everywhere we looked.

“What’s the name of that one,” Sam asked me as we glided by a particularly impressive looking church that was undergoing some renovations.

“The Sacred Church of Scaffolding,” I responded with a smile. “It’s an architectural technique you’ll find all over Europe, especially when you’ve traveled half way around the world just to see that very landmark!” I wasn’t kidding. Gail and I have seen just about every great church in the world in scaffolding, including Notre Dame Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

Venice is made up of six quarters (San Marco, Santa Croce, San Polo, Castello, Cannaregio and Dorsoduro), and it has a number of nearby islands including Murano, where the famous hand-blown Venetian glass is made. Since we only had 2 ½ days in Venice, we decided to focus our touring on San Marco, San Polo and Murano.

After checking into the Hotel Colombina on a narrow canal near the Bridge of Sighs, we walked along a series of narrow, winding alleys to the stunning Piazza San Marco. Standing in the middle of the Piazza, we looked in amazement at the awesome landmarks that surrounded us – the 11th century Byzantine Basilica di San Marco, the 14th century Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace), the Renaissance Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower), and the 16th century Campanile di San Marco (bell tower), which was rebuilt in 1912 after collapsing in 1902. There was quite a crowd waiting to get into the Basilica, but we discovered it thins out in the afternoon when the tour groups leave.

The next day we took the vaporetto water bus over to the island of Murano where we saw a glass-blowing demonstration and walked through the Murano glass factory. Unless you just won the lottery, you’ll likely find the prices at the factory far too expensive. This is where they keep the most elaborate pieces made by their master glass blowers, and there isn’t much here under 1,500 Euros. In contrast, the glass shops back in Venice carry less opulent, but more reasonably priced glassware.

After returning to San Marco, we browsed through the market at the Ponte Rialto where Sam made me buy a silly captain’s hat with “Venizia” stenciled on it. “It’s your Commodore Dave hat,” she giggled. We strolled across the bridge to San Polo and had lunch in a waterfront café overlooking the Grand Canal. As usual, we all ate pasta – Lindsay had the spaghetti pomodoro, Gail the fettucine with porcini mushrooms and shaved truffles, Sam the spaghetti with pesto sauce, and I had the linguini with lobster sauce – all washed down with great Italian wine and beer. A superb lunch!

On our final morning in Venice, we boarded a gondola for a lazy ride through the canals of San Marco. While gondola rides are not cheap (you have to barter for the duration and price, but it’s about $35 per person for a 40-minute trip), it should be on everyone’s “must do” list. There really is no better way to see and appreciate the glorious buildings, bridges and canals of Venice than on a gondola.

Later that day, we left the hotel for Marco Polo Airport by water taxi, which came right up to our hotel’s waterside door to pick us up. The girls thought this was really neat, and sat outside in the back of the boat taking photos of each other all the way to the airport dock.

Our vacation was over and we were on our way home, but not before we enjoyed a few final moments at sea with the glorious city of Venice in our wake.

(Next, I’ll be reviewing the Pacific Princess, the cruise ship we sailed on during our 12-day Mediterranean cruise from Rome to Venice.)

I recently had the privilege of speaking with one of the best Cruise Directors in the business, the talented and charming David Bradshawe of the Pacific Princess. Here is an edited version of our discussion:

Commodore Dave: So, David, how did you become a cruise director?

David Bradshawe: I was as an actor in Britain, and I interviewed in 1991 with P&O Cruises for a job as a performer. Luckily enough they gave me the job as entertainment officer on board the old Sea Princess which was part of the Princess fleet. In 1993 I was hired as an assistant cruise director and stayed for one contract and then in 1994 I went to P&O’s Canberra to do a world cruise. After that I chose to go back to what I originally trained as, which is an actor and performer. But I was in love with the sea so I returned to cruising in 2002 as part of a repertory company with Crystal Cruises. The Repertory Theatre at Sea, it was called, and I became the only British actor on this ship, and I had a ball. I did two contracts on Crystal and then after a short break went to New York to join the cruise staff for the inaugural year of Cunard’s QM2. I stayed with the QM2 for 15 months and eventually made my way up and am proud to say I left as Cruise Director in 2005 before rejoining Princess. So that’s how I did it.

CD: I think performers make great cruise directors. Have you ever had to jump in and perform in a show?

DB: On one of my last ships I had to do that. We had a number of performers down, so I had to don a pink suit – it wasn’t a pretty sight, but I did it.

CD: I was going to ask you if you had any favorite moments as Cruise Director that you could tell us about.

DB: That’s one of the moments that I can say is. We had a dancer with flu, one with an ankle injury, one hurt her arm and the other guy was throwing up in the wings, so I just had to go on and jump in there. So I donned this pink satin jumpsuit with feathers, which was a take on Elton John. It was pretty much fun, and I parodied Elton John and parodied myself and the audience loved it.

CD: What are some of the best things about being a cruise director?

DB: I think the places I have seen, and the people I have met. That’s the reason why we love this job. Certainly I do. Meeting people from different places and seeing how they live their lives. You never tire of learning. I don’t anyway. I am a student of life and I love that aspect to this particular job.

CD: How many days at sea have you put under your belt?

DB: Oh gee. I must have been around the world a minimum of five times. Before I came to sea as an actor, I was doing various jobs and got one working for an American charter airline called TIA. I went pretty much around the world with them for about 18 months on and off, also doing acting work. I have been at sea quite a few years now, so if you add up the total it must be about nine years at sea.

CD: What about ports of call? Can you estimate how many?

DB: Gee. I can’t imagine. It must be well over a hundred.

CD: Besides your home in Geneva, do you have a favorite port of call?

DB: I love coming into Sydney harbour. There’s something quite wonderful about that. New York as well is very special to me. The town itself, the city kind of feels like home for me, having lived there for six months. Venice is very special during the daytime as well. I am wide-eyed and very eager whenever I come into these ports.

CD: What is the cruise director’s day like? What’s your job?

DB: I am responsible for all the entertainment on board, which encompasses technicians, musicians, performers, administrative work as well. My day starts off around 8:30 with meetings, dealing with hundreds of emails, always problems with anything that goes on arising from entertainment, arising from broadcasting. It could be movies, machinery, technical issues, problems at home that people have, injuries… a multitude of things, so my day is encompassed around serving others.

CD: How long are you usually away from home?

DB: Usually the contracts run from 4-5 months with a 6-8 week break, then you are back. I only recently came back to Princess after 15 years away, so as the new kid on the block, I get the job as fill in for other cruise directors when they go on vacation. So I flit from ship to ship, which is rather wonderful as I get to see all different parts of the world. It’s suddenly déjà vu many years later.

CD: You were telling me earlier you are thinking of making a move to Toronto?

DB: That’s right. My wife’s family lives there and we are talking about it very seriously and looking forward to North America really. She’s a therapist in Geneva, which makes sense when you look at me! We’ll always have a base in Europe, but now’s the time to move onwards and the kids are coming out of university and school. My youngest is 12, going on 32, and he will be joining us in Canada so it will be a chance for the whole family to be together. We have four children: 2 boys, 2 girls. My eldest is 23 and very intelligent and beautiful. My youngest daughter again is highly intelligent and beautiful and wants to become an air hostess before setting up her own business. My oldest boy, Nico, is training to become a nurse and my youngest boy, Marco, is training to be a ladies’ man I think…he’s got all the ladies after him already. He’s a charmer!

CD: When you are on a ship for 5 or 6 months, do you get to have your family visit?

DB: Sometimes yes, we are lucky enough to get that opportunity. Initially my job is to get to know the “new family” that I have on board ship, to cater to their needs. Then my real family does come on board ship now and again. But it depends on breaks, it depends on Leah’s work in Geneva, and the kids having time off.

CD: Do you see your future continuing on cruise ships?

DB: For a few years yes. I take it as it comes. Travel is still in my blood and I am happy enough to perform now and again, and to do the management side.

I recently sat down with Peter Pratt, a veteran cruise officer who brings more than 40 years of sea experience to running hotel and passenger services aboard the Pacific Princess. Here is an edited version of our discussion:

Commodore Dave: Hi, Peter. Can you tell me a little bit about your background?

Peter Pratt: I was born in Portsmouth, which is a fairly famous naval base. My mother’s family were all in the British Royal Navy. I now live in North Yorkshire, which is about 250 miles north of London. I am married with two daughters and I split my time between Yorkshire and a place in Spain.

CD: How did you get involved with cruising?

PP: I always wanted to travel, and one of the best ways of doing it seemed to me to be working for a shipping company. So I applied to all the UK based shipping companies, and P&O hired me. I hadn’t actually intended staying all that long. I did a couple of trips and got promoted and decided to stay a bit longer, perhaps do another trip. That was in 1967 and it’s now 2008 and I’m still here, so it’s been a very successful career.

CD: Can you tell about the role of the Passenger Services Director? It sounds like the jobs of Purser and Hotel Director combined.

PP: The term of purser comes from the Royal Navy. He was the paymaster, so the purser looked after all the accounts on board and the crews’ pay. Then as passenger shipping became more intense, it stretched into being more of a hotel manager, managing a floating hotel. Over the years various aspects of that have expanded into food and beverage, that sort of thing, so it has become more into the hospitality area.

CD: Everyone has a favorite port of call. You’ve been on the seas for some 40 years. Can you think of one or two places that you think of as a favorite port, somewhere you look forward to?

PP: Sydney, probably; partly because it’s such a wonderful harbour and such a wonderful entrance into Australia. And I do love the Australians. I suppose years ago when we used to carry immigrants out to Australia we used to be in Sydney seven days at a time and that allowed you to explore ashore with a bit more depth than normal and develop more friendships and that sort of thing. So Sydney is where I would consider I have a second home.

CD: Everyone who has worked on a ship has some unusual stories. Do you have something that you remember as being a particularly challenging situation?

PP: Yes I have. One I always remember was on the Royal Viking Sky. The First Purser suddenly wasn’t on board one day when we were sailing from a North American port, and we didn’t know what had happened to him. All his gear was gone. But when we looked into his safe, there was no money in there - but there was, however, an IOU for $850,000. I think it was about six months before they actually caught up with him but meanwhile he continually every month sent in a $50 cheque to the company as part repayment of his “loan”.

CD: I am sure you have had some celebrities on board. Can you tell me about some of them?

PP: I can remember back on the old Oriana in 1968 we had Cary Grant travel with us from Southampton to Los Angeles and I remember him having a champagne reception. He was an absolutely delightful man; very, very easy with everybody, not standoffish at all. I also remember sailing with Peter O’Toole and Jack Hawkins. We didn’t see a lot of Peter O’Toole. Jack Hawkins was a most charming man. I also remember sailing with Tippi Hedren who was in the Hitchcock movie “The Birds,” Billie Jean King, Merle Oberon, and Norman Wisdom, a British comedian.

CD: So there have been quite a few over the years. Most of them have been well behaved. Obviously you didn’t get someone like Oliver Reed on board then?

PP: No but I think he would have been a bit of fun!

CD: Given your experience at sea, what type of destination would you recommend for a novice cruiser?

PP: I think a seven-day cruise, to see if you like it. And I would suggest somewhere like Alaska, the Caribbean or maybe Mexico, depending on your age group and what sort of fun you are looking for.

CD: What about someone who’s been on three or four cruises. What would you say to them?

PP: Either a Mediterranean cruise, or the Baltic. Or if you want to go further afield, going down to Australia. But certainly if you take a cruise out of Australia, I suggest you take a bit of time pre- or post-cruise in order to see something of the country.

CD: I guess one thing people wonder about is if you have a wife and family and are away at sea for so long, is that hard? And how do you cope with that to make it easier?

PP: Very difficult. I think both parties have to be very independent, which fortunately my wife and I are. And I think yes it is very difficult for both parties, and the children. There are a lot of things I have missed through being away at sea: parents’ evenings, childrens’ plays, sports days, and all that sort of thing. On the other hand, recently I was with my older daughter, having a drink in a pub in England, and I asked if she thought I did the wrong thing by staying at sea and missing a lot of her growing up. Her answer was “Yes, at the time, when I was at school, because other kids had both parents at things.” But, she said “Now I’ve grown up I realize there’s always a price to pay whatever you are doing in life and my sister and I have traveled all over the world with you, much more than we would have been able to do if you hadn’t been doing what you did, and I think you did the right thing.” Which made me feel a bit better.

It was drizzling rain as our tour bus rolled along the 10 km-highway that connects Ravenna with its commercial port on Italy’s Adriatic coast.

Today was our last port of call before we disembarked in Venice on Friday, and we wanted to conclude our cruise the way it had began – with a family tour. Besides, after the girls’ had pulled the great tour escape in Split, Gail and I thought we should ride shotgun on this excursion just to be safe.

Once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, Ravenna reached its cultural zenith as part of the Byzantine Empire between the 6th and 8th centuries A.D. During this period, Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora built a number of Eastern-style churches filled with marvelous mosaic frescoes on their walls, ceilings and domes.

Today they represent some of the finest surviving Byzantine mosaics in the world, rivaling even those found in Istanbul. And we soon discovered why when we stopped at the beautiful Basilica di Sant’ Apollinare Nuova.

Built during the early 6th century, the church has beautiful mosaic frescoes along the walls of the nave leading to the apse. The frescoes depict the three magi and virgins on one side, and a line of martyrs on the other, in a combination of softly-coloured and gilded mosaic stones.

Our next stop was the Basilica di San Vitale, the octagonal domed church built in the mid-6th century. At this point, I was ready for the girls to beg off the tour with a chorus of “Please Dad, not another old church!” But to my surprise, Sam, who had recently studied these mosaics in a history class, was now providing a running commentary for Lindsay, and they both looked enthralled.

“The mosaic in the apse is a representation of Jesus Christ wearing a halo while sitting on a globe surrounded by angels,” I heard Sam explain. “Look at the beautiful colours of the mosaics.”

Next, Sam guided us into the nearby Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the sister of Rome’s last emperor, Honorius.

“The mausoleum was built in 450, and the mosaic inside is called ‘The Good Shepherd’,” Sam told us. “It depicts a young Jesus Christ tending a flock of sheep, wearing a gold and purple robe with a golden halo above his head.”

As we were about to leave the tiny mausoleum (visits are limited to 5 minutes and flash photography is not allowed) Sam pulled me aside and asked if I could take a photo of the mosaic so she could send it to her teacher. We waited for our guide to leave, and then snapped a quick photo!

We concluded our tour with some wine and tapas at a nearby trattoria, and then returned to our ship for a final farewell.

As all four of us sat on the balcony watching the Pacific Princess cast off from Ravenna, we raised our glasses in celebration of what been a truly memorable and fun family vacation. It had been 12 glorious days and 10 fabulous ports since we had boarded the Pacific Princess, and now it was over.

But we still had 3 days to come in Venice. And as Lindsay pointed out, a long flight home across the Atlantic with plenty of time to start planning the next cruise!

(Tomorrow, I’ll be running interviews with two of the officers aboard the Pacific Princess – our cruise director, David Bradshawe; and our Passenger Services Director, Peter Pratt.)

 The dazzling Dalmatian countryside beckoned as we sailed up the Adriatic coast on Wednesday to the medieval town of Split, Croatia.

Perched on a narrow peninsula in the Gulf of Kastela and surrounded by the Dinaric Mountains, this picturesque region has been luring kings and emperors to its shores for centuries.

 In fact, the Roman Emperor Diocletian chose Split as the site for his new palace when he became ruler of the eastern empire in 294 A.D.

Over the years, Diocletian’s fortified palace eventually became part of a larger walled city, with much of the building taking place between the 13th and 16th centuries. Now a UNESCO world heritage site, the old medieval town is a beautiful collection of belfry towers, old churches, small shops and inviting plazas.

With the kids off on the “Split and Dalmatian countryside” tour, Gail and I decided to walk over to the old town and stroll through its flag-stoned alleys and lanes. Our first stop was the Diocletian Palace, which is connected by a gorgeous “Peristyle” central courtyard rimmed by ancient columns and arches.

 After visiting several more historic gems including the medieval St. Dominius Cathedral with its 14th century bell tower, we wandered over to the People’s Square (Narodni trg) for some espresso on the patio of a small café. As we were sipping our coffees, admiring the Gothic belfry and clock that overlook the square, we saw Lindsay and Sam walk by in full retreat from their organized tour which we had just spent over $150 on!

“Dad, the tour guide was going on forever about the palace, and we were completely bored,” they told us.

Well, more likely they were looking out the windows at all the quaint boutiques that line the streets of the Old Town and decided that shopping would be a lot more interesting than medieval history. While it was an expensive lesson, we now understand the physics of teenage touring – the sum of the shopping must equal or outweigh the time spent on excursions!

 

(Tomorrow we visit the marvelous mosaic city of Ravenna in Italy.)

 We stepped onto our balcony early Tuesday morning to find ourselves surrounded by steep limestone cliffs towering over sleepy medieval villages as our ship meandered along Europe’s longest fjord on its way inland from the Adriatic Sea to Kotor, Montenegro.

“I wonder how the sun can go down when a beauty like this can nowhere be found,” poet Ljuba Nenadovic once wrote about the gorgeous Montenegrin coast.

After an hour of breathtaking scenery, we arrived in Boka Kotorska (Kotor Bay), which has been designated a UNESCO world heritage protected site and one of the 30 most beautiful bays in the world. So beautiful, in fact, that it’s also right next to the bay where Canadian businessman and multi-millionaire Peter Munk is building one of the largest deep water marinas for luxury yachts in Europe – one that will even rival the luxury mega-yacht marina of Monaco.
We soaked in the beautiful scenery over breakfast on the fantail, and then all 4 of us disembarked around 9:45 am for a tour on a local boat of “Perast and Boka Bay.” On the way through the bay, a bottle of locally made Grappa was passed around the boat for all of us to sample. It was not to the kids’ taste, but as Grappa connoisseurs Gail and I were more than happy to polish off their leftovers!

Our first stop was the “Lady of the Rocky Isle” church, which dates back to the 12th century and sits on a tiny island in the middle of Boka Bay with beautiful vistas of the surrounding mainland. The church boasts 68 frescoes depicting the lives of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, and over 2,000 silver plaques donated by local seamen in gratitude for blessings granted.

Our next stop was the small Baroque-style village of Perast on the mainland, where we visited the 17-century Bujovic Palace which houses a museum that chronicles the history of this beautiful city, including its role as a leading maritime centre. After the museum, we walked past the clock tower to the centre of the city, and had locally brewed beers at a delightfully picturesque bayside café – four beers for less than 5 Euros. Gee, I think we could get used to the cost of living here!

We returned to the ship for lunch, and then went ashore on our own for a tour of the old quarter of Kotor. The old town is completely surrounded by ramparts which climb from the sea to the old fortress of San Giovanni located on St. John’s Hill some 250m above sea level. We walked through its narrow, flag-stoned alleys filled with old stone buildings on both sides dating mainly from the 14th to 17th centuries, including the historic “Town Clock Tower” built in 1602.

It was absolutely gorgeous and we all vowed to return for a much longer visit. However, much of Kotor’s beauty is that it remains largely unspoiled with no mega-resorts or fast-food restaurants (not a McDonalds or Burger King in sight), and we’d like to keep it that way…. so please don’t tell your friends about this fabulous bay – unless they plan to visit it with you.

Kotor now has our vote as the most beautiful port of call on our itinerary – even outpacing the beautiful Island of Capri. In fact, we will definitely return for a much longer visit in the near future.

Our next port of call is the Croatian port of Split, and then on Thursday we visit Ravenna, Italy before disembarking in Venice on Friday. Stay tuned for more reports, as internet connections permit.

June 11

On Monday we arrived in Corfu, the beautiful Greek Island located on the northern tip of the Ionian Sea at the entrance to the Adriatic.

The 4 of us decided to take the same shore excursion called “A glance of hidden Greece”, which took us on a bus trip to the villages of Paleokastritsa and Kinopiastes before dropping us off in old Corfu to explore its winding lanes and quaint town squares.

Corfu is known as the mythical island of the Phaeacians as described in Homer’s Greek legend “The Odyssey.” According to Homer, Odysseus (Ulysses) was shipwrecked on the island of Sicheria (Corfu) after escaping from the land of the Cyclopes on his return to Itahaca from the Battle of Troy.

Ulysses was found on the beach by Nausicaa, the daughter of King Alkinoos of the Phaeasians, and during his recovery told the story of the Trojan war, his battle with the one-eyed giant Cyclopes, and how his ship had been turned into rock by the vengeful Greek god of the sea, Poseidon.
Our first stop on the tour was the beautiful village of Paleokastritsa on the west coast of Corfu, which has an 800-year old monastery perched on a rocky promontory overlooking three turquoise coloured bays. According to myth, this is the town where Ulysses was washed ashore, and where a small rocky island in the bay is supposed to be the remains of his petrified stone boat.

Petrified boat or not, the view of the bay is stunning. And the monastery with its ornately decorated Orthodox chapel, ancient olive press and old cellar is not to be missed. However, the main attention-grabber turned out to be the monastery’s stray cats – particularly the newborn kittens, which everyone followed around photographing as they chased bugs and tilted at plants!
After the monastery, we travelled south to the small village of Kynopiastes with its traditional white Greek houses and narrow, winding roads. In the middle of town, we stopped at the historic Tavern “Tripa” for some tapas, Greek wine and folkloric dancing.

 The tiny “Tripa” is full of character and has hosted many celebrities since it opened in 1936 including leaders from Greece, France and the United States. After the performance, inhibitions washed away by wine and Ouzo, some of us accepted the dancers’ invitation to join in. Sam was the first on the floor and did a great job, including during the famous “Zorba the Greek” circle dance. Opa, Sam!

We finished our tour with a stop in the old town of Corfu, which is sandwiched between two fortresses and surrounded by walls. We strolled along narrow flag-stoned lanes which decant into hidden courtyards with tall stone houses set side-by-side, and ornate churches with bell towers. A few minutes into our walk the skies opened up with a thunderous clap, and we dashed into a small café to get out of the pouring rain, but it did give us an opportunity to enjoy some lovely rich tasting Greek coffee.

The shower was short-lived and the girls were soon on their way to do more shopping – they returned with colourful dresses, olive oil soaps, and small bottles of locally made Kumquat liquor and Ouzo. Maybe they’re planning a Greek-themed party in their cabin later this week!

Our ship left Corfu at 5:00 pm and set sail for Kotor, Montenegro further north on the Adriatic coast. Our escapades there will be reported tomorrow.

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