I would like to add a few more observations.

I am fussy about coffee and last yr. on the Connie it was pretty bad. This time both the coffee in the MDR and the cafeteria was surprisingly much better. I did not regret bringing my Starbucks Via instant veranda blend but all in all it was much better. I do wonder if X did something to improve it.

Overall we felt like there was little if any solicitation form the crew to buy things. They pretty much left you alone.

One never knows about the weather. Last yr. we were in this area at around the same time and it was easily 15 degrees warmer this time. Athens last yr. was quite chilly. In fact I had to buy a hoodie to go under my jacket. This yr. shirt sleeves was fine and Santorini was warm.

I was wondering when you were going to do a Trip Report.

Glad everything went so well.

Give us a list of your ports of call.

Pssst !!!! don't forget to vote tomorrow .

hoodie to go under a jackey for jacket watch ... hmm

Nice TR. If I don't know you better, I would say you got paid off by X .

Actually I voted on Sat. I will do the ports as well. Stay tuned!

Staying tuned!

So lets start with the 1st port, Santorini. As this is the only port we tendered into it actually started the day B4. After breakfast we got in line by one of the lounges for tender tickets. The wait in line for me was around 45 minutes but it went by fast as I chatted with the folks in line and once we got our tickets it moved pretty fast bit by the time they began allocating them the line was HUGE! We hade tendet boat no. 2 which basically meant no. 1 as they called you in batches by two groups.

We were on shore in about 10 minutes or so after we shoved off and got in line again for the cable car to the top of the cliff where the town basically is. You can take the donkeys if you like but hey, the cable is quick and cheap and the donkeys can be, well asses sometimes. . Interestingly you can't get a R/T ticket when you ascent. Gotta get tickets going up and coming down.

Actually if was fairly warm that day so we just strolled, shopped had a snack which included santorinis own brew, Yellow Donkey which I am told is not even exported to other Greek islands. They have another brew, Red Donkey, which is a bit heavioer than the yellow, a light lager. I must say as i like to try local brrews this was very, very nice.

We shopped a bit more, bargained for some jewelery and decided to head back early to beay the crowds though it didn't seem crowded going up. We were still sort of jet lagged so my plan to eat dinner there was not such a good idea at the time of arrival. i must say this little town is beautiful clean and is great for pictures. And the local lager.

Larry, you didn't take the stairs? It's only 800 steps give or take!

When we were there last, we were tendered ashore at Athinios and was told that they will pick us up at Firon (the landing beneath Thira). We did a tour of the island, had lunch in a small town in the middle of nowhere (Pyrgos?) and ended the day in Thira and took the cable car down and tendered back to the ship.

I am surprised that they didn't offer you the "crazy donkey". It comes in a champagne styed bottle, just like the red donkey, but with higher alcohol content (6%?)

One look at me and thats the 1st thing they should have done.

We tendered right at the cable car location so it was a snap. My original plan was to have dinner overlooking the sea but we were still a bit jet lagged so we cut things short after strolling around and having a snack of tzatsiki (spelling) and bread and of course that yellow donkey lager. Really good stuff too.

I am surprised that in Europe there is no way to leave a tip on the bill if you pay with a cc, at least at most places we went to.

We did did some shopping and got a nice BD necklace for my sons GF and a T-shirt for him. .

What I did notice is that people on the islands vs. Athens are a bit less grim. I know their economic situation is perilous but in Athens it seems the mood is terrible. Cabbies push to seel more than what you want or over charge you and shop keepers seems distracted to say the least. No surprise considering everything of course. However it seems that those Europeans I spoke with on the ship inre to the Greek econ. crisis feel that its way pst time for them to shoulder their load. Not much sympathy that I experienced. There was a guest lecturer on the ship who also had some interesting things to say inre to their situation and it was not flattering at all. He said that the goal, and bear in mind these are his words, not mine, of college graduates there is to get a cushy govt. job, report late to work, do little and retire at an early age and live off of a pension. This is of course all gone now. Objectively he said that of the 11 million Greek citizens last yr. or the yr. B4 only 11,000 filed an income tax return showing earnings greater than 100,000 euros. Hmmm. This is of course one viewpoint but its interesting.

My Greek friends here tell me about the same thing.

No one wants to really work and and they avoid taxes like the plague.

They ( the Greeks who have immigrated) tell me reality is now catching up to Greece.

Yes, I am following your report

Last yr. on 60 minutes there was a segment about the crisis and it was mentioned that 40% don't even file a tax return . Stayed tuned.

Ok guys so our next stop was two days in Istanbul which is a city I am very fond of having been there last yr. 3 days pre cruise. Day one we decided to see Topkapi palace which we did not see last yr. then hit the Grand Baazar. The cabbie of course tried to schmooze us for a private tour of IT which we declined. Several times. Can't blame him for trying I suppose. Well we got to Topkapi along with what seemed like half the population of IST and just about every school child there as well. It was super packed and lines were long so we just had to cut it short and head to the baazar. While there we shopped, had a nice lunch and decided to head back as we had evening plans in IST as well. Then it got a little interesting. I thought the cabbies would know what "cruise ship terminal" meant but got a couple of guys who did not understand enough English to get us there. Finally we got someone who understood so off we went. When I tried to pay him in USD I found out something interesting. They accept them but only if they are crisp, like brand new. He said if the currency is older, has even a slight tear or is wrinkled he has a very hard time turning them in. So finally after giving him several bills which he gave back we got it straight but it took nearly 5 minutes of this back and forth trading to get it straight. I was about to get a headache.

So we went back to the ship, rested and then met some lovely people we know who live in IST. It was very nice to see them again so we hit a Starbucks which is across the street from the dock, chatted for a while then they took us to an area called Taksim vie the subway. Interestingly the subway was entirely automated meaning there was no drivers or personnel. Never saw that before but we got there just fine. Taksim is a really cool area in IST which has a huge open street with many shops and restaurants on either side. You can walk, talk, see street performers, shop, eat and relax. It was evening time and it was well lit up. I can only imagine whats its like during a holiday, every festive. I found a you tube clip about it. See below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-QjcUdUvE4

Then we decided to eat so we found a local Turkish place and had a wonderful meal but what was interesting was the huge portions of meat we received. We ordered a mixed grill platter for 5 and the amt. we received could have been for 10! I simply could not believe how much they gave. There was tow full plates leftover it was that much.

Afterwards we strolled back to the subway and back to the ship. We thoroughly enjoyed our 1st day in IST and were so happy to see our long distance friends again.

Tomorrow was day two and it was "interesting." gotta run now though.

When people talked about Istanbu, they have this sterotype image in their head which is typically all wrong.

I am surprise that you head back so soon, especially when you were there just last year.

Keep the TR coming ...

Well its like E. Celebrity gave us a nice OBC to make up for a problem last yr. On top of that we really wanted to experience an S class ship. I've wanted to since I first read about them actually and the reviews for the Equinox in particular have been especially good. As for IST I really like this city and we have friends there so all in all it worked for us. heck I would not mind going next yr. but Sue has other ideas so thats out.

Actually you are correct in that IST is cosmopolitan. At the same time you see people respond to the prayers calls you also see women dressed as they would in Europe or the US and it seems they get along fine. Nice when you have tolerance, isn't it.

So anyway the next day we were to meet in one of the lounges for a Bosphorus river cruise at 0745. No problem. Well I stir out of bed and see its 0735!! Yikes! Jet lag I guess. I get Sue up in a hurry and tell hers whats up and we are rushing to get ready and she say she has to have a cup of tea. Well I squelch that idea in a hurry and off we run to the lounge which we got to just as the assembly was leaving. So she's mad, I'm a bit perturbed thinking why is she mad about not getting some tea when for criss sake we would miss the whole thing so off we go in silence in our own little snits. We take the bus in dead silence and begin walking to the boat when she says "oh happy birthday" and gave me a kiss. All is well again.

So we had a cool cruise on this historic river seeing palaces, grand hotels and all the while realizing that this river separates the European and Asian continents How cool is this. Actually it was pretty cool so we went below, she had her tea and some cookies and I had some coffee and we are all well now.

We had a stop at the spice market along the way which is very, very neat. I do wish we had more time there but hey thats another reason to go back, right. We get buy some sweets and a few other things. Afterwards we headed back to the ship on the river boat and I must say this was a very enjoyable experience.

That night we had dinner at the Silk harvest speciality restaurant with some people we met who were from Manchester via Mauritius originally. Interestingly if you order say three things they bring four or five just to have to try a combination they think you would enjoy. The service is excellent as is the food. And for the 1st time in my life and probably the last happy birthday was sung to me in Chinese! All in all it was a fun day though it started off rahter poorly. well its how it ends that counts I suppose.
Next port Kusadasi.

Larry, I guess Sue is a great actress and she pretnded she's mad at you quite well and really got you going .

Now, unless you speak the language, how do you know they sang happy birthday in Chinese? ... unless you were in a Chinese restaurant (Silk Harvest = Asian ?)

I suppose you are right. .

Silk Harvest is pan Asian actually. I suppose we will have to trust them as to the singing.

What is also interesting is that the next day in the cafeteria one of the bosses up there asked me how the cake was that I had that night. Pretty nice.

Gotta go now. I can hear Sue stirring up stairs. Time to make chai.

For whatever reason, we seldom celebrate special occassions. We might go out for a dinner on a birthday or what have you but we generally don't tell people so we won't have the "spectacle".

If you have a habit of giving gifts year round, you don't have to wait till Christmas or birthdays to give gifts. So, if you treat everyday as a special occassion, then there is no need to celebrate the "special day".

I must admit that hearing happy birth day sung to me was nice, esp. in Chinese and while on a nice vacation.

However over all as time goes by these sort of "occasions" do lose a bit of their luster though for us they still do matter some. Different strokes.

Sorry it took so long to continue with the port stops but after vaca life became busy as usual.

Our next stop was Kusadasi which we actually saw last yr. as well. Then we met a nice gal, Oya who became a friend and showed us Ephesus so this yr. we arranged to meet her again (she free lances at times for Hello Ephesus) and see some other sites but also to visit with her as well.

Our first stop was the house of the blessed virgin Mary who as certified by three popes lived here during her latter yr. Of copurse it is a holy spot andit was fairly crowded though nothing like the day in Itanbul we tried to see Topkapi. Marys home is small and we did go thru it, lit a candle and got some souvenirs for people back home who wanted somethign from this place. Similar to the western wall though much smaller is a wall there where you can leave notes or wishes and of course its packed with them. We strolled around after that and got some Turkish ice cream from street vendors which is actually an experience. They are dressed up in traditional, colorful costumes and dispense ice creme from a long and I mean long, about 3 foot long metal rod with a scoop at the end of it. Then after they put your selection on a cone they sort of tease you by offering in, then pulling it back or moving it out of your grasp. its all good fun.

As we saw Ephesus last yr. we decided to see the quaint village of Sinince. And I mean quaint. This is a quintessential quiet village. The roads are narrow and the shops are plentiful and easy. There was a sign which said "browse without being pestered." Pretty nice. The shops were full of locally made wine too. I've never seen so much wine in such a small area in my life! Maybe thats why its so quiet. . This was a such a nice place to visit as we get to see a life style that is so different from ours that its hard to remember that many live this way.

After Sirince we visited this gem of a restaurant which Oya introduced us to last yr. called Bizim ev. This place is another gem that only a local would know about. last yr. I simply could not believe how many delicious, fresh items were offered buffet style. Well its true because this yr. it was just as good. If you are ever in this area folks do try it. See the link:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g297981-d1759168-Reviews-Bizim_Ev-Avanos_Cappadocia_Nevsehir_Province.html

This place has become more known as now the chef has a cook book out and Oya told me that she will be in Chicago Sept. 2013 for a Turkish festival. I'll be there too!

So on a full stomach we made our way back to the ship after a completely satisfying day spent visiting a friend and seeing new places.

However Oya did tell me something thats is unfortunate. She came by ferry to meet us from a Greek island she was visiting and mentioned that as a Turk when she arrived there even though the lines were not long she had to wait hours to be processed thru immigration. Seems its a normal practice. Thas too bad.

Next stop Athens.

Was in Ephesus also and now waiting for the Athens segment.

Hopefully you can make a few comments on the economy there.

I am following .

Next stop Athens. To refresh you a bit the boss said this yr. WE ARE NOT WALKING! Last yr. we walked. And walked and walked, all over Istanbul, the holyland, Ephesus, and so on so this yr. we(she ) decided we would take it easy. Allrighty then.

We took a cab from the port to the plaka, just like last yr, and decided to stroll and shop. Percy you asked about the economy so a reflection of that actually began with the taxi driver. He really was pushing to have us buy a tour. Despite numerous times being told we just wanted to relax he was a bit insistent so finally I said we are meeting friends in the plaka so he would just leave us alone. Of note the weather this yr. was much warmer. Last yr. we were in Athens at practically the same time but it was very chilly then. In the plaka I stopped to buy a hoodie just because it was so chilly. We stopped in the same store this yr. too BTW and bought a few more things. Of note is how the shopkeepers seemed to be and that was grim. There seemd to be a quiet sense of impending doom. No smiles, no laughs, just serious faces.

We stopped for lunch and noticed more of the same from the restaurant staff. Just a resolute going about their business but no joy at all. Its very sad.

We decided to head back to the ship and this time the cab stand manager was charging about 5 euros over what we paid to go to the plaka so when I mentioned this he sort of said to the effect of its a good tip for the driver. I could have gone elsewhere but decided that it wasn't worth it and off we went back to the ship. Actually until this economic crisis is settled in Athens I've had enough of it though it seems people in the Greek islands are more upbeat.

Interestingly I also noted that the euro exchange rate in Greece was substantially less than what we got on Italy and what we got later on in Madrid. I always thought that the exchange should be the same. After all its the same currency. However in Italy and Spain I was getting about 140.00-145.00 euros for 200 USD. In Greece that same $200.00 would return well less. Once as low as 128.00 euros was offered. I refused it as I did not need it right then anyway.

Recently I heard that Greece had to administer sharp cuts in order to get another bail out and that included cuts in the pensions and reductions in salaries. I heard that MD's had to take cuts of 300.00-400.00 euros per month.

One of the nice things about having satellite radio is listening to the BBC. I luv their no nonsense, to the heart of the matter approach. Recently I heard an interview with two average retirees in Greece to see just how the austerity measures are affecting them. It was noted that one person could not afford electricity, had barely enough to feed himself and during the interview one could hear the sound of creatures (rats?) scurrying in the walls. The other said his pension was just around 400.00 euros per month, 300.00 of which went for rent. Its a very grim situation for many, some far worse than others it seems.

So now its on to Mykonos. Lovely Mykonos. Though we were supposed to tender in it seems that from the outset of the cruise they knew they were going to dock. I went to to Purser desk to inquite about tender tickets and was told we would be docking. It seems there is only one dock available and somehow the capt. managed to reserve it for us. Nice.

I had read that once you dock there all you do is simply walk into the town so given that assumption we walked off the ship and found basically nothing. I did see a few places open to rent a scooter or car so I got the idea that this was not going to be a short walk. We decided to follow some other folks and finally asked them if this was the way to town and of course they did not know either. Hmmm. Then we got to a fork in the road so now what to do. Well I saw a cleaners so I asked the ladies in there where the town was. I must say these two were easy to look at, lets put it that way. .

So we decided to follow their advice and walk the way they told us. Then we found some other folks who were coming back so we asked them where the town was and fortunately it was just ahead of us. All in all the town was at least a mile from the dock.

Well it was worth the walk. Mykonos is just as you see it pictures, narrow, shaded and gently winding roads with bluish hues, flowers, very clean and neat. We decided to stop at a seside cafe to some coffee and pastry. My wife had perhaps the best glass of OJ ever. We had a nice talk with the waiter who had lived in Chicago of all places but moved back to Greece some yrs. ago. Though I did not bring it up the topic of the economy arose. I suppose if your future is so in doubt and full of uncertainty one can't help but talk about it if that helps to ease the anxiety. I thought he was putting up a brave face but you could tell there was at least a fair amount or an undercurrent of worry.

We strolled along some more and ducked into several shops and got a few souvenirs. I was a bit surprised that the shopkeeper cut such a steep discount on our purchases. Well it was towards the end of the season so thats at least part of it. The other part I think has to do with the need to make a sale. We also saw the windmills that one associates with Mykonos, sort of a landmark really.

Again this was going to be a leisurely trip for us in terms of port stops so we decided to get a cab back to the ship. One mile one way was enough.

All in all I really enjoyed Mykonos. There is something idyllic about it thats very picturesque and peaceful. I actually prefered it to the more well know Santorini. Now of only they could get that yellow donkey lager!

Next stop Naples. Waitill I tell you what we did they. Sue's idea too.

I also enjoyed Mykonos but when we disembarked , a shuttle was waiting for us ( free) to take us to a drop off area...where

you had to then walk up that incline to get into town.

The bus could go no further than the drop off area.

The walk is too long for many people and when I was there it was 84 F...not the kind of temperature you want to be walking beside the "highway " in.

Yes, I agree , a taxi back... one way walk is enough.

Okay , let hear about Naples. Did you go down the Almafi Coast ?

So finally I get back to telling our Naples story.

No we did not do the Amalfi coaast. We had seen Pompei from our very 1st cruise in 2002 so we decided to do a leisurely boat tour around Capri but a few days ahead of that we decided to just take it easy, go into town and walk a bit.

We strolled into town and as we were not sure of exactly where to go Sue said "lets follow those people" so we did for a while until we passed a few people and realized we were following a hearse. Exit stage right.

We then found a lovely sidewalk cafe and decided to have lunch. Well we are in Naples, the birthplace of pizza so of course we had that and a side order of THE best buffalo mozzarella I have ever tasted. It was so fresh and flavorful and the owner of the place, a friendly saw how much we were enjoying it so he struck up a chat with us. They actually get it from a farm nearby. I also saw several pictures of older Celebrity cruise ships on the walls of this place so as it turns out this guy used to know the Chandris family who started Celebrity cruises and had worked on their ships years ago. Even though we did not tour around we were content to meet the locals and get to know them a little. As this cruise had some intensive port stops something casual was good for us and as this was our last port we decided to take it easy.

So we walked a little more, shopped some more and strolled back to the ship. Nothing terribly exciting but for us it was enough.

Our last day on the ship was spent packing and getting ready for disembarkation. We said our goodbyes to all the folks we met from all over the world. There was a couple from Manchester via Mauritius, another couple from Orange county who had originally been in France and who families had fled from there before WW II and another couple transplanted to orange county as well who were originally from Romania. I could go on and on but for us meeting people is a huge part of the cruise experience. One good thing about cruise vacations is that practically all the passengers are there for a good time so an upbeat vibe is usually fairly to attain.

Disembarkation was a complete breeze. We were walking to our assembly point at the alloted time when we saw people from there already heading off and a crew member said they were way ahead of schedule so we turned around and got off with no waiting at all. Our luggage was where it was supposed to be and we found it immediately. The only problem was that it went so smoothly that we had to wait nearly an hour for our pick up to FCO. Problems like that are welcome!

All in all this was our best cruise experience ever. Add up all the elements of a cruise experience including service, food and the ships appearance and amenities and this one was tops for us.

Everyone is different and everyone looks for different things in a cruise. Some look for relaxation, some sight seeing, some for companionship. Others maybe for food (not quality, but quantity).

I don't even know what our best cruise experience was. Every cruise was unique and every one of them had its own pluses. We had not evn on any bad cruise yet although we got to admit, some are better than others. We tend to have very selective memory and only remember the pleasant stuff. No point in reliving the disappointed moments.

I remember a comment someone made to me a while back. "Best Cruise Ever! Bought a diamond ring at one of the ports for two third off." I asked her the name of the shop and she didn't remember. I asked for the name of the port and she didn't remember. As it turns out, she couldn't even remember the name of the ship but it was the "best cruise ever". To each their own ...

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