Grand Mediterranean 12 Day cruise

My husband and I always wanted to travel to Europe.We always contemplated on places we wanted to visit, there is so much to see and so little time, and money! So we decided to do it "big" for our honeymoon.

Last year was our first year cruising with Norwegian cruise line to Alaska and we really enjoyed it. We decided to give cruising the Mediterranean a try! Not only does the cruise line take you to many places, but it is a great way to ensure that we have a safe and reliable place to stay, eat, and rest before our next destination.  Here is an outline of our twelve day cruise.

Cruise Line Information: 
Norwegian Cruise line won our hearts last year and we decided to sail with the same company again. My husband and I really like the "freestyle cruising", which means that we can attend any shows at any time, eat at any time, and participate in any activities as we please with no scheduling or

planning.

Our cruise line embarked in Venice, Italy and ended in Barcelona, Spain. We traveled in early August and the total cost to book the cruise line was about $4,500 for an ocean view room for two people.The price per person began with $1800 for Ocean view, but with the fees and taxes, things added up quickly.  I booked the cruise through Orbitz, the company offered two free packages if we book an ocean view, plus a spa package up to $200. Although, I don't believe there is much difference in the price if booked directly through Norwegian.

 We decided to get the Beverage package and the 5 Specialty Restaurant dining package. The price per person began with $1800 for Ocean view, but with the fees and taxes, things added up quickly.

If you'd like to read more about the cruise line choices, please click here.

Venice:

My husband and I arrived a day before the cruise embarkation to spend more time wandering the streets of Venice. It is truly one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen.

Hotel:
We stayed in hotel Principe, which was right in the main street of (Lido de Venezia)Venice. The rates were reasonable, and the hotel turned out to be quite quaint. The room was small, but was everything we needed for one night. Plenty of air conditioning and good WiFi. Restaurants and shops were right outside our door.

Food:
The front desk attendant recommended that we go eat at  Trattoria Vittoria da Aldo. They are a small, family owned restaurant located in Lido de Venezia. We wanted to try authentic Italian cuisine and that is exactly what we got! The prices were reasonable, and the food was fresh and delicious. Try their fish soup, it will blow your mind. Just remember that touristy places are usually more expensive, so much of the Venice restaurants were pricey. However, if you're looking to save money, they sell slices of Pizza and quick snack food all over the city. If you want to go to the outskirts of the city to eat cheap, it will cost you as you will most likely need a taxi to get to another location. The taxis charge an arm and a leg in Europe.

Things to do :
There are so many things to do in Venice. My husband and I are all about saving money. The best way to explore the city is by foot.  The first

night we were there, we decided to do just that. We spent about two hours walking around the canals and admiring the architecture. The city has so many little souvenir shops, murano glass shops, clothing shops, live music, beautiful sights, and so much more which makes it so easy to fall in love with the city.

If you're looking to ride a Gondola, be prepared to spend some cash. The Gondola ride is 100 Euros for 35 minutes, it was a bit out of our budget so we decided against it.

The next day we went to Murano Island in Venice, the only way to get there is by private taxi or by their water transportation system called Vaporetto. Venice has several stations (they remind me of bus stations on water). My husband and I bought an all day pass for the Vaporetto water transportation system. The pass was 28 Euros each, but it is certainly cheaper than a water taxi. Murano is about 20 minutes by Vaporetto and it is totally worth a visit! It was a beautiful island, we spent a few hours walking around and checking out handmade glass sculptures. The island is filled with little shops that sell variety of handmade glass sculpted souvenirs.

If you're looking to come watch people doing glassblowing , be sure to get to Murano early. The last show is usually at 3:00 PM.

We enjoyed walking around Murano as it was less crowded than the main island of Venice. There are many restaurants in Murano, but most of them don't open until dinner time. However, you can find a few Cafe's or pizza shops that have decent food for decent prices, and a chance to use a restroom! Alcohol costs cheaper than getting a can of coke, so we indulged ourselves in drinking beer and wine.

Unfortunately, there are so many more places to see in Venice including the Burano Island, Torchello, St.Mark's Square, St.Mark's Basilica,  and so much more! My husband promised he'd take me back for our 20th Anniversary, so I'll be waiting.

Croatia:

Things to do:

Our port of call was Dubrovnik, it is a 15 minute shuttle ride from the city port. There are taxis that can pick you up and drive you to the city. Norwegian offered a 15 Euro per person shuttle that took us to and from the city Gates, we settled on that.

We are a big Game of Thrones fans and it is no surprise that we decided to buy the Game of Thrones Tour of Dubrovnik. The city was used to film parts of the show, including the Red Keep, Kings Landing, several battle scenes, the famous "walk of shame" scene, and a few other important scenes of the show.The walking tour cost us about $65 a person from Orbitz, and we are very glad we did it! Dubrovnik is a small and beautiful town, and exploring it through the Game of Thrones lens helped us kill a few hours and get access to some high points that overlook the city.

Many film companies used Dubrovnik as a backdrop not just for its' beauty but also for tax free exemptions. The new Star Wars movie will include settings from Dubrovnik as well!

The restaurants are quite expensive, especially the ones up the hill. The closer you are to the water, the cheaper the prices. My husband and I enjoyed two salads and two cokes in one of the restaurants

that were high up the steps, we ended up paying 54 Euros for everything. The salads were delicious and the WiFi was free, but it was very expensive.


For the last few hours, we walked around Dubrovnik enjoying the sighs and even putting our feet in the water! Many people from all over Europe come to the city to vacation and hit the beaches.

Montenegro:

Things to do:

Our port of call was Kotor.  I bought an excursion through Viator for a Kayaking to Blue Cave adventure. I learned that buying tours through Norwegian is expensive and not worth it.  Viator is a reliable website with reliable tours, some tours even offer a Guarantee back to the boat (in case you miss the boat they will pay to transfer you to the next city). Here is a link to the tour if you'd like to purchase.  I did not buy a Protection plan for this particular excursion because it only lasted 4 hours and we were sure to be back on the boat in time.

We met our tour guide in the city and he drove our group to the rocky beach of Kotor to a camp site near the water. We all suited up, got into Kayaks and began our adventure to the blue caves. My husband and I never kayaked before, and it was challenging and painful. We learned that this is not for everybody and you must REALLY be in shape in order to Kayak that far. Needless to say it was a beautiful experience we will never forget. 

Once we got back to Kotor, we had a few hours left to explore. We went into town, had lunch and did some souvenir shopping.

Other Things to do:

There are many other things you can try in Kotor including: Old Town walking tour, climb the city walls especially the St.John's Castle. It is a challenging climb but totally worth the view.

The city itself is so Dubrovnik. It is very poor, old, and somewhat run down. However, there is also something peaceful about this city and is definitely worth exploring.

Athens: 

Things to do:

The next stop on our Norwegian 12 day cruise was Athens, Greece. There are many companies that offer excursions to Athens. Don't waste your money! Once you get out of the port, you will be greeted by many Taxi drivers who will offer you 5 hour services to take you all over Greece for just 80 Euros! This is the best deal we've got all trip! The Taxi driver took us to Acropolis, the Parliament building, temple of Zeus, Olympic stadium, and even let us shop and eat. Our taxi driver also turned out to be knowledgeable and friendly and gave us a quick description of this city.

One drawback of not booking a tour through a company is the fact that we had to buy additional tickets to get into the Acropolis and the first Olympic stadium. We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to get our tickets into Acropolis and Parthenon (same place), the tickets were 20 Euros a person. However, seeing that the all day tour cost more than 120 Euros a person, we ended up saving so much money, so consider donating to the economy of Greece and exploring the city with a local Taxi driver. 

Other Things to do:

There are other sites you can ask your taxi driver to take you to including: Acropolis museum, Temple of Hephaestus, Pnyz, Zappeion, Roman Agora, Hadrian's Acrh.

Mykonos: 

Things to do:

One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! You can simply get lost in the winding white streets of the city. Mykonos was built using same style, colors, and architecture to confuse pirates. If all streets and buildings look the same, it is easy to get confused and turned around.

If you're looking to travel to various beaches of Mykonos, be sure to get on a shuttle from the port. The reason is because there are only 31 Taxis in the whole city, and the wait for Taxi's can be very long. Also, I suggest you  hit the beaches early in the day (it may take up to 3 to 4 hours to get a Taxi there, relax for an hour, and get a Taxi back). 

My husband and I got a pleasure of getting lost in the streets! They are filled with shops, restaurants, and even churches. We somehow ended up at the top of the Village overlooking the city and it was breathtaking!

We did not book any excursions in Mykonos because there is much to do on foot! 

My husband and I ended up finding a quiet restaurant and enjoyed sipping on cokes while overlooking the city. We then walked around and shopped for Souvenirs. After a few hours, we ended up going to the beach right by the old town. It is not the best beach in the whole Mykonos, but because of lack of Taxis and the long wait for a Taxi, we simply did not have time to travel to another, more beautiful beach. 

Things to look for while walking around in Mykonos: The Church with the blue top, Catholic Church of Mykonos, the Windmills. 

Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast: 

Things to do:

How can you be in Naples and not visit Pompeii? I booked two excursions from Viator that included an entrance to Pompeii and a climb to Mt.Vesuvius. The excursion also included food and drinks. The cost was $105 per person. The adventure was worth the price! We did not have to wait in line to buy tickets to enter Pompeii, we had a guided tour of the huge city, we had a great lunch, and had transportation as well as entrance tickets to Mt.Vesuvius.  If you'd like to book the same excursion we did, click here. 

The tour group met us right outside the port where we got into one of the big motor coach buses. We took a 30 minute drive to Pompeii. There, our tour guide provided us with a radio and headphones so that we can hear her while she walks. Our tickets already included the entry to Pompeii, so we did not have to wait in long lines.

After the two hour tour, we were given a few minutes to explore the market and buy any souvenirs. Then, we walked to a pizza restaurant. The pizza was delicious!


After our lunch, we were transported to Mt.Vesuvius. They drove us about half way up the mountain and we had to walk the other half. It was quite a climb. The mountain was very steep, we stopped every once in a while to take a break and drink some water. There are stores on the mountain that sell water for only 1.50 Euros, great deal! It took us about 30 minutes to talk up the mountain. The views were stunning from up there!

There was no lava to see as the mountain itself is capped by rocks and dirt, which makes it the more dangerous when it erupts.

After we came back down the mountain to our transport bus, we stopped at one of the shops. The shops are very reasonably priced. Three "Mt.Vesuvius" wines cost me 13 Euros, what a steal!

Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore the rest of Naples or the Amalfi Coast which we heard was beautiful. If you're not the outdoorsy type, you can actually choose to do Sorrento instead of climbing up the mountain as part of your tour.

Here are other things to consider while in Naples: Positano, Amalfi Coast, Capri Island. All of these things require transportation, Viator has great deals for the excursions and are very reliable. Just remember to ration your time wisely and that it is your responsibility to be back on the boat at the designated hours.

Caution: We have seen pictures of the beautiful Blue Grotto, and they are stunning. Apparently Blue Grotto is one of the most tourist trap places of all. Our ship director told us that it costs so much money to get out there for only 10 minutes, just wanted to pass this note along!