Trips, Pics, and Tales

Today is Father’s Day! We got up and gave out the cards to Grandpop and Keith at breakfast. I told Keith that our plan for a Fa ther’s Day gift was to get him the week Spa Pass when we were sailing on Epic next week so he would have a place to go to relax every day. He seemed to like that idea, but then again he also felt like in a week with only one sea day, he wouldn’t be able to make full use of it. We’d think about it. Maybe just a massage instead. We went to the Windjammer one last time and then carried our own luggage off, as we had a driver coming at 8:30 to take up to Termini train station for our train to Venice. We decided not to take the train from Civitavecchia to Termini since Mimi and G-pop would have to walk their luggage from the Port to the Civitavecchia station, and the once at Termini possibly have to take their luggage up steps to transfer trains. Convenience of the driver won out here and it was well worth it. We walked off the ship very quickly and found our drive...

Today was a mixture of relaxation and yet somehow busy, if that somehow makes sense! We slept in just a bit. Maybe until 8:00 or so! Alex didn’t get in until super late again, so I didn’t sleep well until he was safe and sound in his cabin. Anyway, Keith and I went to the buffet today, just the two of us and had a nice breakfast together. Somehow when it’s just us it’s not nearly as hectic as when all 6 of us or even 4 of us are there! When we got back we woke the kids up and tried to convince them to not waste the last day sleeping and watching tv.  I decided I wanted to do the Walk for Wishes, which is a charity walk for the Make a Wish foundation that Royal Caribbean sponsors. You donate $10 and get a t-shirt to wear while you walk. Then you meet at 10:30, I believe it was, and the whole group walks around the track until you walk 1 mile. The money is donated to the Make a Wish foundation so that terminally ill children can have their wishes granted. Some kid’s with wishes t...

Since it was so early when we got back to the ship, we had some time to take advantage of a partial Sea Day, I’ll call it! Keith took the kids to the rock wall and then in line skating. See - he does smile!! And I took advantage of the Spa Special of the day! They had availability left and I booked a 5:30 appointment for the Happy Hour Special! I’m calling it my Anniversary present! It was a neck, shoulders, feet, ankle, and head massage and a mini facial. It was 50 minutes of pure relaxation! And best of all, there was no sales pitch as there often is on cruise ship spas!  After the spa, I got ready for dinner. Tonight was our Anniversary dinner at Portofino’s. It was really good. Definitely worth the cover charge! I really don’t have many pictures – I was enjoying our meal too much to deal with the camera. But I had the Shrimp Risotto appetizer and the Pesto Pasta for an entrée. Keith had the antipasti and the Tuna for appetizer and the Mushroom Pasta. I...

Today we docked in Chania, Crete. After many months of trying to figure out what to do here, it wasn’t until right before the trip, that I found out that the name of the town was actually pronounced as “Hania”! The ship actually docks in Souda. Our time in port is a very odd time – 6:30 am – 3:00 pm. I’m not sure why this is since the next day is a Sea Day. You would think they could stretch our time in town a bit later so we could really enjoy this town instead of having to rush to get a bus back to the ship by maybe 1:30 to be back on board by a 2:30 on last on board time. Not to mention that docking at 6:30, there wasn’t much to really “do” in town that early! So, that’s my only real complaint at this point about the itinerary at all. But that being said. Chania is relatively new in the cruise ship world. Finding independent excursions here was much more difficult than in other ports. Also, by this point in the trip I was looking for that “something fun” for the kids that mayb...

This trip was certainly amazing!  We'd even be visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World!  Although before we'd get there, our next stop was St John’s Basilica. This is set high on a hill with a fortress in the background. The Apostle, St John is buried beneath the Basilica. Yelda told us that when the Basilica was built, parts of the Temple of Artemis were used. The Temple was a Pagan building so there was no consideration that they were using pieces of such a magnificent structure. Same thing happened when a nearby Mosque was built. More of the Temple of Artemis was torn down and used.  And that is the main reason why only one pillar remains of this Ancient Wonder!   After our time at the Basilica we made a quick stop at what is left of the Temple of Artemis. This was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World! You can tell by the size of the remaining column just how huge it must have been! The temple was built for t...