Eastern Mediterranean Cruise - Part One

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I realised today that I didn’t blog about my Cruise Ship experience! But I focussed more on the vlogs for my YouTube channel because it was more expressive. But I feel it is missing some of my thoughts going into it and even now, people still ask about it. The vlogs were short and sweet but I guess it wan’t enough..?

My initial thoughts were NOT to go! I was kinda terrified of actually going on the ship because I watched Titannic, The MEG, Jaws and the thought of possible nausea had me shaken enough to decline the invite altogether.

After seeing the ports we were going to dock and the places we get to explore, I started to rethink if I should really chicken out on a deal like this.

Sat Venice (Italy)
Sun Bari (Italy)
Mon Cruising
Tue Pireaus/ Athens (Greece)
Wed Katakolon/ Olympia (Greece)
Thu Kotor (Montenegro)
Fri Split (Croatia)

It took a little bit of courage on my part but I HAD to go to these places!

We decided to try out the Gautrain, for the first time, and it was a pretty awesome experience, apart from the hefty pricetag to the airport! We had some serious issues as our lugguage was not booked with our tickets through our agents. We almost missed our flight because the dragged out issues with resolving the problem. We literally looked like those passanges in the movies that run to their planes! It was probably my most stressful moment travelling. Anyway, we flew to Madrid, Spain. I watched a few movies on the plane as I couldn’t sleep on the plane, for some reason. I think I was still stressed out about the ship?

When we landed in Madrid, we had some starbucks and a little snack before catching our flight to Venice, Italy.

We then landed in Venice, took a bus to our hotel where we left our lugguage and went to get something to eat. We found a really nice halaal place, opposite our hotel, and the food was not only delicious but it was also affordable! It was pretty cold out but instead of staying in, we decided to hit the town. In 2016, the first time I went to Venice, we spend the entire day on the water, on boats, touring the islands but never experienced a gonadola ride.

It was everything I hoped it would be, it was like experiencing the city as a true Venitian and we saw a bunch of homes and hotels along the ride. It’s amazing that a city like this, actually exists. We spoke to our guide about how much of a gift it is to have tourists always there to appreciate the beauty of his city. He told us about the good, humble life he lives with his family. He shared some interesting stories with us and if I hadn’t been careful I could have accepted his proposal to wed! LoL He was quite the charmer.

We took some photos along the way and he also took some really good pics of us!

I forgot to add how cold it became while the sun was setting and we ended up buying some fur scarves and ponchos just to save us from freezing. But I also didn’t want to ruin the photos so I stripped right before it was taken and then quickly put everything back on the minute the photo was taken. I reckon it was worth it.

When the ride was over, we walked around and looked for the gelato shop we used to buy from when we were in Venice two years prior and we sadly couldn’t find it. But we found another one and we had two giant scoops of gelato in the icy weather because we couldn’t resist! Have you ever tried the lemon flavoured gelato in Italy? Trust me, it changes your life. LoL realising how dramatic that statement was.

After walking around and shopping for random little things, we made our way back to the hotel. The bus ride was so packed because I’m pretty sure it was one of the last buses leaving the central side of Venice. We started talking about the crazy things we saw on the ride home, how full the bus was and yet people were squeezing themselves in, and just the cool, crazy life we all live. I had a good couple of butt-touches and shoves with people cramming themselves onto the bus. The bus driver giggled at the conversation a few times because we stood close to the exit door to make our quick escape when the time was right.

Before we knew it, our time in Venice came to a close. We bought our memorabilia (snow globes) and headed to the port where we boarded our Costa Luminosa Cruise Ship. There was no turning back now! I was more nervous at this point and I think my mind made-believe I was getting nauseous but I doped up on anti-nausea pills and should be completely fine.

You are more than welcome to watch my Venice vlog here. You will see my nerves in the video and also experience our quick stay in Venice in a more visual way.