We drove to OHare by Hertz who had a great fast new check in system.
Then we pulled the age card at the airport checking in and
it was a very smart move
A kid brought 2 of the wheelers, loaded our carry on and he took
care of putting the bags through security screening. We basically did not have
to lift anything and went right through security and in another 1/2 hours got to
the gate. We were the very last gate on
a long concourse.
After being able to board first, we got to our seats which were
not in first but the next level. A big tv and the seats laid down nicely at a
great angle They were on the right-side of the plane with only 2 seats
They serve wine right away which was a great start.
Then a really nice meal as you can see from the attached
menu. They even had Baileys for Barb.
The flight was a 7 1/2-hour flight and we arrived in London
at 10:33 their time
They took us by wheelchairs, a long way to get to the gate before
we boarded our flight from London to Istanbul, which was only three hours. London is a huge airport certainly more
spread out that O’Hare.
We arrived in Istanbul right on time and took a car to the
hotel, which was 45 minutes away.
The hotel was amazing and we found out that it had been
built in the 14th century.
It had been a hospital, a school, and other things before being converted
to a hotel. Very, very nice and had a
huge breakfast on the 4th floor rooftop.
We arrived at about 8:00pm so after unpacking, we went out
and walked around, found a found street-food spot for a fish wrap, grilled
right there, and went to bed.
In the morinng we had breakfast on the rooftop – a huge spread. Since we were up early, we went for a walk in
the morning around the streets of the hotel, a very busy city, at rush hour. Lots of cars, etc. and people waking in a
hurry.
Then we took a car to the cruise port and were able board
the ship, the MSC Fantasia quickly.
They took us and our carry-ons by Yacht Club Butler up to
the Yacht Club Lounge where the Concierge met us and briefed us on the cruise
and the ship.
The Yacht Club is a ship within a ship and there were only 75 cabins and about 125 people staying here. This is a smaller ship with only 1,637 cabins.
The ship was scheduled to leave Istanbul at 11:53pm so most
of the people were off the ship touring Istanbul.
What was amazing is that the verry first office we saw when he
took us to the Yacht Club was the Director Camelina, the highest-ranking
officer. We had been with her in the Caribbean
and she is wonderful. Big hugs all
around.
Then our Butler took us to the cabin and it was maybe the
best cabin we have ever had on any cruise ship.
The only was to describe it is old-world elegance! Lots of polished wood, and no plastic!
We had lunch, unpacked, walked around, rested, and basically
had an uninventable day; however, we were on the ship enjoying.
We dressed for the evening and the show.
We were taken to the show, which was a Sand Artist and music
which was fun and then we went to dinner.
After a wonderful dinner, we walked around the main part of
the ship, stopping to listen to music before finally going to bed.
The ship sailed after midnight and while the casino opened
then, we did not go.
Night from the Mediterranean heading for Corfu, Greece, our
first stop.
Night.
