Day 11

This is a day at sea as we head towards Istanbul, arriving about 10:00pm tonight.

Ed went up on deck to get Barb’s breakfast and the Butler delivered it to her in our room.  That’s being really spoiled but it’s part of the perks!

We went up on deck; however, the sun kept going in and out and it was a little windy.

All day we traveled up the Bosphorus Strait until reaching Istanbul.  It is the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation.

Around 1:00pm we had lunch on the Pool Deck, then went in and walked about the ship.  It was really crowded in the main part of the ship as by then it was too windy to be out on the decks.

We only have 2 times left on the cruise when we could play in the casino so we went there when they opened up at 2:30.

After that we were back up in the cabin to rest and then went back down to the casino for our last session.   The casino staff was wonderful to us and really had a great time.  We are hoping to book a January 2026 in South America on this same ship so that will be fun to see most of the staff again.  

We played too long, successfully in the casino and missed the show so, we went to dinner, the last of the cruise

We have had the same two waiters for the last 3 night and they have been wonderful.  Of, course the food is also exceptional in the tastes and presentations.

We were then done for the night except for packing and that was easy as they gave us until 2:00am to have it done.

Tomorrow our Butler will meet us at our room, take us off the ship, gather up all of our baggage and take us to our waiting car, which will be about a block from the ship.

Our next blog will be from Istanbul where we will be for the next few days.

Night

                                 These pictures are not in the correct order.

                                                          The hostess and our wait staff for dinner

                                                  Breakfast in bed by a Pool Side server

                                                 Going our during the day

                                                               Lunch at the YC pool

                                                                Out for the evening

                                                                  Eds shrimp cocktail

                                                                 Salmon for dinner

                                                   Roast Port

Day 10

 We arrived late last night in Piraeus, Greece just before the port was closed due to a strike that I mentioned earlier.   We will leave at midnight for a day at sea and our final destination, Istanbul.

As there is nothing to do in this port, we took a ships shuttle to Athens and the Planka area were all of the restaurants and shops are.

We spent a few hours there wandering about and then had a lunch at, of course, a Greek restaurant.

After that we returned to the ship via the shuttle and darn it was nice out but no sun.

So, we went to the lounge and had drinks and a snack before going back to the cabin to get ready for dinner and the show.

                 The tray from the Pool Deck was too heavy so the Butler brought it to the room!  

                 Now that's being spoiled!!

                                              Out for the evening

Lunch is the Plaka section of Athens

                                           Lunch - a Greek Gyro in a different presentation

                                                                     Ceviche

                                                  The view from our balcony

                                                           Out for the evening - It's White Night

                                              Wine as usual with dinner

                                               Barb and snails - she did't like them

                                                             Octopus

                                                            Ed's Shrimp Cocktail

                                                     Monk Fish for Barb

                                                          Rosoto

                                                     Crapes Suzette

                                    Part of White NIght in the main atrium

The show tonight was a dance production number and a cross between Africa and Irish.

Can't explain it, you had to see it but it was fun.

Then we had dinner which as usual was very good.

After dinner, since we are in port, the casino was closed so we watched the dancing in the Atrium until Midnight.

Night - on our way to Istanbul

Day 9

Today is a day at sea as we are on our way to dock at the port of Piraeus, Greece. tonight

As usual, Ed went for breakfast and brought Barb back a glass of grapefruit juice and then while Barb did her reading, Ed went back up to the Pool Deck to have breakfast.

Initially, it was overcast; however, it cleared up.

We stayed on the deck until lunch at the pool, had lunch and then stayed out some more.

Then we came in at about 3:00pm to get cleaned up and go to the casino.

The reason that we went so early is that today we dock in Piraeus, Greece at 9:00pm so all gambling is shut off until we leave tomorrow at midnight.

We changed into clothes for the evening and went to the 7:30pm show, which was a pickpocket who, we think had seen before.

He was very good and very funny.

Then we went to dinner and had another great dinner.

This is the first night that we have been back to our room before midnight and we don’t like it!!

Anyway, we are very, very blessed to vacation like this and very blessed to have such a wonderful family and friends.

Night from Piraeus

Sea Bass for lunch on the Pool Deck

                                                             Tilapia for lunch on the Pool Deck

                                                   Out to go to the Caino

                                                    Dinner - Amberjack

                                                          Oh was it good!!!

\

Sunday – Day 8

 This is a day at sea and it a perfect day to rest after several ports. 

Ed got up at 9:30am, and went up to the Pool Deck for breakfast while Barb did her reading and joined him.

We had a great spot, in the sun and out of the wind.

Today will be relaxing with lunch, the show in the evening, dinner, and the casino.

Before we forget we would like to tell you  why the Yacht Club and the perks for being in the Yacht Club.

They are:

Our own YC restaurant for all 3 meals if we would want to go.  We only go for dinner as the rest of the time, if the weather is good, breakfast and lunch is on the Pool Deck

The separate pool with lots of staff, and food always there until the evening.  There are only 98 deck chairs on the entire deck and with 125 people on board here is always a couple of chairs for anyone who wants to be up in the sun

The YC Lounge with drinks and snacks there until late night.  We have wine with dinner each night

Then in our cabin – Barb’s walk-in closet that Ed gets to share.

A very unique feature is the YC elevator.

As you can see in the picture below, when we walk up to the elevator bank of 5 elevators, there is a key slot that we put our room key in.  That turns the elevator in the center into a priority YC elevator and it comes right to us.  We go in, insert our key card again and it goes right to our floor, bypassing all other floors.

Getting off the ship at a port and walking right past the lines and right to the door of the shuttle bus – that’s a big time saver.

When we get to Istanbul, our Butler will take us off the ship, get our luggage and walk us to our waiting car to go to the hotel.  That’s a big walk of about a couple of city blocks because the drivers cannot get close to the ship.

This is truly a great was to cruise and we hope to continue cruising with MSC Cruises.

Night for now as we are on our way to the Port of Piraeus, the gateway to Athens.

The pictures are not in order as is easier to download them.

                                              

                                                 

                                                     Barb's closet

                                                 Going out for the day

                                                Part of the Pool Deck

                              Ready to relax - of course it is time for a Kahula

                                   The Express Elevator with the Yacht Club button

                                                Making Pasta tble-side on the Pool Deck

                                              Great Pasta, Naples style

                                                                  Out for the evening

                                                Ed had two shrimp cocktails

                                               Barb's Lobster

                                                 Ed's Braised Beef Ravoli

                                                  Happy birthday with out waiter

                                                      Cherrys Jublie

                                                         Our Room

                                                          More for Ed

Day 7 –

Today we arrived in Trieste.

The reason that we are in port here is because Venice which is 1½ hours away no longer allows ship our size to dock there.  What a wonderful experience that was arriving right at the city, sailing down the Grand Canal before docking – but no longer.

Some took tours to Venice; however, since we have been there before, including a week last time, we decided to stay in Trieste.

This is a very medium size city (230,000) with a great Old City area.

It is also a huge industrial port so they do not let you walk off the ship into the port.  In fact, if took the shuttle bus about 15 minutes to reach a drop-off point at the edge of the Old City.

From there we walked about an hour to reach the center of the Old City and our guide for the next 3 hours.

We had a private walking tour with our guide and it was a lot of fun and very informative.  Will we remember all he mentioned, probably not but it was fun.

After the tour, we went to a great canal front restaurant and had lunch.

Then we walked again for an hour to get to our shuttle and back to the ship.

The ship was so far away because there was a massive waterfront festival going on that prevented our ship from docking right in town.  Tomorrow there will be sailing completion and the crowds will be even bigger. At the start of our walk, we were down by the festival and two of the biggest lines were for St. Louis Ribs and Smashburgers!!

5 ½ miles of walking today!

The show was a musical with songs from several counties and it was pretty good.

Dinner was, as usual very good and then we went to the casino to finish out the evening.

Tomorrow is a day at sea.

Then we received news tonight That because a Tugboat and Salvage Crew union that we must enter the Port of Piraeus (Gateway to Athens) before 11:00pm on October 13 and remain in port until the strike is over at midnight on October 14. 

This means that we will not be stopping at Kusanagi and Katakolon.  Fortunately, we have been to both of those stops and were not looking to be there anyway.

That’s all for now and our next entry will be tomorrow night.

Hope all is well back home.

Hugs to our family and friends from Barb and Ed

                                                     Dinner - Tuna - this picture should be last



                                                   

                                                                Leaving for the Old City

                                                         Barb and our guide

                                          The GrandCanel with the largest chuch at the end

                   St. Louis Ribs at their sailing festival - the next stand had Smashburgers

                                                  Tailgating - Italian style!!

                                           An afternoon snack on the Yacht Club pool deck

                                                   The industrial port from our balcony

                                                         Going out for the evening