It has been a life ambition to travel to see Greece. Being a person who is typically a picky eater, I thought it would be best to take a cruise to the Adriatic. This was onboard the Norwegian Star, leaving from Venice. This cruise is a seven night with stops in Kotor Montenegro, Dubrovnik Croatia, Olympia Greece, Athens Greece, with a final stop in Split Croatia. For this trip I had to fly from Kansas City to Boston as my first stop. When I arrived in Boston we had found out that our departing flight was significantly delayed. This gave me a chance to pay my respects at the 9/11 memorial. After several hours we boarded the Boeing 777 on our way to London Heathrow. After about 6 hours or so we finally landed at the massive London Heathrow airport. Stopped and had a quick lunch before boarding our next and final flight to Venice Italy.

When we landed at Venice we got off the plane and went straight to immigration. After a brief moment at immigration we stood and waited for our luggage to come around. After this point we took a bus to the island of Venice. We arrived in the Santa Croce area, where we had to begin the journey to our hotel. This was before I decided to get the international plan on my cell phone. This left GPS out of the question. The great thing about vehicle is getting lost is half the fun. But we did make it quickly to the Hotel Continental Venice to check in for the night. After getting checked in we were relieved to make our way to our room. The next day we would have only a few hours before needing to board the Norwegian Star so we had to go to bed for an early start.

Anytime you have the ability to get a really early start in Venice I would recommend it. The streets were quiet and I had the chance to stop off at a fantastic coffee shop for a morning Cappuccino and a fresh pastry. After a wonderful quick breakfast, we got to make our way down to the Rialto Bridge. This is a sight that you just have to take in. The fact that this bridge was built in 1591 in its current state is utterly stunning. From here we made our way down to St. Marks Square. This is also a have to when visiting Venice. We went our way up the St. Mark’s Companile, Which had a breath taking view over the whole city on a clear day. While up at the top the mechanical men rang the bells on the hour. This was a significant achievement for when it was built. From here we slowly made our way back to the hotel to collect luggage and head over to the cruise port to join the Norwegian Star. After a quick boarding process we were on board for our Ocean View Stateroom. In quick order we got settled in our room, and made our way to the upper deck to enjoy a Strawberry Banana Smoothie at the Sky High bar. This is normally a fantastic place to enjoy a sail out from a cruise port. However on this particular day there were thunderstorms in the vicinity. Just right as we were pulling out of port the weather started to hit at this time. We found cover and still was able to enjoy the sail out. Unfortunately this experience will not be able to happen again as it has now changed to a different port of departure. While we retired to our stateroom for the evening the ship made its way to Dubrovnik for our port of the call the next morning.

The next morning Woke up next to the pier in Dubrovnik. For this day we didn’t have a specific shore excursion in mind so instead we booked a ticket on the bus that will take you to the old town in Dubrovnik. For this Port we thought this was a fantastic idea. The old town was a small enough area that you can easily walk around and find something that will be of interest. We started the day by touring the old city walls. For about 10 euro you can climb the numerous steps to get to the top and walk around the entire old city. This is something that will take the most part of the entire day. This is a tour that is definitely worth the nominal fee to pay. This being said of course half way through the walk, we had to stop and have some Gelato. The nice thing about the bus is that it ran between the port and old town several times a day. We made our way back to the ship for our next port the following morning in Kotor, Montenegro.

Next Morning as we drop anchor in the Bay of Kotor, we walk to the aft of the ship as the Captain is going over a some interesting facts of the city. During the announcement the captain informed us that the Mirovica Olive Tree is believe to be one of the oldest surviving trees in the world. This tree is believed to be almost 2,000 years old. This port is shallow close to the city, here you will have to board a tender to get into town. The Norwegian star for the most part was using lifeboats to get you to the city. This is slightly uncomfortable, but is a very short ride. Once we were on shore we walked into the city walls. This morning we had a mission to climb the 1350 steps to the top of St. John’s Fortress. Took about a 20 minute walk to get to a guy sitting on a stool who would take about 3 euro for you to begin the journey. This was an arduous journey but well worth the views. About a quarter of the way up the climb there is a small church that I would not recommend passing. This church was built by the survivors of the Plague of 1518 to honor the Holy Mother. When continuing up the hill there are several spots that are certainly worth the stop to take out your camera and get in a few shots. My words of wisdom for this hike would be to watch your footing and be ready to be tired and sweaty by the end of the day. Once you reach the top of the fortress you can truly see the wonders of the bay below you. The only side note I would say about St. John’s Fortress is that I find it incredibly sad how people do not respect history. Along the way you will find several areas that are graffitied. But I would not let this discourage you from visiting St. John’s Fortress. This again was a event that if you stop to truly admire it, you would be able to spend a good chunk of the early portion of your day. For the afternoon we made our way to just wonder the city and explore.

The next morning was an easy day as it was a day at sea. There was a few shows on board. But also it was nice just to not have a whole lot that had to be done. This gave us the opportunity to rest our legs from the day before. During this entire cruise we ate many meals at the Pub. They had the best mozzarella sticks that I have ever had. The next morning we would be waking up in Olympia.