It now seems like a whirlwind trip, but fortunately we were in the same bed for most of it. Dawn & I went through the itinerary again last night and the only place we felt they might have missed was Sardinia. That could be because we didn’t do an excursion that day and the port town itself was just not that interesting. Since we loved next-door Corsica, we would probably love the countryside of Sardinia as well.
After that, and excluding Monaco, which we’d seen numerous times and therefore wasn’t a highlight, we’re not prepared to choose a favourite. Since we visited a very ancient part of the world, I guess that in itself would be the highlight. But we really loved, in different ways, most of our destinations.
As for the cruise itself, it was great! Other than the fact that our ship was very luxurious, the ports of call were what really made this a great cruise. There were no issues about being on a boat and from all the cruise veterans, to whom we spoke, we got the message load and clear that Oceania was a step above the rest.
The size of the ship was another plus that made it much more personable. We were docked beside a Celebrity ship in Kusadasi that was the size of a city and it was scary. It was literally a behemoth dwarfing everything around it, including our ship.
So, will we cruise again? Quite possibly. Any future cruise will definitely have to have interesting ports of call and not a lot of at-sea time. Open seating in the dining rooms is also a must.
Are we happy that we stayed extra time on both ends of the cruise? Absolutely! Both The Hotel Campo de’ Fiori and the Swissotel The Bosphorus were fabulous and perfectly located – the former in a ‘happening’ neighbourhood and centrally located and the latter with extensive grounds and exquisite gardens. Plus, we had a lot of fun getting to explore both Rome & Istanbul.
We took our time getting the show on the road on our last day. A leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s café got us through the middle of the morning. Then we headed out on a hike up the Bosphorus. I’d guess we walked a couple of kilometers passing, luxury hotels and universities.
At the first bridge crossing to Asia, we found a little bazaar and did some browsing. I also found a guy with a popcorn machine – first time on this trip I’ve seen popcorn anywhere and it’s in Istanbul.
On our walk back to the hotel, we sidetracked into the shopping area we found yesterday and it was hopping. We had another Turkish lunch of basically shish – they don’t call them kebobs because they aren’t on sticks – beef, lamb and chicken.
The afternoon was spent around the pool, back at the hotel. This was a nice way to finish up our vacation.
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So, the final pack up happens tonight and we’ll have to find some place for dinner. After that, it’s another Skype with Canada. Then it’s up early tomorrow to catch our 8:55 flight to London and then home with British Airways. By tomorrow evening we’ll be back in Canada and all of this will be but a memory - a damn fine memory!
I’ll sign off now, until my next log on, shortly after we arrive back in France on August 22nd. See you then. La vie est belle!
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