Recently back from my first ever Mediterranean cruise, but my 5th overall European cruise, on the Royal Princess. A little background; I am 55, DH is 59. This was our 26th cruise. Previous cruises have been Princess (13), Carnival (4), Holland America (2), Viking River (2), and one each on Royal Caribbean, NCL, Celebrity and the American Queen.

We booked this cruise in mid July, having lucked into a flash sale that was offering guarantee Obstructed View Balconies for the same price as interiors (Which were at a great price). About 10-days before we sailed we got our cabin assignment and we were upgraded to a deluxe obstructed balcony. We bought our airfare through Princess EZ Air and we got fares that were better than what I could do on our own. This cruise was a 7-day, Athens to Rome, to which I added independently a day extra in Athens, and two days in Rome.

For our day/evening in Athens I went to Hotels,com to find a hotel. Pickings were slim as I wanted something nice, in the Plaka District. I finally settled on the Electra Palace. Even though a little pricey I loved the fact it had a rooftop pool, and indoor pool and spa, and very important, a reputation of comfortable beds. We got into Athens around 10:30am, and went through passport control rather quickly. I had arranged for a taxi from the airport to our hotel through a company called Welcome Pickups. The taxi was waiting for us, and in no time we were on our way to our hotel. After checking in we took a short walk around the Plaka, getting a quick bite to eat, before going back to the hotel for a nap to recover from jet lag. Later we would walk some more around the Plaka District and get dinner at one of the many cafes and do some shopping. Read more