Corfu was one of my favorite ports. What a beautiful island -- so green and hilly with beautiful beaches. I'd love to come back here some day for an extended stay. We opted to do a horseback riding experience on our own (it turns out that NCL uses this same company). Dimitri's uses rescue horses and mine, Hera, was very sweet and gentle. We took a one-hour trail ride through a conservation area down to the beach and back. I'm not an experienced rider, I've just been on some trail rides. This is good for beginners, and they have other options for more experienced riders. The scenery was beautiful and there just enough breeze to keep us from getting too hot (another sunny day). This stable is at the north end of the island and it took nearly an hour each way in a tiny minibus but it was a beautiful, scenic drive that I really enjoyed. Our driver stopped on the way back for us to take some photos at a great overlook where we could see the hills of Albania. He dropped us in Corfu town where we had a great lunch and strolled and shopped a bit before returning to the ship. A lovely day! 


Corfu

Iraklion was our last port. :( I had pre-booked a driver, Lefteris, who arrived in a beautiful, immaculate Mercedes sedan with great A/C. Good because this was ANOTHER hot, sunny day. First we took a tour of the old town, where he pointed out the Venetian walls and architecture. We visited one of the churches and the grave of author Nikos Kazantzakis (who wrote "Zorba the Greek"), then traveled to visit the Knossos archaeological site. We spent about an hour and a half on our own walking through the ruins. Nikos gave us a bit of history before we arrived. A guide would have been helpful at this site, but it was crowded and kind of nice to be able to move at our own pace. Lefteris was a great host for the day -- he stopped at a bakery to treat us to spanakopita and some special Cretan cakes. He'd occasionally stop to point out native plants (pistachio!) or pick a sprig of rosemary or jasmine for us to smell. He even played a CD of local music for us to enjoy. He was so proud of his island! 


Crete (Heraklion)

I had originally booked a full-day private tour but after the itinerary change due to the strike, I booked the ship's half-day tour. I was disappointed that we had only a half day so we felt that the ship's tour was our best option to maximize our time. The tour started with what felt like an extended bus ride through town. Our only stop was a brief one at the Olympic stadium before heading to the Acropolis. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but I felt at times like I was getting too much information when I just wanted to explore and take photos. It was a hot, sunny day. The sites were understandably crowded. Due to the strike earlier in the week, there were a lot of ships in port. We finally got some free time (about 25 minutes but this included walking back to the bus) so I could do a bit of independent exploration and got some photos. Work continues on the Acropolis but much of the scaffolding has been removed. We also saw the Erechtheion with the famous Caryatids (I studied this in school so it was exciting to see it for real). There was much more I wish we could have seen around Athens (it's hard to really get a good impression or photos from the bus) but we had such a short amount of time. I hope to visit again someday to explore at a slower pace! 


Athens (Piraeus)

We had two visits -- one full-day visit on our first week in place of the original Athens stop, then the evening visit on the following week. 
This was our surprise port (although an evening visit was on our itinerary for the following week). I got in line early for tender tickets and we were on tender #3 We took the cable car up to Fira. We decided to do this port on our own and walked up towards the bus/taxi area to see about transport to Oia. A taxi driver offered to give us a two-hour tour (120 euros total for the four of us) and this was a great decision. Nikos, our driver, is a native and took us to some GREAT locations to get some fantastic photos of the scenery (the caldera, cliffs, beautiful architecture). He even took pictures for us, took us down to the black sand beach, etc. What a great surprise, and the weather was just beautiful. It was sunny and hot but the taxi was cool and comfortable. 
For our second visit, we had originally booked the "Charming Oia Village" tour with the ship but canceled since we'd had the full day the previous week. We managed to get tickets on the first tender, thanks to a friend who got up early to wait in line. This time we opted to stay in Fira town and had dinner at one of the restaurants with an outdoor deck. The view was really nice and the sunset was pretty but not amazing. The thing about sunsets is that they're most beautiful when there are a few clouds. We had a perfectly clear sky, and that setting sun was HOT. Still it was a nice evening. We opted for the cable car on both of our visits. Warning - the line for the descent can be rather long -- we waited 30-40 minutes both times. 


Santorini

We booked the ship's excursion to Delos. We tendered to shore, then took a ferry to the island. It was another clear, sunny day -- hot but with a strong breeze. I had a little mishap after we disembarked on Delos. Everyone was getting off the ferry and heading over to an area where they were handing out water, so it was rather crowded at that point. I did not see where there was short piling on the ground. It was bright yellow and I should have seen it, but there were so many people around, I wasn't looking down and walked right into it. It hurt a LOT but not too much damage -- some abrasions to my leg and eventual bruising. I rinsed it with water and applied a couple of band-aids that I had in my purse. Both the guide and ship's representative asked if I was okay. No one had any antibacterial ointment, so I bought some later on the ship. The ruins of Delos are fascinating in that they're in pretty good condition for being exposed to the elements for so long. We were there for a couple of hours then returned to Mykonos. We had lunch there on the waterfront -- delicious gyros with fresh grilled chicken. Yum! We strolled around the "Little Venice" are for a bit before tendering back to the ship. 


Mykonos

We had pre-booked a private tour with Ekol Tours and it was fantastic. We had a minibus for the six of us with GREAT A/C. We toured the House of the Virgin Mary and Ephesus, including the Terrace Houses. It was another hot, sunny day but there was a nice breeze and our guide, would find shady places to stop and talk. I'm so glad we chose to see the Terrace houses -- these are a MUST. The whole area is covered so you'll get some shade/climate control, but the excavations are so amazing -- to see the plumbing and workmanship (beautiful mosaics and painted walls). I'd love to come back in 10 or 20 years to see what else they've been able to uncover. We drove past some beautiful scenery, with fertile, rolling valleys and hills covered in olive trees (I had no idea that Turkey was such a big agricultural country) and through our guide's hometown of Selçuk, and the Temple of Artemis (well, it's just a column, LOL). He also asked if we were interested in touring a carpet factory and leather showroom. I wasn't "in the market" but our other group members were interested so we stopped by both of these places. Beautiful workmanship but NOT in my budget. They weren't too hard-sell and offered us some great apple tea at both locations. 


Izmir

For the size, our cabin had a great layout and efficient use of space.

THE PASSENGERS: Summer is not my favorite time to travel but this was a great deal that my travel agent set up -- so I was already expecting hot weather, crowds and lots of kids.Service was good, although VERY slow on one of the last nights; it took us an hour to get our food that night.

Norwegian Gem Review

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