What can I say, I’m a procrastinator! With about two weeks until the wedding, Mr. Lovebird and I finally booked our honeymoon! We are taking an 8 Night Greek Isles And Turkey Cruise on Royal Caribbean!
I have to the give the boy props cuz I basically said, “You figure it out.”
Months ago, we really wanted to go to Asia (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan…). But with the Beijing Olympics happening this summer, airfare there is a biatch! So we had to go back to the drawing board.
Besides our love for Cancun, we love cruising!!!
Bermuda on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas- Summer 2005
Western Mediterranean on the Royal Caribbean Splendor of the Seas- Summer 2003
What we love about cruising is that when u go to bed, you are at one port and when you wake up, you are in whole new place! You can hit up multiple countries in the matter of days without the hassle of air travel.
We consider our cruise around the Western Mediterranean our favorite! If you haven’t already been, it would be an excellent vacation or honeymoon. From New York, we stopped over in Paris to spend two nights, then flew to Barcelona to begin our cruise. The ship then sailed to Monte Carlo/Nice, France, to Florence/Pisa, to Rome, to Naples (Pompeii), to Malta (we were there when they were filming “Troy”) and then back to Barcelona. Here are some highlights from that trip.
Since we’ve cruised the Western Mediterranean, it only makes sense that we should cruise the Eastern Mediterranean as well! Here are the ports of call we are hitting up! Venice, Italy; Split, Croatia; Iraklion (Heraklion), Crete; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Santorini, Greece; Corfu, Greece. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I can’t wait! So far I’ve only booked the cruise and the airfare to and from Venice. We are spending about 3 nights in Venice. Any tips on what hotel we should stay at and what we should do?
Has anyone ever been to these place? Any tips for a first timer like me?
I’ve been looking at this cruise for a while now, but get easily overwhelmed on cruisecritic.com. 
Quick question for you: there’s a similar cruise with a few different ports (ex: it includes Mykonos, but not Santorini) can I ask what, if any, was the deciding factor between those 2 cruises? Thanks!
I’ve been to Venice and have two pieces of advice:
1) do NOT feed the pigeons in St. Mark’s square, no matter how “charming” it looks watching others do it. They are dirty, dirty animals (which didn’t stop me from doing it, but as soon as they SWARMED me, I regretted it instantly).
2) negotiate for a gondola ride. We took one from St. Mark’s square and the first one was something like $100 per 30 minutes. As we kept walking, the price got lower and lower…you get the idea.
Wonderful trip! Jealous — it looks amazing.
Oooh! Greece! I studied in Crete for a month last spring… In Iraklion, you’ll probably go to Knossos, which is an ancient Minoan “palatial” ruin - they were the civilization before the Greeks and Romans (about 2000 - 1500ish BC). They were quite amazing architects and mechants, so it’s pretty cool! Santorini was also a supposed colony of the Minoans that was destroyed when half the island collapsed due to a volcano. You might be able to see some of their two - three story houses in museums. I only got to see them in pictures, for I didn’t managed to get there.
I was mostly on the western side of the island, but my suggestion to you would be to eat lots of excellent food! Go away from the restaurants on the tourist-y beach front (they are over priced and not that great) and see if can ask locals for their favourite restaurants and you’ll find some really great food. Definitely try to make it to a beach (not near a city, the water there is usually pretty gross) and see if you can wander through some olive trees. Oh, and definitely randomly wander around the city, they have some pretty interesting architecture from various eras! Just remember to keep track of where you are. Most people speak english anyways, but being lost in a foreign city while being later for something isn’t cool.
Have fun! I’m super jealous.
The only place I’ve been to on your cruise is Venice, but Mr. Cookie and I both want to go the Eastern Mediterranean.
For hotels, I would go to http://www.hostelworld.com. I’ve always found the best deals there, and stay inside Venice. We stayed outside to save money, but it was $11 a day to go into the city and didn’t really save a cent.
You can get lost in Venice easily, so get a really good map. Even though it is touristy, take a gondola ride with your honey. It is relaxing and very romantic. Vist the Plaza de San Marco and run through the hordes of pigeon and then eat a lot of gelato. I always reccomend buying Rick Steves’ guidebooks. He has a great one on Italy.
Dream wedding, dream honeymoon! Go Lovebird! I’m so excited for you both…the time draws near!
I’m not sure when you are going but I am taking this exact same cruise at the end of July. I will have to keep you updated on how it went… or depending on your honeymoon date we might be on the same ship!
I love cruising too! Plus Venice is beautiful! Pick up Rick Steves’ Italy Guide before you go. There is a resturant he describes near St Mark’s Plaza. The directions are really funny and take you buy Am Exp. Anyway, you’ll know and just go. Plus he made a deal with a glass blower, u can watch him in action and get a discount. i got all my glass stuff there. read his book!
my sister was in Santori last spring and LOVED it!! her pic are awesome.
enjoy!
plus…since you’ve been on Royal Caribbean cruises before, you will get some free stuff on the boat!
Yay! Santorini is fabulous. We are heading back to Greece later this week (I am Greek, my family lives there so I have been many times). The deep blue water in Santorini is heaven! You can sign up for a day-long sailboat tour that takes you to the top of the volcano and swimming in the hot springs and drops you off in time to ride a donkey up to see the sunset so ask about that.
I got tired of the masses in Venice, but since you have a lot of time there you will probably enjoy just relaxing and walking around and eating well!
I assumed you would honeymoon in Cancun. Are you going to go home to NY before heading out for the cruise?
You will LOVE the Greek Isles. I spent a month on the island of Rhodes two years ago and then we did some touring of the other islands by ferry. I thought that it would be much more hassle free to take a cruise boat and travel while you sleep in a bed rather than on the deck of a ferry (don’t even get me started 
).
Santorini tips: 1) The volcano tour was neat to look at but it is hot walking on all that black lava. The tour we took also took us to a Greek village across the caldera, that was an authentic look at Greek fishing village life. We also toured the archeology site and that was very imformative and tells you the story behing the volcano explosion.
2) I did not do the mule ride up the hill at Lindos we walked the stairs and it was fine. Plus you get to see all the cool houses on the hill.
3) I am sure you already heard about the sunset. Stake your spot because all of the streets (up and down the hill) fill with people.
4) We had a great/ affordable meal just on the outskirt of town. It gets much more expensive the closer to the edge of the caldera you get. Walking just a few minutes can save you a lot of dough. Just remember that Greek meals take a long time 1.5-2 hours so plan accordingly and enjoy the meal!
5) A lot of local dogs hang out at the main church in town. Really pretty pictures and if you like dogs you can get some cute pictures with them, they like to be pet.
6) Eat the saganaki (flaming cheese) and eat a lot of it. Also kelphedies (?sp) tomato and zuke fried cakes as an appetizer are the island specialty.
7) We went to Bodrum Turkey (south of where you will be). It was a lot hotter there than on the islands. Make sure you take some extra money from home so that you can buy a tapestry they are so pretty and do not compare to the prices that they charge here in the states. Drink a turkish coffee add a few sugar cubes and stop before you get to the bottom of the cup because the grains are at the bottom.
HAVE FUN! I can’t wait to go back. I could go on forever.
Ohhh I hope you have time to explore the Greek islands, Ms. Lovebird. I’ve been to both Santorini and Corfu and LOVED them both!!!
Santorini
1) the beaches are beautiful. black beach (kamari) was my fave, but be careful, the (black) sand is scorching hot! (the white and red beaches are equally beautiful and worth checking out)
2) sunset- there are tons of cute restaurants that overlook the giant cliff and volcano where the sun sets. i recommend getting a nice dinner early and wait for the romantic sunset
3) if you like seafood, try one of the places right on black beach- skaramagas fish tavern is amazing!
4) don’t feel like you have to do the volcano tour. i’d actually forego the things, there isn’t much to see, except for the view of fira town but….
5) if you are able to be awake when the boat pulls in to santorini- be awake!!! the view is spectacular!!!!
Corfu
1) if you have time, rent a 4-wheeler and take it around the island (i don’t read greek but managed to navigate just fine)
Agios Gordis- pretty but popular and crowded (esp. with the spring breaker types).
Have fun!!!
Ohhh I hope you have time to explore the Greek islands, Ms. Lovebird. I’ve been to both Santorini and Corfu and LOVED them both!!!
Santorini
1) the beaches are beautiful. black beach (kamari) was my fave, but be careful, the (black) sand is scorching hot! (the white and red beaches are equally beautiful and worth checking out)
2) sunset- there are tons of cute restaurants that overlook the giant cliff and volcano where the sun sets. i recommend getting a nice dinner early and wait for the romantic sunset
3) if you like seafood, try one of the places right on black beach- skaramagas fish tavern is amazing!
4) don’t feel like you have to do the volcano tour. i’d actually forego the things, there isn’t much to see, except for the view of fira town but….
5) if you are able to be awake when the boat pulls in to santorini- be awake!!! the view is spectacular!!!!
Corfu
1) if you have time, rent a 4-wheeler and take it around the island (i don’t read greek but managed to navigate just fine)
2) Agios Gordis- pretty beach but popular and crowded (esp. with the spring breaker types).
Have fun!!!
Ephesus is incredible! You MUST go visit the ruins!!
Yay this is one of the cruises we’ve been looking at! I’m excited to hear how everything goes.
Thanks for all the tips guys! Keep them coming, I’m writing this all down!
@jen: I would have loved to dock in Athens and Mykonos, but it came down to the sail date and the price. Royal Caribbean is running a special for the July 11th cruise.
@Melissa: Ours is on the 11th~ too bad~ otherwise I woulda loved to sit at your dinner table with you.
We literally just got back three days ago from cruising Greece on the Splendor of the Seas!
You are going to LOVE Split - it was absolutely fantastic. After I go through the photos I’ll be posting them on my blog!
we got engaged in venice! i’m still not sure there’s a whole lot to do there… but it was SO enjoyable to just wander the city, eat gelato, get lost. you can easily get lost, the streets are incredibly twisty, but everywhere there are signs back to st mark’s square, or the three bridges. get back there, and you’re fine. we liked getting lost and then finding our way back. it’s a very fun, very quirky little city.
I second all the Santorini advice above. The black sand beaches are beautiful and exotic, but the sand gets almost unbearably hot later in the day. In Ephesus, the ruins are amazing and guide books will have tons to say about them all. In Kusadasi, there are really great places to eat fresh seafood and if you want a souvenir for your new home, there are really nice places to buy a handmade Turkish rug. Also of note (though maybe not something of personal interest to you), the house where Mary lived after Jesus’ crucification is in Ephesus. It’s a wonderful region and I hope you have as much fun there as I did!
Sounds fantastic. We spent the first few nights of our honeymoon at the Luna Baglioni. It was expensive, but absolutely worth it. The service was incredible, gorgeous room, views and breakfast. Steps from san marco. just wonderful…..
I love Croatia - but Split is boring. Take a boat from Split to Hvar (not far) - or better yet, take the bus to Dubrovnik. It is a 4 hour bus ride - but it is so incredibly beautiful. I’m not into cruises - so I don’t know how much time you have at each stop - but Dubrovnik is 1000 times better than Split and worth the trip.
Santorini is wonderful. I suggest renting a moped in Santorini or Corfu to explore. Donkey ride in Santorini is over rated.
Venice - I really enjoyed just walking around Venice and didn’t do anything really touristy - just wandered around, had good food (no specific restaurant) and ate a lot of gelato.
Have a great trip.
Mrs. Lovebird, New York/Cancun
Age and Occupation: 25, Attorney
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical Student
Engagement Date: September 22, 2006
Wedding Date: July, 2008
Venue: Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa
About Me: Born and raised New Yorker planning a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico and a traditional Chinese banquet in New York City. Got proposed to in Cancun, so it’s only fitting we are going back to get married. I love trivia, board games, bargain shopping, asian dramas and eating yummy food!
I’m sure you’ll get a ton of suggestions on Venice, but my 2 recs for places to eat are Fiaschetieria Toscana and Ristorante Antico Martini. Stay away from places that have a “menu turistico”, we had some bad luck at one. Eat lots of gelato from every place that sells gelato. I never had a bad scoop.
I loved our hotel (Hotel Bellini) because it was close to the train station so we didn’t have to drag our luggage far, but if you need to get to where the cruise ship is, you might want to stay closer to the docking area. You can check my blog for things I did in Venice, I just got back from Italy 2 weeks ago.
Enjoy!