Geo: 41.0013, 28.9791This morning we breakfast on the rooftop terrace of our hotel. The food is very continental consisting mostly of cheeses, cold meats and bread. There are some tasty pastries that we wash down with juice and coffee.After these we head out into istanbul again. We head down to Eminou which is an area near the Galata Bridge which seperates the old and new parts of Instanbul on the European side. We are approached several times by men trying to get us on various boat trips. I did a bit of research before the trip and was told to avoid these as the trips are ivariably on very small, often unseaworthy boats.Instead we had a bit further to where the large commercial and passenger boats operate from. We find one offering a 1 1/2 hour ... read more

Geo: 39.9825, 26.009This is our last full day on the ship and it is a day at sea as we travel further north through the Aegean Sea toward Istanbul. There is a blustery northern wind that we are sailing into which makes it seem worse than it is. The sky is pure blue with not a cloud in sight. As we wake we are passing by the Island of Chios on our starboard and Psara on our port.We are slow to get moving this morning. We don't have to rush to get off ship. Breakfast is in the Oceanview Cafe. We make a start on packing our cases which is strange for me as I only unpacked mine 3 days ago. We didn't want to be worrying about it later and when done we can relax ... read more

Geo: 36.4168, 25.4335The sun peaks over the rim of the caldera as Connie sails into Santorini's crescent shaped bay. The whitewashed buildings of Fira the capital sparkle in the early sunshine. Apart from a smaller Seadream Yacht we are the only ship docked in Santorini. We have no real plans in Santorini today other than to get the tender boat ashore and visit Fira itself. We have been to Santorini many times before.We eat breakfast in Oceanview Cafe. There is fried bread which I have not eaten in many a year. It's great with baked beans, (English) bacon and scrambled eggs. The pastries are excellent too. We spend an hour or so back in our cabin before changing to go ashore. Connie is using the port tender boats rather than her own and they come in ... read more

Geo: 35.614, 22.6748Today is a sea day as we continue our journey from Messina to Athen. As we awake Connie is midway across the Ionian Sea and headed toward the south coast of the Peloponnese. We will continue on a southeasterly course and at about 7pm will pass within about 1.5 miles of Cape Tainaro which is the most southerly point of mainland Greece and of the Balkan Peninsula. At 8.30pm we will enter the strait of Elafonisos and pass between the Peloponnese and Kythira Island. We will then head north toward Athens.We breakfast in the main dining room. The Eggs Benedict, a cruise favourite of mine, is excellent and so is the French toast. Peter has his normal eggs over medium with bacon, sausage and hash browns. We then head up to the top deck ... read more

Geo: 40.6263, 14.3757We wake early. Connie is already anchored off Sorrento. The port here is too small for a ship this size and so we need to tender ashore. We breakfast in the Oceanview. I opt for a low carb brekkie of omelette, freshly made at the egg station, tomatoes and mushrooms. As Elite guests, being a sister company to Royal Caribbean our Diamond Plus status gives us something similar on Celebrity Cruises, we don't have to obtain tender tickets and already have some in our room and we can go ashore whenever we like rather than an allotted time.Before long we have travelled the short distance from the ship to the small harbour that sits below Sorrento. The place is busy with small ferries and boats taking people across to Naples, The Amalfi Coast and ... read more