Sardinia, We arrived here this morning to wet weather and how clouds and debated whether to stay onboard or not.. but you only come to a place like this once so decided to head offshore and see what we could make of the place. It's like a lot of the islands which are built on the mountainsides so uphill walks... killers, and eventually you find it's all worthwhile. No protests here but the usual Morrocans selling stuff and the high end shops are around too. We walked around the old city - which is up very, very high and eventually we found a way in and thank God we found a lift on the outside so we were able to get to the heights of the old city. Again amazing views of the sea and the ... read more

Naples - Isle of Capri. The following day we arrived at Naples and decided not to venture into Naples as we'd been there before and had also been to Pompei. So where did we go? Decisions, decisions... no not really - it was a no brainer - we chose Isle of Capri. We caught a boat across to the Isle of Capri which took approximately an hour and a half. It is a beautiful place and we saw a lot of shops and people who had chosen to go there were excited to be there. Quite by accident we found the cable car which we caught and ended up at the top section of the island - well as you can imagine - more magical views from up there over the city and the sea and ... read more

The Ship - Nieuw Amsterdam Just to fill you in about the ship. This is the newest one in their fleet of about 15 ships. It is designed for traditional cruising which suits us just fine. There are heaps of activities every day for everyone and excursions on most days offshore where you can book a tour before boarding or onboard at the desk or at a kiosk screen on the walls in some areas. Or you can make your own arrangements - taxis, buses or walking whatever you want to do or you can choose to stay onboard if you wish. The excursions are for most part - for the main part of the day with some of them for around 6 hours - think this depends on time and tide. The ship has a ... read more

What another magnificent Greek Island! We arrived to blue skies and sunshine which has been normal for the majority of our trip so far - beautiful balmy weather and a lovely town to visit. After ringing our mothers , to ensure they were okay plus it was nice to hear their voices again we walked about 15 minutes from the ship to the town - all souvenir shops and restaurants were open but very few other shops were... being Sunday. We saw the Bell Tower in town and apparently a lagoon - Katavos Lagoon was once a swamp swarming with mosquitoes and rife with malaria is now a healthy feeding ground for Loggerhead Turtles. John and some others saw these turtles swimming around the ship as we docked in Argostoli. To the northeast of Argostoli is ... read more

We have heard a lot about Dubrovnik and how beautiful it is and everyone was right - it was just gorgeous. It is an historic and beautifully picturesque town known mainly as a major tourist resort facing the sea at the base of the rugged limestone mountains. Its medieval double walls and fortifications make you feel as though you have stepped back in time. For the history buffs - it was founded in the 7th century by the Romans, and under the protection of the Byzantine Empire, of Venice, of Hungary until 1526, and of the Ottoman Empire until 1806, but it governed itself as an independent republic. In the 16th century, Dubrovnik had one of the greatest merchant fleets in the Mediterranean. Napoleon abolished the city-republic, and in 1815 the Congress of Vienna gave the ... read more