Cruising has had something of a bad reputation. I’ve heard a few horror stories about food poisoning, cruises that go to remote beaches with zero restaurant or restroom facilities, and entertainment that is lacklustre.
However, if you want to see parts of the Mediterranean, there is no better way to travel.
Don’t be duped into thinking that you’ll be on the ship day after day. Rather, you’ll arrive at a new port almost every day, allowing you to maximise your time exploring cities on land, rather than wasting time travelling from one place to another.
Instead of lugging luggage to and from hotels, airports and stations, you have a modern (albeit small) room in which you can make yourself comfortable for the duration of your trip. If your hotel can move from place to place, why should you?
Celebrity Cruises specialises in “modern luxury”, with cruises all over the world.
I took a seven-night Greek Odyssey cruise on the Celebrity Equinox – and can now confess to being a cruise addict.
In Europe, particularly in Greece and on the French and Italian Rivieras, the most beautiful islands – like Mykonos, Santorini, Monaco and Portofino – are often the trickiest and most expensive to reach, by air or, for obvious reasons, road. Cruising eliminates this hassle, and considering that your fare includes transport, food, entertainment and accommodation, you’d struggle to find a cheaper way to tour these areas.
My cruise set out from Istanbul, where I had arrived a day early so I could better soak up the sights and sounds of this metropolis. The city had long been on my bucket list.
I only wish I’d had more time to devour crunchy, syrup-drenched baklava and walk the cobbled streets while admiring the wrought-iron balconies above, adorned with pot plants and colourful buds.
Here, I called Witt Istanbul home for the night, and home it was. The tiny boutique hotel has suites rather than rooms, each with a kitchenette and living area. I favour small, arty hotels rather than big-chain hotels because I feel their character makes for a more memorable stay.
Witt puts together a handy magazine, highlighting all the latest food and drink hot spots, while the concierge-cum-receptionist will happily recommend his favourite restaurants. The hotel is central and close to Istiklal Avenue, a 2km pedestrianised street that is a shopping and foodie attraction.
We stopped randomly at a pastry shop and tried lokma, a traditional Turkish dessert made with flour, sugar, yeast and salt and soaked in syrup, and some fragrant Turkish tea, served black in a stainless steel teapot.
We quickly realised that Turkish desserts are far sweeter than the South African palate is used to, except for Turkish delight, which is less sweet than the South African version, but far more addictive. Flavours range from rosewater and lemon to cinnamon or mint.
Our ship was docked 10 minutes’ drive from the hotel, so after exploring some of Istanbul’s cultural highlights, like Aya Sophia and the Blue Mosque, we were ready to embark.
After finding I was one of 3 000 passengers, I was a bit apprehensive: how good could a cruise be if there were so many people?
The layout of the ship made it apparent that I needn’t have worried. The opulent lobby is flanked by a grand staircase, which splits at the top, leading to two separate dining areas.
A pool deck stretches from one side of the ship to the other, occupying the top two decks, complete with a bar, DJ, multiple jacuzzis and hundreds of deckchairs. Alongside the pool you’ll find the massive gym. Treadmills face floor-to-ceiling windows, so when the ship is in port you feel you are running into the ocean.
Glass elevators float up and down in the centre of the 15 decks, two of which are dedicated to bars, restaurants, shopping and entertainment.
On a seven-day cruise, you can eat at a different restaurant every night. Selected restaurants are included in the cost of your cruise, with an additional charge of $99 (about R1 150) a person to dine at three speciality restaurants.
I ate most often at the complimentary restaurant, Silhouette, and marvelled at how a 1 000-seater eatery could provide service as prompt and food as tasty as I experienced.
Standards of hygiene are extremely strict, and meat and fish are flown in, so quality can be guaranteed. Fresh produce is obtained at ports, but only if suppliers can provide the quality required.
The Silhouette menu changes daily, and we feasted on dishes like lobster, duck, and lamb shank, all packed with flavour and plated beautifully. Drinks, however, come at a hefty surcharge, so if you’re a big drinker it is may be advisable to buy one of the ship’s beverage packages, which allow unlimited drinks for a daily fee.
The other complimentary dining option is the buffet at the Oceanview Café, which serves food throughout the day. Word is that one gains 500g a day on a cruise, and I can see why. Desserts are a lavish spread, which changes according to the location of the ship. Think cannoli in Italy, and thick Greek yoghurt with berries in Greece.
A cruise allows you a little taste of each port, but you’re not going to be able to see and do everything a city offers. We chose not to go on the ship’s organised excursions, which were rather pricey. In some ports, we found the right public buses with ease; in others, we walked around wasting precious time trying to find the best way to get to our destination.
From Istanbul, we went to a hot, dry Athens and made our way to the Acropolis.
Athens has hidden gems – and I struggled to find them. I found the city grotty, without the charm of other European destinations. However, the Acropolis was worth seeing. We struggled up to the top, sweat dripping from our faces, to be rewarded with a panoramic view of the city.
From there, we cruised to Mykonos, the party capital of Greece, if not the Mediterranean – and party we did.
The tiny island doesn’t have much to offer in terms of sightseeing, so we went to Psarou beach, to a popular hangout called Nammos. Here, beautiful people congregate – sprawled across deckchairs or frolicking in the ocean. We spent a good few hours people-watching, sipping our €20 (about R280) drinks slowly to prolong the experience.
Back on the ship, the party doesn’t stop. Every night, world-class performers take the stage. We watched Sin City comedy and burlesque, Cirque du Soleil-style performers, cabaret and even the ship’s own version of Top Chef. On two out of the seven nights, dress is formal and, despite my annoyance at having to iron my dress with my hair straightener (due to exorbitant pressing costs and no complimentary use of an iron), I loved the old-world glamour on those nights.
Our itinerary included one day at sea and it was probably the day we enjoyed most.
I happily found myself playing bingo, competing in water Olympics and even trying my hand at karaoke.
Each ship has a novel entertainment option: ours had a glass-blowing studio where guests could watch live demonstrations.
Our next stop was Valletta in Malta. The tiny island packs a punch, with myriad cultural highlights to explore.
Public transport is extremely affordable and easy to navigate, so once we were off the ship we immediately made our way to the Blue Grotto, a collection of sea caverns on the south coast of Malta.
The location of these caves, combined with the sunlight, results in a luminous blue colour that you’ll want to bottle and take home. Tiny boats can take you through the caves, but this ended up being more an experience in adventuring than in sightseeing as the sea was rough.
From there, we visited Mdina, which you need to add to your “to do” list for Malta. The ancient walled city dates back 4 000 years and has an eerie appeal. We walked through the maze-like structures, admiring the intricate doorways and enjoying the quiet.
Once we were done touring, my partner went back to the ship, pleading exhaustion, leaving me to amble up and down the hilly streets, peering into shops and restaurants, and admiring the Tuscan-style buildings.
The ship’s next stop was Salerno in Sicily.
Having heard that it does not have much to offer and is more of a transit town, we made the 1.5-hour trip to Tourmina, a tiny village at the top of an extremely steep hill. It was quite nerve-racking getting to the top on the narrow, windy roads, which are designed for two vehicles but which can practically accommodate only one. Once at the top, the view was breathtaking, and we loved walking around the streets and taking photos from vantage points.
We had one more place in Italy to visit: Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Sadly, with just one day here, what we could do was extremely limited. We could have spent the day in Capri, but opted to go to Pompeii.
I’ve seen my fair share of ancient monuments, but Pompeii was on another level – an entire town preserved so well you can see paintings on the walls. The volcanic ash that engulfed the town also preserved it.
During the excavation of the town, plaster was used to fill in the gaps between ash layers, revealing the positions in which people died, and interesting artefacts like ancient Roman household items.
It would have been quite daunting to try to navigate the area alone, so I enlisted the help of Walks of Italy, who specialise in tours led by travel experts from the area.
Our guide was excellent. She made us imagine we were merchants visiting Pompeii, and took us along the route they would have followed. We saw the tracks on the road designed for carriages, and where merchants would have stopped to get food.
It was fascinating to see the contrast between the homes and leisure pursuits of the rich and of the poor – there were churches, a sauna, and even a brothel, evident from the paintings on the walls and the hostel-style rooms.
Our final stop was Rome, which I had visited before, so I flew home instead of spending time there.
Although there were 3 000 people on the ship, it felt as though I was one of no more than a few hundred. There are quiet spaces, like the library or coffee shop, and noisy, busy areas, like the casino or pool deck.
One of my favourite moments was lying on a blanket, enjoying tapas and wine on the grass (yes, the top deck of the ship has a real grass floor with a mini golf course), listening to live music, squinting into the sun with wind blowing in my hair, while we gently drifted in the ocean.
Mediterranean Cruises on Celebrity Cruises start from as little as $1 000 a person sharing, including all meals.
This would be great value on an average ship, but on something that is a five-star equivalent, like the Celebrity, what you get for what you pay is unbeatable.