10-Night Mediterranean Sea Cruise : Rome - Greek Isles - Malta

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

Day 4 - 11 September 2023, Set Sail at 5:00 PM

On this trip, we started with 3 pre-nights in Rome, staying in a hotel near the Roman Forum, enjoying the wonders of this ancient city. This proved to be a great introduction to Greek culture since Rome adopted many elements of Greek culture and arts, even carrying much of it back to Rome itself. See the separate article on this part of the trip for more details. See the 3-nights our Rome blog.

Boarding was uneventful and soon we were aboard the ship, exploring the location of everything. The Celebrity Reflection is not the largest ship but had a huge number of crew and passengers. The safety briefing requires Wi-Fi access and as with all ships, cannot set sail until that is completed by all passengers. Wi-Fi is purchased by the number of devices rather than by cabin but allows switching to a different device (which disconnects the other device). So, several times per day, we had to switch between laptop and cell phone, since a travel advisor’s work does not wait, and the ship's itinerary planner was on the cell phone app. We spent some time exploring the ship as we moved between ports. 

Each evening, the main theater put on two shows that were all worth seeing and very professionally done. These shows included an acclaimed and very talented violinist, the Queens of Rhythm, an aerial show, and others. Performers changed from day to day and would be different on different cruises but were all very entertaining. 

At Sea

Day 5 - 12 September 2023

Sailing slowly between the Italian mainland and Sicily. 

Olympia (Katakalon), Greece

Day 6 - 13 September 2023 Docked 7:00AM to 4:00 PM

We arose as the ship arrived at dock in the quiet Greek town of Katakolon. One note, the pronunciation of words may be different than expected – ‘Ka’ is a common Greek word, and the town is called ka-tak-o-lon, not kat-a-colon… which got a good chuckle from one guide after he figured out what I was trying to say. 

Rather than stay in the town, we opted for a walking tour of the site of the ancient Olympic games. Olympia hosts the stadium that is the Birthplace of the Olympic Games. The Olympic games were scheduled to occur in the summer with 2-month pauses in any fighting before and after the games. Since all fighting between Greek City-States and their regional allies took place in summer, this essentially prevented wars for a short period, but not so much so that Greek history is not dominated by such wars or by wars from many other enemies who have attacked Greece for thousands of years.

After walking through the ruins of temples, halls, and monuments, we stopped at a museum with Sculptures – including a famed statue of Dionysus showing the strength of Grecian artists and various other sculptures and raised relief frescos and carvings of figures from Greek mythology. 

The local economy is based on the olive tree in both olive oil production and canned or packaged olives for eating. This is to the point where families do not borrow money from banks to build their homes, but rather than risk losing the land and their olive trees to frequent national financial issues and many failed experiments by the world bank and would rather leave buildings half-completed and continue construction as money is earned from the trees. 

We visited one such olive oil producer as a part of the tour of Olympia, with an informative presentation on the growing, harvesting, pressing, and bottling of the oil and on their varieties and each variety’s characteristics, including polyphenols. From there, we enjoyed an amazing meal with wine tasting and traditional Greek dancing around the tables. 

From there, we returned to the ship, and we departed with a Sail Away Wine Party on the helipad for Distinctive Voyages guests.  It was great to meet so many of the interesting people who we would share the experience of visiting some of the foundational sights of Western civilization. The party ended not for a lack of good conversation, but for the wind increasing as the ship picked up speed toward our next destination

Athens (Piraeus), Greece

Day 7 - 14 September 2023, Docked 8:00AM to 8:00 PM

Met the taxi ride to our walking tour of Athens from just outside the Port of Piraeus Security checkpoint. After a 15-20 minute ride, we were dropped at the entrance to the road to was down in the Metro at our tour meeting point under the clock. and walked from there. 

Our first stop was the National Assembly and changing of the guards (they approach from an unexpected direction – make space because they will not stop. This is where our guide clarified something very important. These guards are not military members, but there may be military members marching around the palace grounds. Warning: In Greek law, it is an act of espionage and a felony to photograph military members and is also a felony to photograph school children – so don’t. 

Walked to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, one of the sites being rebuilt from fragments, and this is where the explanation of the damage to these sites was made, earthquakes, lightning strikes, and pillaging of relics. Many of the relics are in foreign museums, where the facades were pried off of buildings or debris and many statues taken through conquests. Rome’s style was taken from Greece, as well as much of its art and even building materials. Additional damage has been incurred from those attempting to carve their names or initials into relics, so there is a 15,000 Euro fine for this, so don’t do it.

Then we passed by Hadrian’s Arch, placed by the Roman Emperor, and stopped for refreshment and to wait for the time for our tour to enter the Acropolis. The main street leading to the Acropolis has a lot of shops and eating opportunities and we chose Fresko, a yogurt and ice cream shop. We were surprised to find traditional Greek yogurt has 10% milkfat, not the 0% fat generally marketed in the US. The Greek way is to add honey or dried or fresh fruits to yogurt. 

Our tour time began, and we entered the lower area of the Acropolis site, The ruins of the Temple of Dionysus are at the base of the Acropolis, but many of these ruins have been reduced to the foundations alone and some parts of the columns. As the culture changed, the sites were unintentionally protected when access to temples and sites such as the Acropolis was banned under penalty of death and after a hundred years or so, the more accessible sites along the base were looted for materials or used as dumps. 

The views of the magnificent structures, such as the Parthenon erected by the ancient Greek civilization do not come without a price. The climb up to the Acropolis can be difficult for those with mobility or balance challenges as the trail is steep and uneven, with loose rocks and no guardrails. At the top, some rocks have been worn to a smooth finish and can be slippery with a fine layer of dust on shoes. There is work constantly occurring to rebuild from fragments. Aside from other disasters, weather, and looting, the Acropolis itself was shelled by artillery during one attack, further damaging the structures. What is left and has been restored is amazing in scale if not in the details lost to time and to collectors and work is constantly in progress to restore what can be recovered and identified. Greeks joke that if they want to see the original Temple, they visit the British Museum – so they’d like those missing parts back.

The Acropolis Museum has some of the damaged original works and a scale model of the fascia from the Temple of Zeus showing the missing pieces. Recently, the Egyptian Museum returned a fragment of the Temple, and the museum prominently displays a cast of this fragment for closer examination. 

Mykonos, Greece

Day 8 - 15 September 2023 Docked 7:00AM to 4:00 PM

Today we docked at the new port on Mykonos, Greece and embarked on a bus tour of the island. So, you are not surprised, the bus was long, the streets are narrow with sharp turns, and the hills are steep, so it is not uncommon in some areas of the island to go just a little off the road to make the turn on the way to the Armenistis Lighthouse. 

Armenistis Lighthouse has some historic significance due to its technology and was installed in response to a British ship sunk by running aground on rocks. Later, it served as an observation post during the German occupation in WWII. It is renowned for its sunset pictures and for the views over the narrows between Mykonos and the island of Tinos, but also because the German officers stationed there were captured. Many years later, one officer later found and credited his Greek captors with saving his life by sparing him from assignment to the Eastern Front in Russia and they struck up a life-long friendship.

We drove to various points on the island with views over the hills cascading into the sea, with plots of land demarcated by stone walls, even up very steep slopes. These slopes with only low vegetation, highlighted the white buildings and blue-hued doors and shutters in contrast with the sea.

For a break, we stopped in the small village of Ano Mera, and visited the small Monastery of Tourliani of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Monastery is topped with a red dome, bell tower in the Greek tradition, and hosts a collection of very early Christian art in addition to its ornate sanctuary. 

We stopped at the sandy Kalafati Beach. The beach had only a few tourists since it was coming to the end of the season. Greece does have a full 4 seasons, and it can get quite cold at times of the year but was quite warm while we were there. Once the winds shift and become stronger in the winter, ships stop docking in unsheltered waters and the tourist season ends. 

We weaved through the crowded narrow streets in the Little Venice section of town, past shops and restaurants along the waterfront. On exiting this section, we walked up a little hill to the famous Windmills of Mykonos. From there we continued down to the oldest continuously operating bakery (since the 1400’s) and enjoyed some cookies and Greek honey-soaked pastries and the tour ended.

In our free time, we returned to the windmills and found a small church down on the water just over the hill and then returned through little Italy and back toward the old harbor, stopping to buy a dress at Zorba’s. During a later tour, the guide informed us that although Anthony Quinn was of Mexican and not Greek descent, his portrayals of Greeks were well thought of in Greece and both he and the roles he played are celebrated in various places, both officially and unofficially in place names.

The small, blue-domed church of Saint Nikolaos of Kadena Holy Orthodox Church sits at the pier at Mykonos Old Port. During the bus tour, the guide explained that the color of the dome changed depending on where the family or owner earned their living, where earning a living from the sea was blue and from the land was red. Back in the harbor, after a stop at a bakery founded in the 1400's, we stopped to enjoy gelato and tiramisu at Da Vinci just off the harbor and as we were leaving realized our guide had recommended the much larger restaurant next door. Oh well, we had a good stack, and the other restaurant will have to wait until the next time… 

Since the road is quite narrow near the cruise ship dock, getting back to the ship requires the sea shuttle from the Mykonos Old Port (with stops at the shuttle bus stop, at one other docking point, or walking to the bus stop and catching a 50 cent Euro ride to the ship. We opted for the Sea Shuttle. There are other ships for tours on the same dock and there can be some difference between where the boat will dock and the description from the ticket office – and there are separate lines for the shuttle and the tours. Ask because it is 30 minutes between sea shuttles.

Rhodes, Greece

Day 9 - 16 September 2023 Docked 7:00AM to 4:00 PM

We arrived in Rhodes at dawn and joined a bus and walking tour from Project Expedition, Rhodes' Ancient Wonders: A Shore Excursion. The tour started with a drive around the Medieval City of Rhodes whose fortifications guard the city of Rhodes and its harbor.

We started with a drive through the city of Rhodes for familiarization with the area near the sea, passing by the entrance of the harbor, where a pair of columns with deer statues, the symbol of Rhodes, flank the entrance to the harbor where legend states the Colossus of Rhodes once stood with one foot on either side of entrance.

Our ride took us past miles and miles of beaches and resorts on the northwest coast of Rhodes after leaving the city before turning inland to pass to the east side of the island, stopping at an olive oil shop, Lindos Premium Olive Oil, and a separate pottery shop, Savvas Ceramics, where each item is a work of art. Among these is the Pythagorean cup, which holds wine when filled with a moderate amount, but drains out completely if overfilled as an illustration of loss from greed (or perhaps, overindulgence). After some shopping times, we continued to Lindos.

Lindos is a beach town filled with clothing, food, and souvenir shops and restaurants and the Lindos Acropolis towers above the town. The parts of town nearer to the Acropolis are not accessible to those with mobility difficulties since the steps are steep and there are no guardrails, even inside the Acropolis. However, when one considers that all Greek citizens must surrender their license to drive at a younger age than retirement, accessibility and the impacts of this limitation may not be a strong consideration. We shopped at several places as we walked back to the square along the main street to catch the shuttle to the top of the hill and to our waiting bus.

The next stop had us returning to the Medieval City of Rhodes where the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of St John, surrounded by a dry moat stands in strategic control of the harbor. The Knights had started as a medical order and with the relentless military pressures, became a military order out of necessity. During one siege of the fortifications, the Knights were forced to negotiate a departure of the city, which the attacking army wanted intact, and departed to Malta, which we would soon see. The tour continued with a wine tasting at Vasilis Restaurant. Walking back to our meeting point at the fountain in Hippocrates Square, we sat down in the shade and enjoyed ice cream decorated with fruit to look like a flower at Archipelagos restaurant.  The group reassembled at the Fountain in Hippocrates Square and walked to the waiting bus and a quick ride across the harbor back to our ship.

The tour continued with a wine tasting at Vasilis Restaurant. Walking back to our meeting point at the Fountain in Hippocrates Square, we sat down in the shade and enjoyed ice cream decorated with fruit to look like a flower at Archipelagos restaurant.  The group reassembled at the fountain and walked to the waiting bus and a quick ride across the harbor back to the ship.

Santorini, Greece

Day 10 - 17 September 2023, Tendered 8:00AM to 10:00 PM

The crisp white buildings at the tops of the very steep hills looked like snow covered mountains as we cruised in to anchor in the channel by Santorini (a sentiment relayed by another passenger quite independently).

After taking a tender ashore, we opted for the cable car ride to the top (the alternative was to walk up the path shared with the donkey train. We had to take a few steps to meet our guide. Since this was “Intimate Santorini” with a smaller tour, we had a minibus that was more maneuverable bus than the giant 54 passenger models we shared on the twisting streets of Mykonos.

Our first stop was the highest point on the islands around Fira (the proper name of Santorini), at the Prophet Elias Lookout Point, overlooking old quarries and homes perched on the side of the mountain. From this vantage point, the guide pointed out the circular shape of the islands and that the center, between the islands, was the center of a huge volcano that had exploded long ago, leaving the ring of islands, including Fira around it. 

The tour continued to smaller town, Megalochori, where we stopped at a field with small grape vines growing close to the ground and our guide explained that these are the form of grape vines on the island. There is very little rain here, so by law, vines cannot be watered. Instead, the vines are watered by condensation of water from the sea mist on a basket woven around the base of the vines from dead materials pruned off the vines. Only during the planting of the vines are a few drops of water permitted for the first years of the vine to establish the root, and then it must survive off the condensation from the basket alone.

We continued through the town’s streets stopping to see the water collection methods using the roof and terraces channeling water into pools. When we entered the main square, near the bell tower and a blue-domed church, our guide explained the monuments with names (it is all in Greek after all) as being in remembrance of the names of the soldiers who had died in defending Greece in various wars in the 20th century, often traveling to other islands, such as to Crete in WWII.

Then we walked on to the waiting bus, which took us past a church in Fira before arriving for a wine-tasting at Avantis ANHYDROUS Cellar Door in the town of Kontochoriou, where the excellence of these rare wines from grapes grown on Santorini were on display (and sale). 

From here, we drove to the north end of the island, to Oia, which is famous for its Blue Domed Churches, narrow streets, and spectacular views. The first thing you notice is the limited lines of sight – to get the best pictures, you have to walk down sometimes steep alleys between houses, hotels, cafes and restaurants, but you are rewarded for it, Walked all the way to the end of Oia, past many souvenir shops with incredible paintings of the blue-domed churches in vivid colors and found an overlook of a beach far below at the end of a wide winding path – the Oia Steps.  As we walked back to one of the many restaurants on the main alley or path, or street, we visited several of the souvenir shops. 

After the walk through the town, we stopped to eat desserts and have some refreshment at Neptune’s Restaurant on a patio overlooking the sea, as recommended by our guide, who was also eating there and took our picture. As we ate, the hustle and bustle of the tours walking through the town quieted down, returning to calm for those staying in the town in time for sunset. We were now on our way back to Fira, the main town, where we rode up the cable car. Seeing that the cable car was quite backed up, we opted to shop for a bit and see the sights of the town. As it was described, the usual wait in the high season to get a ride down the cable car is 2-3 hours in the summer and we waited in line for about 45 minutes before our ride. We could have taken the donkey path down, which takes about 30 minutes from those who did it (and said they would not do it again – particularly in sandals – since the donkeys use the path too).

Back aboard, the sun dropped behind the mountains of one of the neighboring islands and lit up the cliff in a golden orange glow. 

At Sea

Day 11 - 18 September 2023

Relaxing cruise day enroute to our next destination.

Valetta, Malta

Day 12 - 19 September 2023 Docked 7:00AM to 4:00 PM

As we disembarked in Malta…Maltese Independence Day had been celebrated only two days prior, on 21SEP2023.

Valetta, the capitol of Malta, is a World Heritage site, with large city walls creating a fortress on a peninsula with commanding views over the more commercial Grand Harbor to the south and the more leisure Marsamxett Harbor to the north. Our ship had docked beside the older cities on the far side of the Grand Harbor from Valetta and required boarding a ferry to carry us to the city of Valetta and our waiting buses for the exclusive Distinctive Voyages tour. We would return on the ferry to the ship after the tour. After a brief pause, we started our tour with a drive through the capitol city of Valetta, bound first for a stop overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Once we arrived at the Dingli Cliffs, we disembarked at a lighthouse and the small St Mary Magdalene Chapel on the highest point in the area, with a view down the cliff across a bay from an island that British defenders of the island used for target practice so extensively, that the island was now half its original size, A fruit and refreshment stand at the site supplies tourists with drinks, fruit, and souvenirs at a reasonable price. As we departed the site, we passed the remnants of old airfields at the Royal Air Force (RAF Krendi), one of the airbases used by the British in WWII to attack the Axis powers and for the defense of Malta, though the cities around Valetta were bombed heavily by Axis forces. Then we continued toward the fortress city of M’dina, on a section of highway that had once been a runway.

We entered the city fortress of M’dina at the main M’dina Gate (where else?) and stepped into the courtyard in front of the Palace Vilhena. On the cobblestones of the main street, the horse carriages have the right of way, and we had to frequently step to the side until we reached the Piazza of St Paul and St Paul’s Cathedral. Walked along the Belvedere overlook on the north side of the fortress, Lunch at Coogi’s Pizzaria and Bistro, which was, of course, ice cream. As we walked through the streets and allies to reach the Greek Gate and our waiting diver, we passed Piazza Mesquite, which has a few restaurants along the edges, but we were headed to a Maltese meal at out next destination. 

As we approached the Mosta Rotunda, a picturesque Catholic Church, our guide explained that may of the wealthiest homes on the island look unimpressive on the outside, but open to huge courtyards. The culture of the island does not support displays of wealth for the practical reason that pirates just may have wanted to seize it. From the Mosta Rotunda, we walked across and down the street to enjoy a traditional meal at the Ta’ Marija Restaurant, known for several awards and its wonderful atmosphere. Following the meal, we returned to Valetta.

Back in Valetta, we started the walking tour near the Independence Monument and passed the Christ the King statue and Triton Fountains before entering the Valetta city gate. Had we continued straight, we should have visited the new Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta (formerly the Knights of St John). Knights of Malta were the Knights of St. John relocated from Rhodes after it was surrendered. Malta has been conquered quite often and the language is a mix of Italian, Greek, and Arabic. So, like other islands with this risk or threat or war, many of the older towns have a design that prevents seeing where you are and have twists and turns.

Passing through the streets, we arrived at the Upper Barrakka Gardens, which have a commanding view of The Grand Harbor and city beyond as well as one of the batteries used for ceremonial activities at 4Pm each day. Throughout the route are statues of influential and notable ancestors whose ideas and actions created modern Malta, such as Iosephi Nicolai Zamitt, who wrote as Nicholas Zammit. 

With that, we took the walk down from the top of the city of Valetta to the monument of the Royal Malta Artillery Memorial WWII to catch the bus back to the terminal and ferry across the Grand Harbor to the waiting ship. With the sunlight streaming down on Fort St Angelo on the south side of the Grand Harbor, we sailed out of Malta.

At Sea Cruising

Day 13 - 20 September 2023

Some relaxation while cruising to our disembarkation, and packing up.

Barcelona, Spain

Day 14 - Getting Home - 21 September 2023 Arrival 5:00 AM

Departure from the ship in Barcelona, Spain was quite early, and bags collected the night before were arranged by group in the terminal, making the movement to the airport quite simple, though the sun was only rising as we arrived at the airport Note, you pass through security to a food court with lots of choices, to go to gate requires passing through customs to the gates, where there are far fewer choices.

The entire region is filled with cultural gems and layers upon layers of archeological sites where the history of Western Civilization was written as it expanded, Rome, Greece, and Malta’s historical evidence in art, faith, science, and contributions to government have influenced all of the earth and left their mark in architecture, frescos, monuments, and countless other ways, including cuisine, any one of which should make this a definite destination to put on your travel bucket list.

We will be hosting another Distinctive Voyages sailing from South Hampton, England to Portugal, Spain and the Mediterranean on September 18, 2024. We would love for you to join us!

Bon Voyage!