Mediterranean Cruise 2025

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Trip start
June 4, 2025
Mediterranean Cruise 2025
And we're off!
June 4, 2025 in the United States ☁️ 22 °C
Pretty smooth trip to the airport. We actually parked at a local hotel and took the hotel shuttle to the airport (through globalairportparking.com). First time trying that. Security was quick and had time to stretch and walk before boarding. See you on the other side of the pond!Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
First Barcelona stops
June 5, 2025 in Spain ☀️ 25 °C
Ran out just to stay awake and keep moving before jet lag really got us. We learned more about the metro system, rode up to Sagrada Familia and then walked to Casa Mila. On our way we stopped to watch some locals playing bocce on a gravel playing area. Finally we took the metro back to our hotel and walked across the street for a lovely tapas dinner! We had a sangria made with cava, a local sparkling wine. We finally found an eggplant recipe that we liked! Also tried the local pickled anchovies, and they were honestly pretty good.Read more
TravelerThat looks amazing
6/6/25Reply
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Anniversary and Barcelona Day 2
June 6, 2025 in Spain ☀️ 22 °C
Started off the morning with a pastry and a coffee/tea, then did a dry run to know where we needed to go to meet the cruise ship on Saturday.

We saw the Christopher Columbus statue, then we walked up La Rambla, the famous Barcelona street which, honestly, was quite touristy.

We strolled through Mercat de la Boqueria, a food market. It was then off to a vermouth bar (Vermut i a la Gàbia) for our noon snack of tomato bread (assemble your own) and cod fritters.

We then headed back over to the Arena. This arena was originally built for bull-fighting but is now a shopping mall. On the 4th floor, you can walk completely around the building on their outdoor terrace to get some wonderful views of the city.

We then walked to Jube for our 2:30 p.m. lunch, where we had the meal of the day. For our starter, we both picked the soup. We didn't know what kind of soup it was when we ordered it, but it was a potato soup. For the main dish, Karl had fried fish, and Lori had pork with sweet potatoes. For dessert, we both picked the fruit salad.

After lunch, we headed back to where the airport bus had dropped us off to wait for Ben and Lauren to arrive.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Sagrada Familia
June 6, 2025 in Spain ☁️ 25 °C
Ben & Lauren arrived around 4:45pm and we escorted them to the hotel so they could check in & drop off their bags. Then, it was back to the subway to travel to Basilica de la Sagrada Familia for our timed entry tickets. The size of the cathedral is amazing. A unique feature is that all the statues are on the outside. The inside also emphasizes creation and natural beauty, with the columns shaped like trees with branches that spread out supporting the towers and ceiling above. The inside is very open, with huge stained glass windows that splashed different colors of light all around the sanctuary. It was a beautiful time of the evening to be there with the setting sun shining through the stained glass.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Tapas in Barcelona
June 6, 2025 in Spain ⛅ 24 °C
We then took the subway back to our hotel area. We dined at Milagros, a restaurant across the street from our hotel. We had tomato bread, spicy potatoes, fried meatballs, ham croquetas, sliced Iberian ham, crispy eggplant, and a few other small plates with cava Sangria. For dessert we had lemon sorbet with cava, crema catalana, and another caramelly custard that we can't remember the name of!Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Get on Board
June 7, 2025 in Spain ☁️ 25 °C
On Saturday morning, we went to a nearby coffee shop for beverages and pastries. One of the nearby streets was getting set up for a market. We then checked out of the hotel and headed to La Rambla. Lori, Ben, and Lauren walked a small section of La Rambla while Karl watched our bags.

We then hopped on a bus to be taken to the port where we boarded the Sun Princess. The rest of the day was spent exploring the ship. For lunch, we dined at Alfredo's (pizza). For dinner, we ate in one of the main dining rooms where we were assigned our table and servers, Budi and Anna. We confused Anna when Ben and Lauren switched seats due to Lauren's motion sickness. It stopped Anna in her tracks and caused Anna to give them "the look".

Since Karl & Lori had an anniversary, our cabin steward had swans and roses (made of folded towels and washcloths) along with a real rose and rose petals on our bed. Karl, when telling Ben and Lauren about it,explained that we had geese and roses on our bed. We decided he needed to play more Wingspan if he can't tell the difference between geese and swans!Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
At Sea
June 8, 2025, Alboran Sea 🌬 22 °C
We spent the day at sea. We played games, attended a talk on Gibralter, participated in Trivia, and relaxed after our travels. Our cabin steward moved the swan towel art to the small table in our room. (Also yes this is Karl, I have learned that geese are not lovely creatures and we should absolutely judge animals by their looks...)

We also checked out many different areas of the ship. The Sun Princess has plenty of areas to get away from the crowds if you have the patience to explore.

For dinner in the main dining room, we each had a starter plus shared a starter of escargot. When ordering her main dish, Lauren ordered the Classic Caeser Salad. After our server, Anna, gave her "the look", Lauren ordered Halibut (and Classic Caeser Salad).Read more
TravelerJust to clarify, I said that geese were not romantic. I didn't say they were lovely or not lovely.
6/10/25Reply
TravelerMmm hmm. Ok.
6/10/25Reply
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Gibraltar
June 9, 2025 in Gibraltar ☁️ 22 °C
Gibralter is a small British territory with an area of approximately 2.6 square miles. After docking in Gibralter, we disembarked from the ship shortly after 7 a.m. We walked to the nearest bus stop, where we showed the passes we had purchased online and rode the bus to the bus stop near the cable car station.

The cable cars were already running, so we hopped in line and took the cable car to the top. At the top, we saw several monkeys. Since it was foggy, we didn't get as much of a view as we were hoping for. We stayed at the top for a while, enjoying what views we could get as some of the fog decreased and increased.

We took the cable car back down and walked through the Alameda Botanical Gardens.

Then it was back on the bus to Europa Point, where we saw Trinity Lighthouse. The sign claimed it was the southernmost tip of Europe.

It was then back to the bus to get a ride to the City Center. We dined at the Royal Calpe, where Lauren and Lori feasted on fish and chips, and Ben and Karl feasted on Roast Turkey Yorkie. We then ambled along Main Street and then back to the ship.

We pulled away from the dock at 4 p.m. We saw the 4:30 p.m. flight from Heathrow coming in to land at the airport, but we were too far away to see it actually land on the ground. (When planes land and take off, they have to close the road to Spain as it goes right through the airfield!)Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Dinner and then another day at sea
June 10, 2025, Mediterranean Sea ☁️ 23 °C
After the day in Gibralter, we headed to dinner in the dining room. Lori ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu. We had been at dinner for about an hour and were still waiting for our entrees. They had run out of Chicken Cordon Bleu, so it was Lori's fault that dinner ran long. We were just finishing up dinner when another table spotted dolphins leaping in the water by the ship.

The next day was another day at sea. Not much to say, a little bit of pool, a little bit of Trivia, presentations about the ports of Marseille and LaSpezia. We had lunch at the Irish pub on board (in a booth like a hobbit hole). We played games in the Dome for a bit. Then we hit the show in the arena which was essentially a rock concert with the on board entertainers. Dinner and then sleep to be ready for Marseille in the morning!Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Marseilles, France
June 11, 2025 in France ☀️ 27 °C
We took the Princess Shuttle into town, as the port is about 4 miles from town. We bought tickets for Petit Train Marseille (a little train that tourists can ride). We took it up to the Notre Dame de la Garde, which is at the top of a large hill. A bicyclist hung on to the side of our train to hitch a ride for a little bit. We wandered through this moderately sized cathedral and enjoyed the views of the city and the port.

We then returned on the train to Old Port. We walked to La Patissiere Des Marseille, where we each enjoyed a pastry.

We then walked to Musee de Histoire de Marseille. The two attendants we met at the start of the museum claimed not to speak English, but were able to communicate through limited words and hand signals that the museum was free, set up our audio guides, explained no drinks allowed, explained all of our bags needed to be placed in a locker, and explained photos were allowed as long as no flash was used. The museum was huge. Marswille is old, with evidence of habitation from 600 B.C. We enjoyed wandering through and seeing the Greek and Roman artifacts, including the ruins in the courtyard.

We then strolled around for food options. The crepe place we wanted to go to was closed. We found ice cream - Lori enjoyed raspberry (framboise), and Karl enjoyed lemon (citron).

We then headed to the pick up point for the shuttle. Along the way, we enjoyed the artwork painted in the walkways. Karl found a crepe place and had a ham and cheese crepe and a salted caramel crepe.

Cathedrale La Major was near where we needed to catch the shuttle back to the ship, so we ventured in for one last Marseille experience.

.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Pisa and Florence
June 12, 2025 in Italy ☀️ 23 °C
The ship docked in La Spezia. We had signed up for the Pisa/Florence on your own excursion, so we hopped on a coach bus and took off for Pisa (just over an hour away). From the tour company there was the bus driver and the guide. The guide's name was Denise (or as she pronounced it dah - neez - a). She pointed out some things along the way, such as basil fields, when we crossed the border from Liguria to Tuscany, and the marble companies and the hillsides from where this most expensive marble is mined.

We arrived in Pisa and took photos at the Leaning Tower. We did not go in the cathedral or baptistery that was there. (Our time in Pisa was cut a little short due to arriving late.)

It was then on to Florence. Our guide gave us a language lesson, including some hand gestures.

When we arrived, we went into a gold store at Piazza di Santa Croce, where they showed us some jewelry and could then use their bathroom for free. (Public toilets cost 1 euro.)

We then wandered the streets and found some lunch. Lori ordered a Calzaioli, which ended up being a sandwich with finocchiona (a traditional Tuscan salami known for its distinct fennel flavor) and artichoke cream.

We then walked partway around the enormous Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore on our way to Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze. We arrived there shortly before our timed entry tickets (which we had purchased online while on the bus). Once inside, we saw Michelangelo's David. The statue is huge.

After viewing some of the other artwork, we walked back to the cathedral and waited in line for a time. At first, the line moved along, but then it came to a standstill, so we hopped out of line and continued walking around the city.

We headed to Ponte Vecchio, the only medieval bridge left in Florence, as all the other bridges were bombed during World War 2. This bridge has a higher level where the Medici walked. The lower level has various shops, including a gelatto shop where we bought lemon gelatto to share.

We then walked through Chiesa di Santa Trinita to see the frescos.

It was then time to meet up with the rest of the group to head back to the port. We arrived back in port about 7 p.m.

We didn't sail until after 9 p.m. so enjoyed the sunset along the coast.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Last Day at Sea
June 13, 2025, Tyrrhenian Sea 🌙 25 °C
Our last sea day was spent playing lots of trivia. Lori enjoyed the one where the trivia hostess had redrawn popular movie posters. Lori actually did pretty good! Another trivia was Name that Sound. Ben would have won except he listened to Karl and changed his answer from microwave to elevator, and he listened to Lori and changed his answer from opening an envelope to shuffling cards. We also played board games.

We enjoyed one last dinner in the dining room and had our picture taken with Anna and Budi, our 2 servers.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
On to Sorrento!
June 14, 2025 in Italy ☀️ 26 °C
The next morning, we had breakfast at The Eatery and then grabbed our luggage from our stateroom. We had to be out of our stateroom by 8:30 a.m. and off the ship by 9:30 a.m. We hung out in the Piazza for a while to let the crowd disembark.

After disembarking we walked to the subway and rode it for a few stops, walked to an adjacent station, and caught the train to Sorrento. The extra walk allowed us to get ourselves and our luggage situated in the seats well before the train actually left the station because it was the beginning of the Sorrento route.

We rode the train to Sant'Agnelo, the stop before Sorrento. There Antonia, our host's daughter, met us to walk to their home. We took the elevator up to the rooftop terrace, where Carnine, our host, had water (still and sparling) waiting for us. Since our rooms weren't ready yet, we left our bags on the rooftop and then walked until we reached a place where we could see the Mediterranean Sea.

While walking back to the B&B, we stopped at the supermarket and bought some snacks.

We then returned to our B&B, where our host toasted us on their rooftop terrace with prosecco and then fed us fresh mozarella, tomatoes, and basil, lemon pasta, and sourdough bread. We then officially checked in and put or bags in our rooms.

We then took the train one stop into Sorrento and walked the tiny walking streets - so many shops and restaurants! There were lemons everywhere you looked - real lemons, lemons on clothing, hats, dishes, etc. We really enjoyed a shop where they kept offering us free samples of limoncello, melincello, hard lemon candy with a soft limonello inside, pistachio spread, limonello cookies, etc. We bought candy, a bottle of limoncello, and a container of pistachio spread. We also bought hats.

We took the train back to Sant'Agnelo and walked to a restaurant near our B&B where we feasted on pizza. Lori had pizza with sausage, mushrooms, and aubergine (eggplant). Italians do not put pineapple on their pizza! One of the chefs at the restaurant was roasting chicken on a spit and cooking potatoes. She would then place the chicken in a container with the potatoes and pour chicken grease over it. It was a very popular dish, and many people stopped in forc"take away".

It was then back to the B&B for the night. We were given a key forRead more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Another day in Sorrento
June 15, 2025 in Italy ☀️ 26 °C
Our host served us breakfast on the rooftop terrace. We had yogurt with various grains, fresh fruits, breads, etc.

We then took the train to Sorrento. We had talked about taking a bus to Positano in order to travel down the Amalfi coast, but there was a long line, plus we needed to be back at a certain time for our cooking class.

Instead, we spent the day wandering the streets of Sorrento. We walked to the Grand Marina, where we actually touched the Mediterranean Sea. We enjoyed visiting the various stores, including more free samples at the store where we bought our limoncello, checked out clothing stores, etc. We enjoyed a sit-down lunch at a little restaurant down a narrow street, where Karl had gnocchi. He learned after he ordered that Sorrento is considered the birthplace of gnocchi! We also had cannoli.

We headed back to the B&B and relaxed on the rooftop terrace with a board game.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise 2025
Cooking Class
June 15, 2025 in Italy ⛅ 26 °C
We had decided to include the optional cooking class in our B&B stay. The wife, who doesn't speak much English, led the cooking class while the husband translated. (Part of the enjoyment of the cooking class was watching the two of them interact!)

She showed us their sourdough starter, which is 14 years old. They use the same sourdough for both bread and pizza crust. She then baked sourdough bread in their steam oven.

She then had us make pasta with semolina flour and eggs. We each had our own mound of flour on the counter in which we created craters to break our eggs into. We then used forks to start mixing it together until we got to the point of kneading and folding the dough.

We then rolled out the dough and cut it with a slicer....

We then went to the rooftop terrace and enjoyed sourdough bread with the pasta we made. She then started baking pizzas in their wood-fired pizza oven.

The first pizza was a traditional marghereta pizza.

The second pizza was a white sauce with mushrooms.

Our hosts sat and ate with us also.

Their 14 year old daughter came home and showed the strapless black dress she had bought. Her mother asked where the second piece was and tried to show her daughter that it was only a shirt! Her daughter indicated that it came to mid-thigh. The joys of having a teenage daughter!

After dark, a large fireworks display started. Our host indicated that some people are now choosing to do fireworks displays after their wedding as part of the celebration.

The cooking class, which had started at 6 p.m., finally ended at 11 p.m.Read more
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Trip end
June 17, 2025