My husband John and I were privileged to be the Signature Hosts aboard the Regent Seven Seas Navigator that sailed from Athens to Monte Carlo, Aug. 4, 2007. We spent two days prior to the cruise in Athens, a city where John had been a student of architecture in 1972. Our wonderful (independent) hotel, The Golden Tulip Electra Palace (located in the Plaka), had a magnificent view of the Acropolis and was within comfortable walking distance of it, Syntagma Square, and Mount Lycabettus. Fortunately, the weather was comfortable making our stay conducive to taking these interesting walks.

Our first port of call after our departure from Pireaus, the port of Athens, was Kusadasi, Turkey. The highlight of this port is visiting the vast and impressive “city” of Ephesus. It is believed that Ephesus may have been settled as early as 3000 B.C. It is inspiring to step inside the ruins (remarkably intact) of the Celcius Library that may date around 3 A.D. After spending hours with our personable and well-informed private guide, Ali, at Ephesus (walking shoes are a “must”); we proceeded to the House of the Virgin Mary where it is thought that she spent her final days. We made the arrangements for our private tour through Kelly Cruises’ partner in Turkey, Vanguard Travel.

Santorini:

Santorini was our next port. Ships anchor and passengers tender to this arid island. At that point one must walk up countless very steep stairs, take a funicular, or as a last resort, take a donkey to Fira, 1,100 feet above. While Fira is a bustling and busy city, we opted to go to Oia, which is 20-30 min. away for lunch and picture-taking. When you see travel photographs of blue domes, brilliant white buildings, equally brilliant water of the volcanic caldera in the distance…that’s Oia. “Awesome and spectacular” take on new meaning in Oia.

Naxos, the port for Taormina, Sicily, offers two major options for sightseeing. One is to go into the lovely city of Taormina where the ruins of a magnificent Greek theater (3rd century B.C. and later rebuilt by the Romans) overlook Mount Etna, the world’s largest active volcano. The other alternative is to go to the volcano, which we did. It was cold, very windy and eerie walking around this site. There are areas where the volcano still steams and the ground is warm to the touch. The last minor eruption was just in May of this year, however, our guide/volcanologist, assured us we were safe.

The port of Sorrento offers more options for excursions than one can do in a visit. This is the port from which to visit Pompeii, go along the famous Amalfi coast to the picturesque towns of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, or to get on a ferry to the island of Capri. We chose the latter, and we certainly were not disappointed. The road from the main town in Capri to the town of Anacapri is windy and hugs sheer cliffs from which the views are beautiful…as long as you don’t look down. Capri was colorful – flowers, lush greenery, colorful houses, blue sea, all against a backdrop of steep rock, an interesting contrast to the white and blue of Santorini.

Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, was our last stop before Monte Carlo. Since we have been to Rome, we spent part of the morning walking around the port town. We found the public market, which was very busy selling colorful fruits and vegetables, amazing fish, and of course, cheese, meats, olives, olive oil, herbs, etc. We rented a car and drove into the Etruscan countryside, much of it vast rolling farmland, and stopped for lunch along the attractive shores of Lake Bolsena, a small resort town.

Arrival into Monte Carlo came all too soon. We had enjoyed each of the ports of call, and our one day at sea was perfect for total relaxation by the pool. All of the crew on the Navigator were attentive and friendly, our suite was large (the smallest suites on the Navigator are 301 sq. ft.!) and very comfortable, and we thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere on the ship. Our Signature guests were delightful, and the cocktail party we hosted was a great success….no one wanted to leave. And at the end of our cruise, neither they nor we wanted to leave the Seven Seas Navigator!

First-Time-to-Regent $250 per person Shipboard Credit!
Book between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007 on 20 + Select 2008 Europe and Alaska sailings*.

2008 Mediterranean Sailings (Voyager): 6/2* – Venice to Monte Carlo; 6/9 – Monte Carlo to Dover; 8/2* – Copenhagen to Stockholm; 8/9* – Stockholm to Copenhagen; 9/20* – Monte Carlo to Venice; 10/18* – Istanbul to Athens; 10/25* – Athens to Monte Carlo; 11/5 – Monte Carlo to Rome
*Plus, Kelly Cruises Amenities with Up to $400 Shipboard/Shore Excursion Credit.

2008 Mediterranean Sailings (Navigator): 6/21 – Rome to Istanbul; 7/26* – Venice to Athens; 8/23* – Monte Carlo to Athens; 8/30* – Athens to Istanbul; 9/27* – Monte Carlo to Athens
*Plus, Kelly Cruises Amenities with Up to $400 Shipboard/Shore Excursion Credit.

2008 Alaska Sailings (Mariner): 5/27*, 6/25, 7/9*, 7/23*, 8/20* & 9/3* – Vancouver to Seward; 6/4, 6/18*, 7/2* – Seward to Vancouver;
*Plus, Kelly Cruises Amenities with Up to $400 Shipboard/Shore Excursion Credit.

Kids Sail Free 8/2; 8/16