Mediterranean Taster

I had never considered booking a cruise. Having been sat on a fantastic beach enjoying everything a pretty destination has to offer, I have always felt that the extremely brief visit by cruise ship passengers meant they would not really experience it fully. But one year I decided that I wanted a holiday which involved visiting many different places rather than basing myself in one place. I did not fancy many hours in a coach or hire car and so I was really surprised to find that a cruise might be the perfect solution. The advantage of a cruise is that the journey often occurs overnight and you wake up in a new destination relaxed and ready for a day’s sightseeing. And if the journey is during the day it is still enjoyable as you can relax and enjoy the myriad of facilities available on board.

I opted for a one week cruise on the Ruby Princess starting in Athens. We would visit Mykonos, Kusadasi (for Ephasus), Santorini, Naples (for Pompei) and finish in Rome. We decided to stay in Athens and Rome for a few extra days to give us more time to explore the cities. I had always wanted to visit Santorini and was curious to see what Mykonos was like. If I liked them I could always book to go back there on holiday another time. Cultural cities do not come much better than Athens and Rome and in addition to these cities I would also visit the amazing historical sites at Ephasus and Pompei. Many people have pre-conceptions about a cruise holiday. “A cruise is too formal”, “you have to eat at fixed sittings with other people you do not know”, “A cruise is expensive” and “only the elderly go”. But the reality is that you do not have to go to formal evenings if you prefer not to, you can book cruises where you can eat at whatever time you want to and at a table just for yourselves, the costs are very reasonable when you consider what you actually get. Because of this cruises are now popular with people of all ages.

My experience on the Ruby Princess was excellent. The ship operates to a very high standard with extremely attentive, helpful and friendly staff. We swam in the pools, played crazy golf, enjoyed a professional entertainment programme and sampled high quality cuisine and drinks from a great selection of restaurants and bars. Would I book a cruise again? Yes I would as we really enjoyed the ships facilities. The holiday allowed us to sample a wonderful variety of destinations over a large distance and yet to finish the holiday feeling totally relaxed.