Mediterranean Cruise & Mykonos, Greece

I'll admit, I was very hesitant to go on a cruise. Growing up, I only knew people who took cruises in the Caribbean. For me, if I was going to go to the Caribbean, I wanted to just be on the beach all day and not have to worry about making it back to a cruise ship in time. I still feel that way about the Caribbean, but after going on my first cruise I have definitely changed my tune on cruises!

For my first cruise, at age 32 (told you I was hesitant!), I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Greece. One of my favorite parts of the cruise is that we left from Venice, Italy. Having never been to Venice, this was a perfect opportunity to visit without having to plan a trip to Italy. I highly recommend picking a cruise in which the starting/end port is a place you also want to visit. We arrived in Venice a couple days before our cruise left in order to see the sights of Venice.

Once it was time to board, we made our way to the ship & immediately went to the top deck to swim. Most cruises will not have your room ready when you board, but require you to check your baggage. Given that it could be a few hours until your room is ready, it is important to keep a carry-on bag with you that includes anything you'll need until you can get into your room. While we chose to head to the pool since the weather was really nice, this initial time before getting your room is also a great opportunity to explore the ship. Most cruise ships have multiple floors with a ton of things to do/see! From the restaurants and bars/lounges, to shopping, to entertainment (theaters, game rooms, kids spaces, etc.), there is a lot to familiarize yourself with once on board. Near all elevator banks there will be ship maps to help you navigate. These interactive maps come in super handy, especially when you can never remember if you are in the front or back of the ship!

Cruises have become a favorite mode of transportation for me because of the amount of places you get to visit in a short period of time. For someone like me who wants to visit 100 countries or for a travel beginner who just wants to see as much as possible, cruises offer a great opportunity to see a lot. On our cruise we started in Venice, Italy, visited Athens, Greece, Kotor, Montenegro (one of my favorite places I've ever visited!), the Greek island of Corfu, and the island of Mykonos. That means in under a week, you get to visit three countries and five cities without having to plan anything on your own!

Here is the best part, cruise ships will allow you to disembark early. For us, we were excited to see Mykonos, but we wanted more than eight hours to see everything. We contacted Royal Caribbean before booking and inquired about leaving the ship for good when we got to Mykonos. We were told that was completely fine so long as we alerted Guest Services when we checked in so they knew our plans. Since Mykonos was the last stop on the cruise before heading back to Venice, we didn't miss anything and it gave us the opportunity to stay on the island and explore. While you are essentially paying for a full cruise and getting off early, for us it was worth it. We used SPG points for our hotel in Mykonos, so there was minimal additional cost to add this extra to our trip.

Kotor, Montenegro

This was my favorite stop on the cruise and one of my favorite places I've visited. The city of Kotor is situated in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor and the scenery is absolutely stunning. As our ship pulled into the Bay of Kotor, it was like something out of a Disney princess movie. The mountains encapsulated the town and no matter which way you looked, the view was gorgeous. Given the depth of the Bay, our shipped stopped several hundred yards from the port and small boats brought us to the dock. We walked to the Old City and as we entered the Old City walls it was like walking back in time. The city is surrounded by the walls and you can walk up to the top. It is VERY old, so the steps and pathway along the wall are very uneven and at some points quite slick. We decided to go to the halfway point where there was an old church and a lookout point. The hike was definitely worth it for the views! I could've stayed up there for hours just taking in all of the scenery, but we only had so much time to explore. We headed back down the wall (which is definitely more tricky than walking up) and went to the city center for an iced coffee. Fun fact - iced coffee in Europe is not what we have in America. When I ordered an iced coffee, my friend and travel buddy was quick to point this out. Thank God for her or I would've ended up with coffee and a scoop of ice cream instead of coffee with ice!

Corfu, Greece

We decided to do a shore excursion on this island since we knew nothing about it prior to the cruise. Our bus tour took us around the island, stopping at a view point in which you could see the sea and the "heart bay." We then proceeded to stop at a few coastal spots and we enjoyed lunch on the shore. The water was so clear! The island was quite small and we didn't have a lot of time on this stop, but the sights were pretty nonetheless. We had an awesome tour guide though and she kept telling us different words in English and the root of that word in Greek. We loved this because it reminded us of the dad in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." It was an added bit of fun to our tour!

Athens, Greece

We had about 7 hours total in Athens, so we chose a port excursion that took us right to the center of town and from there we explored on our own. We were very fortunate to have amazing weather, so we headed straight to the Acropolis. I'm a bit of a history nerd and tend to geek out when I'm surrounded by buildings which are centuries old. From the old theater (which is still used today), to the Parthenon, to the Temple of Athena Nike, there is so much to see and take in. I always find these types of places so fascinating when you stop and think of how old they actually are. We were literally standing in an area of buildings that were built in the fifth century BC! As an American, a country which is only a couple hundred years old, it is hard to comprehend how old that really is. The fact that they're still standing (even if not completely) is amazing! Obviously if you're in Athens, this is a must see. And of course we couldn't leave our first stop in Greece without some Greek cuisine, so gyros were consumed in mass!

Mykonos, Greece

Mykonos is a beautiful island! We read that of all the Greek islands, Mykonos was the "party island" and great for young travelers. While there were definitely options to go clubbing and get crazy, we chose a more casual experience centered around relaxing on the beach and enjoying the amazing cuisine of the island. We got recommendations from some friends who had visited before for dinners and thank God we did because OMG did we have some great meals! Our first night we ate at Avra Restaurant which had a gorgeous outdoor courtyard seating area and excellent seafood. The pricing was moderate, with entrées in the 20-30 euro range and the service was great (very attentive and offered tableside deboning of your fish!). Our second night we ate at Fish Tavern Kounelas. What made this place so fun was that you got to go downstairs and pick out the fish you wanted for dinner! They pulled out drawers with all of their different fish and you literally point at the one you want and they cook it to your liking. Never before have I got to actually pick out my food in a restaurant. The fish was delicious and the pricing was really good (ranged from 10-20 euros). Highly recommend this to anyone visiting Mykonos! And of course, when in Europe, gelato is a MUST. I think on the trip we visited about 10 different gelaterias and they were all fabulous.

As for must see sights in Mykonos, the windmills are probably the most well-known thing on the island. Mykonos is nicknamed the "Island of the Winds" so this represents the island perfectly. The windmills were built in the 16th century and originally used to mill wheat. Nowadays they are just a tourist spot to view and take pictures. You can also enter one of the windmills to see what the inner workings of the mill look like. If you're claustrophobic like me, you won't want to spend much time inside! Walking around the main part of town (close to where the ships dock) is also a great activity. Mykonos is known for its Cycladic architecture which includes whitewashed houses with pops of color on shutters and stairs and a plethora of flowers. Walking around the town you will see this on full display. Something else you may be lucky enough to see is Petros the Pelican. He is the official mascot of Mykonos and while the original Petros has passed, there is a new Petros who wanders the town. We happened to come across him on our stroll!

How To Get There

From the US: As stated, for this cruise we departed from Venice, Italy. Right now there are so many great deals on flights from US cities to Europe. From a budget perspective, Wow Airlines and Norwegian Air both offer very cheap deals to get you to Europe and then from there you just need to get to Venice (or your European port city). As an example, flights from BWI to Milan, Italy (a short train ride from Venice) on Wow Airlines are under $650 round trip. Norwegian Air from NYC to Venice are under $600. Generally, anything under $700 round trip to Europe is a great deal. And if you do your homework and keep your eye out you can score deals. I can't recommend following Secret Flying enough! I've found so many great flights from their posts.

Within Europe: Depending on where you are in Europe prior to heading to Venice, there are several low cost options. Flights are quite cheap with airlines such as easyJet & Ryanair (as always be sure to add in the baggage charges). I've flown both of these & have had no issues. If you prefer train travel, Eurostar & Rail Europe offer many convenient options.

Where to Stay - Mykonos

Mykonos offers a variety of options based on budget restrictions. There are a lot of cute boutique hotels such as Harmony Boutique Hotel which offer the true Greek experience. There are also hostels for those super budget-conscious travelers (check out Hotel Teo). Airbnb is always a great option when traveling as well if you really want to live like a local! Lastly, there are some international hotel chains on the island in which you can apply hotel points towards a room. Using SPG points, we stayed at the Santa Marina Luxury Resort and had this view:

Tips

Avoid the beverage packages on cruises! The amount of money cruise lines charge for soda and alcohol is insane. Each passenger is allowed to bring one bottle of alcohol on the ship. We purchased a bottle of wine each at the duty free shop in the terminal in Venice and that was more than enough. There are so many drink options on board that aren't soda, so you won't go thirsty! Plus, it's nice to have a little soda detox for a few days :)

Always check cruise booking sites before going directly to the cruise line's website. We personally booked this cruise (and our second cruise) through Cruises.com. We not only paid less at the time of booking, but got multiple bonuses such as on-board credit and dinner packages included in our price. A great thing too is that if at anytime after you book, the cruise line lowers the prices of the cabins, cruises.com will refund you the excess and give you extra on-board credits!

Read through your daily fact sheet/schedule from the cruise. We made it a nightly ritual to read the next day's info and not only did that inform us what activities were happening on board, it gave us facts and tips for the ports in addition to preparing us for the disembarkation process at each port.

καλό ταξίδι!