09/21/2025
Campers take a Cruise: Greece/Turkey
Each morning when Darryl and I woke up and pulled the drapes back on our balcony, we would have a different view. We started each day saying âWOW!â
It is different visiting a place that is so beautiful and knowing that you will never see it again. You feel somewhat eager to soak it all in. When we are in the USA, vacationing and enjoying lovely sites, we know we can visit again and it doesnât feel so desperate.
We cruised on the Norwegian Cruise Line/VIVA. It was all SO surreal and such a blessing to be able to visit Greece and Turkey. The Viva criss crossed the Aegean Sea for an entire week. We visited Athens, Volos, Crete, Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes in Greece and Istanbul and Kusadasi in Turkey.
SHIP:VIVA
Cruising was new to us so we had much to learn. A few things we didnât learn until our last day on the ship.
1. Key card is everything. Unlocks your cabin, charges purchases to your room, drink ticket, scan to get on and off shipâŚ.Donât lose it!
2. Insert key card inside cabin for electricity.
3. Rotate sliding glass door handle to lock for your air conditioning to work.
4. The TV/remote control works like a computer for all information you need to know. Channel 2 which was the Bridge Cam also played overhead announcements in your room.
5. The diamond pattern in the carpeting points you toward the front of the ship.
6. NCL delivers your excursion tickets to your room and in Turkey we needed landing passes with a QR code.
7. Walk around the whole ship early in the cruise so you see all the possibilities.
Excursions:
1. Each group received a number and we each wore a sticker with that number. The buses were waiting right off the ship and you stayed with your guide throughout the day. Safe and enjoyable, especially important in places like Istanbul where there are 20 million people in the city. *Darryl and I have not been out of the country before and our sweet boys gave us both âsafetyâ tips which we enacted on this trip. Logan said âthere is no such thing as southern hospitality when traveling. People will try to take advantage of you. Watch yourselves and donât worry about them.â Nicholas told us ânot to follow anyone calling toward us or waving us in a direction unless it was our guide.â I love them.
2. It all depends on your guide as to how much historical information you receive. They were very good about safety tips but they also lead you to retailers they were connected with. We literally got shut in a room until we learned about Turkish rug making. Then all these sales people came in and tried to sell you rugs.
3. Once you arrived at your destination, sometimes there would be multiple cruise ships at port and it was very crowded. You might be in long line to see something or you might be in large crowd all trying to see the view or the sites. The mosqueâs in Turkey used to be Christian churches. They covered all the beautiful mosaics with plaster. One mosque that we toured had been a museum and they had started uncovering the mosaic tiles. Now that it has been returned to a functioning mosque, they are no longer uncovering the tiles. The tile depiction of Mary holding Jesus is behind curtains so they cannot see it while praying. My photo isnât great, but it is included. â¤ď¸
4. You donât take your passport off the ship. You take your drivers license and a copy of your passport.
5. Always carry water and a hat with you. I used my fan a lot. Several people had battery operated hand held or neck fans.
6. Almost everywhere we walked was uneven, rocky, sandy and moderately steep. Our group would call over our shoulders âholeâ âcrackâ ârockâ âcurbâ and it would pass down the line.
7. You never know what the bathrooms will be like. Always have some Kleenex in your purse. Sometimes you had to pay for the bathroom but I didnât mind because that meant it was getting cleaned throughout the day. Volos was the only place where the bathroom didnât have an actual toilet. It was more of a tiled hole in the groundâŚ.I wasnât a fan.
8. Be prepared for all forms of transportation. On one excursion, we ended up on cable cars that took us down from the top of the mountain to the port. I sat down and shut my eyes and didnât open them until I got off. The other options were mules or 589 steps covered in mule poop.đł
Positives:
1. NCL did a great job of informing us. Emails, in cabin paperwork delivered to our room each day, announcements and people available for questions.
2. NCL had people cleaning all the time and spraying your hands when you boarded the ship (after excursions) and before entering any buffet style restaurant.
3. The flow on the ship was very good and the people were dispersed throughout the ship so it didnât feel crowded. We did not have to wait long for elevators.
4. Our room had a balcony, King size bed, sofa, vanity and a bathroom. It was all very comfortable and enjoyable. It was about the size of our camper. đ
5. NCL was available for any questions/problems/requests
Negatives:
1. The food in the âincludedâ dining rooms was good, but the food in the âcover chargeâ restaurants was much better.
2. Instead of large pools, they had smaller ones in different areas. Usually crowded. It looked like 20 people in a big bathtub.
3. Sorting people for the different excursions was orderly but a little crowded. You had to wait in line sometimes.
4. We paid the extra fee for onboard WiFi. We wanted to be able to look up history, facts, locations. We also needed to be able to find each other on the ship.
5. Flying takes patience. We were pleased with United and Air Canada. There is no such thing as personal space when traveling, someone is always too close.
6. When cruising you have a short amount of time in each port and sometimes itâs not enough.
We had 22 family members in our group. Family that we donât get to see very often. We looked out for each other and enjoyed making these memories together. The next time Bonnie and Jerry send out the email for a cruise (because now they are our chosen leadersđ) we might even have a bigger group.
Thank you Lord for all the many blessings! đđť
Happy Cruising!â¤ď¸
