Another cruise vacation—with a few extras! For years, we’ve added days before and after our cruises, and it has worked beautifully. One round-trip airfare lets us enjoy several different travel experiences in one trip. We’re still not fans of flying, but it’s a small price to pay for the chance to keep exploring this wonderful planet. Retirement hasn’t slowed our curiosity, and we’re not ready to stop yet!
The original goal was simple: return to Venice for the first time since 1977! We remember it as fabulous, but back then we didn’t have the time or budget to explore much beyond the city. Nearly 50 years later, we’re returning with a very different plan—and a much longer itinerary.
We’ll spend about two weeks exploring the region before boarding our cruise. Our adventure begins in Verona, marked by the red dot beside the “L” on the map. Venice, our next stop, lies to the east—right on the water, naturally!
The five red dots on the map mark our pre-cruise stops. Jet lag is always a challenge, so we’re hoping our early-afternoon arrival (2 p.m.) and five nights in Verona will give us time to adjust. We’ve reserved a unit with a kitchen at the Lady Verona Residence. We booked a balcony room with a river view—perfect for a sunset G&T. We have several activities planned, starting with a hop-on, hop-off bus tour. We’ve found these tours are a great way to get our bearings and discover what we’d like to explore in more detail.
Our second day in Verona has a special evening in store: a visit to the Verona Arena, one of the world’s oldest Roman amphitheaters still in use. Built around AD 30, it’s nearly 2,000 years old—even older than Rome’s Colosseum!
The arena once held around 30,000 spectators. Today, seating is a bit more comfortable, with room for roughly 15,000 to 22,000. We've booked tickets for Aida, featuring Stefano Poda's production. Just imagine grand marches, huge choruses, and elaborate Egyptian-themed sets in a 2,000-year-old Roman arena. This should be quite a night!
Another Verona evening will be special in a different way: we’ve booked an evening cooking class. There are plenty of choices, and we picked the Pasta & Tiramisu class with wine; maybe no G&T this evening!
We’ve also planned a trip to Lake Garda, the far-left red dot on the map. We chose the Sirmione Boat Tour with Spritz tasting.
Believe it or not, we’ve deliberately left some breathing room in the schedule. We can explore places we discover along the way—or simply enjoy a little R&R if jet lag catches up with us.
After five days in Verona, we’ll take the train to Venice for three nights at the Antiche Figure, conveniently located near the train station and right on the Grand Canal. We even managed to reserve a room with a canal view. When in Venice, right?
And there’s a bonus: our booking includes a complimentary bottle of Prosecco. I have a feeling we’ll enjoy that welcome!
We remember that getting around Venice can be a challenge. GPS is helpful, but directions get interesting when so many “streets” are waterways! We’ll ask our hotel for tips and hope to visit at least one nearby island—perhaps Murano, Burano, or Torcello.
After three days in Venice, we’ll take a bus to Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, marked by the red square on the far right of the map. We’ll stay at the City Hotel.
Our first visit to Slovenia! With only three days in Ljubljana, we’re venturing outside the city for a day trip to Lake Bled. The emerald-green lake, medieval castle perched high above the water, and little island with its historic church look spectacular. We're hoping the real thing lives up to the pictures-and that we'll have time to enjoy the scenery without rushing from one photo stop to the next.
After three days discovering Slovenia, we’ll return to Italy for our final stop before the cruise. Trieste—the red dot just below Slovenia on the map—is where we’ll spend our last few days before boarding the ship. Trieste is located on a strip of land bordering the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. While in Trieste we have booked an apartment situated in the center of Old Town and less than 2 km from the cruise terminal.
Trieste has become an important alternative embarkation port for cruises marketed as Venice departures. Like Venice, Trieste has a "Grand Canal", a picturesque 18th-century canal surrounded by lively cafes and historic churches. Trieste is also home to a well-preserved Roman theater, that once seated up to 6,000 spectators, is testimony that in antiquity, this was a thriving city. Gilded mosaics in San Giusto Cathedral are evidence of Byzantine influence. The Castle of San Giusto stands on the hill overlooking the city of Trieste.
One of our planned tours from Trieste takes us back across the border into Slovenia: the Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle day tour. Predjama Castle is the world's largest cave castle. Perched dramatically halfway up a 123-meter vertical cliff face, the 800-year-old fortress is famous for its intricate five-story layout and its history involving the legendary (15th century) robber knight, Erasmus. Postojna Cave features vast chambers with incredible stalactites and stalagmites. The cave tour starts with a ride on a 140-year-old underground electric mini-train before opening up to a 1 km guided walking path.
After two weeks of exploring on land, it’s time for the main event: the cruise! The map shows our itinerary for this 12-day voyage, with stops around the Adriatic, Croatia, Montenegro, the Greek Isles, Crete, Cyprus, Turkey, and Athens.
With only one sea day, this will be a port-packed cruise! That’s another reason we’re exploring on land first: we want to board rested and ready for the ports, evening shows, and onboard fun. We’ll try to keep up—and remember to enjoy the ride!
All aboard the Enchanted Princess! We first sailed on the Enchanted Princess in 2023, on a Mediterranean cruise from Athens, and enjoyed it enough to return. With plenty of balcony cabins, bars, lounges, restaurants, and entertainment, we’re looking forward to another memorable voyage.
And, of course, we’ve already started scouting out a few favorite spots for an evening drink!
The Enchanted Princess has plenty of bars, lounges, and places to relax. Here are a few spots we’ve marked for possible visits:
Here’s our day-by-day cruise schedule, including arrival and departure times.
| Day | Port | Arrival / Departure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trieste, Italy | Depart 8:00 p.m. - Embarkation |
| 2 | Split, Croatia | Arrive 11:00 a.m. · Depart 9:00 p.m. |
| 3 | Kotor, Montenegro | Arrive 8:00 a.m. · Depart 6:00 p.m. |
| 3 | Cruise Kotor Bay | 6:01 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. |
| 4 | Corfu, Greece | Arrive 9:00 a.m. · Depart 7:00 p.m. |
| 5 | Olympia, Greece | Arrive 7:00 a.m. · Depart 4:00 p.m. |
| 6 | Santorini, Greece | Arrive 9:00 a.m. · Depart 8:00 p.m. |
| 7 | Chania, Crete | Arrive 7:00 a.m. · Depart 4:00 p.m. |
| 8 | Rhodes, Greece | Arrive 7:00 a.m. · Depart 4:00 p.m. |
| 9 | Limassol, Cyprus | Arrive 9:00 a.m. · Depart 9:00 p.m. |
| 10 | at Sea | A day to relax! |
| 11 | Ephesus, Turkey | Arrive 7:00 a.m. · Depart 5:00 p.m. |
| 12 | Athens, Greece | Arrive 6:00 a.m. - Disembarkation |
The Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates, one of the most important religious sites of ancient Cyprus. Dedicated to Apollo Hylates, protector of the woodlands and guardian of ancient Kourion, the sanctuary offers a fascinating glimpse into the religious life of the time.
Arriving in Athens marks the end of our cruise, but not the end of our European adventure. Once our group is called, we’ll say goodbye to the Enchanted Princess (for this voyage!) and head to our Athens home for the next four days. Cruise cabins are cozy, so we’ve chosen an apartment for a little extra room: the Check Point - Acropolis View B.
We expect to arrive before check-in, which is fine—we’ll drop our luggage and head out. We’re planning a morning walk up Filopappou Hill, southwest of the Acropolis, for panoramic views. From there, we’ll stroll around the Acropolis and into Anafiotika, a tiny neighborhood of whitewashed, Cycladic-style homes tucked into the hillside. It sounds like a lovely place to find a Greek lunch. Afterward, we’ll browse the shops in Plaka, return to the apartment, and choose from the many nearby outdoor dining spots for dinner.
The following day, we’re planning a full-day excursion outside Athens: the Delphi Oracle, Temple of Apollo & Museum Day Tour. The temple ruins at Delphi date back to 330 BC. It housed the Oracle of Delphi, where the high priestess delivered prophecies considered by ancient Greeks to be the center of the world.
Another Athens must-see for us is the First Cemetery of Athens which is also very close to the Panathenaic Stadium. The cemetery is located behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Panathinaiko Stadium in central Athens. It is a hauntingly beautiful, peaceful and tranquil place to visit on a sunny day. The stadium is a short 10-to-15 minute walk which functions as a free open-air sculpture museum and park filled with pine trees, cypresses, Neoclassical mausoleums, and works by prominent 19th-century sculptors.