My first introduction to the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean was aboard a cruise ship, the Celebrity Solstice. I love cruising for a lot of reasons, but principally because it is the most budget friendly way to visit several regions in a short period of time. We used the cruise to get a taste of certain countries, knowing full well that if we really loved a place, we would return on our own. The cruise was eleven days and started and ended in Rome. Here are the photo highlights of our exploration of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Colosseum, Rome
Santorini, Greece
Island of Delos, Cyclades, Greece
Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
Library of Celsus, Ephesus, Turkey
Parthenon Athens Greece
Amalfi Coast, Italy
Pompeii, Italy
Who am I? I am a typical Gen-Xer and recovering cubicle-dweller who has a passion for all things travel. My site brings a unique perspective that is hard to find online. I am not a backpacker, nor am I...
Great photos! Love the destinations but don’t think I could do a cruise. Interesting that you love them. I’ve written a couple of posts about why I don’t like them. From a budget travel perspective, I can understand the rational but I have a number of arguments against them.
With that said, I don’t want to detract from your photos. Great countries to visit! What were your favorite and least favorite countries?
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Matt Long Reply:
April 29th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Thanks Jeremy! I do love cruises, and have written a few posts on how to do them on a budget. But it can be tricky, they are in the business to make money afte rall.
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Is it just me or does the crane really detract some of the grandness from the Parthenon
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Andrew Reply:
April 30th, 2011 at 7:32 am
I don’t know, you just need to describe it properly. The majestic crane raises its head and surveys the ancient monument. It’s long legs step carefully among the ruins.
See!
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you went to these places on one cruise? That’s a pretty well rounded trip!
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Matt Long Reply:
April 29th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
haha, yes I did. It was a great cruise, many different experiences.
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As mentioned a bit on Twitter, Ephesus is pretty high on my list of stuff to see, but so are a number of these others. Great shots of some iconic med places.
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Love the article…and cruisin’!! From the Mediterranean to Egypt, Israel, Greece, Panama, Colombia, China, Siberia, and Japan, the majority of my sabbatical travels have been on cruises. For comfort, luxury, adventure, and convenience, cruising is definitely a great way to go. It’s unfortunate that most people knock it before trying a cruise that is a great fit for them. Nice photos!!
~A
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I am not quite the seasoned traveler that you are, but we LOVED this cruise! Before the trip, we thought we’d like to spend a week in Santorini and didn’t care at all about seeing Mykonos. Santorini ended up being our least favorite port and Mykonos was our favorite. I agree with you, cruises are a great way to get a taste for the destination and you can always go back if you like.
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Matt Long Reply:
July 2nd, 2012 at 8:30 am
Funny how that happens, we had a similar experience with Athens versus Istanbul. We thought we’d love Athens, but we ended up hating it and we thought we’d hate Istanbul, but we loved it.
Another reason why the cruise was a great idea.
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