NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS EASTERN MED

As usual I did the unpacking while Jasmine went swimming.  Afterwards we had dinner at Johnny Rockets and then Jasmine hit the rock climbing wall.

Messina, Sicily
We were scheduled to arrive in Messina at 11:am, but arrived early.  We were off the ship by 10:30, and headed towards the train station to travel to Taormina.  We changed our plans when we were able to strike a good deal with one of the taxi drivers waiting outside the port.  Josef drove us to Taormina in air-conditioned comfort, and then came back for us a few hours later to take us back to the ship.  While we were in Taormina we visited the Greek theatre, with it's awesome views of the sea and Mt Etna.  Then we took the Funivia cable car down to the beach, and of course made sure we had some time for gelato and shopping! 

It was so hot outside, and by the time Josef came back we were definitely ready to go back to the ship.  Jasmine hit the pool right away, then we took a bit of a nap and went to the ice skating rink.  I had time to go to the gym while Jasmine hit the kids club.  Then we met up for the show "All Access.".  We both agreed that we like the shows on Disney and Princess better than Royal Caribbean (so far).

At Sea
I had to get up for an 8:30am spa appointment, and when I came back Jasmne had already left for the kids club.  We spent a pretty lazy day, but took some time for Johnny Rockets and a round of Mini Golf.   Tonight was Formal Night, but we didn't feel like getting dressed up and spending 2 hours in the dining room.  Jasmine wanted to go to the show tonight, but I figured we'd better get to bed early tonight.  We have a long day in Athens tomorrow.

Athens, Greece
We met up with Mark and Diane - some new friends we met through Cruise Critic - and then disembarked the ship and found our driver, Spiros.  We'd originally planned to spend time in Athens and Cape Sounion, but decided to just stay up in Athens so we could see more here.  We started out at the Acropolis, and were able to explore all of it before the masses of tour busses pulled up.  We were so glad that we'd booked a private tour! 

During the rest of the day we visited the new Acropolis museum, the stadium used for the marathon during the 2004 Olympics, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Plaka, and the Roman and Greek Agoras.  We also had a wonderful Greek lunch, and had some shopping time at the Plaka.  Jasmine picked up a statue of Poseidon - one of her favorite Greek Gods.  We capped off the day watching the changing of the guards at the Presidential Palace.  It was an amazing day, and we had a great time.  We are planning on booking another tour with Spiros when we go back to Athens next year. 

Kusadasi, Turkey
We met Mark and Diane again for another full day of touring.  Our guide today was Rabia who was full of interesting stories about the history of Turkey.  Our first stop was at the Virgin Mary's house, followed by a visit to Ephesus.  We had opted to do the Terrace Houses at Ephesus also, and were so glad we had.  What an amazing restoration!  Ephesus was definitely the highlight of the day, but we also stopped at (what is left of) the Temple of Artemis.  Rabia also took us to a ceramics factory, and  a carpet showroom, where we got to see ceramics and carpet making demonstrations.   Both were fascinating and really made us appreciate the work that goes into the end products.  When we were at the rug factory, we took off our shoes and walked barefoot through the carpets.  Jasmine said it was "like foot heaven."  Mark and Diane spent more on rugs than we had for our cruise.  We found one small rug that Jasmine and I both liked.  She helped to get the last $50 off the price.  She is becoming quite the negotiator!  We ended the afternoon with a visit to Starbucks, and then said good-bye to Rabia.  Afterwards we did some more shopping around the port before going back to the ship.

Iraklion, Crete
Our last port was absolutely gorgeous.  We had planned to take a bus to see the Castle of Knossos, but again met up with a taxi driver who offered us a deal we couldn't refuse.  George took us out in the countryside where we ate grapes off the vine.  He also picked some olives and almonds for us, and showed us how they are processed.  He dropped us at the castle and we had time to view the entire site and buy a statue of a Minotaur for Jasmine before he came back for us.  George then dropped us at the archaeological museum where we got to see some more fascinating exhibits before we headed back to the ship - with some time to browse the shops first of course.  Back on the ship we tried out the inline skating rink, which I really enjoyed.  Then it was the gym for me and kids club for Jasmine.  The show tonight was "Now and Forever."

At Sea
Our second sea day was also our last day onboard.  I started out the day with a Hot Stone Massage, which was absolute heaven!  Jasmine had a last swim with her friends, and then we went to Johnny Rockets for the last time.  I did some more shopping, and spent some time at the Adults Only Solarium.  I caught quick glimpses of Jasmine in between her trips to Adventure Ocean, and before I knew it we were packing up and getting ready to disembark.  

Civitavecchia, Italy
We went into the dining room for breakfast this morning - our first time in the main dining room for the whole cruise!  We dined with a very nice family from the UK, and then it was time to get off the ship for our transfer to the Rome airport.  I'd already checked us in the night before, so we dropped off our suitcases and took a train into Rome for a few hours.  Then it was back to the airport for a quick flight home.  All in all a wonderful time!

We were sad to leave the Navigator, but we know we'll be boarding the Independence soon.  We can't wait to get back to sea!