Late last year, I booked a cruise on the MSC Poesia for June of this year. I also racked up a ton of travel credit by paying my mortgage off through Plastiq.com with my Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard. Ultimately, my goal way paying for our cruise to Italy, Croatia, Albania, and Greece entirely with rewards.
I got pretty close. The total cost of our seven-night cruise with balcony cabin plus two excursions I booked through the ship was a little over $3,000, and I paid for $2,500 of the cost with flexible travel credit. Of course, that doesn’t count the money we spent on board….but still.
We are back from our cruise now and I’m happy to report that we really loved it. I wouldn’t say an Adriatic and Mediterranean cruise is similar to a Caribbean cruise, but you get many of the same benefits. Here are some of the things I learned from the experience, plus how it went over all:
I found out that we need more time to relax.
When I originally booked our cruise, I loved the fact we would stop somewhere new every day. Our cruise on the MSC Poesia departed from Venice and stopped in Bari, Italy, Olympia, Greece, Mykonos, Athens, Sarande, Albania, and Dubrovnik. What could go wrong?
While nothing really “went wrong,” I definitely feel like there were too many stops on this cruise. By the time we got to Dubrovnik, we were so tired we just stayed on the ship the entire day. It was no big deal for us since we have a bigger, land-based Croatia trip later this year, but still. In the future, I will look for Mediterranean cruises with at least a few days on the ship, or I will just plan to sit out a few days so we don’t get overwhelmed and tired.
We ate a ton of food.
Whether we were on the ship or on land, I feel like all we did was eat. On board the MSC Poesia, they had a solid mix of ethnic food and Mediterranean food plus the world’s best pizza. In Greece and Italy, we noshed on all our favorites like Greek Salad, Saganaki, and yes, more pizza.
The kids had a blast.
One thing I love about cruising is the fact there’s so much for the kids to do. Just like when we were on the MSC Divina, my kids loved the kid’s club on the MSC Poesia. They were there almost every day for a few hours, did crafts, and sang and danced their hearts out. They even cried when it was time for us to leave.
To be honest, it’s really nice to have some form of babysitting when you’re traveling abroad with kids. The kid’s club on our ship worked a lot like a short-term babysitter since we could drop them off for a few hours whenever we wanted. Since my kids had so much fun there, I never had to feel bad about it either.
We saw a lot of amazing sights.
Since our cruise departed from Venice, we spent a few days there before departure. My kids got to take a famous Gondola ride and get lost in the tiny alleys of the floating city, and they loved every minute. In Olympia, Greece, we took a tour to see where the Olympic games started and I was able to share some of my favorite statues on Earth with my kids.
In Mykonos, we had an awesome beach day at the SantAnna Beach Club on Paranga Beach. This place is absolute paradise and you should go if you have a chance. My kids swam and played all day and we didn’t want to leave. Also, the food was amazing! We had french fries, sushi, and veggie hummus wraps and it was all superb.
In Athens, a private driver took us to the Acropolis. I got to show my kids some of the oldest ruins on Earth, plus how awesome ancient Athens is. We also had lunch at my favorite restaurant that was I wasn’t even sure I could find.
In Ksamil, Albania, we celebrated my daughter’s 7th birthday on the beach. The kids swam and looked for shells while flirting with little Italian boys.
Over all, the entire trip was amazing and I think we’ll probably do a Mediterranean cruise again with a different itinerary. It was great to pack and unpack only once for the entire week while also seeing so many sights.
The best part about it, however, was the fact we could cover most of the expense with credit card rewards. And now, I just have to start building up more travel credit for our next trip.
Have you ever done a Mediterranean cruise? Why or why not?
[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons]
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