I got myself to Gatwick for my first ever Easyjet flight on Saturday morning. Thankfully it all went very smoothly, and I arrived in Split with my luggage more or less on time! We were met by our cruise organiser, Paul Cranny, and our Cruise Director, Paul Carter, was on the flight with us, so all went more or less to plan. We spent the evening on board MS Princess Eleganza sipping drinks and having a light supper. I retired to my cot in a very nice cabin around midnight, but it took me quite some time to unpack and sort myself out.On Sunday morning I did a so-called walking tour of Split, but the good lady was more talk than walk. Having been to Split before it didn’t worry me, but would have liked more of a walk. We then sailed for Trogir, and I spent the morning on the deck soaking up the sunshine. A while after a light lunch the Captain dropped anchor and some of us went in for a lovely swim in the Adriatic Sea. Then a good long sunbathe as we sailed towards Trogir. On arrival we had a walking tour of Trogir, which was like a talking tour, so two of us ‘jumped ship’ so to speak, and walked back to our ship to prepare for the evening. We had a lovely ‘Captain’s Party’ with drinks followed by dinner, followed by a heavy drinking session.
Monday was a tough wake up after the night before, but the engines woke us as we set off for Sibenik at 7am. I gradually came to, and wandered up for breakfast, and then, after a talk on Vultures and a swim in the Adriatic, I spent the morning on the top deck. Had a small lunch and then we arrived in Sibenik around 1.30pm. Spent some of the afternoon relaxing on deck but did take myself on a walk to see Sibenik Cathedral. Later in the afternoon, I joined quite a good walking tour, but it went on too long so a couple of us made a swift return to the ship to get ready for our evening on board….. drinks, dinner and drinks!!!
On Tuesday we departed Sibenik just after breakfast and headed for Zadar. Had a wonderful day relaxing on board, with talk on von Suppe’s music, at 10am, after which we had another swim in the Adriatic. We arrived in Zadar at 3.30pm. Having been to Zadar before I declined the Walking Tour and took myself on a short walk around the little town. Then back to the ship for drinks, dinner and drinks!!
Early on Wednesday morning we set off for Mali Losinj – we had a talk on birds in the Med, and then most of us went swimming again. On arrival at Mali Losinj I walked into the little town and walked up – and down! – the 210 steps to the local church! That evening most went ashore for dinner, but I stayed on board and dined with the two Pauls – one organised the cruise and the other is our Cruise Director.
On Thursday morning we sailed for Rab, stopping for a swim en route. Once there, after lunch, did a short walking tour and that evening we had a barbeque on the back deck. On Friday morning we sailed for Opatija, and once again stopped for a lovely swim in the Adriatic. Soon after lunch we arrived at Opatija, our final destination. For the first time there were a few drops of rain mid-afternoon, so time to start packing and sorting things out! Did short walking tour and then in the evening there were birthday celebrations for one of our speakers, followed by farewell drinks and a farewell dinner.
On Saturday we had to be up for an early breakfast as we were leaving by coach for Pula at 7.45am! Once there it was easy to check into our Tui flight to Gatwick, and we arrived on time at 12.40pm. My car was a bit delayed by bad traffic because of the rail strike, but I was home in my flat by 15.30.
A lovely relaxing holiday in glorious weather.
