MDIAZ72

In Katakolon we tried in 2008 the excursion to the Olympia sanctuary and Museum. This is a place where you need to be with a good guide to explain you all the facts to understand perfectly the meaning of such a fantastic place: The Gymnasium, the Stadium, the Hera's Temple, the Zeus's temple (One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), the place where the Olympic Fire is lit,... And in the Museum you can see the statue of Hermes by Praxíteles, made in Paros Marble (the most appreciated marble in the Ancient Greece -traslucid to the first 10 cm-). This excursion worths the price you pay. In Santorini, we made the visit by our own. We take a taxi (cheap) in Fira to Oia and enjoy the stunning views of the Volcano's caldera, walking by it's wonderful and white streets, making a lot of photographies,... And after that we go back to Fira by public bus and enjoyed a lot with the places (churches, etc.) and walking down the road to the port (the road where you can make the typical ride on a donkey... poor animals). In Santorini you'll keep in your eyes views that remembering all your life. In Dubrovnik I recommend you a visit by the walls of the city and after that keep time for walking in the wonderful streets covered in marble and the ancient port area, enjoying the street's markets, tasting a great ice cream and, if you are a Game Of Thrones fan, you will see the inspiring King's Landing places. Enjoy a lot this beautiful cruise and in Venice, if you are going to stay some days, don't forget to go to the islands like Murano, Burano, Torcello and Lido. Some curiosity is visiting the cemetery island of San Michele. All the islands are reached by vaporetto (the Venetian water bus)

Great job @Irieman !!! It's been a pleasure reading your live blog. We were at Freedom Of The Seas in 2017 and we loved her. Wonderful ship with a lot of excellent professional workers. It was a great time and when I have seen your images I have remembered the amazing moments lived aboard. Keep doing it in your next cruises!!!

@Skid thanks a lot! The ship looks absolutely stunning when you view videos and photos of her. I can't imagine how we'll enjoy aboard!!!

In 2008 we were on a cruise by the Greek Islands departing from Bari (Italy) and the ports were Katakolon (Olympia), Santorini/Mykonos (two ports in the same day), Athens, Corfú, Dubrovnik and Venice. In Santorini we went to Oia, a village in one of the corners of the island, and we enjoyed it very much making pictures. In Oia you will find the best views of Santorini with the typical white and coloured buildings with blue roofs. If you take a taxi, in 10 minutes you will arrive to Oia from Thira. In Mykonos there are a lot of places to be by your own in the Mykonos city (the windmills, the Little Venice area, the white buildings and the extremely clean streets with a lot of places for shopping or enjoying the Greek food. In Athens we arrived at 6:30 a.m., and by the 7:00 my wife and me were out of the ship in the way to Piraeus underground for going to Athens by our own. At 8:00 we were inside the Acropolis and we saw the Parthenon, Erecteion, Propilae, etc. with no more than 20 people around. We had difficult to found someone to take us a picture with the Parthenon. This allowed us to make a quiet visit of Athens without crowds (there were 28 buses outside the ship for the Athens's excursions). Don't miss the Panathinaiko Stadium (where the first Olympic Games -in modern age- took place), the Parliament with its Guard Change and the beautiful Plaka neighbourhood. At Naples, as in the other touristic places, be careful with your valuables. There are pick pockets, but without violence, so take care and don't wear your backpack in your back and let your purse in the front pocket of your short, trousers... Enjoy the Castel Nuovo, and the beautiful views from Castel del Uovo with the Vesubius. Try the World's best pizza at Sorbillo's (they have various places in the city) or enjoy a typical Naples dessert , the sfogiatelle (try it at Pintauro in Via Toledo). Other possibility is take the excursion to Pompeii ruins, or as you have written trying Capri. In May the weather in this area may change in few minutes, alternating between sun or some rain. I hope that these things maybe useful for you and enjoy this wonderful cruise.

Have a nice cruise, enjoy and have fun...

Hi, our first cruise was in 2007 - MSC Sinfonia (Valencia - Malta - Tunisia - Civitavecchia - Genova - Montecarlo - Valencia) with my wife , our 2 years old son and my political parents. In 2008 - MSC Musica (Bari - Katakolon - Santorini/Mykonos - Athens - Corfú - Dubrovnik - Venice - Bari) only with my wife. A lot of years after we travel on Freedom Of The Seas 2017 (Barcelona - Marseille - Villefranche - La Spezia - Civitavecchia - Naples - Barcelona) with my wife and our two sons, my mother, my political parents, my brother in law with his wife and his little boy. Now we are expecting for the next... next week (6th July) from Miami on Symphony Of The Seas for a Western Caribbean and Perfect Day at Cococay Cruise. We are very excited and nervous. This time my wife, our two sons (14 & 10 years old) and me. Tic, tac, tic, tac... counting the seconds to travel. Cruising is a great way for travelling, knowing places and people... this cruise will be the next but I think that it not will be the last.

In our reservation we selected My Time Dining and when the shows were scheduled, we make the dinner reservations in different times, so we could see the shows in the scheduled time. The My Time Dining is a great option. In other cruises (Mediterranean) we choosed a fixed time for dining (the late), but in our next cruise (next week... very nervous!!!) we'll try My Time Dining.

Hi Josepena12, We will arrive Costa Maya next July 9th (Symphony Of The Seas). We have booked the Dolphin encounter and after this activity we'll go to know Mahahual. After that we'll return to Costa Maya and will spend some time in the port area (swimming pools, shopping, etc.) We travel with two kids (14 and 10). I tell you more in a few days.

For our Costa Maya's day we have booked a Dolphin Encounter for two adults and our two children. The time booked is at an early hour and after the encounter we will go to see Mahahual and its boardwalk. After that, we will return back to the port and to the ship for lunch. We hope to have a few nice hours at this port. The day that we'll arrive to Costa Maya, Symphony of The Seas is the only ship in port....great!!

Welcome aboard Roleen!!

Yes, for my next cruise, on July 2019, it gone too. Well, I guess that we must consider booking the full day pass... if not, my children would kill me. ?

+1 for STOMP. I enjoyed it a lot in Madrid few years ago.

Great community! Congratulations to everybody that make possible this wonderful space of sharing info, comments and opinion to helping each others. Cheers for 9000 more!

Symphony Of The Seas- Western Caribbean and Perfect Day at CocoCay; 6th July 2019.

Hi, my name is Marco and I live in Madrid, Spain. Next summer, my wife, our two boys and me will be in Miami to sail in Symphony Of the Seas in the Western Caribbean & Perfect Day Cruise. It will be our fourth cruise, our second RC Cruise after the 2017 Mediterranean Cruise with Freedom Of The Seas. We are very excited with the cruise and hoping that it will be a great experience: enjoying the ports, the excursions and, of course, this world's marvel called Symphony Of the Seas. Thanks for this forum and specially to Matt. See you aboard!!!