Hewitt Cameron - Rick Steves Mediterranean cruise ports

AVALON
TRAVEL

Imagine yourself lazing on the deck of a floating city as you glide past the rooftops of Monaco, Venice, Mykonos, or Istanbul. Stepping off the gangway, youre immersed in the vivid life of a different European city each day. Tour some of the worlds top museums, explore the ruins of an ancient metropolis, nurse a caff latte while you people-watch from a prime sidewalk caf, or take a dip in the Aegean at a pebbly beach. After a busy day in port, you can head back to the same cozy bedroom each night, without ever having to pack a suitcase or catch a train. As the sun sets and the ship pulls out of port, you have your choice of dining optionsfrom a tuxedos-and-evening-gowns affair to a poolside burger after a swimfollowed by a world of nightlife. Plying the calm Mediterranean waters through the night, you wake up refreshed in a whole new cityready to do it all again.

Cruising the Mediterranean is more popular today than ever before. And for good reason. Taking a cruise can be a fun, affordable way to experience Europeif you choose the right cruise, keep your extra expenses to a minimum...and use this book to make the absolute most of your time in port.

Unlike most cruising guidebooks, which dote on details about this ships restaurants or that ships staterooms, Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports focuses on the main attraction: some of the grandest cities in Europe. Even if you have just eight hours in port, you can still ramble the colorful Ramblas of Barcelona, kick the pebbles that stuck in Julius Caesars sandals at the Roman Forum, hike to the top of Athens Acropolis, and hear the Muslim call to prayer warble across the rooftops from an Istanbul minaret. Yes, you could spend a lifetime in Florence. But youve got a few hours...and I have a plan for you. Each of this books destination chapters is designed as a mini-vacation of its own, with advice about what to do and detailed sightseeing information for each port. And, to enable you to do it all on your own, Ive included step-by-step instructions for getting into town from the cruise terminal.

Use this legend to help you navigate the maps in this book.

For each major destination, this book offers a balanced, comfortable mix of the predictable biggies and a healthy dose of Back Door intimacy. Along with marveling at the Parthenon, Michelangelos David, and Picassos canvases, youll perch on a bench alongside fisherfolk gazing out at the whitewashed harbor of a Greek island village. In each port, youll get all the specifics and opinions necessary to wring the maximum value out of your limited time and money.

The best options in each port are, of course, only my opinion. But after spending half my adult life researching Europe, Ive developed a sixth sense for what travelers enjoy.

The book is divided into three parts: First, Ill suggest strategies for choosing which cruise to take, including a rundown of the major cruise lines, and explain the procedure for booking a cruise. Next, Ill give you a Cruising 101-type travel-skills briefing, with advice about what you should know before you go, and strategies for making the most of your time both on and off the ship. And finally, the vast majority of this book is dedicated to the European ports youll visit, with complete plans for packing each day full of unforgettable experiences.

Please Tear up this Book!

Theres no point in hauling 60 pages on Barcelona for a day in Santorini. Thats why Ive designed this book to be ripped apart. Before your cruise, attack this book with a utility knife to create an army of pocket-sized mini-guidebooksone for each port of call.

I love the ritual of trimming down the size of guidebooks Ill be using: Fold the pages back until you break the spine, then neatly slice apart the sections you want with a utility knife, and pull them out with the gummy edge intact. If you want, finish each one off with some clear, heavy-duty packing tape to smooth and reinforce the spine, or use a heavy-duty stapler along the edge to prevent the first and last pages from coming loose.

As I travel in Europe, I meet lots of people with even more clever book treatments. This couple was proud of the job they did in the name of packing light: cutting out only the pages theyd be using and putting them into a spiral binding.