Hard to believe it’s already the last day of our cruise! It’s been so much fun.
This morning I wished we could have had breakfast in our room, because the view from our balcony of the coast of Croatia as we sailed in was just beautiful. What an amazing place. The water was so blue and the cliffs so pretty. We were supposed to tender in this port, but the captain got clearance to dock for 90 minutes this morning. That meant a very early call for our excursion. We were supposed to be in the theater at 7:30. The first room service delivery is between 7 and 7:30. Turns out, of course, we probably could have eaten in our room and been just fine because the excursion group didn’t leave the theater until 8… but better safe than sorry.
This was the only port where they required a photo ID. I’d been carrying our passports at each stop; I’m not going to be in a foreign country without it. Heaven forbid we need it. Anyway, the check in Croatia was that as we were leaving the port, a police officer boarded our bus and we all held up our ID’s as he walked by. Very strict, indeed!
Our excursion was a walking tour along the wall surrounding the old city. It started with a small drive to a good lookout point with a beautiful view. You could see the entire old city and the coast. Then we drove down to the outside of the wall and we started our walk. First we walked through the center of town, then up the stairs to the wall. Which included lots of stairs on the wall. I wasn’t sure Kaitlyn would manage the entire walk around the city. It isn’t that long, just over a mile. But she gets antsy. Bill had suggested leaving her on the boat at the Kids Club and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, but it may have been better to have done that. As we walked along the wall, the guide stopped and shared stories about what it was like in the city when it was under siege of the Serbians during the war just 17 years ago. I remember working in Dayton when the Bosnian peace talks happened there and we sent a crew to Bosnia and the idea of vacationing in part of the area that had been in the war… well… I’d have never believed it. She pointed out that all but just a handful of roofs in the old town is new… because of all the damage done during the war. At one point as we were walking the wall, an old lady leaned out her window and started hollering at the passers-by in Croatian. We have no idea what she said. The guide didn’t translate for us. It was sort of odd.. and sort of sad… wonder what that woman was trying to tell us.
After the walk, we were on our own to shop or whatever. We went in a couple of souvenir shops. I picked out a traditional Croatian Christmas ornament. Kaitlyn picked out a fan with a picture of Dubrovnik on it when you fan it out. She was thrilled.
When it came time to find lunch, we struggled. The menus were in English but we couldn’t seem to settle on what to have or where to have it. We finally just plopped down at a pizza place. It really was just mediocre, but it was something. We weren’t too happy when the bill arrived and they’d charged us just for sitting down. They also didn’t take credit cards. Later I realized I should have looked at the fact sheet I’d gotten during the little shopping lecture on the ship; it included some recommended restaurants. Those probably would have been better. Well, you learn a little something each time.
Tonight after dinner, Bill and I decided to finally go to the show. It wasn’t a singer! The picture on the daily schedule was of a guy on his head twirling big rings around his legs and arms. We figured if it was horrible, we’d just leave. The guy was actually really entertaining. First, he came out and spun plates on sticks. I know, that doesn’t sound like a show worth going to, but it was actually enjoyable. He got the audience involved and added some humor. I want to know… just how do you get into that line of work???? Then the cruise director came out and gave us her list of the top ten dumbest questions crew members have been asked on this cruise. My favorites are: does the crew sleep on the ship? and do I have to leave the ship to go on a shore excursion? Bill thought the question does the ship generate its own electricity was a really silly question… I don’t see why. Then the cruise director showed a short version of the dvd you could buy with highlights of the cruise. I wondered why there was a camera crew following people around on the ship. We saw Kaitlyn in the pirate parade. I’m not saying I’m a professional videographer (far from it) but I didn’t buy their dvd. I’ll use my own footage. After that, the plate spinning guy came back out, this time to mostly balance on his head and spin things on his arms and legs. Sure, you can see that at a French circus, but the boat was really starting to rock, which meant it was extra difficult for him to do.
When we picked Kaitlyn up the wind was blowing so hard across the ship we could barely walk from the Kids Club to the snack bar for her late night snack and Bill’s evening crepe. He went back up on deck with the video camera to get some footage of it and said the wind nearly knocked him over. We’ll have to see what that looks like. I guess we’ll finish the trip with another rocky night. But now I know… don’t bother taking the motion sickness pills. Just go to bed!
Nobody must have seen that long extension cord that unreeled from the back of the ship, which is how ships get their power.