Cruising the Three Seas, part 1

Dubrovnik ~ Day at Sea ~ Malta

Back in January my Mum turned 80. She said for her 80th birthday she would like to go on a cruise with her three children. We settled on the Tui Three Seas cruise on the Marella Explorer 2, which would take us to destinations in the Adriatic, Mediterranean and Ionian seas. 

And so it came to pass on the 14th May that the four of us headed to our embarkation port of Dubrovnik. Technically we hadn't set sail yet, so I'm not sure if it counts as day 1 of the cruise or not. However, we arrived at the ship, dropped off our stuff and then had some free time to take a taxi ride into Dubrovnik and visit the old city. 

Our first view of the old city was from the bus!

First ice creams of the holiday

It's a proper 'wow' experience; a heavily fortified city that oozes history. Much is made of it being a primary filming location for Game of Thrones, but as I haven't seen Game of Thrones, I just appreciated it in its own right. There is a weighty depth to the place, with the sense that those streets have seen some things, including not too long ago, a bombardment during the Balkan wars of the mid-90s. There are plaques up highlighting places of interest related to that recent, bloody history. 

After wandering around the old city for an hour or so, we went back to the port and started to explore the ship, ready for day 2, which was a day of sailing. Our luggage had been delivered to our room by the time we got back, just one aspect of a very smooth functioning system that took incredible care of us throughout. I really can't praise the service enough. 

Our sea day started with a mini-golf tournament up on the highest deck of the ship. It's the first time I have played mini-golf at sea.

It was a clever little course, and the wind added to the challenge. I also met Niamh, the member of the entertainment team managing the tournament. Niamh is from Swansea originally, and she was also running the afternoon activity that I went to with Mum - a beginner's guide to Welsh!

19 people turned up for the session, which Niamh said was a record. Most were from Wales, turning out in Cymric solidarity. There were some interesting reasons given for attending. One chap from Aberdare said his grandmother spoke Welsh but his mother wouldn't let his gran teach him Welsh because it would "hold him back". A couple from Newport said they were made to learn it in school and didn't like it, but now feel they have missed out. Another couple from Menai Bridge said their translators - their grandchildren - had left to go to university so they needed to learn a few words themselves. Another couple, from Wigan, had grandchildren growing up in Wales who now spoke Welsh, which they approved of - "as they should!", said the grandma - and they wanted to know a few words. And there was a guy who now lives in Colwyn Bay who came along because "my wife's in the spa!" A short session of Welsh clearly the more preferable option!

The evening of 'sea day' was 'Dress to Impress' night, and we so we did. Here's us looking smarter than normal! 

We then went to dinner at the Latitude restaurant and were seated at the perfect table number. (If you know, you know!)

After dinner, we went to watch the evening entertainment, a show called Musicals featuring various songs from musicals. Mum ducked the evening entertainment as she was a bit tired, so it was just us sibs. All the evening entertainment was delivered to a high standard. 

We rounded off the night at the silent disco. It was 60s,70s and 80s versus 90s, 00s, and 10s. It didn't matter which channel we were on, the songs were all bangers and it was fun switching between the channels.

FYI: Alleged footage of me dancing is a deep fake

The next day we called into our first port of call - Malta. I expected great things from Malta as people I know who have been there have raved about it. However, our excursion - a bus trip of 'Panoramic Malta' - was a bit disappointing. We went to the 'three cities', but honestly had better views of them from on board ship, we went to a very touristy 'picturesque fishing village' that we had to walk to along a road that was distinctly unpicturesque, and we went to see a very large church but weren't given time to go inside.

Three cities backdrop

The eye on the prow is a good luck charm dating
from Phoenician times

Red phone box - legacy of British government

Although the tour was disappointing we arrived back at the port with enough time to take the incongruously modern elevator up to the main part of Valletta. 

Big chrome and glass elevator!

The priest behind us was rushing to church

Playmobil did a model of a Knight of St John,
the crusader order that effectively founded Malta

We had been told that Valletta only really had two streets, so we walked a loop of them both and then headed back via the cannonade.

The crowds were too large to see the 4pm firing of the cannon, so we took advantage of the lack of queues for the elevator and headed back on board in good time for the evening sailing. On the way out I saw a crane in the port painted like a giraffe!

Next stop, Sicily!