Mediterranean Cruise, Visiting Europe By Cruise Ship     Venice, Italy,
Spain, Gibraltar.  
Venice was everything I had ever dreamed that Venice would be.  
We arrived before sunrise to a sleeping city that was spectacular. Since we were scheduled to take the
second week on the same ship all we had to do was get off the ship and take a water taxi (vaporetti) to St.
Mark’s Square.  
My husband George and I did in May and I
would like to share with you some of my
wonderful experiences. .  We had a mini
suite and enjoyed every moment on the
balcony.
We left Logan airport for our overnight flight
to Lisbon, Portugal where we boarded the
Royal Caribbean Cruise ship,
Splendor Of The Seas
.
Lisbon has a large seaport with
shipping being one of its major
industries. After leaving the dock you
will see the
Discovery Monument, the
statue of the sea explorers marching
down to the sea,  Also the Belem Tower
is a must see while leaving this beautiful
city by sea.  
The next day our first port of call was to Gibraltar.  The Rock is a British duty free shopping area with wonderful
outdoor cafés.  A
shopper’s paradise right in between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea
The following day we arrived at Alacante, Spain, a
new port for cruise ships.  The people of Alacante
want the tourist dollars and have spent a lot of money
to make the harbor area inviting. They did a wonderful
job with cafés, a beach and shopping within walking
distance from the ship.  It was a pleasant place to
stroll and enjoy the warm weather and a glass of wine.
While sailing the Mediterranean many countries are close together and take a short time to reach.  Our
next day was in
Messina, Sicily and after arriving at the port, which was right downtown, we took a bus
tour to
Mount Etna, the world’s largest active volcano.  
To reach the top of the mountain the tour bus made circles around the mountain and finally arrived at the
tourist area in about an hour.  When we arrived at the volcano we found café selling sandwiches and cold
beer.  The souvenirs from Mt. Etna ranged from jewelry to lamp bases made from the hardened lava.  
The day we were there many school children were there to get a close up view of the volcano.  It was an
interesting day.
The following day was a day at sea enjoying what the ship had to offer and knowing the next morning we
would be arriving in
Venice, Italy.
Since we were scheduled to take the second week on the same ship all we had to do was get off the
ship and take a water taxi (vaporetti) to
St. Mark’s Square.  Arriving at St. Mark’s Square about 8am
was breath taking especially since the city was not awake yet, we didn't have any crowds to contend with
for a few hours.  Later that morning we took a free ride by boat to visit the
Murano Glass Factory.  We
shopped and took in the sights until 3pm when we started back to the ship to start our next adventure.  It
was not difficult sailing away from Venice since I knew the ship would bring us back in one week.
Mount Etna
Discovery Monument,  explorers marching down
to the sea,       
Nancy A. Santry has worked for a large
newspaper, a cable television station and currently
working in the art department of a major
Photographing first as a hobby and now in her own
small business, Nancy's photographs have won
many art show honors and have been published in
Tourism brochures.
Nancy concentrates on photographing New England
scenes but also loves traveling and photographing
in Europe.
Nancy’s web site
Cruise Articles by Nancy Santry
Venice, Italy  Mediterranean Cruise, Visiting Europe By Cruise
Ship     Venice, Italy
Text and Photos By Nancy Santry
On A Mediterranean
Cruise We Visited Europe
By Cruise Ship. Tours
included      Venice, Italy,
Spain, Gibraltar.
Venice was everything I
had ever dreamed that
Venice would be.  
We Arrived before sunrise
to a sleeping city that was
spectacular.
The Belem Tower
Text and Photos
By Nancy Santry
Royal Caribbean Cruise ship, Splendor Of The
Seas
.
On our Mediterranean Cruise we Visited Europe By Cruise Ship
Text and Photos By Nancy Santry
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