With a 9am arrival, berthed on the starboard side, not far from the Mein Schiff 3 again, and yes, there was a Vodafone signal. We had already purchased shuttle tickets from Princess, which may have been a mistake, as there was a large dockside taxi notice on the wall, '€13 to Old Town'. Apparently, just outside the dock gates, it was only €10.
After breakfast, (mushrooms back on the breakfast menu after a week's absence and also my favourite V8 vegetable juice) we just wandered off, as there was no queue, and straight onto a shuttle bus.
It was already rather warm but we'd decided to walk the Dubrovnik wall as early as we could anyway.
There was a queue for tickets and two distinct lines for the pay desk – which didn't stop one character (not from our ship) pushing in. I managed to block him from our queue though!
Just a note for future travellers. It was local cash (100 Kuna each) or credit cards only, no Euro. We paid by credit card. (Our pin numbers are just 4 digits but some travellers have 8 digit numbers and the local terminals wouldn't accept them.) The walk up onto the wall is quite steep and there was a bit of a slow queue getting up there. Very sensibly, given that it is only one person wide in several places, it is anti-clockwise only. Plenty of steps, both up and down but great views in and out particularly when looking at the smaller harbour.
It was warm up there and a bit of a workout for about 45 minutes. We didn't dawdle and didn't rush. My back pack, normally worn over just one shoulder, but this time worn over both, was very damp by the time we came down. First stop was for a generous serving of tasty, refreshing cherry ice cream at €1.50 each. Prices were only displayed in Kuna, but they were more than happy to accept Euro – and they even gave me the change in Euro. Nice people. There were within minutes, about twenty people outside, all slurping away!
We then walked along the main street and through to the waterfront, where there were about 8 stalls trying to sell various boat rides, including several glass bottomed boats. Maybe we should have taken one as we had plenty of time. The sellers were all behind stalls and it was all very civilised, so no hassling at all.
There were several places to stop for food and drink and prices seemed very reasonable.
For those who are into it, this is the 'home' of Game of Thrones' so there was a fair bit of that merchandise around. Not a series we have ever watched but it has certainly been on in NZ.
When we returned from the harbour and just prior to the market, I picked up a lovely bird, who attached herself to my shoulder without me even trying to chat her up. There's a first.
Once around the corner and a wander through the market, the stall-holders were very friendly and not at all pushy, which is one of the reasons we really like this part of the world.
We were ready for a short sit down and a take-away shop in a back street parallel to the main street, had a few seats inside, so we shared a slice of pizza. Once again, Euro's no problem and at €3, well worth it. We could have had doner kebab, fries or filled rolls. The tasty pizza was very thin - and we had decided on a semi fasting day.
A steady walk back through the old city and just before the bus stop, we once again bumped into singer Martin, and this time I had the camera and he kindly posed for a pic with Paula.
The shuttle dropped us alongside the ship and Paula wandered through the various stalls, but returned empty handed.
Straight to the cabin and a mix of Heineken and cherry juice went down well and we opted to NOT go to the buffet… We watched the TV news and noted that the temperature in Britain was up to 36 degrees! Even Auckland never manages that. Wimbledon has started and over the weekend is the British GP, so I guess we'll be watching now and again.
We almost nodded off long enough to miss trivia but got down there just in time for question 4, but Laura and John were coping well. We were once again just one point away from a playoff, with 14/20. Sarah always does a good trivia and chatting afterwards was quite interesting. We said how much we'd enjoyed seeing the dancers and singers on theatre door duty and she said they'd asked to be more involved and loved meeting the passengers. This was then initiated by the cruise Director, so full marks for that.
A deck 5 coffee filled a gap and we resisted any food before returning to the cabin before getting ready for dinner.
Country and Western food menu and a fair sized piece of steak for me. Paula, had the drunken prawns (I had it as a starter!) and she managed an orange cake/gateau dessert.
On then to the theatre and before we'd even got as far as the Wheelhouse bar, Denys the dancer and Lauren the singer had spotted us and were waving! So we not only had a chat to them but Denys took Paula for a dance – a Waltz and also a Viennese Waltz - much to the amusement of others. Paula was on cloud 9! Not wishing to be left out, Lauren grabbed me and we managed a bit of Rock 'n' Roll.
The late theatre show was Chinese dulcimer virtuoso, Pinxin Xu, who we had seen before and thoroughly enjoyed. He plays a wide variety of music and we enjoyed this show too. Got to be an 8.5 out of 10 on any scale, but very much a show for those who just enjoy the music.
Cruise Director Peter seems to have settled down a bit since Gary Thompson's impression, but whether this will last or not, who knows?
Tomorrow however, July 2nd, is a special day on several counts, even though it is a day at sea, before the Italian port of Civitavecchia, gateway to Rome.
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