
Celebrity Cruise Ship Infinity 4th – 15th November 2024, 15th- 17th Barcelona
Itinerary
- 04 Nov – Athens, Greece
- 05 Nov – At sea
- 06 Nov – Kotor, Montenegro
- 07 Nov – Dubrovnik, Croatia
- 08 Nov – At Sea
- 09 Nov – Sicily, Messina for Taormina, Italy
- 10 Nov – Naples, Italy
- 11 Nov – Florence, Italy
- 12 Nov – Florence, Italy
- 13 Nov – At Sea
- 14 Nov – Palmade Mallorca, Spain
- 15 Nov – Barcelona, Spain. disembark
- 16 Nov – Barcelona, Spain
- 17 Nov – Barcelona, Spain then home.
Athens (Piraeus), Greece
Only a brief stopover in Athens as we only had 90 minutes to get from the airport in Athens to Piraeus, 8 miles away, where we boarded our ship, the Celebrity Infinity. We caught the briefest glimpse of the Parthenon atop the Athenian Acropolis as we made a rather tourtuous journey through the city centre.
Kotor, Montenegro

Our second visit to Kotor in the past 3 years, but it’s a beautiful town. and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Built in 1166, there are frescoes dating back hundreds of years, and much of the gold and silver relief work was done by the city’s master craftsmen of that time are held for safe keeping within its walls. We tackled the city walls (again) which involves a steep climb, but it’s worth it to get a magnificent view of the tranquil bay and the surrounding mountains. Wandering the old town is an experience, with it’s many narrow streets, full of old churches, shops, bars and restaurants. Fresh seafood is always on the menu and is recommended.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
This is also our second visit to Dubrovnik, though it’s the first time we’ve visited as part of a cruise. We only had one day here, but new our way around from the first time we visited. Anyone new to Dubrovnik must do the ancient city walls which offers unique views of the town and the serenity of the Adriatic, as well as offering many places to stop and sample the local beers (or wine for ladies!) and food. I highly recommend buying the Dubrovnik Pass, which gives access to the city walls and many of the museums, plus you get a local bus pass. Having said that, we didn’t do the wall this time but revisited some of the famous scenes where they filmed Game of Thrones. Note for any GoT fans, Cersei Lannister’s “Walk of Shame” at the Jesuit Church staircase was closed. There appears to be some building work going on, but hopefully this is just a temporary inconvenience. If you like seafood (I do!) you will be in your element here; specifically mussels and oysters, prepared in authentic regional styles at restaurants throughout the town. I would advise choosing one of the many restaurants situated on the narrow streets running off the main thoroughfare. It’s good quality and much better value.



Sicily, Taormina, Italy

Ok, this is getting to be a theme, we’ve also visited Taormina before. That was when the Dali Lama was there in September 2017. It’s a beautiful cliffside town and well worth the journey from Messina, where we were docked. We retraced our steps from 2017 and visited the Greek Theatre and ruins which provides a wonderful view of the sea and the majesty of Mount Etna in the background. Access is via ticket, costing 14 Euros, which is very good value. They still perform operas throughout the year at the open air theatre. We then wandered back along the main street, filled with restaurants and shops (a good place to buy leather), and had a leisurely lunch by the the grand terrace, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. This is an ideal place to soak up the atmosphere, with free entertainment from the buskers on the terrace – actually the same ones we saw in 2017!
Naples, Italy
The capital of Italy’s Campania Region. Our first visit here. We docked at the Molo Carnine Palazzina Docks Interno Porto, which was walking distance from the city centre. First impressions were very favourable, a beautiful bay framed by Mount Vesuvius in the distance. We took a City tour bus in oder to get our bearings and work out where we might want to explore further. The bus took into city centre (Centro Antico), passing the Piazza Garibaldi, the St Chiara Monastery, the Via Toleda shopping area, Trento, the Maschio Angiaine before heading back to the via Piazza Vittoria and the coastal road to the Virgilano Park, spotting the Maradona Stadium on the way.
We decided to disembark at the Piazza Vitoria as the tour bus returned to its starting point, and took a leisurely stroll along the waterfront road, heading to the Centro Antico to get some lunch – a traditional Neapolitan pizza (what else!) and then stroll through the bustling side streets of the Centro Storico old town (otherwise known as the “Spaccanapoli”), full of pavement cafes, shops, and lots and lots of people! I enjoyed the hustle, bustle and energy of the place, and could have spent the rest of the day exploring the many narrow side-streets with their buzz of energy, but I don’t think Lynda was quite so enthused. Not that we had the time to do all we wanted, but the recommendation from our tour literature is to visit the Museo Archeologico Nazionale for a world-class collection of Egyptian and Graeco-Roman artifacts and a trip into the basement of the San Lorenzo Maggiore church where there is a partially excavated Roman market.
Florence, Italy
Probably the highlight of our cruise. Ancient and beautiful buildings, with the Duomo probably the stand-out feature. Probably best known for the works of Leonardo de Vinci and Michelangelo, an art-lover’s dream. We stood in awe at the statue of David in the Piazza della Signoria (a replica, the original too valuable to expose to the elements), but we did see the original head of David, as sculpted by Michelangelo, inside the Accademia Gallery. We did of course have to visit the famous Ponte Vecchio, with its array of (mainly) gold and jewelry shops across its span of the River Arno. We were mostly left to explore by ourselves, but our tour guide joined us later and pointed out the birthplace of Leonardo de Vinci, an unassuming building in a narrow side street close to Santa Croce Square. We finished the tour with a visit to the Piazzale Michelangelo, which had yet another statue of David, but offered an amazing view over the city, lit up at night, with the cathedral (Duomo) and the Basilica of San Lorenzo prominent. It was a pity we only had one day here, there is so much more to see, but perhaps we’ll be back one day?
Palma De Mallorca, Spain
This is the capital of Spain’s Balearic Islands. This island enclave is often described as a mini-Barcelona, with a Gothic feel that has overtaken centuries of Roman and Moorish culture. We visited the Cathedral of Santa Maria (tickets required) with its famous Rose Window, apparently the second largest in the world. We wandered along the narrow streets surrounding the cathedral (easy to get lost!) before having lunch and then returning to our ship.
Barcelona, Spain
This was our final destination, where we disembarked our home for the past 11 days, the cruise ship Infinity, and set about finding our airbnb home for the next two days. It was a good location in the lively Gracia region of the city, which was easy walking distance to the Sagrada Familia, the main reason we had booked this extension to our cruise. We’ve been to Barcelona a few times, but have never managed to get to see the inside of this magnificent Gaudi-designed cathedral. I was well prepared this time and had booked tickets about two month’s in advance. We weren’t disappointed. The outside of the cathedral is a work of art, but the inside is truly amazing. Check out the photos.
No visit to Barcelona would be complete without sampling the food, drink and entertainment of Las Ramblas. We had the obligatory seafood paella (wonderful) and probably one too many of the (very) large glasses of sangria. On the way back to our apartment, I spent a while admiring the original paintings of one of the many street vendors, and Lynda kindly purchased one for me as a Christmas present. And so the holiday ends. Until next time?!

