How did we end up on a 14-Night Holy Land Cruise?
My parents decided to go on this cruise in October of 2013. I actually helped mom register for the Educational Opportunities (EO) Cruise through Celebrity Cruises while dad was in the hospital following his heart surgery. They had asked me about the cruise when they were presented with the idea through the local Methodist Church. A group would be going from Miller and they wouldn't have to travel alone. Mom and dad haven't been international travelers and the idea of traveling with a group was more comforting than the idea of traveling alone to visit us in Jordan. And who can blame them? Jordan IS bordered by Iraq, Syria, Israel and Saudi Arabia. We hadn't arrived in Jordan, so we didn't really know what to expect to ease any preconceptions of unrest in the area we were moving to. On top of that, I thought the idea of a cruise was fun and was excited to tag along. Jake was about one and half, a pretty easy going kid, so it should be a great time for all.Rome
Chris wasn't going to be able to leave work for 14-nights, plus the travel time, so Jake and I went alone. We flew to Rome on October 2nd, and spent two nights at a little hotel near the Colosseum. Our flight left at 7:30 AM so we were up early. We had a 6-hour layover in the Istanbul airport and finally arrived at Fiumicino Airport at about 6:30 PM. We had a driver arranged to pick us up to take us to Hotel Novecento, a nice little bed and breakfast and within walking distance of the Colosseum. It was a long day of travel and Jake did really well.The next morning, we woke up and walked to the Colosseum to try and find mom and dad, who were going to be visiting the Colosseum with the EO group. We didn't have any luck finding them at the Colosseum, so we set out to tour Rome. We paid a ridiculous amount of money for a 15-minute Handsome Cab (horse and buggy) ride around the older part of Rome, the Forum. It was worth every Euro for Jake to enjoy the horse ride. Of course he didn't want to get out when the ride was over and had a meltdown in the middle of the sidewalk. Eventually, we found some pigeons to chase and then found a cute little restaurant to have lunch. About 10 minutes after lunch, Jake crashed and we took a taxi cab back to the hotel and he got in a good nap. When he woke up, we ventured back out into the city. We took the Metro to the Vatican and chased some pigeons around. We walked around that part of the city for a while and then took a cab to the Holiday Inn where mom and dad were staying and met up with them for dinner, then a cab back to our hotel for the night.
A few photos from the Colosseum.
Our Handsome Cab ride through the old city. Jake loved "Riding the Horse" and in the photo below, you can see him holding on to this little leather strap, which made hime feel like he was driving the buggy. He would get antsy when the buggy would have to stop for traffic an start shaking his strap to get the horse going.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and he wasn't thrilled about getting out of the buggy. So we had a 2-year old meltdown in the middle of the sidewalk.
Then life got better because we got lunch and then Icecream!!!
Later, we chased the pigeons around Vatican City.
And caught a glimpse of the Vatican, itself.
Boarding the Celebrity Silhouette
In the morning, we had a driver arranged to take us to the port in Civitavecchia. We got on the cruise ship pretty early, but the room weren't ready until late in the day so we had to try and keep ourselves entertained until the rooms were ready. Jake wasn't enjoying his containment on a ship with nothing to do. It was one of the hardest days. Mom and dad's group was supposed to tour the Vatican before getting on the ship and they were running late. So the promise of Grandma Jan and Grandpa Casey kept getting delayed and that didn't help. Finally, they boarded the ship and Jake was happy to be with Grandpa Casey.*** Gets graphic in this paragraph***
We all went to the fancy dinner in the main dining room. Jake lasted about an hour into the 2-hour dinner. Luckily, that's about all the longer dad lasted and they headed back up to their room. Mom and I finished dinner and as I we were walking back up to the room, I mentioned that we should hurry because I wasn't sure how Jake would be doing. Mom assured me that he'd be fine with dad, he just doesn't do diapers. When we arrived to the room, Dad was sitting on the little couch in a pair of shorts (he was wearing pants at dinner) with a towel next to him, and Jake came to the door completely naked, and cartoons on the T.V. Two months later, I can still hear dad's words with a little exasperation in his voice, "Oh, you guys. We might need to get some diapers up here. I almost had to send out a search party." And it still makes me laugh. Jake was completely happy to be running around the room completely naked. Apparently, he had had what we call a "Green Monster" and dad had to deal with it. He tried putting Jake on the toilet and apparently Jake used it, but wiping caused the issues. Some of the mess ended up on dad's pants and Jake's clothes, which explains the naked kid and change into shorts. Dad said after the initial mess, Jake apparently went back and forth between cartoons and the bathroom 25 times. Although this was a mess for dad to deal with, since then, Jake has had a renewed interest in using the "Big boy potty". At this point, it's just Chris and I who are dragging our feet because it's easier to have him in diapers while we travel. So this ends, day one of the cruise. We set sail for Sicily.
Some photos from around the ship. Below is lunch with Grandpa Casey.
Getting settled in on the ship (above and below).
Soup with Grandpa Casey. Apparently eating Grandpa's food is one of his favorite activities.
Say CHEESE!!!
Just Chillin'
Leaving the Port of Haifa (below)
Spent a lot of time watching cartoons like this...
Sicily
The next day we woke up in the Port of Messina (Sicily, Italy). Jake and I took the "Taormina On Your Own Transfer" excursion arranged through the ship. We got on a bus and it dropped us off in the cute little town of Taormina, located about 40 minutes from the port. It had some beautiful architecture: buildings, churches, stairs, fountains. We walked the old amphitheater and then found a restaurant for lunch. Mom and dad visited the same town, but went with the EO tours group and didn't see them. We met back up on the ship. Mom and dad kept Jake while I went to dinner in the main dining room.Photos from Sicily are pretty self-explanatory.
Jake found this guy pretty amusing. Painted silver and moved when you got really close.
A trip to Sicily wouldn't be complete without some cannoli.
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Day at Sea
This was a long day at sea. The water was really choppy and the air temperature was chilly and windy. We hung around the ship all day. The one indoor pool was adults only, so we tried to take Jake in one of the outdoor pools. The water was cold and the water was sloshing back and forth because the boat was rocking with the 12-foot swells hitting the side of the ship. Swimming wasn't much fun so we watched a lot of cartoons.Athens, Greece
Jake and I took a "Hop on Hop Off" bus tour from the port to the Acropolis. It was one of those double-decker buses that you see driving around most major cities. I arranged it through Viator.com so we already had our ticket and the bus was waiting when we got off the ship. On the way to the Acropolis, I was able to call Chris and that was the first I'd been able to talk to him since we had left Jordan. We toured the Acropolis and took a few photos. When we went back to the bus pick-up point, there was an incredibly long line, so Jake and I went by foot into the Plaka shopping area. It was a pleasant little walk and may unique buildings and Graeco-Roman ruins along the way. About the time we got into the Plaka area, Jake spotted a train, so we boarded the train for 6EU and took a little tour of the city. On the train, Jake fell asleep, so once we got near the stopping point, I jumped off the train and took advantage of his being asleep. I picked up a few souvenirs at a couple of the shops along the streets and then found a little outdoor restaurant for lunch. The restaurant had free WI-FI, so that was a bonus. About the time I was done with lunch, Jake woke up and we got back on the little train and headed back to the Acropolis. We ran into mom and dad's tour group as they were getting to the Acropolis. It was about to rain, so Jake and I got back on our bus, which took us back to the port. I called Dylan to check in before getting back on the ship. All was well on the farm and he didn't seem too concerned that mom and dad were gone.
The Acropolis (above)
The Acropolis (above) from the front.
Some graffiti... I thought it looked cool since it wasn't on a street I have to look at every day and I have no idea what it says.
Riding the little train (above), then falling asleep on it (below).
A delicious lunch while Jake was napping on my lap. I ordered the "Variety of Greek Cuisine" 
Kusadasi, Turkey
Jake and I were signed up for an excursion through the ship, but it had gotten cancelled due to lack of participation, so we were on our own. It was probably better this way anyway. Dad skipped his tour with EO and came with Jake and I to visit Ephesus. We took a taxi to the entrance and then did a quick "power-site seeing" tour of the ancient city of Ephesus. Jake is usually on a pretty short timeline, so the quicker, the better. And it was really crowded because the entire cruise ship had just been dropped off at the front gates as well. We saw mom as we arrived. Dad found a cute little belly dancing outfit for Baby Cassadee and I was proud of him for his attempt at bartering. Once were through, the cab driver picked us back up again. Dad got a taste of Middle East driving and claimed he'd never complain about mom's driving again after this experience. I asked the cab driver if he could recommend a good restaurant, knowing he'd probably drop us off at his buddy's restaurant for some sort of kickback. Of course, we were met by "his really good friend" and guided to the top floor of a carpet shop. The man gave us some tea and coffee (Turkish coffee is pretty potent and strong, it isn't like Eldon's coffee shop coffee that has been run through the filter three times until you're drinking colored water). I don't think dad cared for his coffee. The shop keeper had his guys roll out rug after rug and Jake ran around like a wild man. Jake loved running around and rolling around on the carpets. Dad and I were hungry and knew Jake was getting tired so we needed to get out of there. I think the man eventually realized that dad was MY dad and not Jake's dad when I insisted that I wasn't going to spend $11,000 on a carpet without my husband here and we were finally able to get out of the shop. We went downstairs and had lunch at an outdoor cafe. We ordered the "mixed grill" which is a combination of beef, chicken, and minced lamb mixed with spices and mint. Dad seemed to like it, even the lamb. We also ordered two Efes, the main draft beer sold in Turkey. Then we took Jake back on the ship. Mom was already back in the room and we started telling her about our carpet adventure. She had one of her own, but she found one she liked and got it for Dylan and Cindy to put under a dining room table that was my grandmother's. This rug wasn't $11,000 either. I got Jake down for a nap and there was still some time at the port, so mom and dad watched Jake while I went out to explore a little more. I bought a few scarves and found a restaurant with free WI-FI so I had another Efes before heading back to the ship.The crazy cab ride that had dad saying that he wouldn't complain about mom's driving ever again. This cabbie came nose to nose with some of the big tour buses on a one-lane road.
Library of Celsius
Jake was the only one having a good time at this carpet shop.
The Alabama hat was for his other grandparents to see!
Mykonos, Greece
EO didn't have an excursion planned for the group, so Jake and I got to have mom and dad with us when we stopped on this pretty little island. Mykonos is known for it's windmills and we set out to try and find them. We started out in the wrong direction and then wandered through the very narrow white-washed, streets of the city. Dad and Jake found some bread on the beach and fed the pigeons for a while. It was one of Jake's favorite days and he talked about it for weeks after the cruise. It was windy on the island and as it neared lunch and nap time, mom and dad took Jake back to the ship. I wandered around until I found the windmills and took a few pictures. I found a little beach side, sea food restaurant with free WI-FI (are you sensing a theme here) and had some lunch before heading back to the ship.
The Celebrity Silhouette in the background.
The streets weren't very wide here in Mykonos. Dad was demonstrating with his 6ft wing span. Every time a car would come down one of these tiny streets, we risked getting our toes run over.
Feeding the pigeons with Grandpa Casey. This was probably Jake's favorite day of the whole trip.
Mykonos is famous for it's windmills. It's a very windy island. Very comparable to South Dakota.
Rhodes, Greece
This is probably my favorite of the destinations on our cruise. It is a really neat walled city. Jake and I were signed up for a "Rhodes walking tour" through the ship. We were issued our headphones and stood in a group waiting for it to start when I decided that we weren't going to last 3 hours on a walking tour. We handed back the audio set and made our way to the city gates. We wandered into the city through a castle-looking gate. The shops were just starting to open up because it was still pretty early in the morning. We found one that sold ceramic necklaces that I thought were nice and I bought a few as gifts. Then we walked our way up to the castle located within the city walls. There were also a few beautiful mosques and churches as well. We toured the castle, which was full of mosaics. As we travel the Middle East, I have a growing appreciation for mosaics, which are so intricate and amazing. It's also amazing to see how they have withstood time, earthquakes, weather, etc. We wandered around the castle walls and found an open area with grass and some canon balls stacked on top of each other, which made for a good playground. Jake got to run around and play for a little while. We headed back into the city for some lunch and I had some amazing stuffed mushrooms on a rooftop cafe. On the way back to the ship, Jake fell asleep while I was carrying him, so I put him in the Ergo and walked around a little more. Eventually, I wandered back to the ship and put Jake down for the rest of his nap in mom and dad's room. I left the ship again trying to find the Ibis statues that I had seen in so many pictures of Rhodes. I also wanted to find a bottle of wine and some chocolate. I found the wine and chocolate. I also found some other interesting architecture, but didn't ever find the ibis, until the ship was pulling out of port, I caught a glimpse of them. They were smaller than I thought they would be and hidden behind some things in the port. Overall, it was a great day and I enjoyed Rhodes.
A playground for Jake....
View from our lunch restaurant.
Wonderful stuffed mushrooms!
Mousaka
Day At Sea
We tried to keep entertained all day. Took Jake up to “Toddler Time” which wasn’t much fun because it was a bunch of baby toys and no other kids. Had him run some laps on the track on the top deck and played on the basketball court for a while. I entered a blackjack tournament that started at 2PM in the casino. I won the first two rounds, but didn’t win place in the final round. Went to another table and played all afternoon while mom and dad kept an eye on Jake.Ashdod, Israel
This was my least favorite port of call. At this point, Jake had had enough of cruise life and I think he was really missing his daddy. Israel had a lot of extra security measures in place and it took a few hours just to get off the boat. Many of the cruise staff were going to be taken on a tour in Israel, so our housekeeping staff was in a rush to get us out of our room so they could go on the tour, which meant we couldn’t wait in our room to get off the ship. Jake and I weren’t on a time schedule. Our plan was to go to Jerusalem for the night where we had a room at the Legacy Hotel. Once we finally got off of the ship, we caught the shuttle into Ashdod. The shuttle drop off point was across the street from a bus stop, so we caught a bus into Jerusalem and then took a cab from the bus station to our hotel. We were a little early for check in so we had lunch in the hotel restaurant. Jake was tired and all wound up. We went out for a walk and went into the old city through the Damascus Gate. The gate itself was pretty and interesting to look at. We wandered down one of the streets for a while and stopped when we reached the entrance to the Western Wall. I had scheduled a half-day tour through Viator.com for the next morning so we didn’t go in to see it. It was also some form of Jewish and Muslim holidays, so the town was bustling and streets closed and there were all sorts of different factors that made walking around alone with Jake a little uncomfortable. We headed back to the hotel and Jake was acting up. He was getting tired of being cooped up in hotel rooms and hadn’t been having much fun. I called Chris and was ready for him to come pick us up and take us back home. I think knowing he was only about an hour away as the crow flies made it had to accept that we still had a week left on the ship. We were ready to go home, but not knowing what the consequence of not getting on our flight out of Rome a week later kept me going. Jake fell asleep and I called Chris back and things were better. After a good night of sleep, everything was better.
The next morning we skipped our half-day Jerusalem tour and caught the bus back to Ashdod. We put our bag back on the ship and then took the shuttle back into town to find a park. We also found a Mickey Mouse (Happy Birthday) balloon, so that made life much better for a two year old. We played at the park for a while. Fed some pigeons and walked to the beach. I didn’t bring our beach stuff, so Jake went in fully clothed, then reduced to a diaper, but he had fun chasing waves and playing in the sand. It was probably the best time he had on the cruise and this beach was very nice. We took a cab back to the shuttle station to get back on the ship. Our feet were sandy and it really made the cab driver mad that we got in his car…oops! Mom and Dad were on the ship by the time we got back so Jake was glad to have Grandpa Casey to play with again. He carried his Mickey Balloon with him everyone we went on the ship. Of course, because it said, “Happy Birthday,” everyone we passed thought it was really his birthday. Nope, just the only balloon they had with Mickey Mouse on it.
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| Jake eating a pretzel bread that is almost bigger than himself. |
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| Church of Saint George |
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| Playing with olives while waiting for a cab back to the bus station. |
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| We found a park in Ashdod, and a Mickey Balloon. |
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| At the beach in Ashdod. |
Haifa, Israel
Haifa looked like it had some really pretty gardens to visit. But after our stop in Ashdod, we decided a trip to the beach would be better. We asked a cab driver to take us to a beach. We went to one that was pretty close to the port, but it wasn’t a very pretty beach and I think it was a “women’s only” beach. It didn’t matter because Jake just liked playing in the sand. He likes to be buried in the sand. We played for a few hours and had the cab driver come pick us up after about 2 hours. Jake fell asleep on the way back to the ship.
At Sea
Just hung around the ship trying to stay entertained all day. Went to a few jewelry sales and popped in on the art auction for a few minutes.
At Sea
Dad got sick. He wasn’t feeling well at all and didn’t leave the room. We all just tried to keep entertained all day.
Naples, Italy
EO didn’t have an excursion scheduled for mom and dad, so we all went on an excursion to Pompeii arranged through the cruise ship. It was hot, crowded, and dad still didn’t feel well. It was also a rough surface for mom’s knees. Jake wanted to be carried the whole time. It wasn’t the most relaxing tour, but it was really neat to see Pompeii after learning about it through Odyssey of the Minds as a kid. Once we got back to the ship, Jake was ready for a nap so mom and dad kept him while I went back off the ship. I went and walked around Naples. It was really pretty and I saw some neat churches and sculptures. I stopped at a restaurant and got a pizza and some wine so I could use their WI-FI. It was a really good pizza though. Had to say goodbye to mom and dad because they would be getting off the ship a lot earlier than we were the next morning.
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| Found some acorns at Pompeii |
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| Pompeii |
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| Our only "group" family photo in 18 days together and it's a crummy selfie. At least there are some cute ones of mom and dad with Jake. |
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| Pompeii. Mt. Vesuvius is directly behind this, but covered by clouds. |
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| Shows how short people used to be...the doorways are all very short. |
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| This is at the end of the tour and we are all very hot and tired. |
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| Castle in Naples. I was power site seeing so I have no idea what the history is. |
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| Part of the castle. |
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| Naples. |
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| Best pizza I had during the cruise. |
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| Mt. Vesuvius is behind me. The clouds never really went away, so I didn't get to see the top of the volcano. |
Civitavecchia Debarkation
Got off the boat at 9:20AM. We had a driver waiting for us (the same one who picked us up at the airport the first night in Rome), and he took us to our hotel near the Fiumicino Airport. It was a little bed and breakfast near the airport and near the beach. It also had a little coy pond that Jake loved. We walked to a little grocery store to get something for lunch and Jake took a nap. After the nap, we walked to the beach to check it out and stayed in the beach area until dinner time. Nothing opened until 7PM so as soon as we could, we got a pizza and took it back to our room. Then went to bed.
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| The hotel had a fish pond. |
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| Pointing to a flag. |
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| Found a stick! |
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| A very European breakfast of tea and biscuits. |
Our flight wasn’t until 7:30PM, so we got up and went to the beach all morning. It was a pretty beach and Jake loved the sand. Got back to the room around noon and Jake took a nap, waking up just in time for the driver to pick us up to take us to the airport, which was only about 10 minutes away. Jake was a very good traveler. He was away on the flight to Istanbul, then slept in the airport and on the flight to Amman. We arrived in Amman at about 3:30AM and we all home sweet home by 5:30AM.
One of my biggest annoyances while flying around the Middle East is the inconsistency of the airlines regarding car seats. We like to take Jake’s carseat on the airplane. In addition to being safer in a 5-point harness, he sits in it well, he resigns himself to being in it and doesn’t fuss, and he can sleep in it. Every time we get on a plane, we get harassed about the carseat. On the flight from Amman to Istanbul wasn’t much issue. Once they understood I planned to put Jake in the seat, they let me use it. The same size plane from Istanbul to Rome, it was a huge issue and the insisted that he would NOT be safe in the carseat and made me check it under the plane. Then handed me a half-assed seat belt attachment and insisted he sit on my lap and wear the seatbelt, which Jake hates and goes crazy kicking and screaming. Then on the way home from Rome to Istanbul, the flight attendant let me have the car seat, but somehow wanted me to rig the little seat belt attachment to go around the carseat and Jake. Wasn’t going to happen. And questioned again from Istanbul to Amman, but not given much fuss and was able to use the carseat. This happens every time with every carrier we have used. (Rant over)
I’m glad we went on the cruise and it was great to see my parents. I learned a few lessons on cruising. Unless it’s a Disney Cruise that caters to kids, 2-year olds, don’t need to spend 14 nights on a cruise ship. And we knew that ahead of time, but as I explained in the first paragraph, that was how the cookie crumbled. Excursions offered through the cruise ship are not the way to go if you travel with more than 4 people. You can see more if you book on your own. Use www.Viator.com to find private tours so you can avoid getting on a bus with 55 of your closest cruise buddies and herded through the hottest tourist spots with crummy audio sets. I still like cruising. I like having my hotel move with me while I get to see a variety of locations.
The morning we got home, we went to breakfast at Crumz bakery and then to the park across the street. Jake was so happy to be with daddy and to play outside at a park. Chris got to stay home and spend the day with us.
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| Fell asleep in the Istanbul Airport waiting for our flight. |
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| So happy to be back with Daddy! |
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| And the park!!! |
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