Oceania Cruise: Corfu, Greece

If you’ve been following this blog in recent weeks, you’ll know that we’re tracking the itinerary of an Oceania cruise called Grecian Glory. We’ve so far covered its city of embarkation—Venice—as well as Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Kotor, Montenegro. In this post we’ll visit Corfu and, as usual, pick a favorite hotel there for those staying shore-side.

But first, a little more about the 1,252-passenger ship. The cruise will take place on Oceania’s brand new, not-quite-yet christened ship, Marina.
(Oceania photos from http://www.oceaniacruisesblog.com/.  All other photos from www.grecotel.com/corfu/corfu-imperial/photo-gallery_2193.htm unless otherwise noted.)

Earlier posts have included some photos of Marina’s staterooms, including, last week, a couple of the Owner’s Suite (bedroom and bath). This week we have a couple more from the Owner’s Suite, which is simply fabulous.

I could be won over by the zebra rug alone, but we wouldn’t want to become too distracted by that and miss the view out those windows!

Another place to enjoy the view from the Owner’s Suite, and perhaps a favorite beverage, is the foyer.

Before that afternoon drink, though, there’s a shore excursion in Corfu.

Corfu is the second-largest island in the Ionian Sea, lying at the entrance of the Adriatic and very near the coast of Albania. Per Wikipedia, the city’s old town was chosen for the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2007. Its capital city has been officially declared a Kastropolis (“castle city”) because it’s the only city in Greece that’s completely surrounded by the walls of two castle fortresses.

The Liston, Corfu Town

The town itself is one of charming, narrow streets, public squares and numerous French, Italian and Venetian buildings. Perhaps of interest to British subjects or royals watchers is that Corfu was the birthplace of Prince Philip in 1921. (Off the subject, but that makes him almost 90!)




ACCOMMODATIONS

ScheckTrek Pick: Corfu Imperial Grecotel

For those touring Corfu by land, the ScheckTrek hotel pick is the 5-star, Corfu Imperial Grecotel. I would love to stay there! I also applaud their website; I've rarely seen a hotel’s photo gallery that is so rewarding in both the quality and quantity of its photos. So be forewarned, we'll include a good sampling of them; and I don't think these pictures need a lot of discription.  I look at them and feel transported!

The Grecotel's pool and private cove 

Yiali, a Waterfront Fish Restaurant

Odysseus Cocktail Bar

Aristos Fine Dining

Breakfast Veranda

Junior Bungalow Suite

 

Dream Villa Living & Dining Areas

Dream Villa Corfu, Master Bedroom Suite

Dream Villa Waterfront, Ebony Jet Shower

Royal Pavilion Living Room

Royal Pavilion, with private pool on the seafront

 

Presidential Suite

Presidential Bathroom—this may be one of my favorites, though several others are vying for first place!

Palazzo ‘Sissy’ Lounge

 

Palazzo Odyssia Lounge

Palazzo Imperiale Master Bedroom

 

Palazzo Imperiale Lounge

Palazzo Imperiale, Aerial View

Palazzo Imperiale Master Bath, with Color Therapy

ScheckTrek’s next stop, as we preview Oceania’s May 2011 cruise: Zakynthos, Greece. A beautiful spot!

 

2010 Luxury Travel Expo

Photo of me with Wendy Perrin at the 2010 Luxury Travel Expo

I spent last week at the Luxury Travel Expo in Las Vegas. Wow, information overload! But it was all so good!

One of the major highlights for me was hearing Wendy Perrin and being able to have my picture taken with her (courtesy of our sound technician :)). Wendy is the consumer news editor for Conde Nast and the author of Wendy Perrin’s Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know.  She also has a great blog full of travel tips: http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/blogs/perrinpost.

And to think that I was debating beforehand whether to take my camera...!

Oceania Cruise: Kotor, Montenegro

This is the third in a series covering Oceania’s “Grecian Glory” cruise of their new ship, Marina. We’ve so far visited Venice, Italy and Dubrovnik, Croatia.

(Photo from Oceania Cruises)
Oceania's Marina

After Marina’s stop in Dubrovnik (the actual cruise will take place in May 2011) it will cruise about 30 miles south to Montenegro.

We rarely ever hear mention of Montenegro (it means “black mountain”). Other than that it was one of six republics that made up the former Yugoslavia, I knew very little about this pearl on the Adriatic Sea.


I was surprised to learn that Montenegro was included in Yahoo’s "10 Top Hot Spots of 2009." The article referred to it as “this gem of a country,” spoke of its “medieval cities and ancient monasteries, over 200 miles of coastline, a plethora of beaches, soaring Dinaric Alps, four national parks, and two UNESCO World Heritage Sites,” and added that it “ranked as the second fastest growing tourism market in the world (falling just behind China),” (http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-24784785).

 This sounds like a place we should know about!

Marina’s stop will be in the coastal town of Kotor, which several sources said is one of the best preserved and most beautiful medieval fortified towns in the Mediterranean region. Built largely between the 12th to 14th centuries—but with some earlier architecture, including a 9th century city gate—the town is included on UNESCO's “The World Natural and Cultural Inheritance” list.

We can walk through Kotor’s charming narrow streets, or atop its imposing city wall. The latter is more than 2.5 miles in length, 66 feet tall, and 49 feet wide! The Fortress of Saint Ivan can be reached by walking the walls to the top of the ramparts for the best vantage point of Kotor—from the top.

(Photo from www.worldisround.com/articles220816/photo62.html)

Ancient Romanesque architecture,
Cathedral of Saint Tryphon

The most representative monument of Roman architecture in the Adriatic, according to Discover-Montenegro.com, is the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon. It was constructed in 1166 on the ruins of a 9th century temple, then restored in the 17th century, after an earthquake. When seen from the front, the right tower is more ornate than the left. The suspected reason is that the builders ran out of money.

Kotor Bay is often referred to as Europe’s southernmost fjord, though it’s really a 17-mile long, submerged river canyon. From photos on Flickr.com, it looks gorgeous!

(Photo from Kotor-Bay.com)

Kotor is located at most secluded part of Kotor Bay (the bottom of that dip on the upper right), so it should prove to be a cruise of exceptional beauty, navigating between mountains and limestone cliffs of over 6200 feet.

(Photo courtesy of Sandra Djurbuzovic, Studiodizajn.com)

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Though this series is following the itinerary of a specific cruise, the stated purpose of the blog is to pick my favorite hotel or vacation rental for each location. So for any who will be visiting Kotor by land, this section may be of interest.

It wasn’t surprising that I didn’t find hundreds of accommodations options in Kotor, but what was surprising—pleasantly so—was the percentage of findings that were updated, and fairly upscale. There was a definite ScheckTrek favorite, however!



The ScheckTrek pick for Kotor is Palazzo Radomiri. Though currently closed for renovations and due to reopen in the spring of 2011, I’m taking it on faith that the renovations will be in keeping with what we already see. If not, we’ll just enjoy the photos for now and search again when the time comes!

(http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/)

Palazzo Radomiri is an late 17th to early 18th century palace that’s been converted into a 4-star boutique hotel. (They call it a Baroque palace, but I'm not seeing that.)  Located on the coast, with a private dock, it has 2 apartments, 5 suites, and 5 rooms. The villa can be rented as a whole, subject to availability.

 

(Photo from maplandia.com)
I can agree that some of the decor is Baroque.

(Photo from www.travelintelligence.com)

The feeling of this photo is quite different from the more ornate style above. I wonder if the remodel is moving more toward this, a fresher look.

(This and bathroom photo from http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/)
The Honeymoon (Junior) Suite

 
 
 

 (Photo from www.holiday-rentals.co.uk)

(Above two photos from www.holiday-rentals.co.uk

 and http://www.travelintelligence.com/)

In honor of our cruising series, however, here’s another look at Oceania’s ship, Marina, with some photos of the Owner’s Suite.  Very, very nice.

Now that’s a head!

And looking ahead to next week: Corfu, Greece!

(Photos above from http://www.choosingcruising.co.uk/blog/index.php/category/cruise/oceania/)

Oceania Cruise: Dubrovnik, Croatia

(Photo of Hotel Excelsior, from Expedia)

This is the second in a series of posts that is an anticipatory “following in the wake,” so to speak, of the Grecian Glory itinerary of Oceania’s new ship, Marina. (The actual cruise will be in May 2011.)

Last week’s post covered Venice, the city of embarkation. This is now the first stop, Dubrovnik, Croatia, at the extreme south of the Dalmatian Coast. It sits across the Adriatic Sea from Italy.

Oceania’s new ship, Marina, which will make the trip we’re outlining in this series  (Photo from Oceania Cruises)

This particular land excursion is of special interest to me, as Dubrovnik has long been on my top-five wish list. We’ve traveled in Croatia and its Adriatic neighbor, Slovenia (both then part of Yugoslavia), but we didn’t have time to go as far south as Dubrovnik. For those who have traveled, you know it often involves the disappointing elimination of places you just don’t have time to squeeze in!

(Photo from www.santo-bol-croatia.com)

It was sad to miss this ancient city on our earlier trip.
 

In a way, this series will marry two different objectives. The overall stated intent of this blog is to pick the ScheckTrek favorite accommodations in each of the destinations “visited” around the world. But the aim of this particular series is to mirror the destinations a specific cruise ship will visit. For this series I will allow myself the flexibility of making it more or less about the accommodations vs. places of interest, depending on the location. However, for Dubrovnik, we’ll continue with accommodations picks.

Dubrovnik is one of those places where I imagined the perfect vacation rental home might be. In addition to magnificent Adriatic and Old City views, it would be about 600 years old and have tall windows, beamed ceilings and a stone wall or two or three. And of course there would be a terrace and some bougainvillea.

Try to find that! I did locate some vacation rentals with price tags of $10,000-$16,000 a week, but they were missing a certain charm. Not that they had none, but I expect a lot of charm for $16,000 a week! I almost gave up and went for a hotel. Because of it’s tub, the Hotel Excelsior would have definitely been in the running.

(Photo of Hotel Excelsior from Expedia)

I then spied this picture of a villa, but the link for more information was broken, so I never could discover anything more about it. I call it the “one that got away.”

(Photo of Villa Dubrovnik from www.santo-bol-croatia.com)

It's amazing how much a few yards of gauzy fabric can add to the "come hither" appeal of a place!

After much diligence I finally found what I was looking for. And then I found a second one! I think they mutually excel each other, but it turns out one of them is actually in nearby Mlini, rather than Dubrovnik, so I’m making that one the runner up.

SCHECKTREK RUNNER-UP: Villa Mlini

This isn’t what I’d pictured in my mind’s eye, but it certainly is fun to imagine being there! I didn’t see the price. Maybe it’s like the old saying, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”  (Except as noted, photos of Villa Mlini from www.santo-bol-croatia.com) 

(Photo from http://arrangeyourvacation.com/vacation-rental/8680.htm)

An incredible view…

…and a beautiful way to enjoy that view!

SCHECKTREK PICK for Dubrovnik: Villa Celeste

Villa Celeste has 4 bedrooms, rents for an average of US $1040/night, and offers a buffet breakfast, served on the terrace each morning.

This villa is more what I had in mind, though with a fresh and contemporary twist. It’s both elegant and fun, and it beautifully reflects its surroundings.  (Photos of Villa Celeste from Expedia.)

Just because I like it so much, we’ll start with the bathroom.

I absolutely love how they handled this room, from the ceiling treatment with its angles and unfinished wood; to the sculptural toilet, bidet and free-standing tub; to the large glass shower. It looks like quite the basin too. And I especially like that they set off all the clean, straight lines with the little cabriole-legged stool.

This room is cozier with its stone wall, weathered beams, and arched fireplace openings. But again, with a fresh twist: notice the modern lines of the chimney.

Staring at the Adriatic from Villa Celeste

I do love that view, but where I really want to be about this time of day is back out there on the ship, because that's what will take us on our overnight "virtual" voyage to the next port of call.

So, much as I enjoyed our tour of Dubrovnik, in my dreams, here is where I’ll rest my feet, weary from walking its cobbled streets...

Oceania Marina’s Veranda Stateroom

Next destination: Kotor, Montenegro!