Messina Italy

Athens to Rome Cruise

Messina Italy

February 8, 2026 

As we left Valletta last night just at dusk the city lights were coming on an illuminating the old town and the fortress' which surround the harbour.  They were truly beautiful.

This morning we awoke to see the see the statue of Madonna della Lettera, who guards the entrance to the Messina harbour.  This statue has been on guard for almost 90 years but Madonna della Lettera has been looking after Messina since 42 AD.  

On the bus tour we were off to see the narrowest part of the straight which separates Sicily from the main land.  On the way we passed a fish market where a fish monger proudly displayed his catch of a huge squid.  The straight of Messina is only 3 kms wide and while there has been some talk of building a bridge but  it is impractical as there is a huge fault which runs down the straight.  Once there Agnes couldn't help herself and hammed it up for the camera. 

The tour continued as a walking tour down town. We stopped for a Granita an d a cannoli at a local side walk café.  A very refreshing stop.  I was a little surprised to see quite a few of the building still displaying Fasces, which is the symbol of Italian fascism from the time of Mussolini.  The fasces is a bundle of wood bound with a leather binding and sometimes with an axe. 

The last stop on the tour was the Cathedral of Messina.  The entire town of Messina was destroyed in a huge earthquake in December 1908.  So the entire town was reconstructed.  A lot of this construction was done under Mussolini's rule. As a result the Cathedral is quite modern but none the less absolutely stunning.  Mass was proceeding as we visited the Cathedral so we got to hear the pipe organ.  Out side the cathedral is the bell tower.  It has the worlds largest and most complex astronomical mechanical clock in the world.  Everyday at noon it goes through a 10 minute sequence. The cathedral emerges from a sand box, followed by a roaring lion who has a huge roar, a crowing rooster who has a huge loud crow, and parade parade of angles around the Madonna della Lettera.  Sitting in the sun watching the action was great.  It was very impressive.

It was a short walk back to the ship.  Unfortunately it was Sunday so all the shops were closed. 

Terry  

Malta Day 2

Athens to Rome Cruise

Valletta Malta

February 7, 2026

Today's tour was a harbour tour of Malta.   We loaded onto buses and were driven to Sliema which is the ultra modern part of Malta and is on the main part of the island.  Valletta which is the old town is on a peninsula and was built in the 1350's by the Knights of St John.  From the buses we transferred to our harbour tour boat (Minor grumble - There were three bus loads on one boat making it kind of crowded).  It was a magnificent day for a harbour tour as the sun was out with a very light breeze and temperatures close to 20 C. 

The Sliema harbour has hundred if not thousands of sail boats and motor yachts of all sizes and descriptions.  Lining the harbour are modern high rise buildings with a beautiful pedestrian walk.  The pedestrian walk was just humming with people out for a stroll or enjoying a drink in one of the many open air cafes.  It looked great.  

After cruising this harbour the tour headed over to the main harbour of Valletta.  The north side of harbour (south side of the peninsula) has the fortress of Valletta where our ship the Viking Star is tied up.  On south side of the harbour is several dry docks including a very large dry dock built by the Chinese as a gift (?) to Malta.   There is also an area which is reserved for very exclusive yachts and their owners.  I spotted the Pegasus VIII which is owned by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Also in the harbour was the 83 meter LEONA which is owned by Prince Faizelbin Abdullah bin Abdullah Ziz Sawud, son of the late King Abdullah.  It was tied along side the yacht Ranui out of Wellington NZ which is alleged to be own by a RFID tycoon out of Wellington NZ.

 

Back on board the ship in time for another go at the buffet.  On the ship as a passenger and off as cargo.  

What a beautiful if not totally chaotic place Malta is.  Definitely on the must return to list for a more in depth visit. 

Terry 

  

Malta - Valletta

 Athens to Rome Cruise

Malta's WW2 History 

February 6, 2026

This morning we docked in Valletta which is the capital of Malta.  I was really excited to see the walled city of Valletta which was built by the Knights of St. John in the 1300's AD.  Everyone who has sailed the Mediterranean has at some time occupied Malta.  However the Knights of St. John have had the largest impact.  

The focus of the tour today was Malta's WW2 history.  So we were on the bus and whisked off the the National War Museum which covered all of Malta's war history but we by passed all but the the WW2 section.  The British were in really bad shape in the early part of the war and Malta was just about to fall but a last ditch effort was made and huge convoy was sent with supplies.  The tanker Ohio, which  was the fastest and largest tanker of the day and only a couple of other ships limped in but it was enough to hold out.  

From the the museum we were off to the underground command post.  We were lead down a lot of very steep steps into this limestone cavern which housed the allied command center. The tour guide handed the mike over to the museum curator who then walked us through how all the big boards worked and covered Operation Husky which was the invasion of Sicily.  He was absolutely fascinating.  

From there we were off to see the Rotunda of Mosta .  It is huge cathedral which is modeled after the Vatican.  During WW2, while a service was in progress a flight of bombers came over and droped a 500kg bomb. It penetrated the ceiling of the dome but did not explode.  None of the 300 people were injured. You can still see the place in the ceil where the bomb came through and the original bomb is on display.   It is now the church of the Miracle Bomb. 

Outside the you can enter the WW2 bomb shelter which was a cave dug into the limestone.  It is only about 6'6" high inside and each person was only allocated a space of 2 sq ft.  As I was going down there was a moment of claustrophobia. Luckily I could see a light on ahead and it passed.  I can only imagine what it was like being in there and hearing the bombs exploding outside.  

What a wonderful tour.  What a great day exploring a tiny slice of Malta's history.

And what a wonderful tour of Malta.  It is really high on my list places I want to come back to explore. 

Terry 

 

Sea Day Feb 5

 Athens to Rome Cruise

Sea Day 

February 5, 2026

As we left Cofu last night the wind was just howling.  There tops of the waves were cut off and spray was flying horizontally. However I did manage to get one last parting photo of old town Corfu as we left.  The wind was whipping up the waves pretty good and it was a fairly rough night with lots of rolling on board the ship.  The seas have continued to be quite rough all day today.  More than a few of the passengers are under the weather.  

Being a sea day as we travel from Corfu to Malta there were no shore tours so I thought I would catch a few photos of the ship.  The Nordic design carries though the ship with lots of blues and whites.  It is a very nice palette with no garish colours.   Agnes and one of the ship's officers hammed it up in the Oceans Café which is the main buffet for a quick photo.  All of the stair cases have scenes form the Bayeux Tapestry printed on the back wall of the stair case.  Even though everyone is on board to day the ship does not seem crowded as there are lots of places to sit and lots of quiet places.  

While the food over all has been quite good, I would not say exceptional.  Service especially in the specialty restaurants has been poor and inconsistent.   Getting into the main restaurant for supper is a total gong show.  The line up starts 20 minutes before the restaurant opens and by time it opens there is a huge line of probably 45 minutes to get seated.  Service is "ok" (dammed by faint praise).  Service in the buffet for drinks, coffee, table clearing exceptional.  The staff in there really hustle.  

All of the staterooms are veranda rooms and are again in the blue and white motif.  I shower is great with a wonderful spray head.  The find of the trip goes to Agnes'  Amazon purchase of these magnetic hooks. We have lots of extra places for coats and what ever. 

Tomorrow is Malta where we have two nights. 

It was so nice to have a rest day. 

Terry  

 

Corfu - Kerkira

 Athens to Rome Cruise 

Corfu - Kerkira

February 4 2026

Yesterday afternoon there was a  couple of announcements which didn't sound good.  The first was for the stretcher team to report and the second was for the fire suppression team to report.  Fire being the most dangerous thing on board a ship.  After a few minutes the cruise director was on the PA saying that there had been smoke reported in the garbage incinerator room.  A second announcement that they were dealing with it and then the all clear announcement.  How serious it was I am sure we will never know.  

This morning we landed in Kerkira which is the capital of Corfu.  Corfu is strategically located between the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea.  It is also half way from Turkey to Italy, and half way from Greece to Egypt.   The Venetians occupied Corfu from 1386 to1797.  The Venetians constructed three fortresses   to defend against the  Ottomans.  The old fortress was heavily reinforced with new walls and two new fortresses where constructed.  The old town was cleared back from the  new fortresses to provide a clear field of fire, and the remainder of the old town was reconfigured to funnel attackers into the cannon fire.  It worked and Corfu never fell to the Ottomans.  

The architecture of the Kerkira is a blend of the Italian and the crumbling Byzantine styles.  The red browns of the Byzantine with the cream colours of Italy make for a very pleasing palette.  The old town streets now seem impossibly narrow at around 10 feet and even the wider streets are still very narrow.  Today the streets are line with small cafes, and tourist junk shops.  A lot of the shops were closed as the tourist season doesn't start until April. I just cannot imagine  being here in the height of tourist season.  

This afternoon a howling wind has picked up and there are white caps in the harbour.  We could be in for a rough sea day tomorrow.  

Walking the streets which are 800 plus years old is such a change from back home were the oldest streets date back to the 1950's.   

Terry

 

Olympia Greece

Athens to Rome Cruise 2026

Olympia Greece

February 3, 2026

Today we are in a tiny little town called Katakolon Greece.  It is a beautiful little town and the jumping off to Olympia.  Certainly no large cruise ships could access this tiny harbour.  We boarded our tour buses for the short 25 minute ride to Olympia early in the morning.  

I think the only people at the site were from our cruise ship.  Having the opportunity to see the site with so few people was perfect.  

Olympia was the site of the first Olympic games.  It was also the site of the temple to Zeus.  The site which covers 53 hectares was originally constructed around 1300 BC and was in use through 300 AD.  As it was considered a pagan site its use was forbidden after that.  The site was flooded by the river and buried under 7 meters of dirt.  The site has been excavated and there is ongoing restoration work.  

It was really neat standing on the starting line in the original Olympic stadium.  The stadium its self is a large grass bowel with the sides providing seating for 47,000 people. Athletes entered through a covered entry at one end.    

We only had a few minutes to go through the museum after the tour which was unfortunate, as there were thousands of artifacts ranging from tiny figurines to huge bronze pieces representing mythical creatures such as winged Griffins, there were lots of bulls as bulls were scared.  I took over a hundred pictures so you are seeing only a tiny fraction.  

What a great day to see such a wonderful and unique place.

Terry