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
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