25 years later and we’re finally back in Australia but this trip was to visit Melbourne , Ayers Rock, Great Barrier Reef and a revisit to Sydney with climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge as a bucket list goal!

Melbourne is a fun, cosmopolitan city with lots of interesting, hidden lanes to explore! There are great coffee shops and restaurants everywhere. Additionally, there’s some amazing architecture that has been preserved among the many modern buildings.

From Melbourne we flew to Ayers Rock or Uluru as it is known to the natives. Although we enjoyed Uluru, we found Kata Tjuta to be much more interesting and certainly worth a visit.

Our next flight took us to Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef. Our boat to the Great Barrier Reef held 300 people and you could snorkel, take helicopter rides or see the Reef in a submersible. We were lucky in that our boat was about half full...we’re not sure the day would have been as enjoyable with a full boat.

Port Douglas is not far from Great Barrier Reef and the perfect place to stay with its many hotels, bars, restaurants and shopping.

Our last Australian stop was Sydney where we accomplished our goal of climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Weather wise, February is the ideal time to visit. Melbourne was in the 60s …Ayers Rock 100 degrees…Great Barrier Reef mid 80s and Sydney in the low 80s.

Forty years ago we visited New Zealand but only the North Island part of the country. It was time to go back and explore the South Island. We began our journey in Auckland and had beautiful weather exploring this exciting harbor city.

We boarded the NCL Norwegian Sun in Auckland to continue our explorations. The Norwegian Sun is an older ship in NCL’s fleet but it has a great crew dedicated to ensuring the 1900 + passengers enjoy their time aboard.

There are some areas that could use improvement…the food other than the specialty restaurants is fairly mediocre. There are 6 specialty restaurants for an additional cost but are well worth it. Our most fun meal was at Teppenyaki..an enjoyable experience with our very entertaining chef!

The technology on the ship is definitely not 2025…only one electronic device could be used at a time. Quite a surprise and really inconvenient.

Unfortunately, the ship advised us that they did not have the license to air the Super Bowl. As Philadelphia Eagles fans we were incredibly disappointed especially since Monday was a day at sea. We paid extra for streaming hoping to see it and we were able to watch it in real time but in Spanish!!!??

Also, there’s a great fitness center and many classes to participate in.

Our itinerary took us to Tauranga, Napier, Picton, Wellington, Dunedin, Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, Milford Sound, Hobart Tasmania and we docked in Melbourne Australia.

We had lots of time in each port and visited some on our own and others on an NCL shore excursion. Each port offered a different experience from one street tourist towns to big cities.
And in most cases, the ship docked where we were able to walk right into town.

Our fun experience in Wellington was discovering Bohemein Chocolates where we indulged in hot chocolate and I purchased a chocolate high heeled shoe filled with chocolates! Yum!

And much to our delight we walked into Riverside Market in Christchurch which was a mini version of our Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. And what should we find when walking around Hobart Tasmania but a Target store!

Perhaps our most enjoyable shore excursion was the Hawkes Bay Express train which traveled through Napier with our driver regaling us with history and fun facts before ending at the Customs House.

The scenery through the three Sounds was breathtaking and provided us with some relaxation while we enjoyed the fabulous views.

The New Zealanders we met were extremely friendly and welcoming. Although halfway around the world, this is not a destination to miss!

October is a beautiful month to visit the Greek Isles. The temperature ranges in the 60s to low 70s and there’s little chance of rain. Our cruise on Explora Journeys visited Volos, Marmaris Turkey, Santorini, Paros, Kos and Milos.

Each port provided a different experience and we either explored on our own or participated in an Explora Journeys shore excursion. Our favorite excursion was led by Lambros on a walking tour of Lefkes on Paros. We traveled on a rocky path through the hills and marveled as Lambros took off his shoes midway and continued barefoot.

Santorini, even in October, was super crowded and caused us to spend less time in Oia.

Rather than take the finicular to Fira, we decided to walk down which took us about 30 minutes or so. We had to be careful because of the many donkeys carrying people up and down the walkway.

Kos was more historical than the other ports and provided a glimpse of past, Ancient Greece.

We had plenty of time in each port to enjoy the local cuisine and absorb the flavor of each destination.

Greece should be on everyone’s travel radar!

Explora Journeys began operating in the summer of 2023 and now has two ships with more in the planning stages. We sailed on Explora I to the Greek Isles. The ship is stunningly beautiful and has a friendly, attentive crew on board.

There are many specialty restaurants onboard and our favorites were Sakura and Med Yacht Club. Anthology at $150 per person seemed rather pricey even for an upscale Italian restaurant.

The staterooms were well appointed with plenty of storage space and even Dyson hair dryers! And everyone receives welcome champagne plus a bottle of wine of their choosing.

One can’t say enough about the crew, their friendliness and desire to ensure you’re having a great time.

The shore excursions were very good, but since the tour guides only used mikes on the minibus, it was somewhat difficult to hear and understand someone whose native tongue was not English.

Overall, Explora Journeys is a great value and hopefully, this new cruise line is making the necessary minor adjustments based on passenger feedback.

The AMA Magna was leaving from Vilshofen Germany on March 8. As with all of our trips, we like to arrive at least a day earlier in order to avoid flight delays and cancellations.

So we arrived in Munich on March 6 and were transferred to the Andaz Munich. The hotel is only a few years old and encompasses all the modern amenities. We were very fortunate that since it was still pretty much off season, our room was ready when we checked in at 830am. The rooms are beautifully appointed and the service by the staff was excellent.

It’s a straight walk from the hotel to the city center..about 40 minutes. We acclimated ourselves to the area, had a short nap and decided we would tour the next day as it was cold and dreary.

The next day was sunny with blue skies and off we went to meet our guide, Ozzy , owner of Oz Tours. We spent the next hours walking and learning about the history, culture and politics of Munich. Ozzy was incredibly informative and very knowledgeable about Munich and Germany. Afterward, we decided to walk back to our hotel…definitely achieved more than 10000 steps!

And March 8 we left by bus for Vilshofen where we boarded the lovely double wide AMA Magna. The ship has large staterooms even in the lowest category and because of its size, there are 3 restaurants in addition to the main restaurant. There is even a pickleball court! That evening, before dinner, we were treated to an Oktoberfest celebration which AMA does on every sailing.

And every evening before dinner there is a sip n sail cocktail hour and after dinner, there is nightly entertainment.

The food on Avalon Waterways was truly delicious and the casual dinner in the Panorama Lounge that is offered in addition to the Dining Room menu is a great alternative. The crew was incredibly friendly and their service was excellent…definitely a cruise line we will travel again.

We awoke to spectacular skies and prior to disembarkation, we received our antigen tests for returning to the USA…we were negative!

We then boarded a bus for a four hour trip to Zagreb. Upon arriving in Zagreb, we had lunch followed by a walking city tour. We realize now that we should have spent 2 nights in Zagreb as we were too tired from the early departure and long bus ride to truly enjoy this wonderful city. Some of our group dined locally in the evening while many chilled out at the hotel due to early morning departures.

Our transatlantic flight home on American was once again in premium economy and well worth the additional cost for the wider seats and additional legroom.

Upon arriving in Belgrade, we embarked on a walking food tour that embodied a typical Serbian breakfast, snack and lunch. We were totally stuffed but still managed to eat a great deal at our local Serbian dinner that evening.

Cruising the next morning we went to the upper deck to experience the ship going through the locks and traveling the Danube with Romania on one side and Serbia on the opposite shore. In the afternoon we hiked through Djerdap National Park and were rewarded with incredible views. That evening we took a short walk from our ship to Golubac Fortress, Defender of the Iron Gates.

In the morning we decided to explore the lovely town of Vidin and it’s pedestrian area. I managed to purchase 3 pairs of shoes for $ 100 from a shopkeeper who spoke no English…sign language prevails everywhere when you’re too lazy to use Google Translator. That evening we were treated to an authentic Bulgarian Folklore show prior to dinner.

We relaxed the next morning and enjoyed the ship’s amenities especially the club lounge where coffee, tea, juice ,cookies and doughnuts are always available. Our afternoon was a bus ride and then a guided hike to Krushuna Waterfalls.