As the countdown to our departure from Belgium begins (only four weeks left!), we knew we wanted one last adventure before heading home. As you can imagine, we are tired of running from city to city and wanted something that combined relaxation and exploration, so we settled on a Mediterranean cruise! We booked a 7-night sailing on the brand-new Sun Princess, departing from Athens and ending in Barcelona, with a few incredible stops along the way.

Athens

We flew to Athens the day before the cruise to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing. Normally, I love prepping for a trip—researching the language, currency, tipping etiquette, and making a few reservations—but the week before the trip I was very sick and essentially through some clothes in my luggage and headed to Greece. The only window we had to travel was the last week of April… which happened to be Easter weekend. Greece, being deeply religious, had nearly everything shut down. Still, the sunny skies, a rooftop breakfast, and 4-euro gyros made it all worth it. While Acropolis was closed, we still walked up the hill to see it as close as possible and enjoy a quiet, charming side of the city.

All Aboard the Sun Princess
Once on board, we were blown away by the size of the Sun Princess. It’s Princess’ newest and largest ship, and with over 30 restaurants and bars, there were moments when I forgot we were even on a cruise. Our stateroom was surprisingly spacious, and we quickly fell into a relaxing rhythm: racing to the top deck to grab the best lounge chairs in the sun, ordering afternoon piña coladas (or dirty bananas), listening to the DJ during the “sail away” parties, and getting dressed up each evening for dinner and a show. We even made it to the onboard gym once—just once, but hey, it counts.

There were two full days at sea, and we truly enjoyed the downtime. From hibachi and fresh seafood dinners to comedians, vocalists, and aerial artists, the nightly entertainment was really impressive. Most evenings ended by midnight, which felt oddly early until we realized we were easily among the youngest people on board. Aside from a few families with small kids, the cruise was mostly retirees and American couples on vacation.

One night, the entertainment staff was looking for a “newlywed” couple to join a live game show and couldn’t find one—so Ben and I had to participate (keep in mind we’ve been married for three years). The questions were wild, and after that night, it felt like half the ship knew our names and our embarrassing secrets. It was awkward and hilarious in equal measure.

Montenegro

One of the highlights of our trip was Montenegro—a place that often flies under the radar but completely took our breath away. We were originally supposed to dock in the picturesque town of Kotor, but due to a last-minute change, we ended up in Bar.

Determined to make the most of it, we hired a local driver who took us to Lake Skadar National Park—and it turned out to be one of the most magical places we’ve ever seen. Lake Skadar has over 260 species of birds, and has a rich history. It was once part of the medieval kingdom of Zeta and later ruled during the Ottoman Empire; the lake played key roles in both Montenegro’s independence and resistance during World War II.

We traveled across the still water in a wooden boat through a maze of lily pads with mountains surrounding us in every direction. From the boat, we hiked up to a monastery on a hill, where we could have a view of nearly the entire lake and even see Albania!

We would love to make our way back one day to road trip through the Balkans—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, etc.. We met other travelers who were doing just that…and yet again another trip has been added to the bucket list!

Corfu

The next day brought us to Corfu—and naturally, we headed to the beach. All of my European friends said there was no way I could swim in the Med this early in the season, so obviously I had to prove them wrong. I mean look at this water…how could you resist!?!

We rented a car for just 21 euros (yes, really—cash only, no credit card taken) and drove to Paleokastritsa Beach. While most were tanning, we were among the few crazy enough to jump in. It was cold, but totally worth it.

After a delicious seaside lunch (yet again more gyros and this time, feta wrapped in fried filo dough with honey), we headed back to the ship, not wanting to be like the three unfortunate souls the captain said missed the boat the day before!

Sicily 

Next stop: Messina, Sicily. Honestly, not the most typical part of Sicily that you visit (the cruise downside of being brought to somewhat random ports), but coincidentally our Brussels friends Matteo and Julie were in Sicily that same week planning their wedding, and they drove a few hours to meet us!

Matteo—being Italian—led us on a food tour, hitting all the good local spots. We laughed, walked, ate, walked more, ate again, and finished the day with a spritz.

I was honestly eating cannolis left and right, no shame.

I tried to convince Matteo to let me ride on the back of his Vespa (an American girl’s dream, obviously), but apparently he had a crash once. *sigh* I guess this will have to continue to just be a dream…

Revisiting Barcelona

One of the other best parts about this trip was that the cruise ended in Barcelona (this was also one of the motivators for choosing this specific cruise). In the summer of 2017, one of my best friend’s from college (Rachel) and I studied abroad there.

That summer was one of the best times ever. We designated on our applications that we wanted to live with a host family, which ended up being just a Spanish woman named Juanita and her dog. We took 2 courses, International Marketing Studies and International Economics, and nearly every day we would go straight from class to the beach. We made so many friends, traveled to Rome and London, and practiced our Spanish in every setting. 

Ben and I had only first started dating, and it was too expensive for him to come visit that summer. I knew at some point we would make it back together, and it was sooo much fun taking him around to the old places we use to frequent. 

We ate traditional Spanish tapas, walked along the beach, passed by Basílica de la Sagrada Família, visited Park Güell. We somehow managed to walk 24,000 steps that day, which is pretty impressive considering we started that morning on the cruise ship and took a siesta in the afternoon.

We even found my old apartment!

Walking those familiar streets with my husband, nearly eight years later, felt surreal. I felt like a different version of myself—one that has learned so much about life and herself and never expected to once again live in Europe. Barcelona is one of my absolutely favorite cities – and it felt right that I am ending my time abroad with that being the last place I visited. 

Final Reflection

One unexpected takeaway from the cruise was that our bodies noticed the difference in food. Because the ship was coming from the U.S., the first half of the cruise had American-sourced food, and our stomachs were not okay. We’ve grown so used to European produce and standards—less preservatives, more flavor—that the difference in dairy, pastries, and even fruit color was jarring. I will probably have to eat less gluten and dairy when we return…which I am not looking forward to.

Aside from that, this trip was just we needed before the whirlwind of moving back home: sunshine, blue waters, uninterrupted time together, exploring new places and revisiting old memories.

Next stop: Chicago!