I Am A Celebrity!

Sunday, April 5, 2026

2017 - A Return to Mykonos

Celebrity Reflection anchored off Mykonos in front of "Little Italy"
Mykonos, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

MYKONOS, OUR next stop, is a very small, Greek Island Paradise. Mykonos will always have a fixed spot in our memories, as it was the last "normal" stop we made on our aborted Royal Princess Cruise back in 2013.

Mykonos, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

PART OF the chain of Greek Islands known as the Cyclades, consisting of some 200 plus "islands," only about 40 of which are inhabited, Mykonos has a resident population of something over 10,000. Not the largest of the archipelago, Mykonos is nonetheless one of the most popular. Along with Santorini, it is one of the two most popular tourist destinations, with result that there can be large crowds in season. The Cyclades are known for their temperate, often warm, Mediterranean climate, beautiful beaches, blue ocean surroundings, and often, their iconic, blue and red trimmed whitewashed buildings.

One of the many shops on Mykonos, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

I GREW up in northern lower Michigan and one of our top tourist destinations is a spot called "Mackinac Island" (pronounced "mackinaw), an Island in the Straits of Mackinac (between the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan). In any given year, Mackinac was Michigan's number 1 tourist attraction. While much smaller than the already small Island of Mykonos, (Mackinac is less than 4 square miles in area and its population is only about 600 permanent residents - to Mykonos' approximately 40 square miles), there are many parallels, and it very much reminds me of Mackinac. It seems mostly designed for vacation visitors and particularly, for tourism. It seems to be not only a favorite destination for far-off tourists (like Europeans and Americans on a cruise ship 😁) many of the more "local" tourists like vacationers from Italy, Greece and nearby countries.

Mykonos, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

BOTH TIMES we have stopped there, we have anchored out in front of the town of Mykonos, at the Old Port. In fact, I didn't even know there was a permanent cruise port on Mykonos until recently. But there has been a "hard" port with what appears to be mooring space for two small/medium sized cruise ships at the "New" Port, about 1 1/2 miles from the heart of the town for some time. We have never been to that port and I have read that it is modern, clean, and lacks the "over-the-top" tourist shops that are found in many of the Caribbean cruise ports. There is both a bus and water taxi service from the cruise port to the Old Port. We are booked on a cruise that is scheduled to stop there in 2027, aboard the Celebrity Infinity, one of their oldest and smallest class ships. I wouldn't be surprised to find we will be docked at the cruise port.

Windmills; Mykonos, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

TENDERING INTO the old port is kind of a cool experience. It is a very small port with mostly small fishing boats, painted in the colorful Greek style of white hulls and primary color trim. When you step off the tender, you are on the pier of the Old Port, directly in front of the town's waterfront. The entire island is populated with the inconic whitewashed buildings, and much of the village is paved with a whitewashed cobblestone pavement. It makes for a very picturesque scene.

Mykonos, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

ON THE south side of the harbor there is an area known as "Little Venice." It gets its name due to the homes and establishments built right out over the water. Interestingly, although the island was at one time under the control of the Venetians, in my mind any true resemblance ends there. Behind Little Italy, there is a line of rustic old windmills.

The Old Port in Mykonos, Greece, displaying traditional, colorful greek fishing boats
(this one was made during our 2013 visit to Mykonos, but remains one of my favorites)
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

WE WALKED around the island a bit, window shopping and seeing some of the sights, and then had lunch right down on the shore, before re-boarding the Reflection, ending yet another warm, beautiful Mediterranean day. We will return to Mykonos for a third time in 2027.

Sunday, March 29, 2026

2017 - Malta

Valletta, Malta
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

THIS IS probably really unfair, but I rate Malta as one of the least engaging European destinations we have visited. Circumstances, of course, temper the experience and perception. It is one place we didn't book any kind of tour.

Ft. St. Angelo - Birgu, Malta (directly across the Grand Harbor from Valetta)
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

INSTEAD, WE opted for the Hop on - Hop off bus around the city. We sometimes do that early in order to get a feel for a place. However, we have found the Hop on - Hop off systems to be quite inconsistent from one place to another. Our first experience was in Dublin, Ireland in 2014. We spent a day there and an overnight before joining a group of O'Brien Estate Vineyard patrons for a week-long, land-based trek over The Republic of Ireland. We thought it was terrific. Conveniently for us, one of the stops was very close to our Hotel. The narrative was good, and we really did get a kind of "birds-eye" view of the city and its high points. We would spend another couple days in Dublin at the end of that trip, and the bus system really gave us a "leg up," we thought. You purchase tickets (either all-day, or several day) and as the name implies, you can get on and off as many times as you want, as often as you want. At least, that is the idea. In reality, it doesn't always work as smoothly.

The Grand Harbor - Valletta, Malta
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

VALLETTA WAS, I am pretty sure, our second time using the Hop on - Hop off system. This time it was not so good. They were so crowded that if you weren't in line where the route begins, your chances of getting on one of them at any other stop were virtually nill. To us, it appeared as if this was true during the entire day we were there. So even though there was a stop or two that we might have gotten off and explored, we didn't dare get off, for fear we would not get back on and make it back to the ship (we didn't really think about it, but we probably could have done a taxi - but that's not the point). When the weather is decent, the open upper deck of these buses afford the best "open air" view. When the weather is inclement, though, the experience isn't as pleasant. Temperatures were well in to the 80's the day we were there, and the sky was clear. By the time we got on the bus, the upper deck was the only place there were seats. We roasted. Given the route, and the traffic, the full circuit on the bus was nearly 3 hours. And in the middle of the circuit, without explanation or communication of any nature, the driver parked and shut the bus down. He walked into a cafe for a break. Nobody on the bus had any idea what was going on (for at least 10 - 15 minutes).

Valletta, Malta
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

I SUPPOSE I shouldn't let a pretty bad experience on the Hop on - Hop off bus color our entire experience in Malta. NOr should I let the Malta experience completely color my view of the Hop on Hop off system (though we had a similar sketchy experience in Helsinki, Finland, a few years later). On the trip around the coast, we could see that the "stay and play" aspects of Valletta could probably be very fun. Lots and lots of bars and restaurants, and many marinas, filled with pleasure boats, dotted the entire coast. I also know there are several forts around Malta and near and around Valletta. There is also the huge and visually impressive Grand Masters Palace (our bus did a circle around it, but as noted, we didn't dare get off to explore it if we ever wanted to get back on and complete the circuit). The city is architecturally pretty impressive, also.

Valletta is the Flag location for all of Celebrity's Cruise ships

MOST OF my photography that day consisted of things around the port and near our ship's berth. I have noted here before that it is usually pretty challenging to make photos from a moving platform like a bus. I did catch a couple. At one time the administrative center for the Catholic Military Order: The Knights of St. John (a/k/a The Nights Hospitallier), the island was ruled by them for many years, until the eventual capture of Malta by Napoleon (after which the order more or less dispersed from all of its bases around the world). Though originally inhabited by the Phoenicians, and later Romans, most of the significant architecture occurred during re-building under the Knights of St. John's control. It was primarily "Renaissance" architechture; followed later by Baroque, Neo-Gothic, and Neo-Classical. Later yet, after WWII, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and modern styles emerged.

There is also significant commercial shipping activity along the wharf adjacent to the cruise terminal - Valletta, Malta
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

I SUSPECT the majority of my readership here are from the U.S. and it is perhaps appropriate to acknowledge the significance of Malta to our nation. Our relationship dates back to the U.S. Revolutionary war when the Knights were a significant ally to our fledgling nation, particularly in helping to persuade the French Navy to assist us. During WWII, it was a critical staging point for Allied (British and U.S.) military planes.

Our Ship Docked at its Home Port - Valletta, Malta
Copyright Andy Richards 2017

THERE IS one other point of importance to me (and maybe other cruisers). With the exception of three of its ("Explorer Class") fleet, Valleta is the Flag location for all of Celebrity's Cruise ships! One thing I do know is that if Valletta is ever a stop again on one of our cruises, we will certainly try to book an excursion/guided tour.

Sunday, March 22, 2026

2017 - Sicily

Messina, Sicily
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

WE HAD such a great time in Venice that it would be hard to top it. After boarding the Reflection, our first two stops - in my mind at least - bore that out. But comparing almost anything to Venice is probably unfair.

Sunset Bar - Celebrity Reflection
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

WHAT DID completely satisfy, though, was that The Celebrity Reflection fit with my memory. Now our 3rd voyage on the ship, it was everything I remembered, and it was fun to show Paul and Linda around the ship. Our first day was at sea. Paul and I spent a lot of time on the back at the Sunset Bar on this cruise, even shutting it down a couple times. We got to be on a very close basis with the bar crew there, including the head bartender, Charel, as well as Andrew, and Punta. Lots of laughs, a few drinks, and a cigar or two.

My Buddy, Paul, with a cigar and probably the biggest Gin & Tonic he had ever been served
(That's our new buddy, bartenter Puta, in the background)
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

OUR FIRST port stop was Messina, Sicily. We had sailed by Messina on a couple of occasions, making the passage from The Ionian Sea into the Tyrrhenian Sea through the Strait of Messina. The Strait is the the narrowest water between Sicily and mainland Italy, narrowing to under 2 miles just north of Messina. On a clear day, you can easily see both land points as you sail through.

WE SPENT very little time in Messina. Basically a quick drive around to a couple of the scenic points, and a stop at the town center where the church and a really cool movement in the bell tower at the end of the day. In 2022, my wife and I would spend some time in the city and learn that it is a very nice, kind of smallish city - much like the place we lived for many years (Saginaw, Michigan). This trip though, we had scheduled a tour south along the coast, visiting volcanic Mt. Etna, but first stopping in Taormina, a coastal village south of Messina, known as the gateway to the numerous little villages and scenes for the famous Godfather movies. Taormina's origins date back to the ancient Greeks, was actually popular prior to its "Godfather fame," though as a haven for artists and gay men as far back as the early 19th century. It was also the headquarters of the German Werhmacht during WWII.

WE ALSO made a brief stop in Savoca, a picturesque little village up in the mountains, made famous by movie maker Francis Ford Coppola, who shot scenes from the Godfather movies in and around the village, as well as a couple other nearby villages - as the home/headquarters of the Corleone family.

WE MADE the "mandatory" stop and look in to the famous "Godfather Bar," Bar Vitelli, the spot of the famous proposal scene in the movie. Timing is everything, and I had the good fortune to have camera in hand to catch the dog being shot for what seemed to me to be a beer advertisement.

LOOKING DOWN from Chiesa di San Nicolò, the little 13th century church at the very top of the hill (where Michael Corleone and Apollonia's iconic wedding scene was filmed), it is easy to see the visual appeal of this little village. We moved on from there to the famous, vocanic Mt. Etna.

THE LARGEST, and one of the most active volcanos in Europe, Mt. Etna just began early eruption activity around Christmas (2025). In its history, there has been near constant activity. You can see from the photo that there is also rather constant tourist activity at this UNESCO World Heritage site. We did not climb or go up it, but just observed from the base station.

OUR DAY (and tour) ended back in the city of Messina. We were first treated to the view down on the city from up high, as shown in the opening image above. The we drove down to the Messina Cathedral (just a couple city blocks from the cruise port), where we saw the mechanical astronomical clock with is part of the Cathedral. Built by the Normans in the early 12th century, the Cathedral is now the Catholic Diocese of Messina. Almost completely destroyed by the devastating earthquake of 1908 (which destroyed much of the city, resulting in massive rebuilding and a city ordinance forbidding any building to be taller than 2 stories - except for the Cathedral). Most of the building that stands today was rebuilt after the earthquake, but the tower, much of the exterior walls, the gothic archway and the apse all remained standing after the quake.

THE ASTRONOMICAL clock and carousel were added in 1933. The carousel was on the ground in 2017 as repairs were being done on the tower. The bell tower is said to be the largest "choir" in Sicily. Our tour ended here, and we walked the couple short blocks back to re-board our Celebrity Reflection.