We booked our flights on United, a departure from our normally preferred airline. United could get us there with only one stop and it would be at least 2 stops on Delta.
BJ, Tony, Pat, Nancy, Eva Marie, Janet and Veronica flew from Jacksonville to Dubrovnik on Wednesday, arriving Thursday morning.
The Hilton had arranged a driver to pick us up. We relaxed in the executive lounge for a bit before setting out to explore.
Day 1, May 7, 2026 Dubrovnik
We were surprised at the crowds inside the old city walls. We found a quiet rooftop bar called Spaghetteria Toni where the drinks and snacks were brought up by pulleys in baskets.
We learned the Croatian word for Cheers (živjeli) which we mispronounced at every opportunity.
We wandered some more marveling at the old stone buildings and tile roofs before taking a break at Bura.
We found a neat old Art Studio where the artist painted ships.
We decided to get away from the crowds in old town and found Fratellos high above the street overlooking the water.
Then it was back to the Hilton for Happy Hour in the lounge before heading off to bed after a long day of travel.
Day 2, May 8, 2026 Dubrovnik
We met David and Marilyn for breakfast at the hotel and then hurried to Old Town to get a jump on the crowds. We wanted to take the 40 € walk around the city walls. There were a LOT of stairs to climb, but the views were worth it!
The walk around the wall took most of the morning and after having a drink near the Pile Gate we were ready for pizza lunch at Poklisar.
We took the cable car to the top of the hill overlooking the city and were lucky enough to get a table at the Panorama Restaurant before walking down the hill to meet friends for dinner at Konoba Dubrava.
On the way down the hill, we saw some Croatians playing their version of petanque or bocce: boćanje. The balls are larger than our petanque balls, and they seem to bowl them more than toss them.
Dinner was served family style. We had pork, veal, lamb and octopus. We got to tour their outdoor kitchen and watch the meat being prepared.
We took an Uber back to the Hilton. The Ubers in Croatia seem to also be taxis with a taxi sign on top.
Day 3, May 9, 2026 Dubrovnik
We were told not to show up at the ship before 1pm, so we had breakfast and hung around the hotel until time to take an Uber to the port. We arrived early so we stopped at Rhea Silvia to wait.
When we got to the boat, lunch was being served. Our group of nineteen was BJ, Tony, Nancy, Pat, Eva Marie, Steve, Janet, Veronica, Jan, Sherry, Terry, Keith, Joyce, Mark, Judy, David, Marilyn, Amy and Rob. We met Allan, the tour guide from Scotland and the other passengers. There were other Americans, Matt and Penny (a May December romance - Penny would be celebrating her 80th birthday on the trip and Matt was 37). Adam, originally from Poland and his wife Shan, originally from Taiwan were living in England. Adam develops video games and Shan is retired at 42. John and Catherine were retirees from Scotland. There were 4 Australians, Trudie, Nyrelle, Angela and Kim.
We were surprised by the hearty lunch! Salad, Soup, Entree & Dessert!
There was a mix-up about the cabins. Nancy and Pat had booked an upper deck cabin with twin beds but were assigned a cabin with a "double" bed (which was really just a twin and a half).
We weren't sure exactly what had happened, but it seemed that there had been some swapping of cabins before we got on the boat that we were left out of. Nancy & Pat were told that nothing could be done and they could contact customer service. This was a big disappointment. Pat ended up sharing a twin room with Judy on the lower deck because Judy's roommate had cancelled at the last minute.
BJ & Tony had one of the "double" bed cabins. All of the cabins had private bathrooms with sliding doors. The sliding door track was a bit rusty & BJ got stuck inside the tiny bathroom for awhile before Allan, the tour guide, got her out. Duje, one of the sailors removed the door and sanded the track so that wouldn't happen again!
Everyone gathered on the deck for morning coffee but Ivan (pronounced E-von) told that we couldn't have coffee until it was time for breakfast! This was a BIG problem for most of us who like to have coffee before breakfast. We could purchase espresso or cappuccino but the machine was broken. When we were finally allowed to have coffee, we discovered that all they had was instant coffee! It actually wasn't terrible, though.
Breakfast was scrambled eggs, bread, yoghurt and an assortment of cereals and jellies.
The day started out a bit foggy as we sailed away from Dubrovnik, but improved as we approached Mljet.
We parked 4 boats deep and had to traverse other boats to get to shore.
We had another hearty lunch. Most of us thought the delicious mushroom pasta was the entire meal and were surprised to find this was just the first course. We still had an entree course of chicken & risotto followed by dessert! We were stuffed by the time we got off of the boat and found the bicycle rental place.
Allan had supposedly reserved bikes for us, but the rental place ran out of regular "adult" bikes. BJ & Nancy got small frame bikes. BJ had to raise her seat to the maximum height.
Joyce & Mark had to get electric bikes because there were no more manual bikes.
There was a nice bike trail around the salt lakes in the National Park but the path to get to it was hilly and rocky. Shortly after we got on the path, we came upon the Konoba Mali Raj which looked like an inviting place to take a break.
We could see the bridge in the distance that we would need to cross to stay on the path. It didn't look too daunting from far away.
We got a text from Judy saying that the boat they were taking to visit the monastery had broken down and we later ran into them on the bike path, waiting for another boat to pick them up. They eventually made it and we could see them across the lake as we were on the last leg of the bike path.
We turned our bikes in & found others at the Adriatic Restaurant. We lingered over drinks until it was time for dinner and then had pizza.
After dinner, Rob transitioned into his alter-ego, Robnoxious, and really got the party going! We turned the dining room into a disco! There was even a little pole-dancing!
We had passengers from other boats coming over to dance!
We finished the evening with one of Ivan's special drinks - he called it a BSO - don't ask what that stands for!
Surprisingly everyone felt pretty well after disco night and we were greatly relieved that the espresso and cappuccino machine had been fixed.
We had another hearty breakfast as we were setting sail for Lumbarda Bay. We dropped anchor and some brave individuals jumped in the COLD water for a very brief swim.
When everyone had had their fill of swimming, we sailed on to Korcula.
Lunch was another multi-course affair of salad, spaghetti, fish & dessert.
After lunch, we went on a little walking tour of the walled old town (kind of like a smaller version of Dubrovnik).
Our next stop was at the Massimo Cocktail Bar on top of the medieval Zakerjan/Berim Tower. One must climb a ladder to get to the bar and the drinks are sent up on a pulley.
We found a cute little wine bar called Mariola with seating on the stairs, where we had some delicious local wines and tapas.
Dinner at Pensatore Kitchen and Wine was a bit of a disappointment. We ordered two pizzas to share. The one with anchovies and had no cheese on it. The other had mortadella which we thought was a lettuce and turned out to be meat.
Day 6, May 12, 2026 Sailing from Korcula to Jelsa
We bid farewell to Korcula and sailed toward Hvar. Some wanted to stop for a swim break but Zvone, the captain, thought we should push on since foul weather was predicted. A few of us took a turn at the wheel with Zvone (pronounced "Zvoh-neh") looking on nervously.
We passed the beautiful little lighthouse at the eastern tip of Hvar Island. The lighthouse was constructed in 1889.
We weren't able to dock in Hvar as planned, but instead went to Jelsa where we would be a little more protected if bad weather materialized.
We had another hearty lunch, this time we had pasta salad followed by a traditional dish of stuffed pepper (Punjena Paprika) and, of course, dessert.
Jelsa is known for it's honey and we saw some big bees gathering pollen from the maypops (Passion Flowers).
We played on the donkey statue near the boat dock.
BJ had a disappointing dinner of overcooked octopus at Obala across from where the boat was docked. Even the neighborhood cats had trouble chewing it.
Day 7, May 13, 2026 Sailing from Jelsa to Makarska
We had a leisurely morning in Jelsa. We had time to enjoy a cappuccino at Obala before breakfast. Thankfully they do a better job of coffee than octopus!
After breakfast, we set sail for the charming mainland resort town of Makarsa, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Biokovo mountain range.
We had another delicious lunch of soup followed by pork with green beans. Dessert was a traditional Croatian Banana Rolat.
The bronze statue of St. Peter the Apostle holding the keys to the city was erected in 2009. There is a chain fence around the area where people have put locks as a gesture of unbreakable love & lifelong commitment.
There is a cave in the side of the mountain that used to house a nightclub. It is said that the city will not allow another venue that requires catering to occupy the space so it sits empty.
We visited the Storija Bar and the Bodul Bar. Some of the gang tried the lavender gin & tonic.
The beach near our boat was gravel. There was supposed to be a path to another beach that BJ went to see. She started out on the path closest to the water but it quickly became treacherous so she made her way to higher ground where there was a better maintained path.
It was a longer hike (close to 2 hours) than she had thought but she found the other beach. It was more secluded but still a gravel beach.
This circular bench just off of the path is the Milan Mladenovic Viewpoint dedicated to the late frontman of the Yugoslav rock band Ekatarina Velika (EKV), whose mother was from Makarska. The bench is inscribed with lyrics from the EKV song "Krug" (The Circle), which translate to "I found this circle and put it back together, it loves me, it carries me, it forgives me".
We had an excellent dinner at Gastro Diva. BJ tried the black risotto made with cuttlefish. It was delicious!
We enjoyed some lively conversation back on the boat before heading off to bed.
Day 8, May 14, 2026 Sailing from Makarska to Omis
The itinerary for our trip said we would be sailing from Makarska to Brač, but we ended up docking on the mainland at Omis instead.
We docked in time for some folks to take a walk before lunch. The rest of us enjoyed the beautiful weather on the top deck.
Lunch was risotto followed by fish and a lemony dessert.
After lunch one group took a rafting excursion.
Another group took a treacherous hike to a castle on top of the mountain.
The less adventurous of us explored the town.
Back at the boat, we had happy hour on the dock.
Everyone split up to look for dinner. Janet, Nancy, Pat and BJ had a great dinner Bastian. We had a very handsome waiter!
The beautiful blue water behind us made a great backdrop for some pictures. Nancy & Janet look beautiful in their picture but BJ & Pat could not stop laughing!
We had seafood risotto, sea bass, octopus salad & calamari. Delicious!
Day 9, May 15, 2026 Sailing from Omis to Split
After breakfast in Omis, we went for a walk around town.
BJ walked up the steep steps to the Peovica Castle that others had visited the day before. She had a bit of trouble finding the ladder to the top, but was rewarded with a spectacular view when she finally got there.
Back on the boat, we cruised along the Dalmatian coast to the historic city of Split. Originally built as a retirement palace for the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century, Split now offers a delightful mix of history, culture, and modern amenities.
We had our last lunch on the boat. Luka, the chef, did an amazing job of feeding us all week. We were awed by her ability to prepare such elaborate meals in the tiny kitchen with limited pantry space.
BJ presented Allan with the hat she had knitted for him in (Jacksonville Jaguars Colors) during the trip.
After lunch, we went exploring. We first wanted to find our lodging for the following night to make sure we knew how to get there.
It was threatening rain, so we found a nice place to sit under an awning at Mazzgoon.
The rain held off while we explored some more, but by the time we headed to dinner it had started to rain. We hurried to Basta and got the last available table inside.
Day 10, May 16, 2026 Split
We had a final breakfast on the boat and then headed out, hoping to beat the rain.
Our AirBNB would not be available until 2PM so some of our group found a place they could check their luggage. BJ and Tony waited under an awning at Riva, the bar next door. The rest of the gang joined us and we hung out for several hours, watching it rain.
We went back to Kala and scored a table for 6 inside the bar.
By the time we finished lunch, it was time to check into our AirBNB! We were so tired from dodging the rain all day that we just stayed in, watched a movie and played cards.
Day 11, May 17, 2026 Split
We woke up to a beautiful blue sky! A much better day to explore! First, we did a practice run to the place where our airport transport would pick us up the following morning. On the way back into Old Town, we found the Teacup Fountain that we had missed before.
We had breakfast at Konoba Bili. For only 9.5 € we got coffee, juice and a big breakfast!
We saw the Cathedral of Saint Domnius and the surrounding Peristyle courtyard within Diocletian's Palace.
We walked through the substructures of the palace.
We did a little shopping and then had a beer at Konoba Marul.
Some of the old buildings had to be shored up. You could see the cracks in this building.
We had lunch at Fortuna where we learned the art of cutting your pizza slices with giant scissors!
After lunch, we set out to find the monumental statue of Gregory of Nin. Gregory of Nin was a 10th-century bishop who fought to introduce the Croatian language and the Glagolitic script into religious services, opposing the Latin-only tradition. It is a popular local superstition that rubbing the statue's big toe brings good luck and grants wishes; consequently, the toe has been worn smooth.
We got up at 4AM and met our driver to take us to the airport. We had to take a bus from the gate to the airplane.
It was a fabulous trip! There were a few bumps in the road, but we would definitely recommend it, especially given the price! We would just advise anyone considering going to think about their expectations before booking. This is not a cruise ship, the crew is very busy and there won't be any pampering aboard.
The good things about the trip were:
1. The destination/route - the islands and towns that we visited were lovely and filled with things to see and do.
2. The food - the chef on our boat was amazing - she prepared wonderful local dishes with 4 course meals at every lunch. She paid close attention, not only to food allergies, but also to food preferences. If someone preferred not to eat something, she prepared an alternate meal for that person.
3. The captain - we felt very safe!
4. The companionship - being with friends and meeting new people made the trip even more fun!
5. The surly bartender - some considered this good and some bad!
6. Water - we were originally told that we could only have 1 liter of water a day, but in fact, we got unlimited water from a dispenser.
7. Beach Towels - we were instructed to bring our own beach towels, but in fact, were provided with beach towels in each room.
The iffy/bad things about the trip were:
1. The cabin assignments - the mix-up with the twin cabin started the trip off on a bad note. Be aware that you might not get the cabin that you booked. Even the tour guide had to find a room off of the ship each night.
2. The coffee situation - If you need coffee outside of the hours that coffee is available on the ship, you might want to pick up some instant. There's a water dispenser that dispenses hot water all of the time.
3. Drinks - we were not allowed to consume drinks that we brought onboard and had to purchase them from the bartender. They were reasonably priced but not always available.
4. Tours - there were no real tours outside of a few familiarization walks.
The conclusion is that if you are a high-end traveler, this might not be the trip for you! If you lower your expectations, you will have a wonderful trip! We did!
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