I stirred at about 6:15am as we were berthing in Mykonos. Once again, no real urgency to get ashore, even though this was a short stop, with the all aboard time set for 1:30pm.
We walked off OK after picking up our €7 each return tickets for the coach, from the Florentine dining room. Now several people decided to walk into town, which isn't too far away, but the road is twisty, very narrow and there are no footpaths.
We piled on the coach OK and the first thing we saw was a notice at the port gate, 40 metres away "local bus to town, €1.60, water taxi, €2…" No comment required, but it is a constant frustration that the information on the various options isn't always disclosed. We had only gone about 100m when a senior lady flagged down the coach, claiming her (somewhat eccentric!) husband had just walked off to town and she wanted to taxi in – but there weren't any taxis. The coach driver let her on and there was a degree of sympathy from the other passengers.
Six minutes later, after a sedate, slow, ride, we were at the entrance to Mykonos, alongside what looks to be a very nice marina complex, still under construction.
We had been here before in 2011 and nothing much had changed other than some prices seemed higher. My only purchase was another two cartons of Greek cherry juice – not sour cherry, sadly, but still cherry. We wandered around the town, but didn't venture across to little Venice, where there are more bars and nightclubs, as the wind was quite fierce and the cold wind is still a problem for Paula. According to those who did venture that far, they were less than impressed this time with a mix of probable drunks and Romanian gypsies, sleeping on various benches, and a lot of litter. Add to that, Romanian's begging via their children (one young girl just batting a drum with no rhythm at all) or just holding out a paper cup for money and the less affluent side of Mykonos is on show. A sharp contrast to all the classy jewellery shops.
As always, plenty of photo opportunities but as we expected massive queues for the 44 seat shuttle buses we were determined not to leave it late. We couldn't resist the little boulangerie (bakery/café) at the marina entrance though and I really enjoyed my €3 ham and cheese pasty. Paula is still drooling over her mini vanilla cream croissant at €1…
The queue for the shuttle was growing rapidly and we seemed to wait for ages, then, as usual, three buses arrived at once. We just managed to get on bus number three, but the queue behind us by then, was half way to town.
Back on board, after a coffee from the deck 5 atrium bar, we opted for a steady afternoon - and totally missed the sail-away!
The afternoon quiz had been set by passenger Tom, who managed to overlook that it was supposed to be Trivia, not a university entrance exam. We managed just 8 points but finished 3rd.
After dinner, which we managed to get through quite quickly for a change, we headed to the theatre for one of the best acts on the Princess circuit. (I believe they were nominated for the best cruise ship act and certainly made the final – possibly even runners up). This was the Beatles tribute band from Liverpool. As this was the late show and they are repeating the act tomorrow, the theatre wasn't 100% full, as many would have retired early. A brilliant act and the guy who plays George Harrison, almost looks like him! This is without a doubt, a 10/10 act every time they perform, even if we have seen them before.
Bedtime a more realistic 23:30, with Istanbul our port of call tomorrow and that means an early start for the sail-in. Many will be up early for that.
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