Setting Sail in Croatia

Our week on the Adriatic Sea

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we boarded the Olimp for our 7-day coastal cruise from Split to Dubrovnik. Yes, I had read the itinerary on the website and looked at some videos but I still had difficulty envisioning the week. Spoiler Alert: Are we glad we went? Yes. Would we go again? Probably not.

Denise perusing the jacuzzi and sun deck where we spent most mornings.

Googler Beware

I want to warn you about something before we get too far into this post. When we were planning this vacation I Googled “small boat Croatia cruises”. If you enjoy getting dozens of emails every day from the companies offering such cruises … feel free to follow my example. ¹If you don’t want your inbox littered with these annoyances read on and click no further.

In the morning you could also snag a lounger on the front of the boat.

Our Daily Routine

We selected Sail Croatia’s “Elegance” tour from Split to Dubrovnik ... targeted at mature adults wanting the most luxurious accommodations. This company also offers the Navigator cruise (the “ultimate party cruise” for ages 18-39), Explorer cruise (for families and young professionals), a Hiking, and a Biking tour.²

The typical route.

The ship³ was captained by a 26-year-old whose family owns this vessel along with a few others. He had been working in the family business since the age of 12. He was assisted by 3 sailors, a waitress/bartender, a woman who cleaned the 18 guest cabins, a chef, a sous chef, and the cruise director. “V”, our cruise director, wore a sunny smile as we boarded despite the weather forecast for the next day. Instead, of 80 degrees, full sun, and a light breeze the forecast called for 70 degrees, rain, high winds, and the possibility of hail. During the champagne reception as we set sail at 13:00 that afternoon, he explained that we would be deviating slightly from the map above … visiting Vis first to avoid the forecasted weather. As it turns out, we had perfect weather every day!

Each day the ship set sail between 7:00 and 8:00. A more than adequate breakfast buffet was served every morning from 8:00 to 9:00.⁴After breakfast everyone grabbed a book or their iPad and lounged by the jacuzzi, on the forward sun deck, or under cover of the veranda. Between 10:00 and 11:00 the captain would stop in a secluded cove and we would tie up for a 2-hour swim stop. The water was on the cooler side and crystal clear.

We did make it into the water one day.

At 13:00 lunch was served as we cruised to that day’s destination. V would present a brief talk … a bit of history, and facts about the island we would visit. We typically disembarked between 15:00 and 16:00. On most days there were optional excursions … on other days you just went off to explore the island on foot. Most nights, you found a local restaurant for dinner and then returned to the boat to sleep.⁵

We visited a former Yugoslavian military base on the island of Vis.

A Long and Short History

If you read last week’s post, you know Croatia has a long and storied history. Croatia was first recognized as an independent country in 879. Following the Ottoman conquest, the Croatians came under the rule of Ferdinand I of Austria. In 1918, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was formed. During WWII a Nazi puppet state was installed. A resistance movement ultimately led to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1943.

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, founded in 1943 during World War II, was a federation made up of six socialist republics. From 1960 to 1980, the country was something of a regional power and an economic success story. Following Tito’s death in 1980, leaders such as Slobodan Milosevic rose to power and took advantage of the weakening state by utilizing Serbian ultra-nationalism to fan the flames of conflict throughout the various neighboring countries.  As the rise of nationalism grew, Slovenia followed by Croatia voted for independence and broke away from Yugoslavia by 1991. — Remembering Srebrenica

In 1991, Croatia again declared independence resulting in a four-year war. The former Yugoslavia became the countries of Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia.

Ships tie up next to each other in port. You might have to traverse four or five other vessels to get to your ship.

Will You Enjoy this Cruise?

You might be wondering what we liked and didn’t like about the cruise. First, let it be said that Denise (who completed the customer survey at the end of the trip) gave the trip 5 Stars. In fact, she rated every item on the survey 5 Stars. I would have been just a little less enthusiastic about the meals. Though the breakfasts were wonderful, the chef was not creative when preparing our vegetarian meals … simply removing the protein from the lunch entree. However, the ship and the crew were first-rate! We had spectacular weather and I came back with a terrific tan!

Our view as we dined on the island of Mijet.

As I said at the top we are glad we went. Over a week we visited small, scarcely populated islands we would never have seen otherwise … the highlights: a National Park on Mijet, an ancient cave in Vela Luka, and a former military installation on Vis. However, we are generally a bit more active on our vacations. That is to say, we are not the lie-on-the-beach type of people. If you are, grab your favorite book and sign up. (You might even have some interesting traveling companions, see below.) And then return next week to learn more about our final stop … Dubrovnik.

Até lá, tchau, beijinhos,

Nanc

Reader Survey: Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the reader survey. Most of our readers live in Portugal … immigrants interested in others’ experiences in this wonderful country.

1. I do not know how many companies there are. It would appear that more than 30 such commercial vessels are cruising the Croatian coast at any time.

2. One of the couples on our trip had just completed a biking tour with the same company from Dubrovnik to Split. They enjoyed the trip very much … however, they reported that the ship was not nearly as luxurious and the food was rather disappointing.

3. Small ship, large boat, very large yacht … who knows? The captain called it a ship.

4. We realized, after a few days, we could request an omelet to compliment the buffet.

5. You might be wondering who the other guests were. There were 12 Americans (this included a group of 8 that vacation together every year), 5 Canadians, 2 Brits, and 15 Aussies. All but one of the guests were 50+ … half retired, half still working. And I want to note that Aussies certainly know how to vacation!!!! All were traveling for 4 weeks or more, hopscotching about Europe without a care.