NCL Dawn: Adriatic ports, part 1

KB Cook
Sep 2, 2025
10 min read

Day 26 Corfu

With arrival time set for 10am, and the excursion start time half an hour later, I was able to sleep later and still have my oatmeal with bananas and raisins in the NCL Dawn dining room. We were close to the island as I walked the outside deck to the dining room.

Once the excursion: Ultimate Corfu (6hrs) was called, Yolanda and I left the ship for the pier and boarded smaller passenger vans. We headed towards the city, stopping and unloading between the large city park Spianada Square and the moat of the Old Fortress. Minor inconvenience discovered – I had no spare camera battery with me after I’d taken 9 pictures. So everything would be on the smartphones. (Poor zoom and difficult framing – no practice.)

After a discourse on the history of the Island, we strolled north to the Mouseio Asiatikis Technis Kerkyras (Corfu Museum of Asian Art.) In the Palace of St Michael and St George, originally the residence of the British Lord High Commissioner, the collection of Gregorios Manos from 1928 is elegantly displayed. Our guide led our group of about 10 through the exhibit rooms, pointing out treasures and curiosities. Back out to Anaktoroni Square we were given 25 minutes to stroll the edges of the city.

Narrow pedestrian streets filled with tourists led us towards a tall clock- and belltower. The Holy Church of Saint Spyridon was a major attraction site, its narrow nave topped with multiple murals, trimmed with curving gold frames. Purple cloths were draped from the crystal and bronze chandeliers, pointing out the fact it was Holy Week, with Easter being the next Sunday. Photography was discouraged, so I got 3 shots from the rear of the vault.

We were in a tourist mecca; the alleys lined with merchandisers hustling for the visitor’s lucre. While the locals sat in cafes smoking and drinking coffee, wiling away the day, phone-toting foreigners poured over trinkets, postcards, clothing and art, or lined up to get yet another ice cream. I guess I was a bit jaded, but Yolanda’s enthusiasm kept me smiling and behaving.

Returning to our transport, we headed west and then north along the coast, stopping for a light lunch of tzatziki on pita with salad and ziti, with yogurt and honey for dessert. Further along, we stopped at an overlook, a former fort site, cannons pointing out over the inlet and beaches. We then returned to the Dawn.

Once aboard, I dropped my gear (putting batteries into my bag) and headed topside to work my phone with the mobile connection. Down to the Solos, watching them head to the dining room as I had a reservation at Cagney’s. Sitting with Seth, at 47yo from Colorado, I noted the menu hadn’t changed from my cruise in January on the Jade.

Wedge salad to start, followed by grilled thick-cut bacon, I was looking forward to the Double-cut Australian lamb chops. Not disappointed, I also finished my bottle of Pinotage. For dessert, the Raspberry crème brûlée, I headed to my cabin to gather my dirty clothing to turn over to my steward in the morning. My Latitude status gave me one free laundry per cruise.

Day 27 Kotor

Montenegro was a new addition to my country list. The country is visa-free, hence cruise lines regularly use it as a port where they can add and subtract crew members with minimal hassle. My 7-hour ship’s excursion, Ultimate Montenegro, was due to start at 7am, from the same point we were due to clear port officials. Getting to the theater at 6:45, we were boarded onto a tender at 7:30 and soon we climbing into our transport with “Seven”, our guide.

Numbering 18, Group 2’s van joined a caravan of three buses with our itinerary and maybe another 8 behind as we wended through Kotor.

We climbed to a lookout for a photo op, and then rode to Restaurant Nevjesta Jadrana for a pit stop where I had a bottle of Niksicko beer. We were high up in the mountains near Cetinje.

We descended into the town, a former capital of Montenegro, to make a brief walking tour before entering a history museum.

I learned that the nearby Cetinje Monastery Цетињски манастир - Рођење Пресвете Богородице had been the seat of the Metropolitan (bishop) of the country’s Serbian Orthodox churches. That made it an ex-cathedral for me, so I got permission to hoof it up to the gates to take pictures. Constructed of light gray stone, there wasn’t time to get through the gate and into the church building. Still, a bonus for me.

Gateway to Cetinje Monastery Цетињски манастир - Рођење Пресвете Богородице — *Cetinje Monastery Цетињски манастир - Рођење Пресвете Богородице* Cetinje, Montenegro

Back at the museum, I slipped past a later group and reunited with my group. Lots of memorabilia, but photography not allowed. We headed down into town to Restaurant Konak for lunch: noodle soup, tomato and cucumber salad, roasted beef with rice and potatoes, and cake for dessert. A bland red wine and water were the beverages.

Returning to our wheels, we again climbed to a pass into Budva, which we just drove through (thus missing seeing a cathedral on my list,) and onward to a tunnel which brought us back to Kotor.

Leaving the bus, we began a walking tour of the city. Along a channel, the walled fortifications built of dark blocks of stone impressed. After pointing out a church on the hill, we began walking into busier streets and squares, past palaces to the square before the cathedral.

At this point, I had found our guide too verbose (my notes say verbal diarrhea), so I abandoned the tour and headed into Katedrala Svetog Trifuna aka St. Tryphon's Cathedral.

Katedrala Svetog Trifuna / St. Tryphon's Cathedral, Kotor, Montenegro

Twin towers facing west, with an arched portico leading into the entry of the nave. Compound circular columns constructed of red brick-like stone support the arches and vault. The walls of the narrow side aisles are a complementary rose shade. Stairs at the back rose to the gallery, which has been converted into a museum and treasury. There is access to the porch over the entry, giving a view of the city and square. Back on the nave floor, I noted the simple but elegant baldachin over the altar table. The cathedra sits against a wall with brass bas relief representations of the apostles and saints.

Exiting, I headed towards St Nicholas’s Serbian Orthodox Church. Similar to the Catholic cathedral, twin belltowers bracket the entrance, which faces south. No porch, the single double-door grants entrance. A nave with no seating (typical of Eastern Christian churches), the iconostasis walls off the apse and presbytery. The icons on the two upper levels of the screen featured patriarchs on the top row, scenes from Christ’s life below. Off to the side I noted a seat for the metropolitan. Some sort of service seemed to be underway, so I left quickly.

Kotor is interesting, in that from the port, there seemed to be a single entrance through the old walls into the old city. I sought an alternate, walking along the top of the walls, only to eventually wind up back across from the port. An MSC cruise ship was docked, and with only space for one ship, we had to tender out to the Dawn which was anchored near the mouth of the inlet. As I arrived, the tender was full, so I had to wait. Couples from Palm Beach (construction), Portugal and Columbia, as well as a Filipina nurse working in London joined me and we all were chatting and comparing notes when the tender returned for us.

Back on the ship, after dropping my gear, I climbed to 12 to journal. Reflecting, I found the tour to be good, with perhaps too many anecdotes. The country is beautiful and I looked forward to returning later in my itinerary. Dropping the journal off on my way to Solos, I had a chance to alert my room attendant that there would be a stuffed laundry bag in the morning. At Solos we played Pictionary (poorly) before 8 of us left for dinner in the dining room.

Asparagus and artichoke risotto to start, followed by Caesar salad. I enjoyed the Balti lamb tikka – I find the -kitchens have many sub-continent Indians, so those cuisines are usually great. The chocolate cake was a waste of calories. My notes say I had 3 glasses of sangiovese with dinner, and then went to O’Sheehan’s where I had 2 double Jameson Stouts! Yes, I was soon down for the count!

Day 28 Dubrovnik

Per the original schedule, we were scheduled to arrive so we had from 7am to 7pm in the southern Croatia port city of Dubrovnik. However, for the 7:45 Old Town, Riviera Drive & Wine Tasting (5.25 hrs) excursion, we were directed to be in the theater at 6:50am. And we didn’t leave the theater until 7:30, so most of us were getting antsy. After walking off the gangway, we were directed to a full-size coach bus for our group of 18. We were docked at the “new port”, so the first leg of the tour into the Old City was a brief ride.

Our guide walked us through the gate and down (mainly pedestrian) narrow streets, running commentary as we moved from building to fountain to square. After about a half hour, we’d arrived at Cathedral Square and after a brief introduction, she gave us 35 minutes of free time.

Front and side faade, Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Katedrale Uznesenja Marijina, Dubrovnik, Croatia — *Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Katedrale Uznesenja Marijina* Dubrovnik, Croatia

Facing east, the Baroque façade of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Katedrale Uznesenja Marijina is broad, with three entry doors up 8 steps from the plaza. From the outside, I guessed 3 aisles with chapels backed to the side walls, an evident transept crossing as the dome is in the correct position although the footprint looked rectangular. Full figure statues dot the roof’s edge. Once inside, the diamond-pattern red and white marble tiles caught my eye. Despite the white walls, lantern in the dome and small clerestory windows, I found it dark, but sterile.

After checking and locating an Orthodox church, I followed the pedestrian street to the clock tower and Saint Blaise’s Church (Crkva sv. Vlaha) which was on the way. Another baroque Catholic building, it was more vibrant than the cathedral, with brilliant new stained-glass windows. Better lighting, the gilding of the altarpiece with surmounted chrome organ pipes gave a warm glow to the apse.

Turning uphill, I soon was at the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. The twin towers rose above the two levels of windows. From behind a tall iron fence, I made my way to the door. A service was ongoing when I stuck my head in, so I only have a shot of the priest before the open central door of the iconostasis. Turning towards the water, I was able to see Fort Bokar on a hillock protecting the waterfront.

Back to the bus, we started heading southeast following the coastline. We made a quick stop to allow for photos of Otok Lokrum, uninhabited due to a curse on the island, and present home to the Iron Throne of the series Game of Thrones. The zoom captured a decent shot of the old abandoned fortress.

Continuing along the coast, without any notice or fanfare, we diverted around the small stretch (about 3-miles of coast) near Neum, where Bosnia and Herzegovina have access to the Adriatic. Reaching the Konavle region, we stopped at the Brajkovic Winery where we tasted red (zinfandel) and white wines, accompanied by cheese and charcuterie board, olives and bread. This is a seven-generation family operation, and I was impressed enough to leave with a bottle of red and a bag of candied orange rinds.

Riding further south in to Konavle, we arrived at the peninsular town of Cavtat. We were given a half hour to roam the city and check out its beaches. It was a short walk to the Church of St Nicholas, a parish church with a clock- and belltower. The gilded altarpiece was impressive for a small town with a dozen churches. Exiting, many locals were sitting in the café enjoying the sun. I turned around and began climbing the steps up a narrow passageway, reaching the Monastery of Our Lady of the Snow. A building of white stone blocks, initially built in 1484, I did get (fuzzy) photos of the altarpiece by Božidar Vlatković and the St Michael polyptych of Vicko Lovrin.

The domed Mausoleum of the Racic family intrigued me, a bit further along the peninsula, but I had 5 minutes to return to the rendezvous point. We began our return to Dubrovnik, arriving in the new port, 22km away, in about forty minutes. While we had another 5 hours before sail away, getting back to the Old Town wasn’t free, so I decided to stay aboard. Wanting a salad, I headed to Garden Café (buffet) and bult a plate full. Taking it and the puzzle out onto the pool deck (under covering), I enjoyed my lunch, got the puzzle done, and was able to process the few weekend emails. I posted my cathedral picture up to Facebook, a new process for me on this trip.

Taking a break, I headed to the railing to view the cable-stayed Franjo Tudman Bridge, spanning a wide inlet. Always fascinated by this style bridge, I returned at sail away as the setting sun tinted it a warm ivory color. I’d skipped the Solos meeting at 6, standing at the rail and watching for “pier runners” – those stragglers who wait until the last moment to return to the ship. Two separate couples strolled towards the ship about 5 minutes apart, the first pushing a stroller, but arriving before the 6:30 all-aboard deadline.

While I’d been full at 6 after a snack about 4 of a hotdog and a cheese and jalapeno panini, by 8 I was ready for a light supper. Heading to O’Sheehan’s, I got an order of wings and a bare cheeseburger to go with my whiskey. I struck up a chat with a young man, 20-something, originally from Pakistan but now living in Canberra. I garnered a few suggestions for my trip next year to the Australian capital. Then off to the cabin to back up the 200 photos of the day before turning in a tad early, as I had another early excursion tour booked.