By the waves, by the seas: what travelers do on a Black Sea cruise

A friendly company, united by common interests, left Sochi and traveled along the Black Sea through majestic Istanbul, ancient Amasra, picturesque Trabzon and carefree Samsun, stopping at each of the ports, immersing themselves in the world of their favorite shows and even meeting the star of a popular series. Let’s talk about everything in order – in the form of travel notes!

Hooray, we are sailing! It is convenient that you can visit many cities without moving or packing and unpacking your things – a cozy cabin has become a second home for the whole week. Fears of a pitching sensation proved to be completely unfounded.

The liner is essentially a floating hotel. It was planned that for two days on the way to Istanbul it would be possible to just enjoy the beautiful sea view and sunbathe on the upper deck, but the weather made its own adjustments – at some point it started to rain and the wind rose. But there was no need to get bored: there was a spa and a beauty salon on the ship, and in the evening everyone was welcome at the disco. As our cruise was thematic, there were screenings of Turkish films and TV series and bar quizzes on knowledge of dizi. Watching “Black Love” and “Knock on My Door” was not in vain: we managed to win a cool prize!

And so we arrived in Istanbul (I almost wrote – the capital of Turkey, but I will not fall into this trap, because since 1923 the capital of Turkey has been Ankara). The ship stays in port for two days, allowing you to visit all your favorite places, go shopping, and take an evening stroll along the docks. On the boat you can take excursions along many routes developed by Astoria experts, but I prefer to create my own paths and paths, and this time I did the same, because I went to Istanbul more than ‘once. But those who came there for the first time enjoyed taking part in accompanied group outings.

And the main surprise: the crash Berk Oktay got on board! I saw him in the series “Forbidden Fruit” and I was surprised that Burke, so brutal on screen, turns out to be friendly and smiling in life, very attentive to his Russian fans. He said that Dostoevsky is one of his favorite writers and that the handsome Turk follows Russian football and even knows all the key players on our teams. Unfortunately, we had to communicate through an interpreter, even though some of the participants of the “Turkish TV Series Week” cruise had prepared well for the trip and learned the language. They were able to chat a little with Burke after the formal question-and-answer session and take photos. Admittedly, Oktay has not yet shared the series he is currently filming.

It’s a wonderful little town that can be visited in just a few hours. But it has such an atmosphere that its beautiful views will melt the hardest of hearts. However, there were no such hearts in our company; we were fascinated by Amasra and agreed that without the cruise we would never have gotten here.

We docked in Samsun, a large port city. The liner offered several options for spending time (golf tour, trip to Amasya, beach). But a group of like-minded people and I decided to just walk around the city, create photo content for social networks and devote the day to unrestrained shopping. And let’s talk about our favorite Turkish TV series: we just watched the new episodes of “Kingfisher” on Evie.

I have dreamed of coming here for a long time! Trabzon is a large seaside city with a rich history and many attractions. We chose an excursion to the steep cliff monastery “Panagia Sumela”, founded in 386. It is a place with an incredible atmosphere, offering magnificent views of the mountain peaks. I would say that one day in Trabzon is not enough to see everything. We really wanted to go to Lake Uzungol and the picturesque high mountain coastal village, but we didn’t have time. Next time, definitely.

The last evening before the end of the cruise, the traditional farewell “White Party” awaited us. We changed into appropriate outfits, danced, took photos, exchanged contacts and summarized the trip. Everyone who was lucky enough to take part in the “Turkish TV Series Week” agreed that a cruise is a great opportunity to visit cities where Russian tourists do not go so often and interesting places that we would hardly have could visit. from Istanbul or popular resorts in Türkiye.

Many noted that the time spent on the road is not felt at all, because the liner moves at night – and you find yourself already in the morning in a new city with a cup of coffee on the open deck (the magic of teleportation!). And the sea voyage proved to be an opportunity to vacation at your own pace, taking your time and exploring the opportunities offered by the ship – and its helpful crew. In general, now I want to go on a cruise again!