Destination Connection: Kotor, Montenegro
This post is sponsored by Princess Cruises.
You know that I never want to forget this moment feeling? Imagine feeling it for six hours straight, and you’ll come close to the immersive experience I had in Kotor, Montenegro. It was my favorite port on our 5-day Mediterranean cruise!
Princess Cruises is the only cruise line I’ve traveled on that fully immerses you in the destinations—and not just while you’re in port. OceanView™ brings exclusive travel shows like Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin, Good Spirits, and The Voyager with Josh Garcia from your stateroom to your iPhone—even to your living room (Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV) . The shows present the ports on a Princess voyage in such a unique way, drumming up a ton of excitement around port days during your vacation. It’s always exciting to hear the first officer’s voice come over the intercom in the mornings: “Good morning and welcome to beautiful, Kotor, Montenegro!”
I’ll be honest—the amenities on the ship are so enticing, there have been a couple times I wanted to hang back on the ship over exploring the port town…but that wasn’t the case the day we docked at Kotor. Kotor had already been such a buzzword since we got on board—Alexander, our savvy and sassy cruise director on board Sky Princess, insisted that Kotor is his favorite port in the entire world. Talking with the crew is truly one of the best ways to learn about what the top activities are in a port town. Most of them have been to each destination multiple times, and it’s always exciting to hear their unique perspectives and experiences.
My photographer, Alex, and I were blown away by this seaside city in the mountains. On our shore excursion we booked through Princess, we were so lucky to be paired with an extremely knowledgeable guide. He took us and one other passenger on a perfectly paced, intimate tour of both Kotor and Perast, a nearby seaside village. Not only did we get a personal history of Montenegro (there was a photo of his great grandfather in the history museum!), but he also took us out for coffee when we were convinced we couldn’t walk another step without caffeine. Getting to know our guide, Krsto, on a personal level and learning about his day-to-day life as a local was a truly special connection…one I can’t imagine finding outside of Princess Cruises! Experiencing life as a local is such an important way to travel, and the fact that it matters to Princess as well is the reason I keep sailing with them.
Plus, when we arrived back onboard Sky Princess, our shipmates and all the crew members we encountered were eager to hear all about what we did in port! Trust me, it was a long list:
Explored the beautiful streets and alleys of old town Kotor
Received a fascinating mini history lesson on Montenegro
Enjoyed local cuisine—a fresh seafood platter and fish soup—right on the water
Drank espresso on a cobblestone patio enjoying the last of summer’s warm breezes
Strolled the streets of Perast, learning about the art & culture of the seaside town
Sailed to a manmade island in the inlet housing a beautiful abandoned church
There’s really no end to the draw of this charming country, and I still have such a long bucket list for the next time I return to Montenegro! To think, I may never have known about this gem of a Mediterranean destination if it wasn’t for Princess. It never fails to surprise me how much of an impact one cruise have on the rest of my life.