Friday, October 17, 2025

Cruise Day #7 - Bar, Montenegro

Good Morning, Bar, Montenegro!


It’s 8 a.m. here as I write this, and the forecast shows an 80% chance of rain today. This is our first time in Bar, though not our first visit to Montenegro — we’ve been to nearby Kotor many times. Apparently, the Sun Princess is too large to navigate through the narrow fjord-like passage leading into Kotor.

We decided to skip the Sanctuary Restaurant for breakfast and indulge instead in one of our favorite morning treats — the Princess Almond Croissant — available only at the International Café during breakfast.

They do serve a mini version in the dining room, but it’s just not the same! These croissants are often raved about on the Cruise Critic forums (owned and operated by TripAdvisor).

We found a cozy spot beside the International Café, overlooking the three-story Piazza, and enjoyed our cappuccinos and croissants while watching the ship come alive for the day.
We plan to head ashore around 10 a.m. to explore the town at a leisurely pace — rain gear in hand and ready for whatever the weather brings!
Exploring Bar, Montenegro (Briefly!)

The only nice thing I can say about our two-hour walk around Bar is that we managed to beat the rain! Unfortunately, the city itself has little to offer—it’s rather bleak and lacks any real charm. It feels frozen in time, reminiscent of a pre-Yugoslavian era, with not much having changed since the early 1990s.










To reach the city, you must take a complimentary shuttle bus from the ship. The ride through the dilapidated port gives you a pretty good preview of what awaits in town. As we stepped off the bus, we were greeted by a crowd of tour operators and taxi drivers—most of them promoting day trips to Kotor, about a 90-minute drive each way. In our humble opinion, unless you plan to visit Kotor, you’re probably better off enjoying a quiet, relaxing day on the ship! Having visited Kotor several times, we can say without hesitation that it has true character—its old town is absolutely worth seeing.

One site in Bar that might have been worth visiting is the Castle of King Nikolas, built in 1885. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovation—though there wasn’t a single “renovator” in sight!



And now for today’s “unforgettable” travel moment: on our short 15-minute shuttle ride into town, a woman (I hesitate to call her a “lady”) sitting across from us began flossing her teeth! This joins the ranks of other cringe-worthy moments we’ve witnessed while traveling—like the woman we once saw clipping her toenails on a couch just outside the Crown Grill restaurant. Honestly… where do these people come from?

Since we didn’t find a suitable restaurant for lunch in Bar, we returned to the ship and enjoyed lunch at Alfredo’s Pizzeria. We both started with the minestrone soup, which was excellent. 
Debbie ordered a Margherita pizza, while I went with the Pizza Bianca — a delicious combination of Alfredo sauce, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and arugula. Delizioso! 
Princess really knows how to make outstanding pizza!

For dinner, we dined in the Sanctuary Restaurant. We both began with the Cream of Porcini Mushroom Soup, which was exceptionally well made. 

I followed with Oysters Rockefeller and Chili Rellenos, 

while Debbie enjoyed the Pan-Seared Flounder — she devoured every bite!
Debbie just viewed the blog and said that my photos made Bar look much nicer than it really was! I have to take lousier photos!  🤣

Tomorrow, we’ll be visiting one of our favorite ports, Corfu, Greece.


Cruise Day #11 - Turnaround Day in Civitavecchia

Today we are in Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, which is about 44 miles away.  Over the years, we’ve spent quite a bit of time exploring R...