Monday Aboard Seabourn Odyssey: Kusadasi, Turkey for Ephesus

This is probably the port I've been most looking forward to since boarding Seabourn Odyssey. We're docking in Kusadasi, Turkey as our home base to visit the ancient Roman ruins of Ephesus.

Here's our game plan for the day: wake up early and enjoy breakfast in our suite (hopefully on our veranda). Then we'll join our Seabourn shore excursion. We booked "Deluxe Ephesus: Terrace Houses & Celsus Library."

The two-hour walk covers:

• Celsus Library facade
• 25,000-seat Grand Amphitheatre
• Temple of Hadrian
• Temple of Artemis
• Terrace Houses, a newly excavated section
• Time to visit Kusadasi for a bit of shopping

We'll return to the ship after the tour and enjoy the pool for a bit before getting ready for our "Exclusively Seabourn" complimentary event: an evening reception at Ephesus. We'll step back into the Roman Empire as we enjoy cocktails, canapes, and classical music during a private after-hours party.

With such a full day, we may not be able to post again until later this evening. Gule gule! ("goodbye", in Turkish)

Don't miss our Seabourn Odyssey blog posts, Twitter tweets, YouTube videos, and LuxuryCruiseBible.com articles.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Temple of Hadrian photo courtesy of iStockPhoto.com