One Day in Istanbul Cruise Port

Day 6 of the Sun Princess Mediterranean Cruise was spent in Galataport in Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

Here’s how we spent one day in Istanbul on a cruise ship, exploring on foot.

Come along!

Steampunk Sculptures by Mustafa Tuğrul

Shortly after disembarking, these steampunk-esque bird sculptures caught my eye, their designer being Mustafa Tuğrul.

Prince Islands Ferry from Istanbul

Just off the coast of Istanbul is an archipelago of 9 islands — Prince’s islands — to which you can catch a ferry from near the port.

Architecture in Istanbul, Turkey

Stepping off the cruise ship in Istanbul, it’s immediately obvious you’re discovering a new culture by the architecture alone.

Let’s take a walk around Istanbul together!

Nişantaşı, a neighborhood with upscale, boutique shopping.

Maçka Park Istanbul (aka Cat Park)

We made our way all the way to Maçka park which is known for having a huge population of stray cats.

It was very cute, with many kittens around, but it was also sad to see empty beer bottles around and some rough looking cats, like our one-eyed friend in the last photo.

Galata Simitçisi

Before heading back onto the ship we wanted to try some local simit — a round bread with sesame seeds so we stopped at Galata Simitçisi, where I think Mark Wiens may have visited before.

We also tried a type of sweet bread with dried fruit inside.

And we wanted to get some tea, too!

Sugar cubes are always fun, aren’t they? :]

Güle Güle, Istanbul!

Bye, bye Istanbul! Until next time..

But our day wasn’t over yet. It was Gala Dinner night on Sun Princess.

Gala Dinner on Sun Princess

Not only was it Gala Dinner, but it was also our 15th wedding anniversary.

Look at this amazing wake view from our table in the Main Dining room!

Gala Dinner Menu

Princess Cruises Wine Menu with Prices

What We Ordered

Bread Basket

Creamy Tomato Soup

splash of gin and basil oil

Wedge Salad

bacon, red onion, iceberg lettuce, bleu cheese crumble

Coconut-Crusted Fried Shrimp

with micro greens and sweet & sour sauce

Land & Sea

beef tenderloin, lobster tail, béarnaise sauce, creamy mousseline potato, sautéed spinach

Chocolate Anniversary Cake

And remember we got to enjoy all of that with this view!

After dinner we hit a show in the theater…

… and grabbed a couple of chocolate chip cookies to round out the day (literally).

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