Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, or so we have been told. In spite of that declaration, I have never been much of a breakfast eater. That said, even I was lured in by the impressive breakfast offerings on Emerald Kaia. There is an extensive menu of made-to-order items.

In addition to the a la carté menu, there is an extensive breakfast buffet.

This has to be the nicest buffet presentation I have ever seen on any cruise.

I did enjoy some items from the buffet and a few from the breakfast menu. In fact, I made a short video about my breakfast experience and you can view that on our YouTube channel.

After breakfast, I decided to go up to Deck 6 aft to check out the Aqua Pool and Cafe. It is rather cool on our cruise so the pool is not getting a lot of use on this trip. The Aqua Cafe offers al fresco seating for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The Aqua Pool is an infinity-edge pool complete with two large floating pillows and a curved bench underwater where you can sit and enjoy the view.

For lunch today, Rickee and I decided to enjoy the buffet at La Cucina. Once again, the galley team manages to impress with a selection of delicious entrees, salads, breads and desserts. I enjoyed the Sweet & Sour pork with the Chinese Fried Rice.

Rickee opted for the roasted chicken from the carving station.

While there is not as much variety as you might find on larger cruise ships, the quality of ingredients and presentation is very elevated.

We disembark Emerald Kaia at 12:45 for our excursion: The Legendary City of Troy.

A motor coach is waiting next to the ship to transport guests to the Troy museum.

Our local guide, Ikut, was probably the most knowledgable excursion guide we have ever had in 153 cruises. He knew everything there is to know about the city of Troy. Below, he introduces us to the Troy Museum.

There is a replica of the Trojan Horse on the museum grounds that is a popular spot for photos.

There is a boardwalk that allows guests to walk around the massive ruins of Troy. Our guide was extremely thorough in his explanation of the ruins and the history of Troy.

It is amazing how these stone walls have survived for thousands of years.

While the tour was very informative, it was quite lengthy. In total, the excursion, including the Museum visit, the tour of the ruins and the round trip coach ride took about five hours.

Once back onboard Emerald Kaia, we have been invited to the Bridge to observe the ship sail away from Kepez. A quick look in the Lounge reveals a very elaborate afternoon tea with a variety of Turkish teas on offer.

We have visited many ship’s Bridges over the years, but never during a sailaway operation. It was quite interesting to watch.

Rickee gets her photo taken with Captain Ratko Paravik on the Bridge.

Our initial plan was to have dinner al fresco at Aqua Grill (Deck 6 aft) so that we could report on that experience. However, it is quite cold and windy this evening, so we decided perhaps we will try Aqua Grill at lunch one day while the ship is docked. That means a return to La Cucina for dinner this evening.

Rickee started with one of her favorites, Beef Carpaccio, as well as a Shrimp Cocktail. I decided to try the Fried Calamari and a Caesar Salad. All four dishes received high marks.

Rickee and I both opted for the Braised Beef Short Rib for our main course. The meat was fork tender and extremely flavorful.

So far, all of the food we have had the last two days has been very good. Tomorrow night we will be dining with friends at Night Market, the specialty restaurant on Emerald Kaia. Tomorrow morning, Emerald Kaia will be docked in Istanbul, Turkey.

Day 2 - Kepez, Turkey

Day 1 - Embarkation in Kusadasi, Turkey