This morning, Emerald Kaia is docked in Istanbul, Türkiye. Our initial plan was to join the included excursion to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Grand Bazaar. However, it is very cold, rainy and windy today. Since we have already seen all of these sights on previous trips to Istanbul, we decided to skip the tour, stay onboard, and enjoy a relaxing day on Emerald Kaia.

You can see on the ship’s monitor, the weather looks bleak.

For lunch today, we went back to La Cucina, the ship’s lunch buffet restaurant. Today they had one of Rickee’s favorites, Fish and Chips. And, the French Fries were cooked to order, so they arrived hot and fresh.

This afternoon, we visited the Lounge where Venn is entertaining.

Tonight, we have been invited to a very special event: dinner at the Night Market. Night Market is Kaia’s specialty dining venue. The restaurant is only open for dinner and is available by reservation only. Night Market only serves eight guests and the meals are theme based. One night might be Indian, another might be Mediterranean, and so on. Tonight is Asian Night!

We are seated with our media host, Alexa, and a few other journalists, for this very special dining experience.

Below are photos of the eight different courses we enjoyed during our Night Market experience.

The dishes were creative and complex. We were able to watch the chef prepare each dish and he went into detail describing each dish. This is one of the most unique dining experiences at sea and one that should not be missed. The cost to dine at Night Market is approximately $75 per person. Dining is complimentary for guests in Owner’s Suite and Chairman’s Club Members enjoy a 25% discount.

A Massage and an Extravaganza

On our second day in Istanbul, we decided to treat ourselves to a massage. Rickee and I donned our bathrobes and headed down to Deck 2 to the Elements Spa. For a small vessel with only 128 guests, the spa is very nicely equipped. They offer a full spectrum of body massage treatments, facials, manicures, pedicures and hair cuts.

I chose the 60-minute ESPA Deep Muscle Massage ($195) while Rickee chose the 60-minute ESPA Inner Calm Massage ($169). My treatment was excellent, as was Rickee’s. We both left feeling refreshed and energized. The spa has a very calming relaxation room complete with infrared warming chairs.

There is a very large dry sauna, a cold plunge and aroma therapy room.

After our massages, we felt energized enough to get off the yacht and do some exploring on our own in Istanbul. The weather is much better today. We walk through the very modern cruise terminal to access the city center.

There is a very nice cruise “mall” with modern shops, cafes and restaurants. Below, we come across one of the most elaborate pâtisseries we have ever seen.

You will find beautiful, ornate mosques everywhere in Istanbul.

We cross a couple of busy intersections and begin walking up a long hill until we come across a souvenir shop where we are able to find a refrigerator magnet to add to our collection. We walked several blocks before heading back to Emerald Kaia. We were trying to get our 10,000 steps in today. We got close, but fell a little short.

Once back on board, we decided to try the Solea Cafe for lunch where I will conduct my traditional cheeseburger test. I ordered my cheeseburger with the truffle mayonnaise while Rickee ordered hers with plain mayo. The burgers were cooked to order and perfectly so. Mine was Medium-Well (I forgot to ask for Medium), but the quality and grind of the beef was on point. The bun was toasted and the top was branded with the Emerald Cruises’ logo, a nice touch. The fries were also cooked to order and served hot and fresh. Emerald Kaia passes the cheeseburger test with flying colors!

This evening, the ship is putting on its Extravaganza Dinner Buffet in La Cucina Restaurant.

Extravaganza

We once again sat with some of our media friends and our host(ess), Alexa. The presentation of different dishes on the buffet was impressive. It is hard to imagine that such a culinary feast could be possible on a yacht with only 128 guests. There were too many dishes to photograph.

Once again, we enjoyed an excellent meal aboard Emerald Kaia with our new friends.

Sadly, tomorrow is our last day aboard Emerald Kaia. It will be a full day at sea as we sail to Athens where we will disembark and fly back to our home in Dallas.

Day 3 - 4 - Istanbul, Türkiye

A Massage and an Extravaganza

Extravaganza

Day 2 - Kepez, Turkey