This was the second cruise Pam and I shared. We agreed that we wanted to visit the Greek Isles and Royal Olympic offered what we wanted - "Three Continent Grand Cruise", a cruise with several ports of call. The itinerary included
Greek islands of Europe; Cairo, Egypt, in Africa;
and Istanbul, Turkey, in Asia. Memories of walking
the rutted cart paths of Ephesus and standing at the Parthenon
remain strong.
PRE- AND POST-CRUISE TRANSPORTATION
We opted to have RO take care of all travel arrangements. We were booked on a Delta 777 out of Cleveland, through JFK and into Athens. Connections were ideal. In Athens we passed through passport control, collected our luggage and were taken by bus to Piraeus, Athens' port. We had a three-hour wait before embarkation would begin, and the cruise line provided water and orange juice for us. True to our escort's word, since we were the first group to arrive for the cruise, we were also the first to board.
Our return home on a Delta 767 was equally ho-hum.
THE SHIP
The Voyager, new four months ago, is a ship that can accommodate 800 passengers. The décor is simple, and shades of blue and orange predominate.
Vibration has always been part of the cruise experience, but it was a distinct aggravation on the Voyager. The vibration was always present when we were in motion and became impossible to ignore, especially in the dining room, when table conversation had to compete with the rattling of stacked china. We equated the noise with riding over rumble strips or on the rim of a flat tire.
Our cabin on deck four was adequate in size. We asked the stewardess to make the queen-size bed into twin beds. Although the beds were pushed together during the day, the bedspread mysteriously disappeared the first night and the beds took on the daytime appearance of army cots. Cabin amenities included a small closet, corner settee, mini refrigerator stocked with soda and bottled water, a vanity and cabinets for storage. The bedside tables had two drawers each. There were 220 (bathroom) and 110 (at the vanity) outlets. A hair dryer was also provided in the bathroom and a safe was in the closet. The TV carries the BBC news channel in addition to a movie channel and some Greek language programming. Immediately after boarding, we opened our shipboard accounts and visited the dining room to reserve table seating for dinner. (Breakfast and lunch are open seating.) Since we were among the first on the ship, seating selection was not a problem. Although I would have preferred eating early in the evening, the length of some shore excursions would have complicated our being appropriately dressed for early seating.
The dining room is divided into three sections and is attractive in its decorative simplicity. Although I am not a gourmet, I found entrée selections adequate. (I hope that someday the head chef will deign to have prime rib and lobster tail on different nights.) I was unimpressed by the vegetables which were presented as mere lumps on the plate, as though an afterthought. For some reason, service at dinner was often frenetic. The cocktail service was inadequate in that on most evenings the server appeared many minutes after serving had begun and orders from the bar were delivered near the end of the meal.
Pam and I tried the dining room's breakfast buffet our first morning on the ship. The scrambled eggs and sausage were cold, as were the hash brown potatoes. Future breakfast selections were made from the menu (which did not change throughout the week), and the food was tasty as well as hot when served.
The cafeteria (Horizon Garden Lounge) is on the floor above the dining room. Although we generally preferred to eat in the dining room simply so we could be served, we found the food choices in the line to be more than satisfactory. While some cruise lines have cafeteria dessert tables with an abundant variety of selections, the Voyager's was limited to two or three plus jello.
There is also a pizza bar on the ship, but we didn't try their offerings.
ON-BOARD ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES
There were daily shipboard activities, but our shore excursions prevented our taking part in all but one of them -- an afternoon tea in the Sky Bar Disco.
Those same shore excursions usually left us ready to fall into bed following dinner, so we attended only two evening shows. Seating was reasonably comfortable and sight lines appeared to be unobstructed. I've attended more professionally presented shows on other cruises, but the ship's performers were as enthusiastic as any I've seen on other ships.
SHORE EXCURSIONS
As mentioned above, the reason we selected this particular cruise was because of the number of ports visited.
Some universally applicable observations: Souvenir hawkers were impossible to avoid or deter; a modern day plague of locusts. With the exclusion of the port in Alexandria and Cairo with its heavy cloud of smog, every town/site we visited was clean. Each guide was personable and knowledgeable. The buses we were shuttled in were clean, air conditioned and equipped with big, spotless windows.
SANTORINI - Although two tours were available, we opted to make this a do-it-yourself outing. After taking a tender to the island, we walked to the bus/cab depot where we intended to take a bus to Oia (pronounced Ee' a). However, it was Sunday and bus service was inadequate for our limited time. Thus, we hired a cab, and for an additional charge, the driver waited to drive us back to Fira while we walked through the village and did a little shopping.
Both Oia and Fira are picturesque, and we enjoyed meandering over the cobblestone walkways to visit a number of shops. Here, as well as at nearly every other shopping opportunity, shops selling gold jewelry are abundant and salesmen are willing to bargain.
CAIRO - It was important to Pam and me that we visit the pyramids, so we prebooked this excursion through our travel agent. We learned the evening prior to the tour that cameras and camcorders must be registered before they may be taken into Egypt. We completed the required paperwork prior to going to bed.
The twelve-hour tour from the port of Alexandria began with a stop at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Although the intent is worthy, the number of people visiting the museum made it impossible to get near enough to see most of the exhibits or to hear the guide's explanations. For me this was a frustrating, exasperating experience.
Following lunch at a nearby hotel, and a stop at the Mosque of Mohammed Ali, we continued on to visit the pyramids and sphinx. What an amazing experience to actually touch the stone. Also, realizing I may never have another opportunity, I rode a camel. What a hoot!
The stop at Ashdod to visit Jerusalem was cancelled due to the current conflict in Israel. Instead, the ship visited CYPRUS. Although we opted to spend the day on the ship, we heard from those who took a tour that the day was enjoyable, and none who visited the island regretted doing so.
Day four took us to RHODES. Pam and I shopped in the Old City and visited with other travelers at an outdoor café during the morning. In the afternoon we joined our tour group for a visit to the Palace of Grand Master which dates back to the 1400's and displays mosaics dating from as early as the third century. Following a walk down the cobblestone Street of the Knights and through a portion of the Old City, we boarded our bus and drove up to a restored church on Philerimos.
On Thursday afternoon we docked in ISTANBUL. Our first tour stop was the Hagia Sophia. First a church, then a mosque and now a museum undergoing restoration, it is an architectural and artistic marvel. Next we visited Topkapi, the palace of sultans. On display are several ceremonial garments and jewels of various rulers. Among the pieces is a diamond encrusted gold dessert set. Then it was on to the Blue Mosque, which is similar to the Mosque of Mohammed Ali and Hagia Sophia, but on a much larger scale. Unfortunately it was dark when we arrived and we were unable to see the blue hue which is enhanced by the daylight on the interior tiles. After our final stop for a demonstration of Turkish rug making and an opportunity purchase one, we had a short time to visit the Grand Bazaar, a souvenir shopper's paradise.
In keeping with the tour-a-day routine, our next day found us in KUSADASI. We began at the house of the Virgin Mary, and then went to Ephesus, an archeological trip beyond description and expectations. It was truly an unbelievable walk back in time, and I concur entirely with the "don't miss this tour" recommendation of the Voyager's staff.
That afternoon we sailed on to MYKONOS for an evening visit. Excursions of the island had been discontinued for the balance of the cruise season, but we were told that this island resembles Santorini ... it lacks only the cliffs. The evening was warm and those who tendered to the shore ambled along the shore walk, stopped for dinner or a snack and visited shops.
On day eight we were back in ATHENS. We'd extended our stay by two days in order to visit sites around the city. While being bussed to our hotel (The Metropolitan, formerly Chandris), our guide mentioned that a tour of Athens was scheduled later that morning and encouraged us to let him know if we'd like to participate. Therefore, shortly after checking in, we headed out with other tourists to see the city.
We drove by many public buildings of classical design and eventually found our way to the Acropolis where we spent close to two hours photographing the Parthenon, Erechtheion and museum.
The Metropolitan Hotel is south of the city and has a shuttle bus that runs between the Plaka and hotel every half-hour. (Schedules were available at the front desk.) The breakfast buffet was included in our post-cruise package. The buffet included fruit, juice, cereal, cheese, breads, meats and eggs. We also ate our dinners in the hotel dining room, and were pleased with the service and food. Although our room was smaller than its US equivalent, amenities included a desk, mini-bar, settee and hair dryer.
On our final day, Sunday, we visited the Plaka, a quaint shopping area at the foot of the Acropolis. Shop after shop offered more gold jewelry, t-shirts, and leather. We lunched at a sidewalk café before returning to the pick-up point to meet the shuttle for our return to the hotel. Our timing was ideal, and we were fortunate to see the changing of the guard.
WEATHER
Between arrival on Saturday and departure ten days later, we had sunny skies. Rain threatened one evening, but never fell. Daytime temperatures were consistently in the upper 60's to low 70's. Slacks and short-sleeved shirts (with a light jacket for early morning and late evening) were ideal.
SUMMARY
A review of this cruise posted a few weeks ago made some suggestions, and I concur:
Although our weather was cool this late in the cruise season, bottled water should always be taken on excursions longer than a few hours. It's available on the ship and one bottle per person was provided free of charge on the day we visited the pyramids.
$1 bills should be on your packing list. How many? I took one hundred but brought home fifty.
We did not take drachmas with us. The ship has an equitable exchange rate and we each exchanged $25, some of which was used for the cable car and taxi on Santorini. I think we could have made all inexpensive souvenir purchases with dollars. MasterCard and Visa were welcome everywhere. I was surprised at the amount of walking the excursions required. Heed the brochure's warnings, for they're accurate. The cobblestone paths on Santorini are quaint and attractive, but they are also undulating, and if you're the least bit out of condition, you'll know it the following day!
Pam and I discussed the benefits of pre- vs post-cruise extensions. Considering the time change (seven hours), I would have liked a day to reset my mental clock or at least get some sleep before beginning the cruise. Conversely, Pam felt that having the two days at the end of the cruise gave us time to unwind. Extra days before AND after the cruise would have been ideal. We both agree that you should try to see Athens while you're there.
Finally, was I satisfied with the cruise? Yes, because it provided a means to visit a number of notable sites. In fact, the tours exceeded my expectations.
