What a gorgeous sight!!!

[sail7seas]

I just turned on the tv to watch the Olympics and the opening to the network programming was an aerial view of Athens. In the bright sun of a gorgeous day, they showed a fabulous view of outlying (I assume it was) Pireaus....the port of Athens. There was a clear view of cruise ships tied up and they sure did look beautiful. Isn't Westerdam there?

[bobpatj]

I was hoping to see a picture of the ships there. The Westerdam and the Rotterdam are there, among others.

[ekerr19]

Wouldn't it be great to be there?????

[spcl4cs_gal]

The QM2 must be there because the US mens basketball team is using it for their hotel. :D

[flatwallet]

When we (the Westerdam) cruised into the harbor it was bad timing for us because we were had late seating and missed a lot of the entry. We had a window table and could see the fireworks, other grand ships and it truly was a glorious, gorgeous sight. Immediately after dinner, DW and I got the cameras and went to the observation deck so we could get pics.
On of our tablemates said he had noticed an American warship following us from Malta. There were police boats, cars all over the place and we could see "blue lights" and as you can imagine security was very strict.
Back to the ships..the Queen Mary II had already berthed when we got there and it was a sight to behold. Also was a Seabourne line vessel decked out in strings of lights everywhere. Just like a carnival. There were others as well and some local ferries, etc.
The Rotterdam must have arrived after the Westerdam because I wasn't aware she was there until we were on the bus to the airport. Imagine..two huge HAL ships side by side.
I'm afraid that photos do not do them justice.
It was said that the Russian Olympic delegates would be on board the Westerdam and that Putin would be there. I cannot confirm this.

[sail7seas]

flatwallet.......that sounds like a wonderful experience to have viewed. Lucky you and welcome back.


We have been fortunate to visit Athens twice (for 4-5 days each stay) and then sailed out of Piraeus the first time on "MY" Maasdam and the second time on Rotterdam. Absolutely GREAT!! Wonderful memories.

[flatwallet]

We had never been to Europe so you can imagine the wonderful trip that we had to so many places. I have not written a "trip report" and after having read some of the others it would probably be a ditto. However, I have not seen anything about the bread pudding. It is still there and sits by itself with the vanillla sauce. Very good.
The Yum Yum man was there to hand out mints and ginger after dinner and of course he went through sounding the chimes for the call to dinner.

[sail7seas]

I so remember our first trip to Europe some 25 years ago. It sure made us eager to return and we have been very lucky to have returned many times. I hope you, too, will return again and again and each trip will bring you happy memories.


Glad to hear the bread pudding was offered and the darling yum yum boy is still smiling. :)

I hope you'll post more comments. Love to hear all about your cruise.

[Jacqueline]

The Westerdam is tied up alongside the Rotterdam. It is true that Putin and the Russian delegation will be on the Westerdam. It has been chartered for the duration of the Olympics. We were the last group off the ship - 12:30pm even though we were supposed to be off at 10:30 (Black 2). Still no lunch in the Lido. The staff was really going crazy ! Finally they started hamburgers at 12:30 then called our color. Meanwhile the stations were still not open inside for lunch. There seemed to be a lot of confusion over how things were to be run....The staff was uncertain.
The sail in was very exciting !

[iluvcruzin]

I agree it's beautiful. I wish I could go there. I have a wide screen HDTV and have been watching it in High-Def. It's absolutely GEORGEOUS! I saw cruise ships but don't know which ones they were. I'm sort of bad on that from a distance. I think I want to go to Greece now as it looks lovely. Right after I get to Rio De Janerio which is a dream of mine.:)

[dakrewser]

I just turned on the tv to watch the Olympics and the opening to the network programming was an aerial view of Athens. In the bright sun of a gorgeous day, they showed a fabulous view of outlying (I assume it was) Pireaus....the port of Athens. There was a clear view of cruise ships tied up and they sure did look beautiful. Isn't Westerdam there?
It is indeed a lovely port. We welcomed in the new Milennium there after a New Year's Eve party on the old R7.....

[Aussie Gal]

We were in Athens in 1995 and sailed out of the harbour to do a Greek Island cruise. In a few weeks we will return and it will be interesting to notice the difference in the city. Once again we will sail out of Piraeus this time on the beautiful Prinsendam.

We are even staying in the same hotel as before for a few nights, the wonderful Grand Bretagne which was completely renovated last year. It will be interesting to notice all the changes.

Jennie

[thulewx]

I wonder which cabin Putin was in - I would imagine they put him in one of the penthouses, but I read someplace that he was in the cabinnext to the Ship's Captain...
Gee - maybe next February I'll be sleep in the bed that Putin slept in :D
Big whoopie... :rolleyes:

[Globaliser]

I was hoping to see a picture of the ships there. The Westerdam and the Rotterdam are there, among others.Have a look at this photo album (http://www.*****************/travelpage/aspgallery/view_ad.asp?Ad_ID=1476), and also the other albums that come up on this search results page (http://www.*****************/travelpage/aspgallery/search.asp?CatLevel=&Cat1_ID=&Cat2_ID=&Cat3_ID=&Cat4_ID=&SearchText=athens+2004).

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were also lucky to catch the beginning of the Olympics last night and saw the shot of the cruise ships. It was great.

Boy, flatwallet, what a sight you saw that last evening on the Westerdam.

[dst]

Interesting view wasn't it. We are in the process of planning a cruise thru the Greek Islands next summer (for my 40th Birthday!) So seeing all these wonderful sights has been an inspiration.

[jhannah]

Shoot! I missed it. I watched the beginning of coverage, but I didn't see the ships. Oh well ... I'll be there before long and can see first-hand all the places they've been showing this week. I can hardly wait!

[dakrewser]

We, by chance, watched the shot put which took place at the original (i.e., 2500 year old) stadium in Olympia where the games were first held and which we visited while cruising a few years ago. It was raining the day we were there but it was awe inspiring at the time, and even more so when watching an actual Olympic event there! Pix are here (http://vquill.com/gallery/olymppark.html). Note the arch on the bottom right - the same one this week's athletes used to enter the stadium.:)

[jdrblue]

I've been watching the Olympics with great interest. We were there on the Westerdam last May. I have seen several TV shots of the cruise ships. It has been impossible to discern the name of the ships and I haven't heard the commentators discuss them. I understand there is a tremendous amount of harbor security. Maybe NBC was asked to not discuss any particulars such as who is staying on what ships.

We too enjoyed Olympia. The port stop is Katakolon. Our port lecturer kind of played down Olympia. She said it was a pretty setting but not otherwise impressive. By the time we arrived at Katakolon we had already seen a lot of very impressive ancient ruins. We decided we would take it easy that day and just look around Katakolon. There wasn't much there so we took a cab to Olympia. That turned out to be a good decision. We found ancient Olympia to be a highlight of our cruise. We wished we had more time and would have liked to have spent some time in the modern town of Olympia. If you get the chance, don't miss Olympia.

[dakrewser]

We too enjoyed Olympia. The port stop is Katakolon. Our port lecturer kind of played down Olympia.

Due to rough seas we couldn't dock at Katakolon, but the captain put on the steam and we landed at Patras instead. Its about 100 km farther from Olympia which meant having to leave on the tour at 8 instead of 9. Even though it was mostly raining, it was still worth it. Since the site has been continuously occupied since the 8th century BC, the museum is fascinating (see pix here (http://vquill.com/gallery/olympmuseum.html)), including samples of "souvenirs" that the ancient Greeks could buy at the Olympic games! :)

[bobpatj]

Wow! Thanks so much for the pictures.

[dakrewser]

Wow! Thanks so much for the pictures.

You're very welcome. Pix are more fun when you can share! :)