Aussie Gal
November 3rd, 2004, 05:36 PM
We arrived in Athens at 6.30am two days prior to our departure. It was a beautiful sunny morning which seemed to set the tone for the rest of our trip. The Paraplegic games had just finished in Athens and we were greeted with a small gift of a CD of Greek music upon our arrival. A lovely memento of our stay there.
We went straight to our hotel – The Grand Bretagne - and were fortunate to be given a front room overlooking the square and the Acropolis. What wonderful luck!
On the Sunday morning before we left for the ship, we watched the changing of the guard just across the road at Parliament House. We started chatting to a lady also watching and it turned out she was also on our cruise. The Prinsendam is such a good size we often bumped into Marjorie after that and had a chat.
We took a taxi down to Piraeus around 11.45am and there were very few people waiting to go on board. We went through the formalities within five minutes and were on board by 12 noon. All the cabins and suites were ready at 12 so we were taken by a white gloved steward to our SS suite and immediately felt at home. The one big advantage of the Prinsendam are the fantastic walk in wardrobes. There is so much room for your clothes. We have Samsonite Oyster suitcases and both of these were able to go under our huge bed. I did ask our steward for an egg crate mattress to go on the bed and also for a lounge to be put on our balcony. These were attended by 5pm that afternoon and we had wonderful sleeps. There was a ton of room on the balcony for both the lounge and the two wicker chairs and table. We took the laundry package which was $95 for the 13 days and well worth every penny.
I also looked at the Suites on the last day and the difference between the S and the SS is the extra space in the sitting area as they have two lounges. The bathrooms in the S and SS are exactly the same.
We left Piraeus at 5pm and sailed for Istanbul. The next day was our first day at sea and also our first formal night. Captain Haile Thon Gundersen made a wonderful, witty speech at the cocktail party and welcomed everyone on board. He went through all the nationalities which were many. U.S. passengers were the most with 50%. The rest comprised passengers from Canada, Great Britain, Spain, Panama, South Americans, Netherlands, Australia, South Africa, Germany and Belgium. A very International mix. There was a huge percentage of dinner suits amongst the men. Most of the passengers were very experienced travellers and had seen a lot of the world.
The next day we docked in Istanbul. That night we left for the Black Sea. Around 8pm the seas started to become quite choppy and it was lovely lying in bed with the feeling of the ship rolling. It was our only rough night. Next day we tendered in Nessebur and it was quite a difficult operation. We all had to take our time getting on board the tenders as the waves were quite big, but the crew were wonderful and everyone who wanted to go ashore managed to.
We visited Yalta and Odessa the next two days and we tied up in both ports. We had a band greet us in both ports as they do need tourists in these areas desperately. In Odessa the band appeared again about an hour before we left and serenaded us until we were quite a way from the shore.
We had a welcome sea day the next day and again it was another formal night. We passed again through the Bosphorous Strait and the Dardanelles, on our way to Kusadasi. The next day we spent an enjoyable day in Kusadasi and sailed for Santorini at 6.00pm.
We awoke the next morning in the caldera in Santorini. Again we were tendered but this time the sea was so calm. We spent a lovely day on this magical island and left at 6.00pm on our way north to Dubrovnik.
We had another sea day and that night was the Mariners Party. It was a semi formal night of which we only had two, though I found the ladies on board dressed up really well even for the casual nights.
We were in Dubrovnik the next day and Split the one after. The last formal night was the night we left Split and of course we had the lobster and the bomb alaskas. Even though we would be on board another night as we would be anchored in Venice, it really was the farewell night as a lot of passengers were out on gondoliers the next night and weren’t at dinner.
We sailed into Venice the next morning. I got up at 6.15am that morning and have taken the most wonderful photos of our sailing up the lagoon and past San Marco’s square. It was great to be in Venice but it was sad to know our wonderful cruise was just about over. We all went off to see Venice and if one hadn’t said their good bye’s it really was a bit late as there were very few people around for dinner that night.
The next day we left the ship for good. Disembarkation was a breeze. We left the ship and we were bussed to the terminal, though we could have walked it as it was only about 200 metres away. In fact we had walked into Venice the day before. At the terminal where we collected our luggage there was a desk where one could book the water taxi and we were able to share the trip with another couple and save money as were all staying on in Venice another couple of days.
This cruise was what we had expected. Wonderful weather, interesting ports, friendly people on board and sailing with a great captain and crew. The food was the best we have eaten on a ship and nothing was too much trouble. The entertainment was the one thing that could have been better. To us the chorus/dancers were abysmal and after watching them for 15 minutes or so, we would go to bed as we were on late sitting and needed our sleep. The artists brought on board were very good and well worth watching. We also are fortunate we had a verandah as we used it such a lot due to the terrific weather.
Now that we are home it seems like a lovely dream. We met some great people from around the world and we have many fond memories of that delightful cruise. We are now looking forward to the next.
Jennie.
We went straight to our hotel – The Grand Bretagne - and were fortunate to be given a front room overlooking the square and the Acropolis. What wonderful luck!
On the Sunday morning before we left for the ship, we watched the changing of the guard just across the road at Parliament House. We started chatting to a lady also watching and it turned out she was also on our cruise. The Prinsendam is such a good size we often bumped into Marjorie after that and had a chat.
We took a taxi down to Piraeus around 11.45am and there were very few people waiting to go on board. We went through the formalities within five minutes and were on board by 12 noon. All the cabins and suites were ready at 12 so we were taken by a white gloved steward to our SS suite and immediately felt at home. The one big advantage of the Prinsendam are the fantastic walk in wardrobes. There is so much room for your clothes. We have Samsonite Oyster suitcases and both of these were able to go under our huge bed. I did ask our steward for an egg crate mattress to go on the bed and also for a lounge to be put on our balcony. These were attended by 5pm that afternoon and we had wonderful sleeps. There was a ton of room on the balcony for both the lounge and the two wicker chairs and table. We took the laundry package which was $95 for the 13 days and well worth every penny.
I also looked at the Suites on the last day and the difference between the S and the SS is the extra space in the sitting area as they have two lounges. The bathrooms in the S and SS are exactly the same.
We left Piraeus at 5pm and sailed for Istanbul. The next day was our first day at sea and also our first formal night. Captain Haile Thon Gundersen made a wonderful, witty speech at the cocktail party and welcomed everyone on board. He went through all the nationalities which were many. U.S. passengers were the most with 50%. The rest comprised passengers from Canada, Great Britain, Spain, Panama, South Americans, Netherlands, Australia, South Africa, Germany and Belgium. A very International mix. There was a huge percentage of dinner suits amongst the men. Most of the passengers were very experienced travellers and had seen a lot of the world.
The next day we docked in Istanbul. That night we left for the Black Sea. Around 8pm the seas started to become quite choppy and it was lovely lying in bed with the feeling of the ship rolling. It was our only rough night. Next day we tendered in Nessebur and it was quite a difficult operation. We all had to take our time getting on board the tenders as the waves were quite big, but the crew were wonderful and everyone who wanted to go ashore managed to.
We visited Yalta and Odessa the next two days and we tied up in both ports. We had a band greet us in both ports as they do need tourists in these areas desperately. In Odessa the band appeared again about an hour before we left and serenaded us until we were quite a way from the shore.
We had a welcome sea day the next day and again it was another formal night. We passed again through the Bosphorous Strait and the Dardanelles, on our way to Kusadasi. The next day we spent an enjoyable day in Kusadasi and sailed for Santorini at 6.00pm.
We awoke the next morning in the caldera in Santorini. Again we were tendered but this time the sea was so calm. We spent a lovely day on this magical island and left at 6.00pm on our way north to Dubrovnik.
We had another sea day and that night was the Mariners Party. It was a semi formal night of which we only had two, though I found the ladies on board dressed up really well even for the casual nights.
We were in Dubrovnik the next day and Split the one after. The last formal night was the night we left Split and of course we had the lobster and the bomb alaskas. Even though we would be on board another night as we would be anchored in Venice, it really was the farewell night as a lot of passengers were out on gondoliers the next night and weren’t at dinner.
We sailed into Venice the next morning. I got up at 6.15am that morning and have taken the most wonderful photos of our sailing up the lagoon and past San Marco’s square. It was great to be in Venice but it was sad to know our wonderful cruise was just about over. We all went off to see Venice and if one hadn’t said their good bye’s it really was a bit late as there were very few people around for dinner that night.
The next day we left the ship for good. Disembarkation was a breeze. We left the ship and we were bussed to the terminal, though we could have walked it as it was only about 200 metres away. In fact we had walked into Venice the day before. At the terminal where we collected our luggage there was a desk where one could book the water taxi and we were able to share the trip with another couple and save money as were all staying on in Venice another couple of days.
This cruise was what we had expected. Wonderful weather, interesting ports, friendly people on board and sailing with a great captain and crew. The food was the best we have eaten on a ship and nothing was too much trouble. The entertainment was the one thing that could have been better. To us the chorus/dancers were abysmal and after watching them for 15 minutes or so, we would go to bed as we were on late sitting and needed our sleep. The artists brought on board were very good and well worth watching. We also are fortunate we had a verandah as we used it such a lot due to the terrific weather.
Now that we are home it seems like a lovely dream. We met some great people from around the world and we have many fond memories of that delightful cruise. We are now looking forward to the next.
Jennie.