At the Port of Athens

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Another beautiful day in Athens. We woke up, got dressed quickly and sauntered down into the heart of the Plaka. Our goal was to have a nice breakfast on the top of one of the hotels that we heard was a nice place to eat. It was just on the outskirts of the flea market area (which was not open during the weekdays). We finally found this hotel after about a nice 15 minute walk. However, as soon as we got there we found out that there was no breakfast served on top, only drinks at night. A bit of a bummer, not only because we went out of our way to get there, but also because we were looking forward to the rooftop dining experience. However, after looking at that particular area of town, I really don’t think we would have missed much. Traffic is very heavy and there seems to be a fair amount of diesel fuel that fills the air with an unpleasant smell. We headed back into the Plaka and ate at a lovely outdoor café where there are no cars and diesel fuel to wreck the occasion. We enjoyed an absolutely delightful breakfast of scrambled eggs just done right , with bacon and sliced tomatoes. We also enjoyed a very memorable (albeit small) cup of cappucino coffee. It was just a gorgeous morning. From there we went back to the hotel to pack up our stuff and check out. Within about 20 minutes we had everything together and had checked out of the hotel, except we left our bags in storage so that we could view some of the sights in Athens including the temple of Zeus and of course The Acropolis. Walking to the Temple was just a few 100 meters from the hotel and because it was on flat land, did not require much exertion. However, when it came time to walk up to the Acropolis, mom just couldn’t make it. Her feet had been swollen the last couple of days, she was feeling exhausted and has arthritis in her knees. Those three things just was a bit too much to make it up the very steep walk up. Quite frankly I don’t know how some of the elderly people make it up there. I took a photo of a man in his walker heading up the hill. I really had no idea how he managed to move himself around, especially once he got to the top. The top is very rocky, there are many slippery spots where the ground is marble. If it was even raining just a little bit, the area would be treacherous. It was however, great exercise for me. My mom told me to have a look myself and take lots of photos. I did just that. Wow, what an incredible sight. I managed to find some fellow Albertans who took my photo on top. I was so pleased to get a photo with me in the photograph. It was so beautiful up there, even amongst the considerable reconstruction that they are doing to improve the sight. I was in awe of the sheer size of the marble. Those Greeks must have been Gods! What a place! Also, I should mention that the view of Athens was spectacular from there.

I met my mom at the bottom and we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags. It was time to head towards the ship. We were excited. The taxi arrived at the hotel in record time and dropped us off at the cruise ship terminal. Wow… some big ships were there, but none as big as ours! We just dropped our jaws when we saw how large our ship was. Amazing. The Norweigan Jewel holds over 2500 passengers! I took a nice little video to get the feeling of it. From downtown Athens to the port cost us 15.00 Euros via taxi. Our driver was nice and efficient. Staff from the ship greeted us at our vehicle and made us feel immediately welcomed. We then headed to the check-in terminal which was absolutely easy and flawless. There were no problems with check-in whatsoever and within minutes we were heading outside towards the ship. Before we got to the shi we were photographed as they do with all passengers heading on board. As we headed toward the grand ship, staff greeted us and sprayed our hands as they do with all passengers to prevent germs. I find that spray rather annoying and not necessarily effective at doing anything. However, it is standard practice on most cruise ships I hear.

Wow… we were on board! The first thing you see are elevators of which there are 13 floors to choose from. Our rooms were on the 10th floor. When we entered the room, there was party decorations that read “Bon Voyage”. There was even a decorated layer cake with bon voyage written on it. What a welcome. The stateroom was very nice. But the real treat was the sliding doors to the balcony. That was by far the best! I decided to take out my laptop and see if I could connect to a network. It was no trouble and I was able to log in. However, I found out later that it was not free. Good thing I didn’t stay on too long, but I did stay on long enough to get charged more than I wanted to. Oh well, live and learn. I will not post every day, but perhaps every second day to avoid getting overcharged. I will also not load photographs until I can get free internet access at ports.

At about 4:30 there was an announcement on board that said that we needed to get our lifejackets and do a fire drill. As mom was tired and not up to doing that, we sat down and figured out how to do the life jackets. Well actually mom did, I sat down on the computer and uploaded photos. At 5:10, I looked outside the balcony and noticed people were heading away from the ship with their suitcases. Apparently they missed the deadline to get on and were not able to get onboard. I could see how angry they were and I felt their pain. Yikes. I have no idea what the circumstances were, but they were a good 10 minutes late from the final deadline. This ship as with all cruise ships do not wait for passengers if they are late, unless it is a cruise ship group tour. Very unfortunate for those people, but a deadline is a deadline.

It was time to start exploring the ship and getting a bite to eat. We were able to check out the Garden Café. The café was amazing. There was so much good food, our eyes just widened to all the choices. From Indian dishes to beautiful salads to roast lamb to fresh stirfrys. You name it… it was there. Alcohol is extra which is charged directly to your room key. We had a light snacking of food and did a little tour of the ship. Wow! It’s so big and so beautiful. I just couldn’t believe how fun it was. From outdoor barbeques on the deck to swimming pools and mini hot tubs, to basketball courts, it was just an amazing place to keep you interested and active.

After a little rest, some organization and a little laundry, yes, laundry (not far from our room), it was time to get ready for dinner. Both of us chose not to dress up, which was new for me as I am so used to cruising being a dressy experience. We got there and ordered exactly the same things, a smoked salmon appetizer and a lovely dish of mahi mahi. Yum yum!

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