Blogs from Mediterranean, Oceans and Seas - page 5

Odessa to Athens Odessa was very cold. I think someone said it was in the low thirties. Luckily, we had decided to go to the ballet, so we were not too cold even though the building was not very warm. The ballet was really very good and we enjoyed it. The city itself is about one step up from Constanta, Romania. The Potemkin steps are quite a sight as an entrance to the city from the port. The buildings are beautiful, but need cleaning and some repair. However, it is wealthier than Constanta although both are large sea ports on the Black Sea. Odessa is larger. From there we cruised through the Dardanelles, a beautiful, narrow strait leading to the Bosporus and past Istanbul, in the daylight. We then reentered the Mediterranean Sea and headed to ... read more

Today is September the 11th. On board right now we have over 1000 American guests. We carry several american news networks on our onboard TV channels, all of which are doing memorials for the World Trade Centre. I remember where I was, at school in the reception area. Where were you? 9/11 Dont ever forget.... read more

Our day began with a room service breakfast consumed on the veranda. Although outside looked cold, it was just the humidity that blanketed us in fog for the whole day. Seas were mostly mild with some slight rolling noticeable at times. Impressively, food arrived hot. After breakfast, Sharon rushed off to mass, and I completed the blog from yesterday. Then it was off to the first of two bingo sessions for the day. The Win-A-Cruise session that we missed the day before had to be rescheduled due to technical difficulties. That’s cruise-director-speak for saying that when the limit of 46 numbers for the bonus was reached, the wrong button was pushed, and the game was reset. People were not happy because not many people had attended and there was suspicion that they wanted more participants. Next ... read more

Well there isn’t much to talk about as far as onboard life goes. I’m basically finished doing deck work which means no more early mornings spent swabbing the decks. This week I’m working with the deck repairman, he is in charge of finding creative repair solutions for deck equipment, completing hot work (welding, grinding, etc), and checking inspecting things like tanks and structures. On the 31st I’ll be starting work in the engine room, and I have no idea what I’ll be doing. A week later I’ll finally be working on the bridge. When we were in Civitavecchia 4 of us took the train to Rome. We accidentally boarded an Intercity Train instead of a Regional train which caused us to pay 8 euros more than our 9 euro ticket when our tickets got checked. Rome ... read more

Hi everyone, Last full day on our fantastic cruise - arrive in Barcelona tomorrow morning at 5am and can disembark anytime from 5.30 - 9am. Looks like an early morning for all of us - at least we're independent and don't have to have bags ready for pick up by 10pm tonight. We've been at sea yesterday and today and the day before that we spent at Iraklion (Crete) - what a great place for a holiday - we both absolutely loved it. We had the best time and will go back there again thats for sure! We had a great taxi driver which cost us $EU30 to go see more historical rocks and yet the cruise recommended a tour which would have cost us around $EU180 each!! All the taxis here are the latest Mercededs!! ... read more