At Sea
We managed to get to the ship with no difficulty, mostly due to the fact that it was a Saturday and the traffic was light. Another factor was the decision by dockworkers to extend the strike on ferries through Sunday, which means that there was no service from Athens to any of the islands for five full days. With no cars coming on or off ferries we had no problems and we were on the ship in under an hour from departing the hotel. From CC: Can you believe it, no ferry service for 5 days in an area that completely depends on ferries for everything? Glad we didn’t decide to spend the days leading up to the cruise on a Greek island. Back to Wm …
We had a pleasant surprise upon check-in when we were told that we had been upgraded to a mini-suite, which meant more space on the balcony and a much larger cabin than we had booked. It also came with butler service - I’ve never known what to do with a butler but it was nice to know we had one. He came as soon as we were in our cabin, explained how things worked, and immediately went to get us two ice-cold glasses of Champagne. A great way to start the cruise. We sipped our Champagne on the balcony and marveled at how quiet things were in the port with all the ferries idle.
We unpacked and stored everything, lots of space available, and soon we were ready to explore the ship. This is a very small ship, which is what we enjoy. Only about 650 passengers, which means it can get in and out of smaller ports of call without having to use tenders to get folks from the ship to the shore. The ship is filled with dark wood and carefully maintained brass fittings so it has a very club-like feel in all the common rooms. Our cabin is light and airy and non-claustrophobic, which is a very definite plus for me. I always marvel at how well designed these cabins are in terms of no wasted space. We even have a TV that gets all the news stations including BBC 24/7 due to the satellite TV system installed on this ship.
We had the mandatory life boat drill conducted by a gentleman with a very proper British accent. At one point he was talking about the man overboard procedures and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why it would be of any value to throw the person overboard a bar of soap! Cindy explained that the Brits call a life ring a lifebuoy and with his accent it sounded like Lifeboy to me. We returned to our cabin and got dressed for dinner, which for us starts at 8:15. There are two seatings, one at 6 pm, and then the late seating. We picked a bar for our before dinner drink and we were only one of three couples in the bar at 7:30. Most of the other ships we have been on would have had full bars at this hour but this is an older crowd and they don’t seem to be bar flies.
I had requested a table for two but when we got to the dining room I found that we had been placed at a table for four, and I could see that the other couple that were sitting there already were certainly not our style. The Maitre D’ was sympathetic but explained that there were only a certain number of tables for two and they were filled. Both Cindy and I were dressed well, far better than anyone else in the room and we both noticed that the Maitre D’ was Italian so we spoke to him in Italian and he asked us to step away for a moment and very quickly he came over to us and announced a table for two for that evening since one couple had missed the boat. It was a perfect table and he came over several times to make sure all was okay. On one occasion he came back and said he had a table for six for the next night but we would be the only ones there. The next night we arrived, well dressed again and bearing a thank you gift for him and he proudly announced that our table for two from yesterday was now ours for the remainder of the trip. This was a godsend since we have noticed that everyone on board seems to want to chatter and most talk more than they listen. From CC: Wm was shocked, simply shocked, when I confirmed for him the fact that many people take cruises in order to get to know their fellow travelers. He just shakes his head in dismay at the thought of someone actually enjoying a conversation with a stranger. Back to Wm … the good news is that I am perfectly content to converse with Cindy all day every day.
The food, service, and wine list in the restaurant are all excellent and it is a very comfortable space with well-paced service of the various courses. As with most ships, the waiters are all Filipinos and are extremely friendly, humorous, and well trained. We retired to a quiet bar for an after-dinner drink and were disappointed to discover that there was no dancing music being played. There was music, but no dancing music. Which just meant that we got to bed earlier than anticipated so we were quite refreshed when we pulled into Patmos the next morning.
Patmos is Greek for, “ If you have nothing better to do.” Since this is a Holy Land cruise I’m assuming that we stopped here because it is believed that Saint John received his revelation in a cave here, but scholars are really only sure that it was someone named John, not at all sure which John they are talking about. The island is typically Greek, white washed houses with blue shutters, lots of shoreline lined with cafes, tavernas and fishing boats. It was a Sunday and we enjoyed walking around the island, sitting in the main square and watching extended families milling about and settling in to their favorite café for coffee and conversation. The place was awash in little children, all of whom where quite active and vocal, but then again, this is Greece and it was good theater. There is a lovely monastery, which looks more like a fort, at the very top of a hill. The closest we got to it was with a telephoto lens, but that seemed to be all we really needed. We headed back to the ship on the tender, which made us feel like we were indeed close to the water, all very romantic and invigorating. Here are a few photos, which again say Ephesus, but should say Patmos.
Until our next free Wi-Fi stop, Cindy and Wm
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