Eschew

Arrived at Athens today. Staying at the Classic Baby Grand Hotel, part of the SLH group (Small Luxury Hotel of the world) The hotel is as advertised ... unique. Front desk is made from a pair of cut up Austin Minis, and the walls, it is unique. You have to see it to beleive it (or you can look at their web page pictures). All the rooms are nicely decorated with paintings on the wall (not a painting hanging on the wall but painted to the wall like a mural).

You have to put the key card in a slot before the lights will work. You pull the card out, all the power are off. Good energy saving feature. On the drive from airport to hotel, saw a lot of solar panels on roof tops. Gasoline is 1.50 Euro a litre, which is like $10 a gallon.

The reception/lobby/front desk is on the second level. The staff is friendly and English speaking! The elevator is tiny. Barely enough to hold 4 people and only if you are really skinny. We crowded 4 people in it and the door won't close as my back pack is in the way. It said the weight limit is 450 Kg which is only 900 pounds.

After checking in, we walked to Plaka, passing the city market, the varies squares, the flea market etc. Stopped in a few old churches along the way and at the square by Plaka, saw the Acropolis at a distance. We are going to Delphi tomorrow. I think it is 2 hours bus ride there. We joined a tour and will be part of a group 40. Pick up and return at the hotel so it's all cool. Will go to Acropolis the day after, and will board the ship (Pacific Princess) after touring Acropolis.

I think I am going to try to make a post daily, or at least once every couple of days as things happens. If I leave it to write a report after I get home, well, it won't happen. Get side tracked, get busy, I'll never get around to write the trip report and then with time past, and it is old news.

Don't mind my typo and spelling as I am just not all that good at it , and without spell check, well, you get the idea.

Since I have to check work email daily anyway ... : ( ... I might as well have a bit of fun while I am on the net (on their dime).

Eschew

Good thing I have good battery life on laptop. The power convertor overheated after 1 hour and shut down. Barely charged up the battery at all.

Drivers are suicidal. I’m glad I am not driving. Saw a lot of white box with cross on top on the side of the highway. Tour guide said they are shrines for people who killed in accidents. Makes sense. Motorcycle riders with no helmets on, zipping between cars … no wonder.

Took 3 hours to get to Delphi from Athens. Bumper to bumper traffic. The Apollo’s Oracle is not what I have expected. Guide is knowledgeable and talk about both history and mythology at the site.

Made unscheduled stop at Arachova, a ski village along the way. Interesting place built on the side of the mountain. They are selling snowboards and the weather is 25C (82F?).

Food is expensive. 18 euros for breakfast. Food is good. 2 euros for coffee (no refills) Plan to spend 50 euros per person per day on 3 meals.

Greek coffees are great. Kept me and DW up all day, made it easier to adjust to time zone difference. Next stop, Acropolis, city tour and embarkation.

ParrotMom

ESCHEW==do you see any armed guards at the tourist sites yet? What is temperature?

Percy

Have a nice time at the Acropolis and don't fall over !

jacketwatch

Bad drivers eh. Reminds me of Delhi. .

Eschew

Hi Parrot Mom, armed guard at crusie terminal. That's about it. Some people even didn't get the passport stamped at the airport. They were disappointed as they have no proof to show that they were at Greece. The streets at Athens are safe. You can see police all over, just like any other major city. If you are in teh tourisst area. It's fine.

Eschew

Acropolis ... The place is jammed pack with people and we were told that this is actually a slow day. On the way up the hill, it is wall to wall people. Reminded me of boxing day in a mall. Can’t imagine what it would be like if it is any busier. The view is breath taking. You can see for miles. The new museum opened last year and it is very interesting. They ran out of certain English souvenir books already and they won’t sell me the last beat up worn down demo copy.

The restoration is on-going. It is much more impressive than Delphi. My recommendation, if you are press for time, skips Delphi. There are a whole lot more interesting things to do in Athens. We would have loved to spend more time in Plaka and the surrounding areas. If you are there in peak season, it will take more than a half day if you want to take in everything in Acropolis at leisure.

Stopped by the temple of Zeus. The Hadrian’s Arch is right there as well. The national Garden and the Parliament are along the way. Missed the changing of the guard at the Parliament. Also stopped at the ancient stadium and the academy of learning. They are all impressive. The guide said lots of things has been looted in the past with lots of old status etc. taken in Rome and other places.

Eschew

The port is in Pireas and with only 680 passengers check in is easy with zero line up. We walked up, they took the luggage at curb side, we walked inside, get the cruise card, go through security, that’s it. They kept your passport and give you a passport receipt. Make sure you made photocopies of your passport to keep with you just in case. It is not necessary but just in case something went wrong. We made a photocopy of our passport, laminated it and kept in our wallet.

Our first impression of the ship? We have mixed feelings as this is our first “small ship” cruise. DW was disappointed at first. This is an old Renaissance ship converted by Princess so it is missing a few of the Princess features that we have come to expect. I love the library. I can spend hours there. The artwork that adorned the ship is disappointing, nothing like the “real” Princess ships. They actually had mirrors instead of art work on the back staircase. If you keep comparing it to the regular Princess ships, you will be disappointed. DW also commented that the ship reminded her of the old Queen Mary with the old style décor. She missed those big atriums of the more modern ships. The stair cases, they are narrow. One thing that we really missed: anytime dining. It is not available at all.

The cabin décor is fine with a flat panel TV and a few modern features. There are 4 plug-ins with 2 for 110 and 2 for 220. All the things you need are there. The closet is smaller than what we are used to. There is still plenty of space, just not as roomy. We travel light with 1 suitcase each. For those who travels with 2 or more pieces each. You may run out of room. Suitcases can fit under the bed. We have never needed to do that on the other Princess ships but have to do it here.
Although the décor in general is “old style”, it is not “old”. For a twenty year old ship, it looks great! It’s like looking at a vintage car at a vintage show. It is shiny, it looks new, but you knew it is not new. It grows on you. We are not gamblers so we are not disappointed at the very small Casino.

We love to explorer the ship when we first get onboard. It didn’t take long this time. DW didn’t even get lost once and we found all the places and we walked everywhere. Our cabin is on Deck 7. The pool, the buffet, spa, fitness center and the usual stuff are on deck 9. Library, internet café and Sabatini are on deck 10. The cabaret, the dining room, casinos, shops are on Deck 5.

Speaking of internet, the satellite system they have is older and the connection speed is much slower than the other Princess ships. Took a long time just to send a couple emails. My connection to the office via internet explorer doesn’t work at all. Good excuse for me to not checking in on work stuff. The ship is supposed to get new internet equipment in a month’s time. Spoke to the manager of the internet café, it is interesting that he had his training on a Carnival ship. This is his first contract with Princess but he had his “test run” on a Carnival ship that do weekend cruises.

Eschew

Santorini ... Everything is great except for the light rain in the early afternoon, which we don't mind at all. We were tendered ashore on a three mast sailing boat. (No, they didn’t run up the sail.) This is the most impressive tender that I have seen. The tender took us to Athinos and bus took us to Pyrgos, the first stop. The way up is interesting and the road zigzags along the cliff. Some sections of guard rails are missing. Guide joked with the driver commenting that there must the place the driver missed the turn last time and took a tumble.

The tour took us all over including the black sand (and gravel?) beach at Kamari, which is on the other side of the island. Water is very warm and this is October. There are tiny churches all over. There is a small village with a population of 250 and they have 42 churches!

Oia (pronounced as (ee-ah) is interesting, located at the tip of the island.

Last stop was Fira, the capital. There are 3 ways to go to Skala, where the tender will take you back to the ship. You can walk down the 800 steps (20 minutes) or take the donkey ride. We walked down the path for about a minute for the view and headed back up to Fira. We also decided against the donkey ride and took the third option down, which is the cable car. As a rained a bit earlier on, the pathway was wet and slippery and brown. The brown stuff is from the donkeys as donkeys are not toilet trained. The brown stuff got mushy after the animal and people stepped on it. Some people had walked up the steps from Skala. Definitely not recommended for people not in good physical shape.

People in Santorini are very friendly, there were some pushy sales people but that’s about it. The pre-historic museum was closed due to staff strike.

jacketwatch

Small ships have their advantages too like coziness and ease of familiarity with the facilities and fellow passengers. How are the roads getting to the Acropolis? Do thy wind and tunr or are they straight? Thanks, Larry n

traveller69

Larry - roads????? You have to hoof it up!!

Eschew

Larry, they have a new facility for those who can't make it up on their own. They send someone to assess you and see if you qualify to get the free ride.

ParrotMom, if you are reading this, there are a few magnets on this crusie. More so than our previous cruises. You are going to have a field day taking down all thsoe magnets. They are eye sores to say the least. Do you put magnets on your hotel door so you knwo how to get back to your room?

Eschew

You'll porbably notice that my review section has less typos. That's becasue I use a word processor and then cut and paste to cut back on internet connection time.

Patmos’ claim to fame is St. John and the cave where he received the visions that resulted in the book of Revelations. It seems all the tours are around the saint’s Grotto and the Monastery of St. John the Theologian. If you are deeply religious, the sights are inspiring. It is interesting to note that people from the olden days are a lot shorter than modern men. At the 10th century built St. John Monastery, you will bum your head on the top of the door beams if you are not paying attention.

The Christodoulous chapel holds a lot of artefacts and wall paintings. They are also very straight about no photography. The same goes for the treasury, which is now a museum. I guess one can say that they want to protect the treasures from deterioration from the flash, or they just want to sell you the books and the DVD if you are really interested in the stuff. We have also visited a 300 year old house in Hora. The owner of the house is 9th generation on the island and is very gracious in showing her home.

We have always heard of story about poor plumbing that you are not allowed to throw toilet paper in the toilet. You wipe and then you put the toilet paper in a basket next to the you know what. Well, I have experienced it first-hand. I am impressed as it is less messy than I thought, but smelly just the same. We saw some people lined up to use the facilities, read the sign, and decided against going to do the business.

The market around the tender dock is quite clean and safe. We walked around for quite a bit and DW finally found a genuine Kourbella, which made her very happy. She had been looking for one since Santorini.
The weather was okay but it was very windy. We were warmed by several staff at the ship that the sea would be rough on the way to Kusadasi. We felt a bit of side to side motion, but overall, it wasn’t bad. We have been in much rougher water than this and no one warned us. I wonder if it is because it is on a smaller ship.

Eschew

For Kusadasi, we decided on the last minute to cancel the tour to St. John’s Basilica and Virgin Mary Shrine. We opted for the Terrace Houses instead.

We have been told all kinds of things and there are lots of rumors about quotas, the cost etc. None of them is true. The cost of entrance is 15 TL, which is about $10. They give you a 2 part ticket. One for you and one for your guide. The Terrace Houses is actually located inside Ephesus, and you have to pay admission to Ephesus to get to the Terrace Houses. We met some people who were in Turkey earlier in the year and they were refused entry to the Terrace Houses without a guide.

We were impressed by the Terrace Houses. They have restored only a handful of houses but what we saw were impressive, even by today’s standard. Imagine a house around 5th century with running water, functioning toilets, (with separate toilet for women), mosaic floors and wall paintings, marbled walls, you really have to see it to believe it. The largest house featured a meeting hall which is half doom shaped. We did not regret the decision to go to see the Terrace Houses instead of Virgin Mary Shrine.

Ephesus is better preserved than Delphi. The Amphitheatre can sit 25,000. The city itself is huge and although less than 10% has been excavated, it looks massive. The library features an underground tunnel to the brothel, or at least that’s what the guide said. It is certainly a worthwhile stop.

It is disappointing that the ship’s excursion doesn’t offer a package that takes you to St. John’s Basilica, the Virgin Mary Shrine, and ancient Ephesus including the Terrace Houses. You can see them all in about 6 hours if rushed, and 8 hours if you like a slower pace. Maybe they wanted to leave some time for you to shop.

Booking your own qualified and accredited guide and go outside of the ship’s excursion is the way to go if you want to see them all. The ship’s excursion is far too short and you are rushed from site to site.

The flea market outside ancient Ephesus is interesting as well. There is a stall that sells “genuine fake watches”. You know what you are buying … the real fake, not a phony fake.

You really have to bargain hard. The price they asked for is ridiculous. A store by the harbor wanted 25 euros for a nice cotton sweater. I bargained them down to 18 euros but no further. We decided to walk away. 4 or 5 blocks later, the same merchandise, DW had the price down to 15 euros, and the final price was 3 for 40 euros.

The handmade carpets are gorgeous. Do not go inside any carpet store for a carpet making demonstration. I repeat. Do not enter! The sales pitch is soft but the pressure to buy is there. At least they are not as bad as those selling time-shares in Florida. Complimentary beverages and pastries were offered, and of course, the price for the free beer is to sit through their sales pitch. If you have never experienced it, by all means, go see it. The silk carpets are really nice.

We decided to try local food and beverages and headed to a local open air café. If you enjoy a strong coffee, make sure you have a Turkish coffee. DW ordered an Apple Tea. Both are famous local beverages.

traveller69

Eschew - great report. I am living the cruise vicariously through you. Keep it coming!

jacketwatch

Eschew: Great TR. I feel like I'm right there seeing it. Hope they have a local brew at the top of the Acropolis.

ParrotMom

Eschew--lol.. Sadly we were on the exact same ship, the Pacific Princes.. and our experience on that ship has turned us off of the Princess Cruise Line...hated having our names on the outside of the cabins.. took ours off several time before the room steward got the point..Loved the elegance of the old ship though and agree about the library, they had the newest books. We are NOT visiting the same ports, Sicily, Naples, Corfu, Cairo, Jerusaleum and Haifa and back to Rome.. but love ypur report.Oh.. the problem with the card for electricity... we solved that..put a piece of cardboard in it or see if your business card fits.. As for the magnets..we did not find a preponderance of magnets or signs on our Soltice cruise..How is your wife finding the shopping, what no rugs or brass tables.. I think perhaps you might end up with a camel saddle..lol If all of this seems disjointed ..it is.. just getting ready to push Parrot Pop into the staging room to seriously pack. Keep it coming....

Eschew

ParrotMom, Princess always have names on the door, as far back as I can remember and it's no big deal. I'm sure it is on the door of other cruise lines too. I don't remember now. The last non-Princess ship we were on was Celebrity last August.

We are on way to Haifa, Ashdod, Port Said, Alexandria, Sorrento and then finishes off in Rome.

Saidly, I am not going to book RomeCab as I can't find enough bodies and I stopped trying. Booked through the TA with Viatour on private tour on Vatican. 8 people maximum, starts 8 a.m.. This is the first time I book with them so I will find out in about a week.

DW was apprenesive when first step on foot on boat. She had mixed feelings. Now, she loved it.

I will make one more post today during sea day for entertainment and food and servcies etc. After that, it will be 4 long days in Israel and Egypt. Up at 5:30, leave ship at 7:30 and back to ship by 6 pm or later.

I will try to write report on the nexxt sea day (5 days later) and post after.

Eschew

The entertainment on a small ship is very limiting. They don’t have a theatre and the shows are done at the Cabaret. The seating arrangement is not bad, but if you are short, you better sit at the first few rows or you won’t see much as the floor is not slanted. The cabaret was not full but they were doing “pre-show dancing”, so the dancing crowd who were there filled the front row.

The comedian Magician is forgettable. One show featured a vocalist, Kaitlyn Carr, from Scotland. I thought she was passable and DW said she was off key a few times. She also played the traditional flute. Maybe it was her rendition of the Lord of the dance that did it. At the end of the show, Kaitlyn received a standing ovation from the crowd.

The staged shows are similar to what we have seen at other Princess ships. Since we were on another Princess ships recently, we have seen the “Dance-Dance-Dance” before. The music was familiar with a twist. First off, without the stage, there were only 2 singers and 6 dancers instead of the full compliments of 4 singers and 12 dancers of their mega ship. The stage sets were missing and the costumes were also less elaborate. Sections disappeared and were replaced (the Indian dance was missing). The singers and the dancers performed well enough and they performed all the crowd pleasers including the River Dance.

We noticed that at least 3 of the dancers were assistant cruise directors. So the question is: are they dancers training to be cruise directors? Or are they cruise directors learning to be dancers? We have also noticed that there are quite a few people on their first contract. The young fellow who was selling the shore excursions were on his first contract. He is extremely knowledgeable on the shore excursions being offered. He said that part of his training is that he has to go to all the shore excursions and experienced them all first-hand. What a dream job!

It does appear that this small ship is being used as a training ground. This could be both good and bad. The good is that they are all trying very hard, going the extra mile. The bad is if you are on the ship while they just completed a crew rotation, you are stuck with some freshly trained newbies who might not know what they are doing. The ship’s roaming photographer definitely falls under the later category. Although this is his first contract, it could be his last (I certainly hope so). He lacks customer service skills and was rather rude when passengers turned down his offer to take pictures in the dining room.

This is only day 4 and so far, the food quality is impressive, much better than the other Princess ships we have experienced, except for Ruby’s maiden voyage in 2008. Not that the food on the other Princess ships were bad. As it turns out, there is a reason for it. The Princess corporate executive chef Alfredo Marzi who holds the title of “Master Chef Commendatore” is on board. He travels from ship to ship for inspection and training (here is that word again!) purposes to ensure things are up to snuff. We knew about him because we attended his cooking demonstration and special dinner at the Ruby’s first voyage.

If you like your special coffees like espresso and latte, buy the “coffee card”. It is $24 now but you get 15 premium coffees. Since we have a 2 for one coupon, for $24, we get 2 cards, good for 30 drinks - a very good deal and much cheaper than Starbucks. This friendly tip came from Larry over a year ago. Thanks bud!

ParrotMom

Which Celebrity ship were you on.. Looking forward to your reports on Alexadria, Jerusalaleum and Haifa.. We have hired with others Ramses to tour and in Israel we are doing an overnight in Jerusaleum and there are four of us on t his private tour as I want to see besides Yad Vashem, The Wall and the Chagall Windows.. Understand there is a new light show in Jerusaleum at night.. When on the PP the head entertainer said that Princess goes through a group that specializes in entertainment for smaller ships. Our first night in Manaus they had a local authentic dance group which was incredible.. many passengers complained they didn't speak english..The head of the group had dancers sons and daughters of her past troupes.. It was one of the most authentic and non-touristy we had ever seen... and we love these type shows.Maybe they wanted more Las Vegas style.lol Waitng to read your next postings.Oh yes.. the dinners on the PP were incredible...