Mediterranean Cruise 2025 - Athens

9th October - Emirates 17 hr flight from Auckland to Dubai. Seats had plenty of legroom, and a nice dinner served (I had chicken). Slept for a bit, watched 2 movies “Mr Burton” and “The Salt Path”.

10th October - The second leg of the trip, again Emirates - Dubai to Athens was a smaller plane. We had breakfast and watched another movie “Lee”.

Processing on arrival in Dubai was smooth, and we were met by Imagine Cruising.  Our bus was delayed in traffic so there was a bit of wait, and then an hour trip to the Stanley Hotel.  Easy registration, and we were in our room promptly.  We decided to order in pizza and have an early night. The room was nice, comfortable bed.  David went out and bought 6 cans of beer at a kiosk.  He said it was a nice beer.

11^th October

Sue woke late (9am) to find David had been up, showered and wandered the streets for a couple of hours.  Went to the dining room for a lovely breakfast, and then got on the HOHO bus – the stop was right outside the hotel.  Cost for 24 hours 22€ each.  Rode a couple of stops to the changing of the Guard ceremony which takes place hourly at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square.

Changing of the Guard

Next stop was the Archaeological Museum, where we spent 2 hours, before returning to our hotel for a short rest.

Then it was back on the bus to Monastiraki Square to wander the flea markets and other shops for a couple of hours. 

Then we went to the pool bar on the top floor of our hotel for drinks and to decide where to have dinner. We didn’t want a longish walk back from dinner although there were lots of appealing restaurant options in the Monastiraki district, so opted for the Mediterranean Grill near the hotel.  Sue had moussaka, and David the lamb kebab.  Our very persuasive host talked us into a Baklava desert, which was delicious, but such a large portion, and then we were given a shot of Mastika each (not ordered but for which we were charged!). 

12^th October, Sunday. 

Downstairs in the lobby we sorted our luggage and bus arrangements.  Then we waklked around to the Corner Bar for a coffee (which was GOOD) before boarding the bus at 12:15pm which took us to Piraeus. 

Boarding the Oosterdam was not as smooth as it should have been – our booking agent had not passed on a lot of our basic information and we had to have our photos taken.  We got an “upgrade” from “Stateroom” 7013 to 7022.  Comfortable cabin for our next 20 days aboard.  Spent quite a bit of time trying to sort internet – we opted to buy a shared internet package.  However, because HAL didn’t have all our details loaded against our account, it still wouldn’t work as it should.  We decided to “pass-by” Guest Services again in the morning.  Our sink-plug didn’t seal, which we discovered when I tried to wash a few items – so reported that.  (The plumber turned up and quickly fixed that after dinner).  Went to the “sailaway” gathering on the aft deck, rather noisy and hi-di-hi, and then did a lap of the deck.  We turned up at the dining room for dinner-casual dress, but David wasn't allowed entry in shorts, so had to return to the cabin for him to change.  We both ordered the steak, which was a bit tough, but nice dining at a table for 6, two American women and a Dutch couple. 

13^th October, Monday – Day at sea. 

David was awake at 6am.  Guest Services sorted our internet access – yay.  Went for breakfast at 8am – seated with 4 Americans, and 1 Aussie lady.  Booked a cooking demo – Mushroom risotto (interesting “cruise first!”)