Piraeus (Athens), Greece June 15

Again, we have both been to Athens a few times so we are staying onboard for most of the time. Stuart did laundry (there are no cost, self service appliances) and worked on trying to get his email working. Mine has worked fine but he has a special domain or something for his email so he has not received it since being on the ship. 

We planned to get off in the afternoon but changed our minds. We had a nice dinner and listened to music. Neither of us is feeling 100%!

Here are a few photos of the port in Piraeus, food, and a blurry sunset!

Chania (Crete) Greece June 14

Today's high is predicted at 99F - NO I am not getting off the ship. For one reason we were both here on our circumnavigation of Africa just last year. We have both been here 3 times (maybe 4 for Stuart?) We enjoyed some time around the pool where we could dip in and get refreshed. It is a salt water pool, I believe chemical free. It didn't seem that hot with a little bit of breeze as well. We stayed by the pool after having a margarita pizza for lunch at the Trident Grill. Along with sunbathing we also played Rummikub. I will need to have a winning streak here pretty soon or Stuart will have beat me at each choice of games. 

We had dinner with one of Stuart's fellow speakers, Bob Smolet and his wife Suzanne. it was an enjoyable dinner. 

Then it was on to the Starlight Club. I might not have mentioned they have 4 men onboard to dance will women who have no dance parteners. I have not seen that for a long time on a cruise. They are called Ambassador Hosts. There was some nice, relaxing music by Heart Beat Duo. From there we stopped in at Jade, we were the only ones there!!! We didn't stay as late as usual. We have become sort of friends with the DJ Viv and the bartenders were very attentive since there were only 2 of us! Stuart tried a London Spritz and liked it. Sort of like an Aperol Spritz but with a shot of gin! I had a Bellini Tini, it was good too. 

Off to bed to hopefully get a good night's sleep and wake at a decent hour in the moring!

Argostoli (Cephalonia) Greece June 13

Having toured Greece many times, Stuart has also been here several times, we opted for a quick walk into town for a cold beer. It is a lovely little port but not much available right by the ship. The weather is really warming up! This first photo is a WWII memorial for both foreign and domestic who perished in the city. I am always touched when I see memorials all over Europe. 

The biggest event of the day was the fabulous dinner at Umi Uma. This is a speciality restaurant that we received 1 complementary dinner each. The regular price is $50pp. Every dish was beautifully prepared and presented. It was truly an experience!

The show after dinner was "Rocket Man" and it was pretty well done. We did dance the night away in Jade Night Club, well Stuart did. I danced a few dances but still trying to get my energy back. Another enjoyable day aboard the Crystal Symphony!

Bari, Italy June 12

We spent a quiet day onboard. I am sure it sounds like we are not enjoying this lovely cruise but I am still a bit under the weather and resting and recuperating is what I need right now. We slept in, walked around the ship, played games, and ate dinner at Tastes Kitchen & Bar. There are MANY choices. However, this menu stays the same for the entire cruise. 

Here are just a few samples. We seem to be sticking to mostly sharing appetizers or if ordering a main dish, we ask for half portions. (Not sure why these are sideways!)

All the shops onboard are quite exclusive. I was looking to replace my pashmina but they only have quite high-end items. 

Tonight's show was a comedian. He wasn't the worst I have seen. Overall the entertainment onboard has been very good. 

Split, Croatia June 11

Stuart had to record 2 presentations this morning at 9a. He did not know he was not presenting to a live audiance for these until just yesterday. He was less comfortable with this method. He has made a connection with Bob Smolik, another speaker, and they met during the day to discuss the passage throught the Dardanelles later in the cruise. It sounds like they will complement each other when speaking from the Bridge for that. 

We are in Croatia, I am so disappointed I am too under the weather to go ashore. I slept late. Stuart went to breakfast at the Trident Grill. Later we both went to lunch at Tastes Kitchen and Bar. Our starter was shrimp and chicken Pot stickers. Food is exceptional so far. There seems to be at least 1 sort of drill for the crew each day. At least they are well prepared for emergencies!

 IBefore dinner we went to Crystal Cove Bar on the 5th deck. There is always someone playing there before dinner. Tonight it was a guitarist. It was a nice day onboard and we enjoyed the show featuring Tom Ball in the evening. He was a runner up on both a British and a US talent program. He had a fantastic voice. I would have enjoyed it more if I was familiar with more of the songs he did, but it was great. We stopped in at Jade Night Club after that, also very enjoyable. Stuart had some Mescal tonight, it is sort of like tequila but smoky and strong. All the servers are so genuinely nice. 

Venice, Italy June 9-10

The flights were exhausting. Arrival in Venice was fine. I had a wheelchair and I doubt I could have walked the distance. We were happy to see our luggage arrive and headed to the exit for a taxi. I think they do have Uber but we know where to go for the taxi for sure. $45 and 15-20 minutes later we arrived at the Club Hotel. It is spartan but fine for a one night stay, especially since we fell asleep immediately. We did wake in the late afternoon or evening. There is no restaurant here so Stuart walked about a mile or more to buy a pizza. It was very good too! Four cheeses including bleu cheese! I should have opened the box to take the photo but I was too tired to think of that!!! There was a big thunderstorm in the night, I slept through it. The rain made the air smell nice and fresh in the morning.  

The hotel did have bottles of Prosecco so we got that too. We didn't stay awake very long and set the alarm for 9am because we have to check out by 10:30a.

We did check out but since we cannot check into the cruise until noon, we sat in the lobby and played Phase 10 until time to get an Uber to the ship. Now we made our way to the ship to board.

Of course the drive into Venice was nice and typical, but very overcast. We were delivered to the correct location and started the check in process. We assumed we were boarding in Venice because we are on a small ship (600 passengers) as large ships are no longer allowed in Venice. 

We were wrong! We did the check in process and when we thought we were walking to the ship we actually went to a bus that drove us about 30 minutes to the actual ship site. That was fine, we were just surprised. Our cabin was switched. We were in 8060, we are now in 8075. That was fine as Stuart thinks it is a nicer cabin. We walked around a little bit, but not much. We arrived on board just in time to have a late lunch. There was a lovely salad bar and much more but we chose just the salad bar. By then it was 3p so our cabin is ready. Time to see if our luggage is there yet. Mine arrived first and I got it all unloaded. Then it was off to Sail Away. They had a nice music and singing by the Heartbeat Duo, with drinks and a few very special appetizers. This one was lobster!

After Sail Away, Stuart's suitcase was here so that was his next job to unload all of that and get settled in. He also made connections with the necessary people for his speaking engagement. However, due to the change of cabins, he did not receive the information for the Entertainment meeting, so that was a miss.   

Now it is off to dinner. Stuart had perused the menu already and Wagyu Beef is one of the appetizers!  Oh what a meal it was. The Wagyu beef was on a tiny bed of mashed potatoes with some sort of cream over that. It came in the dish with a lid and smoke under the lid! So fancy! That was followed by Lobster Bisque, then Stuart had pink veal prime rib and I had a roasted garlic angel hair pasta. Both were delicious but we have decided we will be asking for half portions from now on! Stuart had apple crumble for dessert and I had grapefruit Elderflower sorbet! Of course everyone is all inclusive on this cruise to wine of the day is served, red or white. You can certainly order a cocktail if desired. They do have some very expensive wines ($580 per bottle) if one chooses to order that. 

Following dinner we went to the show. We were a little early but we could be seated. Tonight was a great show. It was called Crystal in Motion, which was all the singers and dancers onboard. They were really talented. Following that we went to the Jade Night Club for a little while. There was a DJ and he played requests too. The perfect ending to a perfect day!

Off to Venice!

The first flight is 7am! We will arrive in Venice 9:05a tomorrow. 3 flights, though two are short it was a grueling day. Total of 21 hours. I am so glad Stuart had the foresight to book our room for the night before so it was definitely available to us on arrival. I did plan to stay awake after arrival but that didn't happen.  Completely exhausted...