12th July 2022 Home to Holiday Inn, Bath Road, Heathrow, London
Well, this is it, our first holiday in three years! We left home early afternoon and had a reasonable run to Heathrow (as reasonably as the M25 can be that is). The hotel was okay but the restaurant was a little disappointing as although they say their chefs cook from scratch they weren’t able to accommodate my eating difficulties so I ended up with a total of one choice i.e. take it or leave it!!
13th July 2023 – Heathrow to Athens.
Well, we’ve arrived in Athens but things haven’t really gone to plan so far! We came through airport security etc. with no issues at all and found a driver waiting with board which read “Mr & Mrs Butler” so we introduced ourselves to him and he led us to his minibus which was great until we got halfway to Athens City when he asked where we were going, he then made a telephone call and told us he was going to be taking us back to the airport as we weren’t his clients, there was another Mr & Mrs Butler waiting at the airport for him. It turned out our driver had been waiting too and his board had said “Mrs Elaine Butler” but we didn’t see that one!! The first driver did help us to locate our proper driver and both were very apologetic but it still meant we didn’t get to our hotel until pretty late, we just had time for something to eat and drink and that was it.
14th July 2023 – Athens.
Unfortunately, things still haven’t been going to plan today either partly as they’re in the middle of a heatwave with temperatures of 45C being predicted. As we had missed the concierge last-night we were at their desk by 08:00 this morning only to be told they were starting late today (09:00). One of the reception staff helped us as best she could and we opted to take the hotel shuttle to the National Garden which is just around the corner from the Parliament building where the changing of the guard takes place on the hour every hour. This is one thing that did work out well as we arrived just as the ceremony was starting. It only lasts around 10/15 minutes but it was definitely worth watching.
From there we took a taxi to the Acropolis in the hope that we could visit before it got too hot (it was already 37C at 09:30). This ploy definitely didn’t work out as the world and his wife was there too. Graham had already opted to sit out the climb to the ruins but I had fully intended to go until such time as I saw the length of the queue to buy tickets which must have been a good 200 people strong. Once the tickets were bought there was another queue to start the trip up. As I was already melting I decided that discretion was definitely the best option and simply gave up, so I’ve been to Athens, I’ve seen the Acropolis at a distance (it can be seen from our hotel restaurant) but I haven’t seen it properly.
Next we took a Hop on Hop off bus where we rode most of the route looking at the sights as we passed. We eventually jumped off at one of the “famous” shopping areas which turned out to be lots of narrow streets filled mostly with tourist tatt. We decided we’d stop long enough to have some lunch and, unfortunately, made a bit of a mistake as the chicken we ordered was decidedly pink in the middle so didn’t get eaten. As it was getting hotter still we decided to call it quits and head back to the hotel by taxi. Well, that sounds fine but we then discovered that the room hadn’t been cleaned so we sat in reception with a cold (non-alcoholic) drink whilst it was due to be done. Now, one thing I failed to mention earlier is that the door to our room is very sticky, well, this afternoon it got properly stuck when to interior security lock had closed leaving us totally unable to get in. A maintenance man was eventually able to get the door open, but once it was we discovered that the room still hadn’t been cleaned as the cleaner couldn’t get in either!! Why she hadn’t reported it is a mystery but she didn’t. After a number of visits to reception and a conversation with the duty manager we’re currently sitting in the bar with a complimentary glass of wine whilst it sorted, hopefully once and for all, watch this space…
P.S. It turns out that the authorities closed the Acropolis this afternoon as it was considered dangerous for people to continue the climb and despite the Greek Red Cross being in attendance we’re told some people had already started to pass out en-route.
15th July 2023 – Athens to Piraeus and the Azamara Quest.
We finally got back into our room last night and had a door that opened and shut properly!! One other drawback with that hotel was that it’s quite a way from the centre so without getting another fairly pricey taxi we were really restricted to eating in the hotel restaurant again, the food was good but once again it was pretty expensive.
It’s been another very hot day today so although we weren’t due to be picked up until lunchtime we stayed inside the hotel, first in our room (we managed to get a late checkout as some small compensation for the issues we’d had) and then in the bar area where we had a light lunch.
Since booking this cruise we (and may others) have had a major problem with the Azamara website; they were due to transition to a new site by May 16th but it still isn’t working properly. As a result we were expecting all sorts of issues when we arrived at the cruise terminal but we were pleasantly surprised, it was really painless and easier than many others we’ve been to.
As we checked in we were told that there were some cabin upgrades available (it turns out the ship is only around half full) and that they would be “taking bids” for these this evening with results being issued on Sunday morning. As the shower in our cabin was pretty tiny and not the easiest for Graham to use, we asked if there were any accessible cabins available and it turned out there were. We asked for a viewing before we decided what we wanted to do as there was a fairly hefty cost involved (because it was accessible we were able to be excluded from the bidding process) and, after some time to think things through we decided to go for it so were now in an accessible suite with a much, much better bathroom, a free bottle of champagne, free specialty restaurant bookings and a butler. It was a bit of a performance moving everything (with help) but it seems it will be worth it. Once everything had been moved we spent a very pleasant evening having a meal in the main restaurant with another couple we had bumped into at the safety briefing.
16th July 2023 – Piraeus to Syros.
We woke fairly early this morning and were almost in dock in Syros. It’s a pretty small island (around 21000 inhabitants) and, as we hadn’t booked the tour that was available, decided to take a walk into the town before it got too hot. Well, that was the plan but it was really already too hot so having had a bit of a walk I deposited Graham in a waterfront café and went for a brief explore on my own. It turned out it was rather too hot for me to walk too far as well so we were back on board by just after 11:00.
We had remembered from our previous Azamara cruise that there are a couple of quiet areas with sunbeds which, if the sun is in the right direction, are in the shade so we spent a happy few hours sitting reading and watching some of the crew at work.
We’re now back in our suite for a bit (more) of a rest before we get changed ready for even more food.
17th July 2023 – Syros to Volos
We spent yesterday evening having dinner on a shared table. Shared that is with another British couple and a Canadian couple and, once again, both the food and conversation were very good. Once we’d eaten, we went along to the Cabaret lounge to watch the show which turned out to be pretty good too. It was called “Crooners Club” which gives you some idea of the music and dance it included and, bearing in mind it was the first time this group of entertainers had performed on the ship and they were wearing cobbled together costumes (apparently quite a bit of their luggage didn’t arrive before we sailed), they did a good job.
We were up early this morning ready to leave on a tour at 08:15 so we had breakfast delivered to the suite. The tour we’d booked was taking us to two mountainside villages. It had suggested that there would be some uneven paths, slopes etc. so we were expecting it to be a fairly tough trip for Graham so we took his walking poles with us. The first of the villages offered a decent view and a brief visit to an old church, the second was further up the mountain and much more picturesque. We took a walk with a (very good) guide who told us some of the history and about the typical architecture etc. we then had a stop for a very nice local snack/drink before returning to the ship. It turned out that it was, as we suspected, a fairly hard slog for Graham which wasn’t helped by the temperatures (32C today) but he did really well and tells me he did enjoy the day.
Once back on the ship we took up the same position as yesterday for a while before heading up to the pool area which was pretty quiet as many people had stayed in town (we didn’t sail until 20:00). From there it was back to the suite for a while before heading out for yet more food.
18th July 2023 – Volos to Thessaloniki
Last night we had booked to go to one of the specialty restaurants the Prime C which is a steak restaurant. It’s quite a while since I’ve risked a steak (because of my swallowing difficulties) but I was really glad I did as the steak was exceptionally tender and tasteful. As we’re now staying in a suite we have the opportunity to visit this one again at no extra cost (as well as the specialist Italian restaurant, Aqualina) so we may well do that before we leave the ship.
We were up early this morning as we had another tour booked. This one was called “Panoramic Thessaloniki” and it took us to a number of historical sights and a view but, in general, I think it’s a bit overstated to call Thessaloniki panoramic. It’s quite a big city and those sights we visited are surrounded by modern buildings so, overall, the tour was okay but not much more.
Once back on the ship we found some sun loungers that were in the shade by the pool as I wanted to take a brief dip. Yesterday was the first time I’d climbed into a swimsuit since my surgery so I was a little apprehensive but everything stayed where it was supposed to so I felt a bit better about taking another dip today. We’re now back in our suite where we’ve just finished another array of canapes that were delivered by our butler and we will soon be working out what to wear for the evening as (for some strange reason) we’ve been invited to a dinner hosted by two of the officers (the Business Operations Manager and the guy who’s responsible for the on-board shopping) we don’t know who either of them are yet but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
P.S. It’s been another hot one today at 36C.
19th July 2023 – Thessaloniki to Kavala, Greece.
We had a very pleasant evening on our hosted table yesterday evening. In total there were two crew members and six guests; two Canadians, two Americans and us two. There was a special menu and some different wines served and it was all very good as usual. Once we’d eaten we made our way to the Cabaret lounge to listen to the violinist who is guesting aboard for a few days, his style is a little different with not much of the traditional classical music but it was still very good none the less.
We had another early start this morning as we were joining a tour to visit the Nestor River and the town of Xanthe. The stop at the riverside was fairly brief as there was only a relatively short expanse of the river to be seen without a long walk. The next stop was designed to show the architecture of previous generations. The ground was a bit uneven (cobblestones) and the walk a little too quick for us, particularly in this heat (37C today), so we left the guide and took ourselves off for a short walk at our own pace. It was a pleasant enough trip but nothing spectacular. Unfortunately, once we returned to the ship there was no time to see much of Kavala itself which is a pity as it looked, on our drive through, as though it was a nice town.
Once back on board we headed for the pool area where we sat reading for a while before they brought out one of the bands to play as we sailed away. The music was rather too loud for our liking so we moved back inside to prepare for another event we’d been invited to i.e. pre-dinner drinks with the senior crew (it’s open to anyone who has sailed with Azamara before). After that it was on to dinner (yet more food) where we were joined by two other couples, the two Canadians we’d met last night and another British couple who bizarrely come from a village not more than 20 miles from us and where two of our friends live (Navenby, just south of Lincoln). Once we’d finished chatting at the table we moved on to see the remainder of tonight’s show which was okay, not great in our opinion as it wasn’t our style of music but it was okay.
20th July 2023 – Kavala to Kusadasi, Turkey.
We had a bit of a later start this morning as we’d booked on a later tour so we had breakfast in the Aqualina restaurant again which was very good but way too much food again. We really must stop eating so much!!!
The tour we had booked for today was a wine tasting tour. We left at 11:00 by which time it was already very hot with temperatures forecast to reach 41C. We had a pleasant enough drive up to what we’re told is one of the oldest wineries in the area. The building itself was very nice to look at but the room used for the tasting had no air conditioning and, despite the large glass doors being open, there was no air movement so it was absolutely stifling. In total we had five wines to taste and they were surprisingly good (I particularly liked their Sauvignon Blanc). The tour information also said there MAY be a visit to a carpet emporium on the way back but it turned out there wasn’t any may about it and we were deposited in a large store which sold not only carpets but jewelry as well, needless to say nobody bought anything. The one thing none of us had expected when we booked this tour was a guide who had such strong political views and who espoused his own particular brand of vitriol again his government all the way from the winery to the carpet shop!
One thing that Azamara do on each of their cruises is to offer one free evening excursion per cruise and ours was tonight. This particular “Azamazing Evening” as they call it saw us transported to the ruined city of Ephasus where we were treated to a program of music and songs from a variety of different regions. It was explained to us that the group is made up of an ethnically mixed group who all originally came from one of the towns which was devastated by the recent earthquakes. A number of them were rescued hours/days after the quakes and they also lost 14 of their members but they decided to continue as their mission is to promote racial diversity and understanding. In total they played and sang for around an hour and a half and despite not understanding most of the languages they sang in it was really excellent concert in a very atmospheric setting from a group of people who were obviously very much trying to put their lives back together.
Once back on the ship they had laid on some late-night snacks so we indulged a little before heading back to the suite which was, fortunately, in the opposite direction to their Karaoke night!!
21st July 2023 – Kusadasi to Santorini, Greece.
Another day another island. We had been pre-warned that Santorini is extremely hilly and that it would prove difficult for Graham on many of the tour options so we chose one which was designed for the less able bodies. Unfortunately, we both said it was a little oversold in terms of what it had to offer. Initially we were to take a drive up to the highest point on the island for an all-round view and, yes, that did happen. Next, we were supposed to have some light refreshments and I suppose we can’t really say we didn’t get that but a visit to a winery at 09:30 was a bit daft as was spending an hour there. Next, we were expecting to visit a church but it turns out that, like many of the churches here, it is only open one day per year and today wasn’t the day so it was only a brief stop to take a picture. We were then promised “some time” at a famous black sand beach and I suppose you could argue we did get that but it was only long enough to take a few pictures; having said that it isn’t somewhere I’d want to spend a lot of time as there’s nothing there except the airport runway which is right next door!!
Once we got back to the ship we found ourselves a couple of sunbeds which were in the shade and sat out for a while. That’s when we realized we were docked very close to the cable car which takes people to and from the local hillside village and there were tender boats ferrying people backwards and forwards on a regular basis. Had we realized rather earlier we may have taken the opportunity to take a ride up and have a look (this one was definitely our fault, with everything that’s been going on in our lives recently we haven’t done the usual research about the places we’re visiting).
This evening there is another event exclusive to Azamara i.e. their “White Night”. This consists of a mass barbeque come party on the pool deck where everyone is encouraged to wear something white. When we sailed with Azamara before we didn’t participate as it was very crowded but this evening we’ve been invited to join some fellow guests (that we'd met at Heathrow and their family) who plan on sending out an advanced party to save us all some seats so we’ll definitely be going along.
22nd July 2023 – Santorini to Monemvasia, Greece.
We were both very glad we did go along to last night’s White Night, we had a very enjoyable evening with Pamela, Adrian, Annalise and Chris who had invited us to join them. Although it was described as a barbeque evening it was unlike any barbeque we were expecting with not a burger or sausage in sight. Instead there was a huge array of different dishes including freshly cooked fish/seafood and a very tender sirloin and, and and… We stayed until around 22:00 but decided we’d had enough by then as it was still really hot and the heat is getting pretty draining.
Before we booked this trip we’d neither of us heard of Monemvasia but we certainly have now. It is a town of two halves, the new town where the ship’s tenders delivered us to shore and the old town which is reached via a causeway as it’s effectively on a rocky island. We had been told that the old town was well worth a visit and if definitely was. It was really, really pretty with lots of very narrow alleyways. Fortunately there was a shuttle bus (a whole 2 euros 20 cents each return) which dropped off just at the city walls. It was around 10:30 by the time we arrived there and the heat was already incredible but we persevered and walked the very narrow cobbled streets for a look around. As the cobbles were pretty slippery and uneven Graham found a very friendly café to sit in whilst I went for a wander but, in all honesty, it was just too hot to spend much time there so we returned to the new part of town after around and hour and a half. A short walk around the new town revealed that there wasn’t much to see so we returned to the ship after indulging in a really nice handmade local ice cream.
As it proved too hot for us to sit out by the pool (particularly once the sun moved round a bit) we took refuge in “The Lounge” on the top deck for a while before heading back to the suite to ready ourselves for another round of food this evening.
23rd July 2023 – Monemvasia to Argostoli, Cephalonia, Greece
We were up fairly early again this morning as we had booked another tour and this one was to take us to a few of the villages on the north of the island. We started out with a drive of around 1 ½ hours to reach the far north of the island and the pretty town of Fiskardo. This village is, apparently, very popular with celebrities as they can moor their boat right alongside the bars and restaurants. There isn’t a whole lot to see there but it was definitely a pretty little town. From there we headed to another small, pretty town Assos, which is on a small peninsula and a very windy road to get to it which was interesting in a bus. From there we made a few stops for overlooks of some lovely looking beaches before returning to the ship.
This evening we were asked if we’d like to join another British couple (john & Sylvia) for dinner. We had spoken before but only fairly briefly. We spent a happy few hours discussing all sorts including past future cruises and it seems we will be seeing them again as they’re booked on exactly the same cruise as us in October. As we’ve said before, it’s a small world.
24th July 2023 – At sea.
Today was an altogether more relaxed day this being our only sea day of this trip. We started out a little later and had breakfast in the Aqualina restaurant overlooking the sea, we then found ourselves some sunbeds (in the shade) by the pool. We managed to stay there for a couple of hours, long enough for me to have a last dip in the pool, before retiring to a quiet area we know of on one of the open sided decks where there was a bit more breeze. The temperatures were again forecast to be in the low 40’s so sitting around the enclosed pool was just too much to bear for very long. After our leisurely day we went to eat in the Aqualina which is one of the specialty restaurants we mentioned earlier, the Italian. We had a very nice meal but, once again, it was just too much food. The entertainment this evening was scheduled to be a Brit pop show performed by the ship’s own entertainers and as this really held no appeal for us we had a quiet drink and a fairly early night.
25th July 2023 – Chioggia for Venice, Italy.
As cruise ships are no longer allowed to dock in Venice itself we were docked in “nearby” Chioggia which it turns out isn’t all that nearby as we had an hour and a half on a small boat to take us directly to St Mark’s square. As it turns out this is pretty good going as we were told that some of the bigger cruise ships dock the other side of Venice and passengers are bussed in but they’re dropped a forty-minute walk from the centre!! Our journey across was uneventful despite having a thunderstorm cracking around us complete with belting rain.
We had decided before arriving here that, as it’s likely to be the only time we come to Venice, we’d bite the bullet, pay the price and take a gondola ride around the town. By the time we arrived in Venice the rain had stopped and the sun had come out so it turned very hot and sticky very quickly. Once we’d been deposited on the quayside we took a short walk along the front to check out the various options and, not surprisingly, they were all much of a muchness. We picked out a company who provided four tour options of different durations and prices and plumped for the full hour tour which was pretty expensive but, as we said, we may never get the chance again. It proved to be a good choice for us too as once we’d left the gondola (which was a bit of a game getting Graham out of a small, moving vessel) we took another walk but, by this time, the streets were absolutely teeming with people and it was getting difficult to get around. We had lunch in a back street restaurant (a very nice pizza to share) and then once we decided enough was enough we headed back to the waterfront, bought a very expensive ice cream each and sat to await the return boat.
Once we arrived back on-board Graham went straight back to the suite whilst I went to pick up some coffees. I arrived at the suite a few minutes later to find Graham standing in the corridor as his key wouldn’t work; our cabin attendant Darius had also tried his key with no success and mine proved the same. By this time Darius had already called the engineers and a guy turned up with a complete new lock which he duly fitted. Unfortunately, that didn’t do the trick either so he called his boss who came along and I’ve no idea what they did next but they eventually managed to fix it and get us newly programmed keys. As a result we were a little later going to eat than we had intended which was a shame as they had flown in some entertainers for this evening i.e. two well know (apparently) opera singers and we had decided we would like to go along and listen. As it was, by missing a dessert that we really didn’t need anyway, we were able to get there just in time for the show to begin and it was well worth missing dessert for. It was by far the best night’s entertainment we’d had this trip.
26th July 2023 – Venice to home.
We had to be up early this morning as, as is usual with a cruise departure, we had to be out of our suite by 08:00 and disembarked by 09:00. We had pre-booked a private transfer to the airport and our car duly arrived just ahead of schedule, loaded up our bags and left just on 09:00. We had been told that the journey to Marco Polo airport should take around an hour and a half but our driver had other ideas; I don’t know what his middle names were but they should have been Enzo and Ferrari as that seemed to be what he thought he was driving. To say some of the overtaking manoeuvres were interesting would be an understatement and we certainly didn’t need an hour and a half!!
Once we arrived at the airport we tried, unsuccessfully, to find the passenger assistance area and whilst looking we bumped in to two fellow cruisers who were also looking for wheelchair assistance so we joined forces and Wendy and I went hunting. We eventually found that there was a small special assistance lounge on the first floor which although very poorly signposted proved to be most helpful. We were fairly quickly whisked through security and taken straight to the gate. We were left until almost last to board the aircraft as they had arranged a lift to take the wheelchair users as there were steps up to aircraft entrance. As the aircraft wasn’t full we had the luxury of a spare seat between us and after an uneventful two hour flight we were back to Heathrow.
As many of you will know we’ve had some terrible experiences with the wheelchair service at Heathrow in the past and, although far from perfect, it was actually better this time. Graham was picked up fairly quickly but was then deposited on a seat in the corridor for a short while whilst the pusher took another lady who had a connecting flight. We weren’t at all confident that he would “be back soon” but he was and we were taken up to passport control. Unfortunately, there is only one customs gate open for special assistance and it seems that we had arrived just after a flight from Pakistan which must have been half filled with octogenarians all in wheelchairs or on electric trollies. After we’d been queuing for some time our pusher got fed up and went and successfully pleaded his case to be allowed to take us through another channel, after which we were through pretty quickly.
Once our bags had been collected we jumped in a black cab back to the hotel where our car was parked and we were soon on our way home. Not surprisingly we got caught up in traffic on both the M25 and M1 so we weren’t home until 20:00 after a brief stop at the fish and chip shop en-route.
Overall, we’ve both enjoyed the trip but have said we wouldn’t choose to go to southern Europe in July again as, not only was it way too hot, but it was also pretty crowded with the European schools having broken up for the summer before most of ours.