2024 Sep. 07 – Sep. 14, Celestyal Journey. 7 days Greek Islands

Day 0 06 september 2024.

We had booked a 7 day cruise on the ms Celestyal Journey which used to be Ryndam (III) of Holland America until 2015. I was staff captain on her for a short period in 1995 until the office decided that the Ryndam and the Veendam should be manned by British Officers only, due to some inter office politics. Later it turned out that did not work because  how could British having been trained in Cunard and P&O culture deliver a Dutch flavoured  Holland America product ? It took a few years before the penny dropped but then Dutch and British were mixed on the ships and that has worked very well ever since. This has remained so until the current day. Although since Covid a lot more nationalities are popping up as there is an enormous shortage of staff due to the every expanding cruise industry. Lesley had been hostess on her so we both wanted to see what the Aussies  and the Greeks had done with her .

Pertinent Information:

Built in 1993 as ms Ryndam. Major refit by HAL in 2004 (Major remodelling public rooms and upgrading cabins). Transferred to P&O Australia in 2015 as ms Pacific Aria. (Major public room refit).  2020 after fleet review by Carnival Corporation sold to the Greek company “Seajets” as  ms Aegean Goddess. Since 2023 owned by a Greek consortium and operated by Celestyal Cruises as ms Celestyal Journey. 

Gross tonnage 55,819 Grt.  1278 guests and 602 crew. Which gives a space ratio of 43.7 which is a nice amount of elbow room.

This cruise we had on board 1207 guests (According to the Cruise director) and 506 crew (According to the Captain)

Glare factor: 95% (Only one Engineer and one HK supervisor failed the test and did not smile or acknowledged us when passing) VERY GOOD.

We are making this cruise with some members of the Ocean Liner Society OLS = https://www.ocean-liner-society.com) which is a society of people who love cruising and the history of the ocean liners. (This includes cruise ships of course and another lot of things that float) There is a monthly zoom meeting with a lecture and once a year there is the ship show with the sale of memorabilia to each other.

The cruise went from Piraeus, to Thessaloniki, to Kusadasi, to Santorini, to Mykonos, to Milos and then back to Piraeus. We had found out they were boarding and disembarking guests in nearly every port and thus we were a bit apprehensive that we would end up on a gloried Greek island ferry. Maybe with a cruise ship attitude but still a ferry,

So we flew Norwich – Amsterdam – Athens. Celestyal was very well organised and the transfer package we had booked worked like clock work. The KLM plane arrived an hour late in Athens due to “operational difficulties over Europe”, but our personal driver was waiting. From there it was 30 – 45 minutes to the hotel as the traffic tends to be quite horrendous in Athens. Greeks tend to be very creative in driving and are convinced that they can park where ever they like. Hence downtown is full of bollards to keep them from parking on the sidewalks. Athens has 816 cars per 1000 people. Very few houses have garages, so guess where do all those cars go ???. There is a fairly good transport system at least in down town with trolley buses and a metro system but I do not know how good it is with connections to the suburbs.

As part of the transfer we were booked in to the Polis Grand Hotel in down town Athens. It is not really a “Grand “hotel as the rooms were fairly small. But the AC worked and so did room service. And what was “grand” was the breakfast the next morning. This was advertised as a “Greek breakfast” and I was intrigued as I have never had one. It turned out to be a mega buffet with a full Continental, a full English, and full Greek  breakfast (salads, pastries and other delights) options. Impressive.

Day 01.  07 September Boarding the Celestyal Journey in Piraeus,

The largest ship in port, the ms Sun Princess was at the far out (Olympic dock) berth and thus her crowds did not bother us. We only had the msy Windstar (148 pax.) and the sailing yacht/ posh windjammer Sea Cloud (96 pax.) on the same berth. Luggage drop off was at an improvised stand at the taxi drop off and then the suitcases went straight into a security conveyor belt and popped up at the cabin door about 2 hours later.

Boarding was on B deck as the cruise terminal is on regular dock height. Inside lighter colored veneer had been applied to the staircases areas but that was it. I could step straight back into memory lane.

We had booked a mini suite on Deck 09 (Verandah Deck on Holland America)  wedged between the suites above and the shops below, so no noise. The cabin had hardly changed since HAL except the painting above the bed and opposite the bed was gone. Opposite was now replaced by a 47 inch tv. and above the bed was now a blue “sea/wave” mural made from wall paper. For the rest everything was the same. Even the safe (new) but still the same small size. (No space for an 11 inch laptop but a 6 inch tablet did fit). The bathroom still had same (too small ) bath with the nozzles so it could be used as a small Jacuzzi. Left over from 1992 Holland America. As with Fred Olsen, the separation curtains between hallway and sitting area had been removed. This being a Holland America S class meant that storage space was more than ample so a longer cruise is not a problem. For a seven day cruise we had about 50% storage space left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing to do (and this is important to understand how the ship works) is to peruse the Daily Program. There is one available for each major language on board (so no Dutch one for me).It is very densely printed, with the on/off information for every port (embarking / disembarking, going ashore) on the front page, what the ship offers as service and shows on the last page and the two inner pages are full of retail and spending money opportunities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note for the program pages: if you want to read them full size, click right with your mouse, save on your computer and open up from there. (I am not a wizard with computers so this is the simple way)

This is not really a cruise ship “pur sang” but one with a “side line” as a ferry that tries to deliver a 4 to 5 star product to a multinational, cultural and language restrained audience. There are people leaving and joining in nearly every port and with a multitude of nationalities on board there are also 5 or 6 language announcements going each time. But apart from the boat drill and disembarkation announcements there is the tendency to stay with English only. Most of the cruise staff speak 5 or more languages so lost guests can find out what was going on easily.

Note about dress code:

We were wondering what the dress code would be as the company advised Jackets in the evening for men and something nice for the ladies. On board this was changed to a shirt and/or a jacket. No shorts no tank tops. But polo’s seem to be counted as a shirt. In general this was not much enforced and it was T shirts galore in the main- dining room and even a few shorts slipped in. Iraklion night was “elegant night” with a call of the photographers for formal photos. No formal people observed but we saw a few more gentlemen in jackets.

With people embarking and disembarking every day, either going home or coming from home, or going to causal beach holidays, I do not think that a dress code will ever be possible. But controlling the worst excesses in noncompliance seems to work and it was nowhere any embarrassing scenes.

Boat drill is still very old-fashioned. All lining up at the boat station with lifejackets on, waiting to be checked off. Then the announcement came that the staff captain was “going to inspect all the boat stations”. This took a while and in the mean time we were standing in the sun and heat. Then he came by followed by the safety officer and a Jr. Navigator. All Friendly smiling, but not looking or inspecting anything. Plenty Loose straps, wrong lifejacket wearing, or pax. not properly lined up, all on full view with the boat crew not having done anything. But Father Goose and his two ducklings just marched on. Once he reached the last lifeboat it was all over.  I wonder how many guests will have remembered anything of this drill except for the warm wait for “The  Staff Captain”. It looked more like an ego trip. I was not impressed.

If you book a mini suite or a regular suite, you have (officially) dinner in “The Smoked Olive” Restaurant. This is the ex “Angelo’s” Italian created by P&O by splitting in half the original open upper dining room level. Nothing stops you from going to the main dining room which is the old lower level of the two tier HAL dining room. This is called the “Thalassa” Restaurant. As our shippy friends were eating there, we just alternated.  Food is good but not with a “wow” factor, just good. Service is friendly and attentive. Free wine, free beer and free soft drinks during dinner periods and they do not shrink on refills. Menu is a booklet (to allow for 10 languages, each with its own page) and changes every day.  Pleasant and comfortable. You can get a separate A-La-Carte menu but we found it quite basic for the price. I did not see anybody with that menu on the table.

Then it was time for the show. The show lounge has not changed since 1993 and is now called the “Amphitheatro”. To our amazement the cast of 12 talented show people were going to do a show (2x) every night and they then also still helped out in the mornings with cruise staff work for the languages. Tonight the show was “ABBA’s DREAMS SHOW. Which was very good as long as you overlooked the accents (“I believe in Angglos somethink gous in everythink I see “) that were sometimes surfacing and the sometimes a bit of basic choreography.  But we were impressed.

Day 02.  08 September Thessaloniki 12.30  (Docked by 11.00) – 18.00

Late morning arrival caused by the distance but the captain arrived as early as possible to get the disembarkation (200+ guests) out of the way. Celestyal offers a pre and post package so you can stay here in a hotel for 3 or 7 days. Apart from it being a Sunday, and it being very hot, it was a long walk to the town as the small navy complex is in the way and the Navy  was not willing to provide a short-cut walkthrough. Although technically it would have been feasible. So we spent the afternoon inspecting the ship to see all the changes. Apart from the HAL refit and those of the Aussies, the Greeks had not done very much except taking away the self-service laundries and changing the carpets. As a large group embarked here, there were boat drill announcements again (in all required languages) but later in the cruise when the groups were smaller, it was done by letter to the cabin and a meet in the lounge.

The “ferry part” of the cruise turned not as  intrusive as I feared it might have been.

Cocktails for our nautical group, was each night at 18.00 in the Ocean Bar as it had big round seats good enough for 10.  The cocktail list is extensive and that was very important for some of them.  I prefer beer, and the Greek draft beer – Mythos- is not great but well drinkable. They charge for 1/2 a pint, 6 euro’s,  for 1 pint 8 euros and for 2.5 pints (stein) 10 euro’s. Does not make sense it all, because you get more beer for less when you order a bigger glass. But maybe the dishwasher is on a high salary and this was a way to reduce the glasses used and thus needed to be washed.. But  the 10 euro option became my sound favourite as it lasted one thirsty sailor through the whole show.

Show tonight was called “Fantastique” which was attempt to work with the HAL special effect light/leds staging, which worked well on the background LED screen but again not perfect. There is no orchestra but the “click track” to back up the singers is very good. I always try to keep one eye on the exit to see who walks out but all guests enjoyed it, regardless of language, culture or political persuasion.

Day 03.  09 September  Kusadasi. 13.00 (docked at 11.30) – 19.00

Today we are in Turkey which is basically for tours to Ephesus (again all the tour buses, from all the ships and the shore side, arrived at the same time causing some moaning and groaning from the participants) or for shopping for clothes, leather and jewellery. In port with us: The Carnival Legend and the Windstar. So in total 2100+ 1200 + 140 going ashore; but at the moment it seems that as many land based tourists are descending upon the area as from the ships. My Lord and Master had indicated that we had to look for a leather jacket for me so off we marched. Compared to life B.C (Before Covid) most of the leather shops were gone; the whole shopping area had been repaved and “sanitized” and there were now more T shirts, clothing shops and handbag shops. A lot of fake brand names, Gucci, Fendi were on sale. which seems to be allowed in Turkey.  But as it was decided that the prices were good, we invested considerably in the local economy by buying leather coats for us both. We were the first customers for this shop to day, so business must have been hurting as we saw a lot of “pure” window shopping.

Back on board for lunch to the self service restaurant on deck 10, in the old days, the Lido (HAL), the Pantry (P&O) and now The Taverna. Choices are basic and limited but good for a 3 star rating. Service is good, and they have free ice cream and free drinks same as in the dining rooms. It was interesting to see how many gentlemen had never operated a beer pump in their lives (in my opinion an essential skill for each discerning gentleman) but a waiter was at hand to provide lessons in how to pour the perfect pint.

In the evening we went go to the show again, “Welcome to Cabaret” and we were completely amazed. While Holland America can barely get two shows on stage  in 7 days from the American cast, these internationals (They are all from different countries) are providing a different show every day, twice a day. It is just impressive that this group can keep up such an intense performance week after week. And this “Cabaret” was not far removed from West End Theatre quality in London. During the cruise we only heard compliments from the guest about these talented and hardworking youngsters.

Day 04.  10 September  Heraklion. 10.00 (docked at 09.45) – 19.00.

As part of the package arranged through Celestyal we had an included tour into the country; away from the museums. Which was a good thing, as some people who went independently or with a tour to Knossos advised that all tours arrived at the same time creating some localized chaos (KAOS in Greek as they invented it). As well at the museum itself as at the open air space. We went up into the mountains to visit a farm for olive oil production, wine production and the left overs being used as for making Raki (which is a sort of strong clear drink and tastes a bit like a sweet vodka) It came with taster shots of red wine, white wine and this Raki and some local snacks while enjoying local dancing by the family. Quite nice, except it was interrupted a few times by a small French group who kept talking through the English explanation and the music. But then we are used to that now in the public rooms, because if it is not French it is basically not there or can be ignored. (Apologies to my French friends as I love France but this tour group was a bit  too much self centered.)

The tour stopped for an hour in downtown Iraklion for some shopping therapy and we got our first Gyro of the cruise.

Cocktails again in the Ocean Bar but we were now requested by one of the bar waitresses to come to “her bar”, the Blue Bar as it was always empty at 18.00 hrs. As there is no entertainment in any of the bars until later in the evening as the bars are not much frequented until mid evening. The fact that the bar we were asked to frequent next, was empty,  had to do with the fact that the bar (the old barista bar of Holland America) with around it the ex library, ex puzzle corner and ex cardroom, is completely BLUE. And what is not blue is black. If it were a bar ashore, it could easily be frequented by Ladies who keep themselves standing up in life by working horizontally. Opposite (old part of the Explorers Lounge) is the “Fiz Club” which is a miniature version of the Blue but in Purple velvet. That had a piano for the occasional classical concert. I think there was only once a concert in the afternoon by a classical duo.

This night we did not go to the show (Latin America) but went to the Magicians show in the old Mix (now Martini Bar), set up and narrated by the bar tenders. The head bar tender was an exhibition by himself: Mr. J.D Flair, he was a Pilipino from Glasgow (including a distinctive scouse accent) and was wearing the Ramsey kilt. But in the tourist version, the thin fabric. This show comprised of bar tenders juggling and then some magic tricks which pleased the audience of about a 100. Nothing was perfect, but they played and pleased the crowd, to perfection. If this can be called a crew show then it was very good.

After that we went to the Blue Bar & Lounge where there is every night a Greek group of 4 musicians playing. When coming in, the staff was just going around with “Pass around” nibbles. They do this every night. Spring rolls, chicken nuggets etc. As we had not eaten for 45 minutes this was of course very welcome.

The Greek music was very nice and the Bouzouki player very good. From then on we went back there every night, the more so as a group of Greek passengers danced the whole time, and because they could dance, and because knew the correct steps for each dance, it was quite good fun to watch. It created some sort of Taverna atmosphere ; albeit in a room where a designer had gone mad with blue and black velvet furniture and wall coverings.

It was now becoming a standard observation that in the evening the  public rooms were well filled but not overly busy. Dining rooms were full, each with open sittings to accommodate for early and late eaters. Shows were full, and then many retired as they were either disembarking the next day or going on a tour.

Day 05:  11 September  Santorini  07.00 – 00.00 Late evening stay.

Not a good day for going ashore. In port: Carnival legend, MSC Lirica, Costa Deliziosa, Celestyal Journey, Windstar, some smaller cruise yachts and the normal ferries.  Tender service is operated by the Santorini boatmen who have a monopoly here. So no ships tenders. And although they have a lot of boats, handling close to 10.000 visitors is  impossible.   On board everything started with the multiple language announcements to call the tour people together as all the tours go off first, before independents. Then deadly silence.

Things turned out not to be well when at 10.00 an announcement was made that the landing dock at O’Athinai was too rough and all the tours were delayed until the afternoon. Then it was announced that it was too busy at Thira (landing under the Cable Car) with the boats to land all the guests. As a result everybody had to stay on board, to wait for less congestion and less swell. There was no swell at  O’Athinai, it was just an excuse as they did not have the capacity to send any shore boats there. That annoyed me greatly as lying to the guests is something that should never happen. Then it is better just to say nothing. The guests will fume anyway.

At 11.00 the announcement came that the first tender with non-tour people was leaving, followed every 5 minutes followed by the next one. So we had a 5 hours delay (07.00 – 11.00) to get the show on the road. This was really the only time, when the multiple announcements got irritating as it is done through the whole ship except the cabins. English, Greek, German, French and Bulgarian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian. It seems that other nationalities were too small in numbers, which caused the Italians to create some noise at the front desk. But there were plenty of cruise staff and hotel officers around to try to advise any forlorn guest about what was going on.  The “tour” announcement caused all tour people to scramble to the  “Taverna” to get lunch before 13.00 hrs.  So we went ourselves to the Taverna at 13.05 hrs. to find it nice and empty with all the food outlets still open. Although shortly after one side was closed.

Tour guests had now been landed at the Cable car dock and had to wait there for 2 hours to get to the top where the buses were waiting for them. Not good and a lot of unhappy people later in the evening, when back on board. (At O’Athinai where the tours are normally landed, the buses can get to the ferry dock to meet the tenders)

And then the ship was empty until 1600 when the first guests made it back down the mountain again. As the Legend, the Deliziosa and the Lirica were all leaving between 1700 and 1800 it was mayhem again with long waiting lines; now at the top. Knowing that this would happen (Been there, bought the T shirt, argued with the boat men of Santorini, etc.) So we were quite happy to have stayed on board.

Tonight was Blue & White, or Greek night and in the afternoon Greek music started to play over the PA system. Guests had been advised, pre cruise, to wear Blue and White, and we duly conformed. But there were not that many other guests who had done the same. Maybe 10% at the most. Rest. Waiting staff were all dressed in a sort of Greek costume. Which was nice and at the same time strange as our dear YaYang from Java, greet host at the Green Olive Rest. was also in a Greek national costume. The show was the 5th. new performance by the cast which symbolized a Greek wedding. From courting to honeymoon, supported by the Greek musicians from the Blue Lounge.

Again it was not perfect but still very very good. Some guests complained that the show was boring but you either like Greek music or not. The place of the Greeks in the Blue lounge was taken over by a piano player who played for 4 people. There was a Pilipino duo in the Ocean Bar and they pulled a full house every night.

Day 06:  12 September  Mykonos  08.00  (07.00 arrival)- 01.30 Late evening stay.

Today we only have one ship in port, which is docked. An Apartment of the Seas (Odyssey of the Seas) with 4000 guests. Docking has the advantage of not having to use a tender, it has the disadvantage that you have to use the shuttle busses to get around the bay. And I do not know if it is free with RCI. We are at anchor and are again using shore tenders. Which ran against each other, every 30 minutes after the tours went off. And that went smoothly during the day with 3 to 5 shore tenders available and operated by the boat handlers of Mykonos. They do not run a monopoly as in Santorini  so if a ship wants to run its own tender service it can do so, which has the advantage that the tenders dock in downtown next to the “Blue Roof Church”. The shore tenders docked next to the shuttle bus terminal and from there it is a 10 minute scenic walk to the down town area.

The focus of her Ladyship today was finding a real Greek street food location. Lesley is on a trip down memory lane, remembering the 1970s  when she sailed on the Greek ships (Australis, Argonaut,  Jason, etc.), so she was not to be denied. To find a – less “touristy” food outlet-  “the wise thing” to do is sweep the town path by path. First the seafront with the sit down restaurants. A gyro being Euro 22,– and served on a plate. Too expensive and not the right thing. Then the first back street, Gyro Euro 16,– again sit down and served on a plate, not the right thing . Then the third back street and there we found “Leonidas”. Gyros freshly made while we were waiting (and watching). For us a 5 out of 5, for a cost of  Euro 14 with drinks. Google ratings 4.5 out of 5.

 

Only challenge for Leonidas is the limited sitting outside as it is a narrow street. But of course that is not the idea anyway as it is street food, so buy and walk. We sat down for a moment as Lesley had to immortalize herself on Facebook while I watched the tours marching up and down all in a single file following the leader as the roads are only single file wide.

Then it was back to the ship as the gentle wind had shifted and downtown was getting very warm. Going back again with a good tender service.  On board I went for photos as the ship was nearly empty. Those you will see throughout this review.

The bars were expected to be quite empty tonight as the ship was staying until 01.00 tomorrow morning. Mykonos is very romantic after dark, so many guests were sitting on the balconies, watching the dark descending over the port or went ashore for a romantic dinner. The company had announced “white night” and some of the younger crowd had complied, including us, who still feel just 25 (sic). I was the only one with white shoes and that made me feel kind of special.

Our waitresses are still competing to get our shippy group in “their own bar”. Ocean Bar, or in Blue Bar or in the Fizz bar. We kept to the Blue Bar and also went back there later for the Greek music again.  A word about the waiters and waitresses. One came from the Philippines’, one from China, one from Cuba and one from the Congo. In total there are 31 nationalities on board. Cubans can work in Europe as they are able to get a work visa. Europe is not involved in the USA – Cuba feud so they are welcome. There are just no Russian crewmembers on board for obvious reasons. Several Ukrainians though were on board in support function such as engineers..

Tonight we went back to the “Green Olive” and as word had spread around  of who I was/had been (Staff captain on this ship in 1995 and then Captain on the three sister ships), the Maître was waiting for us to give a personal greeting and to sit us down. So I tried to get the best table for two at the window, overlooking romantic Mykonos but did not work as it was reserved for the Hotel manager and his wife. Out of the hands of the Maître of course but in principle any officer with public rooms privilege’s should be  should be somewhere in the back, guests always come first. Now a prime table was blocked off from 18.30 until 20.15 when he eventually showed up. They could have made several couples very happy in that period with that table.

We saw the show again, “Odyssey Show” or “music of around the world”. Again not perfect,   but still so very good. Lesley with her cruisestaff background is getting more and more impressed that these entertainers manage to do a full show, twice a day, 7 days a week. Only tonight there was only 1 show as we stayed so long in Mykonos.

Day 07:  13 September  Milos  08.30  (07.50 arrival)- 17.30.

I was totally flabbergasted yesterday in Mykonos that it was wind still (Mykonos bay is a real hell hole when the strong winds are blowing) but today we were back to normal with the Etesian Winds blowing full blast (Force 7 to 8 at times). The captain had anchored with Running Moor = two bow anchors down which stopped the ship from swinging but he did not use the stern thruster to create more lee, so boarding was sometimes quite wobbly. Officers were driving the tenders on zigzag courses to keep the tender movement to a minimum. Luckily the distance to the shore was only a 5 minute tender ride. We did not go to the main city & port of Adamas but to a small place opposite called Eborios, very much frequented by sailing boats and many people staying in the local hotels. It was change over day for the hotels and large groups of Australians were huddled together on the pavement waiting for their coach or the ferry to the next island.

One of the activities that were taking place were cooking demonstrations. Holland America had long time ago made the “Wayang Threatre” into a dual purpose venue by installing a kitchen behind the Movie Screen. It was nice to find out that the Greeks had continued the tradition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course it was Greek food that was prepared. The Exe Sous Chef made two dishes. One a cold yoghurt dish and the other one a Seafood dish, flavored with Ouzo. Everything as narrated by a cruise staff member who managed to advise in 5 languages.

The idea of this call was to do either to make an excursion to a ruin or to go to the beach. We just went ashore for a walk and ended up at another place that sold nice Gyro’s. Two hours later we were back on board and had to start packing. The suitcases had to be out of the cabins by midnight and us ourselves the next morning at 07.00 for a 08.00 disembarkation. They do a silent disembark at 07.00 for early flights and then at 07.45 the regular disembarkation starts. In total 865 pax. will be disembarking. At 17.30 we had a disembarkation talk with the Cruise Director which was interesting but not needed as the information delivered to the cabin was clear and to the point. Main point of interest was the group of French (those from the tour in Iraklion) who had somehow thought that they had to be at our meeting, and started talking again. Luckily the Cruise Director (who speaks 5 languages) got their attention, arranged a cruise staff as escort and marched them to Symposium II (ex Hudson Room) where they should have been.

Day 0 14 September  Piraeus 07.00 (docked at 03.30) – 17.00

The ship arrived bright and early, partly to beat the ferries that are coming in between 05.00 and 06.30 and have preference and partly to get the luggage ashore in time, as disembarkation started promptly as announced.  So we were off at 0800 being the 2nd group / deck. By 08.45 they had everybody off who were leaving. Very smooth and with plenty of help in the terminal to find your luggage. What we did like was that the shore staff checked the names (ships ID) against the piece of luggage you were picking up, to ensure that one did not walked off with the wrong suitcase. It did not delay anything but will have saved Celestyal a lot of headache as it happens each cruise, to every (larger) ship and every company.   As part of the package we had transport to the airport and a limousine was waiting.  The KLM flight was almost on time (shortage of air traffic controllers in S.E Germany caused some delay) and by midnight we were home.

Verdict:

Did we like the cruise and was it value for money?.

YES. The product hovers between 3+ and 5 stars depending at what you look at. So in general a solid 4 star. And that is what we paid for. The transport package to get to and from the ship is worthwhile to have. Pre cruise communication is very good, by phone or email. (For some odd reason they have an office in the USA that handles all this but they really know what they are doing)  We did not have the drinks package as I calculated that to break even,  we had to consume a lot more than the two of us could ever manage.

Will we go back?

YES, if we can get a cruise in the cooler spring or autumn. At the moment the ship goes empty around the Cape to Doha for the winter season, as the Suez Canal is too dangerous with the Houthis attacks. But once that is restored to normal, we will be very interested.

Plusses  & minuses.

This was a 4 star experience, while we were expecting 3 star because of the ferry aspect. So when not including the many announcements and the changeover of passengers, it was very good and it was all run well.

Plusses:
+Very fast bar service where ever we went. Friendly crew, achieved a glare factor of 95%. And at least one bar open from 0800 in the morning (Martini Bar) if you want to get water or a drink.
+Great shows, not always perfectly executed but with a hard working cast who performed 7 days a week with great enthusiasm and skill.
+Well maintained ship.
+Good food and pleasant service in all the restaurants.   +Free wine, beer, soft drinks, included during lunch and dinner in the dining rooms and in the Taverna (self service) for everybody.

Neutral:

Cabins:                                                                                                                                            /Not much done to them since the ship left Holland America in 2015. You have to ask for a ice bucket if you want one.                                             /Pay attention that your steward does not fold up wet towels, instead of replacing them or leaving them to dry if hung up.                                                                                                       /Every day two free small bottles in the cabin (at least in suites and mini suites) and bathrobes (Well washed, so I think still from HAL days). There is also a large bottle of water available but you have to pay for that.

/Taverna, the self service restaurant. Had been changed by the Aussies to accommodate more people by adding high seating areas (bar style) tables. Which also increased the flow as the seats were not comfortable. The food outlets have been reduced but I do not know if this was done by the Aussies or by the Greeks. Food was basic but good.

/Smoking: outside at deck 10 pool. Officially one corner but due to great demand, the whole deck area featured ash trays. But nobody tried to smoke anywhere else in the ship which was quite amazing given the proclivity of Greeks and Italians to smoke everywhere they like.

Minuses:

-Lying about tender service in Santorini.

-Crows nest, called the Horizon Lounge. Under used, nothing happening there all day until 21.15 in the evening when the Disco starts. Would have been a great (and very popular) spot for early evening cocktails.

-Most coveted table in the “Green Olive” blocked for Sr.  ships staff.

Funny observation:

The HAL logos in the glass doors from Taverna  to outside pool deck were still there. It sems that the subsequent budgets of the Aussies and the Greeks did not allow for upgrading the glass doors.

I hope you enjoyed this review, I think for the price point charged and what we received for it, it is a very good product. They would have to flex their muscles to get it up to 5 stars if they wanted to, but guests will return to them based on the product as it is now. Provided the guest is willing to enjoy him/herself while in a very cosmopolitan crowd.

We very much enjoyed it.