Just Returned: Nieuw Amsterdam Pinnacle Suite

[Au48]

Hi all,

 

I just returned from 12 wonderful days on board the Nieuw Amsterdam in the Pinnacle Suite #7031. We were on the May 2nd Mediterranean Empires cruise from Venice. This was an incredible cruise all around.

 

I've posted an introduction to my cruise and the Pinnacle Suite on my travel blog (no ads):

http://www.pointsplanesandpassports.com

 

This specific post can be found here:

http://pointsplanesandpassports.com/?p=1154

 

I'll paste the text below, but the fun stuff regarding Pinnacle Suite is the pictures on the blog! Frankly, there are way too many pictures to post on this forum (and they are too large).

 

I'll be posting details of the ports the next few days, and then I'll follow up with a full-fledged cruise review (that I'm currently working on).

--------------------

 

We arrived at the Venice port on a rainy afternoon by water taxi from the Boscolo Venezia. There in port was Holland America Line's newest ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam. Though I've been on dozens of cruises before, I was especially looking forward to this trip because of with whom I was traveling, the incredible itinerary, and the fact that we were booked in the Pinnacle Suite -- the largest room on the ship!

 

As previously mentioned, my girlfriend and I were lucky enough to be invited on this cruise with my Aunt and Uncle. They take a cruise every year and always invite me, but for some reason or another, I haven't been able to go. This year, the dates worked perfectly for my vacation, the cruise went to all new places for me (other than Istanbul), and it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up -- so we took them up on their offer!

 

This was my 34th cruise overall and fourth on Holland America, while it was my girlfriend's first cruise of any kind. My Aunt and Uncle have been taking about a cruise per year for the last decade, and it was their second trip with Holland America. The bulk of my previous cruises were to the Caribbean and Bahamas, as this was my first cruise in Europe.

 

Itinerary

 

This particular cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam was a 12-night "Mediterranean Empires" itinerary. As it was a very port-intensive cruise, we knew we'd need to savor the relaxation that comes with the at-sea days since other than that, it would be a non-stop parade of one port after another.

 

This cruise sailed us from Venice to Katakolon, Greece -- a port city with access to Olympia, the home of the ancient Olympic Games. The next day the Nieuw Amsterdam took us to Piraeus, Greece -- the port city and access point for Athens. The fourth day of the cruise included a morning cruising of the Dardanelles with an afternoon arrival in Istanbul. A unique feature of this cruise was that the ship stayed overnight in Istanbul, and did not leave until the following evening, giving us a full 26 hours in one of my favorite cities. The morning after leaving Istanbul, the Nieuw Amsterdam called at Mitilini on the island of Lesbos, Greece. The following day was in Kusadasi, Turkey -- a Turkish beach town and access point to the ancient city of Ephesus. The next two days featured a stop in Fira on the picturesque island of Santorini followed by a call at Argostoli, Cephalonia in the Ionian Greek Isles. Finally, after seven straight ports of call, we had a second and last day at sea before arriving back into Venice where we spent the day and night before disembarking the following morning.

 

As usual with cruises, most ports featured calls from about 8pm to 5pm, so it provided a good sampler of the Greek Islands and Turkey. The fact that overnights in Istanbul and Venice were included was just icing on the cake for this robust itinerary.

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam

 

Built in 2010, the Nieuw Amsterdam is Holland America Line's newest and largest ship. At around 86,700 gross registered tons, and over 935 feet long, she is a good sized ship, but not anywhere near the size of some of the mega cruise ships at sea today. As such, there aren't quite as many passengers, which generally results in better service and a higher standard for food onboard. We certainly found this to be the case. Unsurprisingly, the Nieuw Amsterdam had a New York City theme throughout the ship, with beautiful paintings and an impressive art collection spread throughout. I've previously cruised the Oosterdam, which has the same basic layout as the Nieuw Amsterdam, so I was familiar with the ship immediately upon boarding, and served as "tour guide" for our party throughout the week. I'll get more into different aspects of the cruise with the full-fledged cruise review I'll post at a later time.

 

The Pinnacle Suite

 

Though I've been on a cruise ship for over four months of my life, I've never cruised in such style as I did on this trip. All of my cruises have been in standard inside or ocean view rooms, and on a few special occasions I had a balcony. Our accommodations on this trip would be... just a tad better.

 

Yup, we were rocking Pinnacle Suite #7031.

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam features two "Pinnacle Suites" that each measure a whopping 1,357 square feet -- almost 7 times the size of a standard balcony cabin - and larger than my apartment back in Virginia. Needless to say, we had plenty of room.

 

We were escorted onboard by a personal concierge immediately upon arrival at the port in Venice, and this personalized service did not stop for the entire twelve nights. As we initially entered our suite, we walked through our foyer and were greeted by multiple bottles of champagne, a huge fruit plate, and two plates of canapés.

 

Past the foyer, there is a dining room table for four with a desk and mini bar setup. Located forward of this dining area is the living room area, complete with a sectional sofa, a large throne-like chair, and a full entertainment center with a flat-panel television, DVD player, and Bose sound system. A king bed pulled out of the wooden cabinet beneath the television, and this is where my girlfriend and I slept.

 

The master bedroom is located on the other side of the dining room, and is separated from the rest of the suite by double doors. Inside the suite, there is a huge king sized bed, plenty of desk space, and a full vanity. The master bath includes a double sink, jacuzzi tub with separate shower, and a very large walk-in closet that had plenty of room for the four of us. A separate half bath is located off the foyer, across from a butler pantry with sink, microwave, and full refrigerator.

 

The highlight of the room was a massive verandah that was accessed through a pair of sliding glass doors. The verandah featured two padded chaise lounge chairs, a table for al fresco dining with seating for four including a sofa in a carved out, teak wood vestibule, two other chairs, and a hot-tub.

 

Yes -- we had our own private hot-tub on our private verandah.

 

It was awesome.

 

The service we received all week was phenomenal due in part to the team of concierges we had for the cruise. We could see these two, and they were happy to fulfill any wish that we had. I can't say enough about the room. It was truly a special experience, but it may have ruined cruising for me! It'll certainly be difficult to go back to a "normal" room on a future cruise, but I'm sure I'll manage. Whatever the case, I can't express how thankful I am that my Aunt and Uncle included us on their vacation -- it truly was an experience of a lifetime.

 

More on the cruise to follow, including the ports and a full-fledged cruise review that I will be submitting to cruise-critic.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Au48

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful review.

Love those Pinnacle Suites.

We stayed in 7036 on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We have stayed in Pinnacle suites on other ships and this is the only one where we got all those lovely chocolates and fruits, etc. on embarkation day.

[Au48]

Wonderful review.

Love those Pinnacle Suites.

We stayed in 7036 on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We have stayed in Pinnacle suites on other ships and this is the only one where we got all those lovely chocolates and fruits, etc. on embarkation day.

 

Thanks -- it was certainly an experience! The room was wonderful, and the Nieuw Amsterdam was just beautiful -- really a classy, gorgeous ship.

 

I'll update this post with different aspects of my review as I publish them to the blog. In the coming days I'll detail the different ports, followed by an all-out cruise review. I used to write cruise reviews when I was much younger and cruised more often, so this should be fun!

 

Thanks again for reading.

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[kazu]

Looking forward to hearing more and thank you for the links.

 

If you happen to be so inclined, please send some of your pics to pictures@halfacts.com . We happily credit the cruise critic member who contributes to the website at halfacts.com. (links to both are in my signature).

 

Looking forward to the continuing saga.

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your report, looking forward to the rest of it. Sounds wonderful.:)

[cruz chic]

It really is wonderful to experience the Pinnacle suite. I think it was a once in a lifetime for me. Looking forward to hearing more.

[Sage]

Thank you for the review and photos. We always love staying in the PS. Each one has a different color scheme, and so far our favorite is the on the Noordam, suite 7046. The suite really spoils you.

[cruz chic]

<snip>Each one has a different color scheme, and so far our favorite is the on the Noordam, suite 7046. The suite really spoils you.

 

I didn't know that. Thx for the info. That's the same one I staying in on the Oosterdam.

[sail7seas]

Enjoying your report. Though we've stayed and visited in Penthouse Suites (now called Pinnacle), we certainly enjoy the concierge service available to us and everyone in the Neptune Suites. Most of the concierges we have encountered have been so pleasant, obliging and able. :) They try so hard to please,,,, most of the time. :)

 

Looking forward to more of your report.

Thanks for sharing with us.

[Au48]

Hope everyone is enjoying the trip report so far. The next installment is now live on my blog with a ton of pictures:

 

Katakolon and Athens on the Nieuw Amsterdam: http://pointsplanesandpassports.com/?p=1152

 

Site home page: http://www.pointsplanesandpassports.com

 

Text only is below...

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Join me as I chronicle my journey through the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Aegean Seas on our 12-night “Mediterranean Empires” cruise aboard Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam. The next few blog entries will detail the various ports of call we visited during the cruise…

 

We sailed out of Venice in the middle of a thunderstorm, forcing us to relocate from the open decks at the top of the ship to the our balcony. Though it was dreary out, we still had some beautiful views of the rooftops of Venice as we sailed out of the picturesque city.

 

May 3 – At Sea

 

The first full day on the ship was spent at sea. After a breakfast of eggs benedict on the balcony, I headed off to the gym and then to explore the ship with my girlfriend. The rest of the day was spent lounging around while she enjoyed her spa treatments. This was the first formal night, and we dined in the Pinnacle Grill — one of two specialty restaurants onboard. The Pinnacle Grill is an upscale steakhouse serving prime cuts of meat and amazing appetizers. I ordered the ribeye, which was excellent. Others ordered the filet mignon, and I go to have a few bites. It was simply perfect — one of the best filets I’ve had anywhere. The cost of the meal is $29 per person, and this is WELL worth it, as a comparable meal on land would run well over $150 each. We were pretty much beat after dinner, so we headed back to the suite after a couple drinks in the piano bar for some good rest before the barrage of ports ensued the following morning.

 

May 4 – Katakolon, Greece

 

We awoke to breakfast being delivered in our suite just after the sun came up. As the fog burned off, we watched as the Nieuw Amsterdam docked in the port of Katakolon, Greece. This town is a small fishing village that serves as the hopping off port for Olympia – the site of the ancient Olympic Games. Though several tours were offered through the ship, we opted to head to Olympia on our own. We bought a round-trip train ticket from Katakolon to Olympia for €10 each and arrived in Olympia 40 minutes later. Olympia itself is a cute, clean Greek town with a number of sidewalk cafes, restaurants, and shops. We walked through the town in the middle of a light drizzle to the entrance of the Olympia archaeological site where entrance was €6 apiece. Here, we viewed the excavated ruins of the ancient Olympic Games. The highlight of this site was the original Olympic Stadium where my girlfriend and I ran a lap on the original 440 meter “track” which more resembles a couple dirt football fields back to back.

 

We were done viewing the ruins after about an hour. Unfortunately, we still had about two and a half hours before our scheduled train was to leave. So, we did the only logical thing – we hopped a bus that we thought may go in the right direction.

 

The driver spoke pretty much no English, but the only thing he could say was “Pyrgos.” We knew Pyrgos was a city a little more than halfway between Olympia and Katakolon, so we hopped the bus to see how that would work out – the price was right, at about €1.20 each. About 35 minutes later, we disembarked at the bus station in Pyrgos – a large, somewhat dirty town about 10 kilometers from Katakolon. There was another bus to Katakolon an hour later, but we opted for a taxi, who thought he was Sabastian Vettel. This guy was flying down the road at over 140kph, and had us in Katakolon in no time. This was a great adventure to get us back to the ship, and was much more fun than the standard bus tour shore excursion offered by Holland America.

 

Upon arrival back into Katakolon, we found a nice restaurant called “Arhipelagos Fish Tavern” (this is directly from their business card, which may or may not have had a typo) right on the harbor where we enjoyed a lunch of gyros, fried cheese, greek salad, and a few beers (as well as free wifi). This made for a great early afternoon before we headed back to the ship. We enjoyed champagne and beer in our private hot tub on the balcony as the ship set sail from Katakolon — not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

 

May 5 – Piraeus (Athens), Greece

 

I awoke to the hustle and bustle of a very industrial port swarming with ferry activity. This port – Piraeus is the port neighborhood of Athens. Athens is a seemingly never-ending metropolis, and Piraeus is where the sea of white rooftops ends at the Aegean Sea. We again opted against taking a ship-arranged tour, and set out on our own. A cab driver approached us and offered a €20 ride to the Acropolis, which we thought was more than reasonable for the three of us. After about a 20 minute ride through the lightly congested highways and streets of Athens, we arrived at the south entrance to the Acropolis. We ascended the stairs to overlook the amphitheater, and eventually made it up to the famed Parthenon. We walked all around the Parthenon and Temple of Athena, taking dozens of pictures of the recovered ruins and stunning vistas of Athens that were aided by picture perfect weather and blue skies.

 

Once we deemed that we’d seen enough, we walked down the north side of the Acropolis, stopping at a café for a few beers in the Anafiotika neighborhood on one of the steep, narrow streets lined with cafes and restaurants. This shady and picturesque street (Mnisikleous Str.) made for a great place to rest the legs, relax with a drink, and check up on e-mail with wifi. We really enjoyed ourselves at Anafiotika over these couple hours. After this, we headed down to the main shopping area in Athens before stopping for a quick gyro lunch. We decided to take the metro back to Piraeus since it was a straight shot (about 4-5 stops) and only a couple euros a person. The train station is about a twenty minute walk from the ship, but that wasn’t a problem at all. Upon arriving back in the room, we all crashed for an hour nap before enjoying the sail out of Piraeus into the deep blue Aegean Sea from the comfort of our balcony.

 

Next port of call: Istanbul, Turkey…

[catl331]

Glad to hear someone else took the metro back to the ship. We, also, took a cab to the Acropolis but we had Greek coffee and pastries at the cafes. We read about ship passengers doing this on CC instead of ship tours. Good way to go.

[Au48]

Glad to hear someone else took the metro back to the ship. We, also, took a cab to the Acropolis but we had Greek coffee and pastries at the cafes. We read about ship passengers doing this on CC instead of ship tours. Good way to go.

 

Agreed -- it's quite easy. The walk to the metro isn't terrible, and it's very, very cheap for a short train ride directly into the heart of Athens -- just a short walk from the entrance to the Agora and Acropolis.

 

It's not for everyone though. I'm very comfortable with public transportation in general, and I'm fine with getting around on my own in foreign countries. The bus ride from Olympia to a somewhat unknown destination was an adventure, but we had plenty of time to get off the ship and figured that worst case, we would just get off the bus and cab it back to Katakolon.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Au48

[igraf]

I have a relative who was also treated to a super deluxe cruise that he could not afford on his own. It did spoil cruising for him as he now refuses to go on any "lowly" HAL cruise that he could actually afford. The end result is that he has never cruised again.

 

We are quite happy to cruise in a standard HAL verandah as I just don't need (or really desire) the extra attention. We stayed in a US$1500/night hotel suite once and really did not enjoy it that much more than our regular hotel stays.

 

igraf

 

 

 

....It was truly a special experience, but it may have ruined cruising for me! It'll certainly be difficult to go back to a "normal" room on a future cruise, but I'm sure I'll manage. Whatever the case, I can't express how thankful I am that my Aunt and Uncle included us on their vacation -- it truly was an experience of a lifetime.....

Edited May 29, 2014 by igraf

[Au48]

I have a relative who was also treated to a super deluxe cruise that he could not afford on his own. It did spoil cruising for him as he now refuses to go on any "lowly" HAL cruise that he could actually afford. The end result is that he has never cruised again.

 

We are quite happy to cruise in a standard HAL verandah as I just don't need (or really desire) the extra attention. We stayed in a US$1500/night hotel suite once and really did not enjoy it that much more than our regular hotel stays.

 

igraf

 

The Pinnacle Suite was great, and certainly a fun experience. However, I've cruised enough to know that I'm perfectly content with a standard cabin. If invited again, I'd gladly go, but even if I had the money, I don't think I'd shell out that sort of cash for the biggest room on the ship.

[lilnemo]

Thanks for posting.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful review.

We started a cruise in Athens (many years ago on Cunard). We flew over a few days early and got to tour Athens on our own. We stayed at the Atheanian International Hotel and had dinner on their roof top -- got a beautiful view of the lazer light show at the Acropolis.

[Au48]

The next installment of my trip report is now live on my blog with a ton of pictures, as usual!

 

Holland America Line's Nieuw Amsterdam: Istanbul, Mitilini, and Kusadasi: http://pointsplanesandpassports.com/?p=1349

 

Blog home page: http://pointsplanesandpassports.com

 

As usual, the text excerpt is below. Enjoy, and have a great weekend everyone!

-------------------------------------

May 6 – Istanbul, Turkey

 

After spending the majority of the day at sea cruising through the Dardanelles, we approached Istanbul from the west at about 3pm. The approach into Istanbul was beautiful, and I enjoyed pointing our parts of Istanbul to my girlfriend, Aunt, and Uncle. I previously spent time in Istanbul about a year ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Because of this, I really looked forward to returning on this trip.

 

We ultimately didn’t dock until around 5pm due to high winds, but when we did my girlfriend and I disembarked and walked into town directly to the Galata Bridge. We had the fortune at docking at the cruise ship birth closest to the Galata Tower and Bridge, so the location was extremely convenient. After viewing the fishermen from the Galata Bridge, we proceeded to the Egyptian Bizzare – or Spice Bizzare to see the sights, sounds, and smells of the place. Overrun with spice merchants, vibrant colors and smells filled the air making for a pretty intense setting. Ater this, we walked back across the bridge, and up the hill to Galata Tower for a panoramic view of Istanbul. As the timing worked out, we were up on Galata Tower right around sunset, which made for some amazing pictures.

 

We then continued up the hill to the Galata area. We explored the side streets full of bars and cafes, and came upon a few of the bars that I’d been to last year on my trip to Istanbul with friends. We started back towards the ship before stopping for a Turkish dinner of kebab and Turkish pizza. It was tasty as always. We returned to the ship around 9:30pm where the ship was putting on a Turkish Bazaar dinner up on board – they really did a nice job with it though we did not partake.

 

May 7 – Istanbul, Turkey

 

This was a unique port of call for a cruise since we were docked in Istanbul overnight. The overnight call aspect of the cruise was one of the most attractive features of the trip for us. Having been to Istanbul before, I had a pretty good idea of a proper tour itinerary for my girlfriend, aunt, and uncle that next morning. We decided to take the tram to the Sultanahmet stop – a short, ten minute trip (for €3 per person, each way). Here, we toured the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, and Sistern Basilica. Entrance to the Blue Mosque is free, but we did have to wait in line for about a half an hour before being allowed to enter and take pictures. The view inside was amazing as usual, and reminds me of the cover of my high school World History textbook. Next, we walked over to the Hagia Sofia, but decided not to enter due to the massive line to get in. Entrance would have been €10 per person had we decided to brave the line. I did go inside the Hagia Sofia on my last trip to Istanbul, and in my opinion, it would have been worth the wait.

 

Alas, the rest of the group didn’t want to wait, so we headed across the street to the Sistern Basilica. Entrance to the Sistern was also ten euros per person. I quite enjoyed this last time, and I did on this trip as well. It’s a dimly lit cavern full of water and yellow and red lighting. We then proceeded to the Grand Bazaar, which was only about a ten minute walk from the Sultanahmet area. As usual, the Grand Bazaar was utter chaos – not quite my cup of tea, but the ladies wanted to get some shopping in. We took a quick break for a lunch of doner kebap before taking the tram back to the ship in time for our scheduled 5pm departure. The sail away from Istanbul was simply beautiful as we passed Istanbul landmarks like the Galata Bridge, Topapki Palace, Hagia Sofia, and Blue Mosque. That evening, we enjoyed appetizers in the room before our dinner at Tamarind — the specialty Asian Fusion restaurant onboard.

 

May 8 – Mitilini, Lesbos, Greece

 

We awoke the following morning off the shore of Lesbos – a Greek Island just off the west coast of Turkey. The ship was anchored about a mile off shore, so we utilized the ship’s tenders to transport passengers into town. Mitilini is a picturesque, Greek fishing village centered around a harbor. It really reminded me of the harbor in Georgetown, Grand Cayman about twenty years ago before the high rise buildings. The harbor is lined with cafes that turn into nightclubs at night. Since Mitilini is apparently a college town, these seemingly sleepy cafes convert into a raging nightclub scene after dark (or so we were told). We enjoyed several beers and shots of ouzo at a couple different cafes in Mitiline before and after a stroll down the main shopping / market area of the town. The ouzo was a must since Lesbos is where the Greek drink originated! We decided against an organized tour to another location or beach on the rather large island, and this port served as a leisurely break in between the two, tour-intensive Turkish ports of call.

 

May 9 – Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

 

Kusadasi is one of two port cities used by cruise lines to access the ancient city of Ephesus. It is the much closer of the two ports (Ismir), and it is only about a twenty minute cab ride from the pier in Kusadasi to Ephesus. We arranged a cab at the pier as transportation to Ephesus for a total of €60, round-trip. The drive from Kusadasi to Ephesus is very scenic, as you hug the rugged coastline for most of the 15km trip. Upon arriving in Ephesus, we paid an entrance fee to the ruins. The ruins themselves were spectacular. The pictures below speak for themselves. Highlights of the ruins included the Terrace Houses (extra entrance fee), and the Great Arena, which held up to 25,000 spectators.

 

After spending about an hour and a half at the ruins, our cab driver drove us back to Kusadasi, where we briefly walked through the town bizarre before having a Turkish lunch at Toros, right on the harbor. The kebab lunch was fresh and delicious.

 

Kusadasi itself functions as a major beach resort town on the Turkish coast. The coastline, the beaches, and water are beautiful in Kusadasi. The Turkish coast as a whole is renowned for some of the finest beachest anywhere on the Mediterranean, and this is certainly a region to which I’d love to return.

 

Next stop: Santorini, Greece…

[erewhon]

Enjoying your review.

 

Pleased that you were able to experience the Pinnacle Suite.

 

Thank you.

[kazu]

Great reports and blog. Really enjoying them.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us:)

[Au48]

Okay, time for the next installment! Santorini! If you haven't been to Santorini, you need to go immediately.

 

Seriously.

 

Drop what you're doing and go!

 

Santorini and Argostoli: http://pointsplanesandpassports.com/?p=1418

 

Blog home page: http://www.pointsplanesandpassports.com

 

Full text below, but go to the blog for the pics! They're the best part!

-----------------------------------------

May 10 – Santorini, Greece

 

We awoke early in the morning to witness the scenic entrance into the harbor near Fira, Santorini. It was beautiful, as we passed the gorgeous town of Oia before stopping in the caldera and natural harbor below the town of Fira. Since there is no pier, this is also a tender port, but we utilized the local, Santorini tenders to take us to the base of the mountain. Here, one can either walk the over 900 steep steps up to the town of Fira, or they can spend €5 each way for a donkey ride up the steps or a tram up to the top. We opted for the tram to the top of Fira, where views were spectacular.

 

We then hired a cab to drive us to Oia. The drive to Oia was very scenic, but that was just warming us up for the town itself. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to many, many places. However, the town of Oia, and the views from the white buildings with blue roofs was probably the most beautiful, picturesque place to which I have ever been.

 

Ever.

 

There is one main market street in Oia with dozens of cafes and lodges that overlook the caldera and Aegean Sea. The views are simply spectacular.

 

After a brief, 45-minute visit to Oia, our cab driver took us clear to the other side of the island to one of the black beaches, in Kamari. What we found here was a cute little beach town full of bars, restaurants, beach shops, and boutiques. The beaches themselves are black beaches – make up of volcanic rock. We ventured down to the water to dip our feet in the Aegean for the first time. Since the water was too cold to swim, we settled down at a café overlooking the beach for a beer before cabbing back to the town of Fira.

 

By the time we returned to Fira, the shops were setup in full swing, and my girlfriend enjoyed popping into the various boutiques. We met my Aunt and Uncle at a beautiful café that was perched on the cliff overlooking the caldera and our ship. After a couple of beers, we decided on a cheap, delicious gyro lunch from one of the many street food vendors in Fira. Sadly, we departed Santorini at 3:30, so we had to get back to the ship and didn’t get to witness a sunset from the famous setting of Oia. On the return, we decided to take the stairs. It as a relatively easy, twenty-minute descent, but you did need to move a lot to avoid the donkeys…. and donkey poop. At the bottom of the hill, we were walking past a herd of donkeys, when one decided to buck, and kicked me right in the shin. Luckily, it didn’t kick much higher, but nonetheless, I was only the recipient of a nice bruise on my shin. It could have been much worse, I suppose.

 

Overall, Santorini was by far our favorite port of the cruise. I certainly plan to return to Santorini to spend several days in the future.

 

May 11 – Argostoli, Cephalonia, Greece

 

We had a late arrival in Argostoli – the largest city on the Ionian island of Cephalonia. Unfortunately, our short time in port of only 4.5 hours did not leave us enough time to explore one of the famous beaches or caverns of Cephalonia. Luckily, the town was pleasant enough. We didn’t do much at all in Argostoli, other than exploring the town, shopping, and having a few beers. We did stop for a snack of fried feta and tzatziki at a restaurant about two blocks to the west of the pier before we went back onboard.

 

I’d love to visit Cephalonia in the future, and I’d certainly suggest for the cruise lines to spend considerably more time on the island, as the island itself has the potential to be an absolute highlight of the itinerary.

 

Next stop: Venice (again)…

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed reading your review.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this.

 

Keith

[wilson83]

Great review, beautiful Pinnacle Suite, and great itinerary. I'm not as lucky as you, as I could not afford the Pinnacle Suite, the most I could afford is just Verandah Balcony.

 

I've read through the entire journey of yours, but could not find you mentioning anything about main dining, and the entertainment (main theatre) ?

 

Do you mind sharing those experiences ?

 

I'm thinking of doing a similar itinerary, deciding whether to go with HAL Nieuw Amsterdam, or Celebrity Silhouette.

 

Thanks.

[Au48]

Great review, beautiful Pinnacle Suite, and great itinerary. I'm not as lucky as you, as I could not afford the Pinnacle Suite, the most I could afford is just Verandah Balcony.

 

I've read through the entire journey of yours, but could not find you mentioning anything about main dining, and the entertainment (main theatre) ?

 

Do you mind sharing those experiences ?

 

I'm thinking of doing a similar itinerary, deciding whether to go with HAL Nieuw Amsterdam, or Celebrity Silhouette.

 

Thanks.

Oh yes. I'm posting the ports first, and then I'll follow up with a full-fledged cruise review that hits the aspects of the actual cruise and ship that are not related to the itinerary. I'll cover:

 

- Introduction (highlight my cruising background, as everyone's relative opinion is molded by previous experiences)

- Service (Cabin Steward, Main Dining Room, Concierge, Bar service, general service)

- Dining (Main Dining Room, Lido, Pinnacle Grill, Tamarind, Room Service)

- Entertainment

- Fitness

- The ship overall

- Final thoughts

 

This overall review should be out by the end of the week, with pictures as usual. Unfortunately, I didn't take as many pictures of the interior spaces of the ship as I usually do, but I think I have enough. I'm also submitting the text version to Cruise Critic.

 

Spoiler: the Service and Dining was probably the best I've experienced on any cruise (this was cruise #34 for me).

Edited June 2, 2014 by Au48

[Susie51]

Thank you for the link to your blog.