The Great Adventure! VISION OF THE SEAS 12-Night Med Cruise: A Full PICTORIAL Review!

[Nicole721]

A few things to note about visiting the Acropolis:

1. You cannot (and should not attempt to) touch anything. If you so much as touch a pillar, someone will be screaming at you in Greek.

2. Make sure you walk the entire perimeter – the view is different from each corner.

3. As treacherous as the climb up can be, it’s almost more difficult going down because the steps can get so slippery.

4. Pictures are deceiving and I’m a patient girl who can wait for people to clear out of a shot to get a clear one. It was p-a-c-k-e-d when we visited, not only with tourists, but many school groups of local children. If you’re on a tour, give yourself extra time to get to your meeting place to account for the time you’ll spend trying to drill through large crowds of people.

 

 

 

Once our group was accounted for, we headed back to the bus. As we pulled deeper into Athens, it was amazing to see just how high up we had climbed.

 

 

Our second stop was a quick one at the Panathenaic Stadium, home to the first modern Olympic games in the late 1800s. The Panathenaic Stadium is the only one in the world to be constructed completely out of marble. We only took in the view from the outside, but we had a few minutes of free time to take pictures, buy souvenirs or grab a frappe (an iced Greek coffee drink – highly recommended by Alice).

 

 

[Nicole721]

Our final stop on our tour would be a downtown stop for our three hours of free time to explore. Alice had the driver do a full circle of the downtown area from our drop off point so she could show us the major points of interest, and I kept my eyes peeled out the window for any fun places we could hit up later, but I was distracted by the graffiti splayed across the building facades. Greece (Athens, in particular), has been a hotbed of unrest and protest as the economic collapse has unfolded the over the past six years. This has inspired colorful messages of protest and peace across the downtown area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

I’ve probably mentioned it before – I’m fascinated by graffiti. It’s such a raw form of art and a powerful medium. In Athens, these bold colored drawings and thick-lettered messages stand out on top of the shuttered buildings and walls they’re splayed upon, and the contemporary protest art against a backdrop of historic sites that are hundreds or thousands of years old makes for a truly unique juxtaposition.

 

 

 

As our tour bus circled back to our meeting spot for pickup back to the ship, Alice gave us a few last tips before we parted (the tour ended here for her, and she wouldn’t be with us on the ride back to Piraeus): English language is required learning in Greek schools so a language barrier shouldn’t pose an issue, our ticket stubs from the Acropolis would grant us access to other sites across the city if we wanted to delve further into Greek history and mythology, and seriously, we had to get a frappe. We said our goodbyes to Alice, who was truly a fantastic guide for our intro to Athens, and headed off to see what Athens had to offer.

 

[Nicole721]

The bus dropped us off a few yards away from the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and since we had free entry (thanks to our Acropolis tickets) and it looked like the rest of the groups and tourists hadn’t visited yet, we decided it would make a good starting point. The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a ruined temple built in 550 BC (and took more than 600 years to complete!) built in honor of Zeus, the King of the Gods. The temple fell in the Herulian invasion in 267 AD. 15 columns still stand today, and a sixteenth column lays where it was knocked over in what had to be one hell of a storm in the 1800s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

Part of what was so unique about Athens to me was that it is very much a big city, with a modern, bustling downtown, but within that downtown are artifacts and vestiges of such a deep and profound history. The city was quite literally constructed around these locations instead of at a distance from them. It was such a different feel than the sites we’d visited in Spain and Italy. We’d cross the street and pass by a park with these grandiose sculptures. We’d walk past a train depot and find the excavations of an ancient Roman bathhouse. It was immediately clear that three hours to get lost in all Athens had to offer would never be enough.

 

 

 

 

 

[ken_nyc]

I must say again Nicole you have a great review between the photos and your narrative! :)

 

When looking for a flight we were very annoyed because Delta who we have SkyMileage cards from was $400 a ticket more than American Airlines no matter who I booked it through :eek:, I even had mileage that I wanted to use to lower the cost of a ticket. I am glad that I booked when I did because a few days later the fare had gone up and has not lowered anywhere near the amount we paid.

[Nicole721]

We walked along the downtown perimeter for awhile, not on our way to any place in particular other than knowing we wanted to visit Plaka at some point, just looking around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

We spotted a small bakery from across the street and, on a mission to get a frappe, we headed over to get a snack.

 

 

Orange Bakery is located off the main street in Athens, in a busy area that seemed to attract a lot of business people. Freshly baked breads lined the top of glass counters displaying handcrafted pastries and desserts.

 

 

Despite Alice’s confidence that language would not be a barrier, my knowledge of the Greek language didn’t seem to be much worse than our server’s knowledge of the English language. After a minute of failed attempts to order a frappe, the server finally understood what I was asking for, only to tell me they didn’t serve frappes here! So we ordered a round of cappuccino freddo’s and, to this day, I’m still not entirely sure what a cappuccino freddo is, but whatever it was, it was the most delicious coffee drink I’ve ever had. Our server also brought over a plate of fresh croissants, courtesy of the bakery, and though language may have posed a slight barrier, the hospitality we experienced was top notch.

 

[Nicole721]

We headed back to the streets after our snack. Downtown Athens was pretty easy to navigate (the city is, like most major cities, just a large grid) so once we figured out what direction Plaka was in, we decided to take the long way and enjoy the walk.

 

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

You don’t need a specific purpose to be able to enjoy Athens. Bars, coffeehouses, shops and cafes line every street, and I could have made a full day hopping in between each. The shopping, in particular, was strong in Athens, and we stocked up on gourmet goods (honey, sea salt and coffee, in particular) and soaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

Our final destination of the Plaka was near where the bus had dropped us off. We walked almost a circle around the city, and it was interesting to see the shift of the city. Plaka is a neighborhood of Athens that’s kind of the main tourist hub. There’s a high concentration of restaurants and shopping, but it’s a little grittier than the business area we walked through when we stopped for coffee earlier. We spent so much time wandering around that we didn’t have as much time as we would have liked in Plaka, so our priority was finding a restaurant to have a good, authentic Greek lunch in.

 

 

We didn’t do as much research as we probably should have before we arrived in Athens, and we had no idea where to eat when we arrived, so we just kind of walked towards the busiest place figuring that the place with the most people would be the best. It’s not the best tactic, but when you’re pressed for time, it’s sometimes the most effective. We found ourselves dining al fresco at a restaurant with an extensive menu and a courteous staff that spoke impeccable English. Stephanie and I split a half carafe of wine (€6) and the three of us settled in to people watch while we waited for our lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing you really need to be careful of in Plaka is the beggars and children that will come up to you and pressure you to give them money. A firm no will send them on their way, but if you make eye contact with anyone begging, they will hound you, even if you’re sitting at a table at a private restaurant, enjoying a meal.

 

[Nicole721]

Because the restaurant was so busy, it took awhile for our meals to come out from the kitchen and we were really pressed for time by the time they arrived. I all but inhaled the best chicken souvlaki I’ve ever tasted and Stephanie, a Greek cuisine fiend, had nothing but praises for her chicken gyros. Mom’s salad looked nice and fresh but she thought it was unremarkable. I suppose that’s what you get for ordering a salad in Greece – go for the chicken!

 

 

 

 

We only had a few minutes to do some last-minute shopping before we had to meet the bus, so we hopped in and out of a few shops. If you’re looking for souvenirs and small trinkets, Plaka is your place.

 

 

[Nicole721]

I grabbed a bag of nuts from a street vendor for €2 just before we boarded the bus. The drive back to Piraeus was a short half hour, but it dragged on a bit without Alice’s commentary to liven up the drive.

 

 

 

 

 

The port area at Piraeus was much more like the Caribbean ports we’re used to visiting, with plenty of shopping right at the terminal, so we took our time in browsing as we went back to the ship.

 

[Nicole721]

αντίο Athens

 

Unlike our other port days where we got back to the ship at back onboard time, we had a few extra hours before the ship departed for Kusadasi, so we dropped our shopping bags back at the room and changed into our swimsuits before heading up to the Solarium.

 

We swam for a bit but once I saw what I think was a used tampon on the bottom of the pool, it kind of killed the swimming buzz and we all headed for the showers.

 

Later on, we were still docked and I was getting restless sitting in the room watching television in a language I didn’t understand, so we spent some quality time on the promenade before it was time to head to dinner.

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

We talked about our day in Athens with Marc and took in all of Lloyd’s recommendations for Kusadasi as we dined on another terrific dinner and set out to sea.

 

Savory Bite + Cheese Roll

 

Oakwood-Smoked Trout Filet

 

Thai-Style Chicken Salad

 

Mediterranean Spinach Pie

 

Chilled Golden Delicious Apple Soup

 

Split Pea Soup

[Nicole721]

Roasted Beetroot Salad

 

Linguini with Pomodoro Sauce

 

Baked Sea Bass

 

Steak Diane

[Nicole721]

Coffee Cream Mousse

 

Gateau Cardinal

 

Berry Cobbler

Edited September 27, 2015 by Nicole721

[Nicole721]

The views as the ship sailed out of Athens were stunning, so we didn’t linger over dessert and coffee as we usually did, opting to head back out to the promenade instead.

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

And the sunset? Spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

We seemed to conk out early every night, but Stephanie and I were determined to make it out to the White Party, so we distracted ourselves by wandering around the ship and shopping the Greek wares they put out at the shops.

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

The party started at 10:00 (it’s almost embarrassing to type that we had trouble staying awake until 10:00 pm -- I plead time difference) and it drew quite the crowd up to the pool deck. There was a flash mob performance by the dance squad and 25% off drinks – both of which provided the perfect kickoff to a really fun dance party.

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

We ended the night back on the promenade, watching the lights twinkle in the distance, teasing the lands we were passing along on our way to Turkey.

 

 

 

[LizSS]

Another great update! Loving those sail away pictures, and as always the promenade deck <3

 

 

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[Clarea]

Thanks for the tips on Choice Air, everyone! Follow-up question: do you still earn miles on trips booked through Choice Air? Just curious....

There is no guarantee of being able to earn miles on Choice Air flights, but we have the 3 times we've used them.