This cruise is a great way to see the ruins of several ancient civilisations in one go. The ship was lovely, and reminded us of a bygone era of sea travel, which unfortunately is going to be history after the refit in the New Year.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very quick and straightforward.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The Windows main dining room was fantastic and we got a table by a window more often and enough without reserving one or waiting. Le Bistro, La Trattoria and Teppanyaki were well worth the additional charge.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The gym was good, but use was limited due to bad weather.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The shows were a bit disappointing due to changes and cancellations caused by the bad weather.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All the staff were great and especially the bar and waiting staff when the ship rocked and rolled in the poor weather.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The general condition was OK, given that it only had one more cruise to do before going in for a 6 week major refit.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The size was as expected and was kept clean and tidy by the cabin boy, who was efficient but not intrusive.
Ship tip
Difficult to give advice, as it will be a different ship in a different region after the refit. One thing we were told is that the bridge observation room is not going to be kept after the refit, so don’t go looking for it!
Didn’t do a trip as we had previously spent a week in Athens. The ship docked close to the old port area, so we walked to it, following a trail marked out on the pavement.
No trip as we had previously visited for a week. We walked a lot, especially around the old town and enjoyed a drink or two. The Palace of The Knights Templar is well worth visiting.
The ship docked a significant distance out of Limassol, but don’t be persuaded to use the shuttle without checking taxi fares first. It was $15 each for the shuttle and the same price for a taxi, so unless you are solo, take a taxi.
Did the ship tour to the Dead Sea and Masada, which was fantastic. Only disappointment was that we didn’t get a chance to go down to Herod’s Palace from the summit of Masada.
The first day we explored the city of Haifa on our own, as it didn’t matter what time we got back. The city is split into a number of quarters. The German quarter was the one with the most restaurants and bars, and at night, all the Christmas lights. The Arab quarter had some amazing cake shops. We visited the Tomb of The Bab and The Bahá’í Gardens, which were beautiful and serene. It was a healthy walk up, so we treated ourselves to the underground down, which turned out to be a funicular system. We returned to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon, we went to Stella Maris to get the cable car up to the monastery. It WS a long walk back down but we ended up at the foot of the Bahá’í Gardens, which were lit up and then walked down Ben Gurion Boulevard, admiring the Christmas lights at close quarters.
The second day, we did the ship trip to the Sea of Galilee and Nazareth, as we had previously visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Also we wanted to make sure that we would be back on time, or that the ship would wait It was good but as usual, there was a mandatory shopping opportunity, which not everyone wants!
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