Voyager Review
An Excellent Cruise with an Excellent Cruise Line
Rating by category
Additional details
This cruise visited five ports in Turkey and five in Greece, a number of which were ports that are not visited by the larger cruise ships and all of which were interesting ports.
Our flights, from Manchester, were arranged by the cruise company and were both on scheduled airlines - Turkish airlines to Istanbul and Aegean Airlines back to Manchester. Both were excellent with far more leg room than is provided on charter flights and a full meal service was provided with complimentary drinks. We were able to check in online prior to the flight out and were able to use the self service check in machines at Piraeus airport which had the facility to confirm our allocated seats, or to change them for any available seat on the plane using the seat plan (which we did). Unfortunately there was quite a bit of delay at Istanbul airport as we were kept waiting a long time for the transfer coach to arrive, but disembarkation and that transfer were fine. As we were not flying out until 7.30pm, we were allowed to stay on the ship until our transfer was due, so we had lunch and extra time sitting in the sun prior to departure and those who wished to leave the ship to sightsee during that time could do so and others chose to go on an excursion which delivered them to the airport on completion.
The ship's public rooms were in very good condition and we especially liked Scott's lounge which had very comfortable and rather classy chairs. Individual chairs were used in most of the Darwin lounge and there was space between each chair so it did not feel cramped. There were raised areas at the side which allowed better view. The one lounge we did not like was the lookout lounge as the chairs there were particularly uncomfortable, having very straight backs with no scatter cushions. Our cabin and all others that we saw in passing, were all in good condition, but the showers were particularly small and this was compounded by the fact that the shower was controlled by a lever style tap which lifted up for the water to flow and moved from side to side to adjust the temperature. As previously mentioned this was a problem as it was difficult not to knock it when in the shower which affected the flow or temperature o the water. A simple older style tap control which turned could vastly improve that situation. Our cabin was extremely small and I will return to this under the 'cabin' heading. There was also quite a lot of noise and vibration when the ship was moving at the rear of the ship and also in our cabin (at the front) when the thrusters were used prior to docking. However we booked this cruise on a late offer price so we did not expect a well placed cabin and we feel it was quite acceptable on that basis.
Cabin Review
This cabin is much smaller than the other cabins of this grade. It is at the very front of the ship and is shorter because the ship is narrower there. This meant that we had considerably less storage and wardrobe space. Other cabins have two wardrobes, although the hangers still have to go in flat, rather than sideways, as the wardrobes are not deep enough for the width of a hanger, so the rail runs front to back in the wardrobe. One of our wardrobes was obstructed by the safe so all we could use that wardrobe for was about three hangers with trousers placed diagonally across the wardrobe. We also did not have the small shelves at the side of the wardrobes or the large drawer unit, (the size of a three drawer filing cabinet), that was present in the other cabins. There was a large shelf in front of the portholes though, so many of our clothes were placed on there in piles and we managed. There is still not a lot of hanging space in the other cabins, so it would be a good idea to take some plastic or metal coat hangers as the ones supplied are the bulky, curved, wooden ones which take up a lot of space.
Being at the front we were very near the thrusters and were woken about an hour before we docked by a whining noise that was made by the hydraulic system for the thrusters, (it had to be warmed up before they were used). The thrusters were more noisy when they were used and when the anchor was being lowered, that was heard loudly in our cabin as well. At other times the cabin was quiet though, so it was much better than at the back of the ship.
Port Reviews
Istanbul
It was a pubic holiday and all buildings and museums were closed until about 1pm so we strolled round the Sultanhamet area and went into the court yard of the Blue Mosque. When the Mosque and other places opened large queues had built up so we decided not to waste time in the queue and had lunch in a restaurant before returning to the ship.
Antalya
We got the shuttle bus into the town, then took the tram to the Archaeological Museum which had some really good statues and other things from the sites in that area of Turkey. We then returned to the centre of town, had lunch and walked around the sites and into the lower town.
Volos
We just walked into the town. It was Sunday and the shops were closed, but we followed a walking route marked on a map, which we got from the port, along the shopping area. We went into the Cathedral and saw a number of other things marked on the map. We then went down to the seafront that was very busy and touristy, we headed back into the town and walked back that way. We found a lovely bar were we had a large latte in the morning, so went back for a couple of beers on the way back. I think it was called 'Cafe de Paris'.
There were shuttle buses, but it was not far and we would have to have paid more for the tickets than a taxi would have cost so we did not get tickets. We were quite happy walking anyway as we saw things on the way there and on the way back.
Athens (Piraeus)
We have been to Athens previously, so we just went on a short walk into Piraeus, had a drink by a harbour and returned to the ship to make the most of our last sun before returning home. Piraeus has a lot of traffic and even the harbour was not a particularly pleasant place to be. There are churches and I think a museum, but we had seen a number of those on this very busy, interesting cruise so decided lying in the sun was more important at that time.