Let’s cruise the Greek islands!

Tour days 10 & 11 - 6th & 7th April

Cruising meant paid WiFi, so being the cheapskates that we are, we were happy to be “off the grid for a couple of days. So this post covers two days of cruising and touring.

We left Kusadasi around 9am, purely because the process of embarking our cruise ship, the Celestyal Olympia, was lengthy. The weather had changed overnight, and it was cool with a light drizzle falling as we queued to get through security and passport control. Eventually we were directed to our teeny weeny cabins and having settled in and found space for suitcases and other items, we were free to explore the ship as we waited for our 1pm launch.

Not a huge ship by world standards, but 12 levels, a pool deck, a couple of restaurants, a few shops, a spa, casino, and several bars meant there was plenty to do and more than enough space to find even a quiet corner if needed. The ship set sail during lunch and we cruised away from Turkey in relatively smooth waters. This didn’t last, as the swell got bigger and more interesting, but cruise ships cope remarkably well and it was (mainly) just a gentle roll as we sailed towards Patmos. Later in the afternoon the swell got bigger and the boat rolled gently and pitched occasionally, which made walking around fun! Every now and then there would be a public announcement warning us that the ship may “pitch and roll”. Oh really? We hadn’t noticed.............

We found a comfy spot to sit and chat for a while until the afternoon entertainment started, which was a Greek cooking demonstration, complete with sampling, followed by a Greek dance class, which was loads of fun and tested our coordination! After that we headed up to the Horizon bar, the highest level available to passengers, and just under the bridge. From there we could sit looking out over the bow and watch the waves. It was an awesome place to be.

The plan had been to drop anchor off Patmos and board tender boats to get to the island, but disappointingly they announced during the afternoon that the port of Patmos was experiencing strong winds and we would not be able to board the tenders to visit the island, see St John’s Monastery, and visit the “Holy Grotto”, the cave where John supposedly received the Revelation from the risen Jesus. Oh well, we’ve become a little jaded with the whole Catholic thing of building great big churches over sites they deem to be THE ONE (often hundreds of years later), and for ever after claiming that this is THE site for pilgrims to come to touch, kneel on, lie on (yes, really!!) or kiss.

So we sat in the bar and watched - and wondered which hill, valley or general area on Patmos the apostle John was imprisoned for 14 years - as we passed the island by. Later in the afternoon, in lieu of our trip to the island, the pastor in our group led us in a devotion from Revelation chapter 1, as we continued on our way south, hopefully into better weather, and to the port of Heraklion on the island of Crete.

But not before dinner. We wondered whether the waiters have to train holding plates of food and trays of drinks while standing on a wobble board. They were amazingly adept at coping with the swaying, shuddering from the stabilisers, and the occasional deeper dips as the ship sailed through the Aegean swell.

Tucked into our little bunk beds, the sea eased somewhat and the gentle movement was quite soporific, thankfully. Not enough to roll us out of bed, anyway.

The next morning we arrived into Crete by stealth, and by the time we received our wake-up call at 6am all was still and quiet and we were obviously in dock already. It was dark when we went up to breakfast on the 9th level Leda Deck, but the weather seemed to have cleared and settled, and when the sun rose we could see we were in for a lovely day.

The morning excursion was into Heraklion, the capital city of Crete, first to the ancient Minoan Palace of Knossos, which dates to the second millennium before Christ. Yet more old stones, buildings and other relics. When something is so very old, it’s hard to conceptualise the enormity of the time that has elapsed since the stone was placed or the decorative touches carved. Our local tour guide, Maria, was very knowledgeable about the site and about Crete in general, and made our tour much more interesting as a result. The information she shared with us seemed to be part history, part Greek mythology, so teasing fact from fiction proved to be a challenge!

The throne room of the Minoan king 

Afterwards we had a little free time in the centre of Heraklion, so after gathering at the Lion Square, we wandered first to the church where the skull of the apostle Titus is said to be sequestered under a gold dome. Titus, of course, accompanied Paul on several of his missionary journeys, and was held in high esteem as the bishop of Crete.

Apparently this is the skull, under that gold dome in the glass case 

We then wandered along to the town market looking for some local honey, which Maria assured us is the best in all of Greece. Since we have two weeks back in the islands, but not Crete, we bought a small jar for our future leisurely breakfasts.

Fountain at the Lion Square 

Some of the streets are marble, which is lovely but can be slippery when wet!!! 

A little more wandering through the streets and alleyways of Heraklion, and then it was back to the bus and back to the ship. Embarkation was quicker this time, thankfully, and we were soon back on board.  It was late morning and the sea looked amazing, with aqua closer to shore and deep blue further out. We left port during lunch, reversing out and then making our way north towards Santorini. The sky was blue with a few wispy clouds, the sea was calm, and the contrast with yesterday’s miserable weather and agitated seas was like chalk and cheese. This is what cruising should be!!

We had a few hours of smooth sailing before Santorini came into view. It was lovely to sit in a quiet area of the ship, looking out the window at the blue of the Aegean. Around 3pm the approaching islands became too tempting, so it was up and onto the open deck on the 7th level to take in the unique view as we sailed in between Santorini’s volcano and the little islands, the “caldera”. I had the deck to myself for quite a while, and it was lovely to stand with an uninterrupted view of this amazing volcanic island.

The next adventure was boarding tender boats from the ship, which cannot dock in Santorini, and because of the strong currents in the strait has to keep the engines running and sail to and fro the whole time while waiting for the passengers to come and go from the island. The little tenders pulled up beside the ship and we were helped down short ladders from the embarkation deck as they packed us in to ferry us to the port of Santorini. And we realised that there would have been no way to safely board these little boats in yesterday’s swell off Patmos!!

We had opted to join a bus tour of the island, which took us up the side of the steep cliffs along windy roads and through the main town of Fira, then on and up to Oia, where we had some free time to explore Oia village and take in the absolutely breathtaking view of the caldera - the little volcanic islands which have formed from the volcanic eruptions over the years. The sky had clouded over somewhat by the time we reached the main square, but the view was stunning and felt impossible to take in. Where to look first!!!!

We had probably 2 hours to wander, take photos, jostle with the crowds near the castle, which has the best views of all, and soak in the atmosphere of this iconic Greek island. It is every bit as pretty as the postcards portray, so we were thankful that the kinder weather allowed us to experience it all.

And of course, to take the requisite “selfie” that proves we were really there!!

The ship looked very pretty all lit up as we headed back down the hill, onto the tender and back on board. The rest of the evening we were free to enjoy a Greek barbecue feast for dinner as we sailed away from Santorini, then pack and prepare for disembarkation in Athens early the following morning, the end of our brief but lovely experience of cruising the Greek islands.