Today was our mid-cruise break. The ship docked in Crete for 5 whole hours between 7am and noon. We decided early on that there can’t be anything that unusual on this particular Greek island that would be worth setting an alarm so we opted to stay onboard for today. Our plans? A couples bamboo massage and then hanging out by the pool.
Just like we did on our honeymoon cruise 30 years ago, we spent some time having complete strangers beat us with sticks… literally. Okay, we didn’t have quite the same experience on our honeymoon but this time we were looking for some serious deep tissue work. And wow, did we get that. For 75 minutes, two lovely women used their hands, elbows, arms, and warm bamboo sticks to try to get all the knots out of the various places on the body. It was very nice although the two knots in my trapezius muscles that refused to release are now just plain sore. And when all was said and done, we got the typcial hard sell: $400 worth of recommended products for us to use at home. Thanks, but no thanks.
Travel tip #15: Like many other retail operations, much of the cruise extras are based on upselling. Be prepared to be asked to buy, book, and spend over and above what you’ve already paid. If you are ready for it, you can act appropriately but we notice people who, like us in the past, were really buying into everything they were told they “needed.”
Suitably relaxed, we headed to the pool deck to find that many of our fellow passengers had also opted to hang out on board and it took some time to find empty deck chairs. But we eventually managed and then spent the next 5 or so hours lounging, reading, drinking fruity drinks, listening to music, and not much else. We took a break to go for lunch in the dining room which most people don’t bother with. The buffet is a much more popular daytime option as people can eat their lunch on their deck chairs.
Travel tip #16: Embrace hand sanitizer. Cruise ships take the threat of illness like the noro virus very seriously and disinfectant is everywhere. Whenever you come aboard the ship or enter the dining room, you will be met with a spray bottle of hand sanitizer and a smiling face asking you to “washy, washy” so we can be “happy, happy”.
We instead head down to the Grand Pacific dining room where their isn’t quite the same focus on disinfectant since patrons don’t actually touch the food. We were joined by a small number of others which means that we get personally cooked food and excellent service. Today that service included an entire bottle of wine! We had a drink package that allows us to have unlimited drinks in a certain category including some wines. We both had a glass of pinot grigio with lunch and the waiter just kept filling our glasses until the bottle was gone. Oops?
We were so exhausted from doing nothing that a nap was required before dinner. Tonight’s culinary adventure was a specialty meal in the Italian restaurant. It was fine but really nothing special – Frank had veal scallopini and I had sea bass. And then cannoli and panna cotta for desert. The evenings entertainment was a Cuban themed variety show which was also mildly entertaining. All in all a good way to say good bye to Greece and the first part of the cruise. Tomorrow we are headed to Malta and the final days at sea.
Dubious data:
6,029 steps and 20 floors
Photographs taken: 1
Ships in port: 2
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