Today in Ephesus, Turkey, tomorrow in Mykonos, Greece.  But first I return to our call in Split, Croatia, a city whose name has fascinated me since I first saw it as the end-of-the-line railway station on many express trains in Europe, when I was travelling in earlier decades.  

Thursday, 23 April 2015
Split, Croatia

Unfortunately, my mood is still sour after being flooded out of my stateroom in the middle of last night and getting no help at all from the administrative crew on board the Zuiderdam.  But you will need to go back to my earlier entry, entitled, "HAL Tries to Drown Complaining Passenger in Flooded Cabin," to get some of the details.  I will not bore my readers with everything that has gone wrong on this cruise so far--let's just say that while the ports have been wonderful, everything else about the Zuiderdam is cursed!  I will give more details when I return home to Tucson, but I no longer have any trust or faith in Holland America.  After 14 cruises, it is disappointing to report this, but I think it's time to try another cruise line and I recommend that anyone thinking abou sailing with HAL should talk with me first.

I have asked the Seattle home office to fly me home from Venice when the first 11 days of the cruise conclude, but of course no on board the Zuiderdam has made the slightest move to make this happen. I have been put in a veranda cabin on deck five (although they have been telling me since day 1 that there are no veranda cabins avilable) that I will have to vacate in Venice.  Where they will try to put me after that I have no idea, nor do I know what cabin I will be staying in for the rest of the cruise.  My luggage (fortunately empty) has been completely ruined.  And I have to waste my time moving from one cabin to another.

But the medieval Old City of Split still stands entirely within the walls (at least what remains of them) of the palace of the Roman Emporer Diocletian.  Imagine the size of this palace, if an entire small city can grow up within its precincts.  The Zuiderdam docks within walking distance of the palace entrance, and I spend a pleasant few hours exploring the narrow streets, old architecture, and excellent bakeries.