Wednesday, 23 October, 2019
At Sea, from Crete to Haifa 

This morning we are sailing smoothly on our first full sea day.  The  weather is lovely and the Captain expects temperatures to hover in the mid-70s, with a very slight chance of rain this afternoon—we shall sea/see.  But if I expect to be caught up when the Encore docks in Haifa tomorrow morning, I must first return to Piraeus, Greece.

Monday Afternoon, 21 October 2019
Sailing from Piraeus 

The Encore is docked as far away from my hotel as is nautically possible, but the ride costs a mere €6,00 (a little over US$6.00), even with two weighty suitcases.  Just before I spy the Encore at the far end of all the docks, I am thinking the taxi driver may be taking me directly to Crete.

Seabourn Encore (Off Coast of Crete)

Boarding goes very quickly at 12:15pm, even for a first-time Seabourn cruiser.  All staterooms are ready and luggage will be delivered shortly.  The stateroom, bathroom, and veranda are quite roomy, especially for one person, with a large walk-in closet, as well as numerous secret drawers and cabinets for hiding things.  The bar is especially large and is fully stocked with soft drinks, wine, a large (liter-size) bottle of Beefeater gin (all gratis), which I was able to select prior to embarking.

I meet Diana, my stewardess from Zimbabwe, who takes care of everything I might need, including choosing what kind of specialty soap I wish to use.  She is a ubiquitous presence throughout the first few days of the cruise, taking care of my stateroom cleaning and any service requests I might have.

My stateroom is elegantly appointed, with plenty of room in which to move around.  The king bed is very comfortable and the matching furnishings are well coordinated.  The marbleized bathroom has two sinks, along with a separate shower and full bathtub.  Happily there are still individual packages of Moulton Brown shampoos, etc., rather than ungainly, but environmentally-friendly bottles hanging in the shower.

The stateroom has a pile of stuff to read, including several invitations to special dinners and events as well as $150.00 Seabourn first-timer spending money (which will help pay for the optional unlimited wifi for the entire cruise, and which seems to be working very well, even though we are currently at sea).  Other special gifts in my stateroom include a welcoming glass of champagne with hors d'ouerves, that full liter bottle of Beefeater gin, and invitations to various special functions and dinners--about which I will give more details later.

After lunch and starting to unload all my gear, at 4:00pm all passengers are called for the obligatory life-vest and safety drill, which takes only 20 minutes (no need to take life-vests with us).  Today's sail-away celebration begins immediately after the drill and just past 5:00pm the Encore slips from its moorings and (very) quietly moves out upon the Aegean Sea.  There is lots of alcohol on offer and it is all included in the price of the stateroom--I wish I could drink as much as I could when I was younger, but I do enjoy a gin and tonic out on the upper decks.

Cruise Director and Assistant Cruise Director

View of Piraeus as the Encore Sails Away

The Ship's Band

Leaving Piraeus Harbor (above and below)

Looking Toward Top of 6-Story Glass Atrium from Main Pool

The Band and Vocalist

Piraeus Sail-Away Party

Sail-Away View of Piraeus

Slightly tipsy I head for a 6:00pm lecture, "Stories from Greek Mythology," by the main guest speaker, Dr. Daniel E. Nijensohn  (there are several other lecturers on board as well), about the myths of pre-Homeric Greece, including the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. On tomorrow's shore excursion I will be re-visiting the locale of that story:  the Palace of Knossos, just outside of Heraklion, the Cretan capital and central city.  The speaker and lecture are quite interesting and I am glad I attended, but the timing forces me to miss the 6:30pm Social for Solo Travelers.  I will later learn that over 30 singles attended, a record number for any Seabourn cruise. 

In my stateroom I find an unexpected invitation to have dinner tomorrow with Dr. Nijensohn, the professor whose lecture I had just attended--he is both a professor of cultural history and a neurological surgeon--quite an interesting combination--and is currently associated with Yale University.  I'll report on my digestive process in the next blog.

Without much rest time, I prepare myself for tonight's "elegant casual" dress code (no tie or jacket required in main dining room; anything goes everywhere else), and head for dinner in the Colonnade Restaurant, the less formal venue for dining (in which I also had lunch after boarding the Encore).  At lunch the Colonnade offers open seating and buffet-style dining.  In the evening, I am escorted to a table (for myself) and make dinner selections from a menu.  Although the food is tasty and well-prepared (main course is grilled sea bass), the selection seems rather limited--at least compared to the other cruise lines I have sailed on multiple times, Oceania and Holland America.

After dinner, I return to my stateroom to finish unpacking and putting things away, although Diana has already placed the empty suitcases under the bed and freshened the bed linens and towels.  It doesn't take me long to drop down on the bed and drift off to sleep.

And with those sweet dreams I will sign off for now.  The next blog will take me through Tuesday and Wednesday, one day in Agios Nikolais, Crete, and one day at sea.  I may start that blog later this evening, after dinner, since the next two days, in Israel, will keep me very busy.  Until then, sweet dreams to all as I continue my adventure toward the world of Arabian Nights.