Flight to Athens was uneventful. Arrived on time, and took a cab to the Intercontinental Athens for one night. Hotel was beautiful, but, is in the middle of nowhere. They had a shuttle bus that takes you to and from the square in Athens every half hour or so, but, we did not feel comfortable waiting for the shuttle at the square for the return because of all the beggars and vagrants. Next time, will stay somewhere closer to the Plaka district, even if the rooms are smaller.

Embarkation was a breeze. For some reason, they said do not arrive at the pier until 3:00 pm. We got there around noon and were one of the first few people to board. We heard the line was very long later in the day as the Israeli immigration officials were checking everyones passport before boarding the ship in Athens. This cruise included a stop in Ashdod Israel.

Upon boarding, we bought the soda card for 5.00 a day which turned out to be well worth it. Headed up to the buffet, had lunch and then headed to the cabin. Read more