Our First Cruise - Thursday 06/05/2010 – Birmingham to Crete

We woke on time to walk across the airport car park and check in for our flight to Heraklion in Crete. After a painless check in we had breakfast having passed through security to be air-side. As we ate bacon baps washed down by tea still before 8.00am there were several determined holiday-makers drinking pints! We were watching Sky News with no volume and someone with learning difficulties typing, in real time, the subtitles – you need to experience this it was magnificent entertainment.
Being more accustomed to budget air lines we found the Thomas Cook flight very pleasant and it passed quickly – we landed at Heraklion by 2.00pm and reclaimed our luggage which consisted of two large Prince kit bags – we refuse to pay for wheeled suitcases as they are almost as heavy as their contents. Nothing was left to chance by Ocean Village their representatives ushered us from the airport arrivals to the coach park and we were bused to the port and we went through the induction system. The staff issued us with photo id, which will be referred to as the cruise card, and cabin keys. Our baggage remained on the coach as far as we were aware but we were promised that it would materialize outside our stateroom some time during the afternoon.
We were then allowed to pass through the check point and onto the dock where the ship was moored. We used our cruise card for the first time and when it was scanned our picture appeared on the security computer.
Once on board we found our way through the ship to B deck and found our cabin, B255, towards the stern – we had opted for an outside cabin – meaning one with a window looking out to sea. This was a middle option between a stateroom with a balcony and an inside cabin with no window, interestingly we found out that inside cabins while lacking a window do have a set of curtains to draw over a blank wall to give the illusion of having a window. I am deliberately using the word window rather than porthole because these were large square windows and in the crew quarters the portholes were small and round as seen in all children’s cartoons.
We dumped our hand luggage and set off to explore the ship – it seemed big but my research tells me it is medium size for cruise liners. We were immediately impressed by the cleanliness and the politeness of all of the crew we came upon. On deck 12 were told there was a BBQ to welcome arrivals like ourselves. We tackled the two flights of stairs and arrived at the Plantation Restaurant, no BBQ was apparent but there was plenty of food freely available – we selected a snack and found ourselves a table on the rear sundeck with a magnificent view of Crete. Only later did we discover that the BBQ had still been serving on the leisure deck next to the swimming pool but this was no a big deal.
After this we returned to our cabin to find that one of our two bags had arrived, we took it in and unpacked for our two week stay, the cabin was spacious enough for us and it was nice to know we would not be packing and unpacking as we went from place to place. Later the other bag had not made its way to our new home so we went to report it at the reception desk in the Village square on deck 6. We were reassured that it could still be on its way but the staff would look into it, on our way back to the cabin we passed B225 and our bag was outside. We reclaimed it and told reception that we now were complete but later a purser arrived at the cabin to check.
The induction process had involved us giving in our passports and the intention was that they would be checked by Egyptian officials on board so that they could be visa-stamped for those passengers intending to visit Cairo.
At 5.30pm we had an Emergency Drill where we had to make our way to the allocated muster station with our life-jackets and get the same type of briefing as you do on a plane. The difference is that they just tell you to get to the muster station with the life-jacket and after that in a real emergency you will be allocated staff members who will be aware of the requirements of any particular emergency. The only bonus of this meeting was to find out that we would not have to attend a similar meeting the next week when we took on another cohort of passengers back in Crete before the second week of our combined cruise.
At 7.00pm we experienced our first “sail-away” hearing for our first time our captain saying; “The Chief Engineer assures me that we have enough turns on the elastic band so I suggest you get a Gin and Tonic or whatever is your poison and join us on deck for tonight’s Sail Away” It was enjoyable watching the ship extricate itself from the dock and the tugs maneuvering to get us pointed out of the harbour before we found ourselves in the open sea with a days sailing in front of us.
We then spent a half hour in the hot tub on deck 12 before going to eat at the Waterfront restaurant on deck 7. We were getting used to the catering, we found ourselves a table then raided the buffet separately partly because we tend to eat different things and partly to avoid having our table cleared by the attentive staff while we were away from the table. The food was excellent but as it is served as a buffet you end up with strange mixtures of ingredients on the same plate and this is not always fully successful.
After dinner we wandered round the ship and charged a beer to our cabin before retiring. The steady throb of the engines does transmit through the ship and perhaps was more apparent in a rearward cabin like ours but we found it restful and we both slept well.