First time Cruise ship experience

Just a few days after getting my Schengen visa through Greece, or the Hellenic Republic Consulate, I decided to travel to Athens. There are low-cost airlines from the United Arab Emirates that land directly on some famous islands such as Mykonos and Santorini, but I preferred to go directly to Athens. As we all know, Athens is the country’s capital city and the most convenient destination, especially for first-time travelers to Greece, where you can arrange your onward travels to any of the touristy islands and ancient historical sites.

Luckily, within a short period, I found an attractive deal that included airfare from Dubai via Emirates Airlines, with 2 nights hotel stay in Athens and a cruise package. I was excited as it would be my first time on a cruise ship, so you could only imagine my excitement. Not to mention that I would be traveling to Greece for the first time; a country that has been on my travel wish list for a long time. As we all know Greece is famous for its mythology, ancient philosophers, and ruins of monumental temples, among others.

From Athens, our group was taken to Lavrion port to board the ship and join the cruise to visit 5 significant and historic Greek islands namely, Mykonos, Patmos, Rhodes, Crete and Santorini. Plus, we had to visit Kusadasi Turkey where we explored the classical ruins of Ephesus in Izmir, which according to tradition, it is the area where Saint John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary both came to live. To me, the most unexpected activity during this trip was to visit the Shrine of the Virgin Mary, which is now a pilgrimage site that is believed to be where Mama Mary spent her last years on earth after fleeing from Jerusalem following the death of Jesus Christ.

This travel piqued my curiosity even more about Greek Mythology, as well as Greco-Roman history and its significance to the spread of Christianity. The remnants are still there and the islands are uniquely beautiful, endlessly waiting, ready to welcome their visitors.

I absolutely enjoyed my cruising experience and one of the things that made my travel even more enjoyable was the comfort that I did not need to book and transfer hotels to any of the islands that I visited.

Being on a cruise ship is like you are in a luxurious floating hotel. You can eat the food to your heart’s content and drink as much as you can. You can even take part in the many activities onboard, take a dive at the swimming pool or have a relaxing massage; depending on the add-on package that you wish to avail. In the evening you can either go to bed early or stay up late and join the party, or play at the Casino. The following day, you arrive at a new destination and disembark ready for the day’s adventure, which can be done by either joining a group excursion organized by the cruise itself or by doing the exploration by yourself. The only important thing that you have to remember is to go back to the ship before the allotted deadline for re-embarkation.

Overall, my travel experience was truly fantastic especially the cruising part via the Celestyal Olympia cruise ship where I also met many of my Kabayans working onboard who made me feel even safer, especially since I travel solo. The inter-island excursions were all exceptionally well organized. Their respective tour guides were as interesting as the stories they shared with us. Although the cost of the cruise and the island-guided excursions were pricey/costly, to me, they were all worth the price for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Cruising photos: