Live from Seabourn Spirit, Oct 25 - Dec 20 2008

[johnnycruise]

I bet there are more passengers on one deck of the Carnival Freedom than on the entire Spirit! I'm enjoying your photos.

[RachelG]

The menu sounds interesting, and I am vicariously enjoying your cruise--keep up with the updates. But one question--what in the world are caviar in the cloud and foggy potatoes. Those don't sound like cocktails, more like appetizers.

[Margate Cruiser]

We leave Newark for Athens tomorrow See you all on board Saturday. We have the drill you can watch and then a drink at the sky bar.

[cands]

We leave Newark for Athens tomorrow See you all on board Saturday. We have the drill you can watch and then a drink at the sky bar.

 

Safe journey! See you then.

 

Steve (and Chris)

[cands]

The menu sounds interesting, and I am vicariously enjoying your cruise--keep up with the updates. But one question--what in the world are caviar in the cloud and foggy potatoes. Those don't sound like cocktails, more like appetizers.

 

It was a cocktail/appetizer, served in a glass. A spoonful of caviar over the top and then champagne splashed over that. We ate it with a tiny fork. Still not sure what foggy potatoes are;) .

 

Steve.

[cands]

Day 3 – At Sea

We had a restful day at sea today. We enjoyed a late breakfast followed by a cooking demonstration (Mushroom risotto and Zabaglione.)

We then attended our first team trivia contest. There were two teams and it came down to a tie break. It was amazing our team scored anything as most of us were drinking Cosmopolitans! Much fun was had by all. Can you name all 7 of the Von Trapp children?

It was then time for a sea-day nap, followed by a leisurely bath and then the Chef’s Dinner in the dining room. We were at another hosted table, and since we already knew several of the people it was a much better experience.

Then cruise director Matthew put on a show of fifties songs which was well attended and appreciated.

A quiet but totally enjoyable day. Tomorrow we hit Katakolon.

Cheers for now,

Steve.

[cands]

Day 4 - Katakolon.

Katakolon is a pretty seaside town which happens to be fairly close to Olympia. As we pulled into the dock we came alongside the cruise ship Albatros. This is the latest incarnation of the veteran Royal Viking Sea/Norwegian Star. It was also the first ship Chris and I sailed on together in 1999. (as Norwegian Star).

We had breakfast in the cabin and headed ashore just after 9am. At the end of the pier there is a car rental place. We picked up a little Fiat Panda for the day. We met up with some new friends from the ship and the four of us headed to Olympia. This is a very easy and pleasant drive and an economical way to visit Olympia. We arrived at the site a little after 10 and were able to see everything at a leisurely pace in about 2 hours. We spent a further hour in the rather impressive museum. It was a beautiful Autumn day and there were almost no other tourists around.

We then headed into the little township and had a simple but good lunch in a local Taverna.

When we arrived back at Katakolon at about 3:30 the place looked like it had been taken over by a swarm of locusts; there were tourists everywhere. While we were away the Costa Fortuna had arrived and offloaded its 3300 passengers into the tiny township!

Safely back on board, we watched the sailaway and later enjoyed dinner for two in the Restaurant. The staff must have wanted to re-use our table as we were rushed through 5 courses in just over an hour. The food was very nice though, with a few local touches thrown in. (hummus as well as butter with the bread, and my main course of stuffed calamari).

Cheers,

Steve.

 

 

 

[inquiring minds]

Hi Steve and Chris,

 

We are getting so excited reading your posts! Thank you so much!! In the throes of finishing our work and get our packing done, it is a wonderful pleasure to read your posts each evening. We will be leaving in exactly two weeks for a few days in Cairo before we board.

 

Can't wait to relax with a Cosmo along side you fellas in the Sky Bar. See you in Alexandria on Nov 15! In the meantime, keep working hard! Your photos and descriptions are exhilarating!

 

See you soon! cc

[Seabourn-nail]

Thanks for your wonderful posts C and S (because that is what your CC name means, doesn't it?

 

Very nice photos as well!

 

One advice: Just let your waiter in the restaurant know, you like slow service (like we do) and they will ask you when you want your next course.

 

Keep enjoying your selves!

 

Marja

[hoya68]

Thanks for the posts. Linda and I are getting more and more excited about joining everyone on November 15.

 

Steve from Maryland

[Margate Cruiser]

Left Newark had a great flight. Got to Rome in plenty of time. But there is always a but. No bags 2 of them out of 2. They are having a strike today that is the excuse. The good news we shipped 2 bags direct to the ship.We are praying they make it. Well I am sure it will turn out well we have 2 days till we sail.

 

Steve and Judy

[CruisinMatt]

Sorry to hear about your baggage! WoW :eek: you bring a lot of clothes, here I thought you were using the valet service so you didn't have to check bags! :D

 

Bon Voyage!

[dmb707]

Left Newark had a great flight. Got to Rome in plenty of time. But there is always a but. No bags 2 of them out of 2. They are having a strike today that is the excuse. The good news we shipped 2 bags direct to the ship.We are praying they make it. Well I am sure it will turn out well we have 2 days till we sail.

 

Steve and Judy

 

Unfortunately there is nothing like Rome airport to lose your bags, we had it the other way round last year our bags never left Rome!

 

Fingers crossed they arrive, enjoy your cruise I look forward to hearing all your updates

 

deb

[cands]

Day 5 – Itea/Delphi

“If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium”

Another day, another excellent port. This morning we called at Itea for only 5 hours. We took the obligatory tour to Delphi. There were three busloads of us just from Spirit. What a wonderful site this is, high in the hills above Itea. Our guide was knowledgeable and interesting. We had a great visit, given the limited time available. The weather is holding out with temperatures in the low 20s (70s).

We arrived back at the pier to the full Seabourn welcome. It was lovely to finally experience this after reading so much about it. We watched the sailaway and then decided to try the Restaurant for lunch. The fare was more simply presented than at dinner and just as enjoyable.

At 4:30 this afternoon we commenced our transit of the Corinth canal. Everyone was out on deck and the champagne was certainly flowing. (nobody in the Jacuzzi, though). I heard a rumour that the Skye Bar opened 60 bottles of Champagne today! The transit was fun and we took heaps of photos. A unique experience!

I finally made it to the gym this evening and I certainly need to keep up some sort of routine if I am to continue eating 4 and five course meals every day.

We had a late dinner in the Restaurant tonight. The pace was a little slower tonight and the food superb.

I had Tuna Confit with Eggplant Puree, marinated tomatoes, chick peas and curried almonds followed by Wiener Schnitzel. The desert we had tonight was amazing. Chocolate and Peanut Butter Parfait with caramel sauce and Peanut toffee – unbelievably good!

The head chef is new. His name is Alain Bijou. He joined the ship just two weeks ago. Does anyone out there know this guy? We are very impressed with the food so far.

We received the passenger list earlier in the week. I guess the ship is full with 194 passengers aboard. Here’s a rough breakdown of the country of origin of the passengers:

USA – 58

UK – 43

Belgium – 29

Australia – 23

Denmark – 8

Germany – 8

Canada – 4

Ireland – 2

Peru – 2

Norway – 2

Spain -2

That’s it for today,

Cheers,

Steve.

 

 

 

 

[cands]

Left Newark had a great flight. Got to Rome in plenty of time. But there is always a but. No bags 2 of them out of 2. They are having a strike today that is the excuse. The good news we shipped 2 bags direct to the ship.We are praying they make it. Well I am sure it will turn out well we have 2 days till we sail.

 

Steve and Judy

 

Hi,

Gosh, I hope your bags arrive.

See you soon,

Steve (and Chris)

[cands]

Hi Steve and Chris,

 

We are getting so excited reading your posts! Thank you so much!! In the throes of finishing our work and get our packing done, it is a wonderful pleasure to read your posts each evening. We will be leaving in exactly two weeks for a few days in Cairo before we board.

 

Can't wait to relax with a Cosmo along side you fellas in the Sky Bar. See you in Alexandria on Nov 15! In the meantime, keep working hard! Your photos and descriptions are exhilarating!

 

See you soon! cc

 

Hi there,

Thanks for dropping by, and for the nice words. See you soon.

 

Steve.

[cands]

Thanks for your wonderful posts C and S (because that is what your CC name means, doesn't it?

 

Very nice photos as well!

 

One advice: Just let your waiter in the restaurant know, you like slow service (like we do) and they will ask you when you want your next course.

 

Keep enjoying your selves!

 

Marja

 

Hi Marja,

You are correct!

Also the pace was much better tonight, but we will certainly take your advice.

 

Cheers,

CandS

[cands]

Thanks for the posts. Linda and I are getting more and more excited about joining everyone on November 15.

 

Steve from Maryland

 

See you soon, Steve and Linda.

 

Take care,

Steve.

[wripro]

Steve,

 

Thanks for all your updates. The new chef sounds terrific. I'll be aboard the Spirit in February. any idea if he will still be on?

Thanks.

[dmb707]

Hi Steve

 

thanks for all your posts which i am really enjoying it makes me feel like i am on board with you;)

 

glad that the weather is good for you and i trust it holds

 

Chef Alain has he transfered from the Pride do you know?

 

enjoy your travels and thank you for taking the time to share them with us all

 

regards

 

deb

[Bellabella]

Hi Steve,

 

Thoroughly enjoying your posts, the wonderful pics, and the mouthwatering descriptions of the food.

 

(email to follow)

 

Sue

[inquiring minds]

Linda and Steve,

 

Looks like we are joining the cruise on the same day. Are you planning a pre-cruise in Cairo? Steve and I (Camille) will look forward to meeting you. This is our first Seabourn cruise and, from the great exchanges on this board, I believe we will have a wonderful vacation!

 

We'll be arriving in Cairo on Nov 12 and are participating in the Seabourn pre-cruise program.

 

Looking forward to meeting you! cc

[cands]

Hi Steve,

 

Thoroughly enjoying your posts, the wonderful pics, and the mouthwatering descriptions of the food.

 

(email to follow)

 

Sue

 

Hi Sis,

Thanks for posting. I hope all is well at home.

 

Love Steve. (and Chris)

[Seabourn-nail]

Hi Steve,

 

Thoroughly enjoying your posts, the wonderful pics, and the mouthwatering descriptions of the food.

 

(email to follow)

 

Sue

 

Hi "Bellabella", welcome to CruiseCritic!

What a wonderful way to communicate and be updated by your brother!

Very good idea! Have fun!

Marja (Holland)

[Margate Cruiser]

When we woke up this morning a little light was on our phone. After getting the message off of the phone our bags arrived in the middle of the night. What a relief. We had a very enjoyable evening in Athens and a wonderful dinner. The hotel provides a shuttle into the middle of town. I can highly recommend the intercontinental hotel. There are 25 people at our hotel getting ready for a seabourn experience.

 

Steve