Summary

It has been a week since we flew home from Athens and time to reflect.

This was a very pleasant trip overall. Probably the longest we have been away, or close to it. Our England trip back in 1998 (25th Anniversary) was about 30 days long as well. What have we learned that could be helpful on future trips? Well, lets start with the cruises. We went first class on the Seabourn crossing in comparison with the Oceania Med cruise. Taking into account the different suite classes, we can make some comparisons with the apparent cruise line cultures. The Seabourn Odyssey carried 438 guests (450 capacity). The Oceania Riviera is twice the tonnage of the Odyssey with a capacity if 1,250 (never heard the actual number on board).

Pre-cruise - Advantage Seabourn. Much less hassle
Check In - Advantage Oceania. Seabourn's check-in process seemed confused and disorganized
Life boat drill - Advantage Seabourn. Seabourn's was painless. Oceania seemed to make it as painful as possible.
Suite - No advantage. Considering the class of suite, both were fine.
Internet - Strong advantage Seabourn. Oceania's service should be an embarrassment to them, free or not. I completely gave up trying to upload photos into our blog on the first day. Oceania provided "FREE UNLIMITED" internet service (when it worked, which was rarely) whereas they regularly charged $28/day. It did not help for the Oceania Cruise Director to publicly joke how bad the internet service was aboard the ship. The Oceania service was one connection per suite, so we had to take turns trying to get on-line. The Seabourn service (also free) was slow at times but it worked and I could upload photos. Seabourn also allowed one connection per guest so we did not have to take turns.
Room Service - No advantage. Service on both cruises were good.
Dining cuisine - Advantage Seabourn. Seabourn served consistently excellent food without need of specialty restaurants. The Oceania specialty restaurants cuisine was good, but I would not agree with their claim that it is as good as any 5-Star restaurant you would find ashore. The general dining room cuisine on Oceania was adequate at best.
Laundry - Advantage Oceania. Although Oceania charged for the self service laundry, Seabourn's laundry was so small and hot and poorly ventilated, paying for the Oceania laundry was a bargain.
Disembarkation - Advantage Seabourn. Seamless, we just walked off the Seabourn at our leasure. Oceania kicked us out of our rooms no later than 0800 and we sat in their show lounge for a couple of hours waiting our turn to leave.
Housekeeping - Advantage Seabourn. T noticed an ever present dusty odor in our Oceania suite.
Butler - No advantage. Seabourn did not have "butler" service, but our stewardess did a great job. We did not find any additional value from the butler on the Oceania and at times, it was annoying.
Shops - No advantage. Seabourn's shops were smaller than Oceania, but same merchandise,
Common Areas/Elegance/Ambiance - Advantage Oceania. Oceania had nicer common areas, more wood, more comfortable chairs, fancier.
Professionalism - Strong Advantage Seabourn. We definitely got a better "feeling" from Seabourn compared to Oceania. Oceania's Destination Services were rude. TV information regarding cruise position, weather, etc. not updated. We interpreted as being "too much trouble" for them to keep it updated.
On Board Activities - Advantage Seabourn. Limited but worth attending. Oceania seemed to steer toward the Las Vegas type show with little else other than afternoon trivia contests.
On Board Games - No advantage. About the same on both ships
Gratuities - Strong Advantage Seabourn. All tips were included in the Seabourn cruise fare unless you felt the need to add more. Oceania added 18% to everything you purchased on board whether it was deserved or not. And let us not forget the $23/day/guest Oceania added onto the final invoice.
Casino - No advantage. Oceania had more slots and table games. Not being gamblers, who cares?
Library - Advantage Oceania. Oceania had a nice library, quiet and secluded. Seabourn had book shelves in the same room which contained a coffee bar and their customer service desks.
Hiding Places - Advantage Oceania. Larger ship afforded additional room for quiet places
Deck Areas - Slight Advantage Oceania. Larger ship afforded additional room for deck seating. On neither ship did we have trouble finding a deck chair to use but occasionally we could not find a deck table on the Seabourn
Bars - No advantage. Both carried diet tonic!!! Need to specifically request this on our next cruise.
Entertainment - No advantage. Oceania had "shows" which we did not attend but Seabourn had some interesting seminars.
Staff - No advantage.
Beverage Service - Strong Advantage Seabourn. Not having to produce a card and sign a receipt for drinks was very nice. Bartenders seemed more experienced on Seabourn. Oceania prices for cocktails and wine were outrageous. $15.00 for a gin and tonic and $60.00 for a bottle of wine your could buy for $12 at Costco (at least that is what the Oceania wine steward told us).
On-board Credits - Strong Advantage Seabourn. We started with $1,000 of on-board credits on Seabourn and $1,000 on Oceania. The outrageous costs for liquor and other "incidentals" on the Oceania cruise meant we ended up with a significant ($1,200) invoice due at the end of the cruise. On Seabourn however, we had enough credits at the end of the cruise to purchase a beautiful Polo leather Gladstone style bag for me ($500) and an unique hand bag for T ($300). What makes this even more remarkable is that, since we had so many shore excursions (which we paid for separately) on the Oceania cruise, we were not on-board nearly as much time as we were on the Seabourn transatlantic crossing. We drank a lot more on the Seabourn than on Oceania.
In Room Amenities - No advantage. Oceania had a DVD player but no coffee maker in the room. Seabourn had a coffee maker but no DVD player.
TV Communications - Advantage Seabourn. Oceania did not even keep ship position and weather current. Obviously not important to them
Written Communications - Advantage Seabourn. Oceania pumped out too much paper which did not add any value
Stress Level - Advantage Seabourn. Very little stress. Oceania caused too much.
Buffet Service - Advantage Seabourn. Oceania's approach to having a crew member dish out the food at the buffet as opposed to self service was stupid.
Dining room service - Advantage Seabourn. Oceania seemed to lack ability to check people into the dining room and escort them to tables. Left waiting at check in repeatedly
Shore Excursions - No Advantage. Cannot really compare since there was only one shore excursion on the Seabourn. However, Oceania shore guides were of inconsistent quality. A good one at Rome, but others were marginal.
Ship to Shore Transportation - No Advantage. No tender ships experienced on Seabourn. Plenty on the Oceania and they did well.
Feedback requests - Advantage Oceania. They asked for feedback at mid-cruise and at the end-of-cruise. Seabourn just had an end-of-cruise feedback form.
Followup - No Advantage.
Electrical outlets - No Advantage.
Bathroom toiletries - No Advantage.
Exclusive Lounge - No Advantage. Seabourn did not have a lounge and the Oceania lounge was inconsequential and uninviting. Did not even serve cocktails.
Bedding - Advantage Seabourn. Much nicer sheets
Formality - No advantage. Seabourn had three "formal' nights during our 14 day cruise while Oceania did not have any. Neither ship required ties to be worn at any time. On "formal" nights, Seabourn requested gentlemen to wear a jacket and Oceania requested the same when attending one of their specialty restaurants.

Overall, Seabourn was a first class act and Oceania was second class. Oceania's offering is just a miniature of what you would expect on a Royal Caribbean mega ship. While the Seabourn cruises are more expensive than those offered by Oceania, the Seabourn was much more enjoyable and, when trying to take all the intangibles into account, the overall cost was essentially the same.

From the start, it was obvious that Oceania was locked into their rules and, if something was not convenient for them, they would not do it. The continual "nickel and dime" additional costs became very aggravating. The extremely high cost of liquor was also aggravating. Their trip was supposed to include round-trip airfare. Since we were already in Barcelona, they did not have the cost of flying us over there. This bought us no additional consideration. The trip also included transfers from the airport to the hotel before the trip. Since we were taking a Seabourn post-cruise tour of Barcelona, we offered to meet the Oceania transfer at the airport. This was not convenient so Oceania just told us we would have to pay for our own cab to the hotel. This seemed to the be culture of Oceania.

The flight back from Athens to Philadelphia was on a Airbus 330-300. We flew coach and paid extra to get two seats together on the starboard side of the plane. The 330-300 has two seats on each side of the plane and four seats across the middle. As it turned out, it was not necessary to pay more for the two side seats as the flight was less than half full and people spread out once airborne. We were happy with the room and leg space. We were fearing something like you find on a Southwest flight, which over the 11 hours of this flight, would have been very painful.

Luggage. Even though we thought we packed light for a one month trip, there were still items we never used. I took too many pairs of shoes, too many pairs of pants, etc. The power converter strip we purchased came in very handy. We have ordered a second one for our next trip.

Customs and the reentry process to the US were non-events. Our Global Entry (and accompanying TSA Precheck) credentials made it quick and painless compared to the long lines we observed going through the normal processes. Hopefully it will not become common knowledge that it is well worth the $100 fee and the face-to-face interview required to get these credentials. If everyone starts doing it, it will get just as crowded as the normal process.

Before leaving the Seabourn Odyssey, we took their on-board offer (5% discount) and booked the same room for the crossing in April, 2017. That reflects just how much we enjoyed the Seabourn experience. The crossing next year starts in Barbados and ends in Monte Carlo, stopping in Funchal, Barcelona and Marseille. What we are going to do before or after the cruise is not yet determined.

We had no thoughts of taking a similar Oceania offer of booking another cruise with them, despite the discount.  

Day 33 Home Again

It is Thursday, May 12. We arrived home around noon after leaving Houston yesterday morning and spending the night at our favorite Red Roof Inn in Little Rock, AR (they accept pets). After arriving in Houston Sunday night (Monday morning Athens time), we did not sleep well either Sunday or Monday nights. Tuesday night was better and last night was better yet.

Everything looks good here in St. Louis. The backyard has blossomed (or at least leafed out) since our departure one month ago. John has told us the pond leak has been fixed. We will see! They have had a lot of rain in St. Louis while we were gone. My rain gauge shows four inches, but I don't know over what time frame that has collected. We went through some rain, heavy at times, between Memphis and St. Louis today.

I took almost 1.200 photos on the trip. I have added the ones from the Oceania cruise post-cruise. If anyone would like to see them all, let me know.

Day 29 Athens, Philadelphia and Houston

We decided to have a club sandwich via Room Service last night instead of going out. In retrospect, I wish we had gone out. The two sandwiches cost us 60 Euros and were marginally good. Oh well.

We arose at 0600 Athens time, prepared for the day and called for our luggage to be picked up at 0645. We went down to the lobby about 0700 and checked out. There was literally no one else out at that time of day. We sat ourselves down in the opulent lobby and waited. The information sheet we were given last Thursday when we arrived said we would be transported to the airport by private taxis, leaving the hotel at 0730. Around 0720, a young man walked up and asked if we were the Howells. He was our driver. We loaded and off we went.

As noted yesterday, we saw a posting in the hotel lobby Saturday afternoon that there was a public service employee strike in Athens on both Friday and Saturday. Apparently, this was part of a three day general strike that began Friday. We found a notice slipped under our door Saturday night warning that a demonstration was scheduled in the Syntagma Square (in front of our hotel) for 0900 Sunday morning. The notice suggested contacting the Concierge if we were planning to leave Sunday as it might be difficult. If correct, with our plans to leave at 0730, I did not think we would have a problem, but I called Concierge Desk (several times), but never got an answer. I believe we were very lucky not having any difficulties this weekend due to the strike. If we had decided to visit the Acropolis on Saturday instead of Friday, we would have been very disappointed.

On the way to the airport, which was a 90 minute drive, we chatted with the driver. He said today (Sunday) the Parliament was to vote on the new austerity measures proposed by the Government. As we drove away from the hotel, the police were obviously preparing for the demonstration. Lots of police and military personnel with riot gear on every corner. The austerity vote was passed by the Parliament on Sunday. Greece still has some difficult times ahead of it.

We got to the airport without problems. The driver dropped us off and took off. We went to the American Airlines counter which was not open yet. After waiting about 30 minutes, they opened. As we were waiting our turn, airline employees were interviewing travelers in line about their stays in Greece. It was an interesting approach to security. The lady we talked with was, at first, a little concerned we had only been in the country for a couple of days. However, after we detailed why and what we had done over the last couple of days, she decided we were not terrorists. She actually gave us some suggestions for what we might want to visit the next time we are in Athens. We actually had a bathroom scale in our hotel room and used it to distribute the weight between our two checked bags. When we checked the bags, we found we did well. With a 50 lb (22.7 kg) limit, one bag weighed 20.4 kg and the other 19.5 kg.

After getting our boarding passes, we decided to get some breakfast. We are so ashamed, but we opted for the airport McDonald's. We boarded the Airbus 330-300 and found our seats. We had been a little concerned about the upcoming 11 hour flight in Coach, but it was OK. The leg room was adequate and there the flight was not crowded so people could, and did, spread out throughout the cabin. I don't think we slept much at all during the flight which departed Athens at 1130 Sunday morning.

We arrived at the Philadelphia at 1630 local time (2230 Athens time). For the first time, we were able to fully appreciate our Global Entry credentials. This is a program we signed up for last year, in anticipation of this trip. While we had to pay a $100 each fee and had to drive to Chicago for a face-to-face interview with a Customs official, we think this trip made the benefits obvious. First, we did not have to fill out the obligatory customs form before arriving in Philadelphia. We got off the plane, walked up to a Global Entry kiosk, inserted our passport, scanned our finger prints and clicked the button proclaiming we were not bringing anything in that would warrant a customs check. We did not have to present the Global Entry card, the system recognized us via our passports. The kiosk then took your picture and spit out a receipt, with your image on it, to present to the customs agent. This was relatively painless and quick. Then, after collecting our checked baggage, we were able to bypass the long line  at the custom desk, hand the agent the receipt and we were through. After customs, we rechecked our bags to Houston and went back through security. The Global Entry credentials also includes the TSA Precheck which got us around the long security lines and we did not have to take out our computers or take off our shoes, belts, jackets, etc. Apparently, the Global Entry system is not yet widely used, except for airline employees (pilots, stewardesses) and a few others. Therefore, it is a really convenience.

We got back on the American commuter flight from Philadelphia to Houston and took off at 1830 local time (0030 Monday Athens time). The flight was four hours long, arriving in Houston at 2130 local time (0430 Monday Athens time). Laura was there to pick us to and we got to their new house at about 2300 local time (0600 Athens time). Therefore, the return trip lasted about 24 hours.

As expected, we did not sleep very well Sunday night but we will become acclimated soon.

We intend to start the two day drive home on Wednesday, staying the night in Little Rock before arriving home on Thursday. I sent John an email this morning saying we are anxious to see our perfectly complete backyard upon our arrival.

Day 28: Athens and the Acropolis Museum

We arose this morning around 0900 for our last full day in Greece. Tomorrow morning we head to the airport at 0730 to catch a 1130 flight to Houston via Philadelphia (in Coach).

We went out again for breakfast, learning yesterday we can get better food at a much lower price away from the hotel. This morning we ventured out a bit further than yesterday and settled on a sidewalk cafe called Only 1. We both had a Greek coffee and T had a ham/cheese omelet and I tried their Supreme Salty Pancake (aka crepe) with cheese, beef, egg, mushrooms, onion. Both were very, very good and almost too much to eat.

T's omelet

My Salty Pancake, aka, Crepe

Only 1 Cafe, 34 Nikis, Athens

We realized we did not bring our map with us. We were trying to decided whether or not to go back to the hotel to fetch it or to just "wing" it, knowing we had almost 24 hours to find the hotel again. Adventure over ruled common sense. We struck out southward to find the liquor store we spotted yesterday. We found it and continued westward into the Plaka. We began recognizing some landmarks and street hawkers. I don't think it would take us very long to become acclimated to the area. We stopped at a couple of shops and essentially finished our shopping for the trip.

The Acropolis was almost looming above the roof tops. We decided to try the Acropolis Museum today. Yesterday, after visiting the Acropolis itself, we were just too worn out. We passed the southeast entry point to the Acropolis and were amazed that it appeared closed...on a Saturday. It was still only about 1100 so we thought maybe they did not open until noon. We went across the street to the Acropolis Museum, paid our 5 Euros each for entry and spent the next five hours leisurely going through the exhibits and having a late lunch at the museum cafe.

Vivid Bouganvillia at the entrance to the museum

Ongoing excavation work below the entry to the museum

Lots of pottery in museum. I was told not supposed to photo after taking this shot

Greek Gold Coins

Magic Sphere

Lego Model of Acropolis

For lunch T had a variety of cold cuts and figs and raisins...and "the biggest and hardest croutons I've ever encountered". I had a cucumber, zucchini, olive oil and cream cheese salad. Both were excellent when accompanied with a glass of Greek white wine.

Lunch at the Museum

View of the Acropolis from the Museum

During lunch it became obvious that the Acropolis never did open today. Not knowing why it would be closed on a Saturday, we thanked our good luck that we visited it yesterday.

Entrance to the Museum

We left the museum around 1600, very tired, but determined to find our way back to the hotel. The bread crumbs I dropped on the way to the museum were gone. Yes, they have pigeons in Athens! We actually did OK finding our way back to the hotel, although T was getting pretty tired. We landed in the hotel bar and after a couple of drinks retired to the room. At the elevator, T saw a notice stating that there was a public service employee strike going on yesterday and today. Wow, now we really felt lucky. The Acropolis was open yesterday (first day of the strike) and the museum was open today (second day of the strike). We really lucked out!!!

Tomorrow we are supposed to call to have our luggage picked up at 0700 and we are to be in the lobby by 0715 for a 0730 departure to the airport. The vacation is coming to an end, but it was a good one and we have had a great time. This is a great hotel, just need to stay away from the restaurant and bar. It is a short walk from most of the action.

Day 27; Athens and The Acropolis

We did not get out from the room until after 1000 this morning, but we got the rest we needed. Instead of having breakfast at the hotel, we walked over to the place we had dinner last night. We both had a ham/cheese omelet and a Greek coffee. As with last night's dinner, it was delicious and almost too much to eat. Cost for both of us (with tip) was 20 Euros. That would have bought us less than three eggs at the hotel. They had a fresh fruit stand outside the cafe with a delicious looking pile of grapes. If we are not too tired, we thought we might stop by on the way back to the hotel and get some.

After breakfast, we started down through the Plaka area of the city. Very interesting. Lots of shops and interesting places. We could see the Acropolis as we approached it. The map we had was not very helpful, partly because it was in Greek. There are two entries to the Acropolis. One on the southeast corner and the other on the west. We approached it from the northeast. We came to a fork in the road and had to chose between continuing up or going back down. We could see the Acropolis above us so we decided to go up. The streets became narrower and narrower until they were not streets but paths between small cottages. Every once in awhile however, we would observe an Acropolis sign with an arrow, which kept us going

After much climbing, we finally arrived at a locked gate and the path continued back down the hill. We ended up back at the fork in the road. This time we went down and found the entry at the southeast corner of the Acropolis. We stood in line for about 30 minutes to get our tickets (40 Euros for both of us). If we want to go to the museum, we will have to stand in another line to get those tickets.

Once inside, we began the ascent once again. T tells me (according to her Fitbit) we climbed a total of 800 feet today and marched 5 miles. But, it was worth it and we were in no hurry. Not being part of a tour, we could take as much time as we wanted and go where we wanted.

They are putting the Acropolis back together using the pieces of stone as best they can. There are parts that they are having to replace pieces of marble and the process will take a long time. There are stones everywhere and they are all numbered.

After exhausting ourselves to our satisfaction, we decinded the hill and walked over to the Roman Market (Agora) where we had lunch and did some shopping.

We opted for a "small" sampling of their appetizers including meat balls, dolmades, fried cheese, spinach pie, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, fried peppers, cheese fritter and tzatziki. And of course a couple glasses of wine.

The Local Cat Monitored Our Lunch

Hadrian Library

Athen's Hard Rock Cafe

We staggered back to the hotel and had a drink at the bar before retiring to the room to prepare for dinner tonight on the roof of the hotel.

We went to the 8th floor restaurant at our appointed 1930 time. I was expecting a roof top setting. There was outdoor seating available, but T thought it better to sit inside. The dinner was OK/good. We started with a shared Yellow Fin Tuna tartare and a glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne. For an entree, I had a shrimp/saffron/zucchini risotto and T had a roasted duck breast with foie gras. Upon the recommendation of the Wine Sommelier we had a bottle of a Greek white which we probably will not find in the States. At the close of the dinner, we both had a tiramisu with a glass of 20 year old Port. I also took some pictures of the surroundings from the terrace.

Acropolis from Hotel Roof

Parliament from Hotel Roof

In Front of the Grande Bretagne

Tomorrow, Saturday, is our last full day here in Athens before we fly out on Sunday.