Feed on
Posts
Comments

Cruise Day #6 — Split, Croatia

Jul 12th, 2010 by

This morning we dropped anchor offshore of Split, Croatia. Tendering operations began around 8am, and Libby and I were ashore by 9:00. On the tender, we met a couple of nice people from Texas… one of whom was also disappointed about missing San Marino (she’s also interested in hitting 100 countries, current count = 68). In any case, they too are going to try to get to Slovenia somehow tomorrow.

The tender dropped us off at a pier in the middle of the historic city center of Split, directly opposite Diocletian’s Palace. Unlike the ruins of antiquity that we have seen at many ports on the cruise, Diocletian’s Palace has been used, maintained, and ‘modernized’ over the centuries. As a result, it’s something of a hodgepodge of architectural styles and periods. For example, Diocletian’s mausoleum was turned into the city’s cathedral. And, in an ironic twist, the bishop–who Diocletian had executed while persecuting Christians–now rests there (while Diocletian’s own remains are nowhere to be found).

After doing Rick Steves’ suggested self-guided walking tour of Split, we spent a couple of additional hours just exploring the historic city center and Riva (waterfront). We’d hoped to hit one or more of the town’s art museums, but being Monday most were closed.

We returned to the ship in the early afternoon for lunch. We ate in the main dining room today. Service was a bit slow (not that we were in a rush), but the food was decent or better. After lunch, we took a nap… which was a treat.

Tonight is formal night #2, which probably means the Lido again or just room service. We had zero interest in doing the ‘formal night’ thing, because really that’s just an added hassle for a vacation such as this one.

Tomorrow is Trieste and (hopefully) Slovenia!

I’ll end with a picture of Split — this is the cathedral located in Diocletian’s Palace:

Posted in Croatia, Nieuw Amsterdam | No Comments »

Cruise Day #5 — Kotor, Montenegro

Jul 11th, 2010 by

We awoke this morning to Montenegro (new country!), literally, outside of our door. The bay really does look like a fjord (though technically it’s a drowned river canyon) like those in Alaska or (I assume) Norway. It’s very picturesque.

Our small breakfast arrived by 7:00. After coffee and a muffin, we prepared to go ashore. Because of debris near the pier, we anchored in the bay and had to use the ship’s life boats to reach the town.

We tendered to the shore earlier than expected (8:30 rather than 9:30). The city of Kotor is fairly small, especially the historic city center. We spent a leisurely morning strolling through its narrow streets (the city was controlled by Venice for nearly 400 years… and it shows). We visited a few churches and scrambled partway up the fort’s path to have a panoramic overlook of the city. Being a Sunday morning, both cruise passengers and locals were out in the summer sun, enjoying some relaxation. Overall, there’s not a lot “to do” in Kotor. It’s sort of like a less touristy version of Salzburg set in a Norwegian-like fjord. It provides a pleasant way to while away some time and makes Montenegro seem like a little bit of paradise on earth (which, I presume, the country might just be.)

We traveled back to the ship after noon, and we had lunch at Tamarind. The soup and salad courses were both very good. Unfortunately, the dim sum menu was a bit of a let down. For lunch, the restaurant only features a fixed menu of multiple items in single, bite-sized portion sizes all delivered on one plate. It felt sort of like eating off of an appetizer platter (fine), but it wasn’t very akin to a traditional dim sum experience. It would have ‘worked’ better had the individual items been more (or equally) enjoyable.

Later this afternoon, I attended a cooking class / demonstration in the Culinary Arts Center. It was on the use of spices to build flavor, as featured in tandoori chicken and coriander rice. I thought the sample at the end was surprisingly good. All in all, I like HAL’s Culinary Arts Center and the related programming. It’s enjoyable and actually somewhat enriching, unlike a lot of “edutainment” on cruise ships.

Our sailaway down Kotor Bay was one of the coolest that I’ve ever experienced. Many of the locals, waving white shirts (as seems to be some sort of seagoing tradition), came out to see our departure. The local priests and nuns also ran the church bells, while the Nieuw Amsterdam blew the ship’s horn in response. Numerous smaller vessels escorted us (from a sage distance) and while many people aboard them screamed “Holland” at us (in honor of the World Cup match tonight) — to which we replied with short ‘toots’ of the ship’s horn. All in all, it was a memorable experience.

Dinner tonight was in the Lido. For whatever reason, the main dining room never seems to beckon to us. I also tried the HAL pizza tonight from Slice. It was decent: about what I expected.

The ship’s put on a huge party in the main showroom for tonight’s match. Holland is the clear favorite on the ship, but they had opposite sides of the theatre decorated for each team. HAL also provided a buffet of appetizers and snacks. And, I assume, drink specials. We came back to the cabin to read (though I’m watching the game out of the corner of my eye).

Tomorrow is Croatia!

Here’s a couple of photos of the Bay of Kotor and also one of the Culinary Arts Century:

Posted in Montenegro, Nieuw Amsterdam | No Comments »

Cruise Day #4 — Corfu, Greece

Jul 10th, 2010 by

The Albanian Adventure…

Our tour to Albania began at 8:00am aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam. We collected our passports, left the ship (Corfu! Another “country” per TCC guidelines.) and went as a group to Greek passport control for our departure to Albania. The immigration department was completely overwhelmed and remarkably understaffed. It was a scene of mass chaos and utter confusion with numerous tour groups converging on this checkpoint. After 30 minutes or so, Libby and I made it through security and to the “Blue Dolphin” (our ship to Albania). By the time we made it to the (now late in departing) boat, the locals had already begun to rebel… yelling at the crew and otherwise complaining about “the Americans.” It was great!

About an hour late, our hydrofoil departed. Next stop: Albania!

The hydrofoil trip lasted about 30 minutes before we arrived in Saranda. First impression: mostly modern but also ‘nicer’ than I’d expected. I think Libby got it right: the surrounding beaches sort of look like “the Albanian Riviera.” :-)

Saranda is currently ongoing a building boom with the growth of tourism since the end of communism in 1990. We saw numerous hotels under construction, though tourism is still in its infancy. Most overnight tourists are Albanians, as well as people from Kosovo and Macedonia. Most others are “day trippers” like us from Corfu.

Anyway, back to the infrastructure. The country currently only has one airport, nearly 300km away. Likewise, the roads are less than ideal: indeed, the road to Butrint was under construction, literally, while we drove in it. Due to the condition of the road, it took nearly an hour to drive the 24km to Butrint.

The park and archeological site at Butrint were very enjoyable. It contained ruins of the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian periods–sometimes built on top of one another. We both found this milieu very interesting… as we didn’t know what would be around the next corner. Plus, the landscape–a forested park at the tip of a peninsula that smelled of wild bay leaf–was very captivating.

Butrint: two thumbs up!

On the route back to Saranda, we learned more about the history of Albania during the communist era. In particular, the years of 1976-1990 were ones of extreme isolation during which Albania had nearly no outside contact. Indeed, such outside contact (e.g., watching Greek television) and travel (e.g., entering or leaving the country) were prohibited. It remains poor. The average wage is only about $300/mo. But, the people are very happy to have their freedom and enjoy the progress they’ve made.

We had a nice lunch at a castle overlooking Saranda and Butrint. After lunch, we drove back to the port of Saranda and boarded the hydrofoil for the trip back to Corfu. All in all, Libby and I were really impressed with Albania. It was a great day trip!

Tonight, we had dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, HAL’s signature alternative dining venue. It’s sort of vaguely steakhouse themed. What can I say? Overall, it was good. But, we live in the “Land of Bern’s.” And, you can’t beat Bern’s. So for the money, it was worthwhile. Highlights: the French onion soup and Grand Marnier chocolate lava cake. Lowlights: the jumbo shrimp cocktail and Libby’s veal chop. My steak was good… as in above average but not great.

After dinner, we booked ourselves (using the onboard cruise booking deal) for a 14-day cruise in Asia in 2012. We also booked Emerson on this cruise as well. After all, who doesn’t want to fly to Hong Kong with a two year old? Besides, she’ll be on the Antarctica trip with us in February as a one year old! It’s a good itinerary: Hong Kong to Osaka (I think)… via China.

Later tonight, we are going to hit the show. We haven’t checked out the onboard entertainment yet.

New update on the itinerary snafu: no optional tours to Slovenia. Also, the time in port is very limited (7am to 2pm). This means we will be going there on our own, with no real guidance, and without much information. I’m thinking we’ll just take a taxi or maybe a train from Trieste to someplace in The Karst region on Slovenia. For my intrepid traveling friends: suggestions posted on the blog (based on experience or Internet research) would be appreciated! :-)

Today was great!

And, tomorrow is Montenegro!

Here’s a photo of the ruins at Butrint, Albania:

Posted in Albania, Greece, Nieuw Amsterdam | 1 Comment »

Cruise Day #3 — Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

Jul 8th, 2010 by

We awoke to cloudless skies in the Ionian Sea while sailing into Greece. Yesterday, HAL’s tour guide, Tom, described Katakolon as “the Skagway of Greece.” We can see why. It’s a tiny little town with a single main street, creatively named, well, “Main Street.” also like Skagway, it’s nearly sole purpose seems to be serving cruise tourism.

To beat the midday heat, we left the ship early for the ancient city of Olympia, home to the Olympic games starting on 776 B.C. It’s about a 40 minute drive from Katakolon to Olympia through a landscape filled with olive trees.

The ancient site of the Olympics is now mostly in ruins, having been abandoned for many years and subjected to numerous earthquakes. Most were buried under silt, but have now be excavated. Also, a few elements have been restored and reconstructed. The original stadium is remarkably modest. The highlight for us was seeing Hera’s Altar at which the Olympic torch is lit using sunlight every two years in advance of the games.

After seeing the archeological site, we visited the modern town of Olympia. We bought a guidebook to the ancient site and a present for Emerson. We then drove back to Katakolon. We briefly browsed around the town (it really is a Greek Skagway) and then headed back to the ship.

Where we got bad news…

The port call to Ravenna has been cancelled due to dredging issues. As a result, we’ll miss one country (San Marino) and will instead go to Trieste (which by all accounts is pretty much a shithole of a city). Needless to say, I’m a bit disappointed and honestly, being goal-oriented such as I am, more than a little pissed off too (mostly because I can’t really understand how something so logistical could also be a “last minute” change).

In any case, we are going to try to get to Slovenia instead from Trieste. Or, to put it another way, take this lemon and make some lemonade! Unfortunately, Internet access remains a problem and guidebooks don’t cover Trieste well. Thus, we’ll be flying more-or-less blind on this change of plans.

That’s all I will have to say for today.

Tomorrow is Corfu and Albania.

Here are pictures of Katakolon and ancient Olympia:

Posted in Greece, Nieuw Amsterdam, San Marino, Slovenia | No Comments »

Cruise Day #2 — At Sea

Jul 8th, 2010 by

We awoke (me early, Libby later) to cloudless skies and a sunny day. I spent some time (literally) listening to them rearrange the deck chairs (our cabin is right below the Lido Pool area.) And, then I was off to my 8am haircut appointment.

Our breakfast was delivered to our cabin around 8:45am. As usual, HAL’s room service did not disappoint. We enjoyed our meal and morning coffee on the balcony.

At 10am, we went to a presentation and Q&A session with the President & CEO of HAL, Stein Kruse. The ship has a lot of HAL’s top brass aboard for the inaugural cruise. In fact, we had the culinary head of the line, Master Chef Rudi Sodamin, at the table next to us last night at dinner. Sadly, the Q&A featured a lot of minor complaints–mostly from HAL’s ‘mature’ clients (who clearly have lost their perspective on real ‘problems’ in life)–about trivial issues (e.g. too large of meal portion sizes, too cool of air conditioning, etc. and so forth). Two interesting data points from the talk: 1) HAL will continue to sail to Antarctica despite having to comply with new regulations, and 2) HAL will likely build future ships that are larger than the current PanaMax standards (and thus, by definition, larger than anything in the current fleet).

At 11am, we attended a cooking demonstration with the guest chef, Lars Kronmark of the CIA in Napa. He presented a series of Greek small plate dishes — all of which should be fairly easy to prepare at home.

This afternoon we listened to the port lecture, which was modestly informative. We’ll have five days of ports in a row. We then return to Venice and fly directly home.

We then went to sign “The Wall” which is, well, a wall that the guests and crew of the Nieuw Amsterdam are signing during this inaugural cruise. It will be etched, protected, or otherwise made to last and then installed near the atrium on the main deck of the ship. That means Libby and I will be memorialized on this installation of HAL-sanctioned nautical graffiti. I wonder how much this eats up of my 15 minutes of fame?

We had a late lunch in the Lido buffet. It’s just like Veendam: better quality but a seemingly more limited selection than others cruise lines. The limited amount of “self-serve” opportunity also makes it a less enjoyable experience, as the PITA factor is higher.

Not sure what’s on the docket for tonight. It’s ‘formal night,’ which we will be skipping. It might be little more than room service, al fresco dining, and maybe a movie for us.

Anyway, I’m now writing this post on our balcony while (trying to) enjoy an adult beverage. Sadly, HAL is no Stub and Herb’s (a reference my MN peps will get) and only offers a rather pedestrian selection of crappy to minimally acceptable beers. The weather is perfect on this beautiful day on the Adriatic. I’ll leave you with this photo of my view…

Posted in Nieuw Amsterdam | No Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »