This section of the website is devoted to voyage reports and other essays - Blogs, if you like that term.
The following blogs are by Ann Haynes, author and cruise ship enthusiast, who wrote the following after her recent trips with other historians, including author and historian, Bruce Peter.
All content, of this or any of the other blogs posted on the World Ship Society's website, is copyrighted by the author. Please do not re-post or use any of the content without first getting written permission from the author. The posted essays were originally posted to the online [LinersList] and re-printed here with the kind permission of the author.
Baltic Beauties - Spring 2009
Transports of Delight - Summer 2008
If you enjoy reading Ann's blog, you will enjoy her book "Union-Castle Line Purserette", published in 2000 by Mallett & Bell Publications.
The early morning summer mist was slowly clearing as I walked in the direction of a Southampton quayside, and in front of me was a little motor vessel dressed overall with welcoming flags. Hooray, I was going to sea again - this time on the little ship BALMORAL.
Saturday 27th June 2009 was the exact date of the Diamond Jubilee of the MV BALMORAL as she had been launched in Southampton on 27th June 1949. She was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at their Woolston, Southampton, yard, and designed for Red Funnel. It was the wife of the then Chairman of Red Funnel, Mrs C. B. Pinnock, who was invited to launch the ship and she smashed a bottle of champagne tied with red, white, blue and green ribbons against her bow. A recording had been made of this ceremony and, to my delight, this was later relayed over BALMORAL's tannoy system to those of us listening on deck. We were told that after the launch, over two hundred VIP guests were invited to a special lunch at the Polygon Hotel in Southampton, now demolished. I remember going there many years ago to several functions, and first hearing the (alleged) joke about 'What do you call a sick parrot?' and the answer of course is 'a polygon'.
We were also told that BALMORAL was designed for Red Funnel with the dual purpose of being a ferry from Southampton to Cowes, and as an excursion ship, and after her launch she entered service at Southampton in December 1949. She became known for her annual summer cruise round the Isle of Wight, and this is what we were to enjoy for ourselves today. Soon the mist cleared, and the sun hurled heat down from a cloudless blue sky.
We sailed just after 10 a.m. with probably 100 people on board, and enjoyed a midships position on deck, with good views forward and aft. Our group decided not to use the ageing white chairs, but chose new dark green ones instead, placed in a circular position so we could enjoy the views. And what views! With a toot of the horn we left the quayside and headed off down Southampton Water. I've done that a few times - firstly on the stylish TRANSVAAL CASTLE and other Union-Castle ships, and then latterly on the wonderful QUEEN ELIZABETH 2, before even more recently waving her goodbye from the SHIELDHALL as she sailed off to Dubai in November 2008.
Photographs had been taken of GRAND PRINCESS and OCEANA in port in Southampton, and soon we could see ferries and other vessels in the busy waterways around us. These included: RED OSPREY in her Ikea colours, TOKYO CAR, CALSHOT, VOLANS LEADER, ST. CATHERINE, TAURUS, RED EAGLE, RED JET 3, ST. CLARE, CLIPPER SAGA, a Hovercraft too fast to see the name, and FASTCAT SHANKLIN.
This time though our route took us firstly towards Portsmouth, round the sandbank, past the Castle and the huge Portsmouth Millennium Tower, also known as the Spinnaker Tower. We saw a Gosport Ferry, HMS VICTORY, MOUNTS BAY, FASTCAT RYDE, a Sikorsky helicopter overhead, the large Brittany Ferries vessel MONT ST. MICHEL, and a brown-sailed Thames sailing barge ALICE as we entered the harbour.
At the Portsmouth berth we picked up many more excited passengers and then set off for Cowes in the north of the Isle of Wight. The NORMANDIE EXPRESS left the harbour at great speed, and we realised our re-enactment cruise was now truly underway and next landfall was due about three hours after leaving Southampton.
At Cowes we were rather startled at the number of people waiting to board our little motor vessel and felt so glad we had secured our own 'base' on deck. The new passengers boarded and so did a special piece of cargo: a huge celebration cake made by a local lady. We watched this carried carefully on board, and marvelled at the size and four stone (56 lbs.) weight. The proud baker sat beside the vast iced cake, which had a red satin ribbon around it, and shyly posed for photographs. She had been asked to make the size sufficient for five hundred and forty passengers and suddenly we could understand why!
At the quayside pontoon we were surrounded by other welcoming craft, including the tiny steam paddler MONARCH, busily making her way around and blowing her loud whistle frequently. BALMORAL answered of course, with her own horn.
With the cake safely stowed on a big table down in the Saloon, coloured paper streamers were handed round to all of us on board, and we set off on our sixty mile cruise, clock-wise round the Isle of Wight. This had been the route of the original cruise. Below decks the VIPs (Very Important People) were invited to watch the cutting of the cake and enjoy a piece of it, and then it was cut up into the rest of the 540 pieces. The streamers were hurled around (so satisfying to have paper ones, which would recycle, rather than the ubiquitous plastic ones), deck rails were decorated, often inadvertently, the dogs were garlanded, quite happily in several cases, and the cake portions were finally distributed to the rest of us. Cups and glasses were raised as the tannoy system replayed the original launch ceremony, and we settled down to enjoy the happiness of being at sea, on a glorious English hot summer's day.
Osborne House, Norris Castle, Ryde, Tennyson Down, Sandown, St. Catherine's Point and Lighthouse all came into sight as we motored along. Suddenly there were few sights as we entered a sea fog, and it became eerily quiet. On our port side we could just make out the top of a huge car carrier, whose shape rose out of the top of the fog; other 'ghost ships' - the laid-up car carriers - could also be seen through the fog banks. Above us was a barely visible blue sky, but all around was a chilly fog, so out came the waterproofs for a short time. Just as suddenly as we entered the fog, it billowed away again, and we were back in warm sunshine. We were now heading towards the famous Needles, and I was so looking forward to seeing them again from the sea. When I worked as a Purserette for Union-Castle Line, the beautiful lavender-hulled Mailships sailed down Southampton Water and then took the westerly Solent route south with the Isle of Wight on the port side, sailing past The Needles. I hadn't seen this sight since working on EDINBURGH CASTLE, so it was a rather nostalgic moment. It's one thing to look at my Admiralty chart at home, but quite another to see the reality in front of me.
We rounded the point and the coloured sand cliffs of Alum Bay came into view, as did distant ships against the mainland skyline on our port side, and the local craft on our starboard Island side. We headed into Cowes Harbour again and watched hundreds of passengers go ashore. The decks cleared and we could enjoy easy views around. As we left the port, far ahead we could see the two cruise ships heading down Southampton Water towards us, and beginning their turn around the east of the Isle of Wight. My list of ships seen today also included RED JET 4, RED FALCON, CAEDMAN, CENWOLF, WIGHT SCENE, CENRED, WALENIUS TAGUS (laid up), ST. CECILIA, ST. HELEN, ST. FAITH, FREEDOM 90, JENNY R, SPIRIT OF PORTSMOUTH, SPIRIT OF GOSPORT, Thames Barge ALICE, SPARKLING LINE from Weymouth, and OUR LADY PAMELA.
The sun was lower in the sky but the light on the water was glorious. As I've said many times, we are a maritime nation, and should glory in our Merchant Navy and be grateful for all they do for us; we should also enjoy world-wide ships and ferries and be glad they are available as a means of transport.
So our journey continued back to Portsmouth, and finally up Southampton Water to the quayside in Southampton docks at 9 p.m. It had been a wonderful day, celebrating the first sixty years of BALMORAL, and long may she continue sailing.
My rucksack came out of winter hibernation recently and oh my, it was time for some more backpacking days, this time from Stockholm in Sweden.
Sunday 5th April
I was booked in for the night on board the ex KRONPRINCESSE MARTHA, built in 1928 and rebuilt in the 1950s, but now known as the Log Inn Hotel, in Sodermalmstrand, Stockholm. My little cabin had an opening porthole, and a comfortable bed with separate bathroom. I met my good friend Bruce Peter, and dinner in a city restaurant included reindeer for Bruce and chicken for me, followed by a late night drink back on board, in the delightful burnished wood surroundings of the bar. It was noted that the freezer and food cupboards in the room behind the bar had padlocks on them, presumably to deter any nocturnal hungry passengers. Furthermore, there was a notice on the galley door warning that anyone entering would automatically trigger an alarm, causing the Stockholm Police to be called!
Monday 6th April
After breakfast on board, watching the water, boats and cityscape, we left our luggage in a locker at the Silja Line terminal building at Vartahamnen. Next, we had a splendid walk through the 1930s Gardet housing scheme - an early and outstanding example of Swedish social democracy in action and still as beautiful as when first completed. Thereafter, we had time to enjoy the waterway sights and handsome buildings of this cold and sunny city, before lunch at an amazing Art Nouveau restaurant called Zum Franzichkaner in Skeppsbron, famed for its Swedish Baltic cookery. There, Bruce had elk carpaccio, which was raw and bloody - as though an elk had been put bottom-first through the mincer. It was declared delicious, however. En route we visited the Rival Hotel at Mariatorget (designed in the latter 1930s by the fabulously-named Danish architect Marcus Madrid Lorentzen) and were shown the huge cinema that still exists at the rear; now used for conferences, it has been owned by one of the male ABBA singers for the last five years, thus ensuring its continued existence.
The Restaurant picture window was suddenly filled with the sight of an oncoming ship: it was the fabled BIRGER JARL entering the harbour right in front of us. I have long wanted to see this little 1953-built vessel, and suddenly she was right in front of my eyes and camera. She turned and berthed just along the quay.
Further walking meant further ships to see, mainly from the Stromma Kanalbolaget and Waxholmbolaget fleets, before checking in at the Silja Line terminal for the 5.00 p.m. sailing on M/S SILJA SYMPHONY from Stockholm overnight to Helsinki, Finland, via Mariehamn. We were each given cabin cards with a bar code on, and this was the method of gaining entry to the cabins. This 1991 ship built in Finland, of 58,376 gross tons, can carry 2,626 passengers, but did not appear to be full, although she was carrying many cars and much freight traffic. Her sister ship is M/S SILJA SERENADE.
After we left the berth, GALAXY came towards us in all the splendour of her white hull with the giraffes and penguins painted on, and sky blue superstructure with clouds on. Following closely astern of us was SILJA FESTIVAL and way behind her was the little BIRGER JARL. What a wonderful sight to see these three ships and photograph them from the SILJA SYMPHONY's stern, as we turned in the waterways. We kept checking ahead of us and could see a Viking Line funnel coming towards us, but in the channel on the other side of the little low islands, and we didn't think we were going to see anything more than the funnel over the trees. Luck was with us however, as our closing speeds in our respective channels meant that AMORELLA reached a short gap in the islands for just long enough to be photographed! Goodness, that was a lucky break.
The main feature of SILJA SYMPHONY is the five deck high central long atrium, with its bars and choice of seven different eating places. We chose to eat in the Maxim Restaurant where the dinner menu included Russian pelini, delicious Arctic char; we could also have gone to other bars, clubs, pub, casino bar or a tapas and seafood bar. The entertainment after dinner in the Atlantis palace was that rarest thing on a ferry - a satirical review, in which the conceit was that the Lehrman Brothers were failed Broadway producers (a la Mel Brooks) with songs (in English) about money and the current world financial crises. Thereafter, not surprisingly, lots of more typical ABBA music was then played, including an unusual flute medley, not to everyone's taste. Listening to this from the forward observation lounge was lovely, looking out into the night sky and sea ahead. The ship called in at Mariehamn for ten minutes to drop and collect passengers, and there we saw ROSELLA (berthed for the night) and MARIELLA, also en-route to Helsinki. We stayed in the observation lounge as we rounded the Aland Islands, passing the FINNEAGLE in the small hours of the morning, before we headed for our bunks.
Ships seen: BIRGER JARL, MARIELLA, VICTORIA 1, all Stromma Kanabolaget ships, all Cinderella Ships, all Redei Stockholms Strom, nearly all Waxholms Bolaget, SILJA FESTIVAL, SILJA SYMPHONY, GALAXY, AMORELLA, a Tanker, ROSELLA, FINNEAGLE
Tuesday 7th April
After a magnificent all-inclusive-price buffet breakfast which - joy of joys - included porridge, we arrived in Helsinki at 10 a.m. in thick fog, having come through the remains of ice fields and loose ice floes. On deck it was intensely cold and raining. As we disembarked I noticed a sign on the white hull saying that the SILJA SYMPHONY is the official carrier of Santa Claus (wow!) and Moomin (huh?).
After eighteen years in service (how time passes) the SILJA SYMPHONY remains a very impressive ferry. However, hard usage has seriously taken its toll and her cabin corridor panelling is seriously bashed up (particularly on her lower decks), while her carpets in the hallways are covered in cigarette burns and the nightclub, located at the base of the funnel, looks and smells of too many raucous 'nights before'. We reckoned that a good 5 million Euros would allow her to be fixed up as good as new.
The rain turned to snow, and after a very long walk past the iced-over inner harbour, the luggage was left at the Tallinn Terminal ready for the evening sailing. There was time to enjoy a visit to the huge Stockman department store maritime books section, before meeting another ferry friend, Matthew Murtland, and having a snack in a 1930s café nearby in the Laasipalasi building, designed by Viljo Revell, who was subsequently the architect of Toronto City Hall. We also visited the Artek shop, which displayed and sold Finnish modernist furniture from the 1930s to the present day. I kept seeing 1960s and 1970s things I recognised, from my parents' or my first home, which brought back some memories.
Then we took a tram back to near the Tallink terminal building to collect the left luggage, before checking in to board BALTIC PRINCESS of Tallink for our trip from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia. The outside hull was white, but with huge swathes of bright pink paintwork coming up from the bow, over the funnel and above the stern loading doors. The Terminal Bar was popular and about half full as we waited to board for departure at 6.30 p.m. BALTIC PRINCESS was built only last year (2008), measuring 48,915 gross tons, so was another big ship to explore. Dinner was booked in the Grill Restaurant, one of five to choose from, as well as bars, clubs, pubs, and the show lounge Starlight Palace. We liked the way the menus from all the restaurants were also displayed in one place, around a curved display wall midships on deck 7. I tried the reindeer pate, but was rather underwhelmed. Arrival in Tallinn was at 10.00 p.m., but passengers could stay on board overnight, which is what we did.
We woke up in Tallinn, Estonia, still on board BALTIC PRINCESS, had breakfast, and then disembarked at 10 a.m. Luggage was left in the Terminal lockers, so the men were free to go and photograph more ships at another quay, whilst I walked up into the old walled city. This is now a World Heritage Site and it was obvious that much money had been spent on the buildings. I saw the Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral amongst other things, and it was a delight to walk around in the cold morning air and enjoy the views and a cup of coffee in Matilda's Coffee House, tucked away in a tiny twisting cobbled street. I also went walking in Toom-park and saw that the curved lake below the city walls was almost completely frozen over, and the ducks were standing on the ice looking puzzled. Huge heaps of snow were piled around the park too. The park is so-named because it contains a monument, commemorating the many lives lost when the unfortunate ferry ESTONIA sank in a storm in 1993 whilst en-route to Stockholm.
We all met up for lunch at Old Hansa Restaurant, just off the city's main square. That was one venue I shan't forget in a hurry. It was in an old merchant's house, with a huge ground floor filled with tables, benches and people eating, and another upper floor also filled with tables and benches. The amazing thing was that the lighting was by candles, set in hanging circular chandeliers, well above the tables. There were no windows, the rafters were way up high above our heads, but the whole atmosphere was just wonderful. Food flavours wafted around, as did the serving people dressed in costumes from a bygone age. I chose a small size meat soup, which turned out to be huge, in a three-legged dish, with a serving of bread and spelt (local cheese). Matt had the large size vegetable soup, which was an even bigger portion. It was a hearty meal and delicious. Bruce had brown bear and wild boar sausages. When he's hungry, there's a massacre of all kinds of wildlife!
We were highly amused by the thought of what British Health & Safety folk might have made of this place, with its candles and no other apparent form of light. In fact it was all quite safe looking, just dark and fun. There was gentle music in the background, and the toilets were another fascinating talking point. Each one of the two was like a throne, behind a latched door, again with everything made of wood including the toilet paper holder, soap bowl and lid, hand paper towels holder, with the water to wash in a bronze kettle that tilted towards me. There was low lighting and it was such fun to see and use. Bruce pointed out that the picture on the door of the Gents and Ladies was of a Danish person, because the people of the Hanseatic League were in competition with the Danes, who, towards the end of the Hansa's dominance of the Baltic were becoming a serious threat to the dominance of Lubeck and its allies, including Tallinn. Hence, pissing Danes on the toilet doors!
After this experience it was time to go back to the ferry terminal and check in for our next colourful Tallink ferry: this time the big bright green-hulled M/S STAR, to sail back to Helsinki at 5.30 p.m. She was built in 2007 at 36,250 gross tons, carrying 1900 passengers, and was very smart and comfortable. We had tea in the forward bar, a rest on one of the many comfy settees during the two hour journey, arriving back in Helsinki again at 7.30 p.m. This is a very beautiful, comfortable, modern and exhilaratingly fast ship, with four powerful MaK diesels to propel her along at over 25 knots. The passenger accommodation is very fresh and modern with bright colours and a welcome lack of kitsch ornamentation.
Upon arrival in Helsinki, we hurried for the tram for the journey to the Viking Line Terminal for our next sailing, on VIKING XPRS at 9.30 p.m. from Helsinki back to Tallinn. She was built in 2008 and again her Ice Class is 1 A Super, with a gross tonnage of 34,000. She can carry 2,500 passengers; her public rooms are on decks 7 and 8, cabins on deck 6, and with one car deck and one double height cargo deck below that. We had dinner in the Bistro Buffet, one of several dining venues, and knew that when we arrived at Tallinn at midnight, we would not have to disembark, but could sleep aboard in comfortable cabins, given that the ship does not sail again until the next morning. The VIKING XPRS is externally attractive, has a friendly crew and serves up a very good buffet dinner indeed - but, in terms of design, she is less impressive than the STAR. Her clientele seems also to be predominantly Finnish and a bit folksy, given the type of tango music being played in the lounge-cum-cafeteria. Also, although far from full, she felt rather crowded. Indeed, work was in progress to convert part of her open aft sun deck into an enclosed new lounge space - this after only about six months' in service.
Ships seen: STAR, SUPERSTAR, BALTIC QUEEN, GABRIELLA, ROMANTIKA, SILJA SERENADE, NORDLANDIA, TRANSLANDIA, FINN something? VIKING XPRS
Thursday 9th April
In Tallinn this morning we had to be off the ship (VIKING XPRS) at 7.30 a.m. so we then hurried to the other terminal for our next sailing. Slight set back - the café there was not opening for 45 minutes, so we had to be patient, but it was worth the wait. Soon it was time to check in for the M/S SUPERSTAR Tallink Shuttle leaving at 11 a.m. for the two hour journey back to Helsinki. We were beginning to know this stretch of water across the Gulf of Finland! She was built in 2007 by Fincantieri in Ancona, Italy, measuring 36,277 gross tons. Indeed, two years' ago, we had actually seen her under construction there with only a little paint on her topsides to signify whose ship she would eventually become. In essence, she is of similar design to three ferries operated in the Mediterranean by Moby Lines from Italy to Corsica and to Sardinia. Unlike the Moby ships, however, the SUPERSTAR's hull and funnel are painted a very bright lime green, with an orange swirl fore and aft. She can carry 2,020 passengers but not many were on board that day. I was amazed to see the huge forward lounge, made up of three sloping tiers, with a Bar on one side of the top tier and another at the bottom. Passengers could sit anywhere and enjoy the view out of the large triple-height windows, on comfortable seating, and part of the time on board we watched the pianist down on the little stage. The rest of the time we actually spent sleeping on the comfortable seating, with our shoes off of course. The sun was shining but the wind was making the sea a little rough, and I don't think she was a good sea boat for all her superficially good looks. There were a lot of 'vomit bags' in little holders in all the public spaces, just in case (there were none on STAR and BALTIC PRINCESS). Furthermore, the SUPERSTAR's fit and finish were not nearly as good as on her Finnish-built fleetmates. Inside, she was a bit slap-dash with lots of rubber tile flooring coming unstuck and, externally, her decks were already surprisingly rusty and decrepit (in contrast with Tallink's other very smart ferries). In Helsinki, docking took a long time because of the wind strength and we had to have two attempts to go astern and tie up safely, which made us half an hour late.
Our next trip was to be on a Finnlines ship, so we had to make our way sixteen miles east by train and bus to their new terminal at Vuosaari - a big industrial port complex to the east of the city. The scenery viewed from the orange metro train was just what I expected of Finland, with forests and occasional frozen lakes as far as the eye could see. I read only recently that Finland is the most forested country in Europe, with trees covering over 70 per cent of the landmass. It was bitterly cold so it was good to arrive at the terminal to check in and take the mini-bus to the ship. The ship however was a surprise: we had booked on FINNLADY, but we were to travel on FINNMAID. We never found out why there had been a change, but it didn't matter at all. This was to be one of the highlights of the trip, as ahead of us we would have 26 hours at sea, travelling to Travemunde in Germany.
FINNMAID was built in 2006 at 42,000 gross tons, with a blue hull, to carry 500 passengers and 4.2 kilometres of freight. We three were half of the six foot passengers on board, and the ship was probably only one-third full. Reception staff greeted us warmly, gave us a Cruise Program in English, and we soon found our way around the ship, which is designed as a passenger-carrying freighter or 'ro-pax' and is said to be one of the largest of her type in the world. As usual when travelling on freight ferries, a Ford Transit minibus took us from the terminal directly onboard and up ramps to a drop-off point just beside the ship's reception. Through a door, our first impression was of being in a rather beautiful boutique hotel. The onboard design is very fresh and elegant - the work of three clever Finnish ladies who run a design consultancy called System Oy. The bulkheads had dark wood veneer finishes, which contrasted with bright white flooring and dark blue stairwell panels with drawings of sailing ships. The cabin was equally beautifully appointed - modern Finnish design with an appropriately nautical quality.
I loved all the blue paintwork in and around the ship, in Reception and on the midships stairwell, which reflected off all the aluminium stairs and handrails. I thought it created a spacious feel, although maybe the low number of passengers helped with this, plus the sunlight pouring in through the windows.
The sunny air was still bitterly cold, but a quick visit to the open deck allowed us to see the broken ice floes in the harbour; I also noticed a male person dressed only in a towel, leaning again the rail, and presumably he had just been using the small sauna on Deck 11. Other facilities included the wonderful forward-facing Mare Balticum buffet restaurant, the delightful Bar Navigare and lounge area, a small shop with low prices (I quote), the very smart Hansa Lounge, and a sun deck. Children have their own small playroom and games. We had pre-booked and paid for the meal package at a reserved window table (2 dinners, breakfast and lunch) so only had to find money for drinks from the bar or tea/coffee between meals. By Baltic standards, these were very reasonable indeed and, to the delight of the many off-duty Finnish lorry drivers onboard, the bar was extremely well stocked with an impressively wide diversity of strong refreshments! Another marvellous feature of the bar was a big QE2 Queen's Room-style white trumpet column in the middle of the space, with colour-change lighting. It was elegant - and also quite hypnotic to sit on a comfy leather swivel chair and to watch the colour cyclorama.
We left our berth in Helsinki at 6.00 p.m. and set off through the ice floes and the forests until we reached the open sea. Goodness, it's just like all the geography book pictures I thought, remembering my first view of Table Mountain in Cape Town from the deck of a Union-Castle Line ship (yes, I had to get that in somewhere).
Dinner had been booked at a window table and so the view and Restaurant were just perfect. I do love eating in a forward facing restaurant with the sea virtually all around, and this one was beautifully designed in an open fan shape. Bruce thought that the space was also very nostalgic as its design referenced typical Scandinavian ferries of the 1960s. The slanted, curving forward superstructure was clad in teak-effect panelling and softly lit from brass wall lights. Behind the seating area, there was an enormous buffet servery with all kinds of delicious things from which to choose. Separating the buffet from the tables were low internally-lit partitions with lovely translucent blue moulded glass panels with the silhouettes of schools of fish, swimming in clear water. They were eye-catching and just lovely, and complemented the linen, silver and wood, against the voile-draped big picture windows, through which we could see lots of other passing ships as we dined. We were very happy passengers with almost 24 hours at sea still ahead of us.
Brownie points were earned at breakfast on FINNMAID as porridge was available, to gladden the heart and the stomach. Morning was spent on deck in the sun, enjoying the absolute calm of the sea, but well wrapped up against the cold and wind, followed by lunch and a rest, and Earl Grey tea in the Bar Navigare.
We had noticed that the signs for the toilets were in a different style, and font, to other on-board signage, and Bruce explained that the original designs were probably not immediately distinguishable between male and female, so a more simplified folkloric picture had been added by the ship's crew. The moral being that the best laid plans of minimalist designers are invariably undermined by an assistant purser with a magic marker pen. Afterwards in the bar, we had time to discuss the sighting of a small pink plastic duck sitting on a tiny adjacent outside deck area, tied on with string to an outside railing, but not within passenger reach. It was presumed that, in rainy weather, this deck flooded with water, allowing the duck to swim.
Another excellent dinner was followed by an announcement that there would be a two hour delay in entering the River Trave, as there was a problem at the Pier 6 linkspan at Skandinavienkai. When we finally entered the river entrance it was dark, and ahead we could see men with welding torches doing something major to the linkspan, as a whole section was missing. Some vessel must have given it a huge thump (maybe the missing FINNSTAR?). After watching various ships leave including NILS HOLGERSSON and ROBIN HOOD, we watched NORDLINK go past and remembered how we had watched her naming and handing over ceremony in the shipyard a couple of years ago in Ancona.
We finally berthed, the mini bus came on board for the foot passengers, and the six of us were taken to the Travemunde terminal, there to share a taxi into the Hanseatic city of Lubeck where we were to stay the night at the Hotel Excelsior near the railway station. It was a shame that the late arrival had cut down on our hours in this city, but we were glad to be in Lubeck.
Ships seen: HURST POINT, TRANSBLUESSIA is this the right name? TRELLEBORG, SASSNITZ, TT SHIP, VILUM CLAUSEN, FINNMERCHANT, NILS HOLGERSSON, NORDLINK, ROBIN HOOD
Saturday 11th April
After breakfast we had a few hours to walk through the Holsten Gate and enjoy this medieval Hanseatic city in the warm sunshine, before catching the train to Rostock. As it pulled into the station, we found we were to be accompanied by dozens of armed police officers in full riot gear. Ah, they were actually there to accompany dozens of football fans who were getting the same train to Rostock. None of these skinheaded, beer-swilling callow youths were displaying any team colours - and we rather got the impression that some, at least, had come only to fight with the police, which they did sporadically on the station platform. Germany is such a well-ordered country that such outbreaks of public disorder do look very strange indeed. Bruce observed with grave seriousness that, just over half a century before, these would have been exactly the types of young men who'd have been brownshirts. They reminded me of some British so-called football fans back in the 1970s.
We had to change trains once, and on that platform moved well away when we were joined by rival football team fans; the noise increased and the police separated them and looked very menacing, but we felt perfectly safe at a distance, and were glad to arrive in Rostock unscathed. We went to the port by shuttle bus (this was hard to find) then to the Scandlines office and took the mini-bus to our next ship, KRONPRINS FREDERIK, due to depart at 3.00 p.m. to head north for Gedser on the southern tip of Denmark.
KRONPRINS FREDERIK was built in 1981 at 16071 tons, for service across the Great Belt between Nyborg and Korsor. Later, in the mid-1990s, she and her DSB fleetmates were replaced by a new fixed link consisting of a bridge and tunnel and so, after a period in lay up, she and one of her sisters, the PRINS JOACHIM were converted from train to car ferries and moved south to link Denmark with Eastern Germany. She still runs under the Danish flag and can take 1082 passengers. Unfortunately, she is also rather horribly neglected with dirty, rusty decks and her once elegant interiors have been spoiled by being covered in advertisements and all kinds of other clutter.
Even although much of the original design has been covered in junk, some stylish original features remain, including the Ladies (and Gents I'm told) toilets with views straight out to sea through plain glass windows. The handwashing facilities were also perfectly placed to give one a clear view - delightful on a sunny day. The ferry has quite recently been re-engined and so is now very much faster than in DSB days and the 1 hour 45 minutes journey soon passed, and we arrived in Gedser. The station had trains that ran only twice a day, there were no buses to be seen and there was a deserted air about the whole area. However, we saw a sign about a nearby railway museum and went to investigate. Beyond the small brick building, I could see an old engine turntable! To the right was an engine shed and to our delight we could see an open door and a locomotive about to take the air. It was an old Norwegian railbus built in the 1950s and the men working on it in the shed made welcoming sounds, so a happy half hour was spent around and on the railbus, and watching it brought out of the shed for a few feet towards the turntable.
Next we had to check in for the return sailing from Gedser back to Rostock, this time on PRINS JOACHIM, sister ship to KRONPRINS FREDERIK, and a happy time was spent in the terminal building admiring the large and fine model in a glass case of TRAVEMUNDE LINK, complete with all cars and freight, and passengers sitting in the public rooms. The inspired use of a tiny torch proved very useful for looking at these minute features! Soon we could board the KRONPRINS FREDERIK for the 7.00 p.m. sailing, have a meal in the forward facing restaurant in the twilight, and then look at the original artworks by Ole Schwalbe. Bruce loved these and nearly had to be dissuaded from taking some home. They were found in the children's play area, and I can claim to have photographs of each of two very grown-up professional men sitting happily in a big red wooden toy train, and then on a truck.
Back in Rostock at 8.45 p.m. we made our way to the TT Line terminal for our third ship of the day, the HUCKLEBERRY FINN for the 11.00 p.m. sailing overnight to Trelleborg. She was built in 1988 as NILS DACKE, sister ship to ROBIN HOOD, and took her current name in 2002. The foot passenger mini-bus collected us only 15 minutes before the ship was due to leave, and we were made to feel guilty for being the only footies coming on board so late. That was not good customer relations we thought, as we had been checked in and waiting for nearly two hours in the terminal. Anyway, the accommodation was fine and sleep beckoned.
Ships seen: KRONPRINS FREDERIK, MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN, NILS DACKE, a Transfennica freighter, AURORA (another one), HUCKLEBERRY FINN.
Easter Sunday 12th April
We arrived in Trelleborg, Germany, in the cold and foggy pre-dawn light of 6.00 a.m. The flagpoles outside the terminal building still had flags flying, but the poles were in a more upright position than the last time I had seen them, bending about 10 feet off the vertical in a winter gale. The town was deserted, but we made our way to the bus station and gradually the sky lightened and people joined us to wait for the early bus to Malmo, Sweden. Roosters were running around the bus station area, local shops were window-dressed for Easter, and the 6.45 a.m. bus appeared on time to take us on the forty minutes journey to Malmo. From there we caught the train to Ystad, which is a port further east of Trelleborg, but with no direct public transport from there.
From Ystad we were to sail on POVL ANKER to Bornholm, the Danish island south-east of Ystad, and stay overnight in the little town of Ronne. We went to the terminal jointly occupied by Bornholmstrafikken and Polferries (Polish Baltic Shipping Company) to check in and sailed at 11.30 a.m. in lovely cold sunshine. The ship is named after Povl Anker, 1630-1697, a Bornholmer who fought the Swedes to keep the island Danish (how ironic, given that his namesake ferry nowadays sails only to a Swedish port!). The ship hull is part turquoise coloured, part white, with the words Bornholms Trafikken written horizontally across the white part. There are long sponsons retro-fitted to each side of the hull. Built in 1978 at 12,358 tons, she can carry 1500 passengers, but on our two and a half hour sailing there were possibly three cars and us as foot passengers (overhead walkway from the terminal). The ship was smart inside, with an exceptionally elegant restaurant, where we had lunch, an attractive lounge above and a cafeteria towards the stern. The Povl Anker is, in fact, probably the last very traditional Danish domestic ferry with that rather minimalist, but extremely high quality public sector design aesthetic - and a crew who obviously were exceedingly proud of their ship and had her in a very spic and span condition. The spacious sundecks did provide good views of the port, and the Unity Line ship SKANIA (ex SUPERFAST I) berthed parallel to us. One locked door aft allowed views into dormitories, where students, soldiers and budget travellers used to sleep when the ferry operated overnight between Copenhagen and Ronne. Nowadays, that once-popular service has been abandoned, replaced by a train plus fast ferry link over the Oresund bridge, via Ystad.
In the shop I noticed liquorice pipes for sale, sweets which I hadn't seen for years, sold in a box labelled 'Smugglers Pipes' with a fun picture on the front. After lunch on board, I enjoyed some time in the forward Blue Lounge, although the views were obscured by occasional banks of fog. As we were heading into Ronne harbour, by now in bright sunshine, the fast catamaran VILUM CLAUSEN passed us at great speed, already heading back to Ystad. POVL ANKER takes a longer time on this trip, but is cheaper, more spacious and infinitely more appealing.
At 2.00 p.m. we were delighted to arrive in sunny Ronne, which looked most attractive. The men went off to a far side of the harbour to take departure photographs, whilst I enjoyed coffee in one of the few establishments open, and then a walk around the town over the cobbled streets up to the market square.
We met up and checked in to the Lille Hotel, left the luggage, and went out to enjoy the sights of the town. Dinner was booked in a recommended local restaurant, where we thoroughly enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.
Another early alarm call, this time to check in for POVL ANKER leaving at 8.00 a.m. for Ystad. This time there were lots of passengers, many with rather splendid dogs, and the lovely forward Blue Lounge was nearly full. The Purser kindly showed us an original passenger cabin, which looked very comfortable, and I thought the 'string' pull-down parcel shelf and over-bunk light reminded me of those on the WINDSOR CASTLE. Again we left in sunshine, with what looked like pied wagtail birds swooping around the ship, but soon entered the fog bank until we arrived in sunny Ystad.
We took the train to Malmo and, from there, on another train to Copenhagen, which broke down half way there, and finally limped into the station an hour late. We then caught a third train to Osterport, from where we walked to the DFDS Terminal. Luggage went into the lockers and we were free to enjoy photographing PEARL OF SCANDINAVIA, our next ship sailing that evening for Oslo. I've been looking forward to this for some years, and she looked lovely in the warmer sunshine. We checked in and soon boarded, amongst hundreds of others. My cabin was small but on the pillow I found a little card from the Captain and Crew welcoming me as a guest on board, and wishing me a pleasant journey. We all three had those, and were deeply impressed!
PEARL OF SCANDINAVIA was built in 1989 as ATHENA, at 40,039 gross tons, to carry 2,200 passengers. Her sister ship was KALYPSO. After her Swedish owner went bankrupt, she was sold to Malaysian interests as the LANGKAPURI STAR AQUARIUS and then in 2001 she took her current name when DFDS purchased her. I like the spacious design of the ship with the vast expanses of floor-to-ceiling windows, and loved seeing our departure at 5.00 p.m., from the top deck 11 by the funnel, on our way north through The Sound. There was a positive flotilla of ships around us, mostly freighters, old freighters lying at anchor in Copenhagen Roads in the evening sun, and lots of big, fast ro-ro freight ferries to watch. As we turned north up The Sound, we could suddenly see TOM SAWYER in dry dock in Landskrona (the sister ship of the HUCKLEBERRY FINN); we passed the Helsingor/Helsingborg ferry TYCHO BRAHE of fond memory, and could just see SIMARA ACE (or the other one) laid up in the harbour on the Swedish side.
We enjoyed exploring the ship and admiring the flow of the passenger walkways and the overall use of the colour blue. I ventured into the Red & White Wine Bar, with its red upholstered chairs around small tables, and the white bar stools, but was horrified at the prices on the wine list, and soon left. I know that sterling is not bearing up well at present against the euro and other currencies, but wow. moderate Chilean plonk bought here in the UK at the Co-op, available for twenty pounds a glass.
There were some wonderful large ship models of past DFDS Copenhagen-Oslo vessels along the ship's promenade, near the two-deck high reception hallway, and these were much admired. After that, we continued our explorations of the many public rooms and decks. The PEARL OF SCANDINAVIA is certainly a magnificent ferry and, in the great DFDS tradition, she offers that little bit extra style and attention to detail. For example, not only was there a large framed panel about the captain and crew onboard, but also a potted history of the captain's career, which included a great many famous ships from the DFDS fleet, past and present. Everywhere, the ship was in absolutely immaculate condition and the sun decks, with their teak planking, Jacuzzis and swimming pool were particularly attractive. Lots of passengers (a very cosmopolitan crowd) were outside enjoying pre-dinner drinks in the slanting evening sunshine.
Dinner was available in four restaurants, so we chose to go to the Seven Seas Restaurant and enjoy the buffet. This was superb with a bewildering array of dishes and all presented with great élan - particularly the seafood selections, which included crayfish, crabs, lobster and all kinds of marinaded herrings.
After dinner, a lively band played dance music in the Columbus Club. During the early evening, the ship's hostesses entertained the children there with dancing lessons and, later on, it was the adults turn. There was a very nice family-friendly atmosphere and we all agreed that it was good that, on the Copenhagen-Oslo route at least, DFDS still maintains very high standards.
Ships seen: DUEODDE, POVL ANKER, WAWEL, SCANIA, PEARL OF SCANDINAVIA, TOR CORONA, POMERANIA, MON-FAERGEN, TYCHO BRAHE, AURORA AF HELSINGBORG, HAMLET, TOM SAWYER
Tuesday 14th April
The day started with breakfast on PEARL OF SCANDINAVIA, gazing out of the forward restaurant at the water channel leading up to Oslo. There was snow on some of the mountains, and the outlook was grey, but following us astern was COLOR FANTASY. The people at the next table were spending the day in Oslo and returning back to Copenhagen on PEARL, as a mini-cruise, and were interested in our itinerary. Once again we were grateful that Bruce could speak Danish and fill in the gaps in our conversation. The ship arrived at 9.30 a.m. and having left our luggage in the terminal lockers, we made our way into the city, enjoying the sight of City Hall. We located a postcard shop and spent a happy time looking at the very organised stock, and of course we had to buy some. We also went to the Fred. Olsen offices for Bruce to buy a particular book about the figurehead decorations on the company's past ships, and having introduced ourselves, were invited to see the private offices used by the Olsen family members. They were in a separate locked part of the original building, surrounding a double height atrium, with a gallery, with beautiful decorations and items of memorabilia from this famous company. We felt very privileged to be allowed into this area which looked like one's dream image of how an old Norwegian shipping company's head office ought to look. Next, we were invited to look in the staff dining room, where there were many lovely models of past Olsen cargo liners - and one very notable model of the present-day cruise ship BLACK WATCH. Fred. Olsen appears to treat their workers very well as the luncheon being eaten looked very tasty and there were also big boxes of fruit in the hallway outside, marked for delivery to the various offices to ensure that everyone at the company gets their daily dose of vitamin C to optimise their health and performance. What a good idea!
Matt had to return to the UK so we waved him off safely after a happy week's sailing together, whilst Bruce and I took the local ferry to the Fram peninsula so we could watch and photograph COLOR FANTASY leave a little later. STENA SAGA was already in port; next we watched and photographed PEARL OF SCANDINAVIA leave, and STENA SAGA then moved into her berth. She was to be our next sailing, so we took another harbour ferry back to the city. On our way back to the terminal I waved several times towards the CCTV camera on a tall nearby building which has a long view; my son in England had promised to try and watch me via the Kroooz.cams/ports/port of Oslo website, but the timing wasn't convenient, despite exchanged text messages. I know, little things please little minds.
So we boarded STENA SAGA for the last sail of the trip. She was built in 1981 as SILVIA REGINA, at 25,905 tons, to carry 2,000 passengers, and what a difference in ships and style. The ship seemed full, mostly of smokers, plus a group of about two dozen Norwegian Army personnel in uniform with their kit bags and machine guns. Most of us were amazed and somewhat horrified that they were simply standing in a group midships, taking up a lot of room, in the middle of a staircase landing with their rather sinister looking weapons lying around on the carpet. So much for all the prohibited goods that we are not allowed to fly with, or bring on board - here were real live machine guns! It made an absolute mockery of the ISPS laws and rules of the ship. The soldiers were none too pleased when Bruce photographed them, fully armed, for a lecture he was scheduled to deliver the following week in Marseille about passenger port design and security.
We sailed at 7.30 p.m., heading for Frederikshavn in Denmark, had another wonderful dinner and went to listen to the music in the lounge. Most passengers seemed to have disappeared, as had the Norwegian Army personnel and their machine guns, thank goodness.
In comparison with the PEARL OF SCANDINAVIA. well, outwith the rather nice buffet restaurant, frankly there was no comparison. The STENA SAGA's lounge smelled of stale beer with occasional whiffs of pee. The remainder of the main saloon deck was given over entirely to two very large tax-free shops, meaning that the ship really had no soul or personality and, really, very few windows through which to watch the passing scene as they had been blocked off to put up shelving for retail sales. Even the starboard arcade had gone so, to get from one end of the deck to another, one had either to go through the midships shop, or downstairs to the deck below. Thus, the STENA SAGA felt more like a BAA regional airport than a ferry - which is a shame. Outside, her sun decks are grotty and unkempt and the ambience is industrial, rather than like a cruise ship. Fortunately, the cabins are quite attractive, but also rather warm and stuffy.
Ships seen: COLOR FANTASY, STENA SAGA, PEARL OF SCANDINAVIA
Wednesday 15th April
Ships seen: PRIDE OF TELEMARK, STENA SCANRAIL, SUPERSPEED 1 (why was she in the dry dock?), MARGRETE LAESO
STENA SAGA berthed at 7.30 a.m. in Frederikshavn and we were soon off and walking to the railway station for an early train heading south. The station café/shop was doing a roaring trade in tea/coffee and food so we joined the queue. The IC3 train took us south through the countryside, and I waved to Bruce as he left the train in Aalborg and went to his other commitments; I continued further south for a flight home to the UK. The three of us had sailed several thousands of miles together, and hugely enjoyed our April 2009 trip on so many Baltic Beauties.
Being treated to fish and chips and a cup of tea on Eastbourne Pier has become the ideal start to any holiday for me, and this year was no exception as I was joined by my good friend Bruce Peter, the maritime author, historian and ferry enthusiast. The June sun was sparkling off the calm sea, the air was intoxicating, and the holiday spirit was almost tangible. My back-packing days were about to continue...
Saturday 28th June
The flight from London Gatwick to Barcelona passed quickly, enlivened by spotting various ships in the harbour as we came in to land. The bus to the city was swift and a restaurant in a cool square was soon located. It rejoiced in the name of 39 Nitz, which probably amused English-speaking people more than others. The food served in the upstairs room was excellent Spanish/Catalan cooking, helped down by local wine, so the energy levels were soon restored.
It was a hot walk to the harbour but it's the place that always makes me smile. A few years ago my daughter's then boyfriend had arranged a long weekend for them in Barcelona; to her immense surprise when they were sitting beside the harbour he went down on one knee, produced a little box and asked her to marry him. She said yes, and the ring in the jewel box was put on her finger. They have now been happily married for nearly 3 years, and I was thrilled to be asked to 'give her away'.
Today there was time for a harbour tour, and it was to be on Ma. del Carmen. I went on board whilst Bruce talked with the Captain. We had hoped to sail on the ferry CARMEN DEL MAR (ex SILJA Line FLORIA of 1967) during this summer trip, but she had proved elusive. Having spotted her earlier when our aircraft was coming in to land, Bruce asked the Captain if it was possible to alter the usual harbour tour route and get a little nearer the ship, which was in an outer harbour. Bruce had found out that the ship had been sold just the day before, most likely for scrap, so there was no way we could now travel on her. The Captain seemed very happy to do a detour from his normal route, and was even happier when Bruce showed him photos of the inside of the ship. He had heard of it of course, and we all enjoyed our unusual personalised harbour tour.
We walked around and took photographs from the Europa Bridge until another friend, Soren Lund Hviid, arrived from Copenhagen; Soren is a maritime photographer and journalist for a Danish publication, and another ferry enthusiast. We all met in the Terminal building of Acciona Trasmediterranea for our overnight sailing from Barcelona to Ibiza on board LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA, leaving at 2300 hours. This 1993-built ro-ro ship was built in Spain at 10,473 tons, and sailed between the Canary Islands originally, then to Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Algeciras, Tangier, and Ceuta. She now carries 378 passengers regularly between Barcelona and Ibiza.
Ships seen 28th June: Borja Carmen del Mar Voyager of the Seas Celebrity Summit Aida Diva Zurbaran Sorolla Isla de Botafoc Cruise Roma Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Pau Casals Ma. del Carmen Maritime Museum ship Ramon Lluch
Sunday 29th June
On board LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA a quick coffee and croissant was very welcome before our arrival in Ibiza in the Balearics. She was a very unusual and quirky little ship, with a cramped layout. She had all inside cabins on Cabin Deck - very clean but Spartan. There was marvellous food in the Cafeteria. We were one hour late arriving, at 10.30 a.m., but it was very hot with beautiful scenery, all new to me. There was happiness when we berthed near to the YUZHNAYA PALMYRA, the ex-SILESIA, and discovered that she was not sailing until 2 p.m.
We went to our Ibiza Old Town El Puerto Apartments to check in, and it was a joy to leave our heavy bags in the rooms and just take a light-shouldered walk to a shady tree-lined square in the Old Town for coffee and tortilla, which was our late breakfast. Then it was up to the Castle to enjoy the views and take photographs. The light and air was just wonderful. We had hoped to travel on the ferry ISLA DE BOTAFOC during our trip, and had been carefully practising the good diction required when saying the name; now we could see the actual Isla de Botafoc itself, with its landmark white lighthouse. We could hear noisy roosters from a rooftop far below, but mostly the air was filled with heat and the gentle sound of bees enjoying the fragrant shrubs on the Castle ramparts around us. We had a wonderful view of the comings and goings of all the ferries and small inter-island craft in the aquamarine seas below, and at one point as I turned my head 180° I could see thirty-two ships.
We found a fabulous restaurant built into the castle ramparts, and enjoyed a long, liquid and good humoured lunch. Bruce and Soren wanted to walk up to the church on the summit of the castle for more photographs, but I chose to go back to our rooms. As I walked home I saw a lady lying in the middle of a road, presumably after a road accident, and traffic was being directed round her as an ambulance was awaited. Everything was under control, but it was rather upsetting. In other streets by contrast, there was lots of excitement and crowds building as that night the European Football Cup Final of Spain v. Germany was to be held, and screened everywhere. As in the UK, every bar had a big crowd already watching the underwhelming moments on television.
I had a swim in the hotel pool, a quick rest and changed from my usual street shorts into a dress for the evening. After Bruce and Soren returned and changed, we had the delightful decision of where to go for dinner in the Old Town. We finally settled on La Oliva, which proved an excellent choice. It was in a narrow cobbled hillside street, with good service, food and olives of course. Nearby we could see advertisements for the famous Pacha nightclub. We strolled home through crowded streets, amongst throngs of happy people. The football had finished - hooray, Spain won. There was jubilation everywhere, including fireworks. Down on the promenade road there was absolute pandemonium as cars hooted, flags waved, people blew whistles, people waved and shouted, and happy drunks wove their unsteady route around the place. It was a noisy night, which lasted until daylight and the next morning's alarm call.
Ships seen 29th June: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Federica Garcia Lorca Manuel Azana Yuzhnaya Palmyra (ex-Silesia)
Monday 30th June
We decided to get up early and go to a nearby bus stop/café (with good coffee) for an air-conditioned lovely cool bus ride to San Antonio over on the other side of the island of Ibiza. This is where many tourists choose to stay because of the night life, but none were to be seen at this early hour; already the temperature was 29°C. We arrived only to be told there were no ferries until tomorrow. However, we did see the Eden Nightclub in a converted mosque. We went home again and had breakfast in Ibiza Old Town.
Then we went for a very long walk round the bay, first to examine the huge Pacha night club building, which looked very ordinary from the outside, but is reputedly the biggest in the world and a Mecca for Northern European teens and twenties. Walking on round the bay we came to the Isla de Botafoc itself and its lighthouse. It was many hot miles, but we found a delightful strip of shaded promenade, and waited to see the good ship YUZHNAYA PALMYRA (ex-SILESIA) sailing at 2 p.m. After walking back round the bay, a short distance up to the Castle ramparts to the wonderful Castle Restaurant D'Or, with the golden lemons outside in silver urns, seemed a mere bagatelle. We enjoyed another good meal.
Then it was time to check in for our next trip, on the Ibiza-Palma fast ferry, Balearia's HSC FEDERICO GARCIA LORCA, which is a huge High Speed Monohull vessel of 5,889 tons. Standing on the high decks before we left the port was great fun, as we could see the other 873 passengers boarding in their hundreds. We watched the ramps come up, and as the engines roared into life we picked up speed, the sea churned and everyone was requested to leave the open decks. Inside we had delightfully named Siren Seats in the First Class Neptune Lounge; it seemed the rest of ship was full of Island residents and we had been unable to book cheaper seats. The ship was built in Italy in 2001, with a top speed of 38 knots, and we were doing a fast 33 knots as we seemed to fly across the calm seas. We left our baggage in the inboard storage shelves in our Neptune Lounge and appreciated this facility.
(I may have brought just a bit too much in my rucksack this time, but I have plans to dispose of some things around the Med. in the best possible way. At Gatwick airport I decided I didn't need to re-read 'The Da Vinci Code', so after our flight gate was shown, I left it on the seat in the terminal, hoping that someone would pick it up and enjoy it. Yes, someone did pick it up, but he decided to run after me to the departure gate, and hold it out in a very kind way and explain that he'd seen me leave my book. Huh. I thanked him politely, but said I was trying to lighten my load and if he would like the book he was most welcome to it. He seemed happy and took it away with him. Right, that's quite a few ounces less to carry I thought, and planned the next drop.)
Soon after sailing at 8 p.m. and enjoying the late sun across a sea like a millpond, we were given a meal box! This comprised pate and biscuits, dried bread roll and jam and fruit juice, but it was strange food - all dried and preserved and wrapped in plastic. It had a 'Use by' date of 2010. Ah well, tasting some of it whiled away a few minutes as we raced across the golden water towards Palma de Mallorca. Faux-walnut table-tops were at our knees, and the sun went down long before we approached our next port of call.
We arrived after 10 p.m. in Palma cruise terminal, which didn't exist last time I was here. Accommodation had been booked at the Horizonte Hotel, which was way up above the port, 'up' being the important word. We finally arrived, breathing heavily, and checked in, and discovered the wonders of this two-level hotel. Some guest and public rooms, and a swimming pool, were on the upper level, then across a little road bridge were more guest rooms in a lower block built into the hillside. On the top of this lower block was a terrace, from which we could see the harbour lights, before beds and sleep claimed us.
Ships seen 30th June: Nixe 2 of Balearia Fed. Garcia Lorca Yuzhnaya Palmyra Milenium Dos
Tuesday 1st July
Woke to hot sunshine of course, and from the balcony I had views of the tops of ships. We'd all arranged to meet for breakfast, so I had time for a swim by myself in the wonderful blue rooftop pool. It was absolutely glorious and I could view the wide bay of Palma disappearing into the distance, and 7 cruise ships down the hillside in the cruise terminal. What a great start to the day. I was amused to see canvas chairs around the pool area, advertising San Miguel beer - the nectar of the gods according to many people.
Having climbed up to the Annexe Terrace to go for breakfast, we were stunned by the views and had to stop and take photographs in the hot sunshine. I had a sudden feeling of déjà vue, and am convinced I've been here before. I shall have to check when I get home, but the terrace is just remarkable, and where I remember a Mallorquin house on the plot beside the lower annexe building, there was now a building site. That was then, this is now, as I like to say. One crane caught our attention, as a man in overalls started climbing up it, seemingly without any ropes; he stopped a couple of times on the way up to catch his breath, and we weren't surprised.
Buffet breakfast called and was answered, and after checking out we had the great pleasure of walking down to the port, ready for our next ship and sailing at 12.30.
The air-conditioning in the terminal building was wonderful, and then we foot-passengers were requested to board a coach to take us to our ship - the BORJA, which is a ropax (roll on, passenger) ferry located right round the other side of the harbour. We dropped people off at other ships, and then arrived to board ours. We had originally chosen to sail on ISLA DE BOTAFOC but had been notified of a change in ships so BORJA was our 'surprise on the quayside'.
We sailed at 12.30 from Palma, bound for Barcelona, and saw OCEAN VILLAGE 2, designed outside by Renzo Piano, and originally named REGAL PRINCESS; we could see the 1982-built ISLAND ESCAPE, previously SCANDINAVIA, the NYC/Freeport ferry. Our ferry BORJA was built in 2007 in Italy, and was chartered by Stena Line for a few months, and to Bruce's delight we saw a crew member wearing Stena RoRo red overalls. The ship is now chartered by Balearia.
We could see Palma Cathedral and the Castle of Bellver with the mountains behind, and soon we could see the delightful little Cala Mayor round the bay, as we left Palma de Mallorca astern. We enjoyed lunch and then sun loungers (pretend steamer chairs) on deck in the shade, lulled to sleep by the sea noises for 2 hours. Oh, this may be only half a sea day but it was a good one. Tea at sea was next, and we began to see other ships going into Barcelona. We could see ISLA DE BOTAFOC, MERCEDES DEL MAR and others, so we took photos before the light faded, and marvelled at the enjoyment of arriving anywhere by sea. Barcelona was no exception. My notebook for today includes mention of Patrick Keillor, the director of the films 'London' and 'Robinson in Space' from 1997, and it seems they come highly recommended. We also talked about the Monsieur Hulot film 'Playtime'.
Rooms were booked at the local university buildings, so it was good to leave bags there and go out for dinner. As we were walking along a street I suddenly felt myself 're-routed' in a different direction by Bruce and Soren, as there had just been another traffic accident ahead of us, with a body and ambulance amongst a crowd. They didn't want me to see anything, especially after the last incident a couple of days ago, which was very kind of them and there was obviously nothing we could do to help anyway.
Dinner was again wonderful at 39 Nitz, and we strolled along La Rambla and enjoyed the hot night air and the crowds. All the city's trees and flower containers were watered late at night from a huge tanker, and we enjoyed watching the hose being directed at the thirsty plants and trees all along our route home.
Ships seen 1st July:
Island Escape Aida Cara Ocean Village 2 Mercedes del Mar Borja Borja Dos Pilar del Mar Isla de Botafoc Murillo Super Fast Galicia Zubaran Grimaldi something Insignia Ulysse Costa Concordia Tenacia Cruise Roma Sorolla
Wednesday 2nd July
We all met in the reception area at 9 a.m. as arranged, but I did wonder if Soren would appear. As I came past his room, after a hot and airless night, I could see rather a lot of water coming out under his door. He explained that the shower floor sloped the wrong way, and so the water chose its own escape route.
Both Bruce and Soren wanted to get money from cash machines, so I stood near them facing out towards the street, whilst they attended to the machines. Soren started to laugh, and then explained that the CCTV camera in his bank machine had warned him that someone was standing very near him and he should beware of that person. How funny. Breakfast on the waterfront after that was a good start, and we went to check in early for our next sailing; and what a good job we did, as sailing time had been advanced by one hour. We began to realise that the ferry companies were trying to save on fuel and costs by sailing slower than scheduled, thus leaving earlier and arriving later, and Grandi Navi Veloci was no exception.
We boarded the 1993 Italian-built MAJESTIC in good time for our new 12 noon sailing, walking on board and up the escalators (thank you GNV) and happily stowed bags and settled in for our overnight sailing from Barcelona to Genoa in Italy. After that her next port of call would be Porto Torres, then Tangier, and although she can carry 1500 passengers, there were only 200 of us on board for this leg of the trip. I was told that 1400 were expected on board tomorrow. She looked a smart ship at first sight but the Sun Decks were another matter. We passed the Photo-Shop which displayed lots of photographs but judging by the people, fashions and cars, most seem to have been taken many years ago.
The Reception area was spacious and attractive, the staff pleasant, and the cabins scrupulously clean, but the rest of the ship was in a terrible condition: poor paintwork, non-existent cleaning, paint spots on the windows and the lifeboat areas, an empty and grubby swimming pool, stacks of padlocked and dirty sun loungers on the decks and obviously no money or time had been used here. GNV actually receive a big EU subsidy but there was no sign that it had been spent on this ship.
When we went for lunch in the Restaurant, we found that only one set menu was being served, consisting of green salad leaves in a bowl, followed by tomato pasta, then a breaded veal steak out of a packet, then 'frutta di stagione' - a single green apple on a plate. There were only a few Moroccan passengers, who didn't look impressed by this and, in fact, we saw a lot of barely-touched food being sent back (the pasta appeared to be half-cooked). Additionally, the one waiter on duty was in his vest. When he saw us arriving, he dived into the kitchen and put on his proper mess jacket, then rummaged inside a serving station where he found a couple of menus - so we were able to order one or two extra dishes to the set menu being given to our North African brethren. The spaghetti bolognaise was lovely and so was the Orvieto wine.
In the afternoon we looked forward to sleeping on plastic steamer chairs, but all the stacks of chairs were still padlocked securely together, and it was impossible to remove even three of them, on any of the public decks. As I had already been disappointed to be told that the swimming pool would not be filled, and hadn't been for a long time, I could sense that a deck steamer chair might also prove a bit of a challenge, but I was prepared to rise to it. I spoke to a deck steward who didn't have the padlock key; I went to Reception and showed them my digital photographs of the padlocked chairs (I knew that would avoid any language difficulties); I was told that the person with the key would be on duty at 3 p.m. and would unlock them after that. We had already seen off-duty staff lounging on similar chairs in the Crew deck area. I was offered a seat in Reception for the 15 minutes until 3 p.m. which I happily accepted. At 3.20, having checked the decks and made friends with another steward who didn't have the magic key, I went back to Reception and spoke to the embarrassed Marie, who made numerous phone calls. Whilst we were waiting she very kindly took me to a locked store and gave me several clean towels to put on the dirty seats. Finally the man with the key appeared (nice working hours on here) 45 minutes late, and I was taken up on deck to collect the chairs. Bruce and Soren carried them all up to the deck we wanted, and peace finally reigned.
Later I found there was a hair dryer in the cabin, and apparently I squealed with excitement and 'sounded like Nigella Lawson gorging on her own chocolate cake'. Dinner proved to offer exactly the same limited menu as lunch, but we had a different waiter, who was an ex-Italian Line man. He was very tactful about the state of the ship, but obviously not happy. Joyous sounds from the galley helped get him out of any further polite questioning, and our dinner was served. Bruce believed we were given food otherwise reserved for the Officers, which was actually very good. As we were leaving, in fact, several bottles of wine were placed on an adjacent table and the Master, Chief Engineer and Chief Purser trouped in and sat down, accompanied by three female members of the (underemployed) cruise staff, all young enough to be their daughters.
At 9.30 p.m. the Entertainment was to start, and we really looked forward to this. A Cruise Director called Erik who, in his own mind's eye was on prime time Rai Uno presenting one of those variety spectaculars the Italians seem to love watching, and the three people that were The Entertainment, were all present in the newly unlocked Grand Show Lounge. The front rows were filled with mainly Moroccans, travelling home, with their wives safely stowed away in their cabins. Music from 'Pirates of the Caribbean' thundered around the mostly empty seats in the Lounge, and the show started with white-suited Erik, fitted with radio microphone, doing illusions/magic tricks like a true Pro. Two dancers then performed to 1960s music. The star turn was, as Bruce put it, an East European teenager doing belly dancing which was spectacularly grim, especially when all those middle-aged men started filming her with their phones. Suddenly there were signs of trouble, as men stood up shouting and waving arms and phones; one, who looked like 'Kojak' star Telly Savalas, had been infuriated by another who stood in his way, preventing him from filming the belly dancer unobstructed with his mobile phone. The ship's Security man appeared, and then escorted several men out, as Bruce put it, to 'duff each other up in the hallway instead'. The music and belly dancing finished hurriedly, the bar closed (having sold probably eight drinks, three to us) and then Erik thanked us for coming along. We all clapped him and he came to ask if we had enjoyed the evening and of course we had... Erik took this as a sign to do a few more close-up illusionist tricks, and made a teaspoon apparently bend and then twist round. I was given the ruined spoon as a souvenir, the lights were turned out and in seconds we were all outside the locked Grand Show Lounge. The Entertainment had lasted under thirty minutes, but had been unforgettable.
Ships seen 2nd July: Thomson Destiny (1982 built ex-Sunbird) Majestic
Thursday 3rd July
We arrived at 9 a.m. in the overcast heat of Genoa, passing a wonderful array of ships to be photographed. Police and Immigration people came on board, and we were soon ashore from MAJESTIC and able to walk round the endless overhead secure walkways to leave our luggage safely in the Terminal Building. For non-valuable stuff it is Euros 3 per bag well spent. Security is so tight nowadays in some ports that the foot passenger has to walk miles to leave the ship and port, despite the constant urging for us all to cut car usage and reduce carbon footprints.
Anyway, we walked to the Old City part of Genoa, enjoying the ships, hill views, buildings and heat, ready for a late breakfast. That done we set off into the hillside backstreets of Genoa and had a wonderful few hours enjoying what we saw. It might have been dark, dirty, smelly and noisy in places but it was balanced by the architecture, light and life of a thriving maritime city and its inhabitants. All life came before us I think, including some friendly 'ladies of the night', in their tight satin blouses and hot-pants, standing smoking in doorways. Certainly they seemed as pleased to see me as they did Bruce and Soren.
Lunch was wonderful, in a local restaurant called 'Three Blackbirds', close to Via Garibaldi, and was probably the best sea-food risotto I have ever had. The owning family have a branch in New York.
After collecting the bags and checking in for our next sailing, we were thrilled to find out that LA SUPREMA was sailing from berth 1002, the old Maritime Station! That was wonderful news, even if it meant another long trek back along the harbour side and then into yet another secure area. I think we all have actual and mental pictures of the liners crowded into Genoa Harbour and the Maritime Station, and I certainly have them of Union-Castle ships there right up until the 1970s, before they headed south to the East Coast of Africa. To sail from this very quay was to be a wonderful experience.
The Motor Ship LA SUPREMA was built in Italy in 2003, at a huge 48,500 gross tonnage with Wartsila diesel engines, for Grandi Navi Veloci of Palermo for the Genoa-Port Torres route, later the Olbia-Genoa route. Although run by the same firm as the dysfunctional MAJESTIC, LA SUPREMA could not have been more different in terms of style.
As soon as she arrived, her thousands of passengers and their cars left the ship rapidly and soon dispersed into the early evening city traffic. As foot passengers we were happy to walk on board immediately, put our bags away safely for our overnight sailing, and watch the nearly 3,000 other passengers and cars as they hurried onto the car decks below. Some black smoke started to come out of the funnels, but it was as nothing compared with BAIA SARDINIA of DiMaiolines that we experienced last September leaving Genoa - that must have been the worst ever. Today, as the engines roared, there was a great whoosh below the stern, a frenzy of foam, and we were off!
We were sailing overnight from Genoa to Olbia in Sardinia on this lovely ship, so could enjoy a walk on deck first before a leisurely shower and dinner. Several passengers had their dogs with them until they were put into the kennels on board, and it was obviously their 'walkies' time too with the inevitable 'poo alert'. We noticed that many Italian men were not prepared to clean up after their dog, and had to shout after their wives to find a plastic bag and to pick up the results from the doggy walking area.
After that dubious free entertainment, we dressed for dinner (second sitting in the splendid a la Carte Restaurant) - and the dinner really was extremely good and a marvellously Italian shipboard experience. Then we had another tour around LA SUPREMA as there was so much to see that there simply was not nearly enough time to enjoy all the facilities. So the sun set on another great day, and I realised yet again how much I enjoy being in Genoa.
Ships seen 3rd July
Habib Taurus Athara Moby Freedom Moby Drea Aries Capricorn Bithia Anonymous new sale - in dock La Suprema La Superba Majestic Audacia
Friday 4th July
On board LA SUPREMA the day started at 6 a.m. with my alarm clock and a 'bon giorno' announcement from the public address system. Oh, another short night after leaving Genoa, but we were to dock at Olbia, north-eastern Sardinia, at 7 a.m. and there were already several ships to be seen as we approached through the narrow channel. It's a spectacular natural harbour and the eye is drawn to so many ships, mountains and sea colours. Fast ferries were coming and going even at that early hour, and our cameras were in constant use. As we left LA SUPREMA we wondered again about her future, as it was announced earlier this year that in October she and her sister ship LA SUPERBA were being sold to Vinashin Ocean Shipping Company in Vietnam for use in local waters. Time will tell of course.
Once on dry land we were able to hire a car and Soren kindly drove us all north along the coast to Golfo Aranci, from where we could see MSC RHAPSODY and ATHENA heading for Olbia along the narrows. Back in the Olbia area we searched for a good viewpoint to watch the sun on the ships entering and leaving the harbour; we found an isolated lagoon with beach and tiny café, but the sight of several red roasting bodies lying on the sand was quite frightening. These were living folk and not accident victims either, or maybe not yet.
Inspiration then sent us on another little lane and we found the ideal place to see the ships, at the narrowest point of the channel entrance, and near the lighthouse on its tiny piece of flat rock. The ships were huge at such close range, and it was a glorious spot. First came SNAV LAZIO, followed closely by MOBY OTTA, then BITHIA, then MOBY FANTASY (unexpectedly) began moving. In the opposite direction, various freight ro-ros sailed in to the harbour. Each of these large ferries came very close to the beach, where we stood photographing, with their displacement sending quite big waves to lap the shore. The sunshine was in the perfect position and each ship could be photographed from all angles against a backdrop of mountains and coastal scenery. It was a magical experience. The narrow beach was sandy, there were shady trees behind us, the waves were gently lapping in front of us as the ships passed, there were shells everywhere and the only sounds were of the ships' engines are they sailed in and out, and a few birds. Wild flowers grew in the edge of the sand and life seemed perfect.
The ship schedules finished for the time being, we went to check in at our hotel in Golfo Aranci for the night. It was Hotel Tabby, and of course there were ornamental cat items everywhere, including the wooden door keys. I even saw our hotel proprietor outside walking a cat on a collar and lead. Cats can't be walked very successfully, however, as, unlike dogs, they are given to climbing up things and this one was no exception, scrambling up a post with the lead at full-stretch. It really was a preposterous sight. The rooms were fine, but the shower cubicle didn't pass what I like to call 'the Cyril Smith' test. He was a British Member of Parliament, for Rochdale in Lancashire, and was seriously overweight all his life. He would not have been able to get in the shower cubicle, but I did and that's what counts.
We drove on north to Palau, and saw the wonderful sight of ferries going to La Maddalena and other islands, just a couple of miles across the water. I shall always remember the colour of the water, the sky, the heat and the lemon tea enjoyed at the little café. The waters north of here between Sardinia and Corsica are of course the Straits of Bonifacio, and goodness I remember them from the Union-Castle Line Centenary Voyage in February 2000. That was not an ideal time to sail through the Straits, even on the good ship VICTORIA, and I have the photographs to prove it. The car had to be returned, and after that we watched RHAPSODY depart from Olbia with some difficulty, as the wind strength had increased considerably by then. We'd been told that on this quayside it was not advisable to take photographs because of the 'security' but we took some with care, and then noticed that several of the Port officials had their own cameras out too, taking pictures! The bus and train took us back to Golfo Aranci - we do like this place - and then it was time for dinner at a waterside restaurant before returning to the feline-loving hoteliers.
Ships seen 4th July: La Suprema, Moby Otta, Moby Fantasy, Maria Grazia Onorato, SNAV Lazio, Athena, MSC Rhapsody, Sharden, Moby Freedom, Moby Tommy, Eliana M (Moby cargo) Janas, Scorpio, Pace, Nurghes, Luigi Pa, Isola di Santa Steffani, Isola di Caprera, Agata, Mega Express III
Saturday 5th July
A big day today with our 8 a.m. departure on MEGA ESMERALDA of Corsica Ferries. We were up early and on the beach ready to photograph her fast arrival, in all her golden paintwork glory. The sun had just risen when she motored magnificently round a corner, between two high cliffs, each three times the height of the twelve-deck ferry. Catching the light, she looked spectacular and we were able to take lovely photographs from every angle before she sailed into the shade of another hillside. What a way to begin a day!
We were soon on board ready to sail from Golfo Aranci to Civitavecchia in Italy. There we were to meet up with more ferry friends and enthusiasts: Richard Seville, and Matthew Murtland. Departure was wonderful on this big yellow beauty, and we admired the way she had arrived, offloaded passengers and vehicles (possibly the 1,859 allowed) , loaded passengers and vehicles, all within one hour. Looking out from the top deck as we sailed, we must have been two hundred feet up, with warm and windy views of the funnel aft of us, and forward from under the Bridge. Breakfast buffet in the stern Restaurant was good for the food and views.
This ship was built in 1985 for Johnson Line Ab of Stockholm as SVEA, by Wartsila in Finland, at 33,829 tons. She started with Silja Line on the Stockholm-Mariehamn-Turku service; in 1987 she was registered for OY Svea Line (Finland) in Stockholm; in 1992 she was re-built in Germany and became SILJA KARNEVAL on the Stockholm-Turku route, then in 1993 on the Vaasa-Umea sailing.
In 1994 she was sold to Color Line A/S, of Oslo, to be COLOR FESTIVAL on the Oslo-Hirtshals route. In 2002 she was in a collision and had to be repaired in Hamburg, including new propellers, but returned to service on the Oslo-Hirtshals route, then in 2006 on the Oslo-Frederikshavn route.
In late 2007 she was sold to Corsica & Sardinia Ferries for 450,000,000 Norwegian Kroners, and in January 2008 renamed MEGA SMERALDA. She went from Frederikshavn to Perama in Greece, for refitting, and in May this year returned to service on the Sardinia-Civitavecchia route. Bruce and Soren were particularly excited to be on board and photograph everything, and our tour started in the 'Dancing Palace' area forward, with bar and dance floor. It had wonderful views forward from the two levels but had the typical musty smell of a poorly ventilated area. I was fascinated by the dark styling and furnishings dating from the mid-1980s, but overlaid with Color Line and Corsica Ferries fixtures of newer vintage. They have even managed to eradicate most of the stale beer smell which characterised this ship and the CHRISTIAN IV when the two sailed daily for Color Line from Hirtshals. Bruce and Soren were very impressed as both thought that this would be impossible after so many years of wild parties on board.
As I came on board I had seen a wheelchair with the name COLOR FESTIVAL on the back of it, so it was going to be interesting to see what other evidence of her previous lives we could find. On our tour it became obvious that this is a very smart and happy ship - especially compared with MAJESTIC - with happy staff, non-stop cleaning and clearing, and happy passengers. Bruce said later that it is fun to examine the archaeology of an oft-refitted ship and he spent hours going round MEGA SMERALDA working out what dated from SVEA, SILJA KARNEVAL and COLOR FESTIVAL days, and what was new. Having known the ship from her previous lives, he felt the ship was now much improved. The only problem being that, with such a commodious superstructure, she felt a little empty of passengers when sailing as a transport ship, rather than being filled with mini-cruisers. Maybe Corsica & Sardinia Ferries will need to try to encourage the good citizens of Rome to go on short cruises to Sardinia if they are successfully to fill their voluptuous flagship, particularly during the winter months.
Talking of flags, we were able to look up to the covered Bridge wings, and on the port side we could see lots of little pennants standing on a desk, presumably recording ports visited by the ship and guests who had held conferences aboard during her Silja Line career (there were many big Swedish and Finnish businesses represented, as well as Port Authority flags). In other areas of the ship I could recognise the carpet, tables and chairs in the lounges as typical of the Corsica & Sardinia Ferries - with pink or lavender chair coverings. Most interestingly, the large Tax Free Supermarket, aft on Boat Deck, had been completely gutted to make a new sitting Lounge in this typical Corsica & Sardinia Ferries style - and it was the busiest space on the ship. I have a photograph of Bruce photographing a crew member wearing red COLOR LINE overalls, so we presumed he was there to instruct the Corsica Ferries on some aspects of their new ship. Of course, he could just have transferred employers and kept his red overalls!
I have a diary note here to say that I finished reading a paperback book, and decided to leave it on a shelf in one of the lovely clean Ladies Toilets. Although in English, I was delighted to find that two hours later it had disappeared and I could only hope it had gone to a good home. Hooray, something less to carry.
As we neared Civitavecchia, the MOBY WONDER swept past, doing possibly a third more than our speed, gloriously sunlit on our port side.
At 2.30 we arrived in Civitavecchia, Italy, and were delighted to meet up with Richard and Matt on the quayside. Various cruise and other exciting ships were also in port so had to be photographed, before all five of us got back on board MEGA SMERALDA very happily to sail at 3.30 back to Golfo Aranci. At an adjacent berth, the newly-introduced SNAV TOSCANA, formerly Color Line's PETER WESSEL, was berthed. It was quite strange to see her next to MEGA SMERALDA in this strange Italian port, after the two had been such familiar sights on the Lattegat over so many years. After dinner on board, we arrived back in port very late, so took a big taxi to our Olbia hotel, ready for an early start tomorrow. It had been another wonderful sea day.
Ships seen 5th July
Mega Smeralda, Scorpio, Moby Aki, Moby Tommy, Moby Freedom, Moby Otta, La Suprema, Sharden, Nuraghes, Azamara Quest, Sea Princess (ex-Adonia), SNAV Toscana (ex Peter Wessell), Moby Wonder, Seabourn Spirit, Royal Iris (ex Azur, ex Eagle), Sea Dream 1, Clodia, Garibaldi, Moby Fantasy, SNAV Lazio, SNAV Campania, Eurostar Barcelona
Sunday 6th July
(in Olbia, Sardinia)
6 a.m. alarm call again - ugh, but the kind hotel manageress had arranged a very early breakfast for us all in the Restaurant. Then we were off in a taxi to Olbia port, on another glorious clear hot blue sky day again. Soren has to go home to Denmark later today at the end of his holiday, so he is taking the 9 a.m. MOBY WONDER to Civitavecchia, where he will get a train to Rome and then a flight to Copenhagen; Bruce, Richard, Matt and I are sailing on Moby Line's MOBY TOMMY from Olbia to Piombino in Italy leaving at 8 a.m.
Departing Olbia was spectacular, with the light, the ships and the sea. As soon as we were on board, we realised what a contrast this ship is with MEGA SMERALDA. This one is crowded, but pretty spruce and fairly tidy, and at one point we had to leave one outside deck for it to be hosed down with great vigour! I found the general arrangement a bit confusing, as it was difficult to get from A to B on board via a direct route - many doors are unexpectedly locked. We chose to rest on the shaded sundecks aft, on relatively clean lifejacket storage boxes (this is allowed) but the noise and vibration was so great that I put my earplugs in and the faithful turquoise pashmina softened the box! Lunch in the cafeteria was good, and dangling feet in the swimming pool was lovely. But here is another but: I asked if it would be possible please to borrow a towel to be able to swim, but the answer was 'no', because we didn't have a cabin. I offered to pay to hire a towel, but the answer was still no. What a shame - no-one else was in the pool and it looked so inviting.
We were due to arrive at Piombino at 12.30 but it was an hour later when we finally disembarked from MOBY TOMMY, and said goodbye to Richard and Matt for a day or two. They had tickets to take the overnight sleeper from Rome through to Messina, then on to Brindisi and Albania by ferry and back again. We bought train tickets from Piombino to Naples as planned, took the local port bus to the station, and had time for tea outside a tiny café whilst waiting at this rural station.
Suddenly Matt and Richard appeared, looking very upset, and said that Trenitalia (the Italian rail system) workers were on strike for 24 hours from 9 p.m. this evening so all their plans had to be cancelled or changed and they'd decided to come on our afternoon train and hope to get ferry tickets on arrival in Naples. Our train arrived, containing what looked like a full load already. All the carriages were full, but luckily we managed to get pull-down corridor seats, and were envied by all who got on after us. The journey was interesting, and enlivened at one stop when Police with machine guns appeared on the platform and walked back and forth; other people ran back and forth; we stopped there for about 20 minutes and then left, but we didn't find out why there had been the disruption. As we passed through Civitavecchia we momentarily saw a Costa ship and then an MSC one, and both looked familiar. Finally we arrived in Rome, most passengers got off, and we could get comfy seats at last. Then we were off south again to Naples.
The heat and smells hit us immediately on arrival, and even under the street lighting we could see the masses of litter everywhere; the Refuse men are still on strike then! Hostel rooms had been booked for Bruce and me; Matt and Richard hoped there might also be space for them too. We found the address near a square and down a dark side street, and having stepped through a large wooden doorway in the cobbled side street, discovered we were in a ancient courtyard surrounded by equally ancient buildings. We started climbing stone steps, and five flights later arrived at the hostel entrance door high up in one building. Once our breathing allowed us to speak, we checked in and found that Matt and Richard could have beds in a male dormitory, so at least they had a roof over their heads for the night.
We left the bags and went for reviving Italian pizza and wine at a nearby outside restaurant, set beside one of the numerous Neapolitan churches; as large jets thundered overhead on the flight path to the airport we felt very glad to have a chance to relax, even though we could see an ambulance collecting an accident victim from along the dark street, with its siren adding to the general noise level. After climbing the stone stairs back up to our hostel rooms, my bed looked very welcoming and after switching on the electric fan I closed my eyes and slept like the proverbial log all night.
Ships seen 6th July:
Moby Tommy, SNAV Lazio, Bithia, Maria Gracia On., Moby Fantasy, Moby Otta, La Suprema, Sharden, Luigi Pa, Moby Freedom, Mega Express Three, Corsica Express II, Aethalia, Mamorica, Moby Ale, Moby Baby, Moby Lally, Cruise Roma
Monday 7th July
Breakfast arrived on a flowery tray at an early hour, as arranged the previous night. I couldn't identify the hot dark liquid but at 1 euro for the fruit juice, hot liquid and bread roll on a pretty tray, it was perfectly acceptable. I also decided to leave Erik's spoon here in Naples, so that may have lightened my rucksack on the way down to the port. On the way I noticed an unusual dog - a chow - so guess what I said as we passed him? 'Ciao, chow' of course. We have the whole day in Naples before getting the overnight ferry to Palermo in Sicily. Wow, I thought, look at all those ferries, and hurried after Bruce to get Caremar's 1980-built ADEONA to the island of Ischia. Before we sailed on our little 984 ton ship we realised we were berthed right alongside EMERALD PRINCESS, and was she huge! We called first at Procida island, with lovely harbour and views, and then saw the delightful BENITO BUONO approaching and passing us slowly on our port side.
Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, so as we arrived in the harbour we looked around with great interest. After disembarking and checking the ferry times back to Naples, we were soon accosted in English by two smart-looking men in shirts and uniform-like peaked hats. They were touting for business for hired cars and/or accommodation amongst the arriving tourists. Must admit they reminded me of Gentlemen Hosts on cruise ships - very smart and er, reliable. Matt and Richard arrived on another ship and then went off again on yet another one. They had managed to get tickets for the ship we were sailing on tonight from Naples to Palermo, and had changed their onward plans.
We found a waterside café for breakfast and it was fun to watch our fellow tourists: male tourists with Gucci man-bags and their lady companions weighed down with a lot of jewellery, well dressed ladies with little dogs wearing pink with pearl collars (yes, the dogs), smartly dressed thin ladies in high heels tottering along the quayside with hotel staff wheeling their luggage along for them, other ladies hanging on to enormous handbags, solitary men enjoying the first beer of the day, and the rest of us just enjoying the sea, ships and breakfast.
Suddenly a very old unusual-looking ferry arrived, named TOURIST FERRY BOAT SECONDO. Bruce said it was built in 1967 for Tourist Ferry Boats S.P.A., to cross the Straits of Messina, and then transferred to ply between Naples and Ischia. She looked rather ungainly but was very manoeuvrable in the little harbour. Bruce went off to see another part of the island whilst I made my way round the headland to see the older part of town and the beaches of the big bay. These had been divided off with wire fences, and presumably people had to pay to use the deckchairs in each section. Talk about serried ranks of cages. People were in all states of undress and redness, and were getting food from any of the eating venues at the back of the beach. The menus and ice cream looked lovely, but I walked back to meet Bruce and have a harbour-side meal before our return to Naples. On our way to the ferry we met the two observant Captain Peaked-Caps again, who astonished us by saying that 'your friends are along there', and they were: Richard and Matt had come back on yet another ferry, and said hello before waiting for a later one. We caught ADEONA back towards Naples and after the heat of the day enjoyed a rest on the shady deck benches with a light breeze - wonderful.
Back at the Naples Maritime Station there was time to watch THOMSON SPIRIT depart before checking in for our overnight ferry, the SNAV CAMPANIA, with her lovely big clean decks. After a shower, and refreshing gin and tonic on deck, looking down on the graceful CHRISTINA O. adjacent to our berth started us wondering about the cost of chartering her. Built in 1943, she was bought by Aristotle Onassis in 1948; he spent millions re-fitting her and in 1954 she sailed again as CHRISTINA O., named after his beloved daughter. After his death his daughter donated it to the Greek Government, and eventually it was sold to a new owner in 1998; it is now available for charter.
After sailing from Naples, and heading for Palermo in Sicily, we went for a meal and joined the slow-moving queue in the poorly organised buffet-style café/restaurant; the food was fine when we eventually sat down to eat. A pianist in the top Bar played pleasant music and sent us off to our cabins with the melody of 'Volare' ringing in our ears.
Ships seen 7th July:
Thomson Spirit, Emerald Princess, Noordam, Ala, SNAV Campania, Vicenzo Flirio, Via Adriatico (Tirrenia ro-ro), Partenope, Leviathan, Ischia Express (scrap), Benito Buono, Donatella D'Abundo, Giuseppe D'Abundo, Adeona, Citta Di Capri, Tourist Ferry Boat Secondo, Ackermar (Caremar hydrofoil), Costa Magica, MSC Orchestra, Palmermo, Baia Sardinia, Maria Buono, Logodiro, Rose D'Abundo, Fairno, Driade, Niade, Isola Di Capri, Christina O.
Tuesday 8th July
It was another 6 a.m. alarm call, for our early hot arrival in Palermo, in Sicily on SNAV CAMPANIA. I hadn't been here before so it was interesting to see the harbour and ships around. After a hot walk to the port gate, we found a local er, 'taxi' man who took us to the rail station for the 7.30 a.m. train. This was to be another of the highlights of the trip - the ferry train to Messina - and literally it would be shunted on the ferry with all of us passengers still on board. I was warned that there would be complete darkness outside when that happened, but we would soon be allowed out of the train and up on the ferry decks. First however there was time to get comfortable in our own carriage and have a refreshing sleep. Our journey was then somewhat enlivened after a heavily pregnant young lady took an empty window seat, and became very emotional following several mobile 'phone conversations. She went into the train corridor several times, and made us wonder if the emotional stress might bring on a premature birth, but no, she got off the train just before Messina, still heavily pregnant. Phew.
Our arrival at Messina Station was full of excited anticipation: we had to wait for the train to be coupled up to the local ferry locomotive, which pulled us towards the ship. It was then disconnected and had to shunt part of the train onto the ferry. That part was uncoupled, the points were changed and the locomotive reversed and came back to hitch up to our rear. It was then our turn and our half of the train was shunted onto the lower deck of the ferry, which then balanced the half already on board. All was dark, except for the carriage lights, but then we were instructed to leave the train and head for the narrow stairway, walking across the railway lines on the deck and climbing up onto the open deck. It was so exciting!
We emerged into glorious hot sunshine to find ourselves on the wide wooden decks aboard the good ship ROSALIA, built in 1972. I've been on train ferries before, but this was the first time I'd boarded one on an actual train, and it was a thrilling experience. We'd left Messina and were already heading east across the Straits towards Villa San Giovanni on the Italian mainland. We noticed that the ferry came out of the harbour and then did a 90° turn to head across the Straits. There was time to have a reviving coffee and croissant and enjoy looking around this little ship.
Bruce pointed out that our ROSALIA, together with IGINIA and SIBARI, were amongst the last ships built in the 'grand manner' of the post-war Italian shipbuilding boom. He described them as proper little ocean liners with wide, teak decks, vulcanised rubber flooring, and all the other typical Italian details of the era: cove-lit pegboard ceilings, curved windows in brass frames, plate glass doors with moulded glass handles and Cassina leather-covered furniture. He also pointed out that as for the navigation bridges. they were simply magnificent and in superb condition too. As well as learning about all this, I particularly enjoy seeing the moulded glass door handles which are in the most beautiful jewel-like colours, a different colour on each ship.
Having disembarked at San Giovanni we went into the cool comfort of the little terminal café at the side of the railway station from where we could see several other ferries arriving and departing and watch our train being pulled out of the ROSALIA. The stairways and overhead walkways for foot passengers were old and unkempt at Villa San Giovanni but the Messina terminal is immaculate and architecturally superb. We took the SCILLA ferry, which is a carbon copy of two earlier ships, the SIBARI and IGINIA, back to Messina. This gave us the chance to walk through the Station Terminal building - the 1930s Mosaic Hall, built by Mussolini, with its vast mural. We were pleased that Bruce went into lecturer mode at this moment and gave us a fascinating insight into the building and mural details.
It was still only early afternoon so we then walked round to check in at the waterside hotel where we were staying that night, and found a local café for food and Messina beer. After a hot walk to the other ferry terminal at Caronte further along the coast, we caught ACCIARELLO over the Straits to the mainland, and returned on the ROSALIA.
Train tickets were bought for the next day, and then it was time for goodbyes to Richard and Matt, who were leaving Messina and going to the east coast and onwards to Vlore, before dinner and overnight in this city with so much history.
Ships seen 8th July:
Vincenza Florio, Eurostar Saslarno, Helga, Antonella Di Messina, Gizzio, MSC Orchestra, Isola Di San Pietro, SNAV Campania, Rosalia, Iginia, Scilla, Villa, Fata Morgana, Budelli, Reggio, Pau Casala, Mega Express Five, Carlou Gamma, Zanck, Vestfold, Athos Matacena, Antonio Matacena, Cariddi, Villa, Guan, Riace, Federica M, Enotria, Legend/Splendour of the Seas
Wednesday 9th July
How I enjoyed yesterday arriving in Messina and travelling to and fro on the ferries across the Straits to the Italian mainland! It was absolutely wonderful. But today should be just as much fun. It was another early breakfast and round to the harbour to catch the 7.20 a.m. train ferry IGINIA across the Straits to Villa San Giovanni, ready to catch the 9.55 train from the station there to Taranto, right across Italy. We'd bought the through tickets the previous day so we joined the 1969 built IGINIA and enjoyed seeing the train loaded. We could feel the ship lurch as each half of the train came on board, but it righted immediately. There were few passengers, and the cars and small lorries boarded via side ramps. We'd walked through the Mosaic Hall and overhead walkways straight on board, and happily sat on seats on the wide teak decks with coffee or tea in hand. This is a smart little 1969 train ferry built in Ancona, and everywhere we could see crew members attending to small jobs, such as replacing a light bulb, emptying rubbish bags, or clearing the deck of oddments of litter from her previous crossing. Actually, as we'd watched her arrive with the bow door opening ready for the train, we could see several crew members on the train deck, and one of them was busily welding something to the railway lines at the most forward part of the train deck. Running repairs indeed.
As IGINIA left the ferry port, the SCILLA arrived. We'd seen her arrive a couple of times yesterday at seemingly high speed, and then heard a 'crash' as she hit the wooden pilings. She'd had to reverse and have another attempt to line up with the dockside, so we tended to call her 'SCILLA Crash'. Today's arrival was no different.
We soon arrived at Villa San Giovanni on the Italian mainland, and had good time to find the station platform for our onward journey. We were to travel north, then cross the 'toe' of Italy, before travelling around the Bay of Taranto to the White Town itself.
The Inter-City Plus train to Paola was air-conditioned, with Pendolino-style comfort, and our reserved window seats gave us wonderful views of the coast and sea. At Paola we had to change for a local diesel which raced from the coastal station through a long tunnel cut into the mountains, to Cosenza in a mountain valley. This quiet little town was in a verdant area, fertile and hot, so we were glad to see our next train connection (a diesel railcar) arrive, this time to take us to Sibari. It stopped several times to drop and collect passengers, and to allow smokers to alight and enjoy a wayside cigarette before they got back on board again. Once at Sibari we could see the vast expanse of the Golfo di Taranto, a gorgeous sparkling blue in the early afternoon sunshine, and in the far far distance was our destination of the Roman/medieval city of Taranto itself. The journey was cool and comfortable, and I enjoyed seeing the vines and fruit trees on our route.
In Taranto our waterside hotel was welcoming and we had the rest of the day to enjoy this little city and dinner later in a local trattoria.
Ships seen 9th July:
Iginia, Scilla, Athos Matacena, Rosalia, Villa
Part 4 (the concluding one)
Thursday 10th July 2008
(In Taranto, Italy)
This morning I woke early to hear waves lapping on the sandy shore, and house martins chirping as they flew around; all was obviously well with the world and I went back to sleep. The room's air-conditioning was turned off, so the fresh air coming in through the open doors of the balcony was lovely when the alarm clock finally announced it was time to get up for breakfast. We caught the local bus back to the railway station in good time for the 11.30 a.m. train from Taranto to Brindisi. It was air-conditioned and comfortable, giving us wonderful views of the fertile valleys and the castle near Francavilla Fontana on the way.
Brindisi harbour was hot and lovely, and the travel agency we favour was able to provide up-to-date information for the next stage of our trip, which would be sailing south-east to Igoumenitsa in Greece. Whilst we waited for Matt and Richard to arrive from Croatia on RED STAR 1, we had lunch at an excellent local Italian establishment called Betty's, and then went back to the travel agency for the latest news on the expected arrival/departure times. This time we were greeted by the lady owner we met last year, were offered 'a thousand greetings' immediately and the mixture of noisy Italian and English was fun and flattering all round. Matt and Richard arrived at great speed from their ship so now we could get the mini-bus from there to the newer ferry port, rush into the terminal building to buy tickets, leap aboard the mini-bus which had come back to collect us and drop us off at the ferry ramp, and thank the wonderful driver who saw it as a personal challenge for us to catch the ferry. What a kind man! It was a close call but we did it with a few minutes to spare, embarking on IONIAN QUEEN for the 7 p.m. sailing to Igoumenitsa. On the way out of the harbour we could see VERONICA LINE and EUROPA I laid up, due to high oil prices and, in the case of EUROPA 1, too many port state control violations.
IONIAN QUEEN was a 1988 Japanese-built ship, at 19,796 tons, for ferry work in Japanese waters. I later found out that one of her three sister ships was called FERRY LAVENDER' - what fun, one of my favourite colours. In 2004 she came to Greek waters and since 2005 has been with Endeavour Lines, so it was interesting to look around to see what evidence we could find of her Japanese origins. I visited a Ladies toilet and was greeted by the sight of pale pink washbasins, tiled floors, curtains draped fetchingly around a small doorway leading to showers, and then behind me were two steps leading up to an open door and a 'throne'. Oh no, it was just white sanitary ware on the raised floor. I was told that the Gents toilets were similarly furnished, including pink basins. We could see lots of blue paintwork and comfortable furnishings around the public rooms. The cabins were basic and beds comfortable, but we had to ask Reception to get our cabin steward to supply soap, towels and toilet rolls for the bathroom. He did so grudgingly and went away muttering something probably uncomplimentary. We enjoyed a meal and drink before taking to our beds, as it was to be a short night..
Ships seen 10th July:
Europa 1, Veronia Line, Kapetan Alexandros A, Ionian Queen, Ionian Spirit, SNAV Aquila, Vlore V
Friday 11th July
This is not a good morning. My alarm clock went off at 3 a.m. and the steward knocked on all the cabin doors to announce that we would soon be arriving at Igoumenitsa. This was not our first choice of ship and time of arrival, but never mind. It was dark, quiet and very hot as foot and car passengers disembarked from IONIAN QUEEN. I took a photo of my wristwatch and it shows the time as 3.30 a.m. Most passengers drove away but maybe a dozen of us went into the silent terminal building. Out came the faithful pashmina to be laid on a long bench, and my rucksack became a pillow, as we all took to the horizontal position on our respective benches. More than two hours of sleep proved wonderfully restoring, and as the sun rose we could see more ships arriving that needed to be photographed. I noticed that this year again the dogs were lying around in the cool terminal building, as they had been in various areas of Taranto and Brindisi. Outside it was hot, but the clear waters of the bay were like a millpond and the ship reflections were beautiful in this wonderful early morning light.
After discussions Richard decided to keep travelling, by going on IONIAN SPIRIT to Corfu, then back to Brindisi, so he will see us in Patras tomorrow. Bruce, Matt and I walked along outside the port to find somewhere good for breakfast and were just anticipating the first freshly squeezed orange juice of the day when Richard sent a text message to say that the Port Authorities had stopped his ship sailing, the passengers had been requested to disembark onto the quayside and nobody knew why. We had a later message to say it was thought that maybe the numbers didn't tally with the paperwork, but passengers were eventually allowed back on board and the ship sailed.
After a delightful breakfast watching the local smaller ferries, and taking photographs of the many magnificent MINOAN, SUPERFAST and ANEK ships, as well as those of VENTOURIS Ferries and AGOUDIMOS Lines, we caught EKATERINI P. from Igoumenitsa to Corfu, and because we boarded very early were able to catch a quick sleep on deck benches under the canvas awnings. It just seemed such a good idea. We were to sail at 12.30 and many passengers embarked just before this so we could enjoy watching them and the scenery. This is how I made a new friend in Stella, originally from Albania, but now living in Greece; she was a violinist with Athens Orchestra, and she and her colleagues were travelling on the ferry ready for a concert this evening at Corfu Castle. This was part of their annual tour, so it was interesting to talk with this multi-lingual lady; she smoked like a trooper and simply flicked the ash into her empty Coca Cola bottle, which made us laugh, so it was a very cheerful crossing.
The harbour at Corfu island was extremely hot so we were the only people walking out and into the backstreets to look for beds for the night. These were found at the backstreet Hotel Europa, but we were thrilled to have cool showers, rest on comfy beds with fresh linen and even do a little light laundry. That dried in a very short time after hanging on the balcony rails. Then it was out for a snack at 4.30 and I could have a delicious little square-shaped spinach pie. Like the cheese pie, it is one of the local delicacies, and one learns that the way the outer pastry is twisted in either a square or a long shape, denotes whether it is from Corfu or the mainland. Not many people know that.
After the cool of the harbour side café, we braved the heat of the quay to watch a ferry named IONION LINES come into the bay and disembark its passengers. Blame the orange juice but this ship name font made it look like '1 onion', although we know we are in the Ionian Islands (with an A). Along the quay I just had to go into the Duty Free shop to remind myself of what 'Miss Dior' smelled like (nostalgic), and then I noticed that next door was the building of Bijoux Terner. Anyone who has been on a cruise ship probably knows the name, as they supply inexpensive costume jewellery, straw hats and pashminas (known in some circles as 'personal adornment'). Shame they were closed, as I'm still waiting for a purple/mauve/lavender hat to be available, to add to my collection.
In the cool of the evening we could enjoy the walk into the old town, with the castle, heat, swallows, light and people all catching our attention. En route we saw a couple coming out of a chemist and enjoyed hearing the man say "Huh, pity you can't get anti-hypochondriac tablets!" to the female with him. We enjoyed our first Greek tsatziki of the holiday, Greek salad, chicken souvlaki or fish, and melon, and then walked home amongst the hundreds of other people out on the streets enjoying the night, heat, music and restaurants, as well as the views out to Homer's 'wine-dark sea'.
Ships seen 11th July: Ionian Queen, Ionian Spirit, Siren, Apollon, Hellenic Spirit, Europa Palace, Ikarus Palace, Superfast VI, Superfast Xi, Lefka Ori, Ionian Sky, Blue Horizon, Agia Theodora, Ekaterini P, Pantokrato, Ionion Lines Nikolaos, Ionian Cruises Inc. Xanjet IV the Russian hydrofoil, MSC Musica, Costa Lirica, Thomson Emerald.
Saturday 12th July
Great heat again (the high 30s) but a great sleep and we've been away two weeks now. Bruce and Matt went out early to see APOLLON (1973 built SENLAC) arrive, so later I walked along the lane with swallows swooping all around me and joined them in the terminal building. Richard had not arrived from Corfu as expected, but he's sure to turn up at some point. Bruce waited in the port for him, whilst Matt and I went to a local internet café to book accommodation in Piraeus, our next destination. The streets were lined with beautiful blue hibiscus trees, which I loved; what a difference the climate makes to the vegetation - and we notice that the heat and humidity is increasing day by day as we travel east.
Back at the quay, IKARUS PALACE arrived with Richard on board waving to us; hordes of people disembarked and hordes of us embarked. This high speed ferry was built in 1997 in the Bruce Shipyard in Norway for Minoan Lines, to carry 1500 passengers, and she is a huge 30,010 tons vessel. We joined Richard on board and left Corfu at 1.45 heading for Patras and then Piraeus, and we hoped for the 27 knots she's capable of. We remembered that this is the day we expect to see the ship PANTOKRATOR, meaning 'almighty', which is the name of a mountain on Corfu.
On board we walked over a carpet with coloured flags woven into it (novel) and through one of the large bars where we noticed a feature fireplace (wallpaper) and many bookshelves (wallpaper). This obvious use of picture wallpaper was interesting, and reminded me of pictures I have at home of Union-Castle ships in the early 1900s with real fireplaces, and real books and bookcases. Flattering imitation?
Yes, Bruce says they are by Norwegian Architect Finn Falkum-Hansen. Norwegians always like things to be a bit folksy - but it was incongruous to have such a cosy design in Mediterranean heat.
I liked the general arrangement of the ship, with a good passenger flow from stem to stern, as it next took us past lots of glass windows, chrome and carpeted stairwells, and comfortable seating areas, to the forward-looking self-service cafeteria. Despite now walking on a carpet with fruit and vegetable patterns woven into it, the food was excellent and the views ahead superb. We were sailing south-east again between the islands on our starboard side and the Greek mainland on our port side, heading for Patras in the Peloponnese. The misty mountains were in the far distance, and in the clear light the sea was the usual glorious aquamarine/blue. The blue water of the swimming pool called first and Richard and I had a wonderful time in there. Again, there were no towels available so after drying off in the sun for a few minutes and steaming gently, the faithful pashmina came into play again. I dried it by tying it very firmly to a deck rail so I could see it whilst watching the ships sailing towards us in the now narrowing shipping lanes. The light was just wonderful so the ships were a delightful bonus. We passed under the delicate tracery of the huge Patras Bridge, and disembarked onto the Patras port quayside.
The next part of the journey was by coach, with tickets bought on board IKARUS PALACE earlier in the day. Darkness soon fell and we could talk about the ship, and our memories of what we called 'the dog village' on board, where the many doggie passengers were each put in a miniature house with a red roof, within a safe caged area. Fun! The journey was on a fast motorway and after a short stop somewhere, we were all dropped off in Piraeus in an obscure part of the harbour. Our rooms and beds were a very welcome sight when we reached the hillside hotel.
Ships seen 12th July: Pantokrator, Ekaterini P, Agia Theodora, Elli T, Apollon, various hydrofoils, SNAV Aquila, Nikolaos, Grand Mistral of Ibero Cruises, Express Pegasus, Kefalonia, Superfast VI, Superfast VII, Olympia Palace, Erotokritos, Ionian King.
Sunday 13th July
What joy to wake up in the wonderful port of Piraeus, even if we had to leave at 6.30 a.m. to walk down to the Great Harbour. Our ship today was to be AGIOS GEORGIOS, the vessel that Matt ecstatically calls AGIOS GORGEOUS! She was built in 1972 as HENGIST for Sealink British Rail for cross-Channel ferrying of vehicles and passengers, together with her two famous sisters HORSA and SENLAC. I've been on APOLLON (SENLAC) so I was looking forward to seeing Matt's favourite. We enjoyed boarding this little ship, at 5,596 tons when built, for the 7.25 a.m. departure to the West Cyclades islands, heading south-east from Piraeus to our destination of Sifnos. There were other ferries everywhere in the Great Harbour, either having arrived earlier that morning, or being prepared for a later departure. The light was glorious, the sky a clear blue and we were about to enjoy a day at sea plus an island visit.
Our tour of the ship took us to the open-sided Bridge wings, with large pot plant inside, to the dog kennels, to see the distinctive plaque by Franta Belsky on the stairwell from her HENGIST days, to see the mast, the funnel, and open boat decks, to marvel at the etched glass doors of the ladies and gents toilets, and to revel in the wide expanse of partly-covered side decks, shady or sunny according to choice. The central part of the ship above the car decks was open at one end onto the stern and this was the most popular place for passengers, with a bar and café. We based ourselves on one of the open side decks leading off from this and settled down for food and viewing the passing ships, whilst listening to the song of a little coloured bird in a cage further along the deck with his family.
The brisk wind was in our favour, making the sea an incredible colour and sending us flying along to our first port of call at Kythnos. Vehicles and passengers were unloaded and then loaded, all in seven minutes. The ship's whistle was sounded and we were off again. We passed a sheer-sided rock rising out of the sea. The next island was Serifos, the stern ramp came down and from the stern open deck above we were fascinated to watch the unloading and loading. With a quick turn and a frenzy of foam astern, we were off again and battling the wind and the waves under the blazingly hot blue sky. The contrast between the high steep mountains of a light-grey, almost white, colour and the glorious lapis lazuli colour of the sea was particularly noticeable in this light. As Bruce said, you can see why the Greeks wanted to leave their rocky and barren mountains and take to the seas, and then painted everything blue.
Several hours after leaving Piraeus we arrived at Sifnos, and disembarked. The harbour is in a very small bay surrounded by incredibly high mountains, with the only vegetation near sea level. The water looked very shallow in the bay and we could see people paddling up to their knees some distance from the sandy shore, but the quay had obviously been built where it deepened. Tamarisk trees grew along the lane running around part of the bay, and restaurants had their awnings under these, so where to have a meal was a delightful decision. First we had to watch AGIOS GEORGIOS depart, and then turn and see EASYCRUISE ONE tucked in on the other side of the quay. She was berthed near to a local fishing boat; I enjoyed seeing the brilliant reflections of the clear water sparkling on the fishing boat's white hull. Goodness, what a day for superlatives.
The treats continued: lunch, a rest under the shade of the tamarisk trees further around the bay, a paddle because it was too shallow to swim, eating a home-made ice cream, writing the date/place in the damp sand at the water's edge, and strolling along in the shade brought us back to the quayside and the sight of Ventouris Sea Lines' AGIOS GEORGIOS coming to collect us. She berthed, passengers and cars were unloaded and new ones loaded, all in seven minutes! Even though it was now late afternoon it was still incredibly hot and we were so glad of our hats and shirts for sun protection; a cup of tea and a curly spinach pie (not the square Corfu sort!) made for a good start to our homeward sail. We called at the second island and collected several passengers quickly; at the next island we could see hundreds and hundreds of people and their cars on the quayside. Foot passengers embarked first, and then the vehicles and we watched what I can only describe as 'getting a quart into a pint pot'. It was amazing to see, and nobody was left on the quayside! It was fast and furious, and done with amazing skill and good humour all round.
We felt very glad we had booked our return tickets, as everyone seemed to be returning to Piraeus after a weekend at home on their own island. We could sense the huge increased weight of the ship but we kept up a steady and fast speed all the way home to the Great Harbour in Piraeus, and enjoyed a sunset at sea amongst the cheerful crowds of passengers.
Ships seen 13th July: Ariadne, Speedrunner 2, Festos Palace, Nissos Ghios, Aeolos Kenteris I, Aeolos Kenteris II, High Speed 1, High Speed 3, High Speed 4, High Speed 5, Romilda, Agios Georgios, Dalmacija, Easycruise One
Monday 14th July
Today started with the luxury of an 8.15 a.m. alarm call, in good time to meet and go out for breakfast at one of the cafes in the hot harbour. Cruise ships were at the cruise terminal, ferries were everywhere else and so our cameras were busy. We chose to sail on the local ferry MARGUERITE to nearby Salamina, following OCEAN COUNTESS out of the Great Harbour. Forty minutes later we arrived there, having passed the wrecks of Melody (built in1948 at Swan Hunter) and Bergensjford (built in 1956 in Swan Hunter). These well-built vessels had long and hard-working lives, before they ended up here. We left the island on a different ferry, just because we could, and after boarding I noticed that the local quayside dog had ambled up apparently to check that the gangway was lifted up properly, and then ambled away again. As usual it had no collar on, and just went back to continue sleeping in a cool spot somewhere. On the way back, passing Perama, we could see dozens of ships being re-built or repaired, including one large one that was painted all white, with no other markings at all.
This ferry with a Greek name was slightly bigger than the little MARGUERITE, with an actual bar on board, so we had an ice cold chocolate drink, and tried the Greek plumbing. As usual it was macerators, which seem popular and efficient.
Once back on land we walked around outside the harbour and visited the wonderful newsagent/bookseller which stocks so many maritime publications, including Lloyds List, Anthony Cooke's books, Richard's 'In Waters New - Former UK Ferries in Southern Europe' book, and Bruce's 'Passenger Liners Scandinavian Style'. There was one sad omission: I couldn't see a copy of 'Union-Castle Line Purserette' by Ann Haynes née Williams.
Lunch at the Lion Restaurant beside the harbour entrance, meant we could watch the 'sail past' until our Greek friend Fotis arrived. This kind man and ship enthusiast took us all out to the Peramar ship yards, so we could see and photograph ships including what we thought was the AEGEAN DOLPHIN, allegedly purchased by Gerry Herrod, late of Voyages of Discovery and Orient Lines. Next to her was the 1990-built RENAISSANCE FOUR which we thought was going to be another EasyCruise ship.
Then Fotis drove us to another part of the ship yards to park beside the huge all white-painted ship that we had seen this morning on the way to Salamina. The extraordinary thing was that Fotis's brother-in-law is the recently appointed Chief Officer on this ship! The next moment Apostolis himself came down the side ramp to greet us. Firstly we enjoyed congratulating him on his wedding two days ago to Fotis's sister, and then happily accepted his invitation to come and see his ship. It was completely gutted and empty inside the cavernous cargo deck but new internal ramps were being installed, signs repainted and safety equipment installed. This is now AEGEAN HEAVEN, formerly the 1999 built TOMAKOMAI from Mitsubishi yard in Japan. At 12,526 gross tons as built, she could carry 12 passengers, at 30 knots. I found out later that at one time in her Japanese career, in 2002, she had a special charter for football enthusiasts, with a temporary Japanese name which translated into GOOD SHIP HOOLIGAN. That makes me smile even now.
In early 2008 she was sold to Kostas Agapitos of Piraeus, re-named AEGEAN HEAVEN, registered in Malta, and in early July chartered by Acciona Trasmediterranea. The hive of activity we saw on our tour of the ship included changing the Japanese signs into English to comply with all the safety requirements, although we could easily understand the pictorials in both languages. We were shown the equipment and flag cupboard on the Bridge, the views from the very top deck, well organised officer and crew cabins, a coin-operated machine in the crew mess which had previously delivered ready-meals selected from nine Japanese menus pictured and labelled, the officers' dining area with floor level chairs and table on the carpet, and the vast and noisy hot engine room. It was all amazing and we had to be careful not to get in the way of all the work going on, whether it was painting outside decks or re-organising the 'pin-up' pictures on display in the engine room office!
All this work had to be done within two weeks so we felt privileged to have a quick tour of the ship. We left the ship with thanks all round, and were so grateful to Fotis that he could have time off work to give us this treat. We drove back to the Great Harbour for farewells to Matt and Richard who were going off in a different direction by ferry, and then went to the harbour entrance opposite the Lion Restaurant. We could climb up safely at the end of the quay, and look back to the abandoned terminal building, which was now simply a twisted metal framework on a concrete base. Our views of the departing and arriving ships (Hellenic Seaways ARTEMIS, VITSENTZOS KORNAROS and SARDINIA VERA) were enhanced by the sunlight falling on them and we could even wave to Matt and Richard as they sailed out of the Great Harbour on VITSENTZOS KORNAROS, built in 1976 as VIKING VISCOUNT for Townsend-Thoresen Ferries, before coming to Greece in 1994. They said they had taken pictures of us three on the pier head which seemed a fun thought.
We found out later they had an enjoyable final couple of days - spending a day in Rethmynon on Crete, where they explored the old town and Fortress and Richard got a final chance to swim. Then they caught the impressive ARIADNE back to Piraeus, which they described as a simply stunning vessel, and had a superb meal in her waiter-service restaurant, with very attentive service. Their final day was spent in a long-day trip down to Tinos, coming back on the PENELOPE A, sister to the AGIOS GEORGIOS.
So we waved them off on their trip, climbed down from the pier head and back in the main part of the harbour said fond farewells to Fotis. He has a great command of English so it had been a happy afternoon for all of us. Near one port gate a large red bus was parked, advertising a particular bank and hoping for new customers; Bruce enjoyed sitting in the driver's seat. Then it was back to the hotel for showers and changing to go out and up the hill behind the hotel and down into the next bay; there was a marina with lots of private yachts and smaller boats, many restaurants along the promenade and people out strolling under the late evening sun. The heat had dropped a little, so we could walk to a headland and enjoy the views along the coast, before choosing a waterside restaurant. EASYCRUISE ONE was now berthed at a quay at the edge of the bay, and in the darkness she looked an impressive sight, with her dark hull and superstructure visible under her lights.
This was the last evening of the holiday for me - I was going home tomorrow and Bruce the next day - so we discussed our wonderful trip and the ships we'd sailed on; and if you will excuse the play on words, all the time I had truly been in Transports of Delight.
