When I was in grade school, my favorite class was Greek & Roman mythology. I eagerly awaited hearing the teacher share stories about those ancient gods and goddesses.
Athena – the goddess of wisdom – was my favorite. Her tale was enthralling. The daughter of Zeus, Athena didn’t have a mother. Instead, she sprang full grown and clad in armor from the forehand of Zeus.
Naturally, the Greek city named after Athena was a place I always dreamed about visiting. Dreams do sometimes come true.
I am packing to head to Athens, Greece. And I will be touring “The Iconic Aegean” in one of the best ways possible – aboard the beautiful M/V Celestyal Olympia cruise ship. My four-day cruise with Celestyal Cruises will go round trip from Athens.
We will spend one night at the Intercontinental Hotel in Athens before boarding the cruise ship in Piraeus. Then we will spend one night at the hotel in Athens after our cruise before flying home. Some of our planned visits while in Athens are the Parthenon and the new Acropolis Museum.
Our cruise itinerary includes stops in Mykonos, Ephesus, Rhodes, Crete, Kusadasi, Santorini, Heraklion and Patmos.
We’ll walk where Cleopatra and Mark Anthony did in ancient Ephesus. We’ll discover the truth behind the legend of the minotaur and the famous labyrinth of Knossos. We’ll watch the sun set on Santorini and ride a cable car down the hillside.
We’ll get a glimpse into why Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis fell in love with Mykonos. We’ll see where St. John was exiled and wrote the last book of the Bible – Revelations – on the island of Patmos.
Aboard the ship, we’ll get Greek dance lessons from the cruise director, watch evening performances in the theater and eat, eat, eat. The M/V Celestyal Olympia is famous for its Greek cuisine.
I’ve already seen brochure photos of my cabin – an outside stateroom on the Venus deck. It has a beautiful view of the sea, big flat screen TV (which I will probably never turn on), plenty of dresser drawers, shelves and closet, and private bath with a large walk-in-shower.
Celestyal Cruises has three cruise ships that travel to Greece and Cuba. The Olympia has 418 outside cabins and 306 inside cabins for a total capacity of 1,664 passengers. The ship offers two lounges, five bars, restaurant, buffet, fully equipped gym, library, two swimming pools, hair salon, wellness center, internet area, casino, video arcade and tax-free shops featuring traditional Greek products.
Resembling a luxurious yacht, the Olympia has 10 decks named after the Greek gods. The ship looks big enough to be comfortable but small enough to easily dock at some of the Greek islands that the big ships seldom get to visit.
This looks like a fascinating cruise and I hope you’ll come along for the journey. Hard telling what treasures we will discover.
Photos courtesy of Celestyal Cruises
Heidi, Editor-In-Chief
