Setting Sail from Piraeus

Despite the rumored—and actual—strikes and the demonstrations in Athens, we had absolutely no trouble getting to the port of Piraeus this afternoon. Checking in and boarding the ship were very easy. The port is smaller than I expected. There was only one other cruise ship that was boarding passengers, so the embarkation area was not busy.

The Odyssey is small enough to be comfortable and large enough to have lots of amenities and to feel safe and uncrowded. It is also small enough so that we can feel the motion tonight as there is a little bit of a swell.

We quickly unpacked and began to explore the ship. The staff have all been very pleasant and helpful. And talk about knowing your customers: I was standing around minding my own business and a crewmember came up to me and asked if I would like a cheeseburger! We have already learned which uniforms signify people who will bring drinks. [There is a Friends of Bill W meeting every day.]

We set sail promptly at 5:00 pm.

The temperature is pleasant and there was not much wind earlier but that has changed at 10:00 as I write this. We sat on the verandah and watched the sun set over one of the Attic Islands. We are moving slowly, about 5.6 knots, and will only cover about 90 nautical miles over night to reach Milos tomorrow morning. The captain said that this area is busy enough that everyone is required to keep their speed down.