It is 4:45pm as I type these first words, and that alone is enough to rock my world today. Add to it the almost two-hour nap I took after lunch, and the hot tub visit I squeezed in before it was time to shower for tonight and I am feeling like all’s right in my world. Simple pleasures…
The Norwegian Spirit arrived in Chania (KAN-ee-a corrected to be that gutteral h/k sound) on the island of Crete at 7am today, and we were out on the Promenade Deck to watch the docking procedures. As soon as the ship was cleared, we walked off just to see what was what there. There were only two shore excursions offered; one was a walking tour and the other included a monastery visit, a stop at a WW2 cemetery for British soldiers killed in 1941 in the Battle of Crete…and a walking tour. However, there was sign posted that stated that for €1.70 each way, we could ride a city bus into the old town and market area of Chania. That sounded just right for today.
Sunrise over Crete
Our arrival time was early, at 7am, but we sailed at noon in order to reach Malta by tomorrow at 1pm.
We took a few photos of the beautiful sunrise off the bow of the ship, re-boarded and went to breakfast in the Windows dining room, gathered up our usual day items (Euros, ATM card, credit card, photo ID and insulated metal water bottle) and walked off. By then it was nearly 9am; we had to back on board no later than 11:30am, and the bus ride was about 20 minutes long. We decided to walk around as much as we could, but be ready to re-board a bus by 10:50am or so. We really didn’t have enough time to do this town justice.
However, we had just enough time to fall in love with Crete. It’s the largest Greek island, and we obviously saw just a tiny bit of it, but sometimes it doesn’t take long to form an opinion. There was not a speck of trash anywhere (take a hint, Rome!), the locals were all extremely friendly and welcoming, and, the icing on the cake…it was cheap! Like €1.30 for the can of Greek beer G bought cheap (Fira on Santorini charged nearly €7 for the same can of beer).
Shopping street in the old town
We wandered the narrow streets of the market but the most appealing thing I saw was a tiny dwarf bunny rabbit waiting to be taken home by a new family. If I could have snuck him on the ship…
We did eventually stop and sit at a table on the sidewalk at one of the many little cafes where we bought the beer and a can of fuzzy water and could keep an eye on the line forming for the bus across the square. Finally we joined them and were back on the ship at 11:27am. Seldom early, never late!
The only thing I wanted to buy :-)
We stopped for beverages at a street side cafe
We enjoyed lunch again in the Windows dining room (because the ship sailed early today, it was open), and, from our window-side table we had a perfect view of the coastline as the Norwegian Spirit headed out to the open sea. The lunch menu was one we saw on our first sea day, and it certainly bore repeating. The white chocolate mousse that G ordered for dessert looked good enough to dive into.
The view from our table at lunch. Much greener than Santorini, with some white cliffs. Note the tall mountain in the distance (we’re not sure what it’s called)
With a free afternoon and full bellies, we returned to our cabin and fell asleep. Boy did we need that! When we woke up, we used one of the four mid-ship hot tubs and listened to the live party band music the entire time we were out there. We like NCL (in case you couldn’t tell)!
Tonight was the second Norwegian Night Out of the cruise, and we dressed just as we did for the first one, and fit in just fine. Dinners with Rico and Derek at our table for two next to a window really are the highlight of every day. It’s hard to miss that, but we will tomorrow night, when we will dine at another specialty restaurant on board.
G went to tonight’s show in the Stardust Theater (a juggler), but I just wasn’t feeling it tonight. This afternoon I picked up my iPad and actually started reading the first book I’ve looked at since we left home three weeks ago, and it is more appealing to me tonight than a juggler.
We moved clocks back an hour overnight AND don’t arrive in Valletta, Malta until 1pm tomorrow, so between this afternoon at sea and tomorrow morning at sea, it’s kind of like having a bonus sea day in the middle of this port intensive cruise. And that’s the kind of sea day we like!
With a little extra time and nothing else to write about our day, I thought I’d take a moment and talk about how we’re coping without our Princess laundry benefit on this cruise. What made me think about it is that I sat next to a lady on the bus today who commented that we were wearing the same pants, and weren’t they the best for travel? Well, they are the best, so they might be worth mentioning here.
I already had a pair of LLBean’s trekking shorts or trail shorts (they’re called something like that) and loved them. They were so nice in Hawaii last year where I’d wash them out at night and they’d be dry by morning. This year I bought a second pair in a different color (usually all I wear when I travel is black, because it hides dirt, but I bought a second pair in dark taupe). I also purchased the same item in black slacks once we booked this NCL cruise. With an adjustable waist, lots of zipper pockets and a quick drying fabric with a little bit of stretch, these slacks look good, resist stains and are perfect for travel.
Well, I have worn those slacks and either the same long sleeved T or the same short sleeved T every day this cruise. The shirt gets washed out every night; and slacks get washed out every other night and they are all dry and ready to wear the next morning. It was finally warm enough today to wear the shorts, so all I am wearing during the day on a 10-night cruise are two T-shirts, one pair of slacks and one pair of shorts. Add a pair of slacks and three different tops for dinner and that’s all I’ve needed for this cruise. If it weren’t for formal nights, I think I could travel for four months with just a carry on. I just can’t shop, for jewelry, T-shirts, doo-dads…or bunnies. ;-)