We had a reasonable night’s sleep and went for breakfast around 8:00 this morning. Breakfast was in the 8th-floor bar and quite busy due to the fact the outdoor seating wasn’t being used because of the damp conditions. It was buffet style and offered a decent selection with enough for Nicole to eat okay as well. We were going to have a quick walk but the weather meant we just had an easy morning, checking out at 10:15 and waiting the remaining 45 minutes in the hotel lobby for our transport to Piraeus to arrive at 11:00am.
Our transport arrived 15 minutes early and we found ourselves at the port at 11:00 where we then had to wait for immigration to allow us to board.
There were only 3 officials on duty which was probably due to the fact it is a public holiday in Greece. In the end, the wait wasn’t too long and we were onboard by 11:45. This was then countered because we were informed that we would not be able to access our cabin until 3:00pm. To fill the gap we grabbed a bite to eat in the Garden Cafe (buffet) and then set about trying to find out about Nicole being able to eat vegan onboard. Starting with the buffet, nothing was labelled for any dietary requirements so not the best of starts. We then spoke to the Specialty Restaurant reservations team who told us to eat in the Grand Pacific (MDR) this evening where we should be okay. There is the potential for us to eat in Teppanyaki (Japanese Restaurant) and La Cucina (Italian Restaurant) if we give them notice. 🤞🏻 I have to say, we have been spoilt by recent cruises by having cabin access really quickly and today was a bit of a throwback to the old days. At least the muster was able to be done on the phone and then completed by visiting the muster station once onboard.
Having gained access to the cabin at 3:00pm we then had to wait until 5:40 for our cases to arrive so we have done a lot of hanging around today.
At 7:00pm we made our way to the Grand Pacific MDR for our evening meal, as things turned out it was a positive experience with Nicole eating well for the first night. She was also able to pick her selection for tomorrow evening so things seem to be heading in the right direction. The service was great and exactly as we remembered it to be from past NCL cruises. After we wandered around the ship gauging the best venues for evening entertainment, we ended up in the Spinnaker Lounge until we decided to turn in for the evening. Tomorrow is a sea day so things should be a little more relaxed.
You are right. 3:00 pm and 5:40 are ridiculous. I too think I am getting spoiled by moving up to a little more premium cruise lines. When we did Viking the staterooms were ready at 12:30 and the bags were already inside them. So glad Nicole found food in the MDR. Is your ship one of the NCL ships with four dining rooms or does yours still have just one? Enjoying your comments and pics as always.
There are several complimentary dining rooms onboard but in order for Nicole to eat it is probably going to mean we stay in the same one.
I think those are specialty restaurants. On the Bliss class ships there have split the dining room into four. Kind of like Celebrity did on the Edge class.
Glad to hear that you are enjoying the familiarity of the Jade and Spirit experience.
Hope all goes well and you visit the full itinerary.
Great to hear from you and hope all is well with you both. Your names were brought up last night during dinner as we were reminiscing our previous NCL cruises.