Venice to Istanbul Cruise
After an early morning flight from Gatwick on a BA A320, I met up with Holland America's sales team on arrival at Venice and a quick transfer to the ship followed. Check-in at the Venice cruise terminal seemed a little laborious but I have experienced that at other cruise terminals too. The ship looked magnificent docked outside, and once on board, looked magnificent inside too.
After settling into my standard balcony cabin and a lovely lunch, watching the huge ship manoeuvre out of its berth and proceed down the Venice channel was quite a sight, and a guide talked over the ship's intercom about the sights of Venice visible from the top deck.
I had earlier this year been fortunate enough to experience two other new cruise ships, and the standard balcony cabin I had on the Nieuw Amsterdam was noticeably larger than the equivalent on the other ships, especially the bathroom.
A day at sea followed during which our group were formally shown around the ship and attended a sales seminar. In essence, the Nieuw Amsterdam is a premium-rated ship without the high-tech features the latest superliners have and makes for a wonderful relaxing cruise that clearly appeals to cruisers worldwide, given the number of Chinese and Australian guests during my stay. As with other large modern cruise ships, dining options are considerable and the food fantastic. The ship has a large spa and beauty salon and a big gym, facing forward above the bridge for those great sea views. The ship's décor and paintings reflect Holland America's maritime history, and follows in the tradition of other Holland America ships.
The small port of Katakolon in Greece was our first stop, from where excursions to Mount Olympus can be taken. There seemed ample opportunities to visit Mt Olympus independently, so I opted for a stroll around the town and a fresh fish lunch at the quayside. Pireaus by Athens was our stop next day, I joined several of our group on an open-top hop-on hop-off bus tour around Athens ending up at the Acropolis which seemed heaving with tourists. The next day was spent scenic cruising up the Dardanelles straights on our way to a mid-afternoon arrival into Istanbul. Again, expert guides were giving commentary on what we were seeing as the ship came closer to port, and gave good tips on where to go in the city. The ship docked in time to catch a taxi to the last hour of trading at the Grand Bazaar followed by a visit to the famous Blue Mosque, although being a Friday evening I couldn't get to see the inside. Several members of our group then decided upon a lively evening sampling the life around Taksim Square, and I willingly joined to get a feel for Istanbul's nightlife on a busy Friday evening.
A late-night stroll took us back down to the ship along some very uneven pavements for our last night on board. After breakfast the next morning it was time to thank our Holland America hosts and say farewell to my colleagues and other travel agent participants as we dispersed to airports or onward arrangements. It was a hugely enjoyable few days on a truly excellent comfortable ship and I feel privileged to have experienced the Nieuw Amsterdam first hand.
I stayed on in Istanbul for another two nights at the Radisson Blu airport hotel as I wanted to study Turkish Airlines' ever expanding operations, being keen on airline and airport operational matters. Had a great flight back to Gatwick on one of their new A321s which I was surprised even had a chef on board as part of the crew. As it happened the flight routing took us close to Venice, which I could clearly make out from my window seat, and from where my trip began. A very fitting ending to a memorable week.