by Nick Taylor and Barbara Nevins Taylor
We wanted a special trip for Barbara’s July birthday. We looked for trips that took us to places in Europe we hadn’t seen and where she might wake up to sunshine and beauty. The answer came in a brochure from Atlas Ocean Voyages stuffed in the middle of the Sunday New York Times. It had the right dates and would start out from the Athens port of Piraeus. From there the small ship would head for the islands of Santorini, Folegandros, Skiathos, Mykonos, and then west to Sicily and the Strait of Messina, the Amalfi Coast, then to Ponza and end up in Rome.
The Greek islands were new to us, and starting in Athens and finishing in Rome seemed just right because we enjoy both cities.
We had been on one semi-cruise, a Havila ship through the Norwegian fjords for four days, and we enjoyed it enormously.
That ship carried 225 passengers and this Atlas trip promised no more than 197. Smaller seemed even better and we decided to try it. We booked in May, a big deal for us because we don’t usually plan that far in advance.
Jump ahead to mid-July and we boarded World Traveller (they spell it that way) in the Greek port of Piraeus at 3 p.m.
As we stepped out of the taxi, the staff’s effusive welcome at the port startled us. They whisked us inside the terminal, through security and onto the ship. Once onboard, more staff ushered us into a lounge where smiling people served champagne and icy cocktails in tall glasses while we sat with other guests and filled out paperwork..
We had reserved a cabin with a small balcony, but learned about the availability of a suite with two rooms and a larger outside terrace.. We hesitated until we saw the suite and thought about the comfort during our ten days aboard, and agreed to pay for the upgrade. The door opened to cabin 521, and a bowl of fresh fruit and and bottle of champagne in a bucket sat on the “living room” table. Indulgent, yes. But it worked for us.
A few hours after we boarded, the cruise director held a briefing in the auditorium and gave the lowdown on the things available on board.
She also introduced Mara Papatheodorou, the food expert and a former Bon Appetite editor. She had done these cruises with the chef Ippy Aiona from Hawaii. He had trained a La Varrene Cooking School in San Francisco, Both explained what they would offer in the days to come.
Exploring the ship, we found passengers already splashing in the small pool on the seventh deck. When Nick discovered the help-yourself ice cream bar, he felt like he stepped into sweet tooth heaven. Deck seven also had the showcase lounge where we met Larry and Colleen and Stan Celia, who travelled together from California.
At six o’clock, the captain mustered everyone to gather with their life vests for safety instructions. We learned how to put on life jackets properly.
Once that was over, the formal regimen slipped away. Fortunately for us, the dining room served until 9 p..m. We had a leisurely drink and headed for the open air seating at the stern beyond the nicely appointed dining room. We sat down at a table near the California couples.
The chicken with an oregano and lemon dressing and the duck confit were surprisingly good and set us up for expectations about the meals to come. After dinner we joined many others in the seventh deck lounge for live music and dancing. The lovely ship, good food and wine, a warm and helpful staff made us feel clever about our choices. World Traveller sailed along, and we watched the Aegean from our terrace for a bit, and dreamed about what we might find on Santorini in the morning.
