I walked around Athens a bit before my transfer to the ship. I was hoping to run into my friends Darla and Roy, who I knew were disembarking the ship on which I was embarking, but no such luck. Embarkation went smoothly, and all my luggage (significantly heavier after three weeks in Iran) arrived at my cabin, I unpacked and hung up my nice clothes, and got familiar with the ship. I had a delicious, albeit late, lunch on board. No telling how much weight I will gain in the next 23 days (the food really is delicious)...
We had our mandatory safety drill, and then a gorgeous sail away from Athens. I also had a few cocktails, champagne, and wine (again, after three weeks in a country where alcohol is verboden, you kind of go ape-shit), and had a nice time at the sail away party where I met some of my fellow passengers. I figured there would be no one else my age on board, and was pleasantly surprised that that was not the case! I think this will be a very nice cruise!
After the sail-away party, there was a welcome party where the cruise director introduced crew members, and after that I went to the "singles mingle" where I met some fellow passengers who are traveling solo. I met a nice lady from NYC, but my new cruise bestie is a guy from France named Jean-Pierre. I was lucky enough to get to practice my French most of the evening and we fought about who spoke the other's language better. I still think he speaks better English than I do French, but I think I taught him just as many words in English as he taught me words in French, so perhaps it was a draw. Mme Jolly would have been proud.
After a late evening with new friends, it was time to turn in. Again, I think I'll have a great time on this cruise!
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