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Veena after finishing her course in Travel and Tourism in 1979 at RBCS, started working with Thomas Cook. Thereafter she worked as a Counter Executive for
5 years with the GSA of TWA in the city office and later as Sales Manager with the GSA of JAL. She then became a General Manager at Hind Musafir Agency
and her 10 year experience at Hind Musafir gave her the confidence to run her small set up in the name of Ventours. Veena who is an active SKAL member
also recently took a holiday on a Mediterranean Cruise and she narrates her first hand experience of having visited some of the most exotic locations during
her trip. We reproduce this article at a time when the Superstar Libra will be cruising for the first time from Mumbai to Goa and Lakshwadeep. Here is Veena's
first hand account of her cruise holiday…
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It all started at a lunch table in January this year, when one of our friends from Bangalore narrated their pleasant experience on a 5 day cruise from
Singapore. Everyone around the table got so excited that they asked me to organize a cruise this summer.
After discussing various options, all present at the table felt that a cruise covering various Greek Islands would be the right choice. So with that thought in
mind I started contacting various agencies to get the best of a Mediterranean Cruise, which should cover the Greek Islands and its environ.
After considerable research and availability of cabins as well as the cost component, I zeroed down to Celebrity Cruises, starting from Rome.
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Everyone in the
group were keen on a 10 to 12 day Cruise and we narrowed down to a 11 Night Cruise covering
Mykonos, Rhodes, Santorini (all Greek), Istanbul, Kusadasi
(Turkey), Athens, Naples and Rome. We arrived in Rome a day earlier than the scheduled day of sailing. We took a sightseeing tour of Rome. The following morning we visited the Colosseum
- the greatest amphitheatre which was built almost 1920 years ago. Later, we took a taxi from the Hotel to reach the Pier at Civatavecchia, a distance of
some 80 kilometres from the centre. Our ship called the Galaxy was scheduled for sailing at 7 pm.
Our first Port of Call was the Island of Mykonos, - a charming village of winding streets with a tradional atmosphere. The most outstanding feature of the
town was its dazzling brightness with freshly whitewashed churches and houses, which stand out in total contrast to the Mediterranean Blue. This small
town is always very windy and like other Greek Islands has the peculiar narrow clean lanes laid with pebblestones having shops and restaurants which are
accessible only on foot.
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The next Port Of Call was the much awaited town of Istanbul, founded six centuries before Christ as Byzantium, refounded in 330 AD as Constantinople and
conquered by Ottomans in 1453.It is today the largest city of Turkey and its busiest port. The most important sight seeing spots are the Topkapi Palace, Blue
Mosque and Grand Bazaar. We took the off-shore conducted tour which I will recommend to all those visiting Istanbul.
The next stop was a very interesting sea side resort in Turkey called Kusadasi, which has the world's well preserved ancient city of Ephesus with best
examples of ancient Roman architecture. Also not far from the town are the ruins of St John Basilica and the shrine of the Virgin Mary.
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Our next halt was at Piraeus(Athens) - one of the most important and influential cities of the western world. It had also recently hosted the Olympic Games. A
must visit sight is the Acropolis which was built around 5th Century B.C. and the famous Parthenon Temple is simply an awesome sight.
We were at the last leg of our tour moving into Italy and our penultimate halt was Naples Italy's third largest city. Naples has a wealth of historical
monuments with Pompei being the most prominent one located 14 kilometres East of Naples. This ancient Roman town was buried in 79 A.D. with the
eruption of the volcanic mountain Vesuvius. One can see remains of the public buildings, streets, temples, shops, theatres, public baths as they existed in
those years. It is indeed a breath taking site showing the high level of culture existing at that time.
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Our experience on the Galaxy and the services offered on board was simply superb. The check-in and check-out formalities as well as the shore excursions
were handled very efficiently.. Each day offered so much of activity, that there was not a dull moment. Every evening there was an excellent variety show
with stars of international repute performing song, dance, cabaret, magic shows, variety programmes and so on. The ambience on board was excellent with
exquisite sit-down dinner every evening for all the 1900 guests in two sittings . There was no dearth of quality & variety of food and that too almost around
the clock. All the sailings were smooth as silk with no sensation of sea sickness - even for the very sensitive travellers like myself.
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I have brought back all my
Avomin tablets I had taken which I had carried along with the fear of sea sickness.
Shore excursions are available at all ports of call, though at an additional
cost and those planning to cruise on the Galaxy, I would strongly recommend every excursion. We were pleasantly surprised to find a whole lot of our Indian brethren serving in various capacities on board. They accorded us a very warm welcome. We
were told that out of a staff of some 800 nearly 200 were from India. I can recommend this cruise and so also the Celebrity Cruises to those who wish to
have a relaxed, safe and stress free holiday. In my opinion it is the best way to celebrate Anniversaries, Birthdays, honeymoons and any special occasions.
Our tour came to an end and we will cherish the memories for a very long time.
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