Vietnam & Thailand, 3rd January 2012

Cruise: Greece and the Holy Lands sailing out of Piraeus on 25th Oct 2011. Azamara arranged for us to have a gentle entry to the cruise by flying us to Athens for a one night stay in the King George Palace Hotel in Athens the night before the cruise. As usual embarkation on our seventh cruise went very well and it was great to be welcomed back as old friends. Captain Johanne Tysse who had joined the ship during his vacation as the intended Captain had had to leave for medical reasons was a very confident Captain with a very dry sense of humour. He told one lady that he did not know his way to the bridge and she spent several days wondering whether he had found it. No joke this one: His decision to wake his guests up just before twelve midnight on the forth day of the cruise was a courageous one (most of the guests were asleep) but a right one as the next port of call Ashdod in Israel was being bombarded from the Gaza Strip so he decided to head for Haifa. The staff must have worked all night rescheduling the day trips to Jerusalem which was intended to be one of the highlight of the cruise. In the morning they also assisted the many guests who had made private arrangements for visits to the city. Good for them, they did succeed but what more can you expect with a Hotel Director Richard (Ryszard Gusman) and a Cruise Director (Tony Markey) setting the standards of friendliness and service.