Day 12: Piraeus (Athens), Greece with Holland America
Day 12: Piraeus (Athens), Greece with Holland America
Holland America Africa Explorer Cruise – 49 Days from Rotterdam to Cape Town
Date: Wednesday October 8, 2014
Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy; 25 C/77 F
In Port: 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
All Aboard: 4:30 PM
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Location Information:
Piraeus is a major shipping port in Greece and the gateway to Athens for passengers arriving by cruise ship. If public transit is operating (the Greeks love their strikes), the metro or express bus (X80) are excellent and inexpensive (Euro 4 all-day ticket) modes of transport to reach the center of Athens (30-60 minutes). Athens is the capital city of Greece, and with a history that dates back 7000 years it is also one of the oldest cities in the world. Visitors to Athens should make sure to include the Acropolis, The New Acropolis Museum, The Plaka (old historical neighbourhood), the Greek Folk Musical Instrument Museum and an electric bike tour with SoleBike in their sightseeing schedule.
WJs Day:
Holland America ms Rotterdam docked in the port of Piraeus just before 7 AM, and was promptly cleared for passengers to go ashore. We were off the ship by 7:45 AM and took the port shuttle bus to the cruise terminal, and then made our way to the bus stop for the express bus (X80). Location Guide KK had advised us that the express bus could be found just outside the DHL office and would cost only euro 4 for a round-trip ticket (buy tickets from the driver on the bus). It only took about 10 minutes to stroll over to the bus stop (they run every 30 minutes) and we arrived just in time to jump on one that was waiting.
By 8:30 AM we were in the heart of Athens – the first bus stop was at the Temple of Zeus – and made our way over to The New Acropolis Museum at the base of the Acropolis. This was a perfect time to visit the museum as very few people were there and we were able to enter and make our way around the museum in less than an hour (although, it would be very easy to spend a couple of hours in the museum).
We had arranged an electric bike sightseeing tour of Athens with SoleBike – a new company in the city – so then made our way over to their office near the Acropolis to arrive just before 10:00 AM.
The 3.5 hour Promenades of Gods tour with guide Angelo was a wonderful way to get an overview of Athens historic sites and we were extremely impressed by the company and the service they offer. SoleBike owners, Costas and Sophia, have thought of everything to make their electric bike tours a huge hit with those that take them. The bikes are very easy to use and make the journey around Athens effortless, headsets are provided to hear the guide while riding, the majority of the tour is spent in pedestrian areas where there is no traffic, and a coffee break at a trendy cafe was included – great opportunity to try a freddo cappuccino.
A few sightseeing highlights of the tour included: Acropolis; Monastiraki Square and ancient ruins in the metro; Plaka; Museum of Greek Folk Instruments; Roman Market. This was our first visit to Athens and we’re thrilled that we got to see the city with SoleBike Tours.
Once our SoleBike tour was finished, we decided it was time for us to take the express bus back to Piraeus (we wanted to be back in plenty of time before all aboard). On the return trip, the bus only took about 30 minutes – which gave us about an hour for drinking a couple of beers and using Wi-Fi at a pub (Keg and Crew) across from the cruise terminal.
It was a perfect afternoon for sail away from Piraeus, as we watched a couple other cruise ships (Costa, Princess, Aida, Voyager were also in port) depart before us.
Entertainment this evening in the Showroom at Sea was by Francisco Yglesia – a former member of the group, “Los Paraguayos”.
Next – Sea Day en-route to Ashdod, Israel
