Sunday, October 10, 2010 – Haifa, Israel – 77F - Sunny

Distance Traveled from Kusadasi: 592 Nautical Miles

A beautiful day in Haifa.  Although I didn’t get much sleep last night (I pulled a chest muscle coughing and that didn’t help), we responded to our 6:00 AM Wake Up Call, had a quick breakfast, and headed to the Equinox Theater to begin our Escort duties.

Haifa is the third largest city in Israel (population 240,000) and has the country’s largest deepwater port.  It is situated at the base and the slopes of Mt. Carmel.  Mt. Carmel has historical significance since it has the Cave of Elijah – the place where the prophet hid from nasty King Ahab and, even nastier, Queen Jezebel. 

Haifa from the Equinox

Today, we are escorting the same tour - “Haifa and Acre” – but on different busses.  This gives us a chance to get together at various stops along the way.  Our tour guide is Sigal, a woman, who later told us that this was her first tour involving a group from a cruise ship.  We missed many of the advertised stops on this itinerary including the Cave of Elijah but we did get a taste of this city and will see it again when we return on the subsequent cruise.

Sigal has a heavy Israeli accent and was a bit difficult to understand at times (less for me that for the rest of the group on the bus).  

We boarded our comfortable bus and we were underway.  Ellen took the kids along on this excursion.

 

Some kind of Disney thing was going on because there were topiaries in the shape of Disney characters along the side of the road.  Goofy – I think  - is captured in the photo below.

 

Our next stop is the Stella Maris Church, with its beautiful interior.

 

Us at the Stella Maris Church (top two photos)

At the bus proceeded on, we were able to get a nice view of the Mediterranean Sea as well as a train moving along the terrain.

Mediterranean Sea and train

The bus made its way up Mt Carmel to the Baha’i Temple, a World Heritage Site.  The temple is being renovated so only the gardens were available for view and only from behind a gate.  Nevertheless, the location afforded a great view of the Hanging Gardens as well as the city of Haifa.

Baha’i Temple, Hanging Gardens, and Haifa

The Hanging Gardens

H and E at the Baha’i Temple

From this vantage point, we could also see the Celebrity Equinox docked in Haifa.

 

Our next stop is the city of Acre (Akko in Arabic) located on the other side of the Bay of Haifa.  The city has numerous structures from both the Crusader and Muslim periods.  Napoleon tried to conquer this city and was unsuccessful.  The Knights Hospitaliers, a Crusader group occupied Acre at one point.

E at the entrance of one of the Acre tunnels 

Acre Marketplace

Ship’s passenger quarters

Al Jazar Mosque

The Acre shoreline and harbor were very picturesque (see below).  Across from the harbor was a very interesting clock tower.

 

A number of passengers complained about the lack of Jewish sites on this and other Haifa tours.  To accommodate the passengers, Sigal checked with her tour company and arranged for a visit and tour of a nearby synagogue.  This synagogue, Sephardic and Tunisian, was quite close to Acre. 

The Rabbi, a jovial man of 87, was more than happy to meet with so many people.  He explained a bit about the synagogue and also threw a lot of Acre based legend (“the flood waters stopped when they reach Acre”).  The synagogue walls and floors were all constructed of mosaic tiles (“millions of them”). 

Tunisian Synagogue in Acre

Sigal and the Rabbi answer questions

 

The ornate ceiling in the Synagogue

The Ark was opened to show the Torahs        

Mosaic – Moses at the Red Sea

E at the Synagogue

The Synagogue completed the itinerary.  Soon, we were back at the ship in time for a late lunch.  After lunch, we headed to the port area to find an Internet Cafe.  At the port entrance, we were told that they only had Wi-Fi at a nearby coffee shop.  We went back to the ship for the laptop and headed to the coffee shop.  The place, Cafe Cafe, was only a few blocks away.  They did have free WIFI but I bought a very nice iced coffee ($5 US – they need a Starbucks here).  We were able to SKYPE with B and the kids; after that, Danny indicated he was on line so we asked him if he could set up SKYPE.  In a few minutes, we were SKYPING with him and the kids, as well.  Well worth the price of a cup of coffee.

Cafe Cafe was on the other side of this street (below) which leads all the way up to the Baha’i Temple.  We will try to walk this street when we visit Haifa on the second cruise.

Quiet evening – resting up for a big day tomorrow in Jerusalem.

Saturday, October 9,2010 – At Sea – Mediterranean Sea – Sunny - 70s

The seas are a bit more choppy as I have breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe as the ship heads for Haifa, Israel. 

As the day went on, the seas smoothed out and the day turned out great.

My second talk today - “Crime Scene Investigation in the UK” – is scheduled for the Equinox Theater at 11:45 AM.  This talk was specifically created for this voyage due to the anticipated high number of British on board.  While that does not seem to be the case (based on inquiries by myself and others at the various shows), the talk is still interesting in that it traces the early days of DNA Testing,

I attended the Destination Lecture on Israel which preceded my talk.  My talk went relatively well – attendance was about 150 – but I still have trouble connecting with audiences in that large a venue.  I also got some feedback that a lot of passengers thought that this talk was exclusively for the UK folks and didn’t attend.  I plan to change the title for the next cruise.

Tonight is the second Formal Night and we determined to get a photo of ourselves in our fancy duds.  The picture below was taken by our Macedonian waiter at the Silhouette Dining Room. 

The Show tonight was great.  Israeli (now living in Florida) comedian – singer, Judy Kolba, was the headliner.  She was a hoot – a kind of Israeli Charo – told great jokes and did some serious singing including her finishing showstopper, “Let There Be Peace on Earth”.  She horsed around with Dru after the show – Dru came out in a skirt made of the same material as Judy’s “Carwash Dress” (it looks like a carwash brush when she swings back and forth).

Judy Kolba and Dru ham it up

After the show, we took in some of the music in the Ensemble Lounge and Michael’s Club (still trying to bond with the music).  We did manage to get our obligatory mirror photograph. 

  

Still not caught up with sleep.

Friday, October 8, 2010 – Kusadasi,Turkey – 50s - Sunny

Distance Traveled from Piraeus: 193 Nautical Miles

Bumpy night – 30 mph winds and rocky seas – but got a bit more sleep than previous nights.  Awakened by 7:15 AM wake up call.  Breakfast in the buffet – Ellen is at exercise class.  We are docked along with two other cruisers – Celebrity Century and HAL Prinsendam. 

Kusadasi – population 50,000 – is generally a warm place but today it is cool and windy, but sunny; hope it warms up a bit today.

Kusadasi from Equinox

Pigeon Island from Equinox

 

The Celebrity Century Deck and Ataturk Hill from the Equinox

We are not on tour today – we have seen Ephesus many times – so our plan is walk around town and end up with a nice Turkish Bath.  We did find a hotel with a spa that offered Turkish Baths (45 Euros). 

Our walk through town took us to the small public beach, where I got a great shot of the Equinox at the pier.

Lunch was back on the ship where I was able to get a shot of the beach where the photo of the Equinox was taken – a kind of mirror image of photographs.

Earlier we had stopped in at the Starbucks near the pier to see if they had free WIFI.  They did so, after lunch, we returned, laptop in hand, to SKYPE with the kids back home. 

The Showtime headliner tonight was violinist Greg Scott, who billed himself as the tallest violinist in the world (could be true since he is a tall 6-4).  He was very good.

Hope to get some sleep tonight.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 – At Sea – Mediterranean Sea – 60s F Hazy – Mostly Cloudy

Smooth seas overnight but noisy cabin and jet lag contributed to a fitful night’s sleep.

At 7:00 AM, I went to the buffet for my waffle and cottage cheese, while the ship passed through the Straits of Messina.  Not many folks in the Ocean View Cafe this morning- still recovering from their journeys or last night.

Straits of Messina

Attended the first presentation by the Destination Speaker – Kathleen Wulf - in the Equinox Theater (she had a good crowd – maybe 200 or so).  We then had brunch in the dining room.  As always, the brunch is extensive but I am content with a salad and an egg beater veggie omelet.  Very good.

At 2:00 PM, I attend the first presentation by Carolyn Peterson – the Smithsonian Journeys Speaker – in the Equinox Theater.  She is an astronomer with the University of Colorado in Boulder.  I got there a little early to catch the end of Kathleen’s second talk of the day.  When she finished, almost 90 percent of the audience left (I guess astronomy is not a favorite topic on the ship).  Her talk was interesting – I was familiar with the material but her slides were nice.

At 2:30 PM, I headed to Celebrity Central to set up for my first talk - “The Science of CSI”.  At 2:45, there were about 15 people (people told me they couldn’t find Celebrity Central).  Near 3PM, people started pouring in – apparently, they had gone to the Theater instead. At show time, when Dru introduced me, there were about 175 attendees with more still coming in.  The late start and introduction took up about 7 minutes of time so I felt rushed throughout the presentation even though I finished about a minute or so late.  The audience. 90 plus CSI fans, was very enthusiastic and interactive (throwing out answers to questions readily).  Hope it has legs.

Couldn’t get any photos of the first talk but here are screen shots from the ON DEMAND version on cabin TV.

After getting into our formal wear, we found our newly assigned seat in the Silhouette Dining Room.  Not the greatest – my chair extended into the hallway.  We did spot a table for two in the corner with a window – the one we had for the brunch earlier – so I checked with the Maitre’D who reassigned us to that table for the remainder of the cruise. 

Dinner was good – Salmon and Sea Bass.  I am getting double salads after my experience with mini-salads on the last cruise.  The salads are good size and tasty.

We checked out the show - “Remix” – but didn’t stay long since we had seen much of it before.  Again, the new set of dancers and singers were energetic and talented.

We were back in our rooms early because of the time change for tomorrow.  Our neighbors got us up by playing their TV too loudly – I called them and they turned down the volume.  Seas are smooth but not a lot of sleep.

Thursday, October 7, 2010 – Piraeus, Greece – 70s – Light Rain

Distance Traveled from Civitavecchia:  800 Nautical Miles

Another sleepless night – made worse by the time change.  Up at 6:30 AM and off to the Oceanview Cafe.  Unfortunately, the buffet doesn’t open until 7:00 AM but I have a little oatmeal and coffee.  The weather outside is nasty – lightning and thunder – and it is still dark.  In spite of this, the seas are smooth as we approach Piraeus, the port of Athens.

Piraeus is a pretty big city – pop 600,000- and Athens is a major metro area with 4.5 million people.  Athens is about 6 miles from Piraeus. 

We are on tour today - “Ancient Corinth and Canal Cruise” with our Tour Guide – Yohrgus (I think – who looks like David Letterman’s lost Greek cousin).  The tour takes us through Piraeus and then along the highway to ancient Corinth near the entrance to the Peloponnesian peninsula.  

The bus ride to Corinth is about an hour and half and most everyone on the bus is zonked and napping.  Ancient Corinth has it’s own Acropolis (complete with castle at the top)

Acropolis at Corinth

The ancient city is a mini-Ephesus complete with temples, agoras, and walkways.  The most impressive structure is the Temple of Apollo, built with solid columns (not column sections held together with metal pins).

H and E and the Temple of Apollo

The city also has an impressive public meeting place – the Agora

where the market used to be and people would gather for any and all occasions.  Another impressive building is the Fountain of Glauke.

Fountain of Glauke

The Bema (Greeks for Steps) and origin of the Bema in Synagogues is also a well preserved structure in Corinth.

The Bema 

Even though the rain started falling a bit harder, we were still able to explore the entire site and get more terrific pictures including a great shot of the Temple of Apollo from the Agora.  Also present on the site were examples of Corinthian architecture (columns with leafy capitals) as well as statuary in pretty good shape.

Temple of Apollo from Agora

Remnant of a column with writing 

Corinthian Style Column

Statue (no head) – vandalized?

We spent a little time at the Corinth Museum (great collection of pottery, glass objects, and statues).

Our final stop was the Corinth Canal, which connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Ionian Sea.  This canal, which is about 6 miles long and about 50 feet wide, has transformed the Peloponnesian Peninsula into an artificial island.  The canal now allows boats to make the shortcut between the two bodies of water and avoids sailing all the way around the old peninsula saving time and money. 

We board a boat on the Gulf side of the isthmus and we are on our way.

Entering the Corinth Canal

Bridges crossing the Canal

The tour promised food on the boat – feta cheese, bread, stuffed grape leaves, pastries stuffed with cheese, plus other non-edible stuff.

E trying food on the boat

We noticed unusual circular brown objects (about a foot in diameter)in the water.  I thought they were some kind of debris from the nearby trees but I now believe they were a type of jellyfish.  They were everywhere and were probably being chopped up by the ships propellers.

 

After entering the Ionian Sea, the boat turned around and went back to the starting point (where the bus was).

 

After dinner (which was good), we took in the show – Roman Danylo, a very funny comedian, who did some great improv stuff with audience members.

Sampled the various lounge acts before calling it a day.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010 – Embarkation Day – Civitavecchia, Italy – Storms – 50s F

The hotel was pretty quiet (earplugs helped).  A crazy, jet lagged, night of sleep.  Almost slept through the breakfast (quality not so good so no great loss).  Outside, it is a monsoon complete with lightning and thunder. 

Rain, Thunder, and Lightning

I think I see the Celebrity Equinox at the far end of the pier.  An RCI ship is also there along with several local, small, cruise ships.

We grabbed a quick breakfast – cold cereal with warm milk and assorted but unidentifiable pastries.  The cappuccino was the highlight of the meal.

The weather has improved somewhat so we are going to attempt to walk to the pier entrance and catch the bus to the ship.  The shortcut provided by the hotel proved to be useful and we cut off considerable distance to the shuttle bus stop.  The Equinox bus was waiting for us and soon we handed off our bags to the porters and checked in at a special desk.

We dropped off our bags in our room – behind the door in Stateroom 3519 (next door to the room we had last time on the Equinox).  Porthole and tiny bathroom but a nice room.

A light lunch in the Ocean View Cafe and downtime on the pool deck. 

Dinner was in the Silhouette Room at a table for eight – the people were nice but we are hoping for a table for two over the next day or so.  Food was good.

At 8:15 PM, all the speakers on board met with Esparanza Gambroudes, the Activities Manager (Dru Pavlov is the Cruise Director) to go over the schedule and film a promotional video.  I am planned for five talks – there is a Destination Speaker also (Kathleen Wulf) and a Smithsonian Journeys Speaker (Astronomer Carolyn Peterson).  The passengers will get some serious education on this cruise.

We checked out the various music venues – folk rock singer Valerie Ponzio in the Ensemble Lounge, Pianist Katie Guglielmo in Michael’s Club, and the Georgetown Jazz Quarter (the female singer is a Brit) in the Ensemble Lounge. 

Back in the room by 10:30 PM and lights out at 11:00 PM.

Double Holy Land Cruise – October 3 – November 1, 2010 – Celebrity Equinox – Travel Day to Rome

October 3, 2010

The day is finally here; the back to back cruises (Rome – Mediterranean to Israel and Egypt) that were scheduled over a year ago are just about to begin.  We were given a ride to the airport by Gary so we had a chance to see both sets of kids prior to heading out.

Security was not that difficult – we are carrying on our bags today – and now we are sitting in Terminal 3-L8 waiting for our transportation to arrive.  Departure has been delayed 15 minutes to 5:20 PM.

Our plane was towed to our gate (must have been in one of the hangars)

Soon it was gassed up, cleaned up, and ready to go.

 

Climb Out was smooth

Our route took over Newfoundland, south of Greenland, over Ireland, France and into Rome. 

Our Kosher meal (Asian chicken – which was actually chicken in tomato sauce) was Ok except for the risotto, which suffered from severed frostbite and was inedible.

The flight was pretty bumpy – maybe remnants of the recent hurricane along the east coast was responsible – making it difficult to get any sleep.  We did get a nice sunrise over France

Breakfast was served during the last hour of so of the flight.  Our kosher breakfast was unappetizing but we were able to get two regular meals from our flight attendant.

The plane touched down on time at 9:20 AM

We made our way to the train quickly but the train ride (two trains – one very warm) took about 90 minutes to get to Civitavecchia.  That, coupled with the 30 minute walk with our bags to our the Hotel Traghetto, just about did us in.

After a little rest, and some time our very nice terrace

we took a walk to check out the town and find a place to eat.  Just like most of Europe, restaurants close at 4:30 PM and reopen for dinner at 6:30 – 7:00 PM.

We did get a nice view of the port and the beach area.

The Civitavecchia Cathedral was an interesting landmark

The rest of the evening will consist of pizza and rest.

We want to be ready to start our epic voyage tomorrow well rested.