Greetings once again! The choice and variety of ports this cruise is first class, the Med is my favourite area of the world to cruise and this cruise is reaffirming my faith in that view.
Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands and is 160 miles long and 25 miles at its widest point. Students of Greek mythology love Crete!
I came to Crete the very first time when I was thirteen, on a cruise! I travelled on the SS Nevasa which was owned by the British India Steam Navigation Company although became part of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company in 1972. Nevasa came in to service in 1955 as a troop ship, but was converted in 1964 into an educational cruise ship. She sailed until 1975 in this role and during that time carried 188,000 children on her 200 voyages, I was one of those children! She was 20,000 tons and had cabins for 308 passengers and 1090 students in dormitory berths.
If I remember rightly to send me on this cruise cost Mum and Dad £67.00 – a considerable sum for them. At that time my mother had never been abroad and my father had only done so during his service at war. This was before package holidays were introduced and certainly to go on a cruise was something we could only have dreamt of.
The cruise was a whole new world for me, we flew to Venice to join Nevasa, (my first time on a plane), and then cruised to Southampton calling in to some of the wonderful Med ports on the way. I remember the call in to Heraklion, Crete, so very well as we all went on tour to Knossos, the ruins here are astounding, and some of them date back to 1900BC! Our passengers will be going on tour to Knossos today and no doubt will marvel at the sights I saw all those years ago.
When I got back home to London I took a great deal of time, (weeks if I can remember), to get over the cruise, it really was a life changing experience for me and I have loved travel ever since. After the cruise was over I had no idea that many years later after leaving school I would be spending years at sea and including the Nevasa educational cruise, would have sailed on 21 ships.
Now that really was a trip down memory lane!!!
On our four family friendly ships we have Noddy on board; he is a favourite not only with the children but just about everybody! The shot below was taken in the Atrium on 2nd November of me and Noddy; he is the one in the more colourful uniform!
I thought Noddy was going to give me some flowers but straight after this he hit me on the nose with his big bell!
Myself, Noddy and Youth Director Carol Ann Montgomery taken on 2nd November. Carol Ann in her capacity as youth supremo on Oriana has to make sure Noddy behaves!
We have a day at sea tomorrow for our passengers to relax, and enjoy all that Oriana has to offer.
Bye for now.
Nigel
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1 comments:
i miss noddy :( x
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