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Day 3 - October 4th, 2000

Valletta, Malta

SUNBIRD (ex Song of America) and MILLENNIUM docked in Valletta, Malta

It's early day today, because MILLENNIUM arrives at Valletta at dawn. By 8 AM we zoom to deck 10 in one of the exterior elevators; the ship is cleared by local authorities and shore excursions are already leaving from the quay. In the beautful early morning light we have breakfast on the virtually deserted Ocean Terrace. Breakfast in the Ocean Café is a very elaborate affair, but it pays to "walk the room" as all the way aft there are two omelette stations, complemented by another buffet area that serves a continental breakfast when the large buffets close at 10.30 AM. Just as we sit out in the sunshine the SUNBIRD docks right in front of us. The former SONG OF AMERICA looks remarkably spotless as we pass her on our way into town. We haven't booked a shore excursion in Valletta, and armed with maps, camcorder and cameras we venture into this strategic walled city that has been conquered by Phenicians, Romans and Vikings - just to name a few.

The walk uphill to the fortifications is rewarded by some thrilling views of the city and the cruise ships. The sun does its best to break through the clouds and sets the sandstone buildings in a beautiful glowing light. We discover the city center on foot and stroll through steep, narrow streets that have both English and strange-looking Maltese street signs. As Malta used to be a British colony, everyone here speaks English, but the local language is more Northern-African which gives this island a very un-European feel. We like it here, the locals seem very friendly and we thoroughly enjoy discovering street after street of small shops, markets, brightly colored balconies and churches. We end up in the St. John's Co. Cathedral, built by the famous Knights of St. John. At "The Great Siege of Malta" we walk through life-like displays depicting the bloody history of this island. The lively commentary on a CD-Walkman make it fun to walk through this museum and learn all about the Knights of St. John and their constant struggle with the Turks. Some raindrops fall down when we make our way back to the ship, but all too soon the sun reappears and makes that our departure from Valletta at 1 PM is an unforgettable one. Of course the sounds of "Conquest of Paradise" flow through the air when we slowly leave the wonderful natural port of Valletta. There are many onlookers both ashore and on board Renaissance Cruises' R SIX which is just arriving and patiently waits outside the harbor entrance until we cleared the port. It is a stunning sight, and the music of Onyx really makes it all the more magical.

In the Ocean Café, we wonder where they hid the tofu in the Sweet & Sour Tofu dish, and if it's too much of a good thing to take another serving of that delicious rice pudding. The sea is like a mirror, and MILLENNIUM cuts through it at a good speed. We spend a good deal of time in the Ocean Café this afternoon, as we discover two pasta stations where they serve up a different fresh pasta dish every day during lunchtime. Of course we cannot leave the room without tasting the Rigatoni-of-the-day! It's delicious. We decide to digest all these lunch offerings in a lounge chair on deck 11 overlooking the pool. We talk, write postcards, order a drink, gaze out over the Mediterranean, and simply enjoy life on the MILLENNIUM. This is only our third day on board, but we feel very much at home on this beautiful ship. The atmosphere seems just right - not too casual, not too formal. The passenger mix is an eclectic one, but the majority of passengers hails from the USA. We like it that way!

Tonights in-cabin, pre-dinner feature film is "Wild Wild West" and I can't say that I'm overly impressed. Fortunately, dinner tonight IS indeed overly impressive. On this semi-formal night the dinner menu offers delicacies like Spinach Turnover with Emmenthaler, Lamb with a mustard crust and a Nougat-Honey Glacé. Not bad for a Wednesday evening! After coffee in the dining room and another talk to Aleksej we head up to the Cosmos Lounge for a drink, and later descend to deck 5 for showtime in the Celebrity Theater. As usual, the lounge is virtually empty when we arrive, and is perhaps half full by the time the show starts. Tonight Mark Preston entertains us. He was formerly with The Lettermans, and we enjoy his act. Good singer, too! Too bad an obviously intoxicated lady manages to empty her glass of red wine on Lucy's white blouse, which makes it very easy for us to re-enact a scene from "Scream" in the cabin later on... Around the midnight hour we take a peek at the Oriental Midnight Buffet in the Ocean Café and we cannot help but being lured by the delicious satay that is grilled before our eyes. Yummie. Back in the cabin we put all clocks one hour forward (eek!) and realize that we have only 6 hours sleep left before we arrive in Greece.

Day 4 - October 5th, 2000

Katakolon, Greece

One of the ship's tenders awaiting a new load of shorebound passengers

Goood morning Greece! To be honest, I'm not overexcited when the alarm clock goes off at 8 AM. But when I come outside and catch my first-ever glimpse of this country, I cannot help but feel a little excited. MILLENNIUM is anchored off the miniscule port of Katakolon, and the ship's catamaran tenders are already shuttling to and from the quay. Most passengers have opted to go on a tour to Olympia today, but we have decided to take it easy and explore Katakolon - there's more than enough ruins left later on in the cruise! The weather looks good today, but somehow Lucy has developed a nasty cold. At 10 AM we are ready to go ashore. We have to pick up tender tickets at the Celebrity Theater, but when we get there Cruise Staff are handing tickets out in the hallway and are instructing passengers to proceed to deck 1 right away and board the tender. Before we know it, we are seated in a very comfortable tender for the short ride to the quay.

Katakolon is ... small. VERY small. There are a couple of taverna's lining the waterfront, and some shops can be found in the only street. The small scale of this town really adds to its charm, it sure looks like the pictures I have seen in so many brochures. Fitness-freaks as we are (haha!) we take the road up the hill, from where we have a very nice view of our ship resting at anchor in the bay. Apart from that, there's surprisingly little else to discover here. If you like colonies of ants parading on the road in an endless straight line, or goats, or sheep, then Katakolon might be THE place for you, but I guess you're better off going to Olympia when your ships calls here. I had heard that there should be some nice beaches, but all we find is a grubby stretch of cobblestones leading to the sea. NOT what you call an idyllic setting for that romantic Greek picnic!

After a good two hours we are ready to go back to our floating resort and board the tender. We actually sit on the top deck of the tender, and have a magnificent view of the awesome MILLENNIUM when we sail back. Ah, we're back home. We find the Aqua Spa deserted, and we have the time of our lives basking in the sun while lounging on these underwater stainless steel whirlpool benches. The AquaSpa is just a VERY elegant space, and what a joy to be able to float in this wonderful pool all alone! Just when we're about ready to head to the Ocean Café for lunch, we discover the "Lean & Light Buffet" aft of the Aqua Spa! The selection here is limited, but outstanding. Sushi, carpaccio, sugar free cookies, fresh fruit juices, garlic lemon chicken and what not. In fact, we just HAVE to take a bowl of gazpacho here before we go one deck up to dry up in the sun. At 2 PM we have a bite in the Ocean Caféwalk. We opt for a burger, but who are we to resist the Penne Napolitana served in the Pasta Station? And am I right in assuming that that is indeed Blueberry Ice Cream? ...

Back on deck 11 overlooking the pool we fall down in a lounge chair and enjoy watching the coming and going of the tenders. There is a lot more wind now, and the sun is disappearing every now and then behind a hazy layer of clouds. By 4.45 PM Onyx has taken up position again on the Pool Deck, and it seems we're not the only ones that really enjoy their music. From Carpenters to Santana - they play and sing it all. Once the last tender has been winched up the azipods start running and the water colors brown from the sand that is propelled up. We leave Katakolon at 5.10 PM, and Onyx continues playing while we are slowly blown off our lounge chair. And since it's not very warm either, we return to our cabin to shower off the AquaSpa's salt crystals. Next up: a visit to the Internet Cafe to check if someone has been kind enough to send us a sign of life. DING DONG. The girl helping us out at the Photo Shop is obviously scared by that sound, as this is a ship without any PA announcements. Our Cruise Director Jim announces that one of the control panels on the bridge shows an overheating of one thing or another and that the motors will be switched off for approximately 15 minutes while routine checks are done. We are dead in the water for some time, but after a while Jim tells all passengers that we are back on course, sailing full speed towards Piraeus.

Tonight we are invited for a glass of Washington State Chardonnay on the balcony of "Mike" and Tom's cabin. We ring the door bell at 7.45 PM, and enjoy sitting on their huge "porch" chatting away and watching lightning light up the sky. "Mike" and Tom ask us to join them at their table for dinner on Saturday as some of their table mates will be dining in the Olympic - we think that's a very nice idea. Tonight's dinner in the Metropolitan Dining Room is another highlight. We love the food (I can highly recommend the Salmon & cucumber tartare!) and have lots of fun with Judith and Kees, who invite us to come up to their suite for High Tea somewhere in the next few days. Although tonight's dress code is casual, a full-scale production show is scheduled in the Celebrity Theater featuring the Celebrity Singers & Dancers. "Pure Platinum" is again a mix of popular tunes and blinding costumes - very well done but a little over the top for my taste. But the fact that the singers & dancers receive a standing ovation does prove that most people are probably disagreeing with that!

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First published: November 4th, 2000