THEY’RE NOT SO GREENE
It was Graham Greene who wrote in Travels With My Aunt: “I don’t want to be like one of the old codgers one sees on the Cunard, travelling first-class and complaining of the caviar.” Undoubtedly Seabourn – and, in particular, their three new ships – draw a younger and sassier crowd. It has also established a new paradigm in the world of cruising: that modernity and youth are not necessarily incompatible with opulence and class. With many of our fellow travellers in the mid-30s, they made me feel far from the first flush of youth. For many of our fellow cruisers, this voyage was less one of discovery, more one of lotus-eating. We saw them every day ‘chillaxing’ by the pool, working on their tans and appreciating the all-inclusive nature of Seabourn. Indeed, lavish libations by day and myriad martinis by night kept the bacchanals among us well sated.
Unseasonably early winds made dock-
ing at Mykonos the following day a chal- lenge but, by mid-morning, we had hired a Ford Fiesta and, map in hand, headed for Elia Beach in the south of this barren Cycladic Island. By mid-afternoon, having had our fill of sun and sea, we returned to the island’s capital, Chora.
to trendy bars, chic boutiques, and over- priced restaurants. There was just time to
R
everting to shank’s pony, we ex- plored the white-washed labyrinth of cubic houses that are now home
head to Little Venice where medieval two- and three-storey houses line the west end of the port.
In this impossibly-romantic setting, we sipped a refreshing Mythos beer on the balcony of a blue-painted taverna, look- ing towards the five iconic 16th
century
thatched-roofed windmills and a sunset of indescribable magic. The wind refused to abate and, as we
headed to Rhodes, it had all the reso- nance of a banshee keening outside our balcony. As we had both explored this capital of the Dodecanese archipelago and its medieval Old Town before, we opted to take a Spa Villa on Deck 10 for a three-hour ‘Sweet Surrender’ package. Side by side, we enjoyed Swedish mas- sages before receiving SkinCeuticals Gel Peel Facials in this airy halcyon. A healthy three-course lunch was served before we refreshed in the Jacuzzi and relaxed on our own private deck. It was pure indulgence, but, at $799, such pampering doesn’t come cheap.
Almost in a state of ennui, we dined in
The Restaurant that night savouring Medi- terranean Tuna with Veal Carpaccio, Fresh Local Sea Bass with Polenta, Spinach and Caviar Sauce, and an indulgent Chocolate Mouse with Raspberries. The complimen- tary Chardonnay revived us sufficiently to join in the ‘Rock The Boat’ party on deck, which lasted well into the small hours.
70 WORLD OF CRUISING I Autumn 2011
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