World Cruise Day 91/152 - Chania (Souda Bay), Crete, Greece - A missed opportunity, but the Viking beverage team hit a home run!

Cruise day: 91/152

Ports days: 38
Sea days: 53
Countries: 15
Continents: 4
Ports: 28

Day 91 - 61 days to go.  It's hard to believe we've been cruising for three months and only have two more to go.

What better way to start a day when in Greece than Greek yogurt!  Arlona thought so, at least, and dumped it over some tasty strawberries and blueberries.

We awoke as we were docking in Souda Bay, Crete, the largest of Greece's islands, about 100 miles south of the Greek mainland.

This was a replacement stop for Heraklion, also on Crete, where the winds were too high to allow us to dock.

It was lovely and peaceful in Souda Bay, with the surrounding hills protecting the bay from the winds

We opted for the included tour - Chania (pronounced HAN-ya) by foot.  Even though Chania is only about 3.5 miles away, the bus ride took all of 20 minutes as the traffic is pretty congested on the narrow streets.

Chania is a city that is split into an old town and a new town.  The new town is modern with upscale shopping.  The old town is more quaint with limited traffic and tons of shops to browse.  We walked through the old town area with our guide, who was less than stellar.

Her entire focus was making sure we all had directions back to where the bus would pick us up to the point that it was nearly all she talked about.  Every corner or landmark, all she would talk about was which way to turn to get back to the bus.  I guess she must have lost guests in the past.  Then, we had to laugh at her description of transportation options.

"Our buss will depart at 12:00PM to return to the ship.  If you do not want to take our bus, shuttle buses will depart every half-hour at 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00 - and so on.  The last bus will depart at 4:30PM. The very last bus will depart at 5:00PM."

We guessed she was a retired first-grade teacher.  We opted to ditch the tour as we weren't getting any useful information and just walk around.

There was an entire street nearly 100% dedicated to leathercraft

Part of the fortification wall on one side of the city

Cathedral of Eisodion tis Theotokou from the mid-1800s - 98% of Greeks are Greek Orthodox Christians

These two were on guard in the square outside the church.

The flag of the Greek Orthodox Church

A close-up of the glass above the altar - for some reason, the colors reminded me of the Microsoft Windows and Google logos

Enormous prayer candles that were taller than Arlona (5'10")

The only Catholic church in Chania

And...the only synagogue

And...the only preserved mosque in Chania - the Hasan Pasha Mosque built by the Ottomans in the mid-1600s - it is now an exhibition center

The mosque is in the Old Venetian Port of Chania, built in the 1300s by the Venetians. 

We continued walking around the old town area, seeing the sights.

A goat milk ice cream truck

We've seen tons of these model churches throughout Greece along roadways - they are typically constructed when someone dies as a memorial, much like the crosses and flowers we see on roadways in the US at the site of a fatal accident

Check out this unusual stairway/arched entrance

Arlona & our friend, Jim, check out the design

We saw our friends Nancy & Jim, doing what they have done in every port - let Jim enjoy a local beer

A local business featuring outdoor hookah

Chania has a large central market that is currently closed for a complete renovation

Walking up a street, we caught a peek at some of the snowcapped mountains that are outside the hilled area that surrounds the Souda Bay

Amazingly, and without the help of our guide, we negotiated our way back to the shuttle bus area and got a ride back to the ship. The partially cloudy sky gave way to a cloudless blue sky with unrestricted sunshine and temperatures in the mid-50s, but the wind still kept things a little cool outside.  Still, a sunny day beats a rainy day and once again, we have a great day to tour.

Chef Thomas had some tasty beef and chicken gyros at the buffet today, so while we didn't eat in town, we didn't feel like we missed anything as Viking took care of us.

Talking with friends later in the afternoon, we realized just how bad our tour guide was.  They were on the same tour and saw bombing sites where the Germans had bombed Crete.  They got the history behind it and more background information. Again, we got directions back to the bus stop.  The tour guide can make or break a tour, and our tour guide broke ours.  Still, we enjoyed our day and the time we spent, but we don't feel that we really saw Chania.

We sailed out of Souda Bay right on schedule tonight. As soon as we cleared the bay, the ship started rocking - a lot!  This is why we didn't dock in Heraklion today!  We sailed west to head around Crete and start heading south toward the Suez Canal.

As we headed out, we were treated to stunning views of the snowcapped mountains around the bay as well as a beautiful sunset.

The USS Ross - an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer that was anchored in Souda Bay

We enjoyed a cocktail and conversation with friends in the Explorers' Bar before heading to dinner in the World Cafe. As we wrapped up dinner, bar staff showed up with trays of martinis for our table of six and said we should just try them.

Quick flashback...

If you remember, three days ago, I shared my special martini recipe:

Vanilla-Limoncello-Pineapple martini.  

• 2 parts vanilla vodka
• 1 part Limoncello
• 1 part pineapple juice
• 1/2 part lime juice (lemon will also do)
• 1/2 part simple syrup
• shake over ice until blended
• strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass
• enjoy often

I also lamented that since the Star does not carry vanilla vodka, it was impossible to make my favorite drink on this cruise. 

One sip of the martinis told me that they had made my drink!  But how?

Beverage Manager, Andrej, and Sommelier Dejan with their homemade vanilla vodka

Beverage Manager, Andrej, and Sommelier Dejan infused vodka with vanilla beans to make a liter of vanilla vodka over the last three days.  Then, they used my recipe from this blog to prepare vanilla-Limoncello-Pineapple martinis for our table.  How awesome is that?

Thanks to the beverage team as well as General Manager, Johann who also had a hand in making this happen.  Viking certainly does whatever they can to ensure that every guest gets the experience they deserve, and tonight was simply more evidence to support that.  I was overwhelmed and humbled at the work they put in.  Now, I look forward to emptying that bottle of vanilla vodka!

We have four sea days to enjoy before we reach Jeddah, Saudia Arabia on Tuesday.