Day Onboard Aegean Odyssey: A Glorious Morning

Day 3, Marseilles, 04 June 2016

The idea of full day on board of Aegean Odyssey was quite exciting to me as we had a lot of early mornings, excursions and social time during the previous days. I woke up quite early and went to the gym which is located on the Columbus deck inside the Athena SPA. The gym is dislocated in a very compact space, nevertheless it had very modern gym equipment and was never too busy: it has two treadmills, a cross trainer, two bikes, weights, mattresses for exercising and balls.

After a healthy exercise session, I ran into the shower, which by they way, was amazing. They are so large and clean, something that you would expect to find in a five star hotel! I then had an appointment with the group for breakfast at our favourite Terrace café followed by a lecture and tour of the ship, where we got the chance to explore different cabins grades and location.

Day on board of Aegean Odyssey: Lecture "The dark days of the Papacy" by Joyce Salisbury

The lecture started at 9.00 am, it was all about the dark period during the Middle Ages when the Churches were facing lots of concerns and internal disagreements, the theme was in line with the excursions over the following days: Avignon, Carcassonne and Narbonne.

The lecture was held by Joyce Salisbury a very famous American historian who has written plenty of books and held many lectures. She is a charismatic personality and the lecture flew by so quickly. The discussion was structured around the three negative ideas that the Church had:

1. Establishing the Inquisition -1184

1. Albigenses crusade -1209

1. Avignon Papacy 1305-1378

The lecturer was very entertaining and made many references to the places we were due to visit over the next few days. Another good thing about lecture was that they were recorded so people can re-watch them the day after from the comfort of their cabins on TV.

After that we visited some of the cabins so we could get an idea of the difference about the grades.

Day on board of Aegean Odyssey: relaxation time in the afternoon

In the afternoon we had some free time. Here is a list of activities to help you to unwind on board:

• Library: the library is a comfortable place, you can find such a vast array of books, magazines and papers. You can borrow what you like when you like, the service is based on trust, so Voyages to Antiquity trusts their clients to bring the books back.

Interesting fact about the library: it is worth noting that some of the books here are donated from the oldest English library based in Oxford

• Pool time: if the weather is good, sunbathing or swimming in the pool is ideal; the pool is filled daily with sea water. Plus there is complimentary coffee and tea all day in this area.

• Afternoon quiz: another great way to spend the afternoon is taking part in the afternoon quiz where you can win generous prizes.
• SPA session: the SPA is open pretty much all day from 8.00am to 8.00pm. The sessions are affordable and every day you will find in your journal the special discount of the day.
• Afternoon tea: I must say that I have heard some clients saying that this is the best afternoon tea they have ever had at sea. There is always a different selection of cakes and canapes, and the scones are a must. I can personally recommend the fruit tart with custard.
• Dock exploration: you can get the chance to explore the city at your own pace if the ship is docked and there are no excursions on during the day. We got the chance to see Marseille.

What did I indulge in? A relaxing day by the pool, the view was stunning! On one side I could see Marseille cathedral, on the other side I could see the Notre Dame cathedral positioned on a hill. The view of the city is incredibly beautiful.

Day on board of Aegean Odyssey: evening entertainment

Voyages to Antiquity cruises are very focused on excursions and on the discovery of ancient civilization and culture of the places visited. Nevertheless, the company is starting to introduce some more entertainment to give customers more experiences on board. Let's take a look at the entertainment provided on the 4th of June for example.

6.30pm Pre-dinner music with Deborah, a very talented singer and piano player

8.30pm After dinner music with The Odyssey Trio, a very talented trio of musicians

9.15pm Cabaret: "The swinging Sixties"-with the Cruise Director, Richard Sykes
Tonight's show celebrate the glory days of pop music. Wear your dance shoes and take to the floor for favourites from the swinging sixties.

10.00pm Great late melodies from Deborah

The introduction of the cabaret is a very new entry for Voyages to Antiquity and is so far a great success. Passengers love a little dance and we saw many fanatic dance moves!

Day on board of Aegean Odyssey: spectacular food

Obviously during your day of relaxation on board food cannot be missed. On that day, I had both lunch and dinner at the Terrace café.

Lunch time: the specialty of the day was the French corner with specialties from the place we were visiting, I had a taste of a sort of casserole with cannellini beans, pork and salami.

I had a pan fried tropical sole fillet with rosemary butter which was incredibly delicious accompanied by vegetables, mushrooms, roasted peppers and aubergine. For dessert I had a slice of chocolate mousse cake and the fantastic home made ice cream topped with caramel sauce (ice cream is available every day at lunch time).

Dinner time: I tried the Terrace Café for dinner for the first time and was very pleased with it. In addition, to the buffet menu there is also a menu a la carte with the main dishes served at the Marco Polo restaurant. From the buffet, I had roast potatoes, a selection of vegetables, some salad and turkey. Additionally, I ordered the main course from the menu a la carte which was Grilled Seas Bass fillet served with garlic spinach, steamed potatoes and parsley butter: the main was beautiful.
The desserts were also very good, I had a slice of coffee cake, a slice of marble cheesecake and the sugar free option, which was an apple strudel. All the cakes were absolutely divine, my favourite? The Cheesecake! It was the best cheesecake I have ever tried, I could not help myself and went for another slice!

Francesca