Gentle odyssey of our own
When cruise ship Aegean Odyssey docked in the UK for the first time, cruise first-timers Mary Graham and Tony Coomes climbed aboard for a trip taking in Falmouth and Dartmouth in England and Honfleur in France.
I have to confess I’ve never quite understood the fascination with cruising.
Passing time on huge floating palaces and only a limited time on land had never seemed to me to be the best way to explore different countries.
But it took less than 24 hours into a three-day trip, for this preconception to be changed, thanks to the gentle magic of cruise ship Aegean Odyssey.
I shy away from saying liner, because the ship is about as far away from a floating monstrosity as you can imagine.
Its owner Voyages to Antiquity is celebrating a milestone: while Aegean Odyssey has been happily sailing the world since 2010, June 2016 marked the first time it has ever called at a UK port.
A former ferry catering for 350 passengers, she is small by industry standards, but that brings huge advantages.
She sails into places huge ships simply cannot reach. On day two, we pulled back the curtains of our well-appointed cabin to find we had dropped anchor in the middle of the River Dart, staring at a stunning vista of Dartmouth. It was the first time the town had seen anything like it, and it was certainly one of life’s experiences for us.
There was simply nothing nicer than enjoying lunch al fresco on The Terrace restaurant, while drinking in a unique view not available to anyone else.
Another thing us cruise novices quickly discovered – you quickly find your favourite spots on board.
Our lovely schedule involved part of the afternoon reading on the Lido deck – home to a small bar, outside seats, and the pool and loungers.
By night, it was dinner outside, as the sun took a nosedive into the sea, before finding a cosy spot in the Charleston lounge sampling the cocktail menu.
Small-ship cruising came with a promise we’d make friends. Sure enough our first evening saw us having drinks and dinner with Mavis and Kevin, both solo travellers from Australia and Tasmania respectively, who shared their experiences while wanting the Brexit lowdown.
All Voyages to Antiquity holidays include shore excursions and here was my chance to test my (now unenlightened) claim you don’t see much of the world.
While you may only be on land for several hours, an excursion can help you discover more in a short time than you could possibly achieve by yourself in the same time. In Dartmouth we visited Slapton Sands, site of a dress rehearsal, in April 1944, in preparation for the D-Day landings. It went horrifically wrong and 639 soldiers died.
Chosen because the coastline was similar to the Normandy beaches, a series of mistakes meant the troops involved (mainly Americans) were unaware of German activity and were woefully unprepared when they were fired on.
In France we visited the Bayeux Tapestry before heading to Arromanches, to see the remains of the Mulberry, a temporary harbour built to unload equipment during the D-Day landings.
When it was all over and we were back on land, we felt bereft. We missed the ship, its routines and the people we got to know so quickly.
We realised we not only saw the world, but dived headlong into history. It was coupled with healthy servings of good food, drink, hospitality and company on board. We’d love to do it again.
Mary and Tony’s trip was funded by Voyages to Antiquity