Day 20

The day didn’t exactly start on the best note — I’d had a terrible night’s sleep and couldn’t quite figure out why. Maybe it was my brain ticking through a mental to-do list like a metronome in overdrive. Either way, I wasn’t feeling 100%. But after a quick breakfast in the buffet, it was time to rally and head out to explore our next country: Greece.

Since the ship was docked at Souda, a shuttle took us to Chania, about 20 minutes away. The drop-off point wasn’t exactly inspiring — we were left in a residential area, which had us wondering if we’d missed a turn somewhere. But we decided to keep walking and see what we could find.

The Old Town at first glance didn’t wow us either — more “crumbly ruins” than “storybook charm.” But we kept going… and thankfully, we found the good stuff. Once we reached the waterfront, Chania finally started to show off. The Venetian Harbour opened up ahead — colourful facades, fishing boats gently rocking, and cats stretched out like they owned the place. It was calm, warm, and felt like a completely different town.

We strolled the harbour, wandered through the old Venetian fortress, and took enough photos of the lighthouse to open our own postcard stand. Eventually we stopped at a café to regroup, and I decided to embrace the Greek moment with an iced coffee and a slice of baklava… which looked like it could feed a small village. I gave it my best shot, but even I have limits when it comes to honey and pastry.

As the heat cranked up and the tour groups started flooding in, we felt like we’d seen the best of Chania, so we took the bus back to the ship for some reprieve.

Back onboard, we had lunch at the buffet (yes, again), then enjoyed some R&R. It was a sea of lounge chairs and quiet time until dinner — which, you guessed it, was also at the buffet. We clearly know what we like.

Later in the evening, we headed to the back deck for drinks and a proper farewell to Crete. We ended up running into some of the American group we’d met on night one — Gloria and Megan were there first, soon joined by Tom, Doug, and Kim. They’re mostly retired or current flight attendants from Southwest Airlines, and always good company.

After that catch-up, we went for another wander around the ship and then bumped into Kuamane and Nicholas. The four of us headed to Bellini’s for more drinks and laughs. I was completely running on fumes by that point after the sleepless night, so I eventually tapped out just after midnight.

Tomorrow’s a sea day — and I’m very ready for a proper sleep-in.Lue lisää