In their promotions leading to the maiden edition of the Afro Cruise Jam, the Cruise People Limited (Your Cruise People), a cruise holiday travel agency operating in Africa (Ghana), promised patrons a lifetime experience of ocean cruising and sure did they deliver.
The seven-day land and sea trip which ended on September 14 2022 was made up of three nights on the Celestyal Olympia, a luxurious cruise ship on the Aegean Sea and tours to Patmos Island, Heraklion, Santorini and Mykonos in Greece, as well as ancient Ephesus in Kusadasi – the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in Turkey, and back to Greece.
The Celestyal Olympia itself gives patrons a lot to explore aboard. There are six bars offering different forms of entertainment and menus, the Agora shop that stocks unique handmade Greek souvenirs and custom design sandals, children’s room, a beauty Centre (spa), gym, sauna, casino, duty-free shops, a library, medical Centre and a photo shop.
Each of these facilities offers unique Greek experiences throughout the day with some activities at the bars running till daybreak.
At night, stewards drop a programme for the next day which states times for tours, activities aboard and suggested attires and trust the Cruise Director, Ion Lazerescu, and his team to curate a cocktail of activities for different ages and tastes.
From Greek dance and language lessons to arts and crafts activities for children and adults, tennis and bowling, karaoke and cirque shows, the vessel offers a non-stop entertainment.
Afro Cruise performance
When it came to music, the Celestyal Olympia gave its patrons from different parts of the world a variety to choose from.
There was ‘Latino Live with the Esencia Trio’ from Cuba, ‘Welcome to Greece’ live music with the Poseidon Band, ‘Love songs with Plug ‘N’ Play Duo’ from the Philippines, ‘Sunset in Mykonos’ with violinist Luis Miguel and many others.
However, it was the Afro Cruise performance by Ghanaian Highlife musician Amakye Dede and his Apollo High Kings Band hosted by three-time Grammy Awards Winner Gramps Morgan that rocked the cruise.
En route Patmos from Kusadasi, Turkey, Abrantie, as he is popularly known, and his band mounted the stage on the ninth deck and for two hours, thrilled the audience.
When the performance started, it was mainly Ghanaians abroad clad in all white that cheered them on but soon, the deck was filled with people from different cultures who had heard the sound of the music from their cabins.
Occasionally, Gramps Morgan took the stage to cheer Amakye Dede on or do a freestyle with the band.
The journey from Kusadasi to Patmos was a distance of 45 nautical miles about 83 kilometres but the concert seemed to have shortened the journey.
By popular request, Abrantie and his band performed for another two hours when the vessel was headed to Santorini from the Heraklion Port, both in Greece.
On day two of the Afro Cruise Performance, the numbers were higher as people who had heard about the first day’s performance thronged the ninth deck to have a taste of the much-talked-about music from Ghana.
Destinations
Mr Lazerescu, the Cruise Director who speaks eight international languages, described the three-night cruise as a destination cruise.
When the vessel set off from the Lavrion Port of Athens, the first stop was Mykonos where patrons had the opportunity to choose from three tour options; Mykonos walking tour, Mykonian countryside tour with Hora and Little Venice and the Mykonian Dinner.
Next stop was Kusadasi in Turkey which also had three options; the House of Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus, Ancient Ephesus through the ages and the Ancient Ephesus, and the Terrace Houses tours.
Back at Patmos in Greece, patrons could either pay a religious visit to the St John’s Monastery- Grotto of Apocalypse, Patmos countryside tour, capturing the true spirit of Chora and transfer to Agriolivadi Beach.
By Sunday morning, the ship had arrived at Heraklion Port which offered tours such as the visit to the Minoan Palace of Knossos (a first European Civilisation), Experience on the Cretan countryside and lifestyle, Venetian Heraklion and the unique Archaeological Museum and Transfer to Amoudara Beach.
One of the sites that most people looked forward to was Santorini which had options such as Oia village which is perched on the caldera rim, cruise to Santorini Islands and Volcanoes and the Akrotiri Excavations.
Mr Lazerescu advised that patrons who chose the three-night options must prepare for a back-to-back tour, however the four- and seven-night cruises were less intense as they were days for resting.
The Afro Cruise Jam package also included a one-night pre- and post-cruise stay at the Divani Caravel, a five-star hotel, a city tour of Athens, all ground transfers, travel insurance, Schengen visa acquisition fees, a return flight and the three-night stay on the Celestyal Olympia (accommodation in either an inside or ocean view stateroom, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and unlimited classic drinks menu).
According to the Cruise Advisor at Cruise People, Mr Daniel Vanderpuye, each week, his outfit offered different packages for individuals and groups.
“You can find cruise packages at Cruise People on Instagram @cruisepeoplegh or yourcruisepeople.com that are surprisingly less expensive than what you would pay for a hotel, dinner and entertainment on land-based packages,” he added.
Writer’s email: efiaamoakoa2@gmail.com
