As soon as we hit landside at Athens we were aware that the smoking laws so carefully introduced in UK, France & Italy (and so incompetently in Spain!) have not hit Greece! A foul fug hangs over all catering facilities!We had a day to kill but four bags, and the Metro workers were on strike, so we hung around for while then took a bus to Piraeus. (85 minutes) As Ruth went to claim the tickets she saw a French-registered car - and it was Alain & Pascale - who were booked onto the same crossing! So we spent the afternoon with them and in a seedy local taverna before boarding early and finding our cabin. So far, so good!
This was the Thursday night before Greek schools' last day of term. School trips are common at this time. The ship was completely crammed - and mostly with adolescents! The stated capacity for the Lissos was almost certainly exceeded, and the ratio of responsible adults to youngsters was as low as it could be! We were berthed in a corridor full of kids screaming, banging, throwing and calling cabin phones. Hell! and we had spent the previous night in the lounge at Gatwick! We thought they were a school party and had some fruitless interchanges with (elusive) teachers, but it transpired they were some sort of sports team. (Best guess - kick boxing!)
With the aid of an additional bottle of wine we got some sleep nonetheless, only to see ANEK lines at their glorious best for disembarkation! It took over an hour for foot passengers to get off at Chania, as they were funnelled down a narrow corridor to the escalator. This was not only not working but blocked off, so everyone and all their baggage had to go down one narrow staircase!
Joyfully this meant less time at Chania bus station - with its infamous Ladies' toilet! We took the first bus for a rather windy journey and then in Paleohora we were unexpectedly met by Mick - what a star!