ABOUT THIS BLOG
Voyages to Antiquity is a specialist cruise company focusing on the history and culture of the Mediterranean.
Our beautiful ship, The Aegean Odyssey, takes just 350 guests to key heritage sites across the Aegean, Adriatic & Mediterranean.
This blog is written by the staff, passengers and expert lecturers who sail aboard the ship.
We hope you enjoy your journey with us.
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Category Archives: Events
Our cruises are well known for their historical and cultural experiences, but for the first time in March we tried something a little different… and it was very popular!
We welcomed Kevin Dean onboard Aegean Odyssey for the cruise from Mumbai, India to Safaga, Egypt. This cruise has a number of sea days and we wanted to include something a little different for our guests. Kevin Dean is a leading UK based artist, known for his floral artwork which features on the external walls and flooring of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi as well as patterns for products such as wallpaper, crockery and fabrics from many of the UK’s leading retailers.
Kevin came up with a series of lectures designed for both novice and experienced artists. We hope you like these watercolours and drawings Kevin created during the voyage, as well as his diary from the cruise.
“Before leaving the UK, I spoke to Ann Carr, Enhancement Programme Director at Voyages to Antiquity’s office in Oxford. She said, “We don’t know how many people will be interested in the art classes but I’m sure you will have a good time!” Two weeks later I’m pleased to say that not only did I have a wonderful time but the demand for the classes was very high! About 45 people came to the various classes, either drawing, watercolour, or keeping a travel journal. Some people came to all the classes, some just for the occasional session. Most people who took part said they’d not drawn or painted since their school days, others were very experienced, including a former art teacher. All said they really enjoyed the classes and some hoped to develop their newfound skills upon their return home.
The sea was so calm and the weather so warm that we used the aft deck for all the workshops, sometimes using the surrounding sea as our subject matter.
Whenever the ship docked, I either set off independently or joined the tour buses. I painted temples and street scenes in India, souks and rocky landscapes in Oman. It sometimes meant working quite quickly as the tours try to include a good variety of exciting sights and I didn’t want to keep people waiting. The guides and tour managers were very patient with me, though, and in Porbandar, India, I left on one bus and returned to the ship on another, to give me maximum time to finish my paintings!
It was actually a good way to work as I really had to focus on what I was going to paint – I would set up my equipment and just paint. This has given the finished pieces, I think, a lot of spontaneity and atmosphere, something that doesn’t always happen if I have an endless amount of time. It was also so pleasing to have such vivid colours and strong shadows to work from, so different from the light in the UK!
Painting on location is sometimes problematical but on this trip it was fun interacting with the local people. Some offered me refreshments and one shopkeeper bought me a more comfortable seat than my little fold up stool.
The passengers were also very interested in seeing me work on the tours. At the end of the trip I held a very well attended exhibition of my work, which also included samples of the passengers’ work from the classes.
I also enjoyed meeting my fellow lecturers – the famous Martin Bell and Sandy Gall, the highly knowledgeable Robin Cormack from Cambridge University and renowned Egyptologist Karen Exell from Doha University. It all made for a fascinating and very creative trip.”
We are hoping that Kevin will be back onboard again over the next year as well as extending this programme with other artists on specific cruises. Watch out on our web site for further opportunities to ‘paint and cruise’.
Kevin sells his work including some of the paintings from this cruise. If you would like to contact him, please email email@example.com.
Voyages to Antiquity is continually looking to enhance its lecture series with new guest speakers. Last year we met husband and wife actors/writers, Isla Blair and Julian Glover, well known from films and TV productions. When asked, both jumped at the chance to join our India-Sri Lanka cruise as lecturers.
At the time Isla had recently published a book on her early life spent on an Indian tea plantation – and hence was perfectly placed to pass on some of her memories. We caught up with them both after their cruise in November to see what they thought about their experience.
Are you cruise veterans or was this a new type of holiday experience for you?
“Not at all! We have both been asked to go on large cruises several times as Ambassadors for the Princes Trust but we both found the notion of those large ships rather daunting. The appeal of Aegean Odyssey was its smaller size and therefore rather more intimate surroundings.”
How did you find life on board and what were the highlights of your trip?
“Life on board was very comfortable (particularly as the temperature outside was 33 degrees and the humidity was sometimes stifling).The meals were very good in both restaurants and the staff and crew were always courteous and smiling. The free wine at dinner was not only very good but it flowed! There was always something to do – a lecture to attend, music or a film to enjoy.
For both of us, a key highlight was the very charming people we met; both interesting and interested. I suspect that we will stay in touch with a few. Additionally, the excursions were beautifully organised with articulate and knowledgeable guides.”
Isla, you were born in India and have written a book about your early life there – do you always find something new and exciting when you return?
“There were places I had not visited before – Goa and the Maldives. The beach on the Maldives’ island of Kuda Bandos was spectacular – white coral sands with rainbow fish that took pieces of banana skins out of your hands!
Additionally, the scents of Cochin took me right back to my girlhood – cloves, cinnamon, spices of all kinds; it has been the centre of the spice trade for hundreds of years.”
Aegean Odyssey returns to India at the end of 2013. What would be your favourite places to visit?
“Any visitor to India should seize the chance to see the Golden Triangle – a classic introduction to a wonderful country.There’s also Mumbai and further south fascinating Cochin along the Malabar Coast.
In addition, and pleading forgiveness for a little bias, some of the hill stations, and in the southwest – the state of Kerala, where I spent my early years and the only democratically elected communist state in the world which boasts 94% literacy. Of course, one or two of these places are harder to get to from the coast!”
You are both very busy actors, what are your next projects?
“Julian starts re-rehearsing for a play he did at the Edinburgh Festival that was a huge success and he will be touring the UK with it for twelve weeks starting at the end of January 2013. It is called “Maurice’s Jubilee”. He will also be continuing in his role of Pycelle in Game of Thrones in the summer.
I have started work on my second book. I am not sure what acting job I shall be doing next. The life of an actor – uncertainty! But that is one of the good things about it; you never know what is round the corner..”
In this blog, Alison Lewin explains what has persuaded her to take a temporary leave of absence from her position as Cruise Coordinator on Aegean Odyssey and perform in a West End play.
We are very excited to welcome her replacement, Danella Collins, as she joins us for our summer season in the Mediterranean. With a background in customer service and travel, she will soon appear in our future blogs as she settles in on board. In the meantime, read the below emotional letter from Alison.
“Dear Friends and Past Guests,
As many of you know, before joining Voyages to Antiquity I was a working actress. From an initial three month contract on the ship, I ended up staying three years as I was having such a fantastic time sailing the Mediterranean at first, and then the Far East, too! I’ve really enjoyed meeting the wonderful guests and crew – that’s what has kept me on board, kept me motivated and inspired me to see more of the world.
However, last year my mum passed away. This has been the most devastating event of my life, as I can imagine it is for most people. But it triggered off a significant change in my attitude towards my own life and goals. My mum was proud of me no matter what I did; she loved the fact that I work at sea (as did her brother, father and grandfather as well as various uncles). But she was also keen that I should follow my dreams and when I used to ask her if I would ever make the West End, she would say, ‘If you want it to happen, it will’.
I first performed in the play Henna Night in 2007 as part of a one-act festival which toured around the UK. My co-actress and I won every ’knock-out round’ around the UK and even picked up a couple of best actress awards along the way. Sadly we didn’t win the final (being pipped by an Alan Bennett play that had less swear words and more cups of tea!), but the play has always stuck with me. I think it is a very truthful piece of writing by Amy Rosenthal, who is the daughter of the late writer Jack Rosenthal and his actress wife, Maureen Lipman.
Now fate and serendipity have always been a major part of shaping my life in general and when I returned to the ship in July 2012, I learned that Maureen Lipman was going to be joining us as a guest lecturer. By this time I had already decided that I was going to produce Henna Night – I’d had an initial meeting with a potential director and was also in the process of finding a venue. Meeting Maureen felt like a sign that I was moving in the right direction.
The next significant sign was that I had an actress in mind of who I wanted to play the role of Rosalyn. She had been on Aegean Odyssey the previous year to film for the Travel Channel and although we hit it off really well, I had no idea how to contact her. Then I found out she was coming back on board as well – I could not believe it! Now all I had to do was to convince her to take time out of her lucrative TV career to be in a little two hander play with a very unknown actress, namely me. Remarkably, she agreed !
So here we are – It’s March and I will soon be off on my sabbatical from Voyages to Antiquity. Julie Peasgood is playing Rosalyn and I am playing Judith in Henna Night at the Leicester Square Theatre, London from 28 May 2013 to 9 June 2013.
The story revolves around Judith who leaves a desperate message on the answering machine of Jack, her ex-boyfriend, informing him that she has bought a packet of henna and some razor blades, in order to either dye her hair or slash her wrists. Either way she is going to ruin her bathroom carpet!
Rosalyn hears the message and rushes to Judith’s bedsit and here begins an evening of high emotion and subtle humour, revealing how easily we can betray each other when we want something for ourselves. It also shows how fraternising with the enemy can curiously feel like spending time with a friend. Both witty and poignant, this play is wickedly perceptive and appealing unpretentious.
Tickets can be purchased online or over the phone from the Leicester Square Box for just £8.00. Click through to buy tickets online »
It would be wonderful to see you all during the two week run. I also want to thank all the people who have been part of my life over the past three years for your support and kindness, especially after the death of my mother.
It is you, our guests and friends, who have encouraged me and given me the confidence when I have performed on board and really helped my determination to succeed in an arena where my heart and passion lies.
Thank you so much and hope to see you all again soon,
During our recent cruise on Aegean Odyssey, the ship spent 24 hours in vibrant Ho Chi Minh City. Previously known as Saigon, the city is the largest in Vietnam and was previously capital of the Republic of Vietnam before the country was unified at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Below are the impressions of David Horner – one of the guest lecturers, as he greeted the Year of the Snake on February 10, 2013 in this fascinating city, as well as a glimpse into the Lunar New year party on board the ship
“The ship was able to navigate right up the Saigon River, past jungle covered banks, into the heart of the city. We arrived at midday on Vietnamese New Year, which is the biggest and most popular festival of the year in Vietnam. First we set out on a tour that took in the controversial War Remnants Museum and the magnificent French-built Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office. Usually notorious for its crazy traffic, with swarms of jostling motorbikes and scooters, the city was in relaxed holiday mood, and the traffic much lighter than normal.
The highlight of the afternoon was a stroll down the colourful median strip of Nguyen Hue Street enjoying the extensive and beautiful floral displays marking the start of the Lunar New Year –2013 being the Year of the Snake. In Vietnam the snake is considered a symbol of luck. The Vietnamese also believe the colours red and yellow will bring good fortune. The men were busy photographing their wives, children or girlfriends, who were often dressed in the colourful traditional ao dai (a tight fitting silk tunic over long pants) in front of the flowers, evidencing a significant recent revival in the wearing of the national costume for special occasions.
The following morning we drove into the countryside to the Cu Chi tunnels. Three years earlier my wife and I had visited the grim Viet Cong tunnels in Baria-Vung Tau Province near where I had served during the war, and I expected much the same at Cu Chi. However, the visit to Cu Chi, about one and half hours north of Ho Chi Minh City, provided much more insight. We had the good fortune to have a great local guide. He had served briefly in the South Vietnamese army and at the end of the war had stripped off his uniform to avoid retribution from the North Vietnamese.
Our guide was able to show us the various tunnels, the booby traps, underground workshops, hospitals, and kitchens. You could even try your hand at firing a few shots with Vietnam War-era weapons on a rifle range, and experience crawling down into the tunnel system. Other fellow passengers reported that the Cu Chi tunnels were a particularly memorable experience for them, too. As a professional historian and writer, I always get a great thrill from being able to witness such reminders of a country’s past, and having the opportunity to appreciate expressions of its culture and heritage.”
Professor David Horner is one of Australia’s leading historians. Currently Professor of Australian Defence History at the Australian National University (Australia’s top world-ranked university), he is Australia’s premier military historian with an international reputation for military history and strategic analysis, although his expertise also ranges across Australian and international history.
A graduate of the Royal Military College, he saw active service as an infantry officer in Vietnam in 1971. Later, from 1998 to 2002, as an Army Reserve colonel he was the first Head of the Australian Army’s Land Warfare Studies Centre. With a doctorate in history from the Australian National University, he is the author or editor of 30 books on military history, strategy and defence, is general editor of the Australian Army’s Military History Series, and is the Official Historian of Australian Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Post-Cold War Operations. In 2009 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to higher education in the area of Australian military history and heritage as a researcher, author and academic.
P.S. After seeing some amazing places in the city, our on-board crew and guests celebrated in traditional style with a midnight party on the Lido Deck. There was Champagne toasting and popping of streamers to get the party mood, and then on the stroke of midnight, everyone shouted, “GONG HEY FAT CHOY!” which is Cantonese for Happy New Year!
Next year we will be back in the Far East in January and February. If you would like to join us for Chinese New Year in 2014, we’ll be celebrating in style in Hong Kong, probably one of the best places to see the festivities.
As part of our specialist jazz evenings, Nicki our fabulous vocalist, Elvis our wonderful pianist, and myself, got together at the end of January to produce an evening of Cole Porter told in narrative and music.
With a slide show featuring all his Cole Porter’s old theatre bills we told the story of this incredible man’s life, from his early years of his mother’s domination right through to his riding accident that almost cost him his life.
With songs from his shows such as ‘I get a kick out of you’ , ‘My heart belongs to daddy’ and the forever famous ‘Every time we say Good bye’ , we demonstrated how Cole Porter became a legend.
This is just part of the variety of entertainment that we have on board Aegean Odyssey, including our wonderful lecture programme, our poetry recitals and our Jazz Four Jam Sessions.
We experienced a huge amount of interest in our three Burma cruises this season. With the last cruise of the winter due to sail in mid February, we still have some availability and thought you might like to see another perspective for this mysterious country. This time it comes from Martin Morland, one of our expert lecturers and a British Ambassador to Burma from 1986 to 1990 – an exciting time for the country during the national uprising of 1988.
“The audience for my three lectures on Burma were exceptionally lively and appreciative. Several of the guests had been to Burma already, either recently or way back in the 60s when I first spent time in Rangoon as a junior diplomat and language student.
The atmosphere on the ship was exceptionally friendly with the waiting staff always helpful and cheerful. The ship was compact enough to dock in the heart of Rangoon (now Yangon but the Y was originally an R) a couple of hundred yards from the legendary Strand Hotel and the British Embassy. I had not been back for over ten years as I had been on a blacklist for criticising the military dictatorship (now at last on its way out), and it was a thrill to see the familiar sights and smell the familiar exotic smells.
Trishaw drivers clustered round the gates to the dock, the handiest form of transport for anyone prepared to risk dodging in and out of the traffic. Not a lot of the basics had changed since I was last there, but the cars were less dilapidated, and the buses no longer leaned to the left as passengers who couldn’t get into the bus clung onto the side, weighing that side down.
If you got up early in the morning, processions of monks in their saffron robes still paraded to receive offerings from housewives who had cooked rice and curry to dish out into the monks bowls.. It’s wrong to call them begging bowls since it was the housewives who begged the monks to accept their offerings, thus allowing them to accrue merit.
Unlike other countries in South East Asia, men and women still wear traditional dress, a sarong that women have tightly bound round their waist but men in a loose knot that they have to keep untying and tying up again which looks untidy but has the advantage of getting the air circulating on a hot day.
In the colonial time the British made no attempt to get the Burmese into Western dress and when the dictator General Ne Win took over the country in the early 60s, noone was allowed to wear trousers except the armed service men and the villains in films; so you could always tell the bad guys from the good guys.
The Scott Market was as bustling and crowded as ever with hundreds, if not thousands, of stalls and eating-places, but we weren’t unduly hassled to buy things. All in all it was lovely to be back in a town where I spent altogether seven years of my life in the British Embassy.”
Martin is British career diplomat and was born in Tokyo, Japan. He had two spells of three and a half years in Burma, first as a language student and junior official before the military takeover of 1961, when he drove back on leave from Calcutta to London in 1958. Then he was Ambassador from 1986 to 1990. He made friends with Nobel Prize Laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her late husband Michael Aris during the national uprising of 1988, the most extraordinary experience of his life.
In the 25 years between these two periods in Burma, he spent 6 years in the Foreign Office and Brussels working on British Entry into the European Community, and in the 1975 referendum wrote a pamphlet explaining how and why we needed to join, which was delivered to twenty million households. Four years in Rome followed, then two and a half years in the Washington embassy, a year and a half under President Carter and a year under President Reagan, a ringside seat at the most exciting political circus in the world.
This was then followed by two and a half years on secondment in the City of London with a small general consultancy – activities ranged from trying to sell arms to China to financing a would-be Hollywood feature film about Brian Boru, the legendary King of Ireland (including 5 weeks in L.A. seeing how the other side lived.) He returned to the diplomatic world until 1993, with his last posting as head of the British Delegation to the UN organisations in Geneva. Martin has also been a chairman of two charities: one connected with Burma and the other – with the Catholic Church.
A couple of days ago, Aegean Odyssey crossed the equator into the southern hemisphere while on our way to Pare-Pare in Indonesia.
Following in the footsteps of mariners the world over, the Captain decided that we should undertake the ‘Crossing the Line’ ceremony for guests and crew. The ceremony dates back to the days of the Spanish and Dutch explorers and is a great fun experience for guests and crew alike.
Sailors who have already crossed the Equator are nicknamed (Trusty) Shellbacks; those who have not are nicknamed (Slimy) Pollywogs.
Crew members (Trusty Shellbacks) are traditionally organised into a ‘Court of Neptune’ to indoctrinate the Slimy Polywogs into ‘the mysteries of the Deep’. ‘Physical hardship’ is the name of the game and as the pictures show we weren’t short of volunteers on the beautiful sunny day by the pool.
For all of the Aegean Odyssey Pollywogs, crew and guests alike, King Neptune and his Queen were on hand to initiate the audience into becoming Shellbacks. And what an initiation it was…
In a time honoured tradition, all were cleansed of their misdemeanours, and pledged an allegiance to the king by offering to kiss his fish and we were finally sprinkled with good fortune from the king.
It was tremendous fun, as the photos will testify!
Over the last few days Aegean Odyssey has been sailing north along the Vietnamese coast. The ship spent two days in Ho Chi Minh City before sailing onto the coastal city of Nha Trang and then to Da Nang, which was founded over 3,000 years ago by the Cham people. Now it’s sailing north to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and the visually stunning Halong Bay.
Earlier this week, Ali – our Cruise Coordinator on Aegean Odyssey posted some pictures which were taken on the evening of the first day in Ho Chi Minh City. The overnight stop meant that we could host the wonderful Phuong Bao Company of performers – a local dance group, who were extremely popular with our guests.
Not only did the group sing, they also danced and played a whole host of wonderful local instruments – they even let our guests loose on them to create all kinds of noise!
We all hope and wish that wherever you are during the holidays, you have a happy and peaceful time.
This holiday season Aegean Odyssey will be cruising in the Far East, sailing between Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and Nha Trang in Vietnam on Christmas Day. Our guests will have a relaxing day at sea before exploring this bustling city.
Thank you very much for your support in 2012 and we hope you join us over the coming year, as we continue to discover the stories of the most exciting sites along the shores of Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean.
from the crew of MV Aegean Odyssey and the teams in Fort Lauderdale and Oxford.
Voyages to Antiquity is renowned for its cultural cruises, but sometimes we plan something which is a little out of the ordinary for our guests and earlier this week Alison, our cruise co-ordinator, sent us a postcard from Kuda Bandos – a private island in the Maldives, which made the team in the office quite ‘green with envy’!
Aegean Odyssey was halfway between Sri Lanka and Burma on the second cruise of her Far East winter programme, but Ali couldn’t help sharing her day which was a little different from the usual tours of ancient places en route to the island of Sri Lanka.
The sun was shining, the sand was white, the fish were jumping and the atmosphere was one of sheer content. Kuda Bandos was our very own paradise for a few hours on a glorious Sunday afternoon.
After a very short tender ride over to the island, we greeted our passengers with a cocktail, handed them a towel and a deck chair and provided them a little piece of heaven. The air was filled with a delicious smell of BBQ Chicken accompanied by a fresh salad, mini roast potatoes and the most delicious BBQ sauce. Desserts were scrumptious cakes and sweet bananas.
A few guests went snorkelling and soon got everyone interested in tales of tropical fish swimming alongside. They truly were vibrant colours of green, gold, blue and red. A complete contrast to the usual antiquities excursions, this enjoyable afternoon was nevertheless one of the highlights of the two-week cruise from Mumbai to Sri Lanka. It was a wonderful experience and one, I for sure, will never forget…
Alas Aegean Odyssey will not be going back to Kuda Bandos until November next year, but we have lots of other magical places planned, including Burma on the next cruise. So please do come back and see more about Far Eastern adventures and if you have joined us on any of these cruises, please do share your voyage with us in Facebook.”