Disembarkation: Athens to home

Wednesday 7th September

We needed to be out of our room by 8am. We woke around 7.15 and got ready. We soon had all of our last-minute things packed and were out of our room in time. We ate breakfast in the crowded buffet and then went to our waiting station. Because we were Concierge class, we could wait in one of the specialty restaurants. It looked crowded and soulless, so instead we waited in a lounge area.

We left the ship at 9.30 and collected our suitcases and looked for shelter outside while we waited for our taxi. It was a grey day with soft gentle rain, gradually stopping. Unfortunately the drivers of Athens are unfamiliar with rain and our taxi was running late. We spoke to the representatives but they did not know how late the taxi would be, or even if it would get us there on time; they were not in touch with the drivers after giving them their names for the day. Eventually the taxi arrived at 10.30, having been booked for 10.

All went well at check-in and we visited a lounge with my Priority Pass. The food was not good but we had wifi and the seats were comfortable and it felt more private. Unfortunately we were separated from each other by about 5 rows on the plane. I was in a bad position whereby the food trolleys and the rubbish trolleys stopped just before reaching me, and there would be a wait of a quarter of an hour before the next one came out. I was feeling quite faint from hunger by the time the food arrived at 3pm. Although the plane was 40 minutes late leaving, and we had to circle Heathrow 2 or 4 times on arrival, we still landed at exactly the specified time.

The luggage was very slow to come out and it took 50 minutes before we met up with our driver home. I had trouble finding him, as he was right at the back of the crowd, near the outside door. David found him first and shouted across the room until I heard him. We encountered a bit of traffic on the way home but were back before 6pm, to find Jonathan waiting for us.

David unpacked everything immediately but I only managed all my odds and ends and left my dresses, etc. for a couple of days later. We continued the holiday mood by going out to dinner to Bella Napoli.