Ferrying in July 2018, Part 12 Asterion II at sea

Friday 20th July 2018
Part 12 - The afternoon and evening
After a light lunch and a rest, I finished reading my paperback book so took it to Reception. They were happy to have it for one of the crew; we all talked about the ship and its history and it was suggested that we come back and talk to the Chief Steward on duty later.

Deck Plan


Later that afternoon we talked to the Chief Steward and then one of his colleagues. This colleague obtained some keys and we were all invited to go with him to see the locked-up Japanese Lounge and the Cinema.

Our first sight of the locked Lounge

Daylight coming into the room

Another view

And another

Dance floor

Another view

More

Another angle


I seem to remember that the Lounge was on Deck 9 and once some of the side curtains were opened we could look out at the sea. The lounge seemed vast and was in lovely condition considering it had been locked up for some time. There was a small stage, a beautiful wooden dance floor, lots of comfortable seating in various groups, tall mirrors and what had obviously been well-designed wallpaper. I imagine this room will be restored and put back into public use when there is time and money. What a treat that will be.

Entrance to the locked Cinema


The Cinema was on Deck 7, behind the plain door above the semi-circular step we saw yesterday. We entered through another doorway on which was hung a deep-cushioned door, obviously to contain the noise from the cinema. The tiered seats were nicely raked, they looked comfortable, and photographs of various film-stars were on the walls. It looked almost ready for a new film show and audience - maybe one day...

The door behind the entrance

Inside the locked Cinema


We thanked the member of staff who had allowed us to see and photograph the locked Lounge and Cinema, and then went back to thank the Chief Steward.

That evening at dinner it was my turn to order and pay for the wine but the Chief Steward told the man on the till that we were not to pay for the bottle, as it was a gift from him. That was so kind and of course we went back to thank him once again.

The evening continued with me giving an illustrated talk, which was much easier than it might sound. My friends will not be able to come along to the October Ocean Liner Society meeting in London when I am to be the speaker, so I had all the pictures on a USB stick which we could put into a friend's lightweight computer to view, rather than through a projector. I had a paper copy of my notes and so as we sailed through the calm waters of the Adriatic Sea that evening I gave my upcoming 'Union-Castle Line Purserette' talk to a very small audience of two! They seemed fascinated, amazed and amused in all the right places; what a novel way to spend an evening at sea we thought.


Ships seen: Asterion II, Olympic Champion, Kerkyra Express, 2 cruise ships in Corfu but too far off to identify, Hellenic Spirit of ANEK with whom we exchanged whistles as we passed, Rigel I, Cruise Olympia of Minoan Line


To be continued...

Greece 2012 Part 3

Thursday 30th August

Venice view from the Arandora Star, 1st October 1930, photographed by my Father, Engineer Harry Williams

Another Venice view from the Arandora Star, 1st October 1930, photographed by my Father, Engineer Harry Williams

At sea on Kriti II
I sat on deck partly in the sunshine, watching the islands on the starboard side and then the land mass on the port side, under a clear blue sky, and thinking how lucky I was. Quiet and gentle music started on deck at 11 a.m. possibly as a distraction whilst three overalled ANEK men painted today whatever it was they were hammering yesterday.

Painting whatever they were hammering yesterday

Camping and sleeping on deck

The ramps and wake

The pool was filled

A Saipem vessel (I wonder which one it is?)

Enjoying the scenery

Spacious Reception and Bureau Square (just had to get the Union-Castle Line connection in there somewhere)

The Grand Descent

Another deck hand was filling the swimming pool with a hose; many of us simply walked around the whole deck, admiring babies or toddlers, watching dogs sleeping and comparing them with their owners, reading, avoiding passengers still asleep on deck, trying Sudoku like the two German ladies I sat near to do the same at one point, and generally enjoying the warmth and scenery. On one circuit of the deck I walked towards a young lady with her little white dog in a handbag on her shoulder. That dog was obviously not going to get much exercise, with its little face peeking out from the top of the bag.

Lunch was available in the Self-Service Restaurant and then it was back to doing nothing much on deck again. I saw a gap in the land mass on the port side and photographed a distant ferry – very distant – and realised it was coming from Dures, in Albania, so it was found to be IONIAN SPIRIT.

Following another good dinner in the a la Carte Restaurant, the ship called at Igoumenitsa, where we could see what seemed to be a new terminal building, ferries, and a dredger in the darkness. Many people left the ship and many more got on, ready for our call at Corfu a little later.

Night-time call at Igoumenitsa

Cruise Olympia

Car deck view

After that call, the ship settled for the night on the final part of the journey to Patras, where we will arrive at an early hour.

Night-time deck scene

Kriti II life ring


Ships seen: Silver Sea?, Ionian Spirit, the weird looking vessel of Saipem company (I wonder which one it is?), Agia Theodora, Ionian Sky, Bridge, Cruise Olympia, 2 Superflexes Agios Nikolaos and ? ex Reggio, Pantokrator, and Aichaios at Corfu, plus 1 double-ender with prow masts

To be continued….