Once we boarded the Louis Olympia cruise ship, we were officially in Greece. I changed out my memory card in my camera earlier that morning. I was so excited to be moving on to the next chapter of this adventure.

Everyone boarding the ship had to register a credit card or make a cash deposit . We were given a card to use for everything - for making purchases on the ship and disembarking and boarding the ship. We turned over our passports to the ship and they kept them until the end of the cruise, when we settled our accounts. When I was picking up my passport at the end of the cruise, the lady in front of me was told her passport was being held because her credit card was declined. I wonder what happens if you can't come up with money to settle your account? I hope I never find out!

Our group was given a personal run-through of the safety instructions on what to do in case of an evacuation: how to properly put on the life vests and which life boat station we were assigned to. Then, to the fun stuff - we were given brochures and informed about the port excursions that were preselected for our group as well as the ones we could take on our own. Of course, I wanted to do everything I could to make the most of my time here! My philosophy when traveling anywhere is that I may never go back.

Our cabin was narrow with two beds and had a little window. Someone in our group got locked in his bathroom right away. Luckily, we didn't have any issues with our cabin.

The ship was nice and had really good food. The shows were ok - some better than others. We elected to eat in the dining room every night and most other meals. The service left much to be desired, but the taste and variety of the meals made up for it. In my opinion, a cruise is an excellent way to see the Greece islands, Athens and Ephesus, Turkey.