Hey everyone!!
From the
18th to the 22nd I cruised for the first time in my life! In 2010, I’ve been at
the ferry from Calais to Dover, but that’s something different. So I was really
excited about this journey and I want to share some memories with you.
The trip
was more or less sponsored by AIDA for young trainees who are trained as travel
agents, so it was totally free for me. I only had to pay for additional drinks
at the bar and the wifi on board.
The ocean
carrier was AIDA. Our ship was AIDAsol which offered 5 buffet restaurants and 3
á-la-carte restaurants. The buffet restaurants were free, as well as the drinks
there (soft drinks, tea, water, coffee…). There were 15 decks all in all. Such a huuuge
swimming hotel. :D
I got up at
4am at the 18th to get to Hamburg by train. I arrived at 11:30 am and met my
friend Miro with whom I went to Loving Hut, my favorite vegan restaurant, to
have lunch. Sadly, we only met for a short time, but it was nice talking to her
again, haha. Afterwards I went to the bus stop where the shuttle should pick me
up. When I received the participants
list I was looking for the girl I had to share a cabin with on facebook and
found her! That’s why we met at the bus stop to go to the harbor together.
The
check-in was super slow, so we were really bored. But our balcony cabin was
awesome! The internet worked as well, so I took a lot of snaps and videos for
snapchat. We met up with the rest of the group, got a short introduction and
watched the ship setting off. What an awesome view over the cost of Hamburg!
Our cabin!
Nearly endless corridors. :D We were on deck 7!
Leaving Hamburg
After the
introduction we had burgers at the Restaurant “California Grill”. Sadly it was
the only restaurant which was open at that time so it was kinda crowded. In the
evening we went to the East Restaurant together. They served food from Asia and
that day the topic was Sri Lanka. I found so much vegan food at the buffet!
Heavenly! They offered a wide range of different foods, desserts and even
fruits. Everything was delicious so I couldn’t complain at all!
The East Restaurant
Thursday
morning, right after the breakfast (We visited the Mark Restaurant which had
buffets full of different foods. Cornflakes, bread, fruits, yoghurt, eggs,
meat…. I don’t care about the last things mentioned, but I was so happy, that
they even offered rice milk and soya milk! There was so much food, I couldn’t decide
what to eat first) we visited every area of the ship to check out the
attractions. Later a woman from the entertainment department showed us the
rooms where the artists changed their cloths and where they come from. Every
evening there are shows in the huge theater and the artists are graduates from
famous drama schools all over the world.
The Markt Restaurant!
Part of the pool deck!
At lunch,
we visited the Bella Donna restaurant which was a specialist in Italian food.
There was also a lot of vegan dishes which was awesome for me. Afterwards we
went on a small trip, because today’s harbor was Amsterdam! Sadly, we had to
pay the trip by ourselves, so I’ve spent 35€ on the trip to Amsterdam. But it
was totally worth it! We went to a huge flea market, visited small shops, the
Anne Frank House and took a lot of photos! Amsterdam is such a beautiful city,
believe me!
I’m not
sure where we had dinner this evening, but I guess it was the East Restaurant
again.
In the
evening we watched a show. It wasn’t that good but also not bad… I’m just not
really into Beatles music. :D
Amsterdam, my new love! <3
The huge theater on board!
The next
stop was Dover in the UK. We arrived there at about 9am on Friday, so around
the time we got ready for breakfast, we saw the ship arriving. Right after the
breakfast we went on a free trip together to Canterbury, a small town in the
south-east of England. Our guide was an old English lady who was really
friendly and spoke clear English so everyone could understand her. We visited a
huge cathedral (with awesome, colorful windows) and had some free time
afterwards. My new friend and I went through the city center and went shopping
at Primark. I bought a new pair of shoes and hair bows. Sadly, I didn’t
exchange any money, but I could pay with my credit card. In another shop where
I wanted to buy a postcard, I could even pay in Euro!
Cute, small Canterbury. <3 I bought Oreos there. :D
In the
afternoon the department heads answered our questions about everything on this
ship. We went to another show in the evening again. This one was so much
better! The oriental costumes were amazing!
Later, we visited
the pool deck where a huge Octoberfest party took place. Some travelers even
wore Dirndl! But the music was awful so we left and went to the Anytime Bar
where they played everthing but the German folk music. I drank my one and only
cocktail this evening. Alcohol-free of course.
Octoberfest :D
On Saturday
was a passage day, so no trip today. In the morning we were educated about
booking and selling AIDA journeys to our customers. We had the rest of the day
for ourselves, so we went to the Brauhaus for lunch. Well, most of the food was
only available for dinner so I’ve eaten a Salad and went to the California
Grill restaurant to have another burger. If I had brought my bikini with me, I
would have tried the spa area with was free as well!
The Brauhaus. It's so cute!!
In the
evening we were invited to the Á-la-carte restaurant “Buffalo Steak House”. As
you can tell from the name, it’s a meat serving only restaurant. I asked our
advisor if they can make a vegan dish for me. Honestly, I was kinda afraid of
ending up with a plate or carrots or something… But I got a three-course menu
with looked so much better than the original menu! And it was sooo delicious! I
was so happy, that the head chef put so much effort into my dishes. He actually
knew what it means to be a cook and to fulfill ones guests’ wishes. This was
basically the best experience ever.
My awesome vegan food!! Thank you so much! <3
In the
morning, we arrived in Hamburg. The night before I put my baggage in front of
my cabin door, so the staff picked it up and I could get it back when I leave
the ship. The advantage is that I don’t have to carry my luggage myself.
Actually I wanted to sleep late, but my friend got up early so I woke up too. I
went to breakfast at about 8:30am … Unhappily it was really crowded so I had to
share a table with a family. :D I enjoyed my last breakfast at the Markt
Restaurant and said farewell to the awesome ship.
It was an
awesome experience and the ship didn’t seesaw as much as expected. The first
night was horrible because the air condition was super loud and I also heard
the waves of the ocean. I wasn’t even seasick, haha. Thank god.
All in all,
I liked the service on AIDAsol. The
food was always delicious and warm, the
staff in every area was super motivated and friendly and the cabins were always
clean! I’d really recommend you to try such a cruise! And I’ll definitely go on
one again if I have the money and the time.
