Voyage of discovery in the lap of luxury..!

Legendary Ulster photojournalist Stanley Matchett and wife Maureen share the diary of their memorable 2,500 mile voyage discovering the splendours of the classical world while luxuriating on board the splendid cruise ship Crystal Serenity

DAY 1: All aboard!

Our BA flight from Heathrow had just taxied to a halt at Athens Airport

when we spotted him - Mr Koo, a diminutive uniformed Greek guy with a Crystal Cruises sign held aloft. In no time at all he had our luggage on his trolley. "Follow me please", he grinned, and we were whisked to a waiting Mercedes Limo - the VIP treatment had begun... Our driver, a giant of a man had one hand on the wheel while he checked his list of calls with the other. No conversation, just low-volume Shirley Bassey with "Goldfinger", and a driver who didn't look unlike Odd Job: was he trying to tell us something?

A short distance away at the port of Piraeus we caught our first glimpse of Crystal Serenity in the night mist. Gleaming white from bow to stern with all 13 decks bathed in light. A quick photograph of two tired travellers for ID purposes and we were escorted to the ship's gangway, where everyone boarding has to use the hand sanitizer to avoid the spread of infection.

On to our cabin, sorry, Penthouse, on deck number ten. The door was opened in style by our personal butler, Sasa, a charming young Serbian. With our luggage already in the room, he takes great pride in explaining everything and how it works. The DVD and TV with its own movie channel, plus the Captain's log with full information on pool temperature, wind strength and the daily state of the sea.

The 'welcome aboard' package includes complimentary wine, soft drinks, beer, and bottled water in the mini bar. Flowers and chocolates for the ladies, and a data port for your laptop computer. Opulence is everywhere, a tastefully furnished living area, king size bed and a sumptuous marble bathroom with jacuzzi bath, shower and twin basins, together with full airconditioning; all of this is kept meticulously clean and tidy by our two stewardesses, Annaliza from Hungary and her Phillipino assistant Christina.

We are so busy unpacking that we did not even notice that the ship is leaving port without so much as a murmur from the giant engines. An envelope delivered to our room, is an invitation for cocktails with our Norwegian Captain Glenn Edvardsen, Master of the 68,000 ton Crystal Serenity.

DAY 2: Exploring the Ship

At sea en route to Croatia. This provides a good opportunity to familiarise ourselves with the ship. In July 2003, at a ceremony in Southampton the elegant Dame Julie Andrews christened the equally elegant Crystal Serenity. With 850 passengers aboard and 650 crew to look after them, Customer Care is definitely a priority. It's easy to see why Crystal has been chosen "World's Best Large-Ship Cruise Line", for the last 10 years by Conde-Nast Traveller and Travel and Leisure readers.

First let's have breakfast. The Crystal dining room is magnificently appointed and is the first to open at 7.30am. You prefer a lie-in? Just eat later by the pool on the upper deck. Each table is under a large yellow umbrella and hot breakfasts are cooked while you watch. The emphasis is on fresh fruit and there's as much as you care to eat. Ideal for the fitness folk who jog around the promenade deck early every morning, with eight laps equalling a mile. We did try it on our days at sea, and managed a few circuits.

The programme for days at sea is vast; you can join the ship's fitness instructor for a Pilates class or check out the huge choice of books, CDs and DVDs in the Library. Learn a fun course of piano instruction on portable grand keyboards, or brush up on your cooking skills with guest Chef Suzanne Goin. There is also beginners' Bridge with Canadian tutor Peter Schwartz. We were seated at the same table as Peter and his wife Anna, from Montreal. Both were lively company and we enjoyed the after dinner chat. For the more energetic, paddle tennis open play is on the top deck. If your shots tend to stray, don't worry, there are nets to stop the ball going overboard!

Computer skills and ballroom dancing classes are very popular. The Holywood Theatre screens blockbuster movies morning and evening, with the most comfortable cinema seats you could imagine.

DAY 3: Sightseeing

in Split, Croatia

It is 7.30am and we slide open the verandah window, the sun rushes in and the sea is smooth and glassy, not a ripple, with no land in sight.

We drop anchor at Split in Croatia. It is our first destination on a 2,500 mile voyage aboard this floating six-star hotel and we go ashore by tender. A nice touch by Crystal was coffee or tea and biscuits served under cover on the pier all day. Eight hours ashore is time enough to stroll through this ancient town, visiting Roman Emperor Diocletian's Palace and Croatia's oldest archaeological museum.

In the 3rd Century AD Diocletian ordered his engineers and builders to construct this magnificent palace, which is now on the World Cultural Hertiage list. Croatia is part of what we once knew as Yugoslavia.

Feeling exhilarated but exhausted, we have a coffee in Varos, the city's old quarter before returning to the ship.

DAYS 4 AND 5: The

wonders of Venice

As the bow of our great ship nudges past the legendary Venice Grand Canal, we are surrounded by boats and bustling gondolas with a backdrop of Palace façades and jaw-dropping architecture. We could slmost be sailing into a living Canaletto painting - sheer magic! We dock at the Marittima Cruise Terminal on the outskirts of the city, and are soon on a Vaporetta (water bus). to Piazza San Marco. Cameras clicking all around us, every passenger wants to have a memory of this uniquely visual city.

St Marks Square's famous Campanile stands 300 feet high, dating to the 9th Century. You can see why Galileo used this very tower to demonstrate his telescope in 1609. Thousands of pigeons 'duck and dive' as they swoop down for corn from the touristst thronging this iconic corner of Venice.

At the canalside, gondolas are tied to their striped poles. We look across the bay to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore - it's exactly the same to-day as in 1899.

Off the main thoroughfare, we amble down the back alleyways in search of a family run eatery not much larger than your dining room at home, and find our way back to an open air café in the Piazzo San Marco. "Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs all at one go", is Truman Capote's famous quote. We pondered the comical quip while soaking up the ambience of the famous Cafe Florian, which has been the meeting place of artists, writers and politicians since 1720.

Casanova, Rousseau and Goethe dined here. Could we be sitting at the table where history's greatest lover entertained his ladies? Across the square the Cafe Quadri has a string quartet playing popular classical favourites in competition with Cafe Florian's musicians. No wonder there was a charge of € 3.50 on our bill for music!

The splendid stately past of this magnificent city glows around you in a strong sea-light. Since the carnival was reinstated in the late 1970s, mask shops have proliferated in the streets and squares. The choice ranges from cheap imitations, from Taiwan to beautiful creations depicting long-nosed Pinocchios, jugglers, and Hansel and Gretel.

Any photographer or art lover could spend a month in this place and not be bored! However, we have been walking the narrow streets, squares and little bridges of this enchanting city for six hours. It's time to return to the ship for dinner but not before choosing a Venetian mask for the wall back home.

As the Serenity sails out of the Venice Lagoon, the ship's PA system plays Louis Armstrong's husky voice singing, "It's a Wonderful World". Cruising with Crystal - it certainly is!

DAY 6: So much to do at sea

The ship slices her way through the waves of the mighty Mediterranean, en route to Sorrento, Italy.

We join Captain Glenn Edvardsen on the Bridge. He is the youngest Captain in the Crystal Fleet - not bad for a fifteen-year-old lad who joined his first ship as a deck hand, following in his Norwegian father's footsteps. Amid all the state of the art technology overseen by officers plotting our course, white orchids grow in the vast windows. Glenn comments: "I genuinely believe that Crystal Cruises ships and crews are simply the best on the seven seas".

No better time to enjoy the pool or Jacuzzi; both are sheltered from wind across the deck - an ideal spot to enjoy the sun. Later, you can invigorate mind and body at Crystal Spa and wallow in unrivalled luxury.

A daily newsletter delivered to our room lists the full choice of activities for the day. It is Sunday and various inter-denominational services are held in the Hollywood Theatre. There are also over fifty daytime activities listed. When I think that we packed a selection of books to read on the trip - there has not been time even to open one! A Rodgers and Hammerstein show with Crystal singers and dancers, accompanied by a full orchestra in the Galaxy Lounge was a real treat.

It's understandable why Crystal won "Best Entertainment" of any cruise line.

The "Million Dollar Musicals" show was really well dressed and superbly choreographed. There should be still time for a flutter at the Casino Caesar's Palace at sea. But first, a formal evening for dinner, in the majestic dining room,black tie and tuxedo for gents while the ladies wear their posh frocks! Bon appetit.

DAY 7: Up Pompeii!

Sailing during the night and a new destination almost every morning. We are anchored at Sorrento, on the Southern curve of the Bay of Naples. This jewel of the Amalfi coast was the preferred vacation spot for emperors and kings for 3,000 years. Perched on top of the rugged cliffs, The Grand Hotel Excelsior is so close to the edge it looks as if it might topple into the sea.

The cataclysmic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD changed everything in this region. Sorrento plus nearby Pompeii and Naples were buried under volcanic ash. However, Roman ingenuity and the determination of the survivors breathed life into the magnificent region once again. Always fascinated by Roman culture, we opted for a coach trip to Pompeii Mount Vesuvius just an hour away.

Our guide talked incessantly on the journey. On arrival, we are given wireless linked earpieces and can now hear her commentary clearly even if we are at the back of the group. Pompeii was designed much the same as a modern city, roads and streets have huge stepping stones so you can cross without wet feet on a rainy day -- like an early zebra crossing!

Lead pipes carry water into their houses. Indeed, piped hot water under the mosaic tiles provides the first underfloor heating system - in 78AD! Pompeii attracts three million visitors a year, and it proved to be fascinating. What geniuses the early Romans undoubtedly were - but we have one question... why did they site Pompeii at the base of a volcano?

DAY 8: Roman Holiday

The port of Civitavecchia is about an hour's train ride to Rome. Italy's railways are excellent, our carriage is almost empty, pale blue decor, spotlessly clean - fast, relaxing travel.

It's time to slip on our most comfortable walking shoes, grab a good map and our cameras and and stride out along the historic cobblestone walkways. Maybe Rome has too many scooters, too many street vendors, too high prices and too much hype, but where else can boast such an amazing array of architectural masterpieces? One comes into view as we stroll down the Via Dei Fori Imperiali -- the Colosseum with the Forum close by. Roman soldiers in full scarlet and gold uniforms complete with brass helmets will pose if you pay - turning their backs if you don't.

Amid the teeming tourists, we consult our map and it's onward to the Trevi Fountain. Wide streets, narrow streets, left turn, right turn and...well we can see statues but no fountain. The place is awash with people! pushing our way to the front, there it is in all its glory, made even more famous by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the 50s film Roman Holiday.

At Rome railway station we check our platform number with another passenger, a very helpful Italian student asks "Are you English" No, we are from Ireland", "Ah....James Joyce, the love of my life," she replies. In no time we are back in our air-conditioned quarters overlooking Civitavecchia harbour.

DAY 9: Renaissance landmarks

Livorno, gateway to Florence, Italy's foremost Renaissance city and one of the world's greatest cultural centres. We pad softly through the galleries and drink in the finest art ever collected. Masters such as Michelangelo and Guicciardina came here to create their unparalleled works of art.

One nearby must-see is Pisa. We felt its leaning tower was worth a visit...and so did thousands, of Chinese tourists with one, two and even three cameras strung around their necks. The picture they all wanted? Yes, you're right, hands outstretched pushing against the tower to straighten it up!

The tower is actually quite beautiful. Eight stories high, it took 200 years to build and has been standing for six centuries. It was built on sand which accounts for its problem. Underpinning was started in 1989 and it is now considered safe. Who would have guessed when it started to lean that the tower would generate so much interest because of its inclination!

Returning to the superliner it was time for cruise director Gary Hunter to wear his other hat and take the stage at the Galaxy Lounge as ventriloquist. Twice winner of the "Crystal Entertainer of the Year" title, Gary has two dolls, Ethel and Fred who have a bit of fun with the audience at the Stardust Club. A pleasant way to wrap up the day.

DAY 10: Food, glorious food

It's Gala Buffet day when the spotlight falls on Executive chef Franz Weiss from Vienna and his team of 100 in the various galleys. On a typical cruise, guests consume more than 50 pounds of caviar, 4000lbs of fresh fish, 30,000 eggs, 600 lbs of fresh strawberries and over 4 tons of bananas, oranges, mangos, papayas and melons.

Today they are presenting their showpiece of the cruise, which is open for viewing and picture taking followed by an invitation for guests to help themselves. What a feast! Later in the day we join Franz as food is prepared for dinner. Waiters are coming and going at the double - with plates held shoulder high - yet none ever collide.

Dinner for the first sitting of 400 guests is planned like an army manoeuvre and delivered with panache, by waiters, both guys and girls, from almost 40 different countries. They attend two sittings for dinner in the Crystal dining room; they all speak excellent English and provide a pleasant cosmopolitan atmosphere for guests.

As a complete change there are two specialty restaurants. Piero Selvaggio creates Italian food at the Prego Restaurant. If Japanese cuisine is your preference then Nobu Matsuhisa's sushi bar or The Silk Road restaurant will delight. We had a very pleasant evening at the Prego. The presentation of each course was superb - we felt like reaching for our cameras rather than spoil such a culinary work of art.

DAY 11: The full Monte

Our final port is Monaco. The entire principality could fit into half of New York City's Central Park. Covering only a three-mile stretch of the Mediterranean coastline, it holds a fascination for jetsetters and glitterati with possibly more millionaires than anywhere else on earth.

We walk the nail-biting Grand Prix course, where on April 14, 1929 it all started. Sixteen drivers wearing crash helmets and tinted goggles put the pedal to the metal, and the world's raciest car race was born.

The renowned Monte Carlo Casino where fortunes are won.. and lost, opened in 1863. It features gilded ceilings, crystal chandeliers as fine as any in the world. Curiously enough all Monegasque citizens are forbidden from entering the Casinos. Only foreign visitors with passports are permitted.

It is not a place to sport baggy jeans or tatty t-shirts. Think big-bucks designer gear, a classy hair style and a mediterraneanan. My, how these people love their dogs - pampered porches are everywhere, they walk them, carry them, push them in little buggies and most importantly on 'walkie', they clean up after them... Monte Carlo is spotless!

It's time to wrap up our day with some people watching over a cappuccino in the Cafe de Paris - a great way to relax in the sunshine. Then it's back to shopping in the marble floored malls - window shopping that is - as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Valentino, were a little beyond our budget.

DAY 12: Crystal gazing

Well, we have sailed 2,500 miles on the Agean Sea, the Adriatic and the Mediterranean. Eleven wonderful days Crystal gazing from the luxury of our Penthouse... sailing overnight and arriving at a new port almost every morning, visiting Greece, Croatia, Italy and Monaco.

With Crystal's cutting edge organisational skills, there was never any fuss, with arrivals and departures always spot on time... we made some really nice new friends on the trip, and have already exchanged emails and photographs with them.

Everyone likes to be pampered a little and pampered we certainly were. How will we ever manage to fold towels back home without our personal Butler?

www.crystalcruises.com or contact your local travel agent