Gods, Kings & Pharaohs (Herzliya/Tel Aviv, Israel to Aqaba, Jordan)

We recently did the Garden of Eden cruise around the Seychelles on the Pegasos sailing on 17th November. The ship was not full so there was plenty of space although there was a bit of scrapping over sunbeds by some of the Germans on board! There was a group of Germans whose leader was a bit over bearing but other than that the rest of the passengers consisting of Brits, French, French Canadians and Belgians and one lone German couple not part of the group got on well. We had a class C cabin which was comfortable, a little on the small size but we spent very little time there other than sleeping and changing so it was not an issue - it did give us very easy access to the sundeck so that was a bonus although it meant we had to keep our curtains shut at all times!! As this is not the most modern ship the bathroom was also quite small and the fittings are a little dated and there was a knack to making sure the shower doors did not roll back and forth when there was a slight swell! The food however was very good throughout with a decent choice and the fish and especially the beef tenderloin were all excellent and presented beautifully. The staff were very professional and friendly and nothing was ever too much trouble, so a big credit to the captain and George who was in charge of Hotel operations. Our Entertainment host was a little distracted and perhaps not quite up to the same standard as the other staff, which was a shame. We enjoyed the excursions to Curieuse, Cousin (beware of the mosquitos here though) and Aride islands particularly, which are basically nature reserves with not many other tourists or facilities which we liked. For those interested in the natural world and ornithology in particular then these are excellent excursions and the landings on small boats through big surf waves was all part of the fun. There were several excellent snorkelling trips and the variety of fish and marine life was pretty good and a lot of new coral growth was particularly evident! As this was our first cruise with Variety it will almost certainly not be our last as we enjoyed our small ship cruise - we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise which certainly exceeded our expectations.

We cruised the Galileo August 17, 2018 and it was fantastic! I absolutely loved the ship! The entire crew went out of their way to make it a wonderful experience. The rooms are nice and the food is very good. The views from the ship are beautiful and each island is different. I loved the intimacy of the smaller ship. It was truly a trip of a lifetime. I highly recommend this cruise!

It is one thing to be able to cruise and enjoy the wonders of the Greek Islands. However so much more impor ant is know that your Captain has the experience to know how to ensure the safety of passengers. This past week we have been fortunate enough to undertake the Classical Greek Cruise and we were very pleased to find Captain Andreas when we boarded. With his experience he watched the weather patterns and made an early call to change the route. Yes there was some initial disappointment that we would not get to Crete. But we had a fantastic voyage and saw such interesting places that we never expected. Furthermore we enjoyed a thoroughly comfortable trip and look forward to our next visit. Thank you to captain Andreas and all the crew of Harmony V