Sailing with Meno Spanot - a magical weekend in Cyprus

At a distance of only ten minutes' drive, from the house in Haifa, there is the (temporary) passenger hall at the port of Haifa. Behind us is the Carmel and in front of us - abroad... The passage through the terminal lasts about an hour, during which there is an inspection process and passage from the country to abroad. Just like at the airport. Upon leaving it begins a magical weekend of sailing, trips and culinary...

There is a duty free in the port of Haifa and there is also on the ship

After the security check, the passengers go through duty free, which actually surprised me with its richness, compared to my expectations (I didn't even know there was duty free). The passengers bought whatever was next to them and prepared themselves for the weekend (some with alcohol and some with sun cream).
You don't have to crowd - there is duty free on the ship as well and the prices on it are excellent.

The ship Crown Iris - Crown Iris

On the other side of the passenger hall, the vacation ship of Meno Seponat is already quietly waiting for her. This ship underwent renovation and renewal and resurfaced in 2021. About 1,200 people boarded with us for the voyage and all were quickly swallowed up in the belly of the ship, as the crew warmly greets those who come and guides each passenger on how to get to their cabin and acclimatize for the vacation cruise.

When we got to the rooms, our luggage was already waiting for us at the entrance.

The room we got was in the first class. This means that it is very similar, in its design, to a hotel room. Maybe a little smaller. It has everything: a double bed, wardrobe, bathroom, television and even a sun terrace with comfortable chairs, where you can relax over the sea and sail with the most spectacular view.

We came hungry

The first experience we encountered was lunch. It happened right after we entered the rooms. The Crown Iris ship has a chef who was born in Egypt and lives in Ukraine. He has specialized for many years in a wide variety of cooking in the kosher kitchen. The kitchen under his management serves a huge variety of great delicacies, starting with sushi, through gefilte fish and ending with great dishes of varied Israeli food.
The kitchen is kosher. There is a permanent kosher supervisor on the ship. This means that at all meaty feasts a fur dessert is served. For me, as someone who cannot eat dairy products, it was a wonderful experience, because the desserts were great. It is possible to get vegetarian dishes and diet dishes - in coordination with the waiter...

◄ Watch a video of serving a meal on board the ship

taking off:

Immediately after lunch, the ship began to leave the port of Haifa for the open sea. This transition from the beach to the sea is an exciting transition (it's hard to explain but it's just like that). Many passengers went up to the upper, open deck, located on the 10th floor, in order to witness the spectacular spectacle. The ship was accompanied by the local captain of Haifa, on its way out. The professional name of his job is "router" and he is the one who routes ships in and out of ports, all the way to the open sea.

◄ A router accompanies the ship Crown Iris - Crown Iris leaving the port of Haifa

Mount Carmel, which is getting further and further away

The passengers stood and watched the changing landscape before their eyes - from the beach to the open sea and then went about their business - some went for a lunch break, some went to the casino (it is forbidden to take pictures) and some went to the decks from which Mount Carmel could be seen receding before our eyes...

Quiet sailing

On the ship you can find a large number of quiet corners, with a view of the sea. There is a rule that says that the eye is never tired of watching the water and the blue horizon that can be seen from every corner of the ship. The sitting is relaxing and their thoughts wander from the everyday busyness to another world.

The command bridge

The ship is controlled from the command bridge, which is only accessible to the crew members.
The staff works in four-hour shifts, usually standing (so as not to degenerate). In the command bridge there are a large number of screens, showing the position of the ship, the course it is on, the speed and more.
The captain explains that commanding a passenger ship requires a special profile, both of the captain and of the team of officers and workers on the ship, numbering 800 people. Handling a number of passengers, which can reach up to 1,400 people, requires a personal approach, empathy and a willingness to help with anything the passengers need. It is also important to maintain a good atmosphere, both among the crew and among the passengers, explains the captain. Therefore, the officers go through a strict screening and examination of suitability to work with passengers. Those who cannot handle passengers, will move to serving on cargo ships.

◄ Captain Sergey Zhiglin explains about the shift on the command bridge

The ship also has stabilizers, which are activated when the sea is rough and prevent the side swings. During our voyage, Captain Sergey Zhiglin was not required to activate stabilizers, because the sea was calm and the ship was very stable.
The captain explained to me that the best measure to know if the ship needs stabilizer activation is very simply to look to the right or left and see if the horizon rises or falls relative to the ship. In order to activate a stabilizer, the speed must be increased from 7 knots to 8 knots, says the captain.

◄ Watch a tour of the command bridge of the ship Crown Iris - Crown Iris

Evening on the ship - entertainment and cuisine

After a pleasant night's sleep in the room, the signal is given to get ready for the evening... It begins with a culinary journey at Chef Hani's (whom I already mentioned at the beginning of the article). After a good meal, the passengers move to the large event hall, where a British band performs a wide variety of shows, mainly excellent covers The Beatles, Queen, etc. The band consists of male and female singers, male and female dancers.
In the corridors of the ship you will find seating areas where Jana the Canary, Elvis Presley from Israel, Greek music with Costa, an evening with the singer Florencia from Uruguay, a DJ party on the upper deck, the band "Sea of ​​Ice", party games, a stand-up artist and more...

The morning goes up to the upper deck

In the morning, the workers prepare the deck to receive the passengers. They scrub the floor, prepare the bath and the jacuzzi and smile at the passengers who walk slowly towards the restaurant that serves breakfast on the 10th floor, at the back of the ship.

Welcome to Cyprus

After breakfast, which was on the 10th floor, we went out on deck to watch the incoming ship dock at the port of Limassol in Cyprus. The docking itself is interesting. The tugboats guide the ship gently towards the dock, for a mooring and mooring that will last a day and a half.

Trips and recreation in Limassol - Cyprus

The ship docked in Limassol for two days. The first day we took advantage of an independent trip to the old town of Limassol. You can reach the city by public transport - bus line 30 leaves right from the platform. You pay 1.5 euros (about NIS 6) and within 10 minutes you are in the center of the old town of Limassol.

In the streets of old Limassol, which have become a pedestrian zone, you will find cool alleys with cafes, jewelry stores, clothing and more...

From the old town of Limassol you can walk a few hundred meters towards the urban sea front and from there towards the Limassol marina.

An organized trip to the villages on the slopes of the Troodos mountain

Instructor: Dorit Koba from Karmiel

We started the second day in Cyprus with breakfast at the ship's restaurant. From there we went down to the bus that was waiting for us on the platform. All members of the group received a sticker, which they stuck on the lapel of their shirt, so that the guide could identify them during the tour.

A tour of the village of Lafakra

From the platform we went on a trip which was accompanied by background explanations about Cyprus, by the guide Dorit. After about an hour, we arrived at a parking lot in the village of Lafakra, which is located at an altitude of about 650 meters on the eastern side of the Troodos Mountains, we wandered through the narrow streets built of interlocking stone and heard explanations about the visitors of the village. In this season of late spring, the weather is cool and pleasant. In the streets you will find cafes, souvenir shops, a local church and more.

◄ Watch a short segment of the tour of Lefkare village

We visited a small and special local church and heard explanatory words about the Christian baptism process

Tour with Petros in the village of Hirokitia

In the village of Hirokitia we saw Petros, who retired from the high-tech world and now makes straw baskets and halloumi cheese at home. We sat in an ancient stone house, which in recent years has undergone a magnificent restoration and has become a visitor center for Petros' small workshop.

Petros fished for the production of original halloumi cheese with fresh mint. Dorit says that the name Hallomi is a reserved and copyrighted name and that in Israel Gad Dairy acquired the rights to use it.

The secret recipe for halloumi cheese:

Petros preserves the production of traditional straw baskets

Petros demonstrated weaving wheat straw baskets. He learned the technique from his family and decided to preserve it for future generations as well as as a tourist attraction. The wheat is moistened before shooting. The color is prepared by cooking the wheat with salt, vinegar and other ingredients.

◄ Watch Peter explain about weaving a wheat straw basket

During the meeting we were treated to a light meal of halloumi cheeses, eggs, olives and great bread baked on the premises. To finish, we had a traditional Greek dance, which was joined by some members of the group, who have a talent for the matter

sailing home

We left Cyprus on Saturday night and headed back to our home port - Haifa.
We had a good dinner and thanked the chef from the bottom of our hearts for enriching our stomachs with various delicacies

At dawn we arrived at the home port in Haifa. The ship slowly entered the port area and tied up to the dock.
The lantern lights of the harbor docks were still burning and the sun was rising slowly from the east.
Around 07:15 we started getting off the ship. The exit was faster than the entrance and took about 35 minutes of security and passport checks.
We arrived in time for the start of the working day at the office, satiated and relaxed.

Thanks to Mano Shipping for hosting us and a special thanks to Mr. Yuval Peleg, who accompanied us on the trip