IWantToLiveOverTheSea

We used Guided Tours Israel. Israel turned our 3 day stop into 2 due to Covid testing in May, but GTI regrouped and we went to Jerusalem with them on one of the days. At least for their lowest priced tour (up to 18 people) you can't customize your tour, but we were happy with what we saw and did. Guide and arrangements were quite good.

We liked them; see my comments! They go to Masada as well as Jerusalem.

In May we used Guided Tours of Israel. We were happy with them. You can book them for one day or three days, although initially they ask when you'll be in port and plan accordingly. We were supposed to have 3 days in Haifa/Ashdod but Israel was testing at the time for Covid and we ended up having to sit on the ship all day our first day, which messed up our plans. They do not require you to book all days you're in port. And the price is very reasonable. We ended up doing a full day tour with GTS to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We then did Masada with cruise ship, but had planned to do it with GTS. Things were a little more crowded on their vehicle (not a bus, but not sure what to call it!) than I would have liked, but perhaps that's just because they had to do some re-arranging of tours due to Israel's somewhat last minute requirements throwing a monkey wrench into plans. But overall we saw and did quite a bit, with lunch mid-day (at our expense - moderate price). You cannot change the tour, so you can't customize it, although I believe they offer a Christian based tour versus a Jewish based tour, so you may want to ask about that if it matters. And if you want a better experience, they offer a more private tour. But in Jerusalem there are always crowds, so being with 16 other people was good enough for us. The guide was good; arrangements were good, and the vendor made it clear he could come to either port (Ashdod or Haifa). He's able to get right on the port grounds, too, which was nice. You can prepay or pay day-of. There's no time for shopping, though, so if that's a negative, you may not want to use GTS. But our group of 18 was happy.

We like Oceania because they go to some less traveled places, especially on their smaller ships like Sirena. While I love Santorini, I crave places like Crete (Chania) and Patmos, and don't particularly want to go back to Rhodes (awfully crowded, though I DID have fun last time I went!) But of course they're not cheap, and they attract a fairly older clientele, so they may not be what you're looking for. But the number of places they go, with new ports every year, is one of many things that make Oceania our favorite line. And they do have some mostly Greek cruises, or cruises with Greece combined with Turkey.

I didn't really do a snip very well, as I probably cut off the most important part of the map in order to show where shuttle dropped us. But at very bottom, you'll see mentions of taxi and buses below the "Agora" (market) I mentioned. This will give you a good idea of the area you'll be dropped off in if you take a shuttle. I believe Halidon or whatever it is called is the big shopping street where I ended up walking back to the main street by the Agora. And the other big street with long name (in east) was probably what I used to get down to the old warehouses along the waterfront - and remains of old town walls. Splanzia area is charming; Topanas also worthwhile. Cafes are along the waterfront, more to the west than east. Hope this helps.

I was in Chania in mid May on Oceania. Yes, you dock in Souda Bay at the ferry port a little north of the city. We and another ship docked there, so probably you will too. There was a shuttle from right outside port to the market, as described above. If you look on a map you'll likely see where the market is - large enclosed building, but closed for reconstruction when we were there. From there you can walk down to the waterfront, passing some shops (closed when we were there, which was a Sunday). When shuttle drops you (free for us, but 5 euros roundtrip (I think, or maybe $5, for the other ship) you will just go to main street there, turn left, and then right on cross street to head to the water. But you may want to check a map to make sure I remember things correctly! I went to the right and down, as I wanted to end up on the side of the waterfront that has the breakwater out to the charming lighthouse. I ended up at the other end of the waterfront, so walked back a different way - one that brought me back via a shopping street. There was a big map thingy posted so you could get your bearings, but I just set out to take my chances at getting where I wanted to get. And on the breakwater, if you go at least 5 minutes or so, you may see the mountains behind the town - with snow on them in May! I enjoyed just exploring Chania. It's a very pretty city. To go back to the shuttle stop, I'd suggest downloading a Chania map from maps.me before you leave home. Once in Chania, assuming you have gps in your cell phone, you'll be able to pull up the map without wifi and see where you are, and where you want to be. Back to the shuttle stop location was a little confusing after I roamed around quite a bit along the waterfront and in the "Splantzia" district and more. Back at the stop, I had to wait maybe 5-10 minutes before a bus for the port, an Oceania-bound bus, appeared. If I had taken the one that came first, I suppose they may have asked for my ticket, as I was on the other cruise line. But the port is the port - so each bus was no doubt going same place. I think it was around a 15 minute ride from Chania to Souda port. There are other things to do and see in that area like monasteries and a beautiful Greek (National?) cemetery, or the nearby city of Rethymno, with another lighthouse, and a bus from Chania. But I happily spent the morning, and then a couple hours after lunch, in Chania. In addition to maps.me, you may want to google the website of the segway operator in Chania. It was a helpful website, though the segway excursion was not available Sunday, so we couldn't take it. Also, if you go off on your own (to shuttle and town) and you leave by noon, it's possible there will be a tourist info person with maps stationed at the port. Someone was there until 12.30 when we were there, with a great map for people to grab, but I don't know if the person comes for all cruise ships or just when asked. (Oceania usually arranges that service if it's available.) Whatever you do, hope you enjoy Chania. I found it to be a wonderful place to explore and take pictures. My pictures are in a photo gallery here if interested, but you'll have to find the Chania gallery:www.pbase.com/roothy123

Not sure; see my post!

Just in case this helps anyone, I think pre-cruise we corresponded with Dewa using the dgrock1140 yahoo address, but if his last name was in the gmail address itself, I didn't see it. But he gave us a card, and I think he listed two phone numbers on there. One may have been his whatsapp number and one his cell number, but I forget. If you're a Facebook user, you may be able to contact him initially by looking for him on there. However, I would just use that as an initial contact with little information on your travels and name, just in case other drivers see your post and decide to offer their services! I'm not saying that will happen, but I know that Dewa Gede is a common combination of names in Bali. On a subsequent cruise, a waiter on Oceania from Bali was named Dewa. I asked if his second name was Gede and he said it was! (Ask Dewa about naming in Bali - it's interesting). Anyway, here's the photo of Dewa that he currently has posted on Facebook, just in case there are similar Dewa's from Peliatan, Ubud on Facebook.

I was on Oceania for 2 weeks in May, tested twice. Some, though it didn't look like a lot, of people had to quarantine. I only talked to one couple and they mentioned their stay in their room wasn't too bad, but that they were very, very glad to be out and about the day we rode on the tender with them. They were doing back to back cruises and so had been tested in between the two cruises. They told us they were getting an FCC for the days they quarantined, as they had complied with testing and other requirements early on. But they didn't give details, and I didn't ask. A few people have reported on a Facebook group I scan that they have gotten FCCs. But we were fine the whole cruise, so I can't report any personal experience. However, if the current material on O's website or in correspondence you get right before the cruise indicates you'll get compensation (FCC or whatever) for your situation, I would certainly expect that you would get it.