LIVE! Oosterdam 12-Day Greek Odyssey

[*Miss G*]

Thank you, @VMax1700, @puppycanducruise, @Dunmore2, @StLouisCruisers, @bennybear!

 

12 hours ago, bennybear said:

Oh such adventures!  The storm in Crete was deadly,  scary hearing all hands on deck.  We loved Kefalonia, spent several days there.  It has gorgeous beaches and scenery.

I’m glad you’re doing well, 

 

We heard two people died and numerous injured.  The ship lost power so there were no elevators or lights for a while.  They managed to get some backup power to the Lido Market so everyone could eat, but it was dark in there.  The staff and crew did an amazing job.  

[*Miss G*]

DAY 22 - CORFU

Wednesday, Oct 19th

 

Well, jeepers.  What can I say about Corfu?  As it turns out, pretty much nothing.  I was looking forward to this port so when I woke up unwell I was very sad.  My sister did the port and the HOHO tour on her own so I’ve included her pictures.  She says it was lovely and would definitely go back.  I can tell she enjoyed herself by the amount of purchases she made.  

 

I did, however, have the opportunity to experience the Medical Centre for the first time.  Everyone was lovely and very professional.  I found the cost for the visit and the prescriptions quite reasonable, as well as convenient, and everything was completed in a timely manner.

 

I did not go to dinner that evening.  Imagine my surprise when there was a knock on the door and Room Service arrived with some soup and tea!  Andika, our Head Waiter in the Main Dining Room, had taken it upon himself to send something up.  His thoughtfulness and kindness was truly appreciated and very unexpected.  I knew we had found a gem when we first met him.  Thank you, Andika.

 

It was nice to see the Volendam back in service in Corfu.  They were docked on the other side of the pier to us.  Staff and crew from both ships seemed happy to see each other.

 

The New Fortress; building began in 1572. 

 

 

The Old Fortress, dating back to the 13th Century.

 

 

Mon Repos, where Prince Phillip was born.

 

[*Miss G*]

DAY 23 - KOTOR, MONTENEGRO

Thursday, Oct 20th

 

Wow.  The scenery in Montenegro is stunning.  Although it looks as if we are in a fjord, which is formed by glacial ice, it is actually a ria, which is formed by inundation of sea water.

 

We arrive just before sunrise.  The Volendam is already in port.

 

 

 

What a gorgeous site to see Windstar’s flagship schooner, the Wind Surf, gliding majestically into port in the early morning light.  Wouldn’t I love to try them one day?  (When I win the lottery.)

 

 

With a number of ships in port, and a small window of time to visit, the walled city is busy.  All HOHO tickets have been sold by the time we arrive so we do a wander.

 

Looking back at the Volendam after tendering.

 

 

Can you see the church hidden in the hills in the middle of the picture?

 

 

Pics without people would be nice, but not possible.

 

 

Back on the ship.

 

[*Miss G*]

The Captain opens the bow for scenic viewing and commentary as we glide back towards the open sea.  Access was through Deck 4 Starboard.

 

 

 

 

[puppycanducruise]

Sorry you were unwell while in Corfu.  The thoughtfulness of Andika was outstanding. 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.  Great pictures.

[kazu]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

I did, however, have the opportunity to experience the Medical Centre for the first time.  Everyone was lovely and very professional.  I found the cost for the visit and the prescriptions quite reasonable, as well as convenient, and everything was completed in a timely manner.

 

I did not go to dinner that evening.  Imagine my surprise when there was a knock on the door and Room Service arrived with some soup and tea!  Andika, our Head Waiter in the Main Dining Room, had taken it upon himself to send something up.  His thoughtfulness and kindness was truly appreciated and very unexpected.  I knew we had found a gem when we first met him.  Thank you, Andika.

 

So sorry to hear this 😞. I hope you recovered quickly and are back to your normal self 🤞 

 

That was very kind of Annika indeed.  Happy to hear of a sliver of silver lining in your dark cloud.

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, puppycanducruise said:

Sorry you were unwell while in Corfu.  The thoughtfulness of Andika was outstanding. 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.  Great pictures.

 

51 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

So sorry to hear this 😞. I hope you recovered quickly and are back to your normal self 🤞 

 

That was very kind of Annika indeed.  Happy to hear of a sliver of silver lining in your dark cloud.

 

Thank you, @puppycanducruise, @kazu.  Andika is a real sweetheart and I am improving daily.

 

Just in case anyone is wondering, no it’s not related to covid.  Unlike the Sky Princess in March, I haven’t seen any sign of covid other than those first two incidents at the beginning of the trip.  Very few people are wearing masks.  Sometimes I wear mine, sometimes I don’t.  It all depends upon the situation.  I’ve noticed the usual coughing and sneezing you see on every cruise, but nothing to scare the bejeebers out of me.  I am very leery, and stay away from, anything self-serve in the Lido Market but that is true of every cruise.  I have had two boosters and the flu shot and that seems to be keeping things at bay.  My sister has remained healthy throughout.  The Hotel GM says the crew is no longer required to be masked, starting tomorrow.

[*Miss G*]

DAY 24 - TRIESTE, ITALY

Friday, Oct 21st

 

Yesterday the clocks went back an hour so we are heading West again.  

 

Approaching civilization.

 

 

I was fascinated by this space age yacht which anchored behind us.

 

 

Trieste is a vibrant city full of architectural beauty.  It was clean and uncongested.  I would love to stay a few days here.

 

The Piazza Unità d’Italia is an open square of government buildings and monuments looking out over the Adriatic seafront.  It was a stone’s throw from where we docked.

 

 

I googled these words for some insight but I still do not understand.  I think it has something to do with WWII and the US & UK having controlling interest of one half while the communists and Yugoslavia (Communist Tito) controlled the other.  Communist Yugoslavia saw it as their birthright and there is a separationist group who wants to bring the US & UK back?  It got my attention, anyway.

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by *Miss G*

[PACD_JG]

Thanks for the trip report.  I'm very interested in a Greece cruise but since HAL doesn't sail out of Athens, I'm considering NCL.

[albingirl]

Enjoying your posts. We loved Greece when we were there for about a week. I felt very safe there and had no problem exploring on my own. Staying on the beaten path, of course.

[kochleffel]

9 minutes ago, PACD_JG said:

Thanks for the trip report.  I'm very interested in a Greece cruise but since HAL doesn't sail out of Athens, I'm considering NCL.

 

I had a great time on the Norwegian Jade in May.

 

[*Miss G*]

This clock tower was beautiful but it rang 9 times at 4:00pm and those men didn’t move (which I was waiting for them to do).  Okay, now I have to google that.  lol

 

 

A gorgeous fountain but maybe shut down for the winter?

 

 

This guy looks like he might be tired of holding up the balcony.

 

 

Awwww!  So pretty.

 

 

A poet, a politician, a war hero.

 

 

The governor’s palace.

 

 

A war memorial.

 

 

Back to the ship and, yes, we were literally docked that close to the road.  😮

 

[*Miss G*]

DAY 25 - TRIESTE & VENICE

Saturday, Oct 22nd

 

This morning we are up early as they are making us get off the ship.  We have a HAL transfer to Marco Polo Airport at 7:30am.  I checked the Navigator app and it says our transfer time is 7:15am.  Yesterday, in our disembarkation pack, were Red 3 luggage tags which disembarks at 7:45am.  Not wanting another encounter with Guest Services (we keep getting the same girl who doesn’t understand us and we don’t understand her), we opt for the Red 3 luggage tag time.  

 

We head to the Lido for breakfast ~7:00 am.  I really don’t want to deal with Lido crowds on disembarkation day but it’s a two hour bus trip and I don’t want a rumbly tummy.  Gone are the days of Disembarkation Day room service so The Lido it is.

 

It actually wasn’t too bad in there.  Andika is helping out and says the biggest rush is early morning from 5:30-6:30am.

 

Our chariots await.

 

 

Look how fascinating that space-age yacht is in the early morning light!

 

[*Miss G*]

So, despite the fact that our HAL transfer purchase stated 7:30am on the ticket, 7:15am on the Navigator, and 7:45am on Red Tag 3, we actually departed the terminal at 8:15am.  Plan accordingly.  

 

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  Whenever HAL makes a change they tell you to “plan accordingly” and it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up.)

 

It was a pleasant drive through the countryside through very light traffic and, door to door, took two hours and 5 minutes.  When I say “door to door” I don’t actually mean that.  The bus parks a distance from the airport terminal and you have about a 5+ minute walk to get there.  There is no one to help, and no luggage carts, so you will need to be able to manage it yourself.

 

Venice Airport is a nightmare.  We are staying an extra couple of days so it was convenient for us to be dropped here in order to pick up our hotel shuttle.  Only we can’t find where it picks up.  I won’t bore you with the details.  We took a taxi.

 

Here is yesterday’s beautiful sunrise.

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by *Miss G*

[worldtraveller99]

This is such a fantastic trip Miss G. Thank you for sharing it with us. Overall what was your favourite day?

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

Enjoy your stay in Venice.

[*Miss G*]

11 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

This is such a fantastic trip Miss G. Thank you for sharing it with us. Overall what was your favourite day?

 

My favourite day would have to be the scenic cruising down the River Rhine.  I loved the peacefulness and the beauty and the connection to the water that river cruising gave us.  It was a trip to remember forever.

[*Miss G*]

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

 

Navigator App

 

The Navigator app now notifies you if there is a chat message, a new charge has been applied to your account, or it’s time for dinner or an excursion.  It is not perfect, by any means, but it’s a good start.  It’s not specific in its notifications, as yet, so you have to figure that one out for yourself.  For example, if there’s a new chat message you will be able to see it in your inbox on the top right-hand side of the screen.  But if it’s for something else you will have to use intuition, like noticing an additional charge on your statement.  I appreciate progress, even if it’s slow.

 

Notifications on the iPad.

 

 

 

Notification within the app.

 

[bennybear]

Enjoy my favourite city! 

[*Miss G*]

MORE RANDOM THOUGHTS

 

The standard of dress on European cruises used to be higher than the more relaxed North American cruises.  But the bar has been lowered and I was actually quite surprised by how low it can go.  To me, that means the death bell has been tolled.  It was a nice era but it’s time to say goodbye.  *waves hankie*

 

Another thing I have never seen before on a HAL cruise:  Drunks.  Some people should not be given a “Have it All” Package because they will.  And then some. 

 

If you are in Santorini in the next couple of weeks, don’t look for anything with eggs.  We didn’t receive a couple of shipments at one of the ports and we were short by 16,000.  The Hotel GM sent staff out to all the shops to buy everything they could.  Sorry!

 

I googled the yacht and it diminishes my fascination.  It belonged to a Russian Oligarch and was seized by the Italians for sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  It is the world’s largest sailing yacht, valued at €538 million.  €538 million!!  I saw another one in Gibraltar in March, but that one was only worth $75 million.

[oaktreerb]

I agree with you about drunks on HAL.  One drunk passenger ruined the peaceful ambiance of the Tamarind Bar on our recent cruise.  I’m not a fan of the HIA drink packages as it encourages people to get their money’s worth with alcoholic beverages.  Medical guidelines recommend one alcoholic drink for women and two for men per day!  

[canadianbear]

6 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

I agree with you about drunks on HAL.  One drunk passenger ruined the peaceful ambiance of the Tamarind Bar on our recent cruise.  I’m not a fan of the HIA drink packages as it encourages people to get their money’s worth with alcoholic beverages.  Medical guidelines recommend one alcoholic drink for women and two for men per day!  

Totally agree with you about how we feel about the HIA as well.   HAL used to be a classy organization but they have changed directions.  

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you - we are looking forward to our Rhine cruise too! Did you have to wear a mask on the river ship? Or anywhere else on the Rhine?

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, oaktreerb said:

I agree with you about drunks on HAL.  One drunk passenger ruined the peaceful ambiance of the Tamarind Bar on our recent cruise.  I’m not a fan of the HIA drink packages as it encourages people to get their money’s worth with alcoholic beverages.  Medical guidelines recommend one alcoholic drink for women and two for men per day!  

I think people that potentially have an alcohol problem are going to be the only ones that do that. I have had the hia package on a few cruises and I maybe have 5 a day including perrier, coffee and alcohol.  I can go months without having a drink at home.  

[Loreto]

9 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

My favourite day would have to be the scenic cruising down the River Rhine.  I loved the peacefulness and the beauty and the connection to the water that river cruising gave us.  It was a trip to remember forever.

I enjoyed your live from, *MissG* it brought back a lot of memories of the Greek Isles. Oct. 2021 we were on the Avalon Imagery II Rhine Moselle for 13 days…fantastic cruise! Only 24 passengers due to COVID.