IWantToLiveOverTheSea

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.

When we used Dewa in Dec. 2019, he picked us up at the airport, with a sign. When he dropped us off at the port for our cruise, he dropped us inside the port area. He had to pay to get in the port area, but then was able to drive right down to the port terminal to drop us off with our luggage. I don't know exactly where he meets people coming off the cruise (either at disembarkation or for a day tour) but I imagine right at the terminal. The terminal and parking area are not huge, so even if you have to meet him outside, I wouldn't consider it a long walk to where he can park, at least not to let us off. But you do NOT want any driver/guide who wants to pick you up outside the port entrance, which I believe has a fence - not walkable to that point! At the airport, there were tons of guides and drivers holding up signs. I suppose it COULD be similar at the port, though likely a lot fewer people. At home, you may want to download/test (keeping large time difference in mind!) the whatspp app on your phone in case you need to call him at the port or elsewhere. We never had to, but the app was good to have just in case. I'm not good with phones when overseas. Touring with Dewa, with the things we chose to do, we did not need much cash, and really not all that much money at all except for lunches, which we were able to charge. However, once you have a tentative plan of what you want to do, you may want to ask him how to handle little things like admission, as I don't know how widely anything but rupiah is accepted. He's very familiar with all the places tourists normally want to go, so he can advise you on which ones require the least/most walking, steps, etc. Just keep in mind it is quite hot there, so you may not want to spend as much time outdoors walking around as you think you want to do initially! I was a little bit overly optimistic, but in the end it worked out fine. My spouse likes to do less, so he spent some time with Dewa, just talking and relaxing while I did a few things. Enjoy!

I can’t comment on Oceania excursions because I didn’t do any. I considered the Arkadi & Rethymno excursion because I wanted to see the lighthouse in Rethymno (about an hour from Souda). But I had discovered that Chania was a beautiful city and didn’t want to risk not having enough time for it. I briefly considered renting a car or finding a private tour. But I really enjoy exploring on my own, so in the end I decided to stay in Chania and do my own thing. We were there mid-May (last month) and docked in Souda Bay, which is about a 15 minute ride from Chania. A shuttle bus was provided from outside the port (maybe one city block walk ship to bus) to an area right next to Chania’s City Market building. (Market was closed for renovation. Stores nearby (brick & mortar) were too, but it was Sunday). We were there 8 – 5 and shuttle ran 8:30 to 4. From shuttle drop it was a 10 or so minute walk “down” to the waterfront. I had downloaded a map on my phone at home from maps.me (which once loaded, can be used without Wifi) but forgot to use it. But I also had photographed a map of Chania from a travel book I got from home, and picked up a map from the tourist rep outside the ship that morning. (In a pinch, the Library on Oceania ships probably have a Lonely Planet with a map that you can photograph, or maybe google/print one out on the Oceania at Sea printer. Or you can look at the big map displayed near the shuttle stop, then maybe follow someone.) Once at the water, you can go to the right (marina, warehouses, old city walls, start of breakwater to Venetian lighthouse) or left (cafes, Naval Museum, fort). I walked the breakwater to the lighthouse – closed, but the views of the city were charming, and changed as I walked. The lighthouse walk was hot but reasonably easy and more or less smooth as long as you kind of paid attention to where you walked. You can walk the mostly upper walk or mostly bottom walk; both were around same effort, but top one a tiny bit stressful. Toward the end there’s about a 15 foot stretch (no matter which level you start out on, I think) where you have to step over some rocks with nothing to hold onto. Good shoes are highly recommended. My balance isn’t the best, but I managed. If you don’t want to go over that part, just turn around. It’s probably worth the walk that far just to see the city from the water, snow in the background, lighthouse ahead of you, etc. In the city, the Splantzia area (east, near water) was most interesting to me as a photographer. But in the west, the Tophanes area sounded good too. See if you can find the Old Town of Chania map here: www.chania.gr We picked this map up outside the ship from the tourist rep Oceania (or the city) arranged. In my travels (not all day, but at least 3 hours or so) I saw remnants of town walls, old warehouses, little church decorations outside homes, a church with tops of two widely different styles, people at cafes, people inside churches, graffiti, etc. See my photos with captions here: https://pbase.com/roothy123/chania_crete_on_sirena_may_2022&page=all (Make sure “All” button is pushed so you see all photos.) If you're adventuresome you could rent a car. There are monasteries in the peninsula near Souda Bay that sounded interesting to me (though the best requires a long walk to get to it) and the Allied War Cemetery is out that way too. Chania and Crete have public buses (e-KTEL) too, and Segway tours (company has good website), and I think a HoHo bus, though I don’t know if that worthwhile if you want to see a lot of the old part of the city. Much of it is car-free, so you may end up walking more than you anticipated. There are, of course, shops, museums, churches, etc. And I've read that most people like Knossos, though from Chania it's not very close. But we saw tons of ruins and very old places on our cruise (Ephesus, Paphos, Masada in Israel, Rhodes) so I wasn't yearning to see more in the Chania/Souda area! Enjoy beautiful Crete!