karebare22

Judy - maybe we’ll cross paths, we are booked for the Aug 20 and 27 Explorer sailings. Venice is so unique and interesting to explore. This summer we flew to Venice, spent 2 days there, then took the train to Rome for a couple of days before our Odyssey cruise.

We did the 12 day Holy Land on Odyssey a month ago. We’ve booked the Greece/Croatia B2B cruise on Explorer for next Aug 2024. I sailed on Explorer back in March (B3B) so I’m pretty familiar with both ships. It’s a tough decision since you are already familiar with all the ports, but since you love the larger ships and entertainment and food variety then I would recommend Odyssey. It’s modernized and beautiful, and overall we had an amazing (but busy!) vacation. I really loved the large production shows, but other headliner entertainment was lacking for a 12 day cruise. Explorer is still a beautiful ship, and I actually prefer her layout vs the more scattered deck plans on Odyssey, but she needs a good update to modernize the staterooms. We chose Explorer for next year because of the itinerary, as most of the ports will be new for us.

We had 2 “dress your best” nights.

Our arrival time in Haifa was noon, day 4. On day 2, we received a booklet “Tips for Mandatory Israeli Immigration”. It stated that on Day 3, tickets would be distributed next to Boleros from 10:00am to 1:00 pm. I showed up around 10:30-10:45, and received number 21. There was no line, no crowd and no obvious table/sign, just a couple of crew standing in the main promenade area handing out the tickets (just ask for how many tickets you need for the family, only one person needs to pick them up). So just show up around the start time of ticket distribution to get a low number. Tickets were called in sets of 3 (eg tickets 1-3, then up to 6, then to 9, etc. It seemed to go quickly and I estimate our number 21 was called after about 30-45 min. Photos of the booklet….

Strangely, we didn’t get a paper compass for the first couple of days, but then our room steward left one for us every night after that (we didn’t ask her to). A great improvement, which I have suggested in the post cruise questionnaire, is that the compass is now available in PDF version! You get a small card in your stateroom with a QR code. As long as you are connected to the guest wifi, you can scan the QR code and download a copy of the compass to your device.

Process was very fast. We left the ship around 8:20, found our luggage easily, no customs inspection, and just walked out. Found our driver to take us to the airport around 8:30. We had to wait for a couple more people sharing the ride, and arrived at the airport around 9:45am.

We also just came off this cruise, had a wonderful time! Yes, the first day in Haifa was a bit of an ordeal to get your passport “ticket” (this is in place of a stamp). Everybody on the ship (crew too) must go through this, only the first day, even if you aren’t getting off the ship. Luckily I picked up our disembarkation ticket number early. For the first day, be careful booking any private tours because it can be hard to predict when you’ll be off (could take 1-2 hrs to clear customs)..The passport ticket was valid for all days in Israel. Also, for all Israel port stops, after disembarking the ship you need to pass through security to scan all bags etc. definitely disembark the ship around 30 min before your tour time.

Thanks for the post, appreciate having any tips etc as we board Odyssey on Aug 30. Have a wonderful cruise!

We also do 1 or 2 cruises a year, but in the last 12 months have sailed 6/7 times. I think we were in “cruise withdrawal” 😂 Time to slow down though, I’m running out of vacation days! My hubby loves massages, he’ll be asking for Sara! I really don’t care for the layout of Quantum class ships either, but some ships in this class are well suited for cooler weather itineraries. Thanks again for your wonderful cruise review, and all the great tips! 👏 I look forward to reading about your post-cruise experiences.

Omelet station for breakfast. For lunch I loved the large salad bar on Explorer (offered every second day or so). Surprising because I’m not normally a salad person, but I looked forward to having one every day it was available. It’s like the chopped Tutti salad offered in the MDR lunch. I also enjoy the build your own pasta station when offered.

Beautiful Santorini photos! It’s been a long time since I last had to take a tender. For tender tickets, can one person stand in line to get tickets for the family? It’s helpful to know about the crowds and long lines, we’ll pack our patience. Our plan is to do the walk up and down (I think that will be an adventure in itself!). I was discouraged to hear your impression of the Effectors show, we usually enjoy the production shows and most of the entertainers. We know one of the dancers from the entertainment staff and are hoping to meet up with her. She danced at the same studio together with my daughters a few years ago. Last question - do you know the name of the band that played in the music hall?

Happy to read your review and impressions about Odyssey (and pre- /post-cruise tidbits), thank you for posting. Sailing on her at the end of this month, but are doing the opposite - starting the trip with 2 days in Venice before making our way to Rome. I’ve been on Anthem and Ovation, so I already know that I prefer Oasis or Voyager class as well, but I know we’ll have a great time anyways. Glad you didn’t have any major travel issues, it’s been a rough summer for many airlines.

Thanks for the review. We are on the 11 day sailing at the end of August. I’m also worried about Santorini as there are many ships in port, your tips are helpful to plan our day (hike on our own from Fira to Oia) there and in Chania. How was your meal and experience in Wonderland? @CRUIS4ME - When we were on Oasis in December, entertainment couldn’t be booked until we were inboard, a change since the re-start. I like to do a lot of planning ahead of time, I wish they would bring back the advance booking for the main shows. That’s the first thing I’m doing as soon as we are onboard!

Before COVID, there were good direct flights available for YOW-FLL (or MIA), and hopefully the air travel situation improves and we will have that again. This past year we’ve found it to be more convenient to drive to Montreal and then take a direct flight from there. I try to avoid connections whenever possible.

Sorry…a bit long but hope this helps. We drove from Ottawa to Cape Liberty for our cruise on May 12, but we drove the same day (left the house at 4:30 am, ETA was 11:30 but after Duty-free, gas and food stops we arrived at 1:30). On the way there, we had some GPS confusion about 25 minutes before arriving, mainly because we had the “avoid tolls” setting on, by mistake. At the cruise terminal, you drop off the large suitcases (Labelled as Zone 6), then drive to the parking garage next door. For us, the parking garage was full (except for handicap), so we were directed to a nearby surface lot. With the outdoor lots, you prepay the parking and are given a tag to place in the car. A shuttle will pick you up from there (or you can walk) and bring you back to the terminal. After the cruise, if you are parked in the garage it’s an easy walk to your car. For us, we left our older daughters to wait with the luggage (Zone 5 I think) while hubby and I got the bus/shuttle to the parking. It wasn’t clear where to get the bus, and I can’t describe it that well, but just walk towards the parking garage, and there will be someone near there to tell you where to go. We picked up the car, looped around and picked up daughters & luggage. Filled up the gas at the Costco near the terminal - they don’t ask to see your membership card, and in NJ the attendant must pump the gas (no self serve). We had a bit of confusion at the bridge because the EZ Pass/toll stuff. Basically, make sure to keep to the left-most lane because if you don’t have EZ pass you need to get a ticket. There is a lot of traffic and lanes, so it can be a bit nerve wracking to be on the wrong side! Then when exiting the toll highway, look for the booths that allow you to pay cash, and know which direction you’ll be heading. I ended up going to the left instead of right, and it ended up costing us more in tolls eventually. Don’t forget to complete your ArriveCAN, I did it the day before while we had internet on the ship.