Odyssey to the Greek Isles - 7 to 16 May 2022

[FionaMG]

So now that we're home, the washing has been done and the ironing basket is full to overflowing, it's time to do some recapping, which I'll try to do in "themes" so you can skip over the ones that don't interest you.

 

First up, pre-cruise.

Getting there:

We flew to Rome Fiumicino from our local airport (Faro) via Lisbon with TAP Air Portugal. For those of you coming from farther afield and don't have the option of non-stop flights, TAP can be a good option because Lisbon is a very easy airport to connect in. Also, if you have the time, TAP offers a free stopover option.

Departing Faro:

 

Arriving in Lisbon (25th of April Bridge):

 

And departing again from Lisbon:

 

No pics of our arrival in Rome as it was dark by then.

 

I booked our airport transfer from Fiumicino to our hotel (Hotel Lancelot) with Fiumicino Taxi (https://www.fiumicinotaxi.info/). Not only were they the cheapest that I found but they also did not start charging the "night" fee until 10 pm, whereas most others started at 7 pm. This was important because our flight was scheduled to land at 7.30 pm.

 

The online booking process was fairly easy but on arrival we weren't able to locate our driver. However, a quick call to the mobile number provided solved the issue in a matter of minutes and we were soon on our way to the hotel. We did not have to pay for this service in advance as there is the option to pay cash to the driver. Given the still rather uncertain climate around Covid, this was a deal-breaker for us.

 

 

[FionaMG]

5 hours ago, Citrons said:

Btw we all got covid on this cruise. Not a great way to end a holiday 🤒

Oooh, that's not good. I hope you're all OK?

[UK_Cruiser99]

Hi Folks,

Not to hijack this thread but I was also on this cruise just wanted to post a mini review.

I am from the UK and travelled to italy 7 nights before the crusie to check out Venice and Rome

 

Feel free to ask any questions

 

Positive Points

• Extremely fast check-in at Rome Port - Less than 15 mins to get on board
• Amazing Food in the WindJammer! We had over 90% of our meals here
• Amazing Service throughout the ship. At points the WindJammer almost felt as a sit-down restaurant as staff would bring you drinks / desserts.
• Super quiet / smooth ship can hardly tell it is moving!
• TV's in Cabin are Chromecast enabled , as long as you have a internet package you can watch YouTube in your cabin.
• Very Interesting Ports to visit!

 

Negative Points

• Guest Services always had long queues throughout the entire cruise
• Didn't really feel the ship was as 'technologically advanced' as it is marketed. Apart from 270, there isn't much more tech compared to other RC Ships.
• 4D Simulation was a bit of a pain to book, as I think it was only working 3 days out of 10, but was worth the hassle as it was good!
• Buttons in the elevator!! - someone would always brush past these and as they are 'touchless' all the floors would be selected.
• Speciality Dinning is expensive - we were unsure whether we would dine at Gino's so waited until we were on board. We were told it was $50pp which as felt was a lot of money. Luckily similar menu items we wanted to try were served in the WindJammer
• Arcade / SeaPlex- The range of arcade games here are quite poor, a lot of machines were not working for the first few days.

 

Useful Info

Prebook your taxi transfer to/from the port in Rome as there are no taxi's waiting. We paid 125 euros from Rome Central to the Port for 2 adults and 4 cases. We paid 135 euros on the way back to the Ciampiano aiport. Our driver said at least 15 people approached him whilst he was waiting to ask if he would take them to the airport.

 

Overall

 

We would give the cruise 9/10, on the last day we were sad it was over we didn't feel we got to do everything we wanted to do on board but I feel that is the RCI way! They make you want more!

In the last 2 years I've taken cruises with MSC, P&O and Virgin Voyages. This cruise confirmed to me RCI are the best at what they do.

 

Some photos

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by UK_Cruiser99

[Citrons]

51 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

 

Did she like them?

No she got seriously ill and was horrified when i explained they were snails. I was horrified (being vegan) that they were not clearly labelled as snails.

[UK_Cruiser99]

2 minutes ago, Citrons said:

No she got seriously ill and was horrified when i explained they were snails. I was horrified (being vegan) that they were not clearly labelled as snails.

 

 

I also saw this on the menu but I am glad I googled it to find out what it was!

[AlohaLivin]

I am so sorry I missed this Fiona! But I will definitely begin at the beginning and try to follow along in a belated fashion 😔 It seems to have been a great voyage though, so glad for that! 😃☀️

[Citrons]

59 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

We used Civitavecchia Shuttle Express. Someone on the roll call mentioned them. They were the cheapest I could find with drop-off/pick-up at the ship: €65 each way for the two of us for a shared shuttle.

Yes this is the company we had as i got as well. However my auntie organised it and she said the guy wouldn't collect us from the ship and only the McDonalds. However she arranged it - I dont know why it happened like this for us and we had to walk to mcdonalds in civitavecchia

[Citrons]

13 minutes ago, UK_Cruiser99 said:

 

 

I also saw this on the menu but I am glad I googled it to find out what it was!

Yes only for me living in France I knew that Escargots means snails. But not many people would automatically know and it was as if the Odyssey was trying to trick people into eating them. 

I got some "eggplant" and my mam went up to get "eggplant" (in Ireland we call it aubergine) - so when she saw "escargots" she thought it was "eggplant" and picked them and ate them by accident. As we call eggplant aubergine in Ireland its how she made the mistake. 🤢🤢🤢

[Citrons]

41 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Oooh, that's not good. I hope you're all OK?

My mam went for her PCR test on Tuesday. She had a positive antigen test after our Dublin flight on Monday night.

 

Saturday night on the cruise my mam had shakes, fever, felt really cold and a sore throat. However it was after she ate the snails.

 

All the others in our group with covid symptoms was after shopping/restaurant in Kusadasi and they had shakes, diarrhea and sore throat. They had their 4th vaccine (2nd booster) about 2 weeks before the cruise. They are always complaining about some illness and we did not click it was covid.

 

My mam brushed off the covid symptoms as she said - oh i have the same as the sore throat going around.

 

I only got a positive antigen test today and went for my PCR test. However I had the sore throat symptoms on Sunday on the cruise. 

[UK_Cruiser99]

14 minutes ago, Citrons said:

My mam went for her PCR test on Tuesday. She had a positive antigen test after our Dublin flight on Monday night.

 

Saturday night on the cruise my mam had shakes, fever, felt really cold and a sore throat. However it was after she ate the snails.

 

All the others in our group with covid symptoms was after shopping/restaurant in Kusadasi and they had shakes, diarrhea and sore throat. They had their 4th vaccine (2nd booster) about 2 weeks before the cruise. They are always complaining about some illness and we did not click it was covid.

 

My mam brushed off the covid symptoms as she said - oh i have the same as the sore throat going around.

 

I only got a positive antigen test today and went for my PCR test. However I had the sore throat symptoms on Sunday on the cruise. 

 

I also have had a sore throat since Monday I am doing a covid test now

Edited May 18, 2022 by UK_Cruiser99

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, UK_Cruiser99 said:

Not to hijack this thread but I was also on this cruise just wanted to post a mini review.

 

Thanks very much for contributing to the thread. Since everyone gets something different out of their cruise experience, different perspectives can only help those sailing after us. I'm glad that, like us, you had a great time on the cruise. 

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Citrons said:

No she got seriously ill and was horrified when i explained they were snails. I was horrified (being vegan) that they were not clearly labelled as snails.

That is really bad. It's really unfortunate that English imports so many culinary terms from French, as not everyone knows what they mean. I hope she is feeling better now.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, AlohaLivin said:

I am so sorry I missed this Fiona! But I will definitely begin at the beginning and try to follow along in a belated fashion 😔 It seems to have been a great voyage though, so glad for that! 😃☀️

Thank you!  It was excellent. I'm still adding to the thread with some summing-up posts. Unless you're travelling alone and have plenty of time on your hands, there's a limit to how much you can post while on board, so inevitably stuff gets missed that you feel would be useful for those sailing after you.

[FionaMG]

I'm not really surprised at people catching covid onboard since I noticed quite a lot of coughing and spluttering. I wore my mask in the theatre and other places where it seemed very crowded, such as the line at Guest Services, and always on the excursion buses as well. I don't have any symptoms at all at the moment, so haven't done any test, as it was not required to fly home. I guess I still have time though for it to show up if I've caught it. 

[Levi is good]

I was wondering if any of you noticed how it was handled for those who had to have covid tests to get off the ship at certain ports.  We will have one family member on our August trip outside the 270 days but still able to sail per current rules, and I'm wondering how this will be handled.  

[MCazer]

4 hours ago, Citrons said:

Yes quite a few people out on deck 5 smoking. It is nearer to the two70. I didnt notice the smell so much - the smell of smoke was worse on Deck 14. Also i found more an unpleasent smell from the stacks on some days as we were mid ship.

Thank you! That makes me feel better. Also smarter that they have it towards the back so it disperses the smell as they sail. That makes sense!

[UK_Cruiser99]

Test has come back negative, what was everyone's best / worst port of call?

I wasn't too keen on Crete, it felt like any other town center and we didn't have much time at this port.

 

I enjoyed Mykonos and Rhodes the most, I booked some of excursions myself through viator , as I noticed the RCI ones were very early in the morning and lasted around 6 - 8 hours...

 

Did anyone go on the Highlights of Mykonos Tour by RCI? This isn't one I would recommend...we spent 40 mins driving to a beach where we were given 2 minutes to take photos, then back into the the coach to a Monastery and then on to the Town Center.

 

90% of my group told the tour guide they wanted to look around alone which she was okay with! It was a bit silly there was no stop for lunch seeing as the tour was 11 - 4pm. I believe this is why most people including myself ended up doing a self tour in order to grab some food.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by UK_Cruiser99

[FionaMG]

1 minute ago, Levi is good said:

I was wondering if any of you noticed how it was handled for those who had to have covid tests to get off the ship at certain ports.  We will have one family member on our August trip outside the 270 days but still able to sail per current rules, and I'm wondering how this will be handled.  

Sorry, I didn't notice that. I don't remember seeing anything about it in the compass either, so if anyone was in that situation, maybe they were contacted directly.

[Levi is good]

1 minute ago, FionaMG said:

Sorry, I didn't notice that. I don't remember seeing anything about it in the compass either, so if anyone was in that situation, maybe they were contacted directly.

Thank you Fiona.  I am very grateful for this thread.  

[Citrons]

We enjoyed the 70s night in the Two70. It was the best night for entertainment as it was interactive and well the group i was with love 70s music. The village people were very good. I wish RCL would have more of these interactive nights. I went up on deck to the white party in the Lime and Coconut and that was boring. Also the DJ in the Music Hall did not seem great (even though it was the same DJ for the 70s night). 

 

We walked around Naples and enjoyed it too to our surprise as we were expecting it to be dirty.

 

Looking at the photos Kusadasi was actually cleanish but we went to a not so hygienic pub/restaurant. Full of fake hangbags and clothes in the shops.

 

Our group got ripped off for €11 bottles of beer in Little Venice Mykonos - was kinda disappointed with Mykonos. Glad to discover it on a day trip as Little venice was over-rated.

 

Group also got ripped off with €9 pints of beer in Boots in Rhodes in Hippocrates Square. The guy half filled a 1000ml glass and charged that much. The beer was €2.50 for a pint around the corner in Orpheus street

[Citrons]

14 minutes ago, Levi is good said:

I was wondering if any of you noticed how it was handled for those who had to have covid tests to get off the ship at certain ports.  We will have one family member on our August trip outside the 270 days but still able to sail per current rules, and I'm wondering how this will be handled.  

I would recommend they get boosted if they can. Many americans missed their flights in Rome Airport as the Covid test queues were 4 hours long. The covid test seemed to be conducted at rome airport and not on the ship. It seemed like everyone got the transport to the airport from the cruise and did the test at the airport? Since we were up to date and within the EU i cannot 100% confirm this - its info from chatting to Americans from the cruise in the Hilton Rome airport hotel.

 

Plus we got covid on the cruise. If you have to do a test - it is likely you could have picked up covid at the end of the cruise. 

 

We were all up to date and did not need to do the covid test - even though we flew home within the EU not knowing we got covid on the cruise.

Edited May 18, 2022 by Citrons

[sgmn]

4 hours ago, Citrons said:

Its very sneaky they do not explain Escargot on the menu is snails. My mam ordered these not knowing that they were snails. 🤢

My DH loves them,  has them most nights. Me, not so much 😏

[Citrons]

47 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I'm not really surprised at people catching covid onboard since I noticed quite a lot of coughing and spluttering. I wore my mask in the theatre and other places where it seemed very crowded, such as the line at Guest Services, and always on the excursion buses as well. I don't have any symptoms at all at the moment, so haven't done any test, as it was not required to fly home. I guess I still have time though for it to show up if I've caught it. 

Also for us in Ireland no test was required. However we did the antigen test at home to see and it turned out my mams was positive. My antigen test was only positive today but i know I had a sore throat since Sunday on the cruise. 

 

It is worth doing an antigen test today/tomorrow so as to not spread covid to someone in healthcare/supermarket etc.

 

We have not left the house since getting back from the cruise on Monday apart from going for our official Covid PCR test in the healthcentre to report our positive covid infections and to report we contracted it on the Odyssey cruise

[Citrons]

1 hour ago, UK_Cruiser99 said:

Test has come back negative, what was everyone's best / worst port of call?

I wasn't too keen on Crete, it felt like any other town center and we didn't have much time at this port.

 

I enjoyed Mykonos and Rhodes the most, I booked some of excursions myself through viator , as I noticed the RCI ones were very early in the morning and lasted around 6 - 8 hours...

 

Did anyone go on the Highlights of Mykonos Tour by RCI? This isn't one I would recommend...we spent 40 mins driving to a beach where we were given 2 minutes to take photos, then back into the the coach to a Monastery and then on to the Town Center.

 

90% of my group told the tour guide they wanted to look around alone which she was okay with! It was a bit silly there was no stop for lunch seeing as the tour was 11 - 4pm. I believe this is why most people including myself ended up doing a self tour in order to grab some food.

 

 

Great to hear your test is negative. Mine were negative Monday/Tuesday and this morning. It wasnt until a retest this afternoon it started to appear positive. I knew from the sore throat on Sunday that i kept retesting since my mam had the same sore throat and tested positive.

 

I was disappointed a bit by Mykonos. It was nice of course but thought Little Venice was overrated and drinks overpriced. It was a nice couple of hours there but glad i never went there for a long period of time.

 

Santorini is my fav - I spent 6 weeks on holiday there last summer.

 

Rhodes I enjoyed going back as i spent 2 weeks there in 2005. However i felt rushed as the people i was with could not walk very far and were too obssessed with shopping. I like @FionaMG photos of her tour. Also her Ephesus photos look great and pity i didnt see that either.

 

Chania i was there in 2017 for a week and glad to revisit. Very short day since we had to be aboard before 2.30pm. Again @FionaMGhad nice photos and she got to see so much in what was little time in Crete. Nice that we waited 45mins for the final couple to arrive onto the ship.

 

Naples i was glad to see because i didnt get to see it in 2017 when i went to Sorrento/Capri/Pompei

 

Overall i was glad i had been on holidays to most of these locations before the cruise (the only places i had not been to was Naples city,Mykonos and Kusadasi) so it felt like I had no rush and it was more to relive happy memories from previous holidays. However I wonder what it would be like to visit them for the 1st time on the cruise? Would it be a rush?Stressful trying to see so much in such little time?

Edited May 18, 2022 by Citrons

[Citrons]

Mr and Mrs show - this was so funny 🤣

Edited May 18, 2022 by Citrons