Odyssey to the Greek Isles - 7 to 16 May 2022

[FionaMG]

6 hours ago, MLAW said:

Love your pics of Ephesus.  One of many amazing places we visited on a cruise 15 years ago.  Hoping to get back to Turkey someday.  I am REALLY enjoying your report!!!  Thank you!

 

My pleasure. I'm glad you're enjoying it. 🥰

[FionaMG]

6 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

We sailed on Odyssey in late February/early March and really enjoyed both the ship and our ports (Coco Cay, Aruba and Curacao). Have a quiet breakfast in Cafe 270 and enjoy the aft view for me, and later in the day, go see if Julio from Brazil is working at Playmakers and ask him for his special Coconut Mojito. Enjoy the rest of your amazing cruise! Turkey looks incredible!

I would love to come back and see some more.

[FionaMG]

Day 6 compass:

 

 

 

 

 

[Trixie21]

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Day 6 compass:

 

 

 

 

 

Loving your posts so far!

Making me very jealous lol and makes August seem very far away!

Odyssey seems to be a great ship - we loke quantum class generally but Odyssey definitely seems to have a few upgrades on the others.

And the ports on this cruise just look spectacular!

[bonsai3s]

Mykonos, another beautiful day, sunny, cool breeze, about 71 degrees.

 

* Light breakfast as usual at Cafe 270.

Off the ship by 8:50am. Took the "Sea Bus" (2Euros/person/each way. Located just a few steps from the ship.) Humor: Travel time is actually only about 10 minutes...but loading and unloading of passengers took another 10 mi utes...thus 20 minutes.

 

* Walked through the winding and narrow streets...enjiyed and embraced getting lost. Ultimate goal was to see the famous windmills of Mykonos.

 

* We were told that Mykonos streets and alleys "were designed to confuse pirates"........now it's cruise passengers.  For directions to the windmills...head south. Keep the sun to your left and the ocean to your right...you'll eventually find it. Travel time: 8 minutes from the dock. 30 minutes if you stop at shops and get lost.

 

 

 

[tlguinn_2000]

2 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Mykonos, another beautiful day, sunny, cool breeze, about 71 degrees.

 

* Light breakfast as usual at Cafe 270.

Off the ship by 8:50am. Took the "Sea Bus" (2Euros/person/each way. Located just a few steps from the ship.) Humor: Travel time is actually only about 10 minutes...but loading and unloading of passengers took another 10 mi utes...thus 20 minutes.

 

* Walked through the winding and narrow streets...enjiyed and embraced getting lost. Ultimate goal was to see the famous windmills of Mykonos.

 

* We were told that Mykonos streets and alleys "were designed to confuse pirates"........now it's cruise passengers.  For directions to the windmills...head south. Keep the sun to your left and the ocean to your right...you'll eventually find it. Travel time: 8 minutes from the dock. 30 minutes if you stop at shops and get lost.

 

 

 

 

We were in Mykonos a couple of years ago and they tendered us to the old town area.  It looks like they dock now, correct?  What is the "sea bus"?  Does it cost?

[little britain]

35 minutes ago, tlguinn_2000 said:

 

We were in Mykonos a couple of years ago and they tendered us to the old town area.  It looks like they dock now, correct?  What is the "sea bus"?  Does it cost?

As @bonsai3s says it’s €2pp e/w. 
- it’s like a passenger ferry. 
 

 

@bonsai3s - back to Naples - did you buy the ferry ticket 🎟  on the day ? Where is the Capri ferry in relation to the cruise terminal pls? I seem to think it’s towards town on the right? 
Thanks x

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

Loving your posts so far!

Making me very jealous lol and makes August seem very far away!

Odyssey seems to be a great ship - we loke quantum class generally but Odyssey definitely seems to have a few upgrades on the others.

And the ports on this cruise just look spectacular!

It really is a great ship and a fabulous itinerary. It is our first time on a quantum class ship.

[Welly9]

3 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

It really is a great ship and a fabulous itinerary. It is our first time on a quantum class ship.

In one of your pics, are you wearing a 'poppy' near your heart, asking as In Canada we wear them during a period for Rememberance of fallen hereos/soldiers? I wondered if you were for some reasom during your Turkey stop?

 

thanks

[FionaMG]

11 minutes ago, Welly9 said:

In one of your pics, are you wearing a 'poppy' near your heart, asking as In Canada we wear them during a period for Rememberance of fallen hereos/soldiers? I wondered if you were for some reasom during your Turkey stop?

 

thanks

 

We have those in the UK in November for remembrance Sunday but in this case it's actually not poppy; it's the excursion sticker. It just happened to be a dark orangey red. 

That said, we saw poppies all over the fields in Turkey. The guide pointed them out to us and explained that they are ordinary poppies as opposed to opium ones. They were very pretty against the green of the grass.

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by FionaMG

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, tlguinn_2000 said:

 

We were in Mykonos a couple of years ago and they tendered us to the old town area.  It looks like they dock now, correct?  What is the "sea bus"?  Does it cost?

 

I guess it depends on the ship and how many others there are in port on any given day.

The Regent Seven Seas Explorer has been following us on this itinerary and they're anchored and tendering to the old town.

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Mykonos, another beautiful day, sunny, cool breeze, about 71 degrees.

 

* Light breakfast as usual at Cafe 270.

Off the ship by 8:50am. Took the "Sea Bus" (2Euros/person/each way. Located just a few steps from the ship.) Humor: Travel time is actually only about 10 minutes...but loading and unloading of passengers took another 10 mi utes...thus 20 minutes.

 

* Walked through the winding and narrow streets...enjiyed and embraced getting lost. Ultimate goal was to see the famous windmills of Mykonos.

 

* We were told that Mykonos streets and alleys "were designed to confuse pirates"........now it's cruise passengers.  For directions to the windmills...head south. Keep the sun to your left and the ocean to your right...you'll eventually find it. Travel time: 8 minutes from the dock. 30 minutes if you stop at shops and get lost.

 

We slept in for a bit this morning and then had to spend a further 20 minutes waiting at guest services to get DH a replacement seapass card, as he lost his. 🫤

 

Hence we missed you at the windmills, which we did not know about and found by accident precisely because we got lost! 😂

 

 

 

 

Otherwise we had a nice leisurely time strolling through the little narrow streets and doing a bit of shopping. It really is a lovely little town.

 

 

 

Back on board now, chilling at the forward pool, which seems to be a bit quieter than the other one. I think this is the indoor family pool on the other quantum class ships.

 

[bonsai3s]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

As @bonsai3s says it’s €2pp e/w. 
- it’s like a passenger ferry. 
 

 

@bonsai3s - back to Naples - did you buy the ferry ticket 🎟  on the day ? Where is the Capri ferry in relation to the cruise terminal pls? I seem to think it’s towards town on the right? 
Thanks x

Yes, we bought the tickets that same morning. (Tickets purchased at 8:30am for the 9:30 departure. Queue/line for the ferry announced and formed at 9:15am.)

 

Facing the town, the Capri ferry is literally next door,  about a 1 minute walk to the left of the 2-story cruise terminal.

 

* Odyssey, Regal Princess, and Oceania were docked in Naples the same day...and it was a Sunday (many Italians joined the cruise passengers.)

[Rogueperson]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

It really is a great ship and a fabulous itinerary. It is our first time on a quantum class ship.

 

The Anthem homeports at Bayonne which is within driving distance for me.  I've only been on Anthem once.  The only issue i have with it is that the schedule for the Anthem doesn't always work well and many times, when it does, its the Bahamas run, which is very generic.  My wife on the other hand, loves the Anthem and has been egging me to book another one.   So many ships and locations, and so little time 😞

[MCazer]

Can anyone currently on the Odyssey or have sailed that has a nice photo of the Port side (left) of the Odyssey.  Trying to figure out the layout of the lifeboats to see how bad the obstruction to my kid's cabins will be.  

 

They originally had inside staterooms, so months ago, when the prices went down, I was able to switch them to obstructed view balcony staterooms for less than $100 for the 7 night trip.  

 

That being said, they are just above the beginning of Giovanni's table restaurant.  I have conflicting info from deckplans and grainy photos from online.

 

Thanks!  Can't wait for August!

[FionaMG]

3 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

 

The Anthem homeports at Bayonne which is within driving distance for me.  I've only been on Anthem once.  The only issue i have with it is that the schedule for the Anthem doesn't always work well and many times, when it does, its the Bahamas run, which is very generic.  My wife on the other hand, loves the Anthem and has been egging me to book another one.   So many ships and locations, and so little time 😞

We are going to be on Anthem out of Southampton, UK, to the Canary Islands in September. And we were looking at the 8-night one out of Bayonne at the end of April next year, but currently rethinking as DH prefers Oasis class, so we may do that when she takes over from Anthem. As you say, too many shops and not enough time. 🫤

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, singinalot said:

just found your report and am happily following along. The greek isles are our favorite cruises to date by far.

Glad to have you join us. ☺️

[FionaMG]

7 minutes ago, MCazer said:

Can anyone currently on the Odyssey or have sailed that has a nice photo of the Port side (left) of the Odyssey.  Trying to figure out the layout of the lifeboats to see how bad the obstruction to my kid's cabins will be.  

 

They originally had inside staterooms, so months ago, when the prices went down, I was able to switch them to obstructed view balcony staterooms for less than $100 for the 7 night trip.  

 

That being said, they are just above the beginning of Giovanni's table restaurant.  I have conflicting info from deckplans and grainy photos from online.

 

Thanks!  Can't wait for August!

I'll try and remember to do that for you tomorrow or the next day (our last two ports), if we're parked port side to the dock.

If you want to share the actual cabin number, I may be able to locate it from the promenade deck on 5.

Edited May 12, 2022 by FionaMG

[MCazer]

Just now, FionaMG said:

I'll try and remember to do that for you tomorrow or the next day (our last two ports), if we're parked port side to the dock.

Thank you! I appreciate that.  

 

On another note, have you eaten at Giovanni's?  Wonder if you can see out the windows without obstructions. That would also mean that they may not have too much of an obstruction!

[FionaMG]

Day 6 MDR menu:

 

Artichoke and pea salad. I really liked this. It was very refreshing.

 

Chicken chettinad. This was quite a spicy curry. I liked it but it probably wouldn't be to everyone's taste.

 

 

And the chocolate souffle, one of my all-time favourites.

 

The MDR definitely seems less chaotic now, although that may be because we are off to the side, away from the main central area. We have had the same table/wait staff for the past 3 nights, so they're getting to know our preferences, which is great. 🙂

[MCazer]

For those that got off the ship in Santorini, if you were not going on a Royal sanctioned excursion, were you able to get off the ship quickly?  I have a tour booked, but I will need to be off the ship, and take the cable car up and to a meeting point in Fira apparently, and it is cutting it quite close if I can't be off quickly.  

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, MCazer said:

Thank you! I appreciate that.  

 

On another note, have you eaten at Giovanni's?  Wonder if you can see out the windows without obstructions. That would also mean that they may not have too much of an obstruction!

We haven't but I'm sure it won't be any trouble to wander in at some point and have a look.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, MCazer said:

For those that got off the ship in Santorini, if you were not going on a Royal sanctioned excursion, were you able to get off the ship quickly?  I have a tour booked, but I will need to be off the ship, and take the cable car up and to a meeting point in Fira apparently, and it is cutting it quite close if I can't be off quickly.  

If you scroll back through the thread to post #57, @bonsai3s was able to get off on the first tender which was some time between about 7.15 and 7.30, so that's likely to be the earliest you can get off.

[bonsai3s]

1 hour ago, MCazer said:

For those that got off the ship in Santorini, if you were not going on a Royal sanctioned excursion, were you able to get off the ship quickly?  I have a tour booked, but I will need to be off the ship, and take the cable car up and to a meeting point in Fira apparently, and it is cutting it quite close if I can't be off quickly.  

The first tender left at approximately 7:15am...took 10 minutes to reach the port...50 meters to the cable cars and takes 8 minutes to reach the top...Fira.

[FionaMG]

Tonight's show was the Wild Boys, an 80s tribute band. This is Ana, the cruise director, introducing them.

 

This was a very energetic show and by the end they had the audience standing up dancing and singing and clapping. I just wish they could have turned the sound down a bit as it was uncomfortably loud.

 

However, anyone cruising on Odyssey in the next few months won't have the chance to see them as they are leaving the ship tomorrow in Rhodes and won't be back till sometime in August.