2019 was the year of 3 cruises for me. Too many and I won't be taking one until next June.
Transatlantic cruise - Rotterdam (HAL) - April 2019
I was supposed to be taking a transatlantic cruise on the Oasis of the Seas from Port Canaveral to Barcelona but the Oasis was hit by a crane while in dry-dock. Two weeks before the cruise Royal Caribbean notified me. The gave a full refund for the cruise including taxes and only $400 towards the flight cancellation fees. RCL also gave a future cruise credit for the full amount of the cruise not including taxes. Which I am using for the Brilliance of the Seas cruise in June 2020 to the Baltic. Given it was so close to the date of sailing, the $400 didn't cover the full cost of flights but my credit card travel insurance covered the remainder. I must say RCL kept its promises and I received all refunds etc. as per the timeline they set out but in all it took almost 2 months to get all my money refunded. I really recommend GOPORTCANVERAL.COMgoportcananveral.com for booking your transfers and hotels for cruising out of Port Canaveral. they promptly refunded all the money. I used them before and found the transfers and hotel a very reasonable rate and they were efficient. I will use them again. I used ITRAVEL2000 for the flights and again the staff went out of their way to help me get a refund from AirTransat.
I called Holland America (HollandAmerica.com) , and the agent was able to get me the flights and an interior guaranteed cabin on the Rotterdam for about the same as I what I paid for both the flight and cruise on the Oasis. The Rotterdam left out of Tampa to Rotterdam, Holland. It was supposed to stop in the Azores, France, Belgium and Rotterdam. Unfortunately due to high seas we only went to the Azores (stayed 3 days). Unlike RCL, HAL is not that good with refunds. They gave us $100 on board credit, and refunded our shore excursions in the three ports we missed. We also got a 10% future cruise credit which came to about 180 dollars . Most of the cruisers only booked the cruise in order to see the ports in France and Belgium, so in addition to being disappointed they were unhappy with the level of credit.
They upgraded me to an Ocean view cabin mid-ship on the second level. Even with high seas, the only noise I heard was some creaking and movement was manageable. Those at the front of the ship said the banging and movement was unbearable at night. I liked my cabin -while old was clean and large and very comfortable.
The Rotterdam is an old ship with minimal to do. The had the same entertainers several nights in a row. They were doing construction to build more entertainment venues. I loved the promenade deck and small movie theatre (went almost every night) but not much else as 11-days at sea is too much on this small of a ship. The food is ok in the dining room and buffet. Nothing to rave about
I will not go on this ship again unless the itinerary is almost all days in port.
Wanting to use the cruise credit, and because of a sale on a 12 night Greek Island cruise in early July I booked the Koningsdam out of Rome to Olympus, Athens (2-days), Mykonos, Crete, Santorini, Rhodes, Kudasi, (not in this order) and Naples.
While I don't like the Koningsdam (horrible Promenade deck, smoky adult swimming pool at the back of the ship and poor food/service in the dining room), I like the cabins and this time the itinerary. The pools were always packed with kids, back deck unbearably smoky but the food in buffet was really good especially at dinner. There were a lot of nights (seafood night especially) where it was packed. I was told the dining room was empty that night.
The ports were great. Below is my review
Rome airport transfer to ship - way too expensive thru the cruise line, but given the flight time arrival I had no choice. You can take the train to Termini and then the train to the cruise port for about 25% of the cost of the transfer.
Katakalon - Olympia Greece.
Do not take a ship tour. Get off the ship and there are lots of vendors who sell the return transfer to Olympia (with 2 hours at the park) for 8 euros. It costs 12 euros for the museum and park. Its very easy to do on your own in two hours.
Athens - Greece.
One of my least favourite cities. Take the 2- day hop on hop off bus from the port. Its about 15 Euros and it will take you to the Acropolis and main sites. I took the blue bus and it was fine but the traffic is really bad in Athens so it will take a few hours to do the full tour. I went to the archeological museum as it was highly recommended but it was not as good as the one in Rhodes or Naples. I saw the main sites on the first day and on the second got off at the Plaka and walked and shopped.
Athens is hot, busy with traffic and except for the small downtown area where all the key sites are just a city of urban sprawl.
Kudasi - Turkey.
I had not been back to Ephesus for 40 years so thought I would see the changes. This is one tour where I say take the shore excursion as it leaves at 7:30 am prior to the heat and the crowds. Note its not an in-depth tour of this site but gives you the highlights.
I then shopped in the markets.
Mykonos- Greece.
My favourite port - you tender in and can walk to all the main sights (Windmills, rambling streets). There is a decent beach right in port. Best Gyros at Gus's
Rhodes - Greece.
Again love this port - no tours necessary in this walled city. The palace and archaeological museum are highlights as well as shopping.
Santorini - Greece.
Again this is where you take the ships excursion - Ferry and bus to OIA and then bus back to Fira with cable car ticket. Good value and the Ferry ride (about 20 minutes) is very scenic in the Caldera. You have to be able to walk up a very steep hill (5 minutes) to get the bus to OIA, but its worth the effort. They give you a few hours in OIA (extremely pretty for pictures) and then take you back to Fira. This town isn't as scenic, but the cable car was good and I liked watching the donkeys for those who took them down the mountain. The sunset was best from the ship deck.
Crete -Greece.
Take the local bus (5 Euros return) into the downtown. Easy and every 15 minutes with free wifi. In town the port is where all the action is. I paid 10 euros for a boat cruise (swimming, snorkeling, glass bottom) for two hours. Worth the money as you go to two islands and pass by all the best sandy beaches.
Naples - Italy
No tour necessary - I walked to the palace, cathedral and the archeological museum. You can also take the local buses. I have never had any issues here - lots of police, tourists. But its always been in the daytime.
Finally I did the Ovation of the Seas 10 night to Hawaii from Vancouver.
I love the Ovation of the Seas. Although it had 4600 passengers it very seldom seemed crowded. I did the north star twice. Pre book the i-fly and north star about 45 days before the cruise. Entertainment overall was good. I ate at the Solarium Bistro, take-two for lunch, American Icon for MDR and the buffet. I didn't like the WindJammer buffet - too crowded, repetitive food.
We did five days at sea with a sail by the Kaui coast, 2 days in Maui, 1 in Kona (big island) and end in Honolulu.
Maui - I regrettably did a ship tour via Hike Maui tours on the hidden gems of Maui. Expensive waste of money and time. The tour guide was horrible and in a hurry misses some sights, shortened time at others and got us back 1.5 hours early. Never again. RCL again was terrific and gave me a partial refund. The second day I took the local bus to the beach - so easy for $2 or $4 for the day unlimited. Get a bus schedule from the tourist office when you get off the ship.
Kona - excellent tour called Coast and walk in the Clouds - the coast and then the walk in a nature reserve (wear good walking shoes as its up hill and over tree roots) were beautiful. Then we did a tour of a coffee plantation. I also walked in the morning in Kona and loved this little town. There is a beach right off the pier.
Honolulu - used Roberts Hawaii for transfers and they were reliable and good. Stayed at the Aqua Oasis - central, clean and comfortable in Waikiki. I made the mistake of booking Enoa tour to Pearl Harbor - they didn't show up and then after missing 45 minutes they came and caught me up with the tour. They refunded $11 but then the bus broke down on the way back and I had to pay $20 for a taxi back to the hotel. Do not book them as they are horrible to deal with.
Overall of the three cruises I liked the Ovation of the Seas best and will be switching loyalty from HAL to RCL
Hope this helps.
Marcia
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