Live Oosterdam before/during/after 4/18 cruise

[Skicruiser55]

Enjoying your reports so much! Glad you are having a good time and things are going well on board. Hoping you do a full review when you return! We will be sailing on Westerdam about the are same time next year and I wondered how the temps have been. Do you need a jacket?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loving your report.

Great pictures.

Glad you are having a wonderful cruise.

[FloridaTourist]

Today was quite chilly in Corfu. Needed a jacket and long pants. Could have actually used a heavier jacket. Being from Florida DW and I don't like cold. Was 52 before the 15 mph breeze off the water.

 

HAL provides a shuttle to the port entrance then for $14 pp they shuttled u to the center of town. There are cabs avail at the port or rental motorbikes. Now that we have seen it we probably could have just walked it. Good walkers can do the walking. The town is rather large. Mostly shopping though. We had a good latte and free wifi. Other than that we didn't do much here but that was our plan. Came back to the ship around 230 and now just chillin after lunch, conversation with our kids and a drink.

 

Spoke to a second guest today that was a victim of a pick pocket. The first one had one of those packs that are supposed to be pick proof. It was a fanny back with the pack in the front. She even had the safety clip closed. They opened it and the zipper on the subway in Athens and took a wallet and $100. The other was here in Corfu. Reached in his zipped pocket and took wallet and credit cards. DW and I have been super careful but will be even more careful now. You have to remember unemployment in Greece is over 27% but for men 18-40 it is over 52%. Tourists are easy pray.

 

Tonight is gala night #2. Also the BBKING takes to ride big stage.

 

 

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[Despegue]

Any Fanny back is an open invitation for pickpockets.

It just SCREAMS " rob me, I am an American Tourist"!!

 

Please, NEVER EVER wear this, no matter what some guides claim. Wear your wallet in your FRONT pocket, just put some elastic bands around to increase friction.

ALL these so called pickpocket proof and expensive wallets and things are absolute rip offs.

[mollyanne]

Can you bill the cost of the shuttles to your HAL account? Or is it cash only?

 

Thanks - enjoying your report very much!

[FloridaTourist]

Shuttles bought through the HAL are all charged to your room. Rubber bands are a good idea. Never thought of that.

 

Last night was Gala night. We both had surf and turf. It was very good but should have gotten the veal chop and ordered lobster with it. Screwed that one up. I also have become a fan of the after dinner cordials. The main stage last night was a Beale street show by the BB King all star band. Great show. Really enjoyed it. Having late dinner though really limits your show times we find. We can never get to Lincoln Center. There was also a sock hop at 9pm. Can't do that if dinner is at 8. Dinner is a 2hr meal. It at least 1:45. We met up with a larger group and ended the night at the piano bar. Megan and Diego just create a very relaxing atmosphere in there and we know all the songs. They added Purple Rain after Prince died this week and Diego does that really really well. Megan also did a solo while Diego played. Not sure how old Diego is but Megan is 23/24 and she really can belt out a song. The venues seem seemed pretty well attended again but you definitely don't have to run to get a good seat anywhere. Total opposite of our experience on RCCL. We have just pulled in to Dubrovnik. Supposed to be a very pretty place. We plan on walking the wall, finding the old synagogue then to the Buza Bar for views and Croatian beer. The group of 12 from North Carolina plans on meeting us and maybe a young Israeli couple we have met along the way . Supposed to see our first rain today but not raining here just yet.

 

 

 

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[FloridaTourist]

Here are a few more pictures

ocean bar

forgot to mention we tried the afternoon tea. Was very nice. Think we were the only couple not Asian or British. But was a fun experience. Had to do it once

 

 

 

 

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[FloridaTourist]

Had a nice day in Dubrovnik The weather was a little chilly.....alright a lot chilly and windy. Took the Hal shuttle into old town. Walked the entire wall. FYI- this is not an easy walk for those with mobility issues. Tons of stairs. Steep and narrow. But incredible views. Came back to the ship and for the first time had normal lunch hours and the entire lido was open. The staff on this ship is extremely helpful and polite. Even in the lido where you kind help yourself they are there to get you anything additional you need from drinks to dessert. Every morning our room steward sees us and runs over to say hi and ask about our day and how the day before was. Mostly Indonesian crew. Well trained. My wife thinks I'm going to call her madam when we get home......Hahahha .... Not happening. While in the old city we did find the famous Buza bar. Beautiful views but warmer weather would have been even better. Tonight is the Italian speciality restaurant. Our waitress in the Pinnacle and Le Cirque used to work here and she wrote out everything we should order. Should be fun .

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

HAL provides a shuttle to the port entrance then for $14 pp they shuttled u to the center of town. There are cabs avail at the port or rental motorbikes. Now that we have seen it we probably could have just walked it. Good walkers can do the walking. The town is rather large. Mostly shopping though. We had a good latte and free wifi.

 

Spoke to a second guest today that was a victim of a pick pocket. The first one had one of those packs that are supposed to be pick proof.

 

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We are stopping in Corfu this summer, thanks for letting us know about the free shuttle. We weren't sure if we needed to grab a cab, we have a group of 30. But, since you stated its an easy walk, I'll let everyone know we should take a nice stroll into town.

 

Locals use regular bags and purses, using a fanny pack and "secret" wallets seem to scream "tourist" and target you for pick pocketing.

 

I've never used a pick pocket proof purse or fanny pack when I travel. My husband and I have spent several weeks at a time in Europe and Asia (we take off 5-7 weeks from work every year to travel) but we use regular wallets and purses. I also was a fellow and spent a summer in Europe in 2013. We both are very aware of our belongings. I've had only one time somewhere tried to snatch my purse off of our dinner table, but other than that, we haven't had a problem. I saw the scam coming, and gave the potential pick pocketer a stern look. They went the other direction.

 

We also never carry more than $100 and one credit card.

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

Had a nice day in Dubrovnik The weather was a little chilly.....alright a lot chilly and windy. Took the Hal shuttle into old town. Walked the entire wall. FYI- this is not an easy walk for those with mobility issues. Tons of stairs. Steep and narrow.

 

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Is there a cost for the HAL shuttle into old town? How long did it take you to walk the wall? I don't mind walking, do you need to wear tennis shoes, or does flats work?

 

Thanks for your great posts!

 

 

 

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[InTheWASide]

Is there a cost for the HAL shuttle into old town? How long did it take you to walk the wall? I don't mind walking, do you need to wear tennis shoes, or does flats work?

 

Thanks for your great posts!

 

 

Shuttle into town was free. Drops off at the Pile Gate

[FloridaTourist]

Shuttle into town IS NOT FREE. In Corfu it was $14. In Dubrovnik is $16. But should have taken a cab in Dubrovnik. Almost did but didn't have Luna to pay. Found out after they toll euro and friends paid only $5. The wall took about an hour but depends how the traffic on the wall is. It is lots of steps. I would suggest sneakers. My wife is all about her shoes and she did sneakers

 

 

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[InTheWASide]

Shuttle into town IS NOT FREE. In Corfu it was $14. In Dubrovnik is $16. But should have taken a cab in Dubrovnik. Almost did but didn't have Luna to pay. Found out after they toll euro and friends paid only $5. The wall took about an hour but depends how the traffic on the wall is. It is lots of steps. I would suggest sneakers. My wife is all about her shoes and she did sneakers

 

 

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Interesting. It was free for us but I'm guessing that may have been something they arranged for the pre-cruise on Koningsdam only. Sorry for any confusion. I would definitely defer to the above post

Edited April 27, 2016 by InTheWASide

[FloridaTourist]

We have arrived in Split Croatia. Forecast was for rain but looks nice and sunny right now. Little chilly but not as bad as Dubrovnik was. Enjoyed dinner last night in the Canaletto. We didn't even order. Mini our waitress at Pinnacle used to work in Canaletto and wrote out everything we were to eat so we just told Nury our waitress in Canaletto and she just brought it all. Great service. The ratio of staff to guests just screams great service. Did out usual in the piano bar and BB King. Doing anytime dining tonight to see a show that was only offered at 1 time. We also tried Lincoln Center for the first time. They get a packed house but wasn't for us s. We made it for 1 piece and left. Here is a little video from last night. https://vimeo.com/164531165https://vimeo.com/164531275

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

Shuttle into town IS NOT FREE. In Corfu it was $14. In Dubrovnik is $16. But should have taken a cab in Dubrovnik. Almost did but didn't have Luna to pay. Found out after they toll euro and friends paid only $5. The wall took about an hour but depends how the traffic on the wall is. It is lots of steps. I would suggest sneakers. My wife is all about her shoes and she did sneakers

 

 

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Thanks for the clarification. I'm glad they take Euro. $5 seems like a much better deal!

 

I'll be sure to wear tennies, or at least shoes with a little tread.

 

 

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[tassietravellers]

Loving this review, thanks for taking us along with you.

 

Our cruise is in 40+ days, so looking forward to it..we will be stopping a lot of the ports that you have done, so your advice and recommendations has been so helpful

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise :)

[FloridaTourist]

Yesterday was a great day in Split. Since Dubrovnik was so cold we prepared for that in Split but was pleasantly surprised how nice it was. Could have worn shorts and left the jackets on board. We were told to have our passports when we left the ship but never needed them. Split is a large city with an old section. We strolled through it all. Easy walking. Had some wine with our friends that we have made, ex-pats that now live in Panama and then lunch with our North Carolina friends. Although the age group is older than us, the people in our own age group have seeked each other out and had a blast. Last night the NC group all came to dinner in togas. Great production show last night. The best so far. BBKING was dark last night and the piano bar was packed as we all did an impromptu singalong with Megan and Diego. We made them play later than normal because we were having such a good time and after the production show they were the only entertainment left.

 

Right now we are getting ready to enter Venice. We will gather on deck 4 for the sail in party shortly. Tour today at 3 for us. Hard to believe this trip is almost over. Ugh!!

 

Rise and shine Venice here we come!!

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Love your "Live".

[FloridaTourist]

Had a fun day in Venice. Started out odd. It was the first time i can say HAL did a very poor job. Started the day with a sail-in party on the bow on deck 4. The crew has blankets there to wrap us in cause of the chilly weather, coffee and pastries for us as we arrived in Venice. A very cool site to see. Definitely something not to miss. Shane our cruise director made announcements telling us how to get to. The city - Either a one hr walk or taxi. That was really all he said. So we got off the ship and we saw a free shuttle bus sign. Not knowing where the taxi was we waited for the bus. And we waited and waited 20 minutes. There was literally one bus. Well the walk is about 2 blocks but no one from the ship was there to tell us. We could have walked. So anyway we took the bus which dropped us at the far end of the building where the water taxies were next to a gate. The entire bus literally exited and waited for someone to tell us where to go or what to do. No one from the ship was there to meet us. It was very odd. We talked to several people later that night. They all felt the same way. The ship pretty much just dumped us off with no help. We were left to figure everything out on our own. I don't need hand holding. But this was really bad. Then when we came back there was no shuttle. You had to walk back to the ship. Now it's not far for me. But I'm only 55. The average age of this sailing is 67. There are lots with mobility issues in this ship. No one told us there would not me a shuttle.

 

Anyway we had a nice day. Coffee and snacks in a locals bakery, lunch along the water near the rialto bridge

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you enjoyed Venice in spite of the mix up with the shuttles. Not good.

[travelingator]

Very much enjoyed the information about your cruise. Hope you plan to continue cruising in the future.

[FloridaTourist]

We also did a tour through Livitaly with Francesca and she was fantastic. Would recommend her and Livitaly for sure.

 

We stayed up late last night saying good bye to all our new friends. Oh and by the way we finally were in the main dining room on a night they served prime rib. Oh so good. We barely got our luggage out in the hall on time. Had to be out by midnight. We pretty much just through it in the bags. We figured we would re pack at the hotel. We fly out Sunday.

 

The ship had all the luggage well sorted and organized. Used a cart to wheel out stuff down to the water taxi. Room service is a great option on departure day. They ended up calling us 30 min early. The taxi to go the 2 blocks charges 20 euro. That was just crazy to me so we walked. We had a private taxi reserved but they were short on water taxis So we ended up waiting 40 min.

 

We are staying at the JW Marriott. I will write about the JW from the airport Sunday. The place is crazy. Look it up on the Internet. It's one of those places you see in pics in magazines and wish you could visit

 

 

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Edited April 30, 2016 by FloridaTourist

[Skicruiser55]

Are you staying over in Venice before flying home?

[Fozwald]

Thank you of the great insights into your cruise on the Mediterranean. We are doing the Magic of the Med cruise next year, so we have found your posts to be very helpful with our own planning.

 

Cheers.

[FloridaTourist]

Had dinner last night at the roof top restaurant at the JW. Excellent meal. It is the cheaper of their 2 main restaurants. But let's just say it ain't cheap. The nicer one which has several Michelin stars would have cost us over $400 for 2. It was beautiful though. Breakfast at the JW was really nice. It is in their lobby restaurant. Awesome buffet. 28e if it wasn't included in your room. Ours was. They collected our bags at 1015 and water taxi arrived at 1030. It is raining here today. The only rainy day we have had. Good thing it's the last one. It is a process at the Venice airport. Taxi was 40 min and 130e. The walk from the taxi dock to the actual terminal is 25 min with no help so be prepared. The terminal it self is under construction so be prepared to move around the airport for long walks a few times. Italian security is different than US. All electronics come out including iPads etc. but shoes stay on. Short line though. Delta by the way has lots of folks around the airport offering directions. Something HAL should learn from.

 

 

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