Live from JessyCruises European Vacation: Amsterdam, London, Venice & Explorer of Seas

[JessyCruises]

We have arrived as of 12:21 and are now waiting in line to check in & board. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[Jomykje]

Lovely to read about your travels. I lived in Amsterdam for a while and London and Venice are my favorite cities in Europe to visit. I am looking forward to the next bit. 

[JessyCruises]

We boarded at 12:43. I was worried by the lines but they moved quickly.  I have never boarded a ship on deck 1 before!

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Rooms were ready for 1PM.  We are in cabin 2318 which is an Oceanview. It is just the two of us, but the cabin has two Pullmans so sleeps 4. This was a casino comp interior that we had gotten a free upgrade to the oceanview.  We tried to do a Royal Up to the Panaramic Oceanview Suite for $195pp (minimum bid was $175pp), but found out last night we did not get it.  I never expected to because there are only a few of them and our bid was pretty low.

 

[BecAus]

1 hour ago, JessyCruises said:

It cost €.50 to use the washroom.  I am sorry to post a bathroom photo, and a bad one at that, but I have never seen a ladies room with this type of “toilet” before.  It was just a porcelain hole in the floor with a flush. I guess this is where the expression “pop a squat” comes from (do we only say that in Canada?). There were several stalls.  I am not sure what was in all the others but I know at least one of them was a regular toilet but it had no seat.

 

Wow, I would not have expected to see that there! We have seen a lot of them in our travels throughout Asia.

[JessyCruises]

22 minutes ago, BecAus said:

Wow, I would not have expected to see that there! We have seen a lot of them in our travels throughout Asia.

Yeah it threw me off a little bit 😂 

[JessyCruises]

Schooner Bar!  Just met the bar staff Arnie and Dewa.  I did not like the beer I ordered at first and Arnie replaced it with a lovely cider for me.  She is a sweetheart.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Sapphire Dining Room.  We have my time dining and probably won’t be here much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

I love the layout of the bar at the Crown & Kettle pub!

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Giovanni’s Table

 

 

 

 

 

Izumi 

 

 

 

The Diamond Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diamond Club outdoor area

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Sports court

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adventure Ocean Arcade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johnny Rockets

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Pool Deck

 

 

The Solarium

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[irishgal432]

Thank you for your review!  We are heading out with  group of 12 and this is so informative!  

 

Was there a separate Suite checkin line?

[dahirsh]

9 hours ago, BecAus said:

Wow, I would not have expected to see that there! We have seen a lot of them in our travels throughout Asia.

I ran into that a lot when we were in Venice 10 years ago.  More the very low toilet with no seat than just a hole in the floor.  We actually had to leave a restaurant we had just been seated up because I required an actual toilet with a seat.

 

[JessyCruises]

17 hours ago, irishgal432 said:

Thank you for your review!  We are heading out with  group of 12 and this is so informative!  

 

Was there a separate Suite checkin line?

You are welcome!!  I did not see a suite line.  I asked my husband and he did not notice one either.  We did see someone holding a paddle that said Key.

[JessyCruises]

Last night we hung out at the casino and started prepaying for our next cruise 😂😂.  Actually we did not do badly and just about broken even after several hours so all is well 🙂. 

 

Today, day 2, we sailed through the Bay of Kotor to Kotor, Montenegro. I missed sailing through the fjords but hopefully I will get some pics as we leave.  This is a tender port. First tender was supposed to start around 1:00 and the last tender back will be at 6:00.  We did not really get any information on how to get tender tickets, so when we had stopped into the Diamond Club last night around 6:30 I asked the Diamond Concierge how it worked and she gave us tickets for Tender #3. I am not sure how many tender #s there were but Paul saw one for 37 so there was at least that many.  They called for tender 3 around 1:20 or so.  We boarded the tender at 1:36 and it took about 5 minutes to get to the port.  We did not get off the tender until 1:47 as it seemed they were having a problem with the ropes.

 

We had no excursions booked and the original plan had been to walk up to the old fort at the top of the mountain.  It had rained however and was still sputtering so we were worried and how slippery the route would be.  We decided to not do it, which was disappointing as apparently they views are amazing, and roamed the Old Town instead.  This port and the old town is absolutely beautiful.  The photos really do not do it justice.  We just strolled the streets, visited a few old churches, and walked on to the old city walls.  We did not stay out long as it was very humid from the rain and decided to return to the ship at about 2.  When we got back, they were still calling tender #s.  It was not leaving much time for people!!

 

I got scolded for taking this pic, not sure why…

 

 

 

Welcome to Montenegro!

 

 

The gate to Old Town

 

 

 

 

 

Crkva Svete Klare (Church of Saint Claire)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is definitely a cat town.  They ar everywhere and there are several stores that are cat related.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Something funky is happening and the previous post is not letting me delete pics that are duplicated.  I give up so you will just have to see them twice! 😂

 

We are back on board now enjoying the solarium and the sun has finally decided to come out.  What a beautiful view! 
 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by JessyCruises

[karebare22]

1 hour ago, JessyCruises said:

We did not really get any information on how to get tender tickets, so when we had stopped into the Diamond Club last night around 6:30 I asked the Diamond Concierge how it worked and she gave us tickets for Tender #3.

Great info, I’ll have to remember this!  The time in Kotor is quite limited, so we’d really like to be on one of the first tenders. Our plan is also to go up to the fortress. I’m really enjoying all your photos and feeling excited to cruise again and visit some new ports.

[JessyCruises]

We received the rest of our Crown & Anchor Amenities today (we received our bottle of champagne and strawberries last night).  The other two we chose are the new tote bag and toiletry bag.  We also received our crystal block for hitting 560 points on this sailing.  The one we received is the old style.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Wow - what a beautiful sailaway!  I am bummed I missed the views in full light this morning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by JessyCruises

[CruiseMelissa]

On 6/11/2023 at 3:38 AM, JessyCruises said:

And now back to your regularly scheduled cruise programming…

 

We got to the bus station a little early for the next bus which was at 8:05. It came promptly at 8:05.  As soon as the doors closed I realized I had forgotten my travel wallet on the bench.  This is not like me.  I hit the stop button so I could run back to get it and wait for the next bus while Paul continued on with the bags, but the driver would not stop, even at the next bus stop.  I luckily had our passports in my purse, but our nexus cards and some other documents were in it.  Desperate, I called the hotel and ask that someone run out to the bus stop and see if my travel wallet was still there.  Hallelujah it was!!  I asked that they hold it for me until we check in next Sunday as I did not have time to run back to the hotel to get it and we did lot really need anything in it for this cruise.  Fingers crossed it is still there as it will be a pain in the butt to replace birth certificates and social insurance cards.

 

The bus ride was short, but I think we got off a stop too late as what I thought was supposed to be a 9 minute walk to the Tronchetto People mover turned into a 20 minute walk.  Along the way, the wheels of one of our big roller suitcases broke so hubby had to basically drag it for 10 minutes.  What a morning - Is it beer o’clock yet?

 

We were supposed to be at the shuttle by 8:30 for a 9:00 departure but we ended up being about 10 minutes late and arrived at 8:40.  That was five as there was a big line of folks waiting to board the busses.  When you arrive, it is hard to tell where to go and there is no signage, but if you go through the few market stalls and around the corner to the left, there is a representative with a yellow safety vest and a clipboard checking names off and then you get in line to wait to board the bus. It is good they had the list, my passes are in the travel pouch I left behind.  If you do not have Royal Luggage tags with your stateroom number on your bags, they have some there and will write them up for you.  

 

There is no toilet on the bus for use.  There is a pay to use one at the meeting place.  It was €1 and only took a €1 coin.  There was an attendant that can provide change. 

 

After boarding the bus, we were told in about 1.5 hours there would be a stop if anyone needed to use the bathroom and that the total ride should be about 2.5 hours. The bus pulled out of the parking lot at 9:07. I  am currently on the bus now.  They do have bottled water available if you need a drink.  There is no charge for it.

 

So aside from losing my travel pouch, breaking a suitcase and a 20 minute walk with two 50lb bags in the heat, it’s been an ok morning.

 

I am really going to need those five Diamond+ drinks when I board 🤣
 

At least the drive has been nice so far…

LOVING this review, we're doing this sailing on 6/25.  Did you get a feel at the shuttle bus stop that busses leave as soon as they are full?  We also have 9:00 tickets and I'd love to get to the ship as early as possible, wondering if the earlier you get to the People Mover area, the earlier bus you'll get on and can depart?

 

Keep the updates coming, it's fantastic!

[irishgal432]

6 minutes ago, CruiseMelissa said:

LOVING this review, we're doing this sailing on 6/25.  Did you get a feel at the shuttle bus stop that busses leave as soon as they are full?  We also have 9:00 tickets and I'd love to get to the ship as early as possible, wondering if the earlier you get to the People Mover area, the earlier bus you'll get on and can depart?

 

Keep the updates coming, it's fantastic!

how did you get 900 am tickets?  I just put them on my reservation but dont see the capability of picking a time. We dont sail untilSeptember

[CruiseMelissa]

1 hour ago, irishgal432 said:

how did you get 900 am tickets?  I just put them on my reservation but dont see the capability of picking a time. We dont sail untilSeptember

I meant the RC shuttle from Venice to the port. I booked the transfer through my travel agent, we had the choice between 9am and 11am.

[Longstockingpippi1]

Thanks for the review, sailing in October, can’t wait. That tender looks wheelchair accessible or maybe it’s my wishful thinking. My daughter is in a wheelchair. 

[livylotte]

Explorer has fond memories for me and although we didn’t eat there much the main dining room is my favourite of them all. The crew were the best and despite windjammer being the tattiest I have ever eaten in the food was the best.