We are Using Our Final Cruise Credits

 Octoer1, 2022, Saturday -A New Adventure Begins.

We have finally applied our last future cruise credits that resulted from all of the pandemic cancellations we encountered. Since we had to travel before the end of the year we booked back to back cruises on Azamara Journey. The first cruise is for 10 days in the Aegean Sea visiting the Greek Isles. The second 10 day cruise will take us to Egypt, Jordan and Israel where we will visit the pyramids, the Sphinx and the Holy Lands.

In order to maximize the use of the air fare we added a 14 day land tour of Turkey before the cruise. We will leave on October 1 for Istanbul, Turkey. On October 15 we will fly from Istanbul to Athens where we will board Journey on the 18th. We hope to use the 3 days in Athens to do laundry and some quality sightseeing.

I will endeavor to stay current with this blog as we go along.

August 21 Returning Home

 August 21, Sunday - Returning Home

We got up at 5:00 AM. Our debarkation was scheduled for 6:30. This gave us time to have breakfast in the Lido. Then we organized our carry-on bags one more time. At 6:15 we went to Ocean Bar to sit and wait for our 6:30 call. This gave the stewards a chance to start to change over our room. At 6:30 we checked off of Oosterdam for the last time. It was bittersweet to say goodbye. We started with the bittersweet catamaran charter without Sean. We ended with a bittersweet goodbye to newfound friends. It has been a wonderful seven weeks.

In the luggage hall, all three of our suitcases were together. This made it easy to gather them and roll them out to the coach for our transfer to the Venice airport. We were all aboard the coach by 6:45 and we left at 6:50. The ride to Venice was uneventful. We parked in the same remote lot that we walked to on our arrival at 8:55. Arriving passengers were already gathering to board for their transfer to Trieste.

The walk to the terminal is a long one. Halfway there we spotted a few free luggage carts. I put all of our gear onto one of them and had an easy walk the rest of the way. The airport has many many gates. Some are on the lower level and some are upstairs. We found a board that displays flights and gates. Our flight was listed but it had no gate. The gate would not appear until one hour before departure. Then the scramble begins. We were grateful to have booked business class. That gave us priority check-in through a very short line. We went to the Marco Polo lounge for a snack before departure.

At the gate, we waited a bit before boarding began. Then we joined the first group to board. What looked like the ramp to our plane was not. We went downstairs and waited for a bus to take us to our plane for the flight to Lisbon. It turned out that business class had its own bus. We left first for the long ride to the aircraft. There we boarded first. It was all very efficient but the staff was less than friendly. The only hitch in this was that TAP Air Portugal required us all to wear masks for the entire flight unless eating or drinking. They were strict about that. We departed on time and arrived a little early. 

That was fine. It gave us ample time to make the transfer to the flight to Chicago. Again, for the long flight to Chicago, we had to wear masks. The aircraft was an Airbus something. The business class seating was not nearly as comfortable as United’s 787 on the way to Europe. The service was impersonal and unfriendly. The food was not as good as we have experienced on other airlines. The conclusion is that we will not fly with them again.

We arrived in Chicago on time. We had a very pleasant surprise when we got to the global entry kiosk. We had not used one since March of 2020 when the pandemic began. Then we had to do the fingerprint scan and respond to questions. All we had to do now was get our face image in the outline on the screen and let it take our picture. No passport or fingerprint scan is necessary. An agent at the end of the line handed us a pass and told us to proceed. We gathered our luggage. All three pieces came together. That is one plus for TAP. We wheeled our luggage cart to the last customs station. The agent welcomed us home and took our pass cards. We were almost home.

Once in the main terminal, I used the American Taxi app on my phone to order a cab. Alice went to the restroom and joined me as I got to the exit for taxis. When we got outside our driver was just pulling up. No waiting! This was a first. He loaded our luggage and we were off. By 9:30 we were home. The ride was a bit harrowing at times but he got us home safely. I turned the water on and lit the water heater pilot light. We were in bed by 10:30. 

We were weary and thankful travelers. We have many stories to tell and experiences to remember. 

We are truly blessed.

August 20 Sea Day and Trieste

 August 20, Saturday - Sea Day and Trieste

Today we returned to Trieste for tomorrow’s disembarkation. We spent the morning saying our goodbyes to the crew members, photographers, and shop employees who have been so friendly to us and caring of us. They have really made us feel special on this cruise. We don’t know if everybody has experienced this. Despite the toll that “The Pause” has taken on the industry, Holland America has managed to find crew members that exemplify a “we care about you” attitude.

We finished packing and taking care of minor odds and ends. We did not go ashore. Our bags were in the hall by 9:00 and gone by 10:00.

 We hope that when we cruise with Holland America again we will see some of these wonderful people.

We will be back.

 August 19, Friday - Korcula, Croatia

Korcula is a charming city on the island of Korcula in Croatia. This is not far from where we started this journey in Vis on the catamaran charter that Sean gave us for my 80th birthday. This was a tender port. 

The town is known for being the birthplace of Marco Polo. His home is said to be here as well. Sadly, some of the coast approaching the town has been marred by building ultra-modern hotels and resorts.

From the tender pier, we walked to the wall that surrounds the old city. Lanes branch from the main path with many stairs leading to the upper levels of shops, churches, and residences. 

Of course, the objective is to visit Marco Polo’s home. The lemmings stayed on the main path of the wall. The Finns took a narrow stairway up. We passed shops that had not yet opened and several restaurants that were setting up for coffee. This was all very pleasant and eventually, we came to the square at the “top” of the city. Here we found some of the Ship’s tours so we knew we had done well.

There was a large church here that was not open. Around the corner from it was a wall with a large map showing the route of Marco polo. We looked at it and took some pictures. Then we set off in search of the house.

After a few bad starts, we asked at a shop where the house was. We followed the shopkeeper's directions and ended up at a wall with a gate in it that had a handwritten sign stating that it was Marco Polo’s House. There was nothing to see inside the gate. Could this be? we thought not. 

Back to the courtyard next to the church we went. A tour group led by a local guide in costume was just coming into the square. We asked her about the house. She told us that the house was behind the wall with the map and people live in it. It is not a museum or anything of that sort. We went back around to the gate with the sign. There, Alice noticed a plaque high on the wall above the stairs of the lane we were on. It declared this to be the home. We had done it. We are not sure how many others did. No one was taking pictures of that plaque.

We returned to the city wall and completed our walk around it. As we were looking for postcards outside a shop, a light rain started to fall. we decided we would not melt and kept on walking. We were glad that we did because in just a few minutes the rain stopped.

Inside the turret

We had a long walk along the shoreline. The water was very clear and several were swimming in it. The bottom was full of pebbles and some swimmers wore beach shoes.

We passed what appeared to be a convent. There was a nun standing on the balcony looking down. Pretty soon she was on the street in front of the building with her cell phone in hand. Clearly, she was waiting for someone. We walked on before her ride came.

Farther along we came to a church with what looked like monastery buildings. The sign referenced Dominican so we assume it was a monastery. We went down a path to the water’s edge behind the church. A narrower path took us to a small protected boat harbor. These appeared to be fishing boats but we did not see any nets. We will just stick to that story.

We walked back to the road and up the hill a short way. There was a concrete parking area for a hotel nearby that made a good overlook. It was there that we noticed a swimming pool and some swings on the side of the hill above the small boat harbor. The pool was empty.

We then walked down the hill and along the shore back to the tender pier. Korcula was a charming small town to visit. Another passenger suggested that it was rather like Disney World. He meant that in a positive way. We agree.

Tall steeple is next to Marco Polo's home

There are many nice hotels and rooms for rent along the shore. It would be nice to return here. One could come by ferry from Split and spend a few days in peace before moving on to other things.

What a nice way this was to end our ports of call. 

Another wonderful day on Oosterdam

August 18 Sea Day

 August 18, Thursday - Sea Day

More work on the blog and now we are starting to plan for our trip home. We disembark on Sunday at 6:30AM for our transfer to Venice. Our flight is at 11:45 and the transfer takes about 2 hours. Thus the early start.

Bonnie has provided our seat assignments and schedule. Holland America was not very helpful with these onboard. Even though the flights were booked through them. It was not guest services onboard at fault. They were being told that since we had already sailed we would have to work directly with TAP Portugal Air. That was not working because HAL had not provided e-ticket numbers. Oh Well, Bonnie got it worked out.

We fly from Venice to Lisbon where we have a 3 hour layover. Then we fly directly to Chicago O’Hare from Lisbon. We will arrive at O’Hare at 8:15PM or 3:15PM Venice time. A long day ahead.

On sea days we visit Ocean Bar between 5:00 and 5:30 for Happy Hour. On port days we go to Mass instead. Today was our last Happy Hour. Mickey, Ryan, and Benji have been our loyal servers whenever we appear. We will miss their smiles and pleasantries.

This was a productive day.

August 17 Souda, Crete

 August 17, Wednesday - Souda, Crete

This is also a repeat port. We are happy to be back. When we left here the last cruise, we had some unfinished business. At the Venetian port that is so prominent, we had not walked around the breakwater to the lighthouse. We would do that today.

When we left the shuttle in the city center we decided to look for a fish market that Ricky, the assistant dining room manager, had told us about at breakfast. His directions were vague, but we did know that it was away from the old city in a building that looked like a church. We set off in what we thought was the right direction without results.

At a park, we followed the street to the main thoroughfare. There we talked to a young man at a tourist information table. No one else was there and he took his time to tell us about 2 fish markets and how to get to them. While he finished, his colleague, a young lady, came off of her break. We asked her where she would go shopping for casual clothes. She told us about a few shops and then explained that there was also an open-air market. It was several blocks away near another park.

Armed with our new map, with fish markets and the open-air market noted, we started walking. Along the way, we found irresistable bakeries and shops.

Nice Helmet!

Then we came to the first fish market right where it was marked on the map. It was small and had fresh fish with a vocal clientele. It was fun to watch the activity.

We had chosen to start with this market because it was on the way to the open-air market. That would be quite a walk but it took us through some interesting neighborhoods. 

We had some difficulty finding the market, but eventually, we came across a street crowded with traffic. We looked ahead and could see that several blocks away was more traffic and the park. Eureka!

Soon we were walking the market which extended for several blocks. There we found clothing, toys, shoes, t-shirts and produce. Vendor after vendor had set up tables and racks on both sides of the street. As we shopped we came across a no parking sign on a tree. It explained that every Wednesday the market took place here. Wow! What a lot of effort these people go through. It must be worth it because there were a  lot of people shopping. None of them were tourists.

Mission accomplished we started back to the old city. This was the kind of market we looked for the last time when all we found were the ruins of the old Venetian market. On the way we passed the second fish market. It was smaller than the first. We did not cross the street to visit it.

We walked the streets of the old city for a while without buying any of the touristic stuff. As our walk neared 5 hours we headed to the shuttle stop. The walk to the lighthouse will have to wait until October when our cruise on Azamara Journey will stop here.

Back on Oosterdam we noted that we had been out over 5 hours and had walked 5.7 miles. It was a great time.

After a late lunch I worked on emails until 4;30PM when we got ready for Mass. This has been a daily routine for us. Mass is at 5:00 on port days and 8:00AM on sea days. I have been doing the readings for this 24 days. Father John is a Jesuit priest from Dublin. I am grateful to him for the opportunity to read.

Today is Indonesia Independence Day. Kusnada, our breakfast waiter, had told us that there would be a celebration in the open seating dining room tonight. Before going to our fixed seating table we visited the dining room on deck 2. We were able to get some pictures of staff in traditional dress.

Downstairs

Zin

Kusnada

Upstairs

Another fine day.