Have you ever wondered what it’s like for crew members when they join a Royal Caribbean cruise ship? 

Royal Caribbean employs thousands of crew members to operate each cruise ship. With any given cruise, you undoubtedly interact with tons of crew members from all over the world. Without passionate, hard-working crew members, it would be impossible for us to enjoy the cruise vacations that we all love and look forward to. 

Just like any job, Royal Caribbean has an onboarding process for its new crew members. One critical component of onboarding is sign-on day, which is a new crew member's first day of joining a cruise ship. 

Read on to enjoy an in-depth look at what happens when a new crew member joins a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. 

Symphony of the Seas crew member, Chris Wong, shares about his experience as a crew member on his YouTube channel

Chris Wong works onboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, one of the biggest cruise ships in the world. 

When he’s not working in the casino onboard Symphony of the Seas, Chris Wong films vlogs for his YouTube channel, Chris Wong Vlogs.

With almost 70k subscribers on his channel, Chris provides viewers with a unique perspective of life onboard for Royal Caribbean’s crew members. 

On his YouTube channel, Chris films everything from day-in-the-life vlogs as a Royal Caribbean crew member to his port day adventures. As a crew member in the casino, Chris has also provided viewers with a behind the scenes look at how Casino Royale works on Royal Caribbean cruise ships. 

Just recently, Chris Wong started his 8th contract with Royal Caribbean on Symphony of the Seas.

In an in-depth vlog, Chris takes viewers along for crew member sign-on day. When new crew members join a cruise ship, they must complete an extensive onboarding process, which includes documentation checks, security training, safety briefings and ship tours. 

Chris chronicles his journey to onboarding Symphony of the Seas, starting in his Miami hotel room

Chris explains to viewers that crew members spend one night in a hotel before sign-on day after traveling from their home country. During Chris' vlog, he is staying at a Holiday Inn Express in Miami.

Royal Caribbean’s crew members are each given their own room at a hotel located near the cruise ship’s embarkation port.

From the sounds of it, crew members aren’t entirely sure if they will be sharing their hotel room until they arrive. Interestingly, when new crew members join a cruise ship, they also do not know if they have a single or double cabin onboard for their contract's living arrangements. 

Of course, most crew members hope to receive a single cabin for their contracts, but aren’t surprised if they need to share their cabin, as is standard for most crew living quarters. 

Since Symphony of the Seas sails round-trip sailings from Miami, Chris was flown from his home country to Miami to board the cruise ship. Crew members of all different jobs and positions onboard at the same time to Symphony of the Seas. 

From the hotel, 130 crew members are shuttled to the cruise port to begin the sign-on process.

Upon arrival at the cruise port terminal, Royal Caribbean crew members begin the sign-on process

Similar to any job, Royal Caribbean requires crew members to have all of their documentation checked before boarding the ship for new contracts. 

Crew members first check their luggage before having their medical forms checked, along with required training certifications. One by one, Symphony of the Sea’s medical team verifies that each crew member’s medical documentation is up to date. 

This process can take a while depending on how many medical team members are verifying documentation; for Chris' sign-on day, just two nurses were looking through crew members' paperwork. 

As of January 2023, crew members are still required to take a COVID-19 self antigen test at the cruise terminal before boarding the cruise ship. The vlog does not specify what would happen if a crew member were to test positive at this point. 

Interestingly, masks are still required for new crew members that join a cruise ship. Chris explains that he will be in ‘soft-quarantine’ for his first 5 days once he boards Symphony of the Seas, which means he needs to wear a mask at all times.

After documents are checked and before officially signing on, crew members also receive their ID cards and cabin keys during this time. 

Once finally onboard, crew members see the cruise ship for the first time and attend mandatory safety trainings

After long lines for documentation verification, crew members can finally board their cruise ship to begin the start of their next contract.

At this time, most will journey to their cabin to see if they won the lottery (i.e. received a single cabin). In Chris’ sign-on vlog, he is ecstatic to discover he does not have a cabin mate and instead has the entire cabin to himself. 

Much to my surprise, the crew cabin is extremely small. With just a bed, sink, storage and small TV, the stateroom is no bigger than my master closet. 

However, Chris’ excitement is evident, as he is pleased to have a flatscreen TV, a bed that is not bunked and space to call his own. 

It’s at this time that most new crew members will check out their new home for the next 7 months and wander around the ship. For Chris, this means checking out the casino for the first time. 

Part of the sign-on process is showing new members where fire exits and extinguishers are located, as the ship’s crew is expected have extensive safety training. Understandably, fires are the biggest safety threats to cruise ships. 

In addition, crew members are required to attend a mandatory briefing called pre-departure safety training during their sign-on process. For Symphony of the Seas, this mandatory training took place in the theatre. 

With no time to waste, crew members settle into their cabins before starting their first work shifts.

Since cruise lines have removed almost all pandemic-related policies, Chris explains in his vlog that there’s no longer a quarantine period for Royal Caribbean crew members. For much of the post-pandemic, crew members were required to quarantine for 2 weeks in a balcony cabin.

As one would expect, Chris shares that he will miss having that required quarantine period, as this was an opportunity to relax a bit after onboarding and sleep off the jet lag. 

Before beginning his first shift, Chris spends some time unpacking and getting acquainted into his new cabin. Presumably, Chris has previously worked in Casino Royale during other contracts with Royal Caribbean and did not need to receive additional training before starting his first shift on sign-on day. 

As such, it would appear that some, if not most, crew members are expected to start work right away on sign-on day. 

After the first sign-on day, all crew members receive a safety training tour of their cruise ship

Regardless of a crew members’ prior experience onboard Royal Caribbean ships, Chris shares that all crew members are required to attend safety and security training when they start a new contract. 

It does not matter how many contracts you’ve had with Royal Caribbean, or whether you’ve been on the same cruise ship before, all crew members must attend this training. 

During this training, a safety officer takes all of the new onboarded crew members around the ship for very important briefing on safety and security. This entails a tour around the ship to locate fire doors, water-tight doors and fire extinguishers. 

Royal Caribbean's crew members are required to complete this important safety training; in the case of an emergency, all crew members onboard a cruise ship are expected to know how to respond to virtually any potential emergency situation. 

During Chris's vlog, we can see two crew members learning how to use a large hose in the case of a fire emergency. 

Although this training was done virtually during the post-pandemic cruising restart, crew members are given the tours in-person now as part of a large group. 

At the end of his first week on Symphony of the Seas, Chris shares that he finally feels settled into his new routine. 

Between working and training, the first week onboard a cruise ship can be exhausting for new crew members. 

Chris states in his sign-on day vlog that new Royal Caribbean crew members can expect to receive extensive training throughout their first week onboard their new cruise ship. Working long shifts and attending multiple trainings is certainly tiring and leaves little time for relaxing and resting. 

Not to mention, most crew members have traveled long distances to board their cruise ship and are still fighting off jet lag. 

By the end of his first week onboard Symphony of the Seas, Chris shares that he feels settle into his new home onboard. Coming previously from Wonder of the Seas, another Oasis-class ship, the transition has been pretty seamless for him. 

Of all his 8 contracts, Chris believes that his single cabin on Symphony of the Seas is the best crew cabin he's ever lived in. 

During the next 7 months, Chris will be working in Symphony of the Seas’ Casino Royale while the ships sails around the Caribbean until moving to Europe this summer. 

If you're interested in learning more about life for Royal Caribbean crew members, including the sign-on process, be sure to follow Chris Wong on his YouTube Channel at @ChristopherWongVLOGS for more videos!

Looking around a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, you’ll undoubtedly see many families enjoying their vacation together.

Cruises are an excellent vacation choice to suit many different travel styles; in fact, it’s not uncommon to see multiple generations traveling together on a cruise ship for this reason.

I grew up as a cruise kid, taking to the high seas with my parents and sister year after year for family cruises. Even into high school and through college, our family of four made it a priority to continue taking cruises and traveling together. 

Being married and living thousands of miles away from home now (my parents in South Dakota and I in Florida), continuing to cruise allows us to have quality time together as a family. My husband is a military pilot and, unfortunately, his demanding work and deployment schedule hasn’t aligned recently with our family cruises.

Now, as I near my 30s in the coming years, I still prioritize cruising with my 62-year-old parents - but it’s a totally different dynamic than it used to be.

We have yet to take a family cruise in my adulthood that hasn’t had its fair share of tiffs, head-butting and even a few tears. Honestly, it seems like the bigger the trip, the more opportunities for drama to arise. 

All this to say, I wouldn’t change it for the world - we love our family unconditionally even when they drive us nuts, right?

In October, I set sail on Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas for a 12-night Holy Land cruise to Israel. This sailing was a bucket-list itinerary for my dad, as he’s dreamed of visiting the religious sites in Israel for the last decade. With the pandemic pushing back our plans, we finally made the trip happen!

My husband was booked originally to join, but (as anyone with a family member in the military knows) those plans had to change with his training schedule. 

It would be just the four of us with my sister and I sharing a cabin and our family of four finding a new groove while navigating this port-intensive, culturally immersive cruise. 

Here are my best tips for other adults looking to survive a cruise with your parents. 

Pack your patience

My best tip for cruising with your parents is to pack your patience - and a lot of it!

With each family cruise we take, I have to remind myself there’s always an adjustment period when the four of us are spending that much time together. Without my husband there to create a natural separation in the family between the two of us and the three of them, the four of us have to get used to each other again.

Traveling and cruising meshes everyone together quickly, but that’s not without a learning curve to adjust to a new dynamic. 

For our family, this means my dad’s always in a hurry and my mom is a notorious worry-wart. I’m the bossy, outspoken older sibling while my sister can be oblivious at times about the plan. I know these things about our family and I have to remind myself to be patient and accept everyone’s quirks. 

My patience was immediately tested as my sister and I flew to Rome from Paris to meet up with our parents prior to the cruise. As we tried to find a meeting point, mom and dad were in a tizzy trying to figure out which terminal they landed in and where their shuttle was picking them up. 

“Here we go” my sister and I laughed to one another as we heard them frantic on the phone, attempting to read signs in Italian about where they were. 

Packing your patience also involves allocating more time than you think for travel and cruising logistics. 

For instance, my dad prefers to get to the airport or train station way before we need to (I’m talking like 3 hours before departure). While I certainly don’t need that much time to catch a flight or train, I would rather be patient and wait additional time at the airport than create unnecessary stress for my parents. 

Similarly, cruising has continued to utilize technology to improve the onboarding experience; however, this requires most passengers to be familiar with their phones and the Royal Caribbean app.

While my parents are pretty tech savvy, be prepared to help with technology to ensure they can keep up. 

Go at you parents’ pace

When you’re an adult cruising with your parents, it’s best to take everything at their pace. Remember, it’s easier for you to slow down than it is for your parents to speed up.

It’s not always easy to come to terms with our parents getting older and seeing their capabilities change over the years. While my parents are still relatively young and healthy in their early 60s, my sister and I try not to push them too much.

We would rather go a bit slower so we can all enjoy our time together than pressure our parents to do more than they are comfortable with.  

For example, while my sister and I loved the convenience of riding electric scooters around Paris before we boarded the cruise, we knew our parents would simply not be able to ride these scooters - nor did we want them to for safety reasons!

Instead, we would take point to order Ubers or taxis for the four of us so our parents didn’t have to navigate these apps or attempt to hail a cab in a foreign country.   

Similarly, we picked excursions and activities that could accommodate our parents with what they were comfortable doing. Pushing them to keep up with us could be a point of contention.

Take time for yourself

There’s nothing wrong with taking some time to yourself when cruising with your parents. Having time to yourself is a great way to ensure you are properly getting your rest and it also ensures you don’t get burnt out.

Personally, I prefer to go to bed earlier than my parents do these days - how the tables have turned!

Instead of forcing myself to stay up late and attend every show, trivia and gameshow in the evenings, I don’t have a problem excusing myself for the night. This alone time is something I enjoy having to myself when traveling with my parents. 

Sometimes I use this quiet time to catch up on remote work, blog for Royal Caribbean Blog or FaceTime my husband. 

Having this time to yourself isn’t selfish - remember, it’s your vacation too. You are getting plenty of quality time together, so you don’t need to spend every waking moment with one another. 

I’ve even had times on an excursion or tour where I didn’t feel like waiting around for my parents while they were slowly meandering or shopping; it’s okay to walk away once in a while to have a moment to yourself and separate from the group.

Plan ahead strategically

Making appropriate plans that everyone in your family can enjoy is another great tip for cruising with your parents. 

While my husband and I might prefer doing independent exploration in port rather than excursions, this doesn’t always work best with my parents. 

On our 12-night Holy Land cruise, we booked 3 full day excursions in Israel and a full-day tour in Santorini. I made sure that none of the excursions required too much walking or hiking on uneven surfaces, as I didn’t want my parents to overdue anything. 

Santorini can be a logistically challenging port because you are not only required to tender from the cruise ship, you are required to take a cable car, donkey or long walk down a lot of stairs. The cable car can get very congested during busy days, which can compound an already stressful situation. 

However, if you book the right excursion that involves coach busses, you can avoid this predicament.

Although my husband and I didn’t have any issue a few years ago doing the stairs at the tender port, I knew this would be very stressful for my parents to deal with the donkey or cable car.

For this reason, I purposefully chose an excursion that utilized coach busses to ensure we weren’t put in this potential situation. 

Planning ahead to ensure everyone is comfortable with the excursions and tours is key for successfully cruising with your parents. Read the warnings carefully and make sure your parents are okay with the tour requirements. 

Set realistic expectations

You know your parents just about as good as anyone, so set realistic expectations with yourself before heading out on your cruise. 

My parents are notoriously bubbly, Midwestern-friendly and very talkative. They can be loud - and we all know it. This can certainly draw attention to our family when cruising, even though they are just being themselves. But, I mentally prepare for this and accept that it's going to happen when we cruise together. 

After traveling a lot on my own or with my husband these days, these are things that I notice more when I am back together with my family. You only ever know your own immediate family growing up, so you are used to whatever that dynamic is. 

These days, my husband and I naturally have our own family dynamic, which can add to the adjusting time when I am cruising with my parents. 

But, this means we always have a lot of fun together laughing, talking and catching up when I cruise with my parents. It might also mean that I have to eat dinner at 5:00pm, though! 

Go with the flow

When I cruise with my parents, I have to remind myself to go with the flow often. 

Sometimes my parents have different interests than I do these days, which is totally fine! It’s tough to please everyone, but this means there will be compromise on how you spend your time both onboard and in port.

While my husband and I might enjoy trying out small coffee shops, eating local cuisine and sipping on a seaside cocktail, my parents aren’t necessarily interested in doing that. They will appease me once in a while, but our cruising styles are a little different. 

I remind myself that if I wanted to do exactly what I’d like to do on a cruise, then I would have simply taken a cruise without my parents. We are there to experience these moments together and that quality time is most important.

Sometimes that means going with the flow if everyone in your family is able to agree on what to do, where to go, etc. 

Also, don't forget that your parents are also adjusting to traveling with you in the same way you are adjusting to cruising with them. When I told my family about this article, my mom joked about wanting to share what their experience is like cruising with adult children!

Enjoy the moments

Time together is precious, especially as you get older. Moving to Florida because of my husband’s military service means that I don’t get to see my parents very often. 

While traveling and cruising with your parents as an adult can come with its challenges, it’s also an incredible opportunity to make new family memories together. It’s hard for me to turn down that quality time with my parents while they are relatively young, healthy and still able to travel. 

Although we can have our inevitable scuffs when traveling, I wouldn’t trade the special moments and experiences we’ve had together for the world. 

I love that my family still enjoys cruising together, even as my sister and I have become grown-adults. 

Seeing my mom with tears in her eyes as my dad stepped into the Jordan River in Israel - something he’s always wanted to do - makes everything worthwhile. 

Quality time with your parents is priceless, and I will continue to prioritize cruising with my family as long as I am able. 

Royal Caribbean has big plans for its loyalty program in 2023, according to the cruise line’s loyalty director. 

Courtney Brant, who serves as Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society Director, announced recently that Crown and Anchor Society members can look forward to upcoming commemorations and festivities to celebrate the loyalty program’s 25th anniversary. 

These events are planned to take place throughout 2023 as year-long celebrations. 

In the note to Crown and Anchor Society members, Brant specifically mentions that the celebrations will kick off on an exciting note by unveiling new, fresh and redesigned program gifts, along with onboard amenities, to recognize members’ loyalty to Royal Caribbean. 

However, Brant does not specify what these onboard amenities will be or how the program gifts will be revamped in the coming year. 

This could be hinting at the gifts award to Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members, which receive personalized gifts and amenities as part of the loyalty program; however, this is simply speculation. 

According to Brant, the festivities with also kick off with Royal Caribbean’s first-ever Coffee Talk, which is described as a virtual webinar that will be hosted quarterly by the loyalty team. Brant shares that these virtual webinars will also feature special guest appearances from company leaders throughout next year.  

Invitations to join the company’s Coffee Talk virtual webinar will be sent in January, so Brant encourages Crown and Anchor members to keep a lookout for these in the coming weeks. 

Brant also teases more celebrations planned to commemorate the program’s tenure, noting these are just a few of the surprises coming in the new year.

Brant joined Royal Caribbean in May 2022 as the Director of Crown and Anchor Society in a role that gives frequent cruisers a singular point of reference for loyalty communication from the cruise line. 

As an advocate for Royal Caribbean’s valued Crown and Anchor members, Brant expressed her gratitude and appreciation for the memories created among Royal Caribbean’s valued and loyal members within her first year as director of the program. 

Brant also notes how moving it’s been for her to witness the relationships built with one another and even Royal Caribbean’s employees. 

Crown and Anchor Society Overview

Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program, Crown and Anchor Society, is free for anyone to join. Members of the Crown and Anchor society are rewarded and recognized for sailing with Royal Caribbean.

Each night you cruise with Royal Caribbean, you earn one point towards your loyalty status. Those cruising in a suite will earn double points during their sailing.

Members of the Crown and Anchor Society can start to earn points towards loyalty status after just one cruise. When you enroll as a member, you can enjoy exclusive benefits for each cruise you take with Royal Caribbean. 

Some of the most lucrative benefits include priority check-in, onboard discounts, and complimentary drinks each day of their cruise. The higher the tier, the more rewards you’ll receive. 

Members of higher tiers have access to dedicated venues, private cocktail parties and exclusive events when sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise. 

The highest tier of loyalty, Pinnacle Club, even includes a free 7-night cruise. It certainly pays to be "loyal to royal"!

Covid-19’s Impact

The last two years has seen big changes for the Crown and Anchor Society, most of which were driven by the pandemic. Certain amenities and events had to be paused due to restrictions onboard. 

However, some of the changes were seen as welcomed and improved changes, such as the addition of daily drink vouchers. Rather than serving a nightly happy hour with beer, wine and basic cocktails, the daily vouchers (up to $14 each) can be used at anywhere on the ship throughout the day.

These daily drink vouchers are available for Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members of the Crown and Anchor Society, which is certainly one of the most lucrative benefits. 

Planning your cruise vacation often includes the age-old debate of whether or not you should book excursions through the cruise line.

When you arrive to a cruise port, you often have three choices for how to spend your day:

1. Explore the port on your own
2. Book a tour through the cruise line
3. Choose a third-party tour company

When it comes to cruising, I firmly believe there’s a time and place for each of these options. Depending on your budget and length of time in the port, it can be very cost-effective to book a third-party vendor.

There’s also been times on European cruises where I want to visit somewhere that isn’t on the excursion list. Sometimes, it’s way too expensive to book excursions through the cruise line when I can get the same experience for much less with an independent tour company. 

I also appreciate exploring ports by foot whenever possible. Some ports are inherently easier to explore on your own; for example, some ports allow cruise ships to dock right in the city center where you can easily walk around or take a taxi.

In general, I’ve found that European cruise ports are very pedestrian-friendly so we often choose to do our own thing whenever possible. This allows you to have flexibility to spend your day exactly how you want and I love exploring a city by foot.

However, on a recent 12-night European cruise to Israel onboard Odyssey of the Seas, we booked four excursions through the cruise line - and it was the absolute best decision we could have made.

Here’s why I don't have any regrets about booking Royal Caribbean sponsored excursions on our Holy Land sailing. 

Immigration Preference

First (and probably most importantly), the biggest advantage of having a shore excursion through the cruise line was having priority immigration when we arrived in Israel.

Although not common for European ports, Israel requires face-to-face immigration for all maritime tourists. With nearly 4,000 passengers onboard, every single person was required to go through this in-person immigration even if they were not planning to go ashore.

Originally, we had booked a third-party tour through Viator because we had an overnight in Ashdod and we weren’t worried about returning to the port at a certain time.

However, I decided to do some research about immigration in Israel just a few months before we sailed. I discovered that Royal Caribbean tours would receive immigration priority and everyone on an independent tour would need to wait for all cruise line tours to go through immigration first.

Those that were not on a sponsored excursion had to get an immigration number prior to arrival; these were given on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Also, large independent tours that comprised of 30-50 cruisers onboard had to coordinate getting similar immigration numbers so everyone could go through at similar times.

I watched online as many scrambled to change their tour plans and coordinate with their independent guides when they found out about the immigration delay.

For larger cruise ships, immigration in Israel can take four to five hours! We decided to cancel our third-party excursion, watch the cruise portal, and book a Royal Caribbean excursion as soon as a full-day tour opened up.

This was the best decision we made, as we were able to go through immigration promptly at 8:00am. As expected, those who did not have a Royal Caribbean excursion had to wait until 12pm-1pm to get off the ship.

Most of the sites in Israel close near 4pm-5pm, so this really doesn’t allow for much time to see everything the city has to offer.

For us, Israel was the main highlight of the itinerary and we wanted to optimize our 3 days there with full-day tours. Losing half of a day waiting for immigration would have been not only frustrating, but also disappointing.

We heard stories of people who did not get through immigration quick enough and their independent tours cancelled on them - or they were left behind entirely to fend for themselves. We met others who tried to explore the port on their own after getting left behind, but found difficulties trying to do things without a tour guide.

Late Return Guarantee

In addition to priority immigration, another major perk of booking an excursion though the cruise line was having the guarantee that the ship would not leave us behind.

After thinking through our excursions, we realized that we had a lot of driving between all of the sites we wanted to see. For example, visiting the Dead Sea and Masada was more than 2 hours away from the Ashdod cruise port.

Since we wanted to see places that were not close to the cruise port, it made sense to book our excursions through the cruise line. We also found there to be a lot of traffic jams in Israel; our tour guides mentioned that Israeli people love having the luxury vehicles, which congests the road.

On our second day in Israel visiting Masada and the Dead Sea, we found ourselves more than an hour behind schedule. There were tons of tour buses visiting Masada at the same time and only one person was operating the two cable cars that take people up to the mountain top and back to the visitor center.

We waited in line for an hour with people pushing and shoving their way through the crowd. Most were likely scared of being separated from their tours and being stuck 2 hours away from the cruise port.

With our Masada delay, we visited the Dead Sea almost two hours later than anticipated on the schedule. Instead of stressing about getting back to the ship on time, we had a sense of ease knowing the ship would not leave us because we were on a Royal Caribbean sponsored excursion.

We enjoyed our time floating in the Dead Sea instead of skipping it entirely because we were stressed about getting back to the ship on time. 

There were tons of tours that returned late to the ship that evening, so Odyssey of the Seas left three hours later than scheduled.

The same thing happened on our third day when the ship was docked in Haifa. As we were shuffled from site to site, we were about an hour behind schedule. This had us running late and then we hit traffic on the way back to the cruise port.

Again, the ship departed Israel later than anticipated because there were other tours also behind schedule.

I can only imagine the panic that would have overwhelmed us if we had been on an independent tour during this time. Our tour guide said he had never seen the amount of people we saw when visiting Masada. You just never know when things might go amiss in these situations. 

We were very grateful that we were on Royal Caribbean sponsored excursions and did not have to stress about getting left behind in a foreign country.

Priority Tendering

Although Israel was the main draw for us with this 12-night itinerary, we also had port stops in Greece and Cyprus.

Santorini is one of the most popular ports in Greece, along with being a popular destination for travelers all over the world. Its stunning volcanic, mountain landscape makes it a bucket-list destination, but also a logistically challenging port for cruise ships.

During our visit to Santorini, there were five other ships docked during the same time, so it was very busy. Santorini also requires tenders for those wanting to go ashore to the island.

Those who choose to independently get off the ship are tendered from a one end of the ship while excursions through the cruise line launch from the other end. Those independently exploring are brought to Skala, which is a small tender port near Fira.

Since the town of Fira is located up the mountain, you have to either ride a cable car, walk the steps or ride a donkey (yes, really!).

If you’re on a cruise line excursion, you are likely brought to the Athinios port instead where you can take busses throughout the island.

I’ve been to Santorini twice before. My first visit was on a land-visit during my study abroad semester, so I knew the lay of the land. The second time I visited Santorini was on my honeymoon with my husband, in which we chose to independently take on the island with a ferry to Oia and bus ride to Fira.

As young-20-something newlyweds, we didn’t mind the thrill of running down the stairs along the donkeys to get back to the tenders! If anything, it was a fun memory for us after a lovely day on our own time.

However, I knew my parents (in their early 60s) would not appreciate the stress of riding a donkey, the physical strain of doing all the steps, or the frustration of being crowded in a line waiting for cable cars.

After weighing the options, we chose to book an excursion through the cruise line for Santorini. We were given priority tendering to get off the ship and didn’t have to fight any crowds onboard.

The tender brought us to the Athinios port and we were bussed across the island to the Village of Oia, in addition to a stop at a winery and visit to Fira.

Not having to worry about the tendering situation, along with the stress of how we would get back to the tender port from the mountaintop of Fira was a huge relief.

We had a lovely day exploring the island by bus and I was grateful that we didn’t experience any logistical challengers, especially considering how many ships were docked at the port at the same time.

Overall Safety

While Israel is generally considered to be very safe, we did see a few headlines before our cruise that gave us pause with the rising tension in that area of the world.

Speaking broadly, cruise lines do not want to take any major, known risks with their excursions; most of the time, these companies are vetted thoroughly for safety.

When cruise lines market and sell tours, they are inherently accepting some sense of liability when something goes wrong.

Of course, things can happen when you travel whether you’re on a cruise line excursion, exploring a port on your own or traveling with an independent tour company. There will continue to be risks with traveling that you accept when you choose to pack your bags and head out to see the world.

For this itinerary, we felt booking excursions through the cruise line was the best decision we could make for our safety. Since we had not traveled to this area of the world before and we were not familiar with the port or the country, it felt like the most informed decision we could make.

We knew we were paying a premium for booking excursions through the cruise line; yet, it felt like the money was worth it to have peace of mind for our time in Israel.

General Convenience

One of the biggest draws of booking a cruise short excursion with the cruise line is the general convenience you’ll have, especially when it comes to logistics.

It’s so nice to just wake up, have breakfast and meet at a designated spot onboard. There’s very little planning, coordinating and stress involved with sponsored shore excursions.

We also appreciated the flexibility of booking excursions through the cruise line. In this instance, my mom wasn’t entirely sure which days in Israel she wanted to take tours. She considered staying on the ship because she didn’t know how comfortable she felt getting off the ship.

Having our excursions booked with the cruise line gave us cancellation flexibility if she ended up changing her mind last minute and not wanting to join us on tours; you simply walk to the shore excursion desk and the crew members help you from there.

There’s no coordinating with a tour company in this instance, which can be difficult onboard if you have internet troubles or don’t want to purchase an internet package.

At the end of the day, we knew were were also paying a premium for the convenience provided; in this instance, it was absolutely worth it for us.

I wouldn't change anything about the shore excursions we booked through the cruise line during this European cruise to Israel - it was truly the best decision we could make for our family.

Just as they say, all good things come to an end. Today is the last day of our 12-night cruise; we are making our way back to Rome with one final sea day.

I’m always shocked how quickly time flies when I’m on vacation. I wish the work week could go by this quickly!

We gained back 2 (much needed) hours of sleep last night thanks to a combination of European daylight savings and losing an hour last week when we made our way to Israel.

I’ll take an extra hour of cruising any day! Although, it was confusing when I woke up and looked at my phone's time since I didn’t know whether it had updated for the time change.

Fortunately, I had no place to be today so it didn’t really matter the time.

Captain’s Corner and Breakfast

Angie and I worked our way out of bed around 10am, which was really noon for our body’s time. We’ve either been getting up early and spending all day exploring or we’ve been sleeping until noon on sea days, there hasn’t been much of an in between!

We enjoyed breakfast in Cafe 270 right as Captain’s Corner started. I’ve never attended this event, so it was nice to tune in as I sipped on my boozy Irish coffee.

Last day of vacation means you have to go out with a bang, right?!

We watched a little behind the scenes video about the crew’s living quarters. The captain also answered questions from passengers in the audience. It was a nice event, although Angie and I don’t seem to remember too much of what was discussed.

One interesting point the captain made was regarding last night’s medical emergency. Around 1am there was an alpha call. The captain said today that we sailed faster through the night to get to the Straight of Messina quicker for the passenger to be evacuated by coast guard.

The captain said our medical facility onboard was a better option for the passenger to be stabilized rather than having them evacuated by helicopter, as the helicopter doesn’t have as much medical care available during transport.

Galley Tour

During this time, mom was enjoying bottomless mimosas during her tour of the galley!

Last night, our head waiter asked if anyone was interested and mom said she actually would enjoy a tour like that!

She said when arriving in the dining room, everyone was required to wear a mask and sign a waiver. The tour started with an explanation of the chef scarf colors and how they indicate how long the chef has been onboard and different specialties; for example, a red scarf means the chef understands dietary restrictions while yellow scarves are reserved for new people in training.

Mom told us they serve 6,000 dinner rolls per service per day! That’s about 2 rolls per person per meal. The kitchen has a ‘magic machine’ that transforms dough into perfectly sized balls to bake in seconds.

Apparently, the pastry and bakery shifts are 24 hours each. The chef also explained how shorter cruises have all the fresh produce needed for the entire cruise while longer ones, like ours, need to restock for fresh produce at some point during the cruise.

Mom said the kitchen was absolutely spotless with the stainless steel shining everywhere she looked.

Straight of Messina

After Angie and I listened to the captain speak in Cafe 270, we met up with dad in the Solarium to watch our ship sail through the Straight of Messina. We sailed through the Straight in the early morning during our sailing to Israel, so none of us witnessed the passing.

The Solarium filled up quickly with other people wanting to watch us sail the Straight. We had spots right against the window, which was perfect! I used this time to finalize my blog from the night before.

We watched as the pilot came on to guide us through the Straight. There was also a moment when the ship halted for a coast guard ship to sail alongside and take off the sick passenger.

About this time, we decided to have another round of cocktails. I enjoyed a mudslide, which was creamy and delicious.

Angie decided to switch it up and tried a smoothie from the Solarium bar. We were surprised to find smoothie and juice options at the Solarium Bar. There were also protein drinks available.

I had one last visit to El Loco Fresh for a final cheesy chicken quesadilla. The pork meat looked tasty as well, so I gave that a try. The last day of a cruise always inflicts this sense of urgency that I need to do it all and try everything since it’s your last chance.

My quesadilla tasted extra delicious. I’ve honestly probably had more quesadillas in the last 12 days than I’ve had in the last decade!

Mom and dad played a round of cribbage during the passage sailing. We also heard all about mom’s galley experience and tour during the time!

After lounging in the Solarium for a while, it was time to pick out our 4 free pictures that we get with our Diamond Plus benefits. This is a nice perk that we always take advantage of.

I have never seen on-demand printing stations on a cruise ship before! It’s nice that you can order your picture and then within a few minutes, the kiosk prints your picture.

NextCruise Experience and Packing

By this time, I was about ready to head to NextCruise for my 3:30pm appointment. My husband and I are planning a trip for next June on Jewel of the Seas from Amsterdam to Iceland.

I never used to take advantage of NextCruise since I didn’t fully understand the perks. Having a reduced deposit of only $200 is a win for me, as my husband’s schedule is very unpredictable with the military. You can take advantage of any current promotional pricing and get onboard credit.

Although I had an appointment, I still had to wait about 25 minutes to meet with a consultant. It was pretty busy, to say the least. Once I was able to met with one of the consultants, we had the reservation booked within 15 minutes.

I was also eager to book after seeing Royal Caribbean Blog's post about the American Express offer for spend $1,000 and earn 25k reward points - which I had on a few of our cards.

Iceland, here we come! Having another exciting cruise booked in the future always helps ease the post-cruise depression. This was especially necessary as I went back to our stateroom to start packing.

We don’t fly out tomorrow from Rome, which makes packing a little bit easier. I wasn’t concerned about weight or liquids, so it was really just a scramble to pack things away as quickly as possible so I could get back to enjoying my final day.

Last Evening Onboard

Before our last dinner in the dining room, we went to have one last cocktail at Lime & Coconut Bar to see our favorite bartender. The sun had just set in the distance.

Since we were the only ones there, we asked Dwayne (‘Dwa’) about tipping; for example, we figured our Diamond drink vouchers would provide the bartender with an automatic gratuity in the same way as if we purchased a drink.

Dwayne explained that the free drink vouchers do not provide any gratuity unless the passenger provides an additional tip on the receipt or gives a cash tip.

We took this opportunity to provide Dwayne with a tip for taking care of us for the sailing and wished him well.

For the last supper, we enjoyed a variety of pot pie, chicken tikka marsala and prime rib. Mom went out with a bang ordering 3 servings of crispy coconut shrimp and escargot. She was pleased to see the escargot improvement after talking with the head waiter. 

Angie and I enjoyed both the dark chocolate brownie and pavlova for dessert, which are two of our favorites.

There wasn’t much entertainment for the final evening, as we still needed to finish packing and make sure our suitcases were out in the hallway on time.

It’s always a sad feeling to see the suitcases line the hallway - you know the end is near.

The biggest commotion of the evening was when mom couldn’t find her Seapass card; that’s a first for all of us! She had to spend about 30 minutes in line at Guest Services to get a replacement card.

As the night came to a close, we all reflected on our favorite memories from the cruise. Of course, Israel was the highlight for all of us. There was an overarching gratitude from everyone that we all stayed healthy and had such positive experiences.

That's a wrap on our 12-night Holy Land cruise. It's crazy when you plan and look forward to a cruise for so long (years in our case), and it finally happens. Time always seems to go too quickly. We are thankful for the opportunity to spend this quality time together experiencing such rich and diverse history. 

Thanks to everyone for following along during our cruise - it's been so rewarding sharing our experiences with all of you and reading your comments!

Stray Observations

As I mentioned, there are a lot of people doing back-to-back cruises with this sailing. Approximately 30% of the people on this sailing are staying on the ship for the transatlantic! The next sailing will return to Fort Lauderdale with stops in Italy, Spain and Portugal before crossing the Atlantic. These cruisers found out not too long ago that they needed to take a test, although it’s complimentary of Royal Caribbean.

There’s certainly been a noticeable increase in coughing within the last few days, but I have only heard of one person testing positive on this cruise.

It seems like there’s other illnesses circulating, as we’ve all come down with some sort of cold during this cruise. We were relieved to see all of our home tests be negative.

Service onboard has been incredibly attentive across the board. Additionally, the ship is impeccably clean. There was never one moment where the hand sanitizers were empty.

And just like that, today was our last port stop during this incredible 12-night sailing on Odyssey of the Seas!

Today, we were docked in the island of Crete, Greece from 7am to 3pm. This was our shortest port stop and we did not have an excursion booked. Instead, we chose to get off the ship on our own so we could have some flexibility. We knew we would be tired today after all the long days we've had, and didn't want to take a 7am excursion!

Since all aboard was 2:30, we decided to get up at 8:30 so we could explore Chania.

The last time I was in Crete was on my honeymoon cruise and the last time my parents were here was on our first Mediterranean cruise about a decade ago. Both times, we went to the beach so we decided today to spend time in Chania, as I heard from fellow RCB writer Jenna that the town was very charming!

Shuttle to Town

Angie and I had breakfast at Cafe @ 270, where we both enjoyed breakfast sandwiches and coffee to start the day. Mom and dad dined in the Solarium Bistro and had omelets to order.

We were off the ship by 10am and chose to take the shuttle into town that was provided conveniently at the port. Jenna said this summer that the shuttle was complimentary but times must be tough because they were charging $6 per person round trip.

We didn’t mind paying the $6 for direct transport into the city, although we saw a couple get on the bus and yell that they refused to pay. The driver looked like he didn’t feel like picking a fight so he just rolled his eyes. Makes me laugh that someone would spend all this money to do a cruise but then scuff about spending $6 each to take the shuttle!

Driving through Crete, we were a little less than impressed. It felt more run down than the other ports we’ve visited.

The shuttle dropped us off in Chania in the city center. We started walking towards the Venetian Harbor, passing through many shops on the way.

Since we’ve all done a little bit too much shopping, we were on the hunt for some cheap suitcases.

Normally, I bring a small duffle in my checked luggage to bring back all my new treasures while traveling without paying for overweight luggage. I didn’t anticipate shopping as much I did during this cruise, so it’s pretty necessary for me to get another bag.

Lots of Shopping

Whoops - don’t tell my husband back home!

Since I’d already come to terms with the fact that I’d need another suitcase, I let myself go and did even more shopping.

Mom, Angie and I enjoyed shopping in a local leather store where we all got matching pairs of sandals. Dad sat outside on a bench checking football scores while we tried on a myriad of shoes. 

We enjoyed walking around the side streets in the old town, taking in the sights. We saw plenty of other cruisers enjoying the old town as well.

This area was much nicer than the port area and the streets that we drove through to get to the city centre. Based on the view from the ship in the morning, we didn't have super high expectations - especially in comparison to Rhodes and Santorini, which were beautiful port areas.

I also found plenty of other lovely shops to support during our walk to the harbor. We’ve been certainly helping the Greek economy the last few days with our shopping.

Old Venetian Harbor

Upon arriving at the harbor, I was stunned by how beautiful it was! I hadn’t done a ton of research for this port since most of our energy went into planning for Israel, so I was really surprised by the beauty.

We enjoyed walking all along the harbor and snapping pictures while doing so. We decided to walk along the shore, lined with shops and restaurants.

To nobody’s surprise, I did a little more shopping to get all the final gifts and souvenirs that I had been holding off on getting. I grabbed a few little olive oil presents for friends and family back home, along with my obligatory magnet for every place I travel.

I love coming home from big adventures and adding my new magnets to the fridge; seeing the collection grow warms my heart!

As we walked along the harbor, we found incredible views of the lighthouse across the bay. The waves were crashing along the harbor and even getting the walkway wet a few times.

The views were simply too beautiful not to take a ton of pictures, especially as dad spent about 15 minutes trying to find a nearby bathroom to use. The lighting was perfect with the backdrop of the lighthouse in the distance. We even saw a fisherman catch his biggest fish of the day!

Getting Lost in Town

When I first did research on Chania (admittedly, this morning during breakfast), I punched in 'Venetian Harbor' on my Apple maps and tagged the location for us to visit later. I told the family we had to go to my pinned location after wandering around the water and taking pictures with the lighthouse.

My lack of research was showing, as we were unknowingly at the Old Venetian Harbor; yet, my map was showing there to be another nearby location with the same name. Since we don't mind a little walking, we made our way to the pinned location I had on my phone. 

Well, we ultimately ended up on some side streets away from the main attractions. Everyone was questioning my navigation skills, in which I insisted the map showed another location of interest for us to see. We arrived to a corner on a side street with nothing that appeared like Venice but rather a residential area with no other tourists around. 

Either way, I led us astray and into the side streets. A quick Google search of 'Old Venetian Harbor Chania' revealed that we had been actually walking around the harbor just before - hence why it was so beautiful! 

We were just a few blocks away, so we made our way back to the harbor area and into the shopping streets once more. This was our last chance to get souvenirs!

Since we didn’t get started too early in the morning, we opted to work our way back to the ship so we didn’t feel rushed with all aboard time. We found a deal on 2 hardshell suitcases so my parents could have an additional suitcase and I will have one too.

The shuttle was packed with people heading back to the ship since we only had about an hour until the last shuttle would depart for the day.

Back Onboard

Back on the ship, we went to the Windjammer for a bite to eat. We actually have not had lunch in the Windjammer until today! There was a nice selection of food, although it was very busy because everyone must have had the same idea.

We opted to find an outdoor spot on the top deck; there’s a nice set of chairs tucked away on the top deck by the SeaPlex. We had the sun shining while still being in the shade so it was a lovely spot to sit.

I was up very late last night working on the live blog and had way too many pictures from Santorini to sort through and edit. We enjoyed the autumn breeze and watched the ship pull away and start our journey back to Rome.

Angie, dad and our new friend Brice decided to take a whirl at the bumper cars. They did 2 rounds and Angie said she was much more cautious this time! Mom and I had too much trauma from our first day when we left bruised, so we opted to head back and get ready for formal night.

While getting ready for dinner, Angie was getting dressed and turned around in a black dress. I told her not to wear my dress tonight, as I was planning to wear it for formal. She insisted that it was her dress, yet I knew that I was planning to wear the exact same dress.

Low and behold, we have the exact same dress that we planned to wear tonight so we chose to embrace the twinning moment. Mom smiled when she saw and said she hadn’t seen us in matching dresses since Christmas when we were little girls.

Dinner and The Effectors

We walked into dinner to find the ship rocking and rolling. All of us were shocked to see how big the waves looked from the table, as the dining room is on Deck 3. Luckily, the movement subsided as the night went on.

Dinner tonight was excellent with beef tenderloin, lobster and baked Alaska. We enjoyed talking with the table next to us and mom was convinced to join the galley tour tomorrow on our sea day.

Mom and I sported our new sandals from Chania for the evening - such a fun souvenir!

Our evening wrapped with an evening show in the Royal Theatre called The Effectors. The superhero-themed show used some really impressive digital effects, including choreographed drones. I really liked the show, as it had a nice variety of music that included some recent pop songs.

We all agreed the show was excellent, from the costumes to the music to the overall stage production! This was my first time seeing this show. This show really leans into utilizing technology in its entertainment performances - and I think it really elevates the experience.

Was there a clear-cut storyline for us to follow along? Not necessarily. Most of the show involved each member of The Effectors showing off their superpowers with the help of the stage technology.

Either way, it was quite entertaining and definitely showed off the technology capabilities of Odyssey of the Seas.

Tomorrow, we have one final day sea day before we arrive back to Rome. We will need to certainly spend some time packing since we’ve gotten very comfortable in our cabin at this point! I also have an appointment at NextCruise to potentially book an upcoming cruise next summer to Iceland from Amsterdam.

We are blessed with 2 extra hours of sleep tonight, as we gain back the hour we lost last week AND we get an extra hour due to daylight savings occurring in Europe!

Wow - I can’t believe it’s already Day 10 of our 12-night cruise. Today was our second to last port and it was wonderful day in the the idyllic Greek island of Santorini.

Santorini is best known for its charming village of Oia, located at the end of the island and scattered with gorgeous blue-domed buildings on the cliffside. It’s certainly a bucket-list destination for many because there’s no other place like it in the world!

Although I’ve been to Santorini twice before, this was the first time that Angie and my parents have visited the island. We chose to do a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean that visited the town of Fira, village of Oia and a local winery.

I know that visiting Santorini can be logistically challenging. First, it requires tendering to the island from the ship. When you tender from the ship for independent exploring, it drops you off near Fira. Once here, you are left to either take a cable car, walk up a ton of stairs or ride a donkey.

You can also take the speed boat to Oia from the port of Fira, which is what I’ve done previously.

I was a little worried about my parents having to deal with the cable car or donkey scenario in Fira, so we thought the excursion route would be best. We booked an excursion that had a bus ride to and from the port, which I felt would be the most enjoyable experience for everyone.

After the fiasco in Masada (trying to take a cable car with thousands of people) and knowing there would be 5 ships in port today, I was hopeful the shore excursion would alleviate some of those logistical pains.

Breakfast Views and Tendering

Since our tour had a meeting time of 9:45am, Angie and I woke up and had breakfast in the Windjammer. We were greeted by sweeping views of the island of Santorini as Odyssey of the Seas pulled into its anchoring spot.

We always enjoy breakfast in the Windjammer for its wide variety and we couldn’t stop looking at the island. Even if you choose to stay on the ship for the port of Santorini, you could enjoy the beautiful views all day.

I stopped for a quick coffee in the Diamond Club before meeting with our excursion group in the Royal Theatre.

Within 20 minutes, our tour group was called and we made our way to the tendering spot. I noticed that the excursions used a tender at the front of the ship while tenders for independent explorers (i.e. not on a RCL shore excursion) simultaneously left from the back of the ship.

The tender ride was lovely with views of the ship and island. It was a really nice vessel and took no more than 10 minutes. Our tender was brought to the Athinios Port while the other tenders from the ship dropped off passengers at the port near Fira with the cable car.

Parade and Shopping in Fira

We boarded a bus with the branding “Santorini Luxury Travel” - which was honestly anything but luxury!

While we sat in the very back, there was a clanking noise from the overhead bin while the bus weaved its way up the cliff on switchbacks. We couldn’t hear anything our tour guide said because the clanking was so loud at the back of the bus.

We arrived in Fira right at the start of a local parade! Today was a national holiday in Greece, so there were flags all over the island. It was fun to see the parade happenings while we walked around Fira for some free time.

Because of the parade, the bus had to park further away from the town than normal. We didn’t mind the walking, but some with mobility issues were grumbling about the inclined walk

We took this hour of free time to do some shopping and watch bits of the parade. I also enjoyed a little gelato while wandering the streets. It was a nice way to start our day!

Of course, everywhere you look, there are simply breathtaking views of the island and the Mediterranean Sea. You just can’t help but take pictures around every corner while walking around Fira.

The white buildings, the purple flowers and the deep blue ocean make for some truly beautiful pictures. We couldn’t help but take some photos with a backdrop that looks like a painting.

Winery Stop

After our free-time in Fira, we walked back down to the bus and told the bus driver to turn up his microphone so those of us in the back could hear him talk.

We were part of a line of tour buses made our way to the Santo Wines, which is a local winery on the island. Santorini is the oldest vineyard in Europe. This was a nice and scenic winery where we could sample 3 different wines. We all enjoyed the dessert wine, which was very sweet.

There was also a table of snacks including cheese and tomatoes. Lucky for us, Angie snagged a bunch of cheese cubes before they ran out that we could enjoy with our wines.

As with everywhere on Santorini, the views were stunning. As I sat there and drank my dessert wine overlooking the cliffside, I thought to myself that I am truly living the dream! How does it get better than this?

What a blessing it’s been to share these memories with not only my family, but also with everyone reading on Royal Caribbean Blog.

Although I could have spent all day at the winery, time was limited and we were shuffled back to the busses for our journey to the main attraction: Oia!

Village of Oia

When you see pictures of Santorini, you are most likely seeing pictures of the beautiful village of Oia with the blue domes overlooking the sea. This is what you come to see in Santorini!

I knew from experience that Oia would be crowded with tourists - both times that I’ve been to Santorini (once on a cruise and once on a land-trip), it’s been super congested in Oia. The alleys are small and everyone wants pictures of the same spots.

Our bus parked and we walked up the steps by the guidance of our tour director. We were greeted by the most breathtaking view of the island from both sides, along with a view of our ship and the sea below.

Everyone was awe-struck by the beauty. It’s truly like nothing you’ve seen before.

I had an unexpected encounter with a group of travelers right as we entered Oia. I saw two people wearing Semester at Sea hoodies. Excitedly, I told the group that I sailed with Semester at Sea in college 7 years ago during Fall 2015.

Semester at Sea (a study abroad program that sails around the world on a ship while you take classes at sea) is one of those life-changing experiences that bonds people together.

They said they were students on the current voyage and the ship was docked in Athens! I told the group how I also traveled to Santorini during my voyage; it was such a cool and nostalgic moment that I never anticipated happening. Such a small world!

After chatting for a bit, I met up with my family down the road as they were taking in the sights. We continued to wander the streets.

If we saw a bunch of people congregating in one place, we figured there would be a nice view worthwhile so we joined the crowds.

Along everyone else on the island, we took many pictures with the views of the village in the distance. Some of the spots we found were on cobblestone edges where it would be easy to lose your footing and fall. We were careful not to step back too far, as everything on Santorini is on the cliffside.

Santorini is like a postcard coming to life; you almost can’t believe you’re seeing it person.

We only had about 1.5 hours to wander around Oia and we had already shopped while in Fira. Instead, we used our time in Oia to take pictures and walk around the streets.

Everything is so quaint and charming, although flooded with people everywhere you look. This was still quite busy considering we were visiting in the off-season, although there were 4 other ships in port today.

We ventured to a place called Lolita’s Gelato, which is where my husband and I went on our honeymoon. Angie, dad and I enjoyed a scoop of ice cream to top off our time in Santorini. I told the owner how I visited his shoppe a few years back and showed him pictures - he was grateful for my return!

Santorini Sunset

Following our time in Oia, the bus drove us back to the Athinios Port. We had the option of getting off in Fira and taking the cable car or donkey ride back down, but no one on the bus opted for this.

The tender was waiting for us at the port and promptly departed once our bus unloaded and boarded the tender boat. I couldn’t believe it was actually a little chilly during the ride back to the ship, so I sported my new Santorini hoodie.

We took even more pictures of the island and ship as it anchored in the harbor. We were grateful for a nice tour that alleviated the logistical issues we were worried about. I would say it was worth the money to take this excursion, especially traveling with my parents.

A few people shared stories about the cable car being swamped with people in a way that couldn't be believed. We also heard from a couple who took donkeys down for $10 each, but the donkey leader forced them to get off after only making it about two-thirds of the way down. When the donkey leader forced them all to get off the saddles, one lady was stuck and ended up falling into donkey poop.

Hearing stories like reassures our decision that the excursion was a good idea, although those do make great stories!

Back onboard, we grabbed pizza at Sorrento’s and made our way to the top deck to watch the sunset.

Santorini is famous for its world-class sunsets; I told my family that we needed to be late for dinner tonight because the sunsets are simply unforgettable.

We grabbed a cocktail at Lime & Coconut from our favorite bartender, Dwayne (or Dwa as patty calls him), and snapped many pictures of the stunning sunset. The sun peaked over a tiny island in the distance and lit up the ship and island with a warm golden hour.

It was a beautiful moment that I will cherish. Of course, we took many pictures because the lighting and scenery were simply too beautiful to not capture the moment in time.

Dinner Onboard

After our Santorini Sunset, we made our way to dinner in the main dining room again. Mom was pleased to find her nightly escargot was improved after her casual conversation with the head waiter last night.

The head waiter, Jayson, came back to our table tonight to ensure everything was up to standards. Mom told him how she noticed the changes in her escargot and we thanked him for being so attentive.

We all enjoyed our meals in the dining room tonight, along with our fun conversations with the table seated right next to us. It was nice to enjoy the window views as Santorini started to light up after the sun went down.

Following dinner, there was little entertainment available tonight, presumably because we did not leave until 9pm tonight. It’s nice Royal Caribbean has a late-night stay in Santorini to provide everyone with ample time to see the island and watch the sunset.

Tomorrow, we will be in our final port of Chania, Crete. We are only docked from 7am-2:30 tomorrow, so we are hoping to get off the ship by 10am to explore. We do not have any plans other than walking around the harbor.

Until tomorrow, happy cruising!

Hello from the beautiful Odyssey of the Seas; it's Day 9 of our cruise, which means we only have 3 days left. The time has been flying by with our busy days exploring new ports (and countries!).

I am happy to report that I have a new favorite Greek island - Rhodes! After our busy days in Israel, we did not have an excursion planned for today so we could have freedom and flexibility to do what we wanted.

We woke up to a stunning view of Rhodes outside of our balcony!

Since we weren’t on a tight timeline, we enjoyed a slow morning with breakfast at Cafe 270. This was one of our favorite places when we cruised on Spectrum of the Seas back in 2019, and I am surprised we have yet to eat there on this cruise.

They have a wonderful selection of grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches and burritos, along with a bagel bar. There’s also a coffee cart located in 270, making it an easy place to grab breakfast.

Afternoon Shopping in Rhodes

With some quick research on Rhodes, everything online said the cruise port is located very conveniently in the old town.

Getting off the ship, we could immediately see the old town that was surrounded by a stone wall.

I found a few different locations within walking distance that I wanted us to check out starting with the Castle of the Old Town.

We walked through an old town entrance and found ourselves surrounded by lovely streets with tons of shopping and restaurants. Unfortunately, following the map on my phone to the Castle of the Old Town led us to a dead end on a side street. We looked around and saw nothing resembling a castle.

Fortunately, there was plenty to still see and lots of shopping that was close by so we went back to the main pedestrian

Mom and I were in heaven with all of the shops, especially the jewelry shops. We found a lovely shop owned by a Greek family who made unique bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces. I think mom and I spent nearly an hour shopping inside this single shop with the owner helping us finding the perfect pieces.

The shop owners were so warm and welcoming! They said mom was their best customer of the day.

Dad roamed the streets by his lonesome self until we finished our shopping; of course, he wasn’t entirely pleased with how much time and money we spent.

Wandering Around Old Town

Back to our self-guided walk of the old town, we chose the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. Say that 10 times fast!

We weaved through the streets, often getting distracted by how many photo opportunities presented themselves in this charming city!

At the Palace, we enjoyed taking some photos and ran into some friends from the ship that we spoke with for a little while. It was $10 to enter the Palace, so we opted just to enjoy the outside of what we could see from the castle.

We also met a nice family from Austria that told us how lovely the marina walk in Rhodes is, so we set that as our next destination.

After exiting the Palace, we walked through a really wonderful courtyard with greenery, flowers and views of the palace.

As we made our way to the sea, we walked out of the old city and into the newer area. We found an H&M and stopped in Starbucks for a quick resident and bathroom stop.

Marina and Rhode Windmills

We found ourselves strolling along the sea with incredible views of the ocean, Fort St. Nicholas and the Three Windmills of Rhodes. We could also see Odyssey of the Seas, along with 3 other small ships, in the port.

Fort St. Nicholas is located at the end of a short walkway-like pier that expands from the marina. It looked like a great spot to walk with sweeping views of the ocean.

This also gave us an up-close look at the Three Windmills of Rhodes. One of the windmills was missing its actual windmill, which was interesting.

I enjoyed taking some really fun pictures with the windmills and ocean views while dad climbed on the rocks with Angie and mom found some locals to strike up a conversation with. She enjoys talking to friendly locals and asking all about their city and economy.

The locals explained that Rhodes is one of the biggest Greek Islands and relies almost entirely on tourism for its economy. He also talked to us about the island’s problem with gypsies begging for money in the city, which have become more of a problem in recent years.

We didn’t walk to the end of the jetty but admired Fort St. Nicholas from afar and a display of European flags that lined the walkway.

Scammers at Saint Paul’s Gate

After mom finished conversing with the locals, we set our sites for the Temple of Aphrodite but stumbled upon the very charming St. Paul’s Gate!

Entering the gate, we found a staircase that allowed us to climb the ramparts and see sweeping views of the harbor. Angie, dad and I climbed the steps to walk around while mom admired from the safety of the ground level.

At one point, two gypsies started screaming at each other, disrupting our peaceful moment taking in the ocean views.

We continued to explore the area, in which we ran into more cruise friends who offered to take our family picture. We found cute little nooks to take pictures and enjoyed admiring the views.

Apparently, Saint Paul’s Gate is one of the most intricate gates in Rhodes and connects the old town to the harbor.

While I was snapping some pictures of Angie and Mom off in the distance, I turned around to see a gypsy yelling in my face. I was taken aback since I had not engaged in any sort of conversation or eye contact with the women. From years of traveling (and getting scammed before), I know it’s best to be persistent in not engaging with them.

She started to scream to NOT take her photo. I looked at her confused and showed her the picture of mom and Angie, I said to her that she wasn’t even in the photo and I wasn’t interested in photographing her.

She screamed even louder, “YOU LIE - YOU’RE A PSYCHO! I see you use your phone to take my picture!!!!” And I walked away insisting that I did not take her picture nor was I interested in taking her photo.

I was worried she was using this as an opportunity to pickpocket by creating a scene, but she didn’t take anything from me.

As we left the area, we saw the gypsies approach two men and place bracelets on their wrists - in which they proceeded to yell and expect the men to pay them for the bracelets. They prey on anyone who shows them compassion or makes eye contact!

As I was writing this blog, I found a few people noting online having the same experiences with these women. Some of the comments are from ten years ago - so these same women have been scamming people for almost a decade. It is too bad, as it does take away some of the beauty of the gate.

Souvlaki and Shopping in Old Town

Once we could decompress after the gypsy debacle, mom and I decided we had worked up an appetite for some gyros or souvlaki. When in Rome!

We walked by the Temple of Aphrodite as we looked to find something to eat near the port.

Back in the old town, we ran into our friends from earlier who recommended a spot that was right down the road. There was a quaint seating area with flowers and booths covered with colorful pillows.

We ordered 2 pitas for mom and I to enjoy while Dad tried baklava for the first time. Everyone enjoyed the chicken souvlakis and we appreciated a moment to sit down, refresh and rest after walking about 3 miles.

There was even a musician who came over to play the guitar - bringing a smile to all of us at the restaurant.

Following our souvlaki indulgence, Mom and I had more shopping to do in one of the leather stores before finding even more cruise friends in the old town. We love meeting so many kind people from the cruise and our rowdiness must make it easy to identify us in a crowd!

We decided to make our way back to the port since it was around 4:30.

Lime and Coconut

Once back onboard the ship, we dropped off our shopping bags in the room and spoke to our wonderful stateroom attendant, Waylan. We’ve been so impressed with the service we’ve received on this cruise. The entire staff onboard has been excellent and so attentive.

We decided to head up to the Lime and Coconut Bar to see our favorite bartender, Dwayne. Mom has been referring to him as ‘Dwa’ during this cruise; she met him on the first day and couldn’t see his entire name tag when he asked her to guess his name so she said ‘It must be DWA’!

‘Dwa’ whipped up four cocktails for us, including a mudslide for me, Miami Vice for dad and Bailey’s Banana Colada, which is Angie’s latest drink obsession. The cool drinks tasted so good after all the walking we did today.

The sun was starting to set over Rhodes as we enjoyed happy hour cocktails on the top deck. We reflected on another great day of our cruise and marveled at the perfect weather.

I concluded that Rhodes might be my new favorite Greek Island of all the islands I’ve visited (including Santorini, Crete, Corfu and Rhodes). The city was so charming and very clean. I’d love to return and visit the acropolis and other areas of the island.

Evening on Board

It was 6:00PM before we knew it, so we went to dinner in the main dining room. Tonight we tried a variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts but most of us found that it wasn’t our favorite meal of the cruise.

Angie was the only one who thoroughly enjoyed her entire meal tonight; she ordered the chicken wings, pork chop and berry crumble.

Dad and I found the Beef Trio to be a little tough while mom didn’t love her goat cheese tart or fisherman’s pie.

We mentioned to the server that we found the meat to be a little tough and shortly after, the head waiter came over to talk to us. We certainly aren’t picky or ones to complain, so we weren’t expecting to speak to the head waiter.

He was asking intently about the entree’s issues to ensure he understood the issue, although we emphasized that we have been happy with all of our food thus far. We were impressed by how concerned and quickly he came to address our comment.

After dinner, the rest of the family went to watch a magician performance in the Royal Theatre. Since I stayed up late (like 1 am) to finish yesterday’s blog after a busy evening with entertainment, I opted to come back and get some work done.

They greatly enjoyed the magician, so I will have to go watch his performance tomorrow night!

I enjoy having the quiet time to myself to go through photos and write today’s live blog.

Tomorrow’s Plans

Tomorrow, we are in Santorini, Greece! I’ve been to Santorini twice before. The first time I came to Santorini was during college when I did Semester at Sea; I flew to the island from Athens and spent a few days exploring.

The second time I visited Santorini was with my husband when we did a cruise from Venice for our honeymoon. During that visit, we did our own thing and took the speed boat and bus to Oia and walked down from Fira.

For this visit, we have a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean. I think this will be more relaxing for mom and dad not having to worry about logistics on our own.

I read that there will be a few other ships in port, so it could be busy. We also will need to tender to the island, so having the shore excursion should make that easy. Our tour includes visits to Oia (where the classic blue roofs are!!), a winery and Fira before returning to the ship.

I have never visited the wineries in Santorini, so I am excited to see what that’s all about!

The description of the tour makes it sound like we will be driven to Oia from the port and return to the port by bus; it does not mention the cable car or donkey walk down from Fira on the hilltop, so I am hoping that means returning to the port will not be an issue.

I am crossing my fingers that our good luck continues tomorrow! Mom, Dad and Angie have never visited Santorini and I know they are looking forward to it. This is an exciting port for many, as Santorini is an iconic Greek Island and a world-class destination for many.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventures! Until then, goodnight everyone!

Hello from the beautiful and calm Mediterranean Sea! It’s Day 8 onboard our 12-night sailing on Odyssey of the Seas. We are making our way to Rhodes, Greece for our next port.

We were all grateful for his sea day to relax and rest after 3 very busy days in Israel. As Angie and I snuggled into bed, we both breathed a sigh of relief that we could sleep in without setting an early alarm.

The two of us didn’t get our morning started until 11:30am this morning. It was just what we needed!

Reflective Morning

I woke up feeling both refreshed and grateful for the incredible days we had in Israel.

As I mentioned, we’ve heard quite a few stories of people who had unfortunate luck during our time in Israel - like broken arms, twisted ankles, cancelled tours, scamming taxi drivers, getting left behind or lost, etc.

While these are all risks of life and traveling, there’s great disappointment that comes with highly anticipated trips that don’t go as planned. I know for many that this trip is once in a lifetime and that can make it even harder when things go amiss.

Hearing these stories makes me feel so thankful we had 3 amazing days touring and exploring Israel - everything for us went according to plan. It seems like others were not as lucky and I have a heavy heart for those who missed out due to things beyond their control.

My advice for anyone planning to do a Holy Land cruise is to book excursions through Royal Caribbean, especially on the first day for ease of immigration. If you book an independent tour, I would do research for alternative options in case your first plan doesn’t come to fruition.

Many people I spoke to that had canceled tours or they were left behind felt like they didn’t have any other options. It’s difficult to find something last minute - but being on the cruise forums and Facebook groups can help provide options.

Finally, pack your patience. From following blogs and other forums from previous sailings, there seem to be more logistical things that can go wrong with Israel compared to other sailings (like very strict immigration).

Afternoon and Sexiest Man Contest

It was nice to have nowhere to be today and no plans. The only breakfast available was in the dining room, so we opted for Sorrento’s pizza instead.

We met up with mom and dad in the promenade area and enjoyed some pizza for breakfast - all of us having slept well and feeling refreshed.

After, Angie and I decided to put on our swimsuits and head up to the pool deck. We found chairs next to mom and dad in the Solarium so we opted to grab a drink and hop in the pool there.

It was unexpectedly cold so we didn’t last long before heading to the hot tub.

By this time, the International Sexiest Man Competition was starting! We couldn’t miss out on this one for obvious reasons. Our cruise director joked that they might have to cancel due to lack of eligible participants - we laughed at that!

Have no fear though - 7 different men entered the contest to keep us all wildly entertained.

I grabbed a cheesy chicken quesadilla from my new favorite place, El Loco Fresh, and a Lime & Coconut cocktail to watch the exotic poolside show.

The men put on a great show with the pool deck erupting in cheers. We had dancing, splashing, muscle flexing and even a little twerking. Given the age demographics on this sailing, the participants were about what I expected!

The winner was a sweet older man named Steven from Montana who touched the hearts of everyone when he mentioned his grandchildren, his late wife and how he would create world peace if given the chance.

In an ironic spin, I think he was actually the most muscular of all the participants!

Trivia and Dinner

Angie and I made our way back to the cabin so we could get ready for dinner and General Knowledge Trivia in the Schooner Bar beforehand.

We joined forces with new friends and RCB fans from Ohio. Although we didn’t win the coveted Royal Caribbean water bottle prize, we had fun trying!

Angie and I had drinks in Boleros to kill time before dinner. I tried the Painkiller and Angie tried an off-the-menu drink known as the Bailey’s Banana Colada. We got to see the sunset while sipping on our cocktails.

Dinner tonight was excellent. Mom had 3 appetizers, including one of her favorites - the Seafood Cake. For dinner, we had chicken parmesan, beef short rib, steak and mushroom risotto.

We finished dinner with delicious desserts - Mississippi Mud Pie, lemon tart and apple blossoms.

Throughout dinner, we enjoyed getting to know those sitting at the table next to us. The table is located so close to ours that you can barely walk between them, so it feels almost like we are dining with them each evening.

Evening Entertainment

Following dinner, we all attended the evening show in the Royal Theatre. The performers also showcased their talents last night, but I was too tired to attend.

The rest of the family enjoyed it so much they went back for a second time. The couple performed a series of acrobatic moves in a stunning show. We all enjoyed seeing them twist and turn in ways that didn’t seem humanly possible.

Immediately after, we went to 270 to see a show called The Book. This uses the 270 space for a spectacular show that includes storytelling with cutting-edge technology.

Although we all struggled slightly to understand the storyline, the performers did an excellent job. It was electrifying, colorful and energetic as the performers danced, twirled, and sang.

There were even some acrobatic moves when performers were flung from the ceiling and danced.

The show was incredible with stunning visuals. Dad described it as sensory overload and joked that he felt like he was on drugs during some of the portions!

The late show means a late bedtime for us as I finish this blog.

Tomorrow we are in Rhodes, Greece. I have been to Greece a few times, but never to this island. I’ve heard wonderful things and luckily the ship docks right near the old town.

We plan to independently explore the island tomorrow and hopefully that’s a good choice.

Until then, good night from Odyssey of the Seas!

It’s Day 7 of our cruise and today was our third and final day in Israel. Our beautiful ship made the short journey last night from Ashdod to Haifa while we slept off yesterday’s Dead Sea adventure. 

Our morning started a little later, which was a welcomed change. Our meeting time was 8:00am since the ship had to arrive in port and clear immigration.

We had breakfast in the Windjammer and it was packed! I have yet to feel like the ship was crowded until this morning, which is pretty good considering it’s Day 7. I grabbed a latte in the Diamond Club and made my way to the Royal Theatre for our excursion meeting time.

Angie and I got to meet two fans of the Royal Caribbean Blog in the elevator, which was a wonderful way to start our last day in Israel! We love meeting readers in person so please say hi if you see us around the ship or in port!

Today, we had scheduled a full day tour from Haifa to Nazareth and Galilee. While waiting for our excursion to leave, the captain came on to make an unexpected and disappointing announcement.

Unexpected Cancellations

In a subdued voice, the captain stated that the Haifa bus drivers were on strike today and some tours would be cancelled due to lack of available busses. He went on to explain that there was no way Royal Caribbean could have anticipated this happening.

Because of the strike, some tours needed to be cancelled. The captain started to announce the tours that would not be operating today - and the tension in the room could be cut with the knife.

We held our breath as they listed the cancelled tours. I truly thought this is where our good luck would run out! We’ve been fortunate with our tours and ease of immigration, especially after hearing some of the bad experiences others have had.

We’ve heard horror stories of people who have tried to do their own thing in port by taking a taxi only to get themselves in sticky and scary situations. We’ve also heard from people who booked independent tours and were left behind because they didn’t clear immigration quick enough.

Others said they did their own tours or grabbed taxis in town without issue, but it seems hit or miss for those that did independent tours in Israel.

The captain listed 3 different half-day tours that were cancelled, in addition to the small group tours to Nazareth and Galilee. When he first said the town names, my heart sank that our tour was getting axed.

Cancelling the half-day and small group tours makes sense from a business perspective, as they’d want to keep the most expensive tours (i.e full-day tours) running.

We were so grateful that our tour was still on and the group breathed a sigh of relief.

Nazareth Exploration

We were on our way to Nazareth once everyone was on the bus. We weaved through Haifa on our way up to Nazareth. One family that came running on at the last minute said they snagged last minute spots when their small group was cancelled.

I’m sure it was a mess back on the ship as people scrambled to figure out their plans!

Haifa is British-influenced and the architecture definitely reflects this compared to Ashdod. The area was certainly more modern than Ashdod as well.

First on our itinerary was a stop at the Basilica of the Annunciation in the town of Nazareth. This is known by Christians as the location of the immaculate conception.

Inside the church, there was a large alter hidden away where it’s believed the Angel Gabriel made the announcement to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. There was a line that we could have waited in to get a closer look, but we opted to not wait in the line.

Right next door was the site that Christians believe to be the workshop of Jesus’ father, Joseph. We went downstairs to see the ruins of which the church was built upon.

Mom missed this entirely because she waited 20 minutes to use the bathroom - which she said did not have an adequate toilet seat or toilet paper. The not-so-glamorous side of travel!

Up next was the Church of Multiplication, where we were greeted by a grumpy bathroom attendant. I swear she was some local woman who plops in front of the bathroom at this church and charges the tourists for entrance fees. She was waving a huge wad of cash!

Our guide, Leon, brought our group under a shaded tree to read to us the biblical miracle story of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fish to feed 5,000 people. It was a quiet moment among Tour Bus #4 and certainly set the scene.

Inside was the actual rock, now displayed under an alter, believed to be the rock where the miracle was performed. We weren’t able to get too close to the alter because it was blocked off.

Lunch and Sea of Galilee

After a short drive, we arrived at a resort located on the Sea of Galilee for lunch. Inside, we were served a delicious buffet with stunning views of the Sea of Galilee. By this point, we were getting to know the others on our Tour Bus #4 and enjoyed sharing stories about our Israeli experiences.

This was definitely the best buffet of the 3 days that we were served and most at our table agreed.

Without much time to explore, we snarfed down lunch and scurried down to the shore to put our hands in the Sea of Galilee. We snapped a variety of photos with other members of our group before it was time to head to the next stop. Dad even dunked his hat in the sea so it had a lasting touch.

At this point, our guide Leon was herding us around like sheep to get us from place to place on time. He would announce after each stop, “Well, we lost 4 but found 2 during lunch” when referencing tour members that couldn’t keep up.

Apparently, the Israeli tour guides are told to expect 10% of each bus to be missing at any point, which is somewhat concerning. It was a fast-paced tour though, and if you couldn’t keep up or you wandered away from the group, there wasn’t much wiggle room for time in the schedule.

Capharnaum Visit

Up next on our busy day was a visit to Capharnaum, which is a small fishing village known as the Town of Jesus.

It’s pretty mind blowing when thinking about the religious and historical significance of these incredible places. These are things you’ve only ever read in books and then suddenly you get off a cruise ship and they come to life.

At times, it was almost too overwhelming for my brain to comprehend.

In Capharnaum, we were able to see the synagogue where Christians believe Jesus taught regularly. The archeological sites surrounding the structure are thought to have been part of the homes back in Jesus’ time.

There was even a room specially marked with a cross that’s believed to be the room Jesus would stay when in Capharnaum at the House of Peter.

These remains date back to the first century BC…. Absolutely mind blowing! There was a church built upon the ruins of Saint Peter’s house, which have been excavated beautifully.

There was no time to waste though, as we were back on the bus and onto our next stop! The tour busses worked as a moving unit shuffling us tourists swiftly from one historic site to the next.

Mount of the Beatitudes

Not too far from Capharnaum was the Mount of the Beatitudes, which is a hill that is believed to be where Jesus gave his sermon on the Beatitudes. The beautifully designed church is located on top of the Mount and gives sweeping views of the Sea of Galilee.

We had all but 20 minutes to explore this site. There were tons of tourists going up to the church in unison and then shuffling back to the parking long after taking in the sites.

I loved photographing these pillars on the church balcony, which gave enchanting views of the Sea of Galilee.

We had one final stop to the Jordan River before we would make our way back to the ship. I was shocked to see the sun already setting, but we’d seen a lot in the day already and Leon kept us on a tight schedule so we wouldn’t miss anything.

Jordan River

Our 3 days in Israel went out with a bang by ending the tour with a stop at the Jordan River. This was the place that Dad was most excited about visiting!

The river is actually quite small and resembles more of a creek. There is a gift shop at the entrance that’s been obviously designed and structured to accommodate the bus loads of tourists that come to visit.

Christians believe the Jordan River is where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist; many also choose to get baptized in white robes in the river for the understandably significant nature of the river.

Although the historic site of the baptism took place in Jordanian territory, Israel is where most tourists come to see the river.

As we approached the river, I was stunned to see it appear emerald green yet clear enough to see large fish swimming. It was flowing gently and surrounded by lush trees. There was a large group that was getting baptized together in the river with touching music playing from a stereo for all to hear.

With only 20 minutes to souvenir shop and take in the sites, Dad went down the stairs that was crowded with some part of the baptism group. He gently dunked his head into the river for his own baptism renewal.

He rose from the stairs and launched his fist into the air in celebration. This was a big moment for Dad - it was so special that we could be there with him.

Shortly after, I ran down to put my hands in the river and Angie followed.

We watched as mom went down and put her own hands in the water. She came back up the stairs with tears in her eyes, overcome with emotion.

She said she wasn’t expecting to feel so touched by the experience, but I also think it symbolized her conquering her anxiety that she had about this trip visiting Israel. She knew it was a bucket list trip for Dad and originally said she wasn’t going to join us on the Israel tours. 

After much thought, she mustered the courage to join us and I think she was both relieved and joyous in the moment.

We must have started a trend, as many others from our group ran down to touch the water as well from this staircase.

20 minutes went by quickly as we rushed into the souvenir shop and frantically picked out t-shirts to purchase. Back on the bus, we were headed for the port.

Home Sweet Home

After another 10 hour tour in the hot sun, it felt so good to get back to the ship. This is one of the reasons I love cruising and why these types of cruises are my favorite.

We’ve been exploring and touring Israel for 3 long days, and I don’t necessarily think that our family would have enjoyed an Israeli-intensive land tour. I truly value the comfort of coming back to the ship each night to reset and refresh.

Cruising allows you to immerse yourself and a new culture and be out of your comfort zone while still returning to a clean room, a delicious meal and maybe even a Lime & Coconut cocktail.

Our day ended with dinner in the dining room. We enjoyed recapping the last 3 days together and sharing our favorite moments of the trip. Memories were shared among seafood risotto, beef tenderloin and autumn turkey dinner complete with chocolate cake, creme brûlée and apple blossom.

Somehow, everyone else had energy to go to the silent disco, live band in the Music Hall and acrobatics show tonight. They said everything was fairly busy, so everyone is ready to let loose and have fun! I chose to spend my night finishing the blog because I did not have much time today to work on the bus with how busy our tour was. 

Tomorrow we have a sea day, which is very much needed after everyone had three very busy days in Israel! Our plans for tomorrow are minimal, but will absolutely include a lot of sleep. We also have plans to see The Book, which is a show in the 270 Theatre - that should be fun!