sppunk

This is the reason I never recommend HOHO busses. You very often wait longer than you see things and ruin days. 

Sorry you had had this issue. 

$20m is a joke of a penalty. They should have been hot much harder - they were fined $40m previously and didn’t lean the lesson. 

Have a great trip! Those shrimp tots are pretty good - try them. 

NPR had a great story on overtourism this past week.

Essentially as the Chinese and Indian middle class explodes and they get the opportunity to explore the world like the West has for the past century or whatever, it’ll get more and more crowded. 

And I’m glad because it means more humans are able to see remarkable things. 

46 minutes ago, edgee said:

My most recent travels have been on the O ships and the booming announcements repeating what everyone can read in Currents are only in public areas. However the sound comes with sufficient volume to be heard in my cabin and in cabin bathrooms. Last straw for me was when the "sales" at shops were being touted in carnival barker's tone and droned on and on.  For me the announcement "problem" is a big enough deal to discourage me from cruising Oceania. If itinerary and price are favorable we will still go with them, but the damn announcements and lack of decent evening entertainment options means we cruise Oceania less often.

Oof not good to hear. 

Our last HAL cruise had 2 announcements a day - one was the captain’s report ahd the other a 45 sec or so cruise director announcement saying where the gangway was or on a Sea day basically to have a good day. 

2 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Plus River Countess

 

Wow, she held up incredibly well considering what hit her. 

Viking was involved in a horrific crash on the Danube that killed a bunch of people this week.

Two HAL ships played bumper cars in Vancouver last month.

Unfortunately bad things happen. 

5 hours ago, KatieBelle said:

 

Hello sppunk!

 

We just returned from sailing on Riviera, Marina's sister ship.  The short answer to this is yes!  But I'm not prone to short answers.  You will definitely notice a difference in the Terrace Cafe.  We had bowls of fresh berries every morning as well as trays of pineapple, mellons, guava, and so much more.  There are hard boiled as well as 3 minute eggs, eggs cooked to order (poached, fried, benedict) as well as an egg dish of the day (Huevos Rancheros, Tuscan eggs benedict, etc.).  And all served by staff, no masses handling serving utensils, stirring around in bowls.  I think your wife will be pleased.

 

 

Others have already assured you that this can be accommodated and is an easy request in just about any dining venue.  May I suggest y'all try the seared scallops (Coquille Saint-Jacques) in Jacques.  For me these surpass the Miso Glazed Sea Bass in Red Ginger that so many rave about.  Personal opinion.  But that's the beauty of Oceania.  You can try it all!

 

 

No art auctions, photographers.  There will be some table displays of merchandise in the evenings.  Easy to avoid.  

 

Most Cruise Directors on Oceania keep announcements to a minimum.  They will occur about 8-9 a.m., depending on sail in.  Again about 5 p.m.  There may be an announcement about 11 a.m. or 12 noon.  We were usually off the ship.  These will be in the corridor and public areas.  If you want to listen to the announcement, you an open your stateroom door or tune in on the ship channel.  Only muster/emergency announcements will be broadcast into the stateroom.

 

 

Oh my!  Single part?  Can you pick a favorite child?

 

-Service!  This will stand out to you.  Your cabin stewards, bartenders, wait staff, reception, reservations desk baristas.  If you are thinking you might like something, just ask!

 

-Cooking classes in the Culinary Center.

 

-Afternoon tea with the string quartet.  So civilized.

 

-Baristas.  I usually visit here twice a day.  

 

-La Reserve.  This wine pairing dinner, any menu, is something I would encourage everyone to experience at least once.  Don't let the prius hold you back.  It is a fabulous evening and you will likely meet some new friends.  If you choose a beverage package, the 18% gratuity will be waived.

 

-Bread!  I save all my bread carbs for an Oceania cruise because there is a difference.  My memory may not be exact, but there are something like 14 pastry chefs on Marina & Riviera (O class ships) plus 5 bakers.  The bakers work in shifts beginggin at 3 a.m. baking all the beautiful breads, loaves, sticky buns etc. for every venue, everyday with flour specifically source from a farm in France.  There is a difference and it is worth it!

 

Enjoy the cruise!

Katie

Does Oceania by chance create pretzels? HAL used to but we haven’t seen them in years - it’s a favorite snack of ours!

We were in Vancouver last week and ate at Blue Water Cafe.

It was one of the better dinners we’ve ever experienced. 

Its not far far from your hotel - we stayed at the Pacific Rim and it was a short car ride over.

Thank you all! This all fits perfectly with us. The specific itinerary is incredibly port intensive (Copenhagen you Stockholm with 3 days in St Petersburg). We also are looking at the Ireland trip r/t from London. 

Oceania’a itineraries are good and the times in port are far better than HAL’s. 

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The Terrace Café is far from a "buffet." With "a la minute" cooking and the availability of "al fresco" dining (and full bar service), it would be better described as O's "casual" restaurant. Some of the things I like most about it are the huge food selection (often including dishes from the GDR's menu for that day) and "no touching" of food items by anyone other than galley staff.

As for daily Salmon, you'll find Salmon nightly in the GDR (Jacques Pepin's signature version) and lox every morning in the Terrace Café. There's plenty of fruits and salads in the Terrace and Waves, and, with advanced notice, O's chefs will always try to accommodate special requests.

 

Since Oceania is best known for The Finest Cuisine At Sea™, I hope that your spouse will consider being a bit more adventurous (e.g., try the Miso glazed sea bass in Red Ginger).

 

 

 

Oh she will - she just loves simple fish and salads and fruit so much lol.

I’m in love with Oceania’s Emperors and the Opulent itinerary on Marina and have a couple questions that might seem weird but, well, I’m weird. 🙂

We are loyal Holland America cruisers and just off the Volendam in Alaska. We had a great trip but I think our standards have moved beyond HAL and Oceania seems like a good fit (Viking would but that horrible payment policy!)

In HAL’s lido they have fantastic salad bar and fruit selection (although fruit was hit or miss this past week in quality). 

Does the Terrace Cafe have this? My wife is a very peculiar eater and a massive bowl of fruit is her breakfast and lunch, along with a hard boiled egg (bfast) and a salad without dressing (at lunch).

At dinner, can she get a plain piece of salmon and steamed veggies without issue? It’s her staple on cruises.

Also, I absolutely hate announcements, auctions and upsells. Is it safe to assume O is clear of these practices?

And lastly - no promenade deck is an issue as I’m an avid walker. Is there sufficient outdoor deck space with a view to actually walk 5 or so miles without going in one circle 100 times?

Lastly let’s make this thread fun - what is your single favorite part of Oceania? 

Thank you all!

On 5/29/2019 at 9:20 AM, graphicguy said:

Park West handles the art auctions on ALL mainstream cruise ship lines.  Park West has a sordid past when it comes to selling art.  A little internet sleuthing will turn up all sorts of stories from the Royal Caribbean, Carnival and NCL auctions.  

 

I know the cruise lines get a cut of the proceeds, but I’m not certain the auctions are actually run by cruiselines, themselves.  Maybe a situation where PArk West only leases space on the cruise ships, and fills it with their own employees.  In return, the cruise lines make some sort of commission.

 

Regarding jewelry, I have no issues with their jewelry sales on board.  Sometimes, you can find a decent deal on a piece.  But, I caution everyone who asks me, “buy jewelry to remember your cruise or to give to a loved one who was on the cruise with you.  Don’t buy because it’s a bargain.  Likely, prices are in line with land based jewelry stores (but you save the tax by buying on the ship).  

 

I buy jewelry, quite a bit over the years.  It’s next to impossible to give the stones you buy a rating (and no, a jeweler’s glass won’t help you, except to show imperfections, not the rating).  Of course, if you’re a gemologist, you can buy gems wholesale, in which case, none of the pricing matters.

 

I don’t think you can do any better or worse by buying jewelry on a ship than you can on a land based store.

 

Watches are something I do know a lot more about.  Again, if you have a trusted jeweler that you do business with, you’ll likely be able to get a good deal on something like a Tag (which cruise ships tend to really push in their jewelry dept) that you can have serviced on land. 

 

Park West.....even I get a little insulted by their tactics, and rarely go their auctions.  I think I’ve attended exactly one on board in the decades I’ve cruised.

 

Peter Max....how sleazy of his family and Park West for fostering this sort of sham.

Holland America kicked Park West to the curb more than a year ago. Several,lines are in the process. 

21 minutes ago, zentraveler said:

 

Thanks sppunk. So you got to the port about 10:45? And are you anybody special 😊(one of the earlier status boarding groups?) Encouraging to know.

 

Any idea why you got on so quickly?  i.e, not too many in line,? got there early, like at 10 am?, were in an early group? Not generally very crowded in the port? Or just pure luck of the travel gods 😁??

No special status x they had a ton of employee directing people every step of the way and immigration is done by kiosk which takes a minute, tops. 

I boarded the Volendam on May 22 and it took 24 minutes from when we entered the doors until when we were waiting to board. We waited 15 minutes in the boarding area and were onboard at 11:10 a.m. 

It was the easiest/best embarkation we’ve ever had. Disembarkation was equally as easy. 

There were 2 ships in when we boarded, 3 in when we had to leave.

49 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Thanks for this info. I'll be there in June on QE, and I was thinking about the train, mostly to see some snow along the way. I think the train is a must-do once, but I've done it before so I'll save my money and wander around town. I'm lucky on my visit, only one Disney ship with us. I can't imagine that little town with 11,000+ people pouring in!

 

To clarify the crowds were in Ketchikan. Since it’s the first or last port it’s always heavily visited. 

I was there on Volendam last week with five ships and it was miserable. Wall-to-wall people and just a horrible experience. The NCL Joy, Royal Princess, Coral Princess, Volendam and Oceania Regatta. 11,400+ guests. 

Also there is no snow at all there now - not even on the mountains on the White Pass railroad, except the very top peaks. It was in the upper 70s all week - all ice is gone from lakes and creeks everywhere. They had a mild, dry winter. 

33 minutes ago, wandb said:

What a treat to click on Cruise Critic today and find your review!!  I loved it! It was 14 years ago yesterday that we began this great adventure of cruising—-with a cruise/tour of Alaska. We were on the beautiful Ryndam, and your review and many pictures brought back so many great memories. 

 

I’m so glad you included several pictures of the two of you. The lovely K is as beautiful as ever, and I think the beard and moustache are a great look on you!!

Hopefully, one of these days, we will cruise again with y’all.

 

Wondering which future cruise you chose—-it will be great, wherever you go.

Hi - hope all is well! Probably Northern Europe bit on Oceania - they overnight two nights in St. Petersburg’s where HAL only does one. Makes a huge difference there. 

49 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

 

So your unprotected/open sea "first leg" is the portion of Queen Charlotte Sound, north of Vancouver Island?

I believe so - it was dark when we got out there and by the time we woke up we were basically back within the passage. 

7 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Welcome to Maryland if only for a few hours.

 

Roy

We live near Harrisburg - we are always n Maryland. 🙂

2 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Where did you depart from Spunk, referring to your "first leg"? Where you southbound?

Volendam is doing r/t’s out of Vancouver. Juneau,  Skagwwy, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan in that order. 

2 minutes ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

Safe travels home. Eastern Pennsylvania has been hit with bad storms yesterday and more for later today. We had a tornado touch down in Berks county (Morgantown) yesterday afternoon.

 

Yea we fly into BWI tonight - hoping for the best. 

Juts off Volendam and we were inside the passage the entire trip minus the first leg wher you have no choice but to leave protected  waters. It’s beautiful sailing. 

Day 7 (and 8), Tuesday, May 28 (and Wednesday May 29)

The final day of any cruise is always bittersweet. The final day of an Alaska cruise that saw zero rain, sunny skies and temps in the 70s is even more bittersweet. 

Last night we ate at the Sel de Mer pop-up restaurant. We are at Sel de Mer on our Koningsdam trip (twice to be precise) and fell in love and tonight was no exception. 

We had the seafood tower, the escargot, the salt-crusted branzino, lamb chops, a bunch of sides and a few desserts. Everything was superb. I don’t take photos of food on ships but damn was it good. 

After dinner we met some newfound friends in the Oceans Bar and had a few drinks, lots of laughs and just enjoying the night. 

This morning we slept in. To 10:30 a.m. RuthC would be impressed. 

It was a very lazy day. We had onboard credit to burn so had lunch in the Pinnacle Grill (the burger is still excellent) and attended the Meet the Captain event at 2 p.m. Nothing new to report but Captain Friso is a lovely man with a great sense of humor. You’ll see him in the future as he is a young captain and an excellent master. He has a big career ahead of himself. 

All day we danced with the Coral Princess. Gotta love the inside passage scenery:

I took a long nap on our balcony after a 5 mile walk. It was shorts weather again today. So bizarre. But the views this afternoon were perfect. Early today we were in heavy fog with zero visibility but once we sailed out of it - bam! Beauty!

We also packed. Boo. 

Here is the final menu: 

Tonight’s final dinner we decided to order the Alaska Crab Feast. For $29 you get crab legs, crab and corn chowder, and shrimp and crab cakes. I wasn’t a huge fan of the cakes but the wife loved the crab legs. The chowder was pretty good too. 

After dinner it was time for the final Wang Wang, always a depressing moment. 

This morning we did self-disembarkation. The ship was cleared at 7:40 a.m., we were in a can at 7:55 a.m. and now sitting in the airport lounge at 8:50 a.m. awaiting our 12:30 p.m. flight to the U.S. 

What an insanely easy disembarkation and airport pre-clearance. I’ll sail from Vancouver in a cocaine heartbeat. 

Overall we had an excellent cruise. The Volendam is a happy ship. 

It has some heating issue so if you have a cruise on her this season be ready for very, very cold cabins. 

And I have to point out the Explorers Lounge on Volendam is a depressing venue. Adagio played here nightly but we never saw more than 15 or so people in attendance. I think the institution-like setup is why. Look at his exciting venue. 

But everything else was great. If you have a Volendam trip scheduled, you’re in for a great time. 

That ends my live report. If you have any questions I’ll be happy to answer. 

I hope someone found my review interesting, fun or at least helpful!

Day 6, Monday, May 27

Greetings from a cloud-free, hot, entirely-too-crowded Ketchikan. 

Joining the little Volendam in port today was the Coral Princess, Royal Princess, Norwegian Joy and the extremely pretty Oceania Regetta. More on Ketchikan in a bit. 

Last night was the final Gala night. The Asian duck was absolutely excellent and our waiters know me well - when they took away my plate they immediately placed a plate full of chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. I love our waiters. 

After dinner we went up to the Crows Nest for a drink. We sat there for 20 or so minutes and not a single server paid any attention to us. This was the second time we had this issue there / the forty I went up to the bar and ordered but this time simply walked out and down to the Ocean Bar where servers care about passengers. 

The data center had been restore by this point too thankfully. 

Today in Ketchikan it was way too crowded. I generally dislike Ketchikan even on good days but today it was so overrun it was ugly. 

Also if you brought shorts, sunblock and flip flops you won today’s lottery. It almost hit 80 here and the drought continues. No climate change at all here ... 

We had a float plane trip booked but due to the fatal accident a few weeks ago our plans obviously were cancelled. We instead decided to just wander around. That was a mistake. 

People on top of people. Crowded streets. Might as well be in Times Square. It’s about the same level of tackiness at least. 

If you can’t tell, it wasn’t the best port day but we still made the most of it. 

We took the walking tour - about an hour or so walk around the city. After the walk I wanted a beer but the Arctic Bar and Bawden Street Brewery were mobbed with humans and no space anywhere to sit or stand. 

Despite the crowds I got some photos. 

We ended up at Annabelle’s for a whole Dungeness crab and halibut and crab Mac n cheese lunch and an Alaskan Amber. It was delicious. 

After lunch we ran and bought smoked salmon. Be careful here buying salmon - most places sell them packed with sugar. *****? We bought a six pack of the good stuff from Chinook and Co. 

The crowds greatly emptied by 3 p.m. (the NCL and Princess monster ships left) so we stopped back at the brewery for a beer. It’s tiny but a fun little brewery. 

We then headed back to the comfortable confines of the Volendam and did a lot of nothing until we worked out and readied for dinner. 

Tonight we are at Sel de Mer and are excited. But here is tonight’s menu in the dining room. 

I’ll not be posting tomorrow so my final full day post will come on Wednesday from the Vancouver airport. 

Until then ....