Vertygo

I think you’ll find many things to like about O. This is only my 3rd cruise, but I’m back because the 1st 2 (pre-Covid) were wonderful. Looking forward to Vista!

Thank you for your post. I’ll be on the Istanbul to Athens leg next week & am looking forward to your further updates to get me more excited than I already am. I’m also on an extended balcony on 8-8120. Let me know how noise level is in your cabin please.

How was the Sofitel? I’m there in August w/23 hour layover from Athens. Gives me a chance to get into London & see a show.

We’ll be in Santorini on Vista in a few weeks & I’ve arranged a private small boat tour from Skala through Santorini View. They’ve been great - very responsive to e-mails & adjusted the timing of our 5 hour tour to make sure we can tender back in time without rushing. While we won’t walk on the island I certainly will be glad to avoid the crowds & cable car crush.

Thanks Hlitner! We’ll be in Istanbul for 3 days prior to boarding Vista in a few weeks & can’t wait. I’ve arranged a private guide for 2 days & we’re staying in Galata so will do a lot of walking & use public transportation. Can’t think of a better way to see the city. Basilica Cisterns is on the top of my very long list of places to see & I know we’ll need to return some day like you.

Thank you Babysteps, for your updates. We’ll be in Santorini in August with Vista. I had called O to question starting point of a catamaran excursion & was advised it would be old port, not Athinios, but involving the cablecar on return like you experienced. It would help if excursion descriptions were more specific about port designations. Not wanting to fight crowds & heat, we’ve scheduled a private small boat excursion RT from old port instead.

I can not imagine the desperation those people had to attempt their journey, much less spending 20 days at sea crammed into a small vessel. And, I’m glad Insignia was able to rescue some & give them good medical care. Politics aside, it’s inhumane to not do what you can for those suffering. Makes me appreciate even more the ability to board Vista in a few weeks, following my Business Class flight. There but for the grace of God…..

Which excursions made your top 10 & which did you detest?

I would like to get some sort of guided tour where someone or somebody would tell me about we are passing by. I saw ferries that passing a lot of places but I would like to know their names at least. I guess nightly cruise is out of the question. TY for suggestions. Have you looked on Viator? I found airport transport & guide for 2 days for reasonable prices. They might have a small boat evening tour.

We will be in Istanbul in July for 3 days prior to boarding Oceania’s Vista. We’re staying within walking distance of Galata Bridge & are looking forward to walking it. The ferries travel on the Bosporus in evenings during the summer & I’ve read schedules should be posted this weekend. Much cheaper than boat tours offered, with the ability to focus on admiring the surroundings, not the belly dancers & bad food. We are also doing O’s excursion of daytime Bosporus cruise, but there’s something magical about seeing the shores lit up at night.

Here’s O’s description & instructions re Vista’s pool deck that I’ve copied from brochure in my blue envelope for August cruise. Note that they state items will be removed by staff if passenger isn’t present. Now they just need to follow their own rules.

The way I look at it, is that I don’t like throwing money away. If I need to cancel for an insured reason I recoup the cost to put on a future cruise. Yes, I may be “throwing away” the cost of coverage on those trips I’m able to take, but that is much smaller than cost of a cruise. I make sure to never buy the cruise line’s insurance-that IS throwing money away.

We took a taxi to MIA car rental & drove to Vizcaya museum & gardens for the day, then returned back for our 4PM flight to SAN. Worked great!

I use them as well, sourced through Zurich. Price is even cheaper if you book any of your trip through them, like hotel or car.

When you call to cancel, make sure to confirm refund amount & the way it’s posted. If you want CC refunded you need to specify that. I recently cancelled an excursion a few wks prior to FP & ok’d it being applied to that. Didn’t add up on invoice so I called & spoke with a very rude agent. He told me $77 had been applied to FP ($325 excursion) & when I questioned him he repeated his statement but yelling this time & transferred me to another dept who nicely explained they only help on current cruises. Before calling my TA I checked the invoice again & saw that all but $100 was credited, which explains the $100 SBC that had suddenly appeared on my acct the week prior. Keep your own records of everything you book & change to make sure your acct matches.

But only the left side will appreciate it🤣

I’m on Oceania’s Vista Aug 6 with 3 other ships in Santorini, 10K people. I’ve booked a 4 hour private catamaran excursion through Viator for $174 pp. Leaves from Old Port so no need for cable car crush & standing in blazing sun.

We’re in Santorini with Vista Aug 6 with 3 other ships, about 10K people. After reading Hank’s review of the horrible Boutari winery excursion, which I’d also scheduled, I cancelled & booked a private catamaran tour from the tender port. I realize we’ll see everything from the water, but I don’t relish huge crowds or standing in hot sun for a long time.

Ritz concierge may be able to arrange. Airport to our hotel was quoted as $100 Euro, which is about double of what I’ve booked myself. I’ve arranged private van for $55 by “Fat Taxi” through Viator. That was cheaper than using Fat Taxi’s site directly. We’re going in August so can’t report on actual service.

Uh-Oh, we’ve scheduled this same excursion in August. Sad to hear reality is so horrible compared to the wonderful description. Will rethink plans. This is exactly why I follow these posts. Thanks!

Thanks again! I’ll look into dinner in that area as well. Best of both worlds 😄

Thanks! We have a day cruise planned & our hotel, DeCamondo Galata House, has a rooftop restaurant with river views. What evening cruise did you do?

@cruisemom42 Do you have a suggestion for night Bosporus cruise? I don’t want cheesy dinner party boat, but something more relaxing to see the buildings lit up. Not sure if a ferry would be the “ticket” & I’ve read about a private company with similar routes, but looks like schedule is too early. Do the sunset cruises I’ve seen end after dark? Appreciate any advice you have.

Thanks Cruisemom42! My calculations lean towards the Istanbul Museum Card only, especially if lines aren’t long in Ephesus. I definitely want to see the Islamic Arts & the Archaeological museums, but may be hard to squeeze all we want to see in a few days.

We’ll be in Istanbul for 3 days prior to 8/2 cruise. Has anyone used the Museum Pass for Istanbul and/or Ephesus? We have a private guide, but looks like we could save time standing in line to purchase admission. Thanks, Linda