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schmidlapp

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  1. Thanks for the info, I was on one of the virgin Islands websites and they listed west end to st John multiple times a day. Appreciate that you know firsthand. We'll be in St Thomas for a few days pre cruise before we head to St maarten. It looks like we'll do the red hook-Cruz bay ferry one day instead.
  2. Next winter we're booked on the Surf. One of our ports is Tortola BVI. Our plan is to take the ferry , (very short ride) to St John USVI for a few hours. This will require us to have our passports for the day. Wondering how they will handle this?
  3. I'll start this out confessing we probably made the mistake of too high of expectations. We've cruised over 40 times on multiple lines including Celebrity, Azamara, Windstar, Regent, Sea Dream, NCL, and a few others. Since we had sailed the R class ships numerous times on Azamara we decided to book a suite to get a bit more room and a few additional perks. First impression, our penthouse suite was beautiful and spacious. After adding up all the costs, between cruise fare, gratuities and premium beverage package upgrade we could have done a truly luxury all inclusive line for a very similar cost. The Insignia was beautifully decorated for the upcoming Christmas and new year's cruise. Our first full day aboard a construction crew closed off a portion of the pool deck and started removing a large section of the teak deck. They used air chisels and other extremely loud power tools. It was truly deafening. This construction lasted the whole cruise. We were told they were hoping to get more deck repairs done than what was actually accomplished and were sending the crew home after this cruise because they didn't want to continue work during the upcoming Christmas cruise. This truly was drydock maintenance done with with a ship full of passengers. At the end of the cruise we were all offered a $400pp future cruise credit for the inconvenience. We also had an issue with our suites air conditioning. The thermostat did nothing to raise or lower the temperature. It was generally cool during the day and very warm at night. Didn't matter whether we turned it up or down it was whatever randomly came out of the vents. We reported this multiple times and were told there was nothing wrong. We were finally offered a key to a vacant inside cabin for sleeping. Insignia built in 1998 has obvious issues that need to be addressed. The crew was generally excellent, especially the bar and cabin staff. Our butler did a very good job. We're not high maintenance butler types so we didn't have him do much for us. Officers and management did not inpress. I've never been on a cruise where the officers were so disengaged with the guests. It was difficult for many of them to grunt out a good morning to you when passing in the hall. I frequently saw more officers in the "gas chamber" (smoking lounge) off Horizons when I walked by, than anywhere else on the ship. The first night onboard we had a horrible experience in Toscana. I previously posted on CC regarding dress code and my wife's footwear requirement due to 2 reconstructive foot surgery after a car accident, was told don't worry it will be fine. She only wears very nice tennis shoes with a custom orthotic insert to help her walk. Well we were seated in Toscana and the dining room manager immediately came to our table and told her she couldn't wear "rubber shoes". She was in tears as she has dozens of beautiful shoes that she can't wear anymore. I about lost it as I saw footwear far worse than what she was wearing frequently in dining rooms. My wife had on a beautiful dress, jewelry etc. We should have just walked out. After this, we just didn't feel comfortable there. I met later with the ship's food and beverage manager and expressed my total displeasure with how this was handled. I truly believe there is a management issue on this ship. We did cancel our second Toscona reservation as we just didn't feel comfortable going back in there. The only dining venue where we consistently had good food was Polo grill. Fortunately we were able to dine there 3 times. In most venues it seemed the dining staff were trying hard but many times there was little direction and limited training. Breakfast in the terrace cafe was exactly the same every day, not bad but nothing great. Lunch in terrace cafe changed somewhat daily but of very low quality. Overall very bland flavors, Dry and tasteless carved meats, boring salads etc. One day they offered carved ham, well it was a pressed low quality ham like thing. I never saw so many preparations of dry veal in my life. Oceania must have purchased truckloads of cheap veal and pork. One day the menu on TV said prime rib in terrace cafe in the evening. Great, until we arrived and they substituted a tough round of beef instead. We found ourselves eating too many French fries and burgers at waves grill. "Finest cusine at sea" I think not. Normally when we cruise we have at least 1 or 2 memorable meals. Sadly not a whole lot memorable in 12 days. I'd say there was a lot of cost cutting but since this was our first Oceania cruise I've got nothing to compare it to. I suspect in the past things may have been better? We had a couple ok dinners in the Grand dining room, unfortunately this was more the exception rather than the rule. Menus in Grand dining room were very uninspiring. Entertainment was about what we expected on a small ship. Shows were ok, however nothing outdoors during the afternoon, probably because the pool deck was under repair. When you could hear the recorded music on the pool deck they looped around 30 of the same songs over and over. The ships band played late in horizons for exactly 1 hour nightly and done. They were not at all engaging, not terrible but totally disconnected with the audience. It was like they had to be there, play their hour, pack up and leave. We frequently participated it their outdoor activities, enjoyed the golf putting, shuffleboard, ping pong etc. Due to deck construction ping pong was moved to a small corner next to the outdoor smoking area Ugh!! Overall there were a lot of disappointments mixed with some positives. I can see where Oceania insignia in its day was likely an excellent cruise ship. That was then and this is now. Sadly now needs a lot of improvement.
  4. 20231206_135929.mp4 We are currently on Insignia, Deck 8 near aft elevator. Its been quiet here, not so much forward as there is a major Teak deck replacement project going on since we boarded on the 5th. Lots of noise and disruption with a portion of the pool deck and 1 staircase to deck 10 closed. Yesterday they even closed a section of the pool bar. Supposedly they are pausing the job for the next cruise as they don't want to disrupt the upcoming Christmas sailing. Quite frankly the magnitude of this job should be done in drydock. Our current sailing is 12 nights and they've been at it every day depending on the weather.
  5. Our first Oceania cruise is coming up this December. Just noticed the dress code regarding tennis shoes in the dining room. My wife was in a bad auto accident in 2012. After 2 reconstructive foot surgeries she's able to walk reasonably but very limited in footwear. She has about 10 pair of identical except for color tennis shoes that she uses a custom orthotic insert. She dresses beautifully but lives in these shoes. Hopefully there will be no issues when she walks into the dining room. Wondering if I should speak to manager in advance or not worry about it?
  6. Sailing early December on Insignia. We're a few weeks out from being able to book our 2 nights in each specialty restaurant. This is probably a very long shot but is there any way to find out the what menu's are scheduled in the main dining room each day way in advance? It's a 12 night sailing and we seem to always schedule our specialty dining on nights that the MDR has their best menu's.
  7. We're driving from southwest Florida to Miami, need to park vehicle for 2 weeks. We fly from Miami to Barbados, cruise back to Miami. Looking for best parking option either at Airport or Port. I know there are options, looking for recommendations. Thanks in advance...
  8. We're jumping ship from Celebrity for the same reason, about to book our first Oceania cruise for this fall.
  9. Free shuttle to port entrance, taxis readily available, $30 to airport
  10. Just got off Reflection this morning. Quick final summary. Ship was in very good condition. The Retreat staff is beyond excellent! Service overall was great. We loved our sky suite. Unfortunately like the first half of the cruise, dining the last 3 days generally was not up to par. Quite frankly MDR food on our pre covid cruises was better than what's currently coming out of Luminae.
  11. 5th day into our 7 night Reflection cruise. We're extremely glad we upgraded to a sky suite. Ship is sailing full at over 3k passengers. Elevator etiquette is pretty much non existent. Most public areas are busy to crowded. Dining in Ocean view cafe is typically a feeding frenzy, often difficult to find a place to sit. We've been spending a lot of time sea days on our balcony and in Michael's club. Bartenders Olympia and Cranston have taken great care of us. Luminae has been inconsistent. Our favorite server Diwi is doing a great job, especially with some menu items that have been subpar. We stopped ordering fish as the quality and prep are weak at best. Wife had the vegetarian lasagna a few nights ago, it was outstanding as well as the beef short ribs. Been ordering escargot from the MDR regularly good as always. We've been ordering steaks and lamb rare as most of them come out overdone. I sent my first filet back last night, it was tough, stringy and overdone. Second one came out perfect. We've enjoyed the featured raspberry pistachio dessert almost every night. The Retreat hosts and our butler have been over the top helpful. The Sky suite is extremely clean, comfortable, quiet and has a great bed.
  12. Yes, Both Olympia and Cranston are in Michael's club. Service there has been over the top excellent. I'll ask her how long her contract is. Only our 2nd day, quite frankly in every venue we've experienced very good to excellent service. We had lunch in OV cafe today, Great variety, from wings to ribs to roast Turkey, fresh sandwiches, pizza, salad bar and much more. My wife is hobbling around, knee replacement coming in a few weeks. Staff has been over the top helpful for her as well. So far many of the CC complaints I've been reading are a non issue.
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