Haleca33

Oceania 180 ATW, Menu was not generally repeated, except in the specialty Italian and  steakhouse restaurants. Indeed, our chef would go ashore and buy local foodstuffs and play his menu off what was available. 

Some smaller recharging  batteries and short cables to recharge your phone ipad etc on long day excursions when you won’t be near power plugs.

I get my hair cut about every 4/5 weeks. I used the ship once but got haircuts in American Samoa, Japan and Istanbul. I recommend getting a cut ashore. In Samoa, while waiting, we got into conversations with locals which were fun, interesting and memorable. The cut in Istanbul was in a little shop on the second floor complete with TV soaps in Turkish, a local gossip dropping in, and a precut massage that was worth the price of admission. Same in Japan. This all goes in the category of most of what we remember from traveling is the people we meet, not the things we see. 

I use the Costco Visa card. It is a cash back card and pays 3% on travel. I have gone away from miles cards because I can’t figure out the true return rate and getting qualifying good routes has become a real pain. I use the same payment system as above. Pay a percentage of the balance, immediately pay off the card, rinse and repeat until paid.

Sandra and I have long range plans to take the ATW in 2022. We had a wonderful time this year. Is it pretty settled that it will be a east bound cruise?

A few tips from a car guy who was on the 2000 1980 AT W but new to Cruise Critic. Most recent model cars, like Audis for example, have sophisticated computer systems that will gradually shut down the electrics to preserve the battery. I did use a battery tender on one car, though. It is not necessary to drive most cars that are in long-term storage. A short drive is actually bad as the engine never gets hot enough to burn off deposits from the cold start. But the engine should be run for at least 30 minutes every month or two with the AC on maximum to exercise the hoses and seals so they don’t take a set or dry out. The gas tank should be as full as possible to prevent moisture accumulation.

On packing, I and several other men noticed that we brought too much dressy clothing. I took 3 sport coats and could have gotten by with 2 or 1. I bought several pairs of slacks and could have gotten by with 2 or 3. It got cold and very hot. I didn’t bring enough casual cold weather clothing. The ship gave us all a commemorative rain coat so I didn’t need mine. The ship supplies a big golf size umbrella so you can skip the travel ones. Don’t worry too much about over the counter medications as the free medical care supplies most salves etc (but you do have to see the nurse or the Dr.) We took several powerful magnetic hooks which gave us the ability to hang things on the inside of the cabin door. The included laundry makes any cleaning supplies irrelevant. Also the turn around is so quick you don’t need to bring an extensive supply of socks, underwear, etc. 

19 hours ago, Damicom said:

I’ve been on a number of Oceania cruises and have appreciated that the travelers have been well behaved, sophisticated, very intelligent and delightful. I was shocked and dismayed by the underwear. I’ve been on other cruise lines where I might expect that  behavior. Hopefully this was first and a last for Oceania. 

I haven’t been on the world tour but I’ve been on segments of it and will be on a 25 day segment of this one in March.  I usually book the B1 veranda category. The rooms are exactly the same as concierge. There are some amenities in concierge that might be nice. There is access to a spa deck that you would otherwise have to pay to use.  I’ve found B1 to be just fine. The Insignia does not have a Concierge Lounge like the larger Oceania ships have. There’s room service and generally all service is excellent. Insignia is a much smaller ship than NCL and is very intimate and comfortable. In March I will be at Concierge  level, only because it was all that was available when I booked. So I’ll see if the difference is worth it. We’re considering the 2021 ATW Cruise as well.

As for the options, I’m not much of a drinker so I can’t say how the drinks package would work out. I take the excursions option.  On an ATW Cruise you’ll be doing lots of excursions and they can get expensive. That would probably be the best bang for your buck.  There are also several overland excursions during the trip that, if you chose them, add some expense.