Rally

“

>Is that very far from LAX ?

That distance is best measured in traffic, not miles.  Figure 30-45 minutes, "plus or minus a day or two".    🙄”

Spoken like a native😂. We have boarded and disembarked ships of Crystal (Symphony, ) Silversea (Silver Shadow,) and Regent (Voyager) in San Pedro. It was always amusing to see our small ship tucked away amidst the Carnival behemoths 😉

We stayed many times at the San Pedro Doubletree (by Hilton) the night before boarding.  It is very convenient and comfortable and runs a free shuttle to the various docks. Also, for Southern California residents who may elect to drive to San Pedro, they allow free 14 day parking.  Highly recommended.

On 5/21/2023 at 8:48 AM, pinotlover said:

An important point on returning food abroad ship. We most typically enjoy sharing at dinner. Part of the enjoyment of cruising and traveling for us the the wide assortment of interesting people we meet. Some of our table mates hate the leisurely pace of dinner we enjoy on Oceania. This opinion is consistently repeated here on CC, with some even complaining about people ordering four (4) courses! 😳

 

The last time I sent a steak back, it was ordered medium rare and came out near carbonized. The process, in a busy Polo Grill, took about 15-20 minutes to get our ( actually it happened to another of us at the table) replaced steaks. The third couple at the table were beside themselves! They had finished their course before our food had arrived and were mad at us because we were making them wait so long for dessert and to finish.”

Before my wife died recently we sailed frequently, first on Regent (100 or so nights) then Silver Sea (about 80 nights) and finally Crystal (27 Crystal cruises). When we started we always joined a table and somehow i usually ended up the last to order.  I always quietly asked the waiter how many courses others at the table had ordered and made sure to not order the most at the table. That worked well for us (although i always managed to work in that sherbet “palette refresher.”)  As time and our age moved on we began dining at a table for two, and as my wife’s health declined I naturally tailored my courses to hers, finally settling on an app and entree.  Being with her came to be more important than the food.  The waiters and dining manager knew us and the service evolved with us.  We were lucky and never had a dish we had to send back; better lucky than smart, but true, and that applies to each cruise line we sailed.

my wife has been gone just over a year and I talked to our TA about a solo world cruise.  To her credit she talked me out of it until I sailed a short “test” cruise.  Not a test of the line or ship but of myself.  So I am booked in a solo cabin with a window on Regatta June 9, r/t Seattle.  It will be my third Alaskan cruise (both on Regent) including one with two of our grandchildren when they were very young.  I just returned from visiting our son and his family in Texas.  It was my first “solo” trip anywhere since my Mary passed and I think I did ok.  I look forward to this cruise on Oceania.  I have always heard good things but honestly its Oceania because they had the right cruise at the right time in the right place.  I look forward to it.

please don’t beat up on the OP. I think she knew the loyalists would come out with guns blazing but yet decided to share her experience and opinion.  I value hers and others but I try to remember that the 9nly opinion that matters, now, is my own.  The vast majority of our fellow travelors on this planet never can even conceive of leisure cruising.  Lets be kind to them and us. Bon voyage friends. 

On 5/21/2023 at 8:48 AM, pinotlover said:

 

On 5/6/2023 at 10:21 AM, 1982CruzStart said:

Thanks GeorgiaPeach51. love your reports.

If you don't already do so use an app to re-size your photos to a smaller size and then they load much faster. Flossie009 kindly gave me this tip on the one cruise we were on at the same time and it has been a blessing. Even when posting in Antartica the pictures posted fairly quickly. The app is called Image size and i downloaded it when i was onboard Explorer so it must have been pretty small.  It is easy to use cuz even i can use it even after long periods ot time between cruises. 

Continue having a wonderful cruise. 

Thanks for the tip about Image Size

On 5/6/2023 at 10:21 AM, 1982CruzStart said:

Thanks GeorgiaPeach51. love your reports.

If you don't already do so use an app to re-size your photos to a smaller size and then they load much faster. Flossie009 kindly gave me this tip on the one cruise we were on at the same time and it has been a blessing. Even when posting in Antartica the pictures posted fairly quickly. The app is called Image size and i downloaded it when i was onboard Explorer so it must have been pretty small.  It is easy to use cuz even i can use it even after long periods ot time between cruises. 

Continue having a wonderful cruise. 

Thanks for the tip about Image Size

On 5/5/2023 at 1:54 PM, red1head said:

We love Navigator. Hope you have a lovely cruise. 

I haven’t sailed on Regent in years but fondly remember Navigator. Our first Regent cruise was on Paul Gauguin (when Regent operated it) and then an unplanned B2B on Navigator in the Med. we absolutely loved it and although we have often sailed on “nicer” ships since I still fondly remember the wooden ship touches throughout Navigator. 

14 hours ago, alibaba1 said:

Welcome to Oceania! Wow, are you in for a treat. We sailed, with our friends Mike and Carol, a few years back, and he created this marvelous review of our cruise on the Riviera. We have been back a few times since then (9x to be exact, and once on Marina - her sister ship) this past March 2023. Had a fabulous time again. We're booked on the Oceania Vista Dec 1, 2023 and Feb 18, 2024. The roll calls are pretty quite, but anyway......here's Mike's review, complete with photos and menus.
So.....get a big cup of coffee or a glass of wine and enjoy!
https://www.thepreismans.com/riviera_mayan.htm

Please thank your friends for a terrific review!

So, you don’t recommend loading up a plate then descending those stairs and asking, nicely of course, ifit would be possible to borrow someone’s  eranda, especially if its unoccupied?  Would that be considered bad form? 😎

Wouldn’t the occupants of that Oceana Suite have something to say about it? 😉

9 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

in the  Terrace   opens at 6:30 pm -9pm

Somehow I missed reading about this place for dinner. From the menu , I could dine there every night!! 😊

“On any given night you can enjoy as much lobster, shrimp, steak and lamb as you can consume at the top of the stair case, looking out at the wake of the ship in the night air.”

is this in Barristas?  Every night starting about when?  Thanks

27 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I think Oceania has more drink  options on the premium package than Crystal had

I like some cocktails  the only  one the bartenders on Crystal knew how to make were Grasshoppers or Pina coladas

If you just want spirits with a mixer they could handle that OK

JME

That wasn’t our experience at all. The included spirits were top shelf and more and the bartenders very expert, professional and friendly. On our last. Crystal cruise, for example (about 2018) there was a “gin and tonic” menu with 11 variation and 4 choices of tonic. I never came up with a drink they couldn’t make quickly and well. There is no need to build up one company by belittling another. I look forward to my first Oceania cruise. It will be different than my last Crystal cruise. That’s what makes the world go ‘round. 😊

1 hour ago, basor said:

The FAQ's have been used as a tool by Oceania if they have someone that is abusing the alcohol policy by taking the spirits outside of their cabin or are abusing alcohol consumption.

Oceania is one of the few cruise lines that have such a liberal bringing alcohol on board policy - no confiscation, no trying to sneak liquor on board, no "naughty" room.   If people start abusing this policy by " a wee bit of vodka or gin or a glass of wine" out to the public rooms or to meals then they will stop the policy and we all lose.  Please enjoy your spirits in your cabin or on your verandah as requested... 

that is great info, makes sense, and thanks. I merely posted a hypothetical not something I would do. I’m used to Crystal’s policy which provides each guest with a bottle of their choice upon embarking to be consumed when and where the guest chooses. It can be wine, champagne or hard spirits, and replenished if requested. With the premium package I have purchased the only difference is if I want a cocktail in my cabin I will need to call room service jot wander out to a bar and bring it back. No big deal. I was mostly interested in the conflict between your comment and the FAQ and you answered that for me. Thank you. 

9 minutes ago, basor said:

You can bring all of the beer, wine, liquor, spirits you want on board at embarkation and at ports - for consumption in your cabin.....only wine can be taken out of the cabin for consumption in a dining venue for a $25.00 corkage fee.....

Thank you. So the FAQs are incorrect?  I have purchased a premium drink package but just for fun . . . How often do you think a wee bit of vodka or gin spills into a water glass on the way out of the suite? 😉

On 3/8/2023 at 1:23 PM, WayneLaR said:

I'm curious about your statement about beer and spirits when in port.  O's FAQ says wine only when embarking, and they also say that any alcohol purchases made in port will be held for you "in bond" until the end of the cruise.  It would appear they don't enforce those restrictions, or their FAQ is incorrect and needs to be revised.

Me, too.  Can I bring a bottle of a single malt (for example) on board to drink in my cabin?  As the OP says the FAQs say no.

Thanks Keith

“I'm guessing when you said 27 cruises on Crystal you meant 27 nights!”. No, i meant 27 cruises.  Thank you very much for your insight “History and Wine”

I am considering this, San Diego to San Diego as a solo, in a solo cabin.  My late wife and i cruised extensively on first Regent  (78 nights, the longest cruise being 42 nights) then SilverSea (81 nights) and finally Crystal (27 cruises.) Not a lot, I realize by the standards of many here but alot for us.  Now i am widowed and wondering if this would be a good thing.  We didn’t lose any money to Crystal, fortunately.  Of course i would purchase any-reason no-reason insurance.  What say you all?  Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice,

On 3/6/2023 at 12:33 PM, Keith1010 said:

Very helpful, Keith.  Thank you.

 

3 hours ago, Emtbsam said:

Rally - Great to see you posting.  We remember well our time traveling with you and also the wonderful birthday dinner where Gilbert and Chef Dotti went at it over the prep of the dessert.  Gilbert was maitre d’ on this cruise as well.   We still remember the code word for Pinch.   Hope our paths cross again!

 

CrusinPashmina -  Hope you have better weather than we did.  None the less, Iceland is a fabulous adventure which I am sure you will enjoy.

OMG, don’t tell me they still have a bottle of Pinch stashed away for those who know the secret! 🤣

Reading this thread brought back many wonderful memories.  First, but not this itinerary, Bob and Victoria, with whom we enjoyed a wonderful cruise on Shadow too many years ago.  Glad yo hear they are well and cruising!  But then the itinerary.  We sailed this as part of a longer cruise on Cloud (Tower Bridge/London up the east coast of Britannia to the Faroes and a couple of other fun spots, then westward around the north of Island to Reykjavik, then back around Island counterclockwise to Reykjavik again then to the Faroes, then around Eire, down the west coast of Britannia and up the Thames to Tower Bridge once again.  It was interesting to see some of the ports you visited in different weather conditions.  Once in fog and rain with thundering waterfalls, then a few days later bathed in sunshine.  Another highlight, oddly, was an Excursion Manager named Clive. . . . Not only excellent, of course, but absolutely hysterical on this his first ever visit to Island.  Thanks for the memories.

“Water, a beach and palm trees,” in Tahiti.  That narrows it down.  Now, just tell us if there was sky overhead and we’ll pick you up in 20 minutes. 😇

Yes, if you’re safely docked and cleared (by Customs, etc.) they will let you off.  No need to swim 🙂

of course as always confirm with your TA, but we have been able to disembark at odd times.

On 9/2/2015 at 10:24 PM, Seraya said:

We were on the August 21 Dreams of Tahiti sailing. We arrived PPT very late and spent the night at the Tahiti Airport Motel.

Any suggestions re transferring from airport to this motel would be appreciated.  If by cab, is Local currency required or will the cabbie accept US dollars?  And, as long as I’m asking 🙂 how’s the breakfast?  Thanks in advance.

Didn't know you could cruise to Colorado! ;-)

Prairie Schooners.