jaga04

On 10/13/2020 at 4:38 PM, msears101 said:

To address Sweden model vs the rest of the world.  NY state has some of the tightest restrictions in the world AND the highest number of deaths per population (183 deaths per 100,000 in  NY).  Do lock downs work? The evidence, forget about Sweden (58 deaths per 100,000 in Sweden) look at NY state which is more than 3 times worse than sweden..  NY still has lots of lockdowns in place.

...

Think for yourself and always ask, "let me see the data."

NY is actually a great example of how lockdowns/restrictions DO work.  If one looks at the graphs of the new cases and deaths per day, it's very clear.  Sure, the NYC area was caught off guard at the beginning and probably due to population density, not knowing how to deal with the virus or how contagious it is, overwhelmed hospitals, etc., they had huge numbers of new cases and deaths early on.  Those numbers have gone down and pretty much stayed there since the middle of April, increasing a bit as restrictions are loosened.  The overall numbers don't tell the whole story at all.  

Also, keep in mind that you may not know your room until the last minute.  On one of our cruises, a couple on our roll call didn't know their room until a few days before the cruise.  That much suspense may or may not bother you, if it were to happen.  

We brought pastries onto a ship in KW.  We just assumed we could, didn't hide it, and they didn't say anything.  That was just our experience, not an official answer.  

I would also recommend Floridays for their smaller number of people.  When I looked on their website, I saw just their 1pm snorkeling trip.  The 2pm trip is on a glass bottom boat and it is called an eco-tour, so I would call to make sure that it goes to the actual reef.  I've been on trips on other boats that are called eco-tours, and they went to the mangroves and a smaller patch reef area in the gulf that was nice, but not as extensive as the reef.  

It looks like Fury has a trip that usually leaves at 2pm, for 3 hours--the double dip snorkeling trip.  You didn't say when you'll be there, but it looks like there's a different schedule from June-August that won't work for you.  

9 hours ago, aaaaa said:

We're considering a C2 cabin on Insignia, Deck 4, cabins 4000-4007, but are concerned about noise from the lounge on Deck 5 just above.  Any information?  Thanks!

We were in 4005 on Sirena.  Wondered about the same thing before we went, but it wasn't a problem at all.  

On 1/1/2020 at 6:47 PM, Paulchili said:

I have no trouble using the wifi for emails and occasional surfing. I have also used wifi for occasional phone calls, banking and booking flights - sometimes it’s faster than other times. Best time is very early AM or late night when others tend not to be online.

I suspect most people have problems with uploading lots of pictures, FaceTime,  streaming and such.

That said, Oceania is not known for excellent wifi - many lines have better internet service but O’s is sufficient for my needs.

Last summer on Sirena in Europe, I also found that wifi was adequate for emails and surfing.  

12 hours ago, ladyhawke1001 said:

Thank all of you for this wonderful information.  I really want to go to SC but I was wondering what sort of a walk we would have to actually get to the beach from where the parking lot/taxi would drop us off.  And then, info about the walk to the beach of Brewers or Long Bay would also be appreciated.  

 

Also, didn't I read somewhere that there are lounge chairs for rent at SC at Nigel's?

 

TIA

The walks at Brewers and LB are also very short.  

On 11/14/2019 at 5:55 AM, bhopal21 said:

 

I agree with the above Eaton Street is less expensive and fresher than restaurants.

 

Half Shell Raw Bar would be my second choice.

 

Mike😊

Agree, and to clarify - you can eat at the Eaton Street Fish Market, outside at picnic tables.  At the Half Shell, you eat inside at picnic tables, and if you're near the back, can have a view of the harbor.  

More on the ferry:  It leaves from Camana Bay shopping center, so you'd have to get there from the dock, via bus or taxi.  They take you from Kaibo to Rum Point by van if you wish, and pick you up for the return trip.  

It's hard to answer your question without knowing the specific tours (not sure if they're the exact same in each port each time) and what you like to do.  Even in most of the smaller ports, there are some choices within the should-see places.  For example, we wanted to visit Nice, so we did that from Monte Carlo, on an O tour that we really liked.  That meant we didn't get as much time in MC, so we saw the casino, but not the palace.  I got outvoted, as I was with gamblers.  Also, some of the tours have things added like food or wine, lots or little walking, that may or may not appeal to you.  We found that some of the tours were what we'd like, but were only a half day, when we wanted to be in a place for the whole day, so we did private tours.  Also, given port heavy cruises, we work in beach days or light days, so we're not overly exhausted.  On our recent cruises that stopped in some of your ports, we found the O tours and guides to be very good to excellent.  Given that there are 6 of you, if you want to do more than the 3 included tours, I would book privately rather than add O tours.  You're likely to have a better tour for less money per person.  Unless 4+ O tours sound great to you, as that's easier.  As said above, read about each port.  For some, you may not want to do a tour, as there are things to do where you can walk easily from the ship, or where a shuttle bus or taxi drops you.  In Dubrovnik, we walked the wall around/above the city and had a great time, but there were tours that looked interesting.  I view each cruise like a puzzle to explore and piece together, spending lots of time, but we'd probably have a great time no matter what we did!  Enjoy!

Yes, it should be very easy.  Have a great cruise!

This depends on a couple of things.  If your cruise hasn't yet left the country, then you may walk off.  If KW is at the end of your cruise and you've been to other countries, then you have to go through customs.  Also, there are 3 potential places to dock in KW, all very close to each other.  One is on a navy base, so you have to take a shuttle from the ship to off the base.  The ride is really short - a couple of minutes - and you're let off near Mallory Square, really close to the other 2 docks.  This link should let you look up where you'll be docked:  https://www.cityofkeywest-fl.gov/department/calendar.php

My cruises have always stopped in KW at the beginning and docked near Margaritaville (B), so I don't know how long customs and getting the shuttle takes.  There have been other threads about this, so you might try doing a search, if you need that info.  

2 hours ago, blue_water said:

All the beaches I mentioned are along the north shore and can be rough with any swells or wind, typically CGB and Brewers are calmer with a nice entry. We were not been able to enter the water at CGB while staying at Myett’s in May because it was so rough but other times it is like glass.

Josiah’s Bay just east of Brewers is popular with surfers and rougher yet. 

We were also there during a swell, a few years ago in March.  Stayed in CGB at Lighthouse Villas, but went to both Brewers and Smugglers to check out the surf.  It was pretty much the same in all 3 places - too rough to enter.  Interestingly, we were able to go on a good snorkeling trip to the Indians, since it's to the south.  The other times we've been, all 3 beaches were calm and clear.  

Mettins, thanks for the beautiful pix of Smugglers.  I miss it!

On 9/14/2019 at 9:09 PM, Libbiroed said:

What is the shore break like at Brewers vs CGB? I feel like from the pics I’ve see of both, CGB looks calmer and almost no shore break waves and Brewers has a bit more of a shore break when entering the water? Or maybe it’s just the day someone goes and shares their pics. 

When we've been there, the water has been essentially the same at both beaches.  

Yes in KW.  You should ask for them when you check in, before you get on the boat.  Not sure in GC, but you're unlikely to need them.  

We were on Sirena about a month ago.  We thought that our cabin steward and assistant were super, staff overall were friendly and helpful, waitstaff in Terrace were great except for one person who seemed grouchy a lot of the time (I assumed that was just her), and waitstaff in the MDR were friendly and accommodating, but some were less knowledgable about the menu than ideal.  Overall, staff's attitudes seemed no different than previous cruises.   If anything, they were better/seemed happier than on our last cruise on Riviera a few years ago.  

1 hour ago, Suzanne123 said:

Do you have a web site for Bonjour Provence?  Thanks.

Your question led me to realize that I don't have a website for them, as I got connected to them via the Provence Connections website.   You can email them at bonjourprovencetours@gmail.com.  

We just went on a wonderful tour with Bonjour Provence (which used to be connected with Provence Connections, with which we also did a wonderful tour several years ago).  I believe that one of their regular tours goes to Aix and Marseilles, but we did a variation.  They were very responsive via email, accommodated us with what we wanted to do while also being realistic in terms of time, and our guide, Paul, was very knowledgeable and fun.  I recommend them highly.  

If it's windy and you want to be on the water, you might try a trip on one of the schooners.  We usually go on the Appledore, but there are others.  

On 7/25/2019 at 6:32 PM, Winters Gate said:

So was this cruise up to pair with the ones we have made before? Unfortunately not, I think Oceania is going a dangerous way when it comes to food, I mean if you say time after time that you have "the best food at sea" it´s not a great strategy to start cutting cost in that department. Don´t get me wrong the most of the food tasted nice to really nice with some misses but it was so clear that they had limited there menus and started to use lower quality of ingredients.

We were on the same cruise, and I totally agree with the OP about this in terms of both quality and options---still really good, but not quite as good as before.  We also seemed to have more glitches in the MDR than on previous cruises.  For example, 3 of us got the same salmon entree, but one of them was cold.  One of the plant-based dishes was unbelievably spicy, but no way of knowing that from the description.  We found service to be unusually slow during 2 dinners, though the staff was very pleasant and apologetic.  A few other small things.  Overall, staff was wonderful, especially our cabin stewardess.

I've arrived in KW and gone snorkeling in mid-December for many years.  The water temperature is usually mid 70s.  That's too cold for some people and warm enough for others.  I can tell you that most people on the boat seem fine with staying in the water for the whole trip and don't complain about the water temperature.  Maybe they self-select and are a hearty bunch.  I tend to get cold after about a 1/2 hour and sometimes wear my wetsuit.  Air temperatures are typically mid to upper 70s that time of year, but there are sometimes "cold" spells.  Also, you never know about wind and visibility at the reef, but the boat ride is nice regardless.  

Red Sail Sports does catamaran trips to Stingray City.  They are pricey but their boats are very nice.  

4 hours ago, peter_krynicki said:

Next time you're in port stop by Glazed Donuts. There's a key lime filled on but the apple walnut fritters are great. (They don't call these "sinkers" for nothing)

 

I LOVE those key lime filled donuts!!!!   And the glazed and chocolate and....

On 10/29/2018 at 4:13 PM, IDL said:

Garbo's is unfortunately closed on Sunday when our ship will be in port.

Don't fret - Key West has lots of great places for lunch, some of which have been listed above, and most of which are open on Sundays.  For another casual, pretty quick place with delicious sandwiches, you might try Fisherman's Cafe (which may have been mentioned above, I don't have time to read through it again now).  It's really more like a booth with a small number of outdoor tables, and it's right near the harbor.