findacruise

Have a safe trip. .

 

Waiting on Marina for our TA tomarrow.

 

Weather is sunny and confortable in Barcelona.

 

I'm guessing between the Riviera people boarding and our Marina people coming early, we set a record for the number of O passengers in 1 port at 1 time.

And there may have been some "leftover" Nautica passengers, too as we disembarked on the 14th in Barcelona. Busy time for "O" in BCN.

Looking forward to reading your posts again. Just returned from 10 day Nautica cruise BCN to BCNand had beautiful warm weather until near the end - unseasonable warm for November. unfortunately near the end the Mediterranean was becoming crouchy. hoping you have a smooth crossing and will be living vicariously through your posts. At least I won't gain any more weight that way!

Hi Paul. Happy sailing to you and Marsha! too. Loved those tapas in Barcelona.

Why doesn't this thread die??

The long awaited results of my unofficial stroke talley are in! The scientific survey was done sitting in a chair listening to the string quartet after dinner. The diners paraded past me after leaving the dining room or other nearby locations. And the results for. The Nautica on November 6:

No work boots( but were the other kind) , no overalls, no hats, no knee socks and saddle oxfords, no bathing suit cover ups, bathrobes or jogging suits and no shorts. No one drunk or loud and no one falling down. All in all, a pretty normal Oceania crowd. It's good to be cruising again!!:)

We are currently in 8002 on Nautical and it is wonderfully located and very quiet. Would have posted sooner but busy enjoying mid 70 degree weather in November. I really sent this yesterday but the internet is so slow....Lol

We are in 8002 on Nautica starting Monday - yes flying out to Barcelona later today. WE have been in PH two other times on the R ships - once in 8057 and had said never again. However, our TA said 8002 was great, having stayed there himself. No noise or traffic problem.

He said we'd liked it better than 8000 because you don't have a white wall next to you on the balcony. We were offered a great upsell since the ship isn't full so we took it. Off to finish up some packing.:):)

Thanks Pingpong1. I just remember how often we seemed to get bumped, depending on where we were sitting - more how the chairs flared out at the back. I agree we want stability. Just saw this about Voyager entertainment.

This fall Seven Seas Voyager will not only premiere a new look, but also a brand new production show, “Cirque L’Amour.” Our world-class choreographers are testing one of the major elements: a flying chandelier.

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Wondering if there were any changes to the chairs? They were so heavy and hard to get between tables when everyone seated. Thanks if you have time to answer would appreciate. Sounds like other changes are wonderful. Continue enjoying your lovely cruise.

Joanna

Corpkid - what a fun review to read. Loved every minute of it. You are right on target about value. Love your outlook on life with your DH.

Paul - we're still trying to do it all - we just don't always get it done - or there are more naps in between! :)

This is information is very intersting and potentially helpful to a number of CCers who might not have been reading this thread. Might I suggest that a separate thread be started, perhaps by Laraine once she gets her answers back? My DH and I have both the Explorer and Preferred Signature cards. To date we have not received a letter with new informaiton on the Explorer card.

Thanks to all who have been contributing to this discussion.

Joanna

I think there may be confusion between OBC and cruise credit in discussion. You get just one OBC credit for the Oceania loyalty program no matter how long the cruise is. If it is a true B2B then you'd get 2 OBCs - one for each cruise. Unfortunately, doesn't work if it's a grand voyage. At least you now get credits based on length of cruise - I remember when that wasn't the case.

I live in the US and concur our medical care is costly. We buy insurance for medical coverage when we travel so we are covered and for other reasons. On our recent cruise a dear friend fell before she ever got on the ship. She did get some emergency care in Portugal but they were not at all comfortable with the doctor or hospital and did get on board to get the ship doctor's opinon.

Long story short, she did get off 1 port later. Their insurance company made all the arrangements to get them back to Canada where she could get good care. But they had booked B2B cruises so would have lost the money for both those cruises, plus all the transportation expenses. The insurance company also put them up in a hotel in Toronto between connections back to Vancouver, etc. If I wasn't a believer before, I would have been after that!

Hi Joanna,

Yes, I remember, although it was your sharp eye that spotted us (I was daydreaming).

The restaurant is Cuidad Condal:

http://www.barcelonayellow.com/bcn/restaurants/tapas/ciudad-condal-cerveceria

Enjoy!

Paul

Gracies, Paul. Hope we meet up again someday. Until then, smooth sailings to you and Marsha. Another big thank you for your Prefeered Sapphire tip. We are enjoying our points free travel and have other friends who have taken advantage of it, too.

Ever since O introduced the unlimited internet packages, I have always taken advantage of them.

On our upcoming TA from BCN to MIA we have over $1000 in OBC (various sources) and as we don't drink and there are very few shore excursions, the internet package is the perfect fit for me. I'll be able to watch any and all football games I want on my iPad with my DTV NFL Sunday package. :D

The only problem will be the time difference :(

Ah, another fellow sports fan! We watched some of the NCAA basketball tournament games the "next" morning while we were in Asia.

OT - We are going to be back in Barcelona in early November and the night b4 our cruise want to go back to the tapas place where we saw you and Marsha a couple of years ago. You may not remember seeing us but hopefully you remember the tapas place. I can't find the name in my notes. Great place. Thanks.

We flew from Indianapolis to Chicago and then non-stop from Chicago to Beijing on United. With Air Canada being Alliance partner you could fly Montreal to Chicago and get the non-stop. It was a great flight. We did do Regent's business class upgrade because of the length of the flight.

Well, we did it. Pulled the trigger on the entire cruise. It's the only way we're getting to Australia, NZ and Asia, because I don't want to fly that far. I'd rather spend 180 days and cruise the whole way :D.

So pleased for you and Betsy. I have never met you, but really enjoy your posts. I know you will have a fantastic time and will increase your fellow passengers enjoyment by being on the cruise with them.

YES, I'm serious.

30 days and no Burma.

The 35 day Bangkok to Istanbul on Nautica does include Burma.

FDR

FDR - you are truly amazing and I hope one day to have the pleasure of meeting you and thanking you in person for all you do and have done to make Oceania (and also Regent) our favorite cruise lines! We continue to make converts of our friends.

We have our 1st Oceania cruise this summer, and we are uber-excited. I am going to throw caution at the wind and eat anything and everything. But my wife just started a new diet and will be very health conscious. Does Oceania offer anything on the "Lite & Healthy" side. Vegetarian entrees? Low-fat? That sort of thing.

I often order off the Canyon Ranch menu which is included on the menu in the GDR. It has a lighter version of some of that day's entrees and if I remember correctly, some standard addtional items. I have found them very good. The calorie information is included.

I got it too. Interesting, as I also got one in the mail.

We take the WSJ and didn't get one in it nor did we get one in the mail.Ours must be going to the people who don't want them!;)

Happy Hour locations - only Horizons, The Pool Bar and Martini's? What about the area near the GDR - the Grand Bar? Thanks!

When we were on Marina in Feb/Mar we had Happy Hour drinks in the Grand Bar and listed to the string quartet. A very pleasant time. Do watch the Currents, as OP said, since on occasion certain areas aren't availabe due to private events.

Thank you for sharing. How envious I am of your wonderful summer experience and absoulutely amazed that you gained no weight! Congrats. Have sailed Marina, but not Riviera and look forward to that opportunity. We too pick by itinerary, and after 3 cruises on Marina will be back on a R ship next. It will be interesting to see how we feel about them. Will miss Baristas and like your idea. And Red Ginger is one of my favorites. But I think I will survive. :)

Just a general comment about guest lecturers -- not necessarily bridge experts.

 

"I have to say that I think this was the last Oceania cruise where we felt we had really excellent enrichment lectures."

 

Mura: We just returned from the Marina TA. We had never done a TA and my fear was the number of sea days and the fact that Oceania did not, in our experience (began in 2007), have a very strong enrichment program. I was pleasantly surprised. The were 3 guest lecturers on various topics - historic, areas going to visit, ships, etc. I found them enjoyable and attended most of the lectures. IMO they were all very approachable away from their lectures and willing to provide aaditonal information. I hope this continues to hold true.

 

BTW, am I the only one who thinks that the Marina has a great rear end?

 

Such elegance

Sure wish someone would say that about me!