sdbart

1 hour ago, keithm said:

As for health issues, the only one is the fact my spouse had a Kidney transplant some years ago. Usually the first year is when you have issues(as he did) they then "tweak" the meds to find the right dose. Obviously, we have to watch for any "signs" of problems. signs usually show up well in advance to any true issues. A long sea voyage like this does bring a few thoughts on that matter, though.

A friend had a liver transplant two years ago. This spring, he cruised to the Baltic, including St. Petersburg (on Princess). We flew to Barcelona four months after DH had open heart surgery and since then have traveled in Europe (including the Balkans), taken four TAs, and done land trips to Brazil and China. Yes, we take precautions, take out travel insurance with pre-existing medical condition waiver  and plan carefully. The upshot really, is that everyone has to decide what they are comfortable with. Hope you have many travel adventures in the future.

1 hour ago, keithm said:

Hope DH gets the ok from the Dr. soon! Still weighing options. I do not mind long sailings, though I'll have to stay out of the Casino! The sanctuary sounds relaxing. We loved it on the Regal.

Thanks. Love being out on the ocean. One of our favorite cruises was a westbound TA with only three ports and ELEVEN sea days. 

Keith, we're also Oceania lovers (we spent a month on the Riviera last fall). We're in our mid-seventies and prefer either land trips (we're former backpackers) and cruises with as many sea days as possible. We live in Southern CA and DH's doctor doesn't want him flying at this time, so that really limited places we could travel to. I really dislike road trips, so that meant cruising from a nearby port if we wanted to travel. HAL cruises out of San Diego (15 minutes from home) to Hawaii and Mexico, while Princess cruises out of LA (two hours up the road) to Hawaii, Mexico and Alaska, all round trips. 

We ended up choosing the Star Princess out of LA to Hawaii. We've been to the islands several times (and DH spent three months in a tent on Kauai when young and foolish), so we don't care that we'll only be spending a day on each of four islands. For us, the voyage is the important part of the cruise, not the destination and we're looking forward to the nine sea days, along with humpback whale watching on Maui and relaxing on the beach on Kauai and Oahu .

We've cruised with quite a few O regulars who also cruise on Princess and we know not to spend all our time comparing the two lines. While the Star is larger than we'd like, it at least has a real wrap-around promenade deck and many open decks to explore and get away from the crowds, should I choose to do so. Yeah, the decor may be dated and not very stylish, but we're pretty sure we'll have a great time (we always do, no matter where we travel) and meet nice fellow cruisers. 

Oh yeah, friends have said that the best part of Club Class dining is the personalized service with the best wait staff. For us this is important, as I try to avoid buffets, even O's. Whenever we cruise, we end up, even when dining with people we've just met, enjoying really long leisurely dinners, usually closing whichever venue we're eating in. 

We've cruised on both the Marina and Riviera, last fall for 28 days. We met a number of gay travelers, but mostly socialized with straight couples from our roll call, a number of whom I still communicate with. We never felt anyone acting weird to us and usually the first thing out of people's mouths was, "How long have you two been together." As far as I was aware, no one turned purple when we showed each other affection, either. I guess our experience was similar to Britboys. With open seating dining, we often ate with strangers, and whenever we would run into each other after that, we were always greeted with smiles and often jokes. I will say that our Oceania cruises were by far the most enjoyable we've done. I'll also encourage you to go for it.

We used Italytours.eu for four tours on our November cruise. Nico and Cristina answered all my questions promptly and everything turned out exactly as promised: drivers were where they said they would be when they said they would be and we were always delivered back to the ship in plenty of time. We did tours of the Amalfi coast out of Naples, the Etruscan tombs and medieval villages of Tuscania and Tarquinia out of Civitavecchia, San Gimignano and Siena out of Livorno and Aix-en-Provence and Cassis out of Marseilles.

We were groups of eight (arranged on our roll call previously) in eight passenger vans. I knew ahead of time that our drivers would be just that: drivers, not guides. We've always been independent travelers and wanted reliable transport more than a guided tour, and we were more than satisfied. 

Paul, in Marseilles was a huge surprise, as he turned out to be not only our favorite driver, but one of the best guides we have ever had in years of European travel. He is definitely an asset and our group loved him. All in all, I was highly pleased with our tours with italytours.eu and highly recommend them.  

You were very very lucky.

Wind generated by the motion of the ship is often blocked by the dividers, but mother nature wind can come from any direction. :o

We did get quite a bit of spray when near the rail, which I really liked. It felt like I was on a ship and not a floating hotel. We enjoy the connection with the ocean, which you don't get as much on higher decks, but then again, we're both good sailors and don't mind rough seas.

Recommendations for cabins that I should and should not book are greatly appreciated, thanks! I’m currently in 7112 and have read that might be one to avoid.

7112 should be a great cabin. We've been in 7119 and are booked in 7114 (right next door to 7112) on our upcoming cruise. Lots of privacy if you sit under the overhang from the balcony above and lots of space to stretch out on the open part. We had no wind on a transatlantic, as the balcony dividers go all the way to the rail.

FYI

When I went to book specialties for our Dec cruise there was a time slot for 6pm but did not book it as it was just a bit too early for us

could have been a glitch or they did not get many takers ???

Whoaa.... You are free to "assume bogus information" if you wish..but DID happen. I was the "other poster" and the information was not :"bogus.: The Specialties really did open at 6 p.m. on my late February/early March 10 day cruise on Riviera. Perhaps it was a failed experiment that was not continued...but it did happen. It was officially posted in Currents and when we arrived for our 6:30 reservations there were tables of folks who were well into their 2nd and 3rd meal courses. Wait staff said it was done to allow for more reservations...NOT FAKE NEWS...I promise..I am an honest guy:halo:

According to the main CC review, you all are correct:

All four of Oceania's alternative restaurants are fee-free and are open from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on longer cruises and 6 to 9:30 p.m. on weeklong cruises.

Am I correct in assuming that both LHT28 and edgee were both on 7-day cruises?

Frankly I'm looking forward to being in 7116. I picked it out from actually being on the ship, and chose it over the open balcony(first) extended ones. I based this on walking down the halls by them and determining what else was around them, rooms across the hall, crew service doors, etc.

 

I'll know in a few months whether I chose well or not.

We've been in 7119 (almost directly across the ship from 7116) on the Marina and loved it. Very quiet and close to the stairs and elevators. Friends were in 7119 and were very happy with their choice. On our upcoming B2B, we'll be in 7114. IMO, you chose well.

We've also sailed into Lisbon once and departed twice, all three times docking at the Santa Apollonia cruise terminal. A guide in Lisbon told us the intent was to have all the cruise ships dock there. It's also about a ten minute walk to the Praça do Comércio, the grand square along the river with the triumphal arch that leads to the main pedestrian street in Lisbon, lined with restaurants and sidewalk cafes.

Would you mind sharing what has changed on Azamara that was concerning? Azamara is direct competition of Oceania so this should be of interest.\

There's a fairly long thread (about six pages) on the Azamara board detailing the events that caused the OP to cancel and rebook on O. It makes interesting and entertaining (in a perverse way—sort of like when you see something bad and can't look away) reading. I feel sorry for those affected but glad the OP found a substitute cruise. We were thinking of trying Azamara, but in light of that thread, I'm now not so sure. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2531417

Greetings Oceania fans.

 

Thanks ORV for your information. Really appreciated. We do know about the various levels and the lounges. Like you said, Oceania uses discretion to provide amenities to various levels but not in your face, similar to our voyages on Cunard.

 

We chose Oceania because it resides above the mass cruise lines but below the luxury. Also we can customize our voyage to our liking - not being forced to pay for so called perks like other lines or pay for all inclusive alcohol when we do not drink.

 

One thing that caught our eye about Oceania is that the company seems to know and accept the market they are serving - unlike Celebrity / HAL who seem to be chasing a new demographic and ending up stranding many of their former clients. This means the former product offering is consistently changing (usually downwards like the for fee hamburger fiasco on Celebrity last month). The inconsistency of the mass market cruise lines is a major reason we will not book with them.

 

Another reason we chose Oceania is for the ships - they are ships - not floating hotel/amusement parks. It is not just the size, it is the simple acknowledgement that they are ships that sail. The mass lines are fixated on abandoning the notion the ship sails - they should frankly pick an island and tie up.

 

Fortunately there are many choices available to the consumer and one size fits all is the reality today. Loyalty to a brand is dicey at the mass market cruise line level.

 

We are already packed for our Sept 12 Baltic on Marina, really looking forward to it.

 

Thanks to all

 

ABoatNerd

I could not have said this any better. Enjoy your cruise!

I've spoken with many that have voiced frustrations with low participation in roll calls. It definitely seems to be getting worse in the last couple of years. I could delineate some of the issues, but will pass this time around .

 

We are fortunate in that we separately meet a couple that will be on our upcoming fall cruise and have planned shore tours with them. We posted for others to join us, but got zero responses.

 

We don't do O tours anymore. Done with that. If we can't get participation from the roll call, we go by ourselves and pay the costs.

I think it's sometimes the luck of the draw. We've done three transatlantic (one on O) and all had very active roll calls, with many private tours. Friends who sailed with us to Brazil on O did a Med cruise last year on Azamara and said it was the deadest roll call of any they had ever joined (the passenger demographic was about the same). I do agree that cruise port stops are rarely long enough to see any place in depth; cities like Rome and Florence, IMO, really deserve more than four or five hours.

It wasn't meant to be a generalization, it was my actual experience. Sure there can be variation, but speaking to the actual crew members, they did acknowledge that they worked towards promotions and the specialties (and eventually La Reserve) were considered more difficult positions to attain and hold onto.

 

Again, none of the food in the MDR was "bad", it was just more hit or miss in the MDR, veal cutlets one night were dry and bland, NY strip (signature Jacques) was overcooked, wienerschnitzel was bland and tasted more like country fried steak at cracker barrel as just a few examples.

 

Meanwhile, the only "bad" entrée I got in the specialties was a curry dish I probably shouldn't have ordered anyways in Red Ginger.

 

The good news is you have plenty of opportunities to decide if the MDR is for you, personally I will probably book suite level or more La Reserve dinners after my MDR experiences, but YMMV!!!!

That sounds like my experience in the specialties on that cruise.:D Interestingly, the worst meal in 15 days was in Privee. We had several groups from our roll call arrange dinners there (we were using OBC). While the service was over the top, it was quite possibly one of the worst meals I've ever had—and I've eaten in my share of greasy spoons. Everything was served cold (everyone's potatoes were a gluey mess) and my ribeye was the worst cut of meat I've ever been served; it was all gristle and fat and I still remember the look of dismay on faces around the table as they watched me trying to saw through it. Of course, the staff immediately offered to bring me another, but since everything else had not been up to snuff, I declined.

All the staff on the Marina were wonderful and we had enough excellent meals to not let that one experience (or the less than stellar meals in some of the specialties) bother us too much. The wait staff seemed to rotate around the different venues (we had waiters from the specialties serve us in the GDR) and the service and food presentation was always top notch. Food on the less premium cruise lines may not match the best of Oceania, but in my experience, at least it's usually more consistent; I'm wondering why it can be (judging from so many posts here) so hit or miss on O.

I would agree with this as well, the Specialties all seemed to execute their food better, I guess it helps that they have the same menu nightly so the chefs don't have as much variation. The MDR on the other hand was hit or miss in my opinion, and I think a lot of that has to do with the constantly changing menu. We had some excellent items in the MDR and we had some that were very disappointing, on a few occasions we did just send back disappointing entrees and politely asked for something we knew we liked (the spaghetti bolognese was always to our liking).

 

The next time we cruise Oceania we will probably end up booking more La Reserve dinners to supplement our Specialties and roll the dice on the MDR less. The La Reserve meals are prepared by the Executive Chef for some courses and one of the Sous Chefs and assistants for the rest. Amazing meal and quite a good "value" all things considered!!!

It seems you can't generalize. On the Marina two years ago, we had much better meals in the GDR than we did in the specialties. Food (including breakfast and lunch) was consistently very good to excellent in the GDR, while the food in the specialties never rose above "almost" good to poor (our waiter in Polo Grill warned us to stay away from the prime rib, as it was "not very good"). When I mentioned all this on our mid-cruise survey, we were contacted by every restaurant manager and even by the F&B manager while eating in the Terrace (they obviously studied our photos!) urging us to give the venues another chance. While better the second time around, the dinners in the specialties never seemed as good as in the GDR. I realize that even the best land restaurants and chefs have off nights and this certainly in no way diminished our enjoyment of that cruise, but I would caution about expecting the specialties to be automatically better than the GDR.

Happy Cruzer;

 

As you are probably aware, the weather and the wind can drive use of the balcony of the Terrace. Sometimes it's great, sometimes not practical.

 

Since the Terrace and Waves are open seating, yes some couples do take four tops, when 2s aren't available, and refuse to share. Rude and crude, but they don't care. You just smile and try to find a more friendly couple. I don't like the entire buffet deal anyway, except maybe for breakfast. So when we go to the Terrace,it's usually later after all the starving rush of the early eaters have gone, so typically there are plenty of tables available. Even though we almost always share in the other venues, it's a catch as catch can in the Terrace.

I'm with you, Pinotlover, in not being terribly fond of the entire buffet deal, but we do like the outdoor section of the Terrace for breakfast and lunch. If the weather doesn't cooperate, I prefer other venues. But there are many more 4 tops and larger outdoors and we have asked seated diners if we could join them when no empty tables were available. Fortunately, we've never been refused and as with sharing in the specialties and GDR, we've met some really nice fellow passengers.

My partner and I are taking our first Oceania cruse next year. We sailed Seabourn last year from Monte Carlo to Barcelona for 11 days in Oct. Fell in love with cruising. Could not find a Seabourn cruise from Venice to Athens that fit what we were looking for and at a price that was in our budget. Oceania met our needs.

 

Flying in to Venice a day early and am looking for decent priced hotel for the one night and for a hotel recommendation for Athens for our debarking that we could spend a couple of days and sight see there Aug 19. Don't want to spend 200 + for one night.

 

Also any recommendations for getting from airport to hotel is appreciated as Venice is totally new to us.

 

Thank you for any and all recommendations.

 

Perry

I agree with the previous posts, but want to add a bit about Venice. I'd recommend taking the Alilaguna vaporetto (water bus) from the airport (you can buy tickets right in the terminal) and the dock is right there) and approach Venice from the water for much less than a very expensive water taxi. There are two lines: the blue, which approaches St. Marks from the lagoon or the orange, which approaches from the other direction and sails down the Grand Canal to St Marks, stopping along the way.

Venice is very expensive, but it's Venice. We've stayed at the Hotel Galleria in Dorsoduro, my favorite area of Venice. It's a small hotel on the first floor (second in N. America) of an 18th century palazzo, right on the Grand Canal. It's about 200 steps from the vaporetto landing and right next to both the Accademia Bridge (making it an easy walk to St Marks Square) and the Accademia Gallery, the main Venice museum. There are other hotels in the area, too. An added advantage, is that it's an easy walk with luggage to the Giudecca Canal, where you can pick up the Alilaguna (not the regular SCTV city of Venice waterbus) that goes back and forth between St Marks Square and right into the cruise ship terminal.

I really wouldn't call it Formica. It is some kind of "simulated" surface, more like Melamine. Unfortunately this is pretty much what you'll find on most "major" lines. I still never noticed the dim glow as you mentioned. Likely because we always ate in the MDR for dinner.We'll see how it looks on the Riviera, when we cruise in Jan.

Formica is the registered trademark of the Formica Corporation's laminated melamine product. It has become a generic name for all products of this type, just as Kleenex has for facial tissue. And yes, almost all cruise lines use it for dining tables, but the tables in O's Terrace (even outdoors) have placemats during daytime meals and are covered with cloths in the evening. With the stark lighting and bare tables, the buffets on Celebrity's Solstice class ships remind me of college dorm dining halls. The food in the Terrace is much better also. As always, YMMV.

Hi everyone

On an upcoming Riviera cruise (port intensive, one sea day) we would like to take advantage of the Artist's Loft. Is it open on port days ? We have been several times to some ports and will spend time on board at these.

Many thanks

Brian

On our last O cruise it was open on port days. It was structured as a cruise-long class and even though we had quite a few sea days, the group met every day. We toured one port with a lady in the class and she wanted to be back on the ship for her 4:00 PM class.

Not sure WHAT Celebrity ship you were on, but it does NOT reflect on the Eclipse.

We've been on both the Solstice and the Reflection (sisters of the Eclipse) and that's exactly how I would describe their buffets. The lighting in both venues after dark made me distinctly uncomfortable. Ghostly is as good an adjective as any. I'll take the Terrace on O any time.

You're welcome [emoji4] I get quite a few emails from CC'ers after I post reviews even a couple of years after the sailing for tips if I can help them. I noticed no picture reviews Like this on the O forum, so I'd like To do one for my very first O sailing in March. I have a few fellow CC'ers keen to see an O review in comparison to RCL for example.

 

 

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We'll be doing an O extended voyage from Venice to Miami, stopping at many of the ports your RCCL cruise did. While we've been to Europe on both cruises and a number of land trips, the Adriatic, Malta and Sicily are virgin territory and I'm learning a great deal from your very detailed blog. As long as you don't expect the night time activities and entertainment found on RCCL (which may or may not be important to you), I think you'll find O much nicer than the mass market lines. As always, YMMV.

I'm lurking on this Oceania Forum as I'll be sailing for the first time on O in March, I'd like to offer some visual help if you're interested... I do many ports on my own and I've done photo reviews with narrative & tips/hints. I hope these could be of help to you. :)

 

Venice - overnight DIY

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44387619&highlight=venice#post44387619

 

Kotor - Perast in the morning, old town and mist see/do (if able to do so) climb up the fort in the afternoon

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44377718&highlight=first+look+at+Perast#post44377718

 

Dubrovnik - Old town and must see/do Mount Srd

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44452500&highlight=dubrovnik#post44452500

I've started going through your photo reviews in early preparation for next year's cruise, which visits many of the same ports. Great tips and even better photos. Thanks for sharing.

So no delays in California (we live in S. Cal.), as mentioned by the earlier poster above?

The L.A. consulate is in Beverly Hills. You fill out the application online and are given an appointment for a specific time. If all is correct and the consulate staff is not on a work slowdown, you can pick your passport up a couple of days later (no mail-ins). We live in San Diego and traffic is now so bad that the formerly two hour drive now can take over four hours each way. I felt it very worthwhile to avoid losing two days of my life in bad traffic to use a visa service. I Fed Exed our passports to the service; their fee included returning our passports. They do have an expedited service if time is short. For our China trip last year, we had the tour company handle our China visas; it worked in the same manner; surprisingly, the tour company was less expensive than any of the visa services. YMMV.

Anyone have a good source to recommend for obtaining Brazil tourist visas (other than the Embassy in L.A.)? There seem to be a lot of online companies that offer the service. O wants $399, which is very high.

We, too, used Travel Visa Pro for our Brazilian visas before our O cruise to Brazil a couple of years ago and were very happy with the service. We had a lengthy discussion about visas and visa services on our roll call, and many of us checked out various visa services. Each Brazilian consulate seemed to have different requirements and therefore some services were less expensive in some parts of the country than they were in others. In California, Travel Visa Pro was less expensive than the other services I checked out. They were very prompt and much less expensive than Oceania.

To all our friends at CC & Oceania

 

I am sorry to have to tell you that Marsha Meyer passed away suddenly on 6/21.

 

I am hoping that by November I'll be up to the Riviera crossing.

 

Louis Meyer, Staten Island NY

Lou— Bob and I are so very sorry to hear about Marsha. We really enjoyed our time with both of you in Lisbon and on the cruise to Rio on the Marina that followed. You are in our thoughts.

Bart