Lauren and John

Hi. Just an upbeat message for those looking forward to their upcoming cruise.  There are some highlights:

The entertainment director, Jose, who does trivia is very entertaining

There’s a wonderful trio of Tenors on board, called Pantheon

Agree that the food is mostly very good to excellent and the kitchen staff should  be commended. We did have a comment about the MDR service and used the Navigator app to make the comment. Our situation was addressed immediately

The shore excursion team has been good. We really enjoyed a couple of our excursions, in Tenerife and Lanzarote, but there’s a bit of luck involved in predicting which excursion will be most enjoyable. 

The casino hosts are very nice!

Agree with the previous poster that the BB King band has been the best on board. 
 

Hope some of this helps!

Hi. A note to Navybikermom:  the food has been great, but for some reason the babaganoush serving size would fit into a thimble. Just a heads up to ask about the size in advance!

The extended balconies are great, but just make sure you are not over public  restrooms — the flushing can be loud. 

Hi. We are on the same cruise. We had an Uber take us from Amsterdam at 10:00. We didn’t encounter a protest and were unaware of it.   When we arrived at 11:00 the line was already long, but it moved fast. Step 1 was dropping off luggage and then we had to find the actual entrance to the building (hidden by lines of people). Once inside we were processed very rapidly, under 15 minutes. 

Hi.  I’ve been in both types of cabins and I prefer the traditional-rectangular-shaped cabin.  With the rectangular cabin, the balcony door is centered in the middle of the room. As soon as you walk in, you can appreciate the view. With the slanted room, the balcony door is off-center, so that the room is a little less bright.  However, you DO have more room both inside and outside with that slanted room. It’s just that the symmetrical design was more pleasing to me. 

I got it too.  3 star, minimal casino use. The fine print allowed me to pick up to two cruises. The category booked is N, the lowest category interior. Does anyone know if there are ever opportunities to upgrade as the trip gets closer? We are looking at Mexico in December and Panama Canal in February.  Oh, and fyi, the Panama Canal tax/fees are high, over twice the amount of Mexico. 

Hi. We are from NY and need to arrange a towncar, Uber or Cab to return home after the Summit gets back to Bayonne from Bermuda in a couple of weeks.   Has anyone done this recently? Is 8:00 a.m. a reliable time or would later be safer? We can also wing it and get an Uber once we return, but sometimes it’s better to have a towncar, like Carmel, waiting upon arrival.  Advice from locals would be helpful. Thanks. 

A little perspective here. Under the best of all worlds, a true veranda rocks. Nothing beats it. But — in this world , where a real veranda can be too rainy it windy or sooty or sun burny or dark and metal-tunnel-y, the Iv provides a viable alternative , perhaps superior for. destinations with a lot of wind or rain. It has its place i the repertoire. And shouldn’t need silly name-fluffing.  

Hi. Does anyone know if we would be more likely to get our FCC returned — if, say, a line went bankrupt — if the FCC were attached to a booking rather than unbooked?  We have a large FCC, but are not interested in using it until safety measures are vastly improved. 

Back to the tips, you can bring alcohol on at embarkation and all ports. It is for consumption in your room. If you want to take the wine to dinner there is a $25 corkage charge. There really are no limits.

 

 

 

If you're a single malt or cognac drinker the Prestige package is a great deal.

 

 

 

Prepare for one of the most comfortable beds you've ever slept in on a cruise ship.

 

 

 

If you prefer any sodas other than coke products request them in advance through your Travel agent and they will stock them for you.

 

 

 

Any beverage without alcohol is complementary on Oceania.

 

 

 

There is a Captain's welcome usually the 2nd night of the cruise where generally 2 to 3 bars are open with very few restrictions. You don't have to go through the M & G line to get a glass of watered down punch, like they do on most lines.

 

 

 

To get a hot breakfast with room service you need to book a Concierge or higher room.

 

 

 

Some people really like the chocolate croissants, then others like my wife love the sticky bun.

 

 

 

The ice cream is homemade and some of it is fabulous.

Thanks for the tips. So, can we bring a bottle of rum or vodka into the room during embarkation? Or when returning to the ship after a port visit?

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Hi, I have been to Magdalene Island 2x (once by ferry and once by speedboat), Punta Tombo 2x, and Volunteer Point 1x. I would definitely rank Volunteer Point above the others, with the caveat that the ride is extremely bumpy. If you have medical issues that could be impacted by the jolting, it would be best to avoid the Volunteer Point area. My understanding is that there are other areas in the Falklands that require less time in an off-road 4x4 to travel to.

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Hi. We have stayed in Santiago and in San Antonio. If you have more than one night, definitely head to Santiago. But if you are arriving only one day earlier than embarkation, the hotel connected to the casino in San Antonio (it goes by several names) is absolutely fine! There’s lots of wildlife-viewing because of the massive sea lions that live on the beach beneath the hotel and the pelicans that fly all around. The local fish-market on the beach is interesting: everything is done by rowboat. And we found the people who worked at the hotel to be very pleasant. For example, they invited us to eat at the free hotel buffet both on the day we arrived and the day we departed. I’m not sure why the hotel gets such crummy reviews, to be honest. We expected it to be much worse than it was and, really, it was fine.

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We used one of those sites where you pick your hotel by the number of stars, like Priceline or Hotwire. Miraculously, we were matched to the Intercontinental, which is close to the cruise port, extremely close to the train station, and absolutely wonderful. Highly recommended.

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Hi. We had a good experience using the website airportshuttles.com. We were paired with TransferSantiago, and everything went smoothly.

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Cheese plate is a given for me.... love them. But please tell me more about the dogs, are they awesome or what? And are you referring to the Dive-In dogs, or just the regular daily dogs?

 

 

 

Inquiring minds want to know!

Hi! The outstanding dog was at the Dive-In, first one at the top of the list. The fries aren't too shabby either.

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Agree with the muesli, hot dogs, and cheese plate! I would order the cheese plate as my appetizer in the MDR, although it's listed as a dessert, because I wanted to enjoy it before becoming too full.

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Oh yes! How could I forget the wonderful muesli!! I just got off an NCL cruise and theirs was not nearly as good as HALs. I do wish they had larger vessels for it though; I need like 4 of those shot glasses each morning haha.

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Hi. They definitely have wetsuits! Not sure what to advise on the glasses, but as I recall they do not recommend that you 'bring' anything extra on the raft, such as a camera. It's super fun, but bumpy!

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We enjoyed Hotel Ismael during a brief visit 3 years ago. Both modern and cozy. We had a room with a view of the lovely park across the street. As I recall, the breakfast was quite simple but sufficient. We walked everywhere during the day and took cabs in the evening, so I can't provide any insight about public transportation.

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I know your cruise was a while ago now, but did you use Forestaro tours and did you like it? We are going in January and are hoping to find non-ship tours. Thanks in advance for your reply!

Hi. We used them 3 years ago and had a good experience, so we will be using them again this year. We didn't do the Valdes tour, though. As I recall, they were reliable and the bus was clean and safe. However, our guide did not speak English very well (fine with us, we were there for the penguins).

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We were also on the 2017 Viking Passages trip that skipped ports and ended up using a different itinerary, and we loved every minute in Greenland anyway. In my opinion, it's all about the floating icebergs and the gorgeous scenery. The towns are interesting, but I would have been almost as satisfied if we had ended up with a couple of days of scenic cruising and no ports at all.

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Hi. We were on the Rotterdam VOV July 15, 2017. Delicious fresh oj in the MDR; not sure about the lido. The only one of the above issues that we truly experienced was the mildew smell a couple of nights in the Crows Nest while the BB King band was playing. I remember wondering what the mildew would do to the musician's lungs. They were FANTASTIC, by the way. To be honest, I did notice some stray buckets and pumps around, but no more so than on other ships I have been on. I also noticed constant upkeep. Lots of attention paid by the crew to the woodwork and other maintenance issues. The trip was fantastic, with the best crew and food we have experienced in about 10 cruises.

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Try Blue Ice Explorer for an icecap trip on an ice breaker boat.

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I didn't see this happen, nor was it in the "Where and When". Was it in the dining room? What time did it happen? I sure missed it.

I was called something like "Chocolate Surprise," and it was mentioned in the Where and When. I didn't know what it would be, so I went to check it out. At least 5 or 6 different waiters walked around the deck with large trays of chocolate goodies. I thought it was lovely, although I was too full from dinner to try anything.

Iberia from NY to London (a codeshare with BA; it's actually a BA flight) for less than $500. Lots of option (train, plane, ferry) from London.

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