Techno123

@ak1004 but there are specific areas on Oceania . The concierge and executive lounges and the Aquamar spa terrace only available to concierge up: Seabourn has the retreat only available to those willing to fork out extra, not seen anything on Regent and not sailing SS til next year 😁

Sorry if you are reading this again I posted it on the Vista thread. Has anyone done Volcanic Santorini? It involves a couple of boat trips but unlike most of the other excursions does not mention having to queue for the cable car but neither does it mention how you get back to the ship. I've also seen some private excursions doing the same thing which leave and arrive back to Fira harbour so 🤞🏻 Gaze into the crater of a still-active volcano and experience the green sulfuric waters of a thermal spring on this fascinating tour. Board a caique, a traditional fishing boat, and sail to the lava rock islet of Nea Kameni, where you’ll take an approximately 20-minute walk up an unpaved path among lava fragments and volcanic rock formations toward the crater of a still-active volcano. Learn that the island was named Nea Kameni, meaning “new burnt,” because it is only 400 years old. Perhaps you’ll observe steam rising from the crater’s walls and capture photos of the fascinating phenomenon. Re-board the caique for an approximately 20-minute cruise to the thermal springs at the nearby island of Palea Kameni. Understand that Palea Kameni means “old burnt,” since this area is over 2,000 years old, which unlike Nea Kameni has allowed it to develop soil to support a few goats, wild rabbits and some vegetation. Time permitting, you may take a dip in the relaxing, mineral-rich waters, whose temperatures can sometimes reach 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Marvel at na

You can walk down (if able) in about 20/30mins from Fira can't you? Obviously, need decent shoes on and to avoid the donkey droppings but beats standing in a queue in the sun.

We have no need to have a preferred cruise line but don't fancy sailing with thousands of other people so O, SB, RSSC have been our go to and we have a couple booked on SS. Like @90scruzer We use the ship as transport to places we want to see so huge suites/cabins/rooms (choose your buzzword 😁) aren't necessary, don't want or need a butler, one or two sea days max is enough as is 2 weeks onboard. And, because we spend our days hiking or cycling or kayaking, like @CptBoatface says we go to bed relatively early (although usually still eating dinner at 9pm 😜😜) so entertainment until 11pm ish is fine. We don't need to be BFFs with the senior crew but do enjoy chatting with the crew who look after us, we don't choose to share tables but enjoy chatting with those around us, whatever their age 😁 We do like our food and a nice glass of wine or 3 so that is important to us. We don't necessarily believe the reviews of people who thought everything was dreadful anymore than the reviews of people who think that 'their' cruise line is the best thing since sliced bread and feel any utterance that contradicts their view is sacrilegious 😜 but we do enjoy reading others views so we know what to look for and maybe what to avoid. So thank you to everyone who posts on these boards - they definitely make interesting reading.

Loving your blog @Hlitner My favourite trip when we spent a couple of weeks on Crete was hiking the Samaria gourge down to Agia Roumeli- stunning hike. https://www.visitgreece.gr/experiences/nature/gorges/samaria-gorge/

Oh dear - this is getting a tad concerning 🥹 my memories of Oceania are of great food and small bathrooms - sounds like they have improved the bathrooms at the cost of the food! I don't tend to add a huge amount of salt (because Mr T adds the same amount to his food whatever😁) but no garlic 😱how will we keep the vampires away.

@TRLD I think what we have to accept is that the small ships cannot possibly have the same level of entertainment as the mega ships do and to be honest, if people want to spend their days lying on a sunbed surely that is up to them? I have been on many land based holidays where that is exactly what people of all ages do - not my cup of tea as I like to be active, off the ship and enjoying the ports but each to their own. I do hope the food reports (and I have noticed a few that are less than complimentary) are subjective. We haven't sailed O for 10 years but liked the itinerary of the one we have booked on Vista - the two things I remember are excellent food and tiny bathrooms (with awkwardly angled toilets 😜). This was Insignia - the bathrooms definitely look better on Vista so 🤞🏻 for the food.

Maybe he was a reincarnation of Charles Aznavour 😜

I think my opinion lines up more with yours than @njhorseman. Too much money has been lost by all of the cruise lines and having sailed both Regent and Seabourn last year, having an Oceania and Ss in the offing and reading all the boards on here corporate appears to be dictating and the quality of offering is definitely not on an upward trend! Doesn't stop me sailing but I have learnt to temper my expectations.

The problem is it's only Oceania in name, same as Regent is only Regent in name the people pulling the strings and dictating what happens onboard are the bean counters at NCLH 😢 - the same for SS and SB - the parent companies dictate the offerings and they have A LOT of money to make back.

@Bentley2018 that was pre Covid but it is very volatile over there at the moment 😢

We have an August Med cruise with 3 stops in Türkiye one of which is Antalya- I'm not holding my breath for that one unless things in that area change significantly over the next 3 months. With regards to Istanbul, things can flare up quite quickly in the big cities. We had a Seabourn cruise that was supposed to finish in Istanbul - there were riots and with less than a week to go before departure we were ending our cruise in Athens - that was fun rebooking flights in the middle of summer but better to know before we left.

It's possible as about 1 hour 30 mins each way on the train so you would need to leave Paris by 2:30 to be back for 4 - you would need to be very disciplined and either go for a brief overview of a few things or visit one or 2 things in more depth BUT the French can be very militant - the olympics will have finished the previous month and they are threatening to strike for that so I would check out an alternative return and the cost just in case.

@Cliff-FLL it happens on all the boards and the other site beginning with F that also has groups for each of the cruise lines is even worse 😱 I like to hear the good and the bad - if you go into a situation expecting amazing, anything less is going to be a disappointment 😁. The problem is, sometimes it starts to get a bit argumentative and unpleasant - everyone is entitled to their opinion even if it doesn't agree with your own.

If it doesn't impact on me, I don't care BUT 2 things that do impact on me are the people who don't wash their hands when leaving the restroom and then going to meals as they put me and others at risk of GI infections and sadly, @Kay S deck chair hogs. It is not acceptable to save chairs for hours (or have one in the sun and one in the shade) when others can't find anywhere to sit.

@Harters that is a perfect explanation - thank you 😁 I do remember the day when a grateful patient brought in a bag of 20 deniers American tan tights for us girls and black socks for the boys - they were very gratefully received 😁

At least no-one on here is advocating pre-tipping 😜 I do wonder why it is service staff who get tips and not other equally hard working and poorly paid staff? Having recently retired from teaching and having originally trained as a nurse I have been doing some shifts in my local hospital as a bank, health care assistant (nursing aid possible in the US) as our NHS is desperate for staff and I enjoy it - gets me out from under my husbands feet 😂. My salary is the princely sum of £11.62 ($14.49) per hour which is just slightly better than the National living wage. For me that's some pocket money but for my colleagues they are having to run homes and look after families and the tasks they perform are far less savoury than serving meals and wiping down tables 😜 Should my colleagues be standing by the door as the patient is discharged 'well you've been with us for 10 days at a gratuity rate of $18 dollars per day so that's $180 and I'm sure you would like to give me a bit extra as I have looked after you so well' 😂😂

Use the suite guru sticky at the very top of the Regent board - lots of info on specific suites from people who have sailed in them 😁

@Vallesan I am really sorry - I think this is my fault as I asked you to describe your bad experience. And to those that live in the States, most other countries do find your tipping culture discombobulating, particularly as many are not aware quite how poorly serving staff are paid in some states, however, the majority of us respect the culture, even though, as I said in a previous post I still think it is the responsibility of the employer to pay the staff a living wage. @Vineyard View hit the nail on the head when they described the increased expectations of staff in other countries that people from the US will be very generous tippers, that's fine, it's your money but unfortunately it has a negative impact for people who live there or are visiting from other countries as there is now a huge expectation on us to give the same level of gratuity - just ask an Aussie how annoying they find it 😜😜

I've never yet risked Ryanair 😂😂

@Vallesan maybe we just need to take some Vietnamese dong as it's acceptable to tip in other currencies 😂 Personally I would probably have taken the $5 back off him. I do understand that in some states the servers are paid a pittance (but not all) but my view is it's the company's job to pay its staff. If they do a great job then they get a bit extra - if they don't, they don't.

Last year there was one for Seabourn and one for Regent on my card - was too late for the Seabourn but both Mr T and I used our cards for the Regent one 😜

Oooh now that I have to hear 😁

Where is everyone getting the idea the UK is a no tip country? We do tip for good/excellent service but not just because the person providing the service turned up for work 😂 and in fairness, in the UK, US dollars aren't much use unless the person being tipped is planning to visit the US at some point. We can change them to pounds but it's a rubbish exchange rate. I will tip (for great service) in the currency of the country I am visiting UNLESS there are economic reasons not to when I tip in US dollars 😜

And don't leave it too late. We missed out the first time as we thought we would wait for the queue to die down then when we went back no spaces available so after that we queued 😂