fuddydud Posted June 28, 2012 #1 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Oceania receives 4 stars out of a possible 5 stars for the Iberian Odyssey cruise, June, 2012. Ports of call included Lisbon, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Motril, Valencia, Barcelona, Marseilles, Monaco, Livorno, and Civitavecchia. Oceania provided over 800 employees for about 1100 guests. All employees were courteous, friendly, professional, and promptly responded to any issues. The only significant problem occurred at the disembarkation port of Civitavecchia where a mix up and some confusion happened in reclaiming luggage from the disembarkation terminal at Civitavecchia. Although some delays occurred, we arrived home in the U.S.A. on schedule and did not miss any flight home. The CEO appeared at the disembarkation terminal and personally became involved with the problem. The stage and theater was first class, as was the various entertainments provided each evening. I particularly enjoyed the novo Flamenco guitarist. Each guest was entitled one dinner in each of 4 specialty restaurants onboard ship. The cuisine was simply delectable along with the presentations and the service staff. Overall, the ship's chefs did a marvelous job with the cuisine onboard. The bottom line is that I would cruise with Oceania in the Mediterranean and recommend this cruise to friends and neighbors. We choose shore excursions with local vendors rather then sign up with the cruise sponsored shore excursions. The only reason I gave a 4 instead of a 5 star rating was due to the delay and confusion over the retrieval of luggage at disembarkation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wristband Posted June 28, 2012 #2 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Do you mean to say you lost your luggage altogether? Also, is this a review of your cruise or a complaint about how inept disembarkation was? I am confused as to what you meant by the post. Were you reimbursed by Oceania for the loss of your luggage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Understood Posted June 28, 2012 #3 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Fuddydud, I am on the same cruise in Sept and would love to hear about the ports. Also did you have any cooking classes? There are still none for our cruise and I am unclear if there will be or perhaps because there are no sea days. this will not be scheduled at all. I am glad that overall you seem to have enjoyed your trip. ------------------------------ Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuddydud Posted June 28, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted June 28, 2012 My post was a cruise review. My luggage was not lost, but delayed. The delay in delivery of the luggage caused a delay in departure of the bus shuttle to Fiumicino airport ( Rome). I hope this is helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuddydud Posted June 28, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Compared to ship sponsored shore excursions in tour busses, local guides are a better value. We contracted for shore excursions in Barcelona, Provence-Marseilles, Monaco, and Florence & Chianti country. The excursions included 4 adults and one driver/tour guide. The tour guides are licensed. Tour vehicles were Mercedes SUV's, able to go many places that are impossible for tour busses. Cost of the tours are around $ 450 to $ 500 Euro, total for 4 people. Tickets to museums, lunches, tips are not included. Tours lasted from 8 to 10 hours. Barcelona: Jose (info@pepitotours.com). Jose gave us a fast track entrance to Sagrada Familia, which every visitor to Barcelona should see. Also a great tour of the Fresh Market ( Mercat) on the Las ramble. Provence: Marjolaine or Catherine ( tour.designer@provence-travel.com). Great tours of Aix-en-Provence and Cassis. Monaco: Jean Marc ( infos@dream-tours.com). Great visits to Monta Carlo and the surrounding areas. Avoid Nice. Livorno: Guido (info@tuscanyinmypocket.com). Wonderful tour of Florence and Chianti Country. Fabulous lunch at a restaurant in a small village in the wine region. All guides were friendly, professional, and extremely knowledgeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted June 29, 2012 #6 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Compared to ship sponsored shore excursions in tour busses, local guides are a better value. We contracted for shore excursions in Barcelona, Provence-Marseilles, Monaco, and Florence & Chianti country. The excursions included 4 adults and one driver/tour guide. The tour guides are licensed. Tour vehicles were Mercedes SUV's, able to go many places that are impossible for tour busses. Cost of the tours are around $ 450 to $ 500 Euro, total for 4 people. Tickets to museums, lunches, tips are not included. Tours lasted from 8 to 10 hours. Barcelona: Jose (info@pepitotours.com). Jose gave us a fast track entrance to Sagrada Familia, which every visitor to Barcelona should see. Also a great tour of the Fresh Market ( Mercat) on the Las ramble. Provence: Marjolaine or Catherine ( tour.designer@provence-travel.com). Great tours of Aix-en-Provence and Cassis. Monaco: Jean Marc ( infos@dream-tours.com). Great visits to Monta Carlo and the surrounding areas. Avoid Nice. Livorno: Guido (info@tuscanyinmypocket.com). Wonderful tour of Florence and Chianti Country. Fabulous lunch at a restaurant in a small village in the wine region. All guides were friendly, professional, and extremely knowledgeable. I have used two of the for guides you used and agree they were really great.. Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledobles Posted June 29, 2012 #7 Share Posted June 29, 2012 We were on the same cruise and met Kunal Kamlani, President of Oceania and his wife and two very well behaved children. Mr. Kamlani is in his early 40's (a guess), personable, approachable and pro-active. He is willing to listen to whatever you say and try to find a solution or explanation to your questions. We enjoyed his company. His wife is a delight and just as approachable. The entertainments was great! What a nice change from prior sailings. I brought some of my own DVD's to watch in the evening if the entertainment was poor and never bothered to look at them, since every night there was an enjoyable show. For me, this was a 4.5 star cruise. I would have preferred a 12 to 14 day cruise rather than a 10 day cruise, which is why I gave it 4.5 stars. I find 10 day cruises too short with no time to relax due to the lack of sea days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhohea Posted July 2, 2012 #8 Share Posted July 2, 2012 This was my second Reunion cruise and as usual it was very good. A big thanks must go to Nick DeSantis for all the great dinners/tours etc he arranged for us all. The invite only dinner in Toscano's was a highlight and a special thank you to the host of our table on the evening - Julio. He is a "gem" and made the evening most enjoyable.:) Looking forward to cruising with you both very, very soon.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted July 2, 2012 #9 Share Posted July 2, 2012 This was my second Reunion cruise and as usual it was very good. A big thanks must go to Nick DeSantis for all the great dinners/tours etc he arranged for us all. The invite only dinner in Toscano's was a highlight and a special thank you to the host of our table on the evening - Julio. He is a "gem" and made the evening most enjoyable.:) Looking forward to cruising with you both very, very soon.;) Yes, Nick is a Gem, and helpful to all of us, no matter if we have sailed six times or sixty! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester8 Posted July 2, 2012 #10 Share Posted July 2, 2012 For me, this was a 4.5 star cruise. I would have preferred a 12 to 14 day cruise rather than a 10 day cruise, which is why I gave it 4.5 stars. I find 10 day cruises too short with no time to relax due to the lack of sea days. Doubledobles,I agree,I much prefer 12 days,a ten day cruise is too short.It would be interesting to hear other opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledobles Posted July 2, 2012 #11 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Chester, As I remember it, at a meeting on the Reunion Cruise, we were told that there would be a lot more 10 and 12 day cruises and hardly any 14 day cruises in the future. After that, the cruise length would jump to longer cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted July 2, 2012 #12 Share Posted July 2, 2012 It's possible they're experimenting to discover the "sweet spot" in cruise length. They tried some 7 day cruises this past year for the first time in my memory. Their sister line, Regent, does very well withy 7 to 10 day cruises. I would imagine a lot of factors come into play, such as the demographic and cruise cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boerneDQ Posted July 2, 2012 #13 Share Posted July 2, 2012 We used Ingrid from kultours dot com in Monte Carlo and have a FABULOUS tour for the Cote D'azur! I highly recommend her! Charlotte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
su-arizona Posted July 3, 2012 #14 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Our only complaint about Oceania is the cost of shore excursions - so on past cruises we have booked all private excursions. We're on the same Riviera itinerary in September, so all your recommendations for private tours/excursions are really appreciated! There is very little information available for Motril, since it's a new port. I have been trying to locate car rentals there. Can someone on the June cruise tell me if there were car rental vendors set up at the dock? Did anyone rent a car in Motril? Please keep the tour recommendations coming - Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuddydud Posted July 3, 2012 Author #15 Share Posted July 3, 2012 In Motril, I did not see car rental options. We took the shuttle into town and contracted a local taxi for a visit to Granada. Without a prior reservation, we a were unable to tour the Alhambra. The driver did not speak English. You might check at Top Day Tours for Dionisio (info@spaintopdaytours.com). We contracted with Dionisio for a tour of the LeCrin Valley, but were unable to work out the details. Dionisio refunded my deposit of $ 100 Euro pro,ptly and cheerfully. Good luck and bon voyage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledobles Posted July 3, 2012 #16 Share Posted July 3, 2012 It's possible they're experimenting to discover the "sweet spot" in cruise length. They tried some 7 day cruises this past year for the first time in my memory. Their sister line, Regent, does very well withy 7 to 10 day cruises. I would imagine a lot of factors come into play, such as the demographic and cruise cost. Personally, I think it's because of the rising cost of the cruises. By cutting back the number of days, as you say, the pricing stays in the "sweet spot." Also, they're reconsidering the credits given for cruises and may go to days sailed. This may be the future, if at all. The question of "why should someone get 1 credit for a 7 days cruise, when others get 1 credit for cruises up to 24 days" was discussed. We were told, if there is a change, no one would lose their status. (How they will do that is the question) It was a very interesting Town Hall meeting with Mr. Kamlani, who I like very much and believe is very fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted July 3, 2012 #17 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Personally, I think it's because of the rising cost of the cruises. By cutting back the number of days, as you say, the pricing stays in the "sweet spot." Also, they're reconsidering the credits given for cruises and may go to days sailed. This may be the future, if at all. The question of "why should someone get 1 credit for a 7 days cruise, when others get 1 credit for cruises up to 24 days" was discussed. We were told, if there is a change, no one would lose their status. (How they will do that is the question) It was a very interesting Town Hall meeting with Mr. Kamlani, who I like very much and believe is very fair. I was impressed with Mr. Kamlani, also -- he is very personable, a good public speaker, cares very much for the cruise line -- and even looks a litle like a younger FDR. I am very much in favor of a change to counting the number of days for the loyalty program rather than the number of cruises. I think it's much more fair and equitable, and should be easier to manage, espceially since thier sister line, Regent, already counts by days. While the perks will likely (and should) remain different between the lines, changing to the same wsystem would make it easier for some of the perks to be similar between the cruise lines. It would also make it possible for days earned on one cruise line to be transferred to the other on some sort of a weighted basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted July 3, 2012 #18 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I am very much in favor of a change to counting the number of days for the loyalty program rather than the number of cruises. I think it's much more fair and equitable, and should be easier to manage, espceially since thier sister line, Regent, already counts by days. Or count both - days and cruises; much like Princess does. Elite on Princess is 15 cruises or 150 days. However, with Princess you can "cheat" - take a few 3-5 day cruises and they each count as one cruise. Oceania does not have short cruises like that, so it should not be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarabels Posted July 3, 2012 #19 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Or count both - days and cruises; much like Princess does.Elite on Princess is 15 cruises or 150 days. However, with Princess you can "cheat" - take a few 3-5 day cruises and they each count as one cruise. Oceania does not have short cruises like that, so it should not be a problem. We are taking the Iberian Interlude cruise on Oceania, and am interested in private guided tours. Did you research the internet for private guides in each town? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuddydud Posted July 4, 2012 Author #20 Share Posted July 4, 2012 RE: Oceania Iberian Odyssey, shore excursion guides. We looked for tour guides for shore excursions in Motril ( Granada/Alhambra), Barcelona, Marseilles-Provence, MOnaco, and Livorno ( Florence). A friend recommended Catherine at Tour Designer, ( tour.designer@provence-travel.com). Catherine gave me several choices for Monaco, Florence, and Barcelona. For Granada, I found Spain Top Day Tours on the Internet at http://www.viator.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorie10295 Posted July 4, 2012 #21 Share Posted July 4, 2012 We were on this cruise, and as first time O cruisers we found the disembarkation horrid. At 8:30 after waiting in line for quite some time they turned the water of so all bathrooms did not function.The ladies room where we were waiting turned into a latrine that resembled something from WWII. This was a terrible way to end a cruise. There was also a shoving and pushing match once the ship was cleared, with no ship personnel to calm some very hot tempers. We have been on many luxury cruises and never have had anything like this happen. We found the ship to be beautiful, our Oceania suite fabulous and nicer than any suite we have had on any other line. Our butler we saw twice.....he just disappeared! So we had no service from him at all. And we listened to what has been said on this board and tipped him when we boarded, never again. We ate in all the restaurants at least twice and we loved Polo and Jacques. We found the crowds in the Terrace a bit overwhelming as we are no used to such a large ship. We did hear the word no used when asking for simple things such as a waffle for breakfast in the Terrace. That would never happen on Regent or Crystal. When we added up the cost of drinks, Internet, gratuities and tours, this cruise was as expensive as Regent if not more. The ports were great, we chose this cruise for the itinerary, and we did our own independent tours as we were 5 people. We would cruise with Oceania again if the itinerary was what we were looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarabels Posted July 4, 2012 #22 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Thanks for the tour companies name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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