Dorpana Posted January 27, 2013 #1 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Can anyone out there who took the Marina in Dec. to Papeete comment on the Oceania air travel arrangements. Did you go charter? Out of where? We're in Vancouver and wondering how circuitous it might be to get to Santiago for 28Dec2013? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted January 27, 2013 #2 Share Posted January 27, 2013 We flew Air Canada to Toronto, then Air Canada Toronto to Santiago. We are flying to Papeete this year, but doing a deviation. The people not doing a deviation have a charter flight to Papeete and then fly probably from LAX back home. We are flying Air Canada to LAX and then catching Air Tahiti Nui. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorpana Posted January 28, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Thanks for that. It is as I thought. Was the 11+ hours in economy gruelling, or did you use Business? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted January 28, 2013 #4 Share Posted January 28, 2013 We flew economy and did not find it that bad. Mind you we are both 5 ' 7 ", so there was enough room for us. The window seat seemed to have less room than the middle or aisle seat. The food was typical airline food but the crew was great. Lots of water offered several times while flying. Friends we were traveling with did not find the flight from Toronto to Santiago that bad even though he was over 6 ' in economy. The worst flight we had on the trip was from the Falls back to Rio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lola911 Posted January 29, 2013 #5 Share Posted January 29, 2013 We flew economy and did not find it that bad. Mind you we are both 5 ' 7 ", so there was enough room for us. The window seat seemed to have less room than the middle or aisle seat. The food was typical airline food but the crew was great. Lots of water offered several times while flying. Friends we were traveling with did not find the flight from Toronto to Santiago that bad even though he was over 6 ' in economy. The worst flight we had on the trip was from the Falls back to Rio. Just curious about your "Falls back to Rio" comment. Isn't that a short flight? What was your routing home to Vancouver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted January 29, 2013 #6 Share Posted January 29, 2013 On the way home we flew Rio to Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo to Toronto, Toronto to Vancouver. The worst part of the entire flight is from Rio to Sao Paulo due to the airport at Sao Paulo. They don't tell you this, but you have to recheck in at the Air Canada check in counter in Sao Paulo which then gives you a number which will allow you to go through security. Security took forever as the line was huge and then you get to go down to a very small waiting area with minimal seating to wait for a bus to take you to your plane. It was bedlam getting onto the bus and of course that was the first time we had rain on the entire cruise and it was coming down in buckets. We flew on Brazil's local airline to the falls and back. The trip there was good, but coming back they kept announcing the other cities the plane was going to and did not announce that we had landed in Rio. The seats on that plane were so close together that your knees were in the back of the seat in front of you and you could feel the knees of the person sitting behind you in your back. Not a comfortable flight. I think that was about a three hour flight. I tend to forget the length of flights when they were not very comfortable. That was the one spot where we were warned to watch out for our luggage. When we landed in Rio, our luggage came quite quickly but our friends suitcase did not. There was about 40 people standing waiting for their luggage to come and we could see airport workers peaking out from behind every once in a while. After 40 minutes, the luggage finally started coming again when the workers realized people were still waiting. Some people did not wait and I have no idea what happened to their luggage. Our tour guide we had used in Rio, told us that this might happen and to wait until the luggage finally appeared. He said sometimes you have to wait up to a hour before they will finally release the luggage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorpana Posted January 29, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Rio is one of the worst 10 airports in the world, along with LAX, according to FlyerTalk. I can't imagine how Sao Paulo could be much better. For anyone who cares, Lima is rated one of the ten best, and deserves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted January 29, 2013 #8 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Rio is one of the worst 10 airports in the world, along with LAX, according to FlyerTalk. I can't imagine how Sao Paulo could be much better. For anyone who cares, Lima is rated one of the ten best, and deserves it. Rio was much better than Sao Paulo, except for the luggage. All of the private tour guides that we used all wondered how both airports would handle the traffic for the World Cup and the Olympics. The infra structure in Brazil is not that great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveler916 Posted January 30, 2013 #9 Share Posted January 30, 2013 We flew Air Canada to Toronto, then Air Canada Toronto to Santiago. We are flying to Papeete this year, but doing a deviation. The people not doing a deviation have a charter flight to Papeete and then fly probably from LAX back home. We are flying Air Canada to LAX and then catching Air Tahiti Nui. Interesting... We are thinking about the possibility of doing a back to back...Barcelona to Rio and then Rio to Valparaiso, in Nov 2013. The best option to get from SCL to the US East Coast - or shall I say least hassle option - is Air Canada from SCL to YYZ, then United from YYZ to Pa. Sounds like the air experts at O agree with that routing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorpana Posted January 31, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted January 31, 2013 You look like you are a firm proponent of Marina. Just curious. What is it about Marina that keeps you coming back??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted January 31, 2013 #11 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Actually the South America cruise was on the Insignia which we enjoyed. We will be doing our second Marina starting next week and we are booked on the Nautica for next year. We simply like Oceania as a cruise line, the lack of formal nights, no photographer, interesting fellow passengers, smaller ships, and good food. We will probably book another cruise while we are onboard as there is a future cruise that has peaked our interest. I guess one of these days we will have to try the Riveria. I do like the smaller ships versus the mega ships. It reminds me more of the service when I started cruising in the 70's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorpana Posted January 31, 2013 Author #12 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Interesting. We tried Seabourn in 2011 in The Med. (460 pass.) and found that while the intinerary was maybe the best ever, and the people easy to get along with, the service, cuisine, and wine and beverages average at best. We were expecting a lot more after viewing the promo video and literature: overhyped and overpriced. Have travelled Celebrity for the most part and found them good value in all respects. Am looking forward to Oceania Valparaiso to Papeete in Dec13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveler916 Posted February 1, 2013 #13 Share Posted February 1, 2013 You look like you are a firm proponent of Marina. Just curious. What is it about Marina that keeps you coming back??? Yes, we are really happy with the Marina. It's laid out well - not too bigm not too small. We have been on a couple of those "Behemoth of the Seas" megships and there are lines for everything...understandable if you have 3000 people on board. And the food! My oh my. We are so happy with Red Ginger and the Terrace Grill. Mostly the Terrace Grill. You can see the food before you order it...see what looks good...and everything is good. The people...we have made some wonderful friends on board....and a lot of them we will see again over the next few years. Smart and funny people!! We go on a cruise for a vacation. I still work - not retired - and it's nice to be able to work on the ship :) The food and the people on the ship... In my personal and business life, I am a firm believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." On the other ships we have seen the cutbacks in food and service...we haven't seen that on O. I hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveler916 Posted February 1, 2013 #14 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Interesting. We tried Seabourn in 2011 in The Med. (460 pass.) and found that while the intinerary was maybe the best ever, and the people easy to get along with, the service, cuisine, and wine and beverages average at best. We were expecting a lot more after viewing the promo video and literature: overhyped and overpriced. Have travelled Celebrity for the most part and found them good value in all respects. Am looking forward to Oceania Valparaiso to Papeete in Dec13. As to the food...if you like lobster tails (real ones, not the "slipper sized ones on the mainstream cruise lines), shrimp, steak, lamb chops, prime rib, turkey, chicken, 1000 kinds of salads, 10 varieties of gelato, you will love the "buffet". I don't think Oceania over-promotes and under-delivers...that's for sure. The overwhelming majority of cruisers that we have found on Marina were extremely please with their experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorpana Posted February 1, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Been looking at menus and noticed a confluence of lobster inspired dishes. Lots of foie gras which works for me; and wine pairing dinners are very inspired looking. Hope the gym is adequately equipped to allow me to sweat it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveler916 Posted February 2, 2013 #16 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Been looking at menus and noticed a confluence of lobster inspired dishes. Lots of foie gras which works for me; and wine pairing dinners are very inspired looking. Hope the gym is adequately equipped to allow me to sweat it off. On my last cruise, Rome to Rio, I hit the gym 12 out of 18 days. It is really empty on port days, Busy on sea days. Never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a treadmill, and there was always something open if you like the Nordic Track type machines or bikes. Maybe they will put a video of the new menus on the TV that you can play while on the treadmill, so you can walk off the pounds while looking at food :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted February 2, 2013 #17 Share Posted February 2, 2013 As to the food...if you like lobster tails (real ones, not the "slipper sized ones on the mainstream cruise lines), shrimp, steak, lamb chops, prime rib, turkey, chicken, 1000 kinds of salads, 10 varieties of gelato, you will love the "buffet". I don't think Oceania over-promotes and under-delivers...that's for sure. The overwhelming majority of cruisers that we have found on Marina were extremely please with their experience One of those "1000 salads" is lobster salad. It is offered frequently in the Terrace Cafe - I assume because of "left over" lobster tails that were not consumed the night before - delicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted February 2, 2013 #18 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Been looking at menus and noticed a confluence of lobster inspired dishes. Lots of foie gras which works for me; and wine pairing dinners are very inspired looking. Hope the gym is adequately equipped to allow me to sweat it off. Unfortunately the sautéed foie gras is no longer on the menu at Jacques but the terrine is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted February 2, 2013 #19 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Can anyone out there who took the Marina in Dec. to Papeete comment on the Oceania air travel arrangements. Did you go charter? Out of where? We're in Vancouver and wondering how circuitous it might be to get to Santiago for 28Dec2013? It might be worthwhile for you to think about deviation and fly YVR-LAX-SCL. One family on our Dec trip flew out of NYC (with Oceania air) and had terrible weather(?) related delays and barely arrived before the ship left. They made it only because the ship was there for 2 overnights - otherwise they would have missed it. Next airport would have been Easter Island many days later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted February 2, 2013 #20 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Slight correction to my post above. The delay was actually on a flight to Lima and not Santiago. However, the same principles apply - flying from/through cities like NYC, Toronto etc., in the winter carries significant risks of weather related delays. Best to arrive a day early to be safe, IMO! Especially if the next airport is Easter Islands, where your ship may or may not tender :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorpana Posted February 4, 2013 Author #21 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Yeah. That's a good point. They (AC) have very circuitous flight schemes out of LAX, but there's zero prob. of a white out. Now, Oceania will probably fly us to YYZ then to SCL direct. That seems like a better idea than going from LAX then to Panama City then SCL, as the likelihood of losing baggage increases with every connection the Americas??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorpana Posted February 4, 2013 Author #22 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Thanks to you all for the food for thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted February 4, 2013 #23 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Yeah. That's a good point. They (AC) have very circuitous flight schemes out of LAX, but there's zero prob. of a white out. Now, Oceania will probably fly us to YYZ then to SCL direct. That seems like a better idea than going from LAX then to Panama City then SCL, as the likelihood of losing baggage increases with every connection the Americas??? No need to go through Panama - LAN has direct flights from LAX to SCL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveler916 Posted February 5, 2013 #24 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Yeah. That's a good point. They (AC) have very circuitous flight schemes out of LAX, but there's zero prob. of a white out. Now, Oceania will probably fly us to YYZ then to SCL direct. That seems like a better idea than going from LAX then to Panama City then SCL, as the likelihood of losing baggage increases with every connection the Americas??? My rule of thunk is every stop you make increases your potential lost luggage by a factor of 2...so a 2 stop flight increases the chance of mishap by 4. Of course, that is not a hard and fast rule...but what is a good rule is trying to make as few stops as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorpana Posted February 6, 2013 Author #25 Share Posted February 6, 2013 I'm using Aeroplan miles, though. Can't be helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.