Almost Live -- August 16, 2015 Insignia

[What A Market]

Hi everyone

 

I am now almost one week out from an upcoming eleven day cruise on the Insignia, departing from Southampton. As with the approach many of you take, I've had the trip planned for months (maybe nine), so it is hard to believe the embarkation date is finally here.

 

As with each of my recent cruises, I will try to post live from the ship on a daily basis. This trip on the Insignia marks cruise number five with Oceania. My very first Oceania cruise was a Baltic trip on the Regatta in 2006. (This was prior to me "finding" Cruise Critic, so I was definitely operating in the dark, so to speak, on this cruise.) I've also sailed on both the Marina (twice) and the Riviera (maiden). Between 2006 and now I've also done an Azamara cruise (all Italy -- loved it) and a Celebrity cruise (three generations of family and eleven people -- great from the generational aspect, but not a huge fan of Celebrity). With the Azamara cruise thrown in, this trip will even me up on cruises with "R" class ships and "O" class ships. Haven't been on an R ship since the Azamara cruise in 2008, so I'm looking forward to seeing the upgrades made by Oceania to the Insignia and comparing to the Marina and Riviera.

 

My DD, Shannon, will once again be joining my DW and I for this trip. This marks her third cruise with Oceania. I have done my part in developing a new, ongoing and lifelong Oceania junkie. (Hint, hint FDR if you care to throw any perks my way for the development effort. LOL)

 

Here is a brief recap of our itinerary and tours:

8/13 -- Depart Phoenix for Heathrow via British Air. (Great non-stop service.)

 

8/14 to 8/16 -- Two night stay in London at the Marriott Grosvenor Square. Private Jack the Ripper/pub crawl tour Saturday night. I've done this tour before. Using the same guide. It's interesting and fun. My idea of a perfect tour.

 

Private Highclere Castle / Stonehenge tour on Sunday as part of transportation to port. DD and I are both huge Downton Abbey fans. I "did" Stonehenge in the summer of 1976 for the Solstice. I vaguely remember not wearing clothes. O youth! This visit should be more tame. :)

 

8/16 -- Embarkation at Southampton

 

8/17 -- Sea Day (Love the idea of a sea day for the first day of the cruise.)

 

8/18 to 8/19 -- Overnight stay in Bordeaux, France. Private city walking tour on the 18th followed by wine tasting (hopefully a lot of wine tasting). Full day private Bordeaux Right Bank tour on the 19th. Lots more wine tasting and buying.

 

8/20 -- Biarritz (Saint-Jean-De-Luz)

 

8/21 -- Gijon, Spain

 

8/22 -- La Coruna, Spain

 

8/23 -- Porto, Spain. Private city tour combined with tour of surrounding area. Focus on cultural points of interest, sampling food, and yes, more wine!

 

8/24 -- Lisbon, Portugal. Perversely short seven hour day in port. Private sidecar motorcycle tour of city. DW and DD think I've lost my mind.

 

8/25 -- Seville (Cadiz), Spain. Staying in Cadiz, instead of making trek to Seville.

 

8/26 -- Sea Day (Thank the gods. Should be exhausted by this point.)

 

8/27 -- Disembarkation in Barcelona. Staying overnight at the Hotel Cotton House (Brand new Marriott Autograph property).

 

8/28 -- Return flight Barcelona to Heathrow. And then Heathrow to Phoenix.

 

That's the trip. I welcome comments or questions. Looking forward to posting along the way.

[PhillyGirl2]

Have a great trip--Barcelona is definitely one of our favorite European cities--great Paella, architecture is unbelievable. Many think Gaudi architecture is weird, we found it fascinating and lovely--Sagrada Familia is incredible. Gothic district for dinner at the culinary school was a treat and a side trip to Montserrat to the monastery on the mountain was breathtaking. Have a good time.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Great itinerary. Do you plan to go from La Coruna to Santiago de Compostela? It's a wonderful city with lots to see, and just the right size for a shore excursion day trip.

[smoothsailors]

Have a wonderful trip...we'll look forward to your reports as we've just booked our first Oceania cruise on Insignia next September.

 

Cadiz is a delightful stop...we were there in April and, having been to Seville several times, decided to take the HOHO in Cadiz and do some shopping. I recommend the HOHO (stops right across from the pier) mainly because it looped out west of central Cadiz to show the beach area. In April, the hotels, cafes and shops were empty but busy sprucing up for summer tourist season but it looked lovely...should be bustling in August. We were so impressed with the westernmost beach area (near the Corte Ingles branch) that we recommended it to my English cousins as a vacation destination. They loved it!!!

 

Enjoy!

[What A Market]

Hi Jazzbeau

Yes, thinking of doing Santiago de Compostela on our own for our day in La Coruna.

 

Any recommendations on transportation there and back?

[karska]

We did a motorcycle sidecar tour in Lisbon and loved it. If I remember correctly it was with Daniel, owner of company. Also, on cc check out individual towns, we got a lot of info that way. Our cruise was last September on Insignia.

[buggins0402]

Hi Jazzbeau

Yes, thinking of doing Santiago de Compostela on our own for our day in La Coruna.

 

Any recommendations on transportation there and back?

 

You might want to confirm on the Spain port of calls board but, I recall reading that the Spanish rail has opened the high speed rail from La Coruna to Santiago de Compostela.

 

Found the link...http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233401 I think the travel time is now shorter...check on the Renfe site cited in the link.

Edited August 10, 2015 by buggins0402

[Zqueeze1]

Looks like if you're flying out tomorrow and would like to wish you a wonderful trip. Recommend Los Caracoles restaurant in the Gothic district of Barcelona for paella if it isn't too far from your hotel. If you plan to go to the Sagrada Familia, u need to buy tickets online ASAP if you haven't done so. Otherwise, you can walk around the exterior and marvel at its beauty and uniqueness.

If you run into a crazy German-Sicilian-Puerto Rican with green eyes in Phoenix, that's my baby girl. Please tell her she owes me money. :)

Z and TB

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[What A Market]

In a little less than 24 hours we will be onboard for our British Air flight to Heathrow. WooHoo!

 

Only partially packed at this point. Work tomorrow. Scramble around like a lunatic thinking I can solve the world's problems in a single day...... Finish packing..... Get to airport..... Get to British Air's Club Lounge in Phoenix (small but nice)...... Get drink. Also pray for flight to depart on time!

 

Smooth: Thanks for the suggestion on Cadiz. I just finished making a booking for a private bike tour around Cadiz. Good reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

Bug: thanks for details on transport to Santiago. Mapping that out now.

 

Z: Thanks for restaurant recommendation. I suspect there aren't many female, green-eyed German-Sicilian-Puerto Ricans here in Scottsdale, AZ. Consider your message delivered! :)

[What A Market]

Sunday morning here in London and it's embarkation day! We've had a great couple of days in London. Weather was perfect. (Much nicer than the 117 record setting temp in Phoenix this past Friday.) Always nice to acclimate to the time change for a couple of days before starting a cruise. London is an amazing city.

 

As noted earlier, we are doing a tour of Highclere Castle and Stonehenge as we make our way to Southampton. We expect to get to the ship by 3:00PM. Hoping the masses will have already made their way thru check in and we can casually stroll on. Although from past experience, boarding an "R" class ship is a piece of cake on a relative basis.

 

I'm going to start a new "Live from" thread after this posting.

[StanandJim]

Bon Voyage. Tom

 

Try to let the other guys win at Trivia, sometimes ;)

 

Or don't..........

 

Those Bookmarks won't buy themselves!!!

[What A Market]

Thanks for the well wishes Jim. (And as always, the great photos you add to your postings.) Hope all is well with the two of you.

 

Shannon and Blaine are with us again. They send their greetings.