Oceania cruise - live from Riviera Iconic Med

[CruiseAficionado]

That should brighten up my afternoon work load!

 

You are too kind. Glad you are enjoying.

[JanaJohn]

Taormina ....... Do not know if it was related to our party declining our drivers offer to visit his favorite cannoli shop back in town or not.

We were in Taormina and Messina last July and had a great time! Our driver also offered us a visit to his favorite cannoli shop and he was buying! All 6 of us went with him and enjoyed the BIGGEST and best cannoli's we've ever tasted. As you ordered they would put the filling in the cannoli. It took both hands to hold since it was so big. My only regret was not taking a picture of how big they were. Regardless of how big they were, none of them lasted long as each of us scarfed it down as quickly as we could. The store we stopped at was called Laboratorio Pasticceria Gelateria and if we ever return to Messina we will be sure to stop again!

[Sea42]

We first visited the little town just up the road from Taormina, Castelmola. It was a wonderful little place that we had almost to ourselves. Some very interesting shops. That was a wonderful day!

[CruiseAficionado]

We were in Taormina and Messina last July and had a great time! Our driver also offered us a visit to his favorite cannoli shop and he was buying! All 6 of us went with him and enjoyed the BIGGEST and best cannoli's we've ever tasted. As you ordered they would put the filling in the cannoli. It took both hands to hold since it was so big. My only regret was not taking a picture of how big they were. Regardless of how big they were, none of them lasted long as each of us scarfed it down as quickly as we could. The store we stopped at was called Laboratorio Pasticceria Gelateria and if we ever return to Messina we will be sure to stop again!

 

Sorry we missed out but just not a big fan of cannoli. Your post is certainly a ringing endorsement for anyone seeking the best. Thanks for posting

[CruiseAficionado]

We first visited the little town just up the road from Taormina, Castelmola. It was a wonderful little place that we had almost to ourselves. Some very interesting shops. That was a wonderful day!

 

We loved the small town of Taormina and all its little shops. Will have to enquire about Castelmola if we ever visit Messina again.

[CruiseAficionado]

While waiting for our nearly empty train to leave and worried about possibly missing the ship we began questioning the conductors “leaving in 50 minutes” statement due to his limited English. Maybe, just maybe we would catch a break and it was 15 minutes.Alas, as the time ticked by it began to sink in that he meant 50 minutes and once again we were delayed leaving at an origination station.I know it is only a few minutes but other trains in Europe seem to run like clockwork.Finally, the engineer and new conductor arrive and since we are in the second car we can see their every move and are not taking any chances of missing the transfer station because if we do we will definitely miss the ship.After the first 5 stops we ask the conductor if our exit stop is next and he replies no it is two more and he will let us know.We are already a little gun shy about reading the station signs because some of them are completely unrecognizable and rather useless due to the amount of graffiti on them.Reaching the seventh stop seemed to take an eternity as we finally exited our car 7 stations further from Sorrento after traveling almost one hour and thirty minutes out of our way on our “idyllic” (lol) train adventure.In summation we left ercolano train station on the 1:28 train which actually left at about 1:45 and discovered our mistake at the end of the line at about 2:15, waited on the stopped train until about 3:05 and were now back at a lesser station (not shown on our schedule) on our original line waiting for the next train to Sorrento.Much to our surprise it just happened to be a DD Express that was supposed to have left ercolano station at 3:23.A quick glance at our train schedule revealed DW’s initial calculations were truly in error but not by much as our new Sorrento train station arrival time was now 4:03 IF we hadn’t already missed the DD.Even though it waspast 3:23 at our station the LED station platform sign clearly showed it had yet to arrive.Thank God for late Italian trains!Our late arrival in Sorrento, about 4:20 resulted in a fast walk to the O city center shuttle and between a 5-10 minute wait on the bus with an arrival dockside of 4:45.After a 5 minute wait in the well organized tender line we were allowed to board and left the dock at 4:59!It was a day not soon forgotten and a catastrophe averted.BTW once back on board we learned the correct procedure when missing a ship is to contact the port representative (make sure you take that number with you) and they will help in making arrangements for getting you to the next port.Suffice to say we SHOULD have been more diligent and not assume our train that took us to ercolano without switching would be like another that would take us back without switching.

We ended the day hungry and tired. After missing the Waves last call we got back to our cabin and were about to call Sydney to order our usual snacks of potato chips, pretzels and mixed nuts when out of the blue we get a knock on the door and there is Sydney with our snacks making us wonder “how did he do that” magic? lol We later dined in suite once again thanks to Sydney saying “no problem” and ordering from the Polo Grill with DW having the sliders with a Caesar salad and moi trying the absolutely delectable pork belly appetizer, whole Maine lobster, garlic mashed potatoes and Caesar salad with anchovies. Sydney charmed our hearts and has become the best butler ever! Enjoying the PH to no end!

 

Next is a daylong adventure to Cinque Terre!

Edited April 17, 2018 by CruiseAficionado

[BigNance]

nail biter!! We schedule our own outings and haven't had any problems (on all of 3 cruises;-), but your adventure makes me pause............

Especially if we are scheduling boat rides hmmmm

Glad it worked out OK.

Loving your review!

[CruiseAficionado]

nail biter!! We schedule our own outings and haven't had any problems (on all of 3 cruises;-), but your adventure makes me pause............

Especially if we are scheduling boat rides hmmmm

Glad it worked out OK.

Loving your review!

 

Thanks, it made us realize that even allowing more than a few hours to get back things can go wrong. We were clearly at fault by not paying attention and assuming - which is a bad combination. Funny thing happened before we left port tonight. They were paging names to see if they were on board. Hope we didn’t leave somebody behind.

[BigNance]

Thanks, it made us realize that even allowing more than a few hours to get back things can go wrong. We were clearly at fault by not paying attention and assuming - which is a bad combination. Funny thing happened before we left port tonight. They were paging names to see if they were on board. Hope we didn’t leave somebody behind.

 

 

We have heard people paged on 2 cruises. We also left a little later than the scheduled departure time, so I don't know if they made it or not. I don't want to be "that" passenger!!

Continue to enjoy the cruise! I am looking forward to our first time on the Riviera in October. Your review is giving me many helpful hints!

[jo-b]

On one cruise our Cruise Director missed the boat at a stop at Civitavecchia. He got the train into Rome, done it loads of times obviously, then coming back got onto an express train by mistake and zoomed past. He had to make his way back to the next port, fortunately still in Italy!

 

Needless to say he was well and truly ribbed about it by the passengers, not sure what his boss said!

[RachelG]

I have been on that train in Sorrento, and everything you describe is spot on. I was really terrified we were going to miss our ship as well. We didn't get lost or off at the wrong stop, just the delays and not knowing when or if the train you are supposed to transfer to is coming. Very stressful.

[CruiseAficionado]

I have been on that train in Sorrento, and everything you describe is spot on. I was really terrified we were going to miss our ship as well. We didn't get lost or off at the wrong stop, just the delays and not knowing when or if the train you are supposed to transfer to is coming. Very stressful.

 

Yes and adding to the stress was not being able to fully understand the people who were trying to help us. ‘No cabish” lol

[CruiseAficionado]

Cinque Terre

 

DW had been looking forward to seeing these five picturesque towns ever since we completed our first Cinque Terre jig saw puzzle. Resting up from our Herculaneum train adventure we met our fellow tour group members in the lobby at 8am and proceeded down the gangplank behind DW our fearless leader who arranged the group. She was so excited she missed the person holding his sign with her name but another in our group spotted it before we went too far. We climbed into the van with 3 of the women in the back seats, three guys in the middle seats and a lovely British couple in the front seat next to the driver. As we pulled away from the dock I asked DW “by the way how far is it?” To which the driver said “about 90 minutes”. Hmmm didn’t realize the trip would be that long. Along the way we passed Pisa and it’s leaning tower which we found out started “leaning” three stories into construction due to the site being on a dry lake bed. The rest of the story is so convoluted I’ll let you Google it. lol Arriving at our destination we were immediately impressed with the grape vines located on the steep cliffs. They even have to use a mechanical one person train cart to harvest them. We started in one of the smaller towns, left to sightsee for an hour and then left by boat to the next town. That town had suffered a terrific mud slide caused by heavy rains and had a large wall of pictures showing the effects. We then left once again by boat for the last town where we had a very enjoyable seafood and pasta lunch overlooking the sea as well as some shopping and sightseeing. However, for some unknown reason we ran out of time and were unable to see the largest town and took the train back to our van pick up point and back to the ship. My overall impression was even though it was fairly crowded with school kids on holiday I could not imagine getting around during the high season especially the long lines getting on the boats. Our guide, which I am glad we had, was able to squeeze our party of eight on the last boat eliminating a further wait in the hot sun even though the temps were cool. My advice is that touring these towns on your own could end up being quite an adventure! Much to our surprise when getting back to our ship we heard the band playing and found a large number of crew lining both sides of a red carpet and joyfully clapping as they welcomed us back on board. Once again tired but not so hungry we later headed to the Terrace for a light dinner of two lobster tails, steak fries, and bow tie pasta with tomato sauce.

[JPR]

Interesting report, but would be far easier to read if there were more paragraphs!

 

The largest town is Monterosso al Mare and it’s touristy but a lot of fun. Divided onto two parts by a fairly short tunnel. We stayed there a couple of years ago for three nights and had a great time. We “walked” (really a fairly rigorous hike) to the next town, Vernazza. Superb views.

[CruiseAficionado]

Interesting report, but would be far easier to read if there were more paragraphs!

 

The largest town is Monterosso al Mare and it’s touristy but a lot of fun. Divided onto two parts by a fairly short tunnel. We stayed there a couple of years ago for three nights and had a great time. We “walked” (really a fairly rigorous hike) to the next town, Vernazza. Superb views.

 

Yeah, should have caught that on the edit as I cut and paste from my iPad notes and spacing doesn’t always transfer correctly. Mea Culpa.

[CruiseAficionado]

The day we were there the sea was calm and the boats were running I don’t think it would be the same not seeing them by boat.

[CruiseAficionado]

Monte Carlo

Wow, you will not believe the view from our port side cabin while docked across from the famed casino. Just sitting on our cabin balcony watching all of the harbor activity was fascinating. Called Sydney and asked if there were any binoculars available to enhance my viewing and for the first time this cruise I did not get his usual “no Problem”. Alas, he called back later and confirmed getting binoculars was not possible. For some reason there were a steady stream of scuba divers in the bay area in front of the Fairfax hotel formerly known as the Loews when we stayed there almost 40 years ago. Even though it was cool in the shade of our balcony the sun on shore was deceptively hot. We planned a trip to the casino as there was a water taxi that would take us to the other side of the harbor from our dock but that entailed a hike up a few hills in the sun and a taxi option was non-existent due to a supposed taxi strike. So will have to save visiting the casino for another time. Dined in the Terrace once again trying to eat light after trying a Ruben sandwich earlier at Waves. Ended up with chicken Kiev, peas and crab legs. Totally skipped desert as the culmination of almost 23 days with the finest cuisine at sea is taking its toll. lol

Marseille

Arrived early in the morning and were followed in by the 2700+ passenger Costa Magica and then by the behemoth 4200+ passenger MSC Davina. Never got off the ship so this will be short and sweet. We began packing for our trip home tomorrow as packed bags need to be in hallway before 10pm and we prefer not packing before or after dinner. Plan on wearing the clothes that we will disembark in to dinner and pack the rest in our checked bag. Toiletries will go in carry on bag along with other personal items like valuables and medicines as advised by Oceania.

Since we are using private transportation and trying to make an 11:05am departure from BCN to AMS we are scheduled to be getting off and claiming our checked bags about 8:20am. We chose to leave BCN on an earlier flight with a longer connection in AMS rather than the other way around so that we could not only enjoy the KLM Business Class lounge but to ensure making our connecting flight to ATL. Intend to have an “odds and ends” post when we get back home with my overall impression of cruising with Oceania.

Goodbye for now and hope you enjoyed the details of our wonderful cruise.

[BigNance]

Thank you very much for all of your work putting your reviews together while you are on vacation!! I certainly enjoyed reading your posts. Have a safe and comfortable trip home!

[Sea42]

Thanks so much, I really enjoyed sharing your cruise with you.

One of my most favorite sail ins was Monte Carlo, pre-dawn, with the lights in the marina and up the hillside it was just magical.

[CruiseAficionado]

Thank you very much for all of your work putting your reviews together while you are on vacation!! I certainly enjoyed reading your posts. Have a safe and comfortable trip home!

 

A big thank you BigNance for reading it!

[CruiseAficionado]

Thanks so much, I really enjoyed sharing your cruise with you.

One of my most favorite sail ins was Monte Carlo, pre-dawn, with the lights in the marina and up the hillside it was just magical.

 

Thank you. MonteCarlo by night is spectacular. Wish I knew how to post pictures.

[shank63]

Thank you, CruiseAficionado for sharing your experiences on the Riviera. We are looking forward to sailing on the Riviera later this year. Have safe travels home.

[cruisingxpert]

Thank you. MonteCarlo by night is spectacular. Wish I knew how to post pictures.

 

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your journey. I am definitely going to look into that food tour in Valencia when I go there.

 

To post pictures, I find using Tapatalk makes it very easy. My view of Monte Carlo last year

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cruisingxpert]

Better pic here. You can see the sun just starting to rise over the mountain

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CruiseAficionado]

Thank you, CruiseAficionado for sharing your experiences on the Riviera. We are looking forward to sailing on the Riviera later this year. Have safe travels home.

 

You are in for a real treat later this year. Just returned from “last supper” aboard and it was fantastic. What is great about O is their wonderful variety of food no matter where you eat.