“LIVE FROM” 2019 Oceania Insignia World Cruise, Jan. 11-July 11

[tvlbum]

16 minutes ago, Mura said:

I've discovered on various cruises that the vast majority of other passengers are unaware of Cruise Critic, just as they were unaware previously of Oceania's yahoo board.  Or Trip Advisor, or just about anything available online.  I would explain it to them and they expressed great interest ... but no one ever asked how to join.  (The first time I discovered this was on a Viking riverboat cruise in October 2003.  The vast majority of travelers had been just about everywhere, and most were independent travelers.  So maybe they didn't feel the need!)

 

That was many years ago and perhaps people are more aware of things computer these days.

 

But it remains a fact that the majority of cruise passengers are unaware of the benefits of Cruise Critic, Trip Advisor, and many other sites.

 

Mura

 

What is the link to  Oceania's yahoo board?  Thanks.

[Go-Bucks!]

9 minutes ago, Mura said:

I've discovered on various cruises that the vast majority of other passengers are unaware of Cruise Critic, just as they were unaware previously of Oceania's yahoo

10 minutes ago, Mura said:

But it remains a fact that the majority of cruise passengers are unaware of the benefits of Cruise Critic, Trip Advisor, and many other sites.

 

 

I agree

[katz]

10 hours ago, Mura said:

That could well be but I'm quite sure I've seen notices in Current announcing "private" meetings, but they were never religious ones.  I'm not saying it's been a frequent occurrence.

 

Mura

We were on Insignia last March.  Every Friday there were services led by one of the passengers and a lovely Passover Seder attended by about 40 people.

[Mura]

 

1 hour ago, tvlbum said:

What is the link to  Oceania's yahoo board?  Thanks.

Unfortunately the Oceania yahoo board disappeared quite a while ago.  It was an offshoot from the Renaissance board, but once people started setting up sub-topics (much like CC's Roll Calls) fewer and fewer people posted.  That's when I came to CC.  I still miss the yahoo board very much.

 

Mura

[Mura]

2 minutes ago, katz said:

We were on Insignia last March.  Every Friday there were services led by one of the passengers and a lovely Passover Seder attended by about 40 people.

It's true that services have been publicized.  Why a Bible study group should NOT be permitted is what I question.

 

It seems to me on all of our many Oceania cruises, there were Friday sabbath services led by passengers -- I was on an early cruise where one of our fellow passengers was a cantor and she led the services.  I do think the ships support special holiday services, like Easter, Passover, etc.

 

Mura

[katz]

23 hours ago, LinnieRed said:

Hello cruisers, I am really enjoying following you along on this adventure! 

Today I received an email from Oceania for the ATW21 and we are considering our options. This would be a huge stretch for us but not unattainable.  

 

Question: current option is to pick one of the following:

70 shore excursions 

drinks package

$7000 onboard credit.

 

Where’s the smart money  in these choices? 

 

Concierge level: is it a great difference in cruise experiences? We have been on NCL, both in the Haven and in gen pop and have enjoyed both, but of course prefer the Haven amenities. Maybe Oceania is so “sophisticated” that you don’t need the concierge level (although I did see those pics of the ladies unmentionables so am rethinking the sophistication ) 😂

 

thanks for your “on the ground” feedback.

 

 

Please don't judge Oceania on the "underwear incident".  I have been cruising with O for almost ten years and have never seen anything like this sophomoric  "prank".  Apparently, there are some 12 year-old boys on board.  

[LinnieRed]

4 minutes ago, katz said:

Please don't judge Oceania on the "underwear incident".  I have been cruising with O for almost ten years and have never seen anything like this sophomoric  "prank".  Apparently, there are some 12 year-old boys on board.  

No judging from us! I referenced it tounge in cheek 😂. If we do this, we will definitely be the “Beverly hillbillies” on the ATW

[LHT28]

Just now, tvlbum said:

What is the link to  Oceania's yahoo board?  Thanks.

it no longer exists  AFAIK

It was  there back in the early years of Oceania

[LHT28]

Just now, katz said:

We were on Insignia last March.  Every Friday there were services led by one of the passengers and a lovely Passover Seder attended by about 40 people.

I  believe  this is available  on all O ships  most of the Friday services are lead by passengers  

sometimes  the CD will attend

It seems O is very accommodating  for those of the Jewish Faith

[ilsun]

Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia - views from the beach, boat & Kia Ora resort hotel. Unfortunatly my underwater housing sprung a leak and I could not shoot during snorkeling which was magnificent

[Haleca33]

19 hours ago, Damicom said:

I’ve been on a number of Oceania cruises and have appreciated that the travelers have been well behaved, sophisticated, very intelligent and delightful. I was shocked and dismayed by the underwear. I’ve been on other cruise lines where I might expect that  behavior. Hopefully this was first and a last for Oceania. 

I haven’t been on the world tour but I’ve been on segments of it and will be on a 25 day segment of this one in March.  I usually book the B1 veranda category. The rooms are exactly the same as concierge. There are some amenities in concierge that might be nice. There is access to a spa deck that you would otherwise have to pay to use.  I’ve found B1 to be just fine. The Insignia does not have a Concierge Lounge like the larger Oceania ships have. There’s room service and generally all service is excellent. Insignia is a much smaller ship than NCL and is very intimate and comfortable. In March I will be at Concierge  level, only because it was all that was available when I booked. So I’ll see if the difference is worth it. We’re considering the 2021 ATW Cruise as well.

As for the options, I’m not much of a drinker so I can’t say how the drinks package would work out. I take the excursions option.  On an ATW Cruise you’ll be doing lots of excursions and they can get expensive. That would probably be the best bang for your buck.  There are also several overland excursions during the trip that, if you chose them, add some expense.

 

[Go-Bucks!]

Day in Rangiroa, FP.....

 

Connie and I rented a Smart-car-wannabe and tootled around the island...couldn't get lost since there was just one road.  Went to the Paul Gauguin Pearl Farm and had a very interesting tour which included learning about oysters, pearls, how they're created and then harvested.  Got a first hand look at the operation...quite labor intensive.  Buying some black pearls in FP was on my bucket list so I was able to scratch that one off! 

 

Visited a small grocery store where there was a Christmas snowman sitting at the cash register...I got a kick out of that since it was nearly 90 degrees at the time. 

 

We drove all the way to Avatoru, then back to the Kia Ora resort for lunch.  The water around this island is the most beautiful I've ever seen...so many lovely shades of green and blue; so clear that you can see the fish swimming below.  What a great day!

 

My new motto is: You know you're "livin' the life" when reality is better than anything you can imagine.

 

 

[brownblonde]

9 hours ago, ilsun said:

Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia - views from the beach, boat & Kia Ora resort hotel. Unfortunatly my underwater housing sprung a leak and I could not shoot during snorkeling which was magnificent

My calander picture for Feb looks like picture 6

[bob brown]

Welcome to Papeete!🙂

[palakika]

Thanks to all for your wonderful pics.  They take me back to our 4 wonderful cruises in that part of the world.  As Go-Bucks said the colors of the water are amazing.  Are the pictures of pearl jewelry your purchases? Very nice.

[Go-Bucks!]

29 minutes ago, palakika said:

Are the pictures of pearl jewelry your purchases? Very nice.

 

Yes!  They called my name as I walked into the shop!  😊  👍

[decafnights]

On 2/14/2019 at 12:17 PM, rigs32 said:

 

Trastevere!  It’s a beautiful cobblestone neighborhood filled with shops, bars, and restaurants.  If I ever go back, I’ll stay in that area.

 

Have dinner at an aperitivo joint.  You pay for a drink and get access to the buffet for free.  We went to Frenie e Frizzioni in Trastevere.  The buffet is from 7 to 10.  I believe I paid 6 euro for a glass of wine and my boyfriend paid 5 euro for a beer. Cocktails were slightly more.  The food was mostly vegetarian and the salads were delicious.  It can be a little tough to find as it was up a few stairs from the street, but we heard people talking above us and found it.

 

We also went to Momart for aperitivo in the NE part of the city. 10 euro got us a cocktail and a massive spread of food,

including fresh wood fired pizza, lots of veggies, and a build your own brownie sundae station.

 

if I go back to Rome, dinner will likely be at an aperitivo place every night.

 

Thanks so much for this great suggestion!

[Go-Bucks!]

Papeete...

 

Tours didn't go to places we were interested in so we walked around downtown, the area across from the ship. A lovely welcoming committee was on the pier. 

 

Went into local shops and market places, visited the Notre Dame cathedral, then had a soda pop and good croissant in a small cafe with live island musical entertainment.  

 

On our way off the ship there were some local 8th grade students and their teachers who greeted us and wanted to practice their conversational English by advising tourists which sites might be good to visit. They even had brochures that they made.  They were so cute and spoke good English after just 3 years of study.

 

Hot and humid today so it felt good to get back to the ship.

[bob brown]

Took the “Tahiti’s Natural Treasure’s” tour.

Very nice!   And the weather held out for us, until I went back ashore after lunch.

[tvlbum]

11 minutes ago, bob brown said:

Took the “Tahiti’s Natural Treasure’s” tour.

Very nice!   And the weather held out for us, until I went back ashore after lunch.

 

[tvlbum]

21 minutes ago, tvlbum said:

 

Bob, all of your pictures are so beautiful.  How do you load them from you camera or cell to Cruise Critic.  I can't even get my picture onto the Cruise Critic site much less add my pictures.  Thanks for your help.  Pat

 

 

[bob brown]

3 minutes ago, tvlbum said:

Bob, all of your pictures are so beautiful.  How do you load them from you camera or cell to Cruise Critic.  I can't even get my picture onto the Cruise Critic site much less add my pictures.  Thanks for your help.  Pat

 

 

Thanks!

I take them with my phone.

Then, I make a new post on the thread,

then click on “click to choose files”

then select recent photos 

then click on a few photos 

then click done

it takes a very long time using the ships wifi, so I usually only do a few at a time.

After they all appear, you click on submit reply...

 

Good luck!🙂

[palakika]

Bob..Thanks for the great pics..especially of Venus Point.  Capt James Cook fans will be familiar with this spot and it's  importance during his first journey of discovery.

[bob brown]

1 hour ago, palakika said:

Bob..Thanks for the great pics..especially of Venus Point.  Capt James Cook fans will be familiar with this spot and it's  importance during his first journey of discovery.

Speaking of the Good Captain...

[palakika]

Bob.thanks for the additional pics.  It seems we followed him around the South Pacific on our various cruises.  We, however, have been in more comfortable  accomodations!!