Return of the Un-bumped!!!! (long)

[Toranut97]

Hello Cruisecritic friends and acquaintances!

You might recall me as one of the "bumpees"on the Nautica Istanbul to Athens cruise of June 20. Well, we are happily returned from our delightful trip, and I wanted to report on some aspects of the experience to you.

First, I have gone a little crazy and posted way too many photos online!Among them are some shipboard photos of the facilities and fun on board. Yes, even photos of the food -- couldn't help myself. For those we met on the trip, I placed the cruisecritic photos at the end of the album so you call can check them out. (To view the photos, go to http://www.imagestation.com/members/Toranut97 (my profile) and click on the album.) Meeting up with folks from this board was a highlight for us, and I am so happy I got to meet you all.

Many here commented that Oceania should treat us like royalty as compensation for the trauma we had the week before the cruise when we were "bumped" and finally found out -- the day before we left - that we were indeed on the trip. Well, everyone was wonderful above and beyond the call of duty. A couple days into the cruise, we were invited along with the family of "Seesick" to have dinner with the Nautica's Manager, Thierry Tholon. He was most gracious and, heck, I am not above being plied with fine food and wine. It was a delightful experience.

General notes about the ship and life onboard... I can't get over the wonderful staff. They were willing to bend over backwards for us, had we wished it. We only encountered one or two instances of people who were having bad days. A little good humor took us a long way as always.

We were surprised by the number of younger folks on board. First, there were a few families with little kids (including one in a stroller!) and I have no idea how they were kept entertained. Oceania is pretty clear about no provision for kids. The staff worked to accommodate, from what I could see, but let's face it, there isn't even a kid's pool on board! Several times we encountered the little guys racing up and down the hall, probably out of sheer boredom. Folks, I really don't recommend bringing kids on Oceania (and neither does the line!)

There were a surprising number of lithe youngsters of high school and college age onboard also. My only problem with them is that they are way too thin and cute, making me mindful of my Moby Dick sized middle age physique! I know some of the kids were initially unhappy when they were advised by staff that they really should not show up at the Grand Dining room in low-rise sweats, hoodies and flip flops for dinner. As I enjoyed the low-key decorum on Oceania, I was glad that "country club casual" actually did rule the cruise.

I heard lots of complaints about internet access on the ship, some from me! The access is expensive and really rather slow, considering you pay by the minute. I do not have AOL, but the AOL users were the most frustrated -- the service crawls, and costs way too much. Think hard about using this. I did like being able to store my digital photos on the servers (no charge) as we went along, saving me a whole lot of sorting of photos upon our return. At the end of the journey I paid the $15 to burn a CD of our photos (yes it is too much, but then we had that shipboard credit from Mr. DelRio!)

Overall, I would say that this was a trip of a lifetime for us, just as we had hoped since we booked last August. We are still unpacking the many, many memories we have of the trip. It was a superb experience. I am sure that the front office is where Oceania now needs to focus! From our experience, and from what I read here, that is where the problems mostly seem to occur. Shipboard life was totally Fantasyland. Everyday was a delight for us both.

Of course, as they say, YMMV (your mileage may vary)!

So, thanks Jan, thanks Carlos Ortega, and thanks Frank DelRio! You have won yourself two fans for life!

Donna

[TudorSue]

Toranut97/Donna,

 

Welcome back to the real world and thanks for your informative post and photo album. I am sure you will hear from many CC members who followed your now-legendary pre-cruise bumping drama. You and your DH look so very happy in the photos. Many wonderful memories must have been made.

 

Speaking of fresh memory, may I ask you a question or two? My DH and I will be on Nautica this November (Rome-Istanbul), also stopping at Ephesus. Did you take the cruise tour there or use a private guide? Any specific suggestions or recommendations for Ephesus and/or Istanbul? We have a 3-day post-cruise stay in Istanbul. Thanks!

[Imagineer]

...hey Toranut, do you mind if I ask you what kind of camera you took those great pictures with? Reason I ask is we're taking the Insignia from Rome to Venice in April, and I don't want to bring my SLR - too heavy and would attract way too much attention from certain types. The quality of your pics looks very nice indeed, if it was a compact camera then it did a truly magnificent job...of course the photographer has to know what she's doing as well - I'm a professional photographer and hate it when the camera gets all the credit...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineers

upcoming NCL cruise on the Wind - Aug 27/06

upcoming Oceania cruise on the Insignia - Apr 28/07

[Toranut97]

Hi Sue!

 

First, thanks for the kind words. Yes, we had a wonderfully happy time. And we were enchanted by Istanbul, as I am sure you will be also. What a great place.

 

We are not the types to do the extreme research that some others do here, and so we were willing to opt for the Oceania extension (stayed at Swissotel, which we loved). There is a travel service used by Oceania (ITS, I believe) which was available in the hotel and we booked our extra tours through them. So we did a half day tour that included the Suleyman Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, the Chora Church and the Grand Bazaar. The next day we did the Bosphorus Cruise, Rumeli Fortress and an ethnographic museum (the name of which escapes me right now).Between those two half-day tours and the full day Istanbul overview, we saw the most prominent sites with free time for wandering or resting, as the case may be. We found the guides to be excellent and the meal stops very good, also.

 

We did take the cruise tour to Ancient Ephesus at Kusadasi. I think there were some other tours offered, also. The one we took included the Terrace Houses, and it was sold out before we boarded, so that would be one to pre-book. That way you get to see the excavations they are still doing, and, as I hope you could see from our photos, it was fascinating.

 

Decide ahead of time if you are interested in a rug or not in Turkey. Several of the tours include a stop at a carpet place - the presentation is interesting and worth doing once. You can do that in Istanbul or in Kusadasi. We were interested in a carpet and bought ours on our first tour day. Skipping the carpet thing on later tours allowed more time for browsing or wandering.

 

Not sure if this helps, but I know you will have a ball. Do email me with any specific questions, although I know there are other, even more resourceful travelers around here!

 

Thanks again for the kind words,

 

Donna

[Toranut97]

I have a Nikon CoolPix 4500 which is 3 years old, 4 megapixels. I used that for most of my photos, including the mosque interiors and the sunrises, etc. Some of the photos were taken with my husband's new Sony Cybershot 6 megapixels. It amazed me and next trip I will use it even more. It is small and has a large LED viewfinder. I was particularly amazed at its museum (non-flash indoor) setting. All the photos from the Athens Archaeological Museum were taken with it, and I loved it. It also has the anti-shake mechanism which helps on the still shots.

 

Thanks for the compliments -- and for looking at the photos!

 

Donna

[HAL2]

Toranut97,

All of your photos are great! It makes me want to go there some day.

Regards,

Hal

[Jancruz]

Your photos are great and I have been thinking about you every day .I know the ships are great so I knew you would have a great time once you boarded!! (sounds like you certainly did)

 

Welcome home and thanks so much for the update..

Regards,

Jan

*****

[Liv4cruzin]

Thanks for sharing the great photos. We're all so glad your vacation went so well.

 

TudorSue, if you have the time, I suggest you visit Trip Advisor's boards at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ListForums-g4-Europe.html. Click on Turkey; & you can narrow topics down to Istanbul and/or Ephesus. There is a wealth of detailed info there. That is of course, if you are unable to find enough info on C.C.'s European boards. Istanbul is a magical place to me too.

[meow!]

Thank you so much for your report and pictures. We are all glad that your trip finally went well and you enjoyed yourselves. Now perhaps we can also hear from the party of six who had similar saga a few weeks ago?!

[Druke I]

After all the angst over the bumping (and subsequent correction), I am delighted that the cruise went well for you.

 

I also think Oceania has a very good product, and am looking forward to our trip on Nautica this Nov., Istanbul to Singapore, via the Suez.

[TudorSue]

Toranut97-

Thanks for the suggestion about Ephesus Terrace Houses. We are looking into a private guide so we can really focus on what we want to see and how much time we want to spend in each place.

 

Liv4cruzin-

I've gotten so much helpful info here and on tripadvisor! I really enjoy the planning phase of traveling - the anticipation and choices - so these boards are way too tempting when I need to be doing my day job! ;) Our cruise will also put in at La Goulette/Carthage (Tunis). From what I've read, there's little reliable tourism infrastructure - so will probably go with ship's excursion.

[Phoenix cruiser]

Donna and Larry, great to relive the memories of our cruise as we face "reality." (Let me know how much it will cost us to have some of the less flattering photos of me removed from your web site.) I advise everyone to make use of the CC board to meet fellow passengers in advance. On top of all the wonderful things about cruising Oceania and the fabulous ports of call, sharing the days with our 14 new friends was among the highlights. :D I will posting my detailed review of this cruise within the week.

 

To TudorSue: In Ephesus we (my wife and I and a group of 4 we met through CC) used Levant Solmaz (www.leventsolmaz.com) and his e-mail is info at leventsolmaz.com. He was fantastic, knowledgeable and we saw so much more than is available through the ship's tours, since we didn't have to wait for 40 people to get their act together. he also does Istanbul. We used a different private guide in Istanbul, since he was not available, who was also superb, as well as a guide in Olympia. I can furnish info upon request.

[TudorSue]

Phoenix cruiser-

 

I received initial tour info from Levent S. However, I've since queried him twice about a specific tour date in November, and have not had a response in over a week. So I'm looking at other options while still hoping to hear from him.

[Phoenix cruiser]

Our experience is that during the peak season like this where he is often on the road between Istanbul and Ephesus it can take a week to hear back, but he is good about his replies.

[JBVols]

We have Levent booked for tours in Ephesus and three days in Istanbul for our October 10 Nautica cruise. He is very good about responding to e-mails but if he is on a tour he will not be able to get back to you until he gets home.

[Trece]

I agree with the two previous posters. When Levent is on the road he does not respond to e-mails so it can take a while before he catches up with you. He did tell me he is getting a laptop to help with this situation in the future but I would guess from your experience that this hasn't happened yet.

[Lexizmom]

I'd like to chime in and let all of you know that Donna and Larry (Toranut97), and the rest of the CC Board members that we joined up with on the cruise were the most delightful companions, and made our cruise all the more memorable. My eighteen year old godchild, Rachel (one of those gorgeous, thin youngsters that Donna mentioned) told me on the flight home how glad she was to have spent time with the "older folks" as opposed to the teens her age who apparently didn't want to be bothered with her!

 

The ship, the staff, the food (SO MUCH FOOD!), the staterooms, the Mandara Spa (oh those GREAT massages and facials!!), and just the total experience, couldn't have been better.

 

I unfortunately had to utilize the services of the medical staff, and was very happy with the services (though a bit pricey). The doctor and nurse were pleasant, competent, and BUSY! But, I certainly felt well cared for and urge people to use that service to make your life easier if you need to. No, it's wasn't seasick or onboard food -- probably a bug I picked up in Istanbul. And, that bug helped me lose 5 pounds on the vacation!

 

I'd suggest taking the tour of Kusadasi/Ephesus/Terrace houses and booking in advance. The ship's offered tour of Olympia was also worthwhile. We found that the rest of the ports were easily handled on one's own. I don't recommend the Palaces Tour in Corfu -- a better option is just to take a taxi into the Old Town, and enjoy it.

 

Take the tramway (forget those poor donkeys!) up to the top of Santorini. If you walk right, and down hill a bit, you can (aggressively) snag a cab from the area where you catch the buses for about 20 Euro and have it drive you to OIA for a nice visit of that cliffside village. Or, take the bus. There is a local bus that will also take you back to town.

 

In Athens we took a bus (#843) (the pick-up point is just a few hundred feet from the terminal) a few stops to the train station where we caught the Metro to the Acropolis - a 20 minute walk up a gradual hill to the base of the Acropolis. Cost us about $1 a piece; spent about 2-3 hours on our own up there, visited the museum, then walked down, and into the Plaka, where we had a nice lunch at a local taverna. You don't really need a tour guide for that. The subway back to the ship, with a short hop on the bus, was easy. If you plan to spend a few more days in Athens, consider hiring a taxi to take you to Cape Sounion, Delphi, or the Argos area. It's cheaper than the offered tours.

 

In Athens, we hired a private driver for a tour of Corinth, Mycaenae, and Naupflion the day we disembarked - Donna and Larry joined us, and it was a highlight of our entire vacation. If you want the info on that driver, send me an email at akrikorian@yahoo.com. We also took a CHAT bus tour up to Delphi, joined by PhoenixCruiser (Mark and Sylvia), making that another highlight day (despite a few "bumps" in the road at Delphi).

 

Liquor on board Nautica is expensive, and even diet cokes cost a few dollars. But, the lemonade is free, and the rest of the food and services make up for the little things. Try to use the laundromat during "off" hours, because people figure out pretty quick that it's on Deck 7, and there are only about 6 sets of machines.

 

I recommend making your own air arrangements to and from the ports where you embark and disembark. We heard a lot of horror stories from our fellow cruisers, and one couple we met at the hotel who was on route to board Nautica after our cruise, about poor connections, lost luggage, and changed travel arrangements by the Oceania arranged travel. Not to say that it couldn't have happened to us -- but, at least we were in control and would only have had ourselves to blame! We found it very helpful to fly in at least a few days before our cruise boarding date (especially in Istanbul -- where we stayed 6 days at Hotel Dersaadet before boarding Nautica).

 

All in all, despite our stress level having increased dramatically in the days before we departed Los Angeles as a result of the "bumps" suffered by our fellow cruisers, this was a fantastic vacation.

 

Oceania indeed "rocks" and I can't wait to take the cruise in the Far East.

 

To my fellow cruisers and CC members -- stay in touch!!

 

Adrienne

[meow!]

Thank you kindly for your very nice posting. However, I would prefer if your phrase "gorgeous thin youngsters" is replaced with "gorgeous healthy youngsters". While many of us have to be mindful of high blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol these days, at the other end, some young girls are too pre-occupied with being thin. A friend's teenage daughter is suffering from this eating disorder and it is a pity to see her skin on bones. Hopefully, society will associate loveliness with health, not with thinness. Sorry if I offend anyone!

[china addict]

Donna, I'm so glad you and Larry had a wonderful time after the initial drama, and thanks for sharing those great photos. DH and I board the Nautica on Aug 11th to cruise the Med. I'm so relieved that Oceania treated you well and that you had such good times with CC friends during your cruise. Thanks for the valuable feedback and photos.:)

[Lexizmom]

Sorry, Meow. Heavens, I certainly didn't intend to offend anyone with my comment. "Thin" is relative in my book. ;)

[meow!]

Thank you for your generous reply, meow!

[fsalzer]

...Reason I ask is we're taking the Insignia from Rome to Venice in April, and I don't want to bring my SLR - too heavy and would attract way too much attention from certain types...

 

That causes me a bit of concern. I recently purchased an SLR for travel pictures. It's bulky and heavy compared to my point-and-shoot, but is it unsafe to carry it in the Med countries?

 

Fred

[Toranut97]

That causes me a bit of concern. I recently purchased an SLR for travel pictures. It's bulky and heavy compared to my point-and-shoot, but is it unsafe to carry it in the Med countries?

 

Fred

 

I saw lots of people with SLRs, Fred, and there seemed to be no problems. Several folks on our trip were shooting with both a bulkier SLR and also a little point and shoot, with seemingly no problems. Similarly, some folks used a camcorder as well as a little still shooter. No problems I could see. Remember, tho, no flash photos in the mosques, palaces and museums.

 

I also apologize about the thin comment. Sorry if I offended, as I am quite mindful of kids with eating disorders, and was just being playful -- rather badly, I think.

 

Donna

[meow!]

We wish you all the best, meow!

[brian_uk]

In my opinion the MED is no more unsafe than anywhere else in the world.

If you want to carry a SLR Camera it can be stolen wherever you are.

 

There are many parts of the world where you just have to be vigilant including certain parts ofthe USA too.

 

Brian