Just back from Barcelona - Rio

[hondorner]

...I am so sorry that we will not get to meet you and Betty on our Nautica cruise in April.

Thanks, me too. As you know, the primary reason we canceled our booking for that great cruise is because we would have been away for nearly 6 weeks, and that would have been simply too long for the caregiver who stayed with Betsy's 103 year-old Mother when we travel. Ironically, after we canceled in October, Betsy's Mother passed away in November. I deliberately said "ironically" rather than "sadly", because there was no sadness in a life that reached 103 without physical or mental ills, and a quiet passing in her sleep. The only reason she needed our care was because her ankle had to be fused after a fall at age 95 when, still living by herself, she got up at Midnight for a cookie.

 

We had already arranged a shorter cruise next August in China as a weak substitute for the HK-Athens cruise, and our cabin for HK-Athens had already been reassigned, so it was too late and too difficult to try to get back aboard. We hope to do it in a future year. Right now, we're also anticipating the prospect of having the freedom to take more spontaneous RV trips now that we have the freedom.

[happy cruzer]

Wow the pictures of the food are wonderful. What venue is that a picture of? Afternoon tea? Location?

 

Your review is amazing. Thank you so much!

[scdreamer]

And yet another question ;) ... did you make your own arrangements for air travel?

 

I see that you had a few days in Barcelona before the cruise (and perhaps afterwards in Rio?). We are planning to spend a few days in Rio and in Barcelona both before and after the cruise (reverse itinerary of yours), and as of now we have accepted the Oceania-arranged air.

 

On our previous European cruise on Oceania, we made our own arrangements, as we stayed in Athens for three days prior to the cruise, and then stayed post-cruise in Venice for three days before taking the train to Paris for an extra week. In addition, we have traveled on our own in Europe and have always flown back and forth from the U.S. open-jaw.

 

In looking at an open-jaw to Rio and home from Barcelona, we were amazed at how expensive it would be ... thus we decided to take the Oceania arranged air. Just wondering what the deviation might have cost you, if you used Oceania (in addition to the $75 pp fee)?

[hondorner]

Wow the pictures of the food are wonderful. What venue is that a picture of? Afternoon tea? Location?

The first picture is the standard afternoon tea trolley, wheeled around at 4:00 PM in Horizons Lounge, along with a wide choice of tea bags. Betsy usually goes for anything chocolate, but on the recommendation of some of the UK folks we met, tried the scones with clotted cream. They say they are the best they ever

had, and Betsy is now hooked. She tried them in the "purist" mode, without additional preserves, and is now being considered for UK citizenship :p .

 

The second and third pictures were of the Gala Afternoon Tea, held one afternoon in the Insignia Lounge. This included the full 12 piece orchestra and dancing, along with the beautiful tea buffet. It must have taken all day to set up!

 

The 4th picture is of the bread display at the Gala Brunch. They actually held two Gala Brunches, in the grand dining room from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, which included breakfast favorites and lunch items like Virginia ham and mushrooms, steak and Reuben sandwiches. I asked if I could have the ham and mushrooms along with two eggs over easy, and was told, "Of course. You can have anything you want!" The second brunch was scheduled for the day of our arrival in Rio, when we were due to dock at 1:00 PM. However, we were hungry when we got up, so we went to the terrace breakfast buffet early (our normal venue) and grabbed a quick hotdog and fries in Waves Grill before the tour, because we had reservations in Toscanna that evening and didn't want to fill up.

 

The last picture is of Gerald and Sheena and Betsy and I in Toscanna, before we messed up the beautiful table setting with such a common activity as eating.

 

I've added pictures of the 12 piece orchestra and a couple of more displays at the Gala Brunch.

 

Thinking of food, Betsy unfortunately picked up almost 1 pound per day, 14 pounds, but she'll knock those back off pretty fast now that we're home. I actually managed to lose 2 pounds during the cruise! However, I still need to lose at least 30 more pounds... :o

 

By the way, I have difficulty remembering which pictures are which and needed some way to index them before I downloaded them. Betsy came up with the idea of taking a picture of the welcome sign placed at the bottom of the gangplank, or on the dock where a tender lands, at every port. That separates the pictures, and makes a nice title for each port when we show our pictures later.

 

This is probably a good time to mention also that on this cruise, we tied up to a dock at every port -- the tenders were never used.

[hondorner]

And yet another question ;) ... did you make your own arrangements for air travel?

 

I see that you had a few days in Barcelona before the cruise (and perhaps afterwards in Rio?). We are planning to spend a few days in Rio and in Barcelona both before and after the cruise (reverse itinerary of yours), and as of now we have accepted the Oceania-arranged air.

 

On our previous European cruise on Oceania, we made our own arrangements, as we stayed in Athens for three days prior to the cruise, and then stayed post-cruise in Venice for three days before taking the train to Paris for an extra week. In addition, we have traveled on our own in Europe and have always flown back and forth from the U.S. open-jaw.

 

In looking at an open-jaw to Rio and home from Barcelona, we were amazed at how expensive it would be ... thus we decided to take the Oceania arranged air. Just wondering what the deviation might have cost you, if you used Oceania (in addition to the $75 pp fee)?

 

We did accept the Oceania air arrangements, and mostly for the reason you mentioned -- there is absolutely no way in the world we could have arranged our own air home from Rio for the amount of the air credit plus the air taxes and surcharges.

 

Here's a little math for folks who are considering this. Keep in mind that the air credit varies according to which cruise you are taking, and I believe from which airport you may be departing and arriving home. Also, the air taxes and surcharges obviously vary according to the flight.

 

Our air credit would have been $500 per person and the air taxes/surcharge came to $374 per person. The latter, of course, appears on your invoice as a charge iif you accept the free air from Oceania. The "free" air portion is the $500; you pay the air taxes yourself as an addition to the fare for the cruise, similar to the government taxes and port fees that are added to the fare in a separate line item. The government fees are different than the air taxes (In our case, they came to $285 per person). If you book your own air, the air taxes disappear from your invoice, so you can use that amount to add to Oceania's air credit to determine the total cost of the air per person if you accept Oceania air, which would be the amount available to you if you book your own air.

 

Clear as mud? If not, ask me and I'll try to explain it a different way.

 

So, in flying from Miami to Barcelona, and home from rio to Miami, we had a total of $874 per person to spend if we booked our own air -- the $500 credit and the $374 taxes we would have been paying in either case.

 

I found a cheap, round-about air connection with a couple of stops from Miami to Barcelona that I could have booked for $436 per person, leaving me with $438 per person to get home from Rio. The absolute lowest cost combination I could find from Rio came to more than $1,100 per person. That made it an automatic decision; we would take Oceania's air no matter how they routed us and save almost $700 per person!

 

At the same time, I looked for the fastest and "cleanest" connections. The best combination I could find on the way over was from Miami to Paris on Air France, then Paris to Barcelona on Air France. My cost for that combination would have been over $1,200. On the way back, the best combo was American Airlines to Sao Paulo (everything in Brazil seems to route through Sao Paulo), the American direct from Sao Pault to Miami. This was also over $1,200 per person. All these fares are for basic economy.

 

We have not been traveling by plane much in the last 20 years, preferring our RV and a cabin we owned for 18 years, so we don't have flyer "miles" built up. These trips on Oceania are on the edge of our priority budgeting, so there is no way we can consider adding thousands for Business Class or perfect flights.

 

To complicate things further, we wanted to arrive early in Barcelona but wanted to leave Rio as soon as possible. So, we requested a deviation for the flight to Barcelona. This actually turns both flights into deviations for the one $75 per person administrative fee. They will book both flights at the same time, searching for the best they can find that suits your needs.

 

There are two ways you can do this -- research the flights with your Travel Agent and suggest the flights you want to take to Oceania, or let Oceania come up with a plan. In the latter case, you can always suggest a different plan if you don't like the one they came up with. They will always work with you, although if there is a difference in the cost of the flights they suggest and the ones you want to take, you will have to pay that difference. Similarly, if there are no flights that match their budgeted amount at the time you want to arrive or depart, you will have to pay the additional fee.

 

Frankly, based on all this, I fail to see why anyone would book their own air if the cost is higher than Oceania; Oceania can most likely get a better deal on the same combination if you work with them. Obviously, if you find a combo that is better than theirs AND at a lower price than their credit plus taxes, you should book your own. And, if you have flyer miles to apply, you are probably better off on your own.

 

But, now that the math and logic lesson is over, what happened to us? Simple -- we left it up to Oceania, and they came back with those "absolute best" combination of flights that I found, with no additional charges other than the $75 per person administrative fee. We got flights that would have cost us over $2,400 per person for the cost of the air taxes plus the $75 fee -- $449 per person. That may not be "free" air, but it's close enough for me!

 

I should mention transfer fees in context with this. If you request a deviation, Oceania can no longer get "deals" on the transfer transportation, so it is no longer available as an option. In our case, since we deviated to Barcelona, we had to arrange our own transfer from the airport to the hotel. If you book a pre- or post- cruise package with Oceania, the transfer fees are included, but we made our own pre-cruise arrangements. The transfer fee at this end of the trip would have been $52 per person, or a total of $104, we rode in a Mercedes sedan with a professional tour guide who kept us informed about what we were seeing for a total cost of €30 plus a €5 Euro tip (he was that good), or about $52 at the current exchange rate -- a savings of $52.

 

However, at the other end, from Rio, we were departing at the same time as everyone else without a deviation, so the transfer was available. That transfer was $79 per person. That's undoubtedly higher than we could have arranged on our own. However, disembarkation was at 8:20 AM, and our flight did not depart until 8:25 PM, and we decided we did not want to make our own arrangements or handle the luggage for the intervening time. Our Travel Agent talked to Oceania and found they would be offering an upgrade to the transfer, converting it to a 9 hour tour, once we were aboard the ship. We decided that was the best way to handle our day without a lot of effort on our part.

 

Once on board, that tour upgrade was offered for an additional $72, for a total of $151 for the bus that took us to Sugar Loaf, on city tours through Rio and Niteroi, past several beaches, and to one of the largest malls in Brazil for lunch and a little last minute shopping, then to the airport with our luggage by 5:30 PM for check-in.

 

They also offered that same package to folks who had NOT booked a transfer in advance for a total of $149, so it actually cost us $2 more. I mention that only in a humorous vein, as it was not worth my time and blood pressure to complain to Destination Services about the 2 bucks.

 

So, we spent $302 to ride around in a bus to see the sights, go to a mall and take the luggage to the airport, but it was worth it because there was no hassle. There are times when my frugality is worth it, and others when it becomes too much trouble. At the end of the cruise, I did not want to have to find my own taxi, worry about language problems, or depend on my own arrangements made much earlier and subject to who knows what change?

 

Regarding the time of arrival at the Rio airport and the check-in/security procedures, I'm going to have plenty to say about that, later. A few words is sufficient here -- 3 hours is not enough. Allow at least 4 hours if you want any time to sit down before the flight.

 

I'm sorry to have written so much in answer to a simple question, and to scdreamer, I know you already know much of the above. But, there is so much for folks new to Oceania to comprehend, I decided to take the time to spell it out. I hope it helped someone. My knowledge is about 20% from my own experience and 80% from my fantastic Travel Agent.

[dwelsh]

Thanks Don for your wonderful reports.I did refer the Roll Call board for the reverse cruise on March 19th and I am sure that your experiences will be assisting many more "O" cruisers.

 

It appears that the "O" quality and enjoyment have not changed. That is a wonderful for us past pax.

 

Please tell me if there were taxi's and English speaking guides available at the docks of the various ports you visited? I am espescially interested in Recife and Rio.

 

You certainly did good with the weight battle. I am trying to get down 20# so I have a bit of a start on it before enjoying that wonderful cuisine again. Keep up the good work!

 

David.

[Aussie Gal]

Don,

 

So sorry to hear that Betty's mother passed away. What a wonderful life she must have had. What a shame it happened just after you cancelled your trip on the Nautica with us. Perhaps one day our paths will cross and we will meet on one of these wonderful ships.

 

Jennie

[ladysail2]

Thank you so much for such an in-depth review. I have a few questions, if you don't mind...

Did you require a Visa to enter Brazil just to go to the airport?

Do you remember where on Las Ramblas that supermarket was located...I too am a fan of Pepsi.

I'm looking forward to your next installment..no rush...:D

Thanks again,

Joyce

[hondorner]

David, there were taxis at every port. We didn't use any, so I can't speak to the language abilities, but we were certainly approached by many drivers who knew enough English to ask us to use them, Many had pictures of their tour. Interestingly, I got a report from another couple in Recife who said that the driver of a van was assisting the driver of a sedan in describing his services and price. Obviously, the sedan driver was just a driver, not a guide, and had language restrictions. Yet, another guide was helping him, rather than attempting to steal the fare. When enough passengers got together to make the van worthwhile (perhaps 3 couples), they happily chose the unselfish driver. I asked him if they filled the van; he said that no, it would have accommodated 14 people. But, the price for the 6 of them through Recife and into Olinda (a neighboring town that is probably more historic and interesting) was only $100. They ended up paying him $20 per person including a $20 tip. I think that is typical; this is Recife, Brazil, not Rome or Athens.

 

In Rio, we used the ship's tours, but our friends arranged private tours to Corcavada and Sugar Loaf, and on Monday to a Favela (slum). They were staying on board for the next leg to BA, which didn't sail until Monday evening, so they had Saturday afternoon, Sunday and most of Monday in port, using the ship for their hotel. We had Saturday afternoon, then disembarked Sunday AM and had the full day to tour before we went to the airport.

 

I haven't heard how they liked their private tours; we won't be in touch until they return to Halifax sometime after Christmas.

 

Joyce, I suspect that you would need a visa just to set foot off the ship in Brazil. Of course, on our cruise, we were in three Brazilian ports and definitely needed a visa. However, the visa we got last year for the Amazon cruise is valid for 5 years, so we were all set for this year -- and the next 3-1/2 years!

 

The Supermarket is on the left side of La Rambla about halfway between the Market (Mercat de la Boqueria) and the Plaza Catalonia. The Market is about halfway between the lower and upper end of La Rambla, so that makes the Supermarket somewhere about 3/4 of the way. starting at the statue of Columbus at the port end of La Rambla and heading north towards Plaza Catalonia (the other end of the ramble). It has a stark white facade over the doors with red and blue lettering; it's not hard to find. It's maybe 1-1/2 blocks north of Via Portaferrissa, the narrow street that leads east from la Rambla towards the Cathedral, about 2 blocks away. It's much like an American market except that it's on two levels, the fresh meat and produce is on a lower level reached by escalator. They have snacks, sodas, beer, a small assortment of cheap wine, some liqueurs (Betsy bought a bottle of a honey-based liqueur, liqueur de meila, that was pretty good), crackers, etc. We also bought a 12 pack of San Miguel beer to bring aboard. The Diet Pepsi is actually Pepsi Light in Europe, and is slightly "off" from the flavor to which I am accustomed -- but you'd have to be as anal as I am about Pepsi to detect the difference. The Pepsi Light I got in Brazil was identical to the Diet Pepsi in the USA. The Spanish cans were 330ml, while the Brazilian cans were 350 ml, closer to the American 12 ounces (354.88 ml). The 8-pack of Pepsi Light was between 6 and 7 Euros, beer was almost the same price.

[Druke I]

Yes, even if you are in transit, Brazil requires a Visa.

 

Way back 3-98, on a Royal Princess cruise, starting in Buenos Aires Argentina and ending in Barcelona Spain, a party of 5 was denied boarding, as they did not have Visas for Brazil. The requirment for Visas was documented in the pre-cruise documentation.

 

A ship's officer later told me that had Princess allowed them aboard, Brazil might have fined the ship for bringing undocumented visitors into the country, or that Brazil might had denied the ship's access to the Brazilian ports of Rio de Janiero and Recife, both scheduled stops.

 

The Brazilian authorities are very fussy!

[ladysail2]

.

 

Joyce, I suspect that you would need a visa just to set foot off the ship in Brazil. Of course, on our cruise, we were in three Brazilian ports and definitely needed a visa. However, the visa we got last year for the Amazon cruise is valid for 5 years, so we were all set for this year -- and the next 3-1/2 years!

 

The Supermarket is on the left side of La Rambla about halfway between the Market (Mercat de la Boqueria) and the Plaza Catalonia. The Market is about halfway between the lower and upper end of La Rambla, so that makes the Supermarket somewhere about 3/4 of the way. starting at the statue of Columbus at the port end of La Rambla and heading north towards Plaza Catalonia (the other end of the ramble). It has a stark white facade over the doors with red and blue lettering; it's not hard to find. It's maybe 1-1/2 blocks north of Via Portaferrissa, the narrow street that leads east from la Rambla towards the Cathedral, about 2 blocks away. It's much like an American market except that it's on two levels, the fresh meat and produce is on a lower level reached by escalator. They have snacks, sodas, beer, a small assortment of cheap wine, some liqueurs (Betsy bought a bottle of a honey-based liqueur, liqueur de meila, that was pretty good), crackers, etc. We also bought a 12 pack of San Miguel beer to bring aboard. The Diet Pepsi is actually Pepsi Light in Europe, and is slightly "off" from the flavor to which I am accustomed -- but you'd have to be as anal as I am about Pepsi to detect the difference. The Pepsi Light I got in Brazil was identical to the Diet Pepsi in the USA. The Spanish cans were 330ml, while the Brazilian cans were 350 ml, closer to the American 12 ounces (354.88 ml). The 8-pack of Pepsi Light was between 6 and 7 Euros, beer was almost the same price.

 

Of course, I forgot that you had three ports..just like my March cruise will have....it is a good thing that the Visa's are good for 5 years..after all the trouble they are to obtain...but c'est la vie!

Thank you for the supermarket info. I love going through foreign markets. Since I'll be staying in Barcelona for 3 days post-cruise, I'm sure that there will be something I'll need.

Ha Ha about being anal about Pepsi...that describes me as well...:D

Thank you again!

Joyce

[dwelsh]

David, there were taxis at every port. We didn't use any, so I can't speak to the language abilities, but we were certainly approached by many drivers who knew enough English to ask us to use them, Many had pictures of their tour. Interestingly, I got a report from another couple in Recife who said that the driver of a van was assisting the driver of a sedan in describing his services and price. Obviously, the sedan driver was just a driver, not a guide, and had language restrictions. Yet, another guide was helping him, rather than attempting to steal the fare. When enough passengers got together to make the van worthwhile (perhaps 3 couples), they happily chose the unselfish driver. I asked him if they filled the van; he said that no, it would have accommodated 14 people. But, the price for the 6 of them through Recife and into Olinda (a neighboring town that is probably more historic and interesting) was only $100. They ended up paying him $20 per person including a $20 tip. I think that is typical; this is Recife, Brazil, not Rome or Athens.

 

In Rio, we used the ship's tours, but our friends arranged private tours to Corcavada and Sugar Loaf, and on Monday to a Favela (slum). They were staying on board for the next leg to BA, which didn't sail until Monday evening, so they had Saturday afternoon, Sunday and most of Monday in port, using the ship for their hotel. We had Saturday afternoon, then disembarked Sunday AM and had the full day to tour before we went to the airport.

 

I haven't heard how they liked their private tours; we won't be in touch until they return to Halifax sometime after Christmas.

 

Joyce, I suspect that you would need a visa just to set foot off the ship in Brazil. Of course, on our cruise, we were in three Brazilian ports and definitely needed a visa. However, the visa we got last year for the Amazon cruise is valid for 5 years, so we were all set for this year -- and the next 3-1/2 years!

 

The Supermarket is on the left side of La Rambla about halfway between the Market (Mercat de la Boqueria) and the Plaza Catalonia. The Market is about halfway between the lower and upper end of La Rambla, so that makes the Supermarket somewhere about 3/4 of the way. starting at the statue of Columbus at the port end of La Rambla and heading north towards Plaza Catalonia (the other end of the ramble). It has a stark white facade over the doors with red and blue lettering; it's not hard to find. It's maybe 1-1/2 blocks north of Via Portaferrissa, the narrow street that leads east from la Rambla towards the Cathedral, about 2 blocks away. It's much like an American market except that it's on two levels, the fresh meat and produce is on a lower level reached by escalator. They have snacks, sodas, beer, a small assortment of cheap wine, some liqueurs (Betsy bought a bottle of a honey-based liqueur, liqueur de meila, that was pretty good), crackers, etc. We also bought a 12 pack of San Miguel beer to bring aboard. The Diet Pepsi is actually Pepsi Light in Europe, and is slightly "off" from the flavor to which I am accustomed -- but you'd have to be as anal as I am about Pepsi to detect the difference. The Pepsi Light I got in Brazil was identical to the Diet Pepsi in the USA. The Spanish cans were 330ml, while the Brazilian cans were 350 ml, closer to the American 12 ounces (354.88 ml). The 8-pack of Pepsi Light was between 6 and 7 Euros, beer was almost the same price.

 

Thanks for the info. David.

[ladysail2]

Yes, even if you are in transit, Brazil requires a Visa.

 

Way back 3-98, on a Royal Princess cruise, starting in Buenos Aires Argentina and ending in Barcelona Spain, a party of 5 was denied boarding, as they did not have Visas for Brazil. The requirment for Visas was documented in the pre-cruise documentation.

 

A ship's officer later told me that had Princess allowed them aboard, Brazil might have fined the ship for bringing undocumented visitors into the country, or that Brazil might had denied the ship's access to the Brazilian ports of Rio de Janiero and Recife, both scheduled stops.

 

The Brazilian authorities are very fussy!

 

Even the documentation required to obtain a Visa is very picky. I hope I don't have any trouble getting mine.

My travel agent sent me my cruise itinerary and my air itinerary on Oceania letterhead by e-mail. I hope the Embassy accepts that as proof of travel dates.

I bet those 5 folks will follow the rules better next time..at least I hope that they would. If I was one of those folks, I sure wouldn't be getting off the ship in Rio or Recife. I wonder if the ship made sure they stayed on board.

[hondorner]

On to Recife. The crossing was very smooth, especially down in the middle of deck 4. If I ever do another crossing, I'll want to be there again. It is kind of eerie to look out and realize one is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, far from anywhere. It's even stranger to look at the course of the ship and realize that one is crossing the Atlantic on a heading of 210 degrees, more South than West! No wonder the early sailors "bumped into" Brazil. I'm only surprised that Brazil was not "found" first, instead of 8 years after Columbus "found" the Western Hemisphere (not that it was ever lost :rolleyes: ).

 

The port in Recife is very industrial and certainly not a place from which one would walk. The local authorities made two large buses available on a rotating schedule of every 30 minutes. The buses took passengers on about a 7 or 8 minute ride to a spot near the old section of Recife, where it was a short walk across beautiful bridges to the shopping area (Recife likes to call itself the "Venice of Brazil", which is a bit of a stretch, but there are a lot of bridges).

 

Taxis were waiting at the bus drop-off area and folks were negotiating for private tours. We chose to walk across a bridge and head into the center of the old district in Recife. We had a map provided by the local tourist official who was on board the ship, and were able to note the various historical buildings and churches. Much more fascinating, however, was the shopping. We started going up and down narrow cross streets, and discovered that each block had a different theme for all the stores. One block was all fabric stores, the next was all clothing stores, another was all shoe stores. One block was mainly upholstery stores, with a lot of vinyls, etc. One street was almost all hardware stores, while another was mostly appliances. I found it fascinating and wondered how any of the stores survived when they were all selling virtually the same things.

 

The explanation for that must be the marketing, which consists of young men with loud PA systems hawking their wares or their sales in a constant patter from the fronts of the stores, with hard-driving Brazilian music playing everywhere. The resulting cacophony certainly gets the blood moving and is a lot of fun!

 

So much so, that my memory of Recife will be a lively, vibrant city with throngs of shoppers and few tourists. Those who traveled on to Olinda, the neighboring town that is historically significant, will likely have a different memory of the area. While I would have liked to have seen Olinda, I don't think I would have substituted it for the energy and choreography of the crowded streets and happy shoppers.

 

After a couple of hours of strolling and people watching, we took the provide bus back to the ship and relaxed.

 

I'll add some pictures tomorrow; I already turned off the laptop and packed it away because I'm headed for Okeechobee in the morning, and I forgot the pictures are not on this computer. :confused:

[hondorner]

Pictures from Recife. The first is taken from the spot where the bus left us off and shows the old city across the river, where the street shopping is located.

 

The second is one of the many old churches in the old city area, and the third shows the bustling shopping typical of the many side streets. Imagine the last picture with music and barkers more like a county fair midway...

[XTEACH281]

Always interesting to see what the locals are doing and wearing ....we try to dress to fit in (which means NO beach in Rio :: ) can't wait for the rest.....

[Druke I]

Reread my post.

 

Those five were denied boarding! They did not sail, so they did not have the option of staying aboard in Rio and Recife. The ship didn't have to worry, the five were left fuming on the dock at Buenos Aires while the ship sailed away!

 

They missed the cruise, and I doubt insurance would cover their failure to obtain required Visas.

[happy cruzer]

Thank you so much for the answers about the food pictures. I will be saving that info so that I won't miss the similar opportunity.

 

I love the idea of an orchestra to dance to at tea. With all that food, DH and I will definitely take all opportunities to dance to work off the calories!

 

Toscana and the dining foursome looked very elegant!

 

Thank you.

[hondorner]

Just finished our Christmas cards and decided to send one to everyone on the Oceania forum. Happy holidays!

 

[tak2]

I understand that the 3/10 Rio - Barcelona is 100% occupied.

 

On O website, there are quite a few cabins available, with at least two (6 in A2) in each of A1-3, B1-2.

 

Why the preference going west ( gains a few hours), or is it the season?:confused:

[Aussie Gal]

Don,

 

Loved your post card. A very happy Christmas to both you and Betty and hope that 2008 will be even better than 2007.

 

Jennie.

[scdreamer]

Thank you for sharing the information regarding you experience with the Oceania air package ... most helpful!

 

Your Christmas card is great! Hope you have a very merry holiday season!

[hondorner]

Just a little more to go -- Salvador, then, Rio, and then the Brazil airport experience.

 

The old city of Salvador has a lower area, near the docks, and almost everything you want to see is in the upper city. There are 4 ways to get to the upper city -- ship tour, taxi, walk up the hill or use one of the mechanical ways to get up the bluff -- inclined railway or elevator.

 

Once you get up there, you will find the golden church of San Francisco, museums and lots of neat shoppping. It's all within easy walking distance.

 

As per our usual inclination, we opted to walk to the elevator. I knew what it looked like (picture below), and in what direction to go. I correctly assumed it would be close to the base of the bluff, so we headed off to the north from the dock (turn right when out of the terminal) and also started to work our way to the west towards the bluff -- only a couple of blocks. I kept looking up to see the "gangplank" that extends from the top of the elevator shaft.

 

Before I saw it, we stumbled across the inclined railway (picture below). We happened to arrive at the same time as another couple from the ship. The problem was, there is a fee to ride the incline, we had no Reals as yet, and they don't take USA money. The other fellow tried to come to our rescue, offering to pay our fare as well as theirs -- the only problem was that all he had was a 10 Real note, and the fare collector had not enough change. So, she waved us through the turnstile and we rode up for free -- saving the grand total of 0,05 Reals each, or about 3 cents each!

 

Jumping way ahead to that same evening, we dined with another couple who managed to find the elevator (about a mile away from the ship), but found that the elevator also charges the equivalent of a Nickle in Brazilian money to ride up -- and would NOT waive the fare. Since they had no Reals yet, they walked all the way back to the ship (there were no money changers along the way), changed a couple of dollars and walked all the way back to the elevator.

 

The moral of this story is to be sure to have a little Brazilian money in your pocket, preferably in small change, if you plan to walk and ride up to the upper city. However, it is NOT mentioned in any of the tips, descriptions or advisories about this destination. We get so used to people taking American money (or Euros) in other countries, it can really trip us up when such a tiny thing -- a fare of approximately 3 cents each -- can interrupt our touring.

 

Once we got to the upper city, we were passing a small shop where the owner was standing in the doorway describing his specials -- and when he saw us, he apparently read my mind, because he said, "We change money!" I went in and exchanged $15 for 25 Reals, close enough to the actual exchange rate (.60 when the official rate was .56) that I immediately accepted it.

 

The irony of this is that shortly after, Betsy looked down and found a 50 Centavo piece on the sidewalk -- far more than enough to pay our elevator or inclined railway fares. Now that she was "rich", she bought a postcard with her own money!

 

We walked all over the upper city, saw the San Francisco church, went in several store, bought some Pepsi Light to replenish my supply, and bought our daughter one of the ubiquitous Berimbaus, a Brazilian musical instrument that looks like an archery bow with a gourd tied to it. She is a high school band director, and loves to collect unusual musical instruments. The Berimbau is used to accompany a dance called Capoeira, which is a combination of ballet, acrobatics and martial arts movements -- fascinating to watch. When we got back to the ship, the local tourist rep from Salvador showed us how to play it, and gave me some sites on the web for more instructions.

 

Then, we rode the elevator back down (easy to find from the top), went through the large souvenir market at the base and bought some Brazilian whistles for the grandkids, and walked back to the ship.

 

It was fun, but like Recife, nothing in the city falls into the category of "Do Not Miss!"

[hondorner]

For us, this cruise had three elements -- Barcelona, Rio, and the relaxation of the sea days on the crossing interspersed with the variety of some minor ports. Of the ports, by far our favorite was Barcelona; we can't wait to get back and explore at greater length. At the other end, we really only had two goals in Rio -- see the Christ Redeemer statue at Corcavada and travel to the top of Sugar Loaf. I realize that's an exceptionally limited and "touristy" outlook, but we were perfectly satisfied with quick looks at beaches and had absolutely no desire to tour slums in a Favela tour. For the rest, it's just a big, pretty city with lots of people.

 

We have had some bad luck arranging private taxi tours, getting shortened tours, poor guides and having language problems. So, we opted to take the ship's tours and were very happy. The buses were large and comfortable, the PA systems worked perfectly, the guides were VERY experienced and spoke clear English, and with only 24 people on the bus, there were not "flocks of sheep" situations.

 

Saturday afternoon, after our 1 PM arrival, we took the "Highlights of Rio" tour that centers around the trip to Corcavado, then stops briefly at a beach. I was fascinated with the cog railway up Hunchback Mountain. It goes through a virtual botanical garden and has many whimsical concrete sculptures scattered along the tracks. At the top, the Christ statue was shrouded in clouds. We waited to see if it would part, then went down a short distance to the souvenir and snack plaza. I looked up to see that it was suddenly clear! We rushed back up two escalator flights and got some spectacular pictures.

 

The trip up and back and a reasonable amount of time at the top is at least 1-1/2 hours. On the way back, we got out at a San Conrado Beach long enough to dip our toes, and had another brief (and highly illegal parking) stop at Copacabana Beach.

 

Sunday, we disembarked at 8:20 AM and were not due to fly out from the Rio airport until 8:25 PM, so we opted for the transfer with upgraded tour. The luggage stayed in the bus while we went first on a riding tour through Rio and across the bay to Niteroi, then on to Sugar Loaf. At Sugar Loaf, we rode the two stage cable cars to the top, took some photos and rode down. Was it worth it? Sure, it was an experience. But, I doubt I would have gone all the way to Rio just to do it. The cruise itself is what makes these travels worth it, to us.

 

The bus then took us to an upscale neighborhood way beyond Impanema where we stopped at an huge, modern shopping mall. It was fascinating to see the similarities and differences between the products there and at home, and the differences in marketing We had some lunch at Bob's Burgers in the food court (the Brazilian equivalent to McDonalds, which was right next door), then boarded the bus to the airport to arrive there at 5:30 PM, three full hours before our flight.

[hondorner]

Well, that's about it. Just one final word of warning. We had previously read, on this board and elsewhere, about the slowness of the airport in Rio. We thought we would be in good shape, arriving 3 hours before our flight.

 

Folks, based on our experience, take those warnings seriously. We made our flight, but just barely. Four hours would not have been too long and might have resulted in shorter waits in line.

 

Upon our arrival at the airport, our guide walked us in and showed us where to join the end of the line for check-in. The line was virtually from one end of the terminal to the middle. It took over an hour or standing and shuffling forward. Then, we moved to the desk, checked our bags and got our boarding passes. The agent at the desk asked us to prompt;y join the line for security. We wondered at the stress on moving quickly, but discovered the reason when we had to walk all the way to the other end of the terminal to join the line, and then make our way back to the middle of the terminal again, moving very slowly -- and still standing and shuffling. Someone told us the line consisted of all the passengers from at least 13 flights that were all leaving within a few minutes of each other! At first, there were only two security lines, but after about 45 minutes they opened two more and the line began to move a little faster.

 

Boarding was called for our flight while we were still in line, not yet in sight of security. After security, we hustled to the gate and boarded with about 10 minutes to spare. We did not once get a chance to sit down in nearly 3 hours of waiting.

 

The flight was a connector to Sao Paulo, and took only 43 minutes. We arrived at gate 26, and were scheduled to fly out of gate 27 to Miami about 2-1/2 hours later. When we emerged from the airplane walkway, we could see our departure gate across the narrow terminal -- but the door was locked.

 

Now, we haven't flown very often, but it every airport where we have to make a connecting flight, once you are in the secure area, they permit you to stay in the secure area and do not require you to go through security again. Not in Sao Paulo -- we had to walk the length of the terminal, exit the secure area, then wait in line for at least 30 minutes until someone came to open the security lane -- that's correct, one lane. We had to go back through security, then walk back the length of the terminal to our gate. By the time we got back, we had a total of 10 minutes to sit and relax before they called boarding. Once again, we had been standing in line and walking for almost 3 hours.

 

Please understand that I'm a very tolerant person, and I'm not complaining. It is what it is. This is just a warning that travelers from Rio should take very seriously the suggestion to arrive as early as possible. We saw a few fellow passengers who had requested wheel chairs before this ordeal was over, and I was close to doing the same. If you have a handicap, don't waste time -- request a wheelchair as early as possible.

 

I hope other travelers have found my ramblings helpful. It's my way to pay back all those wonderful folks on Cruise Critic who have been so helpful to us.