Marina -- August 15 cruise -- LIVE

Just arrived in London this afternoon. Boarding the Marina on Monday, August 15th, in Southampton. Weather here in London is great. Mid-70s Fahrenheit. Nice change of pace from the blistering heat in sunny Phoenix, Arizona.

Staying at the St. Ermins in Westminster. This is a fairly new Marriott Autograph property. I have platinum status with Marriott, so that definitely impacts my hotel selection process.

Here is our eleven day cruise itinerary. I think a number of Cruise Critic members are already on board. (Shout out to ORV who has been posting from the cruise.) A larger number seem to be staying on for the segment that includes St. Petersburg, disembarking in Stockholm.

Southampton

Le Havre

Bruges

Antwerp

Amsterdam

At Sea

Hamburg

Kristiansand

Oslo

Copenhagen (overnight)

Disembark Copenhagen

Will try to post regularly.

Have a fantastic cruise! This is a wonderful itinerary....Regal Routes. I've considered taking this as well. I hope to hear your reviews on the ports. I haven been to a few of these & they look interesting. Enjoy the beautiful Marina & the wonderful food & service. Life is good. :)

Hi!

We did this cruise in June and loved the itinerary so much we plan to do it again in two years.

Our favorite tour was in Hamburg where we took a city tour and a lovely, relaxing boat ride.If you have time in Le Havre, there is a great impressionist museum.

Enjoy your cruise.

Rhea

We were on the same cruise in June as well - great itinerary.

Have a wonderful cruise and please keep us posted - I enjoy your "live" postings.

TIA.

Greetings to a fellow Phoenician! We are taking our first Oceania cruise in April and it is on the Marina so I will be eagerly awaiting everything you might say about the Marina. Have a wonderful cruise!

Thanks for the kind comment Paul. And thanks to others posting about their experience with this itinerary. Very excited about the ports, many of which will be repeats but with a long stretch between visits. In fact, much of this cruise replicates the first cruise I did with Oceania in 2006 on the Regatta. That was a fourteen day trip that included three days in St. Petersburg. It was an amazing introduction to Oceania. It was before I found Cruise Critic, so I went in "blind" to the obvious joys and benefits of cruising with Oceania. (Quick comment about a poster who "mentored" me here on Cruise Critic as to all things Oceania. I still think of Don Horner every time I'm on Cruise Critic. His passing is much missed.)

This cruise matched exactly what I was looking for -- Northern Europe without Russia. (Basically just a political view.) I remember reading a while back on Cruise Critic about a poster's struggle trying to find, on any cruise line, an itinerary for Northern Europe w/o Russia. (I think the posters online name is CorpKids. Forgive my foggy, jet lagged memory if I got that wrong.) Well, this cruise matched exactly what I was looking for. Can't wait to board. More later.

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Private tours that I've arranged:

Here are the private tours I've arranged for this cruise. Per usual, I use both Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor to research and source guides.

Le Havre: Cider and Cheese tour in the French countryside with Etienne of La Compagnie des Terroirs. This is a full day tour focusing on specialized cider and cheese producing farms in the region. Hard ciders are a big hit in the States now, and a great option for those individuals that can't drink beers. Both DW and DD have Coeliac, so the cider (gluten free) was a great option for them. Also, we did the Normandy beaches a couple of years ago. Although I would go back again in a heartbeat, it tough not to try new things. I also picked this tour as an offbeat way to do something other than tour in major port cities.

Bruges: No tour. On our own. I'll report later on how we got into Bruges from the ship. Always seems to be limited info on this topic.

Antwerp: Private city bike tour arranged thru Cyclant. If you are comfortable on a bike, this is a great way to get an overview of a city. Cyclant is bringing bikes to the ship. We end the bike ride at their offices in the city.

Amsterdam: Like Bruges, no private tours arranged. Touring on our own. I did purchase online tickets to the Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum. The Van Gogh museum makes you slot a specific time. The Rijksmuseum is an open ended ticket. The two "kids" in our group (more later on the makeup our group) purchased online tickets for the Anne Frank House. These are also slotted for a specific time. We are in Amsterdam until 11:00PM. Hoping to enjoy a dinner ashore and some bar crawling later.

Hamburg: Private walking tour of the city with a partner of Jutta Hulsmann. Jutta is a highly rated guide on TripAdvisor. Unfortunately, someone else from the shipped snagged her before I got to her. She was kind enough to direct us to another guide. Interesting side note on Hamburg: One of Europe's largest cycling races is taking place in Hamburg on the day we are port. Another Hamburg tour company I communicated with indicated they wouldn't be doing tours that day because the city would basically closed down. Could make for an interesting and memorable day.

Kristiansand: Nothing planned. I found a bike rental place in town. May rent bikes and cruise around town and surrounding areas. This port seems to catch a lot of flack for being a wasted day with nothing to see or do. My plan: enjoy a relaxing day and soak up some local scenery.

Oslo: Private city walking tour they Oslo Guidebureau.

Copenhagen: On our own. We have a full day plus an overnight. Weather permitting (meaning if it isn't pouring rain) we plan to run out to Tivoli Gardens for some night time fun.

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What A Market,

With regard to the Rijksmuseum, if you have not already booked it,I would recommend taking the guided tour within the museum.

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/guided-tours/highlights-of-the-rijksmuseum

As for Hamburg, particularly if the weather is bad, the Miniatur Wunderland is worth a visit.

It is advisable to book in advance as it is a very popular attraction.

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/

Missed a port and a tour on our itinerary. After Oslo we are in Gothenburg. I have a mountain bile excursion planned with Hillside Cycling. Really looking forward to this tour/excursion. The couple that run the company, Leo and Natasja have been great to work with. DW is a little intimidated for her first mountain bike ride, but Leo has assured me that the ride can be tailored to all levels of capability.

Just a note, we're in Portland/Weymouth today and the weather is fabulous!

Just a note, we're in Portland/Weymouth today and the weather is fabulous!

Loved that port stop

we had fish/chips on the quay side in Weymouth

Regarding Kristiansand, we have been there twice with Oceania although not recently. We found it a very charming town. The botanic gardens are worth a visit (we took the bus to get there, it was a short ride). We also walked into a church by the outdoor vegetable market and were treated to an unexpected trio sonata recital by local musicians. Both the concert and the market were well worth a visit. (The church was worth seeing even without the concert but of course we'd never have stayed there for an hour without the concert!)

We took the local kiddie train into town and walked around from there.

We did Hamburg on our own years ago on a land trip with a Danish friend (who happens to know Hamburg well) and enjoyed it very much. There was plenty to see even without a guide!

Mura

Kristiansand: Nothing planned. I found a bike rental place in town. May rent bikes and cruise around town and surrounding areas. This port seems to catch a lot of flack for being a wasted day with nothing to see or do. My plan: enjoy a relaxing day and soak up some local scenery.

 

It is a lovely little town to stroll & stop for a coffee

a short walk from the ship for those that are fit or for a fee you can take the tourist train r/t

Missed a port and a tour on our itinerary. After Oslo we are in Gothenburg. I have a mountain bile excursion planned with Hillside Cycling. Really looking forward to this tour/excursion. The couple that run the company, Leo and Natasja have been great to work with. DW is a little intimidated for her first mountain bike ride, but Leo has assured me that the ride can be tailored to all levels of capability.

I´ll think you will ha a great time with Leo and Natasja at Hillside Cycling, Leo is very well known in the Swedish MTB "family" for he´s expertise as a guide!

Greetings from Mesa, AZ! We're on the same itinerary next June (1st Oceania cruise), so I'm very excited to read your posts and get ideas. Wishing you a fabulous cruise!

We took the local bus to Lillesand when we were on Kristiansand. It worked very well. It was a place that the ship ran a tour to. Senior fare on the bus was very reasonable and the driver was very helpful.

Thanks to everyone for the tips on our upcoming ports. I'll definitely be reporting routinely while we are on the cruise.

Big shout out to my fellow posters from Arizona. Funny aside: Just took an Uber ride from Piccadilly Circus back to hotel. Driver was from Bangladesh. He was very engaging. Had no idea where Arizona was, other than it was part of the U.S. I'm frequently struck while traveling how small the world is. Our driver's surprise when I told him Arizona was next to California was actually a surprising yet refreshing moment to realize it really is a big world!

By the way, for those of you venturing to London and looking into a show (and something a little less main stream), please consider "A Comedy About A Bank Robbery." Hysterical, in the best sense of the world.

Looking forward to hearing how your cruise goes. We will be boarding Marina in Copenhagen for an 8 day cruise and will look forward to hear how the ship and all on board are doing. Especially anyone that provides you excellent service.

Hey Lynne - I remember those yummy fish and chips we had with you and you hubby that day.

Hey Lynne - I remember those yummy fish and chips we had with you and you hubby that day.

We still chuckle at the size of it :eek: ..we could have shared an order but it was yummy

Will be on Marina in October, love hearing about you trip. Thanks.

Good morning from London everyone. It's embarkation day. WooHoo!

Using EC Minibus for our private transfer to Southampton. We also used this company for our pick up at the airport. Not necessarily the cheapest, but everything else you want: prompt, polite, accommodating, clean/new cars. I think this is our third trip that I've used their car service.

Planning to be on board sometime around 11:30. We are staying in an Oceania Suite. First experience in an OC. Jim and Stan (frequent posters here) have whetted my appetite for this suite. Can't wait to experience first hand.

Here's a run down of my happy band of travelers on this cruise. I list because we encompass a wide range of ages (three generations). First there is your dear reporter: What A Market (Tom) traveling with DW (Heidi). We are in the second half of our 50s. Still having a hard time with the actual number. :)

Next up are my usual cruise companions: DD (Shannon) and her SO (Blaine). Several past readers of my postings know how blessed I am to be traveling with Shannon. The two of them are rabid fans of Oceania. They are both 27 years of age. For those of you who think Oceania is only geared to old geezers, well Shannon and Blaine then are the exception to that rule.

Last but not least, I am joined by my mother and my mother-in-law. My five younger brothers think I have lost my mind to be traveling even with one of them, let alone both of them at the same time. I'm on day for of our travels. My brothers may have been on to something. LOL. Anyway, they are both in their mid-80s. In decent health and still pretty mobile. Biggest challenge on this trip will be to convince them to take a break every once in a while.

Next report will be from the ship!

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Looking forward to hearing more. You have a wonderful breezy way of writing. Have a great cruise:)

This itinerary is on my bucket list

Just created my Marina ship log on. Reporting live!!!

Sitting pool side. Soaking up some sun on a beautiful day in Southampton as well as enjoying a couple of cocktails.

Drive down to Southampton from London was a bear. Loads of traffic. Probably two and a half hour commute. No worries though because check in was a breeze. At a bit before 1:00PM there was only a small line to complete health questionnaire and get thru airport style security screening. Zero people in line for suite check in. OC suite was ready as we boarded. The rest of my merry band of travelers were in concierge level cabins. Those were announced as available a bit before 2:00PM.

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Attempting to post photo using TapaTalk. Not sure I remembering my test case from several month ago. Here goes....

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