daydreamer62

As gratuities were already included for those of us in New Zealand this is definitely a decline in inclusions. We are waiting for the later 2026 itineraries so hope there is a short period before October 1 where we can still book with simply more . The changes wouldn't stop me booking with O but it would encourage me to look at other options as well where I was pretty 'one eyed' about O after our first cruise which was really excellent in every way

We were in 8093 in June this year and had no issues with vibration of any kind.. and no noise from cabins either side at all.

As a trainer for Smeg (Italian kitchen products)the most common demonstration I do is pizza . We do our pizzas on a stone in 4 minutes @280 celcius but these days there are even domestic pizza ovens that get so hot they can cook a pizza in less than 2 . These ovens on Vista more resembled one of those bit slightly larger . I wish I'd taken a photo.

The pizza oven was much smaller than I thought it would be . It certainly wouldn't cook more than 1 or 2 at once but it clearly gets up to a very decent temperature and cooks them very fast.

Because some people like choice. I actually ate at waves Pizzeria twice during our recent cruise . We just chose to eat light after days of multi course meals. Also the appetisers were excellent. Simple food when great ingredients done well. No complaints here. It you want lighter meals they can still be great food with good ingredients. What I like clearly isn't what you like but that makes neither of us wrong. Personally and unlike many here I didn't so much care for the Terrace cafe for dinner . Doesn't make the TC lovers wrong or me wrong.. It's great we have choice.

The company was https://www.pugliatourguideservices.it/ ..avoid like the plague!!! It's quite odd he has so many 5 star reviews on Viator but the few 1 start reviews matched our experience exactly!! Also he replies to the poor reviews that we posted the review to the wrong company but it's HIS photo in the advertising and the same man in my photos!! .. There's no way to reply to his response on Viator to let people know!!

We have been off the ship now got several days . I can look back only with pleasure at our time onboard. In a final summary from the perspective of a first time Oceania cruiser I can say that though we didn't book another onboard, if an itinerary that was right had been available were definitely would have. The entire trip was delightful. None of the common negative topics here on Cruise Critic were experienced by us. Our favourite meal was probably at Ember (in contrast to many others here who don't seem to rate it) .I liked the ambience of the restaurant with the. live kitchen and everyone if our party of 6 was impressed by the food. Next would have been Red Ginger which we experienced twice and then Polo Grill. . There was nothing wrong with Toscana but the food at the others were highlights. We are twice at Waves in the evening for Pizza which was great (as were the starters) I only had one meal that was less than excellent and that was a beef Wellington at the GDR . It was not bad. We were eating quite late and it had probably been sitting for too long and wasn't quite to my preference of medium rare .. More of the medium level .. nothing to complain about . I don't like buffet style eating but we did just about every breakfast and a few lunches at the Terrace Cafe and 1 dinner. It could be very busy depending on the day and time . The food was always good and consistent. We had no noise issues with the 3 cabins of our party of 6 One midship deck 8, one aft deck 8 , one aft deck 11 We had no port changes at all to our itinerary. There were some excursion changes and cancellations once onboard especially in busy ports where it appeared the supplier had capacity issues. However none affected me or my tours. We had booked more ship excursions than we normally would have to get the 25% discount. All the guides were good to excellent ( the one private excursion I booked was terrible.) I got the premium drink package but my husband didn't. In retrospect I probably didn't need it though I made sure I got my money's worth..I probably drank more than I needed. My favourite bar was Founders. Loved the very different cocktails there. Some at other venues especially the waves bar by the pool I found very sweet . .. Horizons was busy with dancing every night we went there after dinner but with such a port heavy itinerary we weren't night owls on this cruise. If I could find a criticism it either be of a few of the journey passengers who I occasionally heard speaking to staff and or complaining. (Often about trivial things and frequently misunderstandings because the passenger had not read documentation properly. One woman spoke so rudely to a port worker complaining that there was no communication about the particular shuttle at this port when it had been in the currents the night before, on the morning show by the CD and over the intercom in the morning. The tone used by others was appalling. I'd prefer not to cruise with those types again. Nothing is perfect.. if I could improve something it would be the design of the ship. The elevators needed to go all the way to 4 in both aft and forward locations. (Very minor issue that might affected me when I was feeling lazy) The deck by the pool got very hot on bare feet on hot days. . The included wines . This is a very subjective thing. I love wine but I didn't much care for either of the two Rosés, and didn't care for some of the whites,but I did enjoy several of the reds. I could always find something.. And having the premium drink package meant I could have a cocktail anyway.. We didn't go to any of the shows except for the comedian just once,so I can't comment on those. So all in all my worries that had been prompted by some of the posts here on cruise critic were totally ungrounded. Maybe we were just lucky or maybe it's just that I don't go looking for something to complain about .

The night before last we secured a second dinner at Red Ginger. The food was equally as good as the first, though we were seated near the staff plating and serving area which was very busy and so the restaurant lacked bit of the atmosphere it had the night before . As a group of 6 were kind of make our own atmosphere anyway so it wasn't a loss. Last night we ate with new friends at the Grand dining room. That was probably our weakest meal but still wasn't what I would call a bad meal. I had the salt crusted beetroot carpaccio and beef Wellington which was a little overdone (probably medium as opposed to medium rare .) our friends had the chicken Kiev which came out in a log shape.. quite unusual.. We had earlier done the passport to Greece cooking class. It was fun. Very undemanding and I didn't learn anything new but had a good time and would recommend the classes to others ( I am a cooking technology tutor for a job so it's interesting to see how others approach teaching) Before that we had done the highlights of Thessaloniki tour . It was ok but I think we could have done it via a hop on hop off bus type tour on our own (though I never saw one while out in the city so they may not be very frequent) . In retrospect I would have preferred the Ancient Pella tour that goes to the tombs of Alexanda the greats parents which one of our friends did.

Yesterday we took the Meteora monasteries excursion from Volos. It was the longest excursion we had but worth every minute of the 2 hours each direction to see these incredible buildings perched on cliff tops. We had a great guide(again) I'll remind you that to date our poorest excursion was a private (expensive) excursion. I would highly recommend this despite the warnings of steps out was actually fairly easy with under 200 taken very slowly as it was quite crowded (as everywhere has been) . It was extremely hot at 37c too but despite that it was as I said worth every minute. This is somewhere I never thought I would get to. The included lunch though wasn't so great . It certainly made us appreciate the food on the ship!! We did get a big jug of a delicious local Rosé though so it was bearable!!!

Last night's dinner was at Red Ginger. Our last if the specialities. It was excellent. I think just sitting below Polo grill for me but still pretty faultless. We eat a lot of Asian food but I thought this was as good as most of the restaurants we dine at. We had the shared appetisers of sushi and skewers. Then I chose the duck and watermelon salad. It was delicious but quite sweet for those who don't care for sweet . I didn't mind it though it wasn't remotely spicy (probably best not to call it a spicy salad as it obviously isn't but I don't think it needed to be spicy) My main was the scallop trilogy.. perfectly cooked. I couldn't manage dessert ..

It was through Oceania and it was from Kusadasi. We had already been to Ephesus several years ago. I can highly recommend the 3 ancient cities tour

Yesterday was our one and only sea day . It was a beautiful day. We spent the morning in the sun outside Baristas near the pool. We are lunch with our friends in the Terrace Cafe I would have been happy with a roll at Baristas! Yesterday morning there apparently was a moth infestation on the back deck of the Terrace ( could be total rumour but there were a lot of moths around and they did remove all the chairs from the deck and washed down the deck.) I bet that is not a common occurrence if it was true. Dinner was at Toscana. It was very good. I had the gorgonzola topped fillet mignon with the octopus carpaccio to start and the chocolate fondante for dessert. Everything was great. I don't think the steak was cooked quite as well as the one we had in Polo grill but it was still very good. I tried the Albarino with the octopus and the Wente Cabernet Sauvignon with the steak . Good matches I think. Today we did the 3 ancient cities excursion. It was probably the best yet. I would totally recommend it to anyone interested in Greek ancient history.Excellent guide and 3 different but impressive ruins. Priene, Miletus (theatre) and The temple of Apollo at Didyma. Lunch which was included was better than expected with a big buffet of Turkish vegetarian specialties, then pan fried fish (less good and actually unnecessary as the appetisers were more than sufficient.

Last night we ate at the GDR. I ordered the beef carpaccio which was perfect. A very small serving which was all I needed. I followed that with herb crusted lamb rack. It was cooked medium rare as I requested. I cook lamb rack almost daily as part of my job and it's hard to beat. I can't day this one was better than mine but it obviously wasn't New Zealand lamb either. It was still great. It came with daphenois potato and ratatouille both if which were tasty. Then I finished with the souffle which was green apple . It was light and nice but not a wow dessert. All in all an excellent meal though We had found Baristas great for a light lunch yesterday. The bakery offerings were delightful.. light as air custard filled doughnuts quiche eclairs and lovely little filled rolls which is what I chose with a doughnut for a light lunch along with a good coffee

I haven't found it cold anywhere so maybe they have balanced the aircon better

We were in martinis last night. Plenty of space there but definitely busier than Baristas

Last night we had the first timers cocktail party. There are 679 out of 1189 on board who are new to Oceania so something is clearly working to bring in new customers . We have met a lot of people due to the meet and greet we set up. Most have had a similar experience to us in that it's been hard to fault and they not only want to come back.. they don't want to get off!! I've heard of a few issues from a couple of people .. Nothing is perfect. But for us so far it's been excellent We decided to eat in the Terrace Cafe outside. I have be be honest and say I'm not a buffet person for dinner. I don't mind for breakfast or even lunch but I like a served and plated dinner. I had a BIG plate of sushi that was excellent and a couple of plate individual salads . Then a couple of little desserts. I would have had something from the grill but it was quite busy there. My opinion of buffets stands. Even though this is MUCH better than a standard buffet. I just prefer the relaxation of a standard plated meal. We had an early night and didn't go to the comedian who we found only mildly amusing and had seen a few nights ago

Well originally we had communicated with us and we asked if we could start earlier and add some sightseeing in Bari to the itinerary.. which he agreed to. Only clearly he wasn't inclined to do that today. One of our 4 couples wanted to be dropped back to the ship and he refused . The entire tour really was unacceptable !! He pulled "facts" from thin air . Some of them totally ridiculous.

We've had great experiences with single driver/guide tours in Italy in the past over the years . I believe they can't enter museums but can still provide a great experience. Romeinlimo is a good one and we used another great one in lake Como among others. They can't enter museums but still give excellent tours I can't believe they're were no other poor reviews on this guy. He honestly was dreadful! But at least he got us to both places and back to Bari ( though not back to the ship,.. we walked back from the old town)

Yes Princess

Today we did a private excursion from Bari that took in Matera and Alberobello as the cruise line didn't have one that did both. We booked it through Viator and even with 8 of us it was more expensive than most of the ship tours. On the positive side. He got us to both Matera and Alberobello.. I know I'm normally a pretty positive person but that's about the only positive thing I can say. If he actually knew what he was talking about then he clearly had no interest in imparting the truth. I research a lot about the places I am visiting so maybe I know more than most of his clients but when he did talk he pretty much told a lot of poppycock. He certainly wasn't a charismatic person. In fact I think he should find a job where he doesn't interact with people!! And the driving...... All 8 of us plus him were squeezed 3 across an old rickety van. He would not run the air conditioning all the time so it was stifling in the back and he drove at speeds typical of Enzo Ferrari. This I wouldn't mind but the suspension in the back was non existent meaning I probably need spinal work done when I get home!! ( Ok that's an exaggeration) Put it this way . None of us felt the need to tip him .

After our Apero at Baristas we moved to Waves for pizza (around 7:45) again it was very quiet. The burrata starters are great . I had the one with prosciutto. Then we shared a pizza between us. Half chicken and half meat it was an excellent pizza with not too many toppings for the thin base. We then moved to the Terrace Cafe and got a table in the stern for a quick dessert and a pot of peppermint tea . It had obviously been busy there but by the time we got there, there were plenty of tables available. Today we are in Bari Italy and we have a private excursion booked to Matera and Alberobello. We also have the 1st timers cocktail party I got the upgraded drink package. (Husband did not) You really only need to purchase 2 cocktails to break even. But the drinks are strong. They aren't like what I remember from the previous 2 cruises I was on where they tasted very watered down. Every one I've had has definitely been full strength. If I had a similar port intensive itinerary again I may not buy it but I like not having to have 2 the same as required by the 2 for 1 happy hours so it's been good to have it so far .

Liking the Hugo.. light and pretty to drink . I think I said earlier there is definitely no watering down of cocktails here . Some are really strong.

We are currently sitting in Baristas which is an Italian themed bar on the evening . I think we are the only ones here.. We are about to try out waves pizza . I need a night off the big meals

There weren't as many visible cats as I expected today. Maybe it was too hot for them

Our friends travelling with us actually did it.. too hot and strenuous for me!!