daydreamer62

We have 3 nights in London . Very brief ..a taster for our friends. Both my husband and I lived in the UK in the early 80s and we have visited since as well. Though I'd love to spend more time, especially to trace more of my family history in Cornwall and in Scotland.. it might have to wait to be a driving trip ( I also have extensive family history in Derbyshire and Yorkshire that I researched on our last trip

As I'm a first time Oceania cruiser I thought I'd try my best to post a semi live report on our cruise on Vista which begins in Trieste next week . It is an 11 night cruise ending in Athens. Before I start I think it's relatively important to give some background info on my and our situation which is a little different to most of the reports I've seen. Firstly we are from New Zealand so European travel requires a very long plane trip (28 hours in our case via Dubai on Emirates. We are in our early 60s. I am a cooking technology tutor. My job is literally teaching cooking in high tech appliances such as steam combi ovens and I'm a true foodie. My husband and I also love wine and do a lot of local travel to vineyards all over New Zealand. Regardless of both these things I'm no food or wine snob . If I don't have to cook it, then I usually try to enjoy it from the most basic to the most upmarket meal . We have travelled fairly extensively mostly on land based trips but we have done 2 previous cruises. A Princess Mediterranean cruise in 2015 whichb we went into with fairly low expectations, not really knowing if we were'cruise' people (we loved every minute and it's rates right up there with our favourite trips) and a Viking River cruise in 2019 which we liked a lot but felt we might have appreciated it more if we had been 10-15 years older. (Mainly because of the lack of ability to do independent excursions making it a lot slower paced than we were used to. On the other hand it was very relaxing, a car difference to our fast paced independent trips. We are travelling this time with 2 other couples. Neither of who have done much international travel and one who has never been to Europe at all. I think they wanted to come with us because I am an 'organiser' and I would do the hard yards of research for them. Now I could well start off this report with a negative viewpoint because we aren't actually taking the trip we booked. I had booked my dream cruise itinerary from Barcelona to Southampton going around the south of Spain, Portugal and western France with overnights in Seville and Bordeaux. It literally ticked so many of my bucket list items. Flights were booked Leave was approved.. .. final payment was made and then of course the Houti started doing what they do in the Red Sea and the Insignia couldn't get to Barcelona in time.. I was so disappointed.. we could have kept the flights as is and done a road trip but my husband wanted a no driving holiday.. the last one we did was a month driving through France.. so I looked for another cruise. I chose Oceania based on several points. First was the itinerary. Second was the price and inclusions. Simply More appealed to me . The upgrade price to premium seemed a good deal compared to other lines (I haven't upgraded yet..I may do it not.. I'll decide on the fly as it's such a port intensive itinerary I may not need it. .. I liked that I can bring on my own wine and spirits.. I love trying wines that aren't available to me at home and it's certainly not worth shipping to NZ . I also loved the we had so many dining options included in the fare . The big bonus was I changed bookings during a sale and the new cruise was significantly cheaper than the original so we upgraded from an Ocean view to a veranda cabin and still got a sizeable refund (which we've spent, plus some on the 10 days after the cruise) This cruise we are on wasn't available when we had booked our original cruise. It had also been rerouted. If it had been we may well have booked it as it also ticks a lot of bucket list items . Croatia has been on it wish list, Matera was a big bucket list item for me, and Meteora wasn't on my list because I never contemplated that I would get there. We have been to several ports before but happy to return and see more. So Oceania gave us an allowance toward flight changes. That covered the flight over a few days earlier with a change of arrival from Barcelona to Venice . We decided to keep the original flights home from London and spend 9 days in the south of France in our favourite village from last year Villefranche sur mer so we are flying from Athens to Nice, and will train from there to Paris and then Eurostar to London so that our travel companions can see more of Europe than they might otherwise. On booking, I immediately booked the excursion to Meteora which was very pricey and that used most of our SM credit. I then decided what other excursions we might like to take and found 3 more. The rest we would do independently. That was until I worked out if I booked 2 more cheaper excursions I would actually save a lot of money with the 25% discount. So I have booked 6 ship excursions.. I totally understand some might be less desirable but I'm going to take the chance. In the previous cruises we have had amazing experiences and some less than amazing and it's mostly dependant I feel on the guide. But regardless we can use them as easy transportation to the sight we want to see. So what could be a disappointment turned into excitement. .. Always look for the positive... So here we are.. We leave on Tuesday flying Emirates.( Economy as we would rather do more trips for less cost than fewer trips and spend more) 17 hours flyimg Auckland to Dubai, 3+ hours layover and then 6+ hours to Venice. It's my third trip to Venice but I'm still looking forward to it. We have 2 nights booked at the Presaro palace hotel and then we will train to Trieste the night before we embark. I'll do my best to keep up to date posting and am happy to answer whatever questions I am able to. As you can probably tell, brevity isn't my strong suit!!

I know I will have a fantastic time. Im a realistic but positive person who really appreciates how amazing it is to be able to travel and see the world in comfort and luxury (despite the 28 hours flying economy each way!!)

Agreed .. though why it seems so much more pronounced in the Oceania board than on others I've looked at here is a mystery!

I wasn't referring to you personally being negative, but there are a large number of very negative posters here who complain so loudly about so many things I've found it quite depressing reading at times. They definitely outweigh the positive posters. I do know however that those people are likely a small very vocal minority and though I guess it's the nature of this sort of forum I've found the Oceania board is so much more negative than some of the other cruise lines boards . I'm not sure what that means but it did give me pause after I had booked to wonder if I'd made the right decision. Thats a bit sad when you are excited about what might be for some, a once in a lifetime trip . In glad I didn't suggest my trip mates read here!!

I'll be one of those next week on Vista. For all the negative viewpoints posted here about Simply More, it's one of the features that appealed to me and my group who are so looking forward to our cruise. It sounds like I'm not alone in my views

Thanks. I'm a graphic designer,(well was until a few years ago) so totally understand all aspects of this. It appeared to be an issue with chrome/android today.. iPhone worked perfectly. Others having issues might want to try that

Yes I tried that and it still wouldnt progress ( wouldnt let me go to the boarding pass option) on my laptop or Samsung phone but luckily it all worked on my husbands iphone so we are all set now- thanks

Actually the trick was to use an Iphone - it wouldnt work with my Samsung, nor with an uploaded photo on my laptop but it did work using my husbands iphone - go figure!!

ahh- well i might try again tomorrow then - thanks - oh i guess thats the US weekend so Ill wait till tuesday my time

Im trying to complete the online check in and get to the photo upload and no matter what photo I upload it never gets past "in progress" for this section - meaning I cant get to the print boarding pass - Ive even tried skip photo and take at terminal but it still wont progress to the boarding pass. What is the secret to completing this ??

My experience with my upcoming cruise (June 1 Vista) Our credit would have paid for the 1( expensive ) 'must book' excursion I wanted with a little extra. I booked that immediately to avoid missing out. Then I spent some time looking at others. I found 3 more I wanted to take. The cost was approx $1200NZ each for those in excess of the credit. The minimum number of excursions to meet the 25% discount was 6.. but what I quickly realised with a bit of maths was that if I chose cheaper excursions for those extra 2 , all the excursions I had booked would be discounted including the very expensive ones so I booked the extra 2 and everything was discounted by 25% and ended up only paying $900 each on top of the credit.. in effect saving us money by doing more excursions .

Yes you are entitled to the 25% discount as well as the credit and it can make a big difference. . For my cruise the minimum was 6 to get the discount and it was cheaper to book 6 than to book the 4 I originally wanted to do. (I chose less expensive ones for the extra 2). the credit comes off the total after the 25% is applied

You clearly want the last word so you can have it. I know exactly what the reaction to your actions would be but you clearly know better so was I said you do you.

20% would be ridiculous and pretty much unheard of in NZ where a the minimum wage is $23.15 per hour even for wait staff. But hey if you want to pay that then you do you . Regardless of the amount it would be far better received in $NZ no matter what the amount .You clearly think your time is more valuable than the staff serving you. You could have spent 2 minutes at an ATM getting NZD or pay by CC as most of us do.

We also love the area and last year were there for a week and walked from Beaulieu Sur Mer to Villa Ephruzzi. Had a great morning tea in the cafe there too after taking the audio guided tour and learning the life of Beatrice. We loved Villefranche Sur Mer so much we are returning for a week at the conclusion of our Vista cruise in June after securing a waterfront apartment.

They generally aren't and the only place I have tipped in my life(at home) is for exceptional service in a higher end restaurant, but it does seem to have become more prevalent in restaurants over the last few years to the point that some of the new electronic payment systems have an opt out button for tipping, kind of insinuating it's more normal than it actually is. This has caused some discussion and hasn't been well received by many. NZ has a fairly decent minimum wage that must be paid to all employees except to youth who can be on a special youth wage. However I'm sure nobody would be offended to receive extra, despite it being not required. A small amount of foreign currency though would have the same value as no tip at all! I don't understand the whole concept personally.. of expected tips or built in service charges.. if your business is a service industry then that should be taken into account in the costs and included in the food(or other) charges and then the employer should pay their staff well for good work and I that's pretty much what it used to be like here but with globalisation there is always change good and bad .

Did you even read my reply? When was your last experience tipping in USD in New Zealand???????. Banks in New Zealand do NOT handle foreign exchange ( since at least 2019). A few dollars in foreign currency isn't worth anything. Nothing at all because the fees to exchange are higher than the value of the money. If you truly value good service perhaps some respect for the person you are supposedly tipping might be more appreciated than your money in foreign currency .

I would kindly suggest if you ever come to New Zealand that you don't tip in US dollars. Banks here do not convert foreign currency at all. You need to take it to a currency conversion shop which give appalling rates and often have minimum amounts and maximum fees to convert. A few US dollars would be almost useless unless the recipient was planning to leave the country . It would be far more appreciated if you had converted your money to local currency or used an ATM to get cash and paid those fees yourself if you really appreciated the service you had received

Some (many) food trends definitely need to stay in the past. The 'everything in Aspic' is one of those. Nothing tastes better encased in jelly!! I do like beetroot though but it's definitely not better in gelatine!!

Once again I just would never judge a restaurant based on their use of tablecloths. There are 3 Michelin star restaurants that don't have tablecloths.. I've also never eaten at Jacques so I can't judge which I would prefer but I tend not to prefer the old style french heavy on the sauces type of cuisine so I may not have preferred it anyway based on the menus I've seen ... but I'm not one to judge anything that I haven't experienced myself... It seems to me you have a preference for a style of restaurant that perhaps others might feel is démodé but that's fine too. It's your preference.. It may not be (and clearly isn't) the opinion of others. Oh and I'm not a Vista cheerleader.. I've never been on it.. I don't judge something before I've experienced it..as I said.

I've not eaten in Ember either (though im booked in on June 2 so I'll let you know).... However I can't understand your obsession with tablecloths as a judgement of quality. I've eaten at amazing restaurants where we've paid over $300 per couple for one meal (let alone board and lodging) that ..horrors .. don't have tablecloths.. A tablecloth doesn't ensure quality .

Never sailed Celebrity but I've never had a meal in any establishment or any house or anywhere at all that was inedible.(Unable to be eaten) I've certainly had some that I didn't want to eat but that didn't make them inedible.

And likewise when I read a review ( about any restaurant not just Oceanias) that states the food was 'inedible' I mentally roll my eyes and pay little attention to any further complaints . I've seen the inedible' descriptor quite often on CC posts ...

In my opinion the quality of an excursion is greatly dependant on the tour guide, not the number of participants. I've had exceptional guides with larger group ship tours and I've had not particularly engaging guides on small independent group tours. The secondary consideration is the other participants in the tour and whether they can listen and follow instructions. In the case of the larger tours the chances you will run across those who seem unable to do this is greater because of the greater numbers involved but it can still happen in a smaller tour ( and certainly I've experienced this too!! )