Vertygo

I’m on Oceania’s Vista Aug 6 with 3 other ships in Santorini, 10K people. I’ve booked a 4 hour private catamaran excursion through Viator for $174 pp. Leaves from Old Port so no need for cable car crush & standing in blazing sun. 

We’re in Santorini with Vista Aug 6 with 3 other ships, about 10K people. After reading Hank’s review of the horrible Boutari winery excursion, which I’d also scheduled, I cancelled & booked a private catamaran tour from the tender port. I realize we’ll see everything from the water, but I don’t relish huge crowds or standing in hot sun for a long time.

Ritz concierge may be able to arrange. Airport to our hotel was quoted as $100 Euro, which is about double of what I’ve booked myself.

I’ve arranged private van for $55 by “Fat Taxi” through Viator. That was cheaper than using Fat Taxi’s site directly. We’re going in August so can’t report on actual service.

9 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

We took this excursion last May and I would say definitely it ranks as one of our least favorite excursions. It’s just such a crowded place that people are always getting lost. And our tour guide deemed himself to be a wine expert and perhaps he was….but he went on and on while at the winery.   And just as he was about to stop, someone (perhaps clueless as was quite obvious most were past their limit) would ask a question and on he would go again.  And as stated….the wait for cable cars was beyond frustrating.  There were 6 ships in port on our day. 

Uh-Oh, we’ve scheduled this same excursion in August. Sad to hear reality is so horrible compared to the wonderful description. Will rethink plans. 
This is exactly why I follow these posts. Thanks!

40 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

The Galata location won't give you the great views of Sultanahmet. I prefer the latter location. At least for a dinner.

 

Thanks again! I’ll look into dinner in that area as well. Best of both worlds 😄

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I've done the Bosporus cruise in the evening and during the day and I much preferred it during the day. At night the best views of the lights would be from a nice rooftop restaurant in Sultanahmet area, where you can get great views of Haghia Sofya, Blue Mosque, etc. all lit up. (IMHO).

Thanks! We have a day cruise planned & our hotel, DeCamondo Galata House, has a rooftop restaurant with river views.

What evening cruise did you do?

@cruisemom42 Do you have a suggestion for night Bosporus cruise? I don’t want cheesy dinner party boat, but something more relaxing to see the buildings lit up.

Not sure if a ferry would be the “ticket” & I’ve read about a private company with similar routes, but looks like schedule is too early.

Do the sunset cruises I’ve seen end after dark?

Appreciate any advice you have.

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

I also really enjoyed the Islamic Arts museum (across from the Hippodrome). I feel it's not visited as much as it should be. Some of the pieces are exquisite. 

Thanks Cruisemom42! My calculations lean towards the Istanbul Museum Card only, especially if lines aren’t long in Ephesus. I definitely want to see the Islamic Arts & the Archaeological museums, but may be hard to squeeze all we want to see in a few days.

We’ll be in Istanbul for 3 days prior to 8/2  cruise. Has anyone used the Museum Pass for Istanbul and/or Ephesus? We have a private guide, but looks like we could save time standing in line to purchase admission.

Thanks, Linda

Thank you Terry & all who have contributed great advice about Istanbul. 
We’re arriving 3 days prior to cruise in August & have arranged airport pick-up & 2day private guide through Viator, significantly less than hotel quoted. 
Has anyone used the Museum Pass? We’ll have a day in Ephesus, which is also covered.

Thanks! Linda

Depends on the itinerary. Regent welcomes kids on Alaska & summer Med sailings (to the consternation of some here) & will provide some activities for them, but O will not. I’m taking my family of 7, including 15 & 17 year olds to Alaska next summer. I want focus to be on nature rather than water slides/go-karts & prefer being a bit spoiled on small ships.

5 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

Turned out to be moot.

 

I'll leave this thread be now with one addendum that wasn't germane to the other folks in the classes: Once the undiagnosed crud I didn't want to bring into a commercial kitchen got a 5-letter name, all line items in my folio about ever having signed up or been billed for the classes disappeared. 

But did your payment disappear as well or was it refunded? No better reason for cancelling & totally out of your hands, though wouldn’t be surprised that others might decide to attend & expose everyone. 
Thank you for doing the right thing.

57 minutes ago, clo said:

Thanks. I have a medical background so could whiz through it 🙂 But aren't we  talking about noroVIRUS?

OP stated it’s not Norovirus.

3 hours ago, clo said:

And why would one take an antibiotic for a virus? Or are we not talking about a virus now?

Here’s Cornell’s algorithm for Travelers Diarrhea. Kaiser, my med ins co, has a travel dept & always prescribes Cipro to take as needed, as well as recommending any OTC meds.

Apologies for the length, but hope it “clears” things up.

Travelers’ Diarrhea
Traveling to areas of high risk (developing countries in Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Asia) and/or to areas of intermediate risk (countries in southern Europe or some Caribbean islands)?
    Educate
YES
 Self-Treatment: antimotility drugS
Does diarrhea respond to use of antimotility drug within 3-6 hours?
NO
Self-treatment: empiric antibioticS
NO
  Educate traveler regarding:
• Risks from eating and drinking local food and beverages.
• Strategies for obtaining reliable drinking water.
• How to self-diagnose TD, and dietary management if TD occurs.
• Importance of oral rehydration and use of ORS if needed
• Lack of need for antibiotic prophylaxis for TD except in rare circumstances
• Lack of need for vaccine prophylaxis for TD except in rare circumstances (not available in the U.S.)
 • Advise regarding potential self-treatment with antimotility drugs (contraindicated for persons < 3 years of age):
◦ Take 4 mg loperamide.1 If mild diarrhea continues, take additional 2 mg loperamide every 6 hours, not to ex- ceed 8 mg/day for over-the-counter use or 16 mg/day for prescription use.2
◦ Do not use if there is blood or pus in the stool.
◦ Stop use if symptoms continue after 48 hours of treatment. • Advise regarding hydration:
◦ If no clinical symptoms of dehydration, take regular fluids by mouth and eat salty crackers. ◦ If profuse diarrhea or symptoms of dehydration, use ORS.
 No additional intervention necessary.
  YES
      • In most cases, a single dose of a quinolone antibiotic (ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and ofloxacin are equivalent for TD) is likely to be adequate, even for severe diarrhea. If symptomatic after 24 hours, continue antibiotic for 2 more days.
◦ Azithromycin4 should be considered if quinolone is contraindicated or if TD is acquired in areas with high rates of quinolone resistance (e.g., Thailand, India). A single dose is likely to be adequate even for severe diarrhea. If symp- tomatic after 24 hours, continue antibiotic for 2 more days. A full 3-day course of treatment is required for dysentery (bloody diarrhea).
◦ Rifaximin is an alternate therapy if E. coli is the most likely pathogen and there is no fever or bloody diarrhea.
• Although 1 dose of antibiotic is usually effective, prescribe adequate quantity for full 3-day course of treatment.
• If no response to 3 days of antibacterial therapy or if significant clinical worsening before 3 days, consider parasitic eti- ology and seek medical care.
1 For children > 3 years of age, if lopermide is to be used, dose at ≤ 0.25 mg/kg/day. (See Travelers’ Diarrhea and Children and Travel.) 2 Taking higher than the recommended dose of loperamide can cause cardiac adverse events. Significant overdoses may result in death.
3 What constitutes “severe” diarrhea is subjective; however, knowing that antibiotic use contributes to antibiotic-resistant infections may encourage travelers to adhere
to preventive measures and recommended symptom management. For bloody diarrhea azithromycin should be started and medical attention sought immediately.
4 Exercise caution when prescribing azithromycin, especially in persons with cardiac conditions given the possibility of QT prolongation and its recent link to cardiac-
related deaths.
Consider use of empiric antibiotics for severe diarrhea.3
 Educate travel

11 hours ago, basor said:

We just finished booking our excursions for a Riviera B2B2B OCT/NOV 24 and all excursions were available except for first day in Istanbul and a chef led tour in Marseilles. The comprehensive all day Istanbul was full.  We already have booked a private 2 day tour so did not matter,  There were 15 other excursions available in Istanbul so plenty of choices.

Basor, please tell me the company with whom you booked your 2 day Istanbul private tour. I’ll be there 3 days prior to Vista 8/2 (hopefully) & am looking to book a private tour for the 3 of us.

TIA-Linda

Low Country Sandlapper, thanks for confirming my suspicions regarding Vista solo cabins! I had booked one for 8/3 Istanbul-Athens, but was able to take advantage of New Year sale & get an A2 for $1200 less! The twin bed & really,really small bathroom were issues for me. Didn’t know about veranda door size, but I prefer lots of sunlight so that would have been an added annoyance. Thanks!!

Is the voucher a Future Cruise Credit? If so, you may be required to book within 12 months, but chosen cruise can be a year or 2 after.

Check with your TA. 

Rose3232, please post after your cruise & let us know how it went. I’ve booked Alaska 7/25 for 7 of us, including 15 & 17 year old grandkids. I prefer smaller ships & wanted the focus on Alaska rather than distracting ship amusement park activities.

4 hours ago, crusin7 said:

Good Morning Rainy San Diego!

Waiting for our tour to be called so we can proceed to Immigration in the Terminal.. slow process.

Sun’s out this afternoon. Beautiful day!!

Enjoy SD (hopefully with luggage)

4 hours ago, SteveH2508 said:

The whole hiding ducks thing is a bit of fun. Don't want to play - then no harm no foul.

Don’t you mean “no harm no fowl”?? 😆

49 minutes ago, LSuzQ said:

The tipping point for me would be which of these categories might have an extended balcony available.  Important to us, but may or may not be a perk for you.

I’m in Vista 8120, A2 concierge this summer. The more aft cabins have an extended verandas & 8120 is at the point where verandas shift smaller, so appears on deck plan to have a view forward as well as side.

Can anyone who’s been in one of these confirm?

12 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Technically, you are not on Medicare. Rather you have chosen a Medicare approved substitute offered by a private company.

Tell that to SSA, who’s deducting $ for Medicare premiums each month 😆 

Just semantics 

46 minutes ago, Bongomauka said:

So are we. Kaiser has stepped up and acknowledged they would pay. The holdup is Oceania/NCL Holdings which has failed to provide tangible assistance and has arguably hindered the process from moving forward resulting in the very real possibility that we will loose all three of our potential insurance coverage options.

I can just imagine the stress this is causing for you, but glad to know Kaiser’s willing to do their part. Now if only NCL would!

32 minutes ago, clo said:

Something that I had hoped would be brought up here. Medicare is only in effect within the US. So you're not on Medicare yet?

I am on Medicare, Kaiser’s Senior Advantage program, with world-wide emergency coverage.

2 hours ago, Psoque said:

I'm in healthcare, and most "normal" health insurance do not cover something like this. 

Not sure what you consider “normal” health insurance to be, but Kaiser Permanente is the largest HMO in the country.

They cover emergency health costs worldwide, less any expected copay for the specific service received. OP already stated their copay would be $200.

I had an ambulance/ER visit in Spain following an O cruise in 2018. Kaiser reimbursed all but $50, my normal copay for ER visits.