Hlitner

If the OP is simply talking about a cancelled excursion, that is no biggie and all too common on many cruises. A lot of the land tour companies (some of which contract with cruise lines to provide excursions) have had issues getting enough qualified guides. COVID decimated the tour industry and lots of folks moved into other lines of work. Hank

Already doing it on the O Board. 🙂 Hank

The clearest sea water we have experienced was at various islands in the South Pacific. Bora Bora was certainly among the best. The water off Northeastern Australia and out at the Great Barrier Reef was quite amazing. Hank

I cannot help with the return as we always had a rental car. But Taormina is not like Cinque Terre. Taormina seems to handle crowds quite well. The situation in Cinque Terre is a true shame and made much worse by the use of La Spezia as a cruise port.

Have not done high tea. Yet.

Afternoon from the middle of the Atlantic, This morning we were notified that the Vista has cancelled its visit to Horta (Azores) which is the 2nd port (in a row) cancelled. This is due to bad weather forecasts for the Azores. The Captain has changed our course to a more southerly course and we are, instead, heading to Funchal (Madeira). This change has also put us into better weather and today was a gorgeous sea day with seas in the 1-2 meter range, blue skies, and temps in the 70s. We also had a following wind so it was a near perfect day to be outside. This morning, we had the "Country Fair" which is a major activity (on the pool deck) where there are various games, prizes, etc. It was well attended and kept the pool deck busy from around 10:30 until noon. With all the constant banter (from Peter, our Cruise Director) it almost reminded me of a Carnival cruise. As a rule, we find the higher-class lines have fewer announcements. Peter usually has a longish daily update around 9:30, more to say around noon, and will usually have another schedule update around 4. I prefer the attitude on Seabourn where there are very few announcements, and it is assumed that passengers are capable of reading the daily schedule. A couple of nights ago we went to our first Production Show and thought it was generally awful! Sorry to say it was more like a bad high school musical production than what we expect on ships. The Vista has a 12 person entertainment team which includes 4 singers. Nobody was impressive and the sound was not good. This was probably a combination of the lack of talent and a lousy choice of music and choreography. Thank goodness that, so far, we have had really decent Guest Entertainers. Perhaps O should consider hiring a company like Belinda King Productions (they handle Seabourn, some Princess, etc) to staff and Produce their shows. On Easter Sunday, the ship put on an expansive brunch buffet (from 9:30 - 1) in the GDR, There was a good selection of the usual breakfast items (i.e. Omelet station, eggs benedict, bacon, etc) and quite a few lunch offerings. There was also a decent array of desserts. While this was all good (and we did enjoy ourselves) I could not help but notice the lack of higher priced items like a decent raw seafood bar, caviar, etc. Like we have seen on some other lines, the galley staff seems to do more with less, which is a talent. Last evening DW and I decided to have a pizza dinner at Waves. The pizza was quite good, but the service very uneven. In fact, of the 4 items we ordered (2 kinds of burrata and 2 pizzas) two were incorrect when served. At the next table, a gentleman ordered a meaty pizza with mushrooms. There must have been a language problem because his pizza was delivered with "mustard" instead of mushrooms. It is the first time I have ever seen a "mustard pizza" which was promptly sent back :). Obviously, a language misunderstanding and somewhat amusing. We have heard some rumblings about little things that are just not right, in terms of decor. Some of the carpets are already showing signs of wearing (dye completely faded) and others tell us that some of the railing in the GDR are already worn. We could not notice the absence of a lower rail (i.e. brass rail) at Martini's bar. Rumors are that there will be some workmen coming aboard, in Europe, to make some "corrections." None of this is unusual on a new ship, but certainly worth mentioning on this blog. DW and I continue to enjoy most everything here on the Vista. Perfection? No. But we still think it is a good product for this class of cruising. Some others do not agree. One single lady told me she feels a bit out of place (she gets funny looks when she asks for a table of 1) and prefers Seabourn where she says the atmosphere is better for single ladies. A couple of men, who previously liked O, have been turned off by the way a request (for Liquor 42) was handled by O. They did get them a single bottle (which they had requested pre-cruise) which was offered to them for $100! The item is not stocked in the bars. They contrasted this with a similar request they made on Seabourn. That line had a large bottle waiting for them in their suite, and also made sure the item was stocked at all the ships' bars. This might best explain the difference between a "Premium Line" and a "Luxury Line." We also met a nice European couple who has cruised (3 times) on Explora Journeys. This was their 2nd O cruise, but they said they intend to focus on future cruises with EJ. Interesting comment for us (we have also cruised on EJ) and Waltershipman (who is likely following this blog). In all fairness to O, Explora Journeys is generally a lot more expensive than O. Since we did not bother to get off the ship at Great Stirrup Key, DW and I will now have 8 consecutive sea days before reaching Funchal. Love it :). Hank

As stockholders we love folks that have little interest in price or deals. As frequent cruisers we prefer good deals :). Hank

Good warning that applies to most of the popular tourist destinations around the world. Hank

You can also get to the villages by road or small ferry boats. The trains can be packed, during the high season.

Argh. Simply More with O, HIA with HAL, etc. Cruise lines are trying to push folks into booking their overpriced overcrowded excursions. They are a big profit center. We play the game but would prefer zero excursions. It is one reason why Seabourn is our current favorite lines. Here we are on the O Vista and they have already cancelled excursions and make it impossible to book future excursions. Go figure. Hank

Tough plight for those folks. Fifty years of extensive cruising and we generally do our own thing in ports. Getting back on time is our responsibility and we do not expect ships to wait. We often have a Plan B on how to catch up if we miss the ship, but this has never happened. As to cruise ship excursions they are fine for folks who like being led by the hand along with 50 of their friends. Travelers make their own choices within their own comfort level. This is not a right/wrong issue but simply what world travel is all about Hank

Somebody posted a question about using a computer at the digital center. I confirmed that there are no computers for guest use. Apparently the digital center is to teach guests how to use their phones in place of a PC. Hank

Tablemates liked the lobster in Polo so, perhaps we will give that a try.

Oh, I did forget something quite negative. It is the tissues and toilet paper! :). Digging deep to go negative on such important items. The tissues are made in China where they should stay! As to the toilet paper, it is a bit thin and not like what most of us have at home. The marine engineers would probably tell us that the toilet paper is selected because it easily breaks-down in the onboard sewer system. But no such excuse to justify Chinese tissues. Another comment applies to nearly all the cruise lines. They have discovered a cute scheduling trick of having a well-intended activity at noon! Why? It keeps a large group away from the lunch venues during the early/busy time. On this ship it is BINGO. On HAL it is team trivia. Since we have a week of sea days, activities do matter to many cruisers. On Vista we have been getting at least 2 lectures a day (we have enjoyed a few). There are also the usual Bridge games/lessons, and we also have an Artist in Residence who has 2 classes a day. We do think that the Vista has a pretty normal array of activities that fits the passenger demographics on this cruise. Hank

Good afternoon from about 170 miles south of Bermuda. We continue to be very impressed with both O and the Vista and it is fun to be able to think and write mostly positive comments :). So far, this is not a smooth crossing. Seas have been mostly in the 3-4 meter range (at times yesterday I think they were closer to 5 meters) and the Vista has been moving in ways that do not please folks prone to mal de mer. Temperatures are in the upper 60s to low 70s, but the outside wind keeps most folks inside. Food on this ship continues to be very good. That being said, last evening we dined in Toscana, and I was disappointed in their lobster main, which came with a tomato-based sauce that has no business being put on lobster. While this is subjective, that type of sauce simply overwhelms the delicate lobster flavor. We talked to some shipmates who ate in the GDR (last evening) and they were also not impressed with the lobster tail offering in that venue. Some have suggested that lobster is not one of O's strong suits, and so far, with this we agree. DW and I decided to try our first lunch in the GDR (today) and were very impressed. i counted 12 mains, about 10 starters/soups/salads, and the variety was excellent. I decided to have a simple bib lettuce salad (with Roquefort) as a starter, and that simple salad was perfection in both presentation and taste. Paying attention to the simple things is a hallmark of any good restaurant, so the GDR gets high marks. I followed up the salad with Lasagna, and this was a very rich recipe (lots of bechamel) which was excellent. DW had a salad Nicoise with salmon and her comment was "this salmon is really good." I finished with a bowl of Humprey Slocomb breakfast ice cream (a combination of creamy vanilla, bourbon and corn flakes) which was a fun treat. When comparing to Seabourn or Explora Journeys, O gets the gold star for main dining room lunch. While most other lines seem to treat MDR lunches like they are doing a favor by just being open, that is not the case on this ship. Kudos to the chefs and GDR wait staff for treating lunch like a very special meal. Speaking of the GDR, this room is simply gorgeous. The designers used multi-levels and dividers to avoid the "one huge room" problem found on many ships. Like much of the design of the Vista, this is easy on the eyes and delightful. I should also mention that the staff on the Vista has been uniformly excellent, friendly, and hard working. Last evening we finally went to the show, which was a West End entertainer named Nik Page. His claim to fame was having played Jean Val Jean in the West End production of Les Mis. He put on a terrific show, and we look forward to seeing him again (there will be a 2nd show). He received a well-earned standing ovation. There are good seats in the theater, but I do see the issue where some folks might have issues if they are behind a tall person. Having been told (pre cruise) that O quickly dies after the show (about 10:15) we had another surprise. When the show was over, I gravitated up to Horizons for a nightcap and to listen to the Sync Session Band (the Filipino group I mentioned in my earlier post) do their 10:30 - 11:15 set. There were over 100 passengers in the venue and the dance floor was busy until the end of the decent rock set. By the way, the Star Link Internet seems to be working quite well in this part of the Atlantic. Hank

When I walked past Lynx, this morning, I did notice a few folks with laptops in that venue. I do not see any fixed (walk-up) computers on the tables. Next time we are in the area I will try and remember to stop-in and talk to the digital guru and find out if they do have any computers for walk ups. Hank

Took a look and 9079 might be the better choice. 9085 is across from a service door with machinery noise audible from the corridor. Not sure if that would be an issue inside the cabin. Hank

A few years ago they pushed an overpriced insurance deal that was mandatory. That practice may have ended, but in Le Havre we would rent from other agencies outside the port, where prices were more reasonable. They also had the audacity to be closed on Sundays. That being said, if they are open the convenience is nice. Hank

Good Afternoon Folks, Over our long cruise life we have found that it usually takes us about 24 hours to form an opinion of a ship/cruise. In the case of the Vista, both DW and I are equally impressed and have mostly good to say about the ship and O. So, Flatbush Flyer can breathe easy and say, "I told you so." Our cabin (a B2 balcony on deck 8 was absolutely quiet last night. We did not hear any noice from our neighbors or anything else. Our thermostat functions perfectly and it was nice to be in a nice cool, quiet, cabin for our first night's sleep. Today we had a short port day at Great Stirrup Cay, which is a long held property of NCLH in the Berry Islands (Bahamas). We decided to stay aboard since it was only in the high 70s, and we saw no reason to leave the Vista for a beach morning. I say morning because the last tender was at 1:30. Last evening we enjoyed our first Vista dinner at Red Ginger, where we had a shared table with a very nice couple from Texas. We were seated at 7pm (our reservation time) and did not finish dinner until 9:40! Part of the reason for the very long dinner was that nobody took our food order for nearly 30 minutes and our first food did not arrive until around 8pm. But long dinners do fit our style, the company was good, and I think all 4 of us enjoyed the evening and the food. I was looking forward to trying the spicy duck/watermelon salad and it was quite good. Not the best I have ever enjoyed, but darn good for a cruise ship. I had the rack of lamb, for my main, and they were also good and properly cooked to my "medium" request. I am also somewhat impressed by the wine offerings (by the glass) which are as good, if not better, than what we have received on several luxury lines. After dinner, DW decided to turn-in early (it was a long day) and I went to Martini's for some victuals. At the bar I met two nice couples including a younger German couple who were impressed by the Vista. I have purchased the upgraded drink package and the offerings at the bar were quite good. "Anthony" entertained us with both piano and voice and was delightful. Lets talk about breakfast on the Vista. There are ONLY 6 options which is quite amazing for a ship of only 1200 passengers. One could get room service (with a pretty full menu). The Grand Dining Room was also opened for breakfast. But than we had Waves, Aquamar, Terrace Cafe, and Baristas. DW and I decided to just go to Baristas where we enjoyed some pastries and cappuccino. The croissants were the best we have had on any cruise ship. Baristas is basically a self-service venue with several waiters standing-by to clear tables and offer any help (they took DW's tea from her hand and carried it to our table). We were both very impressed with the venue and it holds its own against a similar venue on Explora Journey 1. If doing more comparisons I would rate it a much better venue then what is offered on Seabourn (Seabourn Square). We spent much of our day on deck 12 (pool deck) and also walked around deck 14 (the miniature golf course is a nice touch as is the pickle ball court). The deck chairs are among the most comfortable found on any ship. I noticed that my Bloody Mary was made using Mr and Mrs T mix, but the bar tender skillfully enhanced it with spices to meet my request for a "spicy Bloody Mary." Lunch was at waves, and my Wagyu Burger (topped with lobster chunks) was excellent as were the thick cut French fries. I love the Wave lunch menu and am happy that we will have more than a month to try everything! There was a Filipino band (trio) with terrific singer that entertained us with a 45 min sail-away set. That band is quite good, so we are batting 1000 with the entertainment (up to this point). So, my friends, where is the negative stuff? When O decided to cancel our visit to Bermuda (due to a bad weather forecast) I could not understand why they did not extend the length of our visit to Great Stirrup Cay. There were no other ships and a 2pm departure was a bit early. We now have a week of sea days (DW and I love sea days) and the Vista will not need to break any speed records to get us Horta on time. But that is being nitpicky since we cannot criticize a ship for sticking to their schedule. Hank

The adventure begins" This morning we got in our pre-ordered Uber at our Ft Lauderdale hotel, for Terminal J. After driving around the port for 10 minutes we finally arrived at the small ship terminal around 11:40 (our boarding time was 11:30-12:00). After handing our luggage to the Longshoreman we entered the terminal and had our first Passport/boarding pass check. That only took a few seconds and then we went through the usual metal detector and were told to take a seat in the large seating area (plenty of chairs for everyone) Boarding has just started, but in the seating area there was some chaos since nobody seemed to know when to move. We quickly found ourselves in a queue to check-in. Since we do not get any priority (it is our first O cruise in a normal B2 cabin) we patiently worked our way to the check-in counter. When we finally reached the counter, they took our pictures (why do they even bother asking for pictures during the pre-cruise stuff). It took about an hour to get through the terminal and finally board the Vista. Unlike some of the better cruise lines, there was nobody greeting us with a glass of champagne. Just a message that our cabins would not be ready until about 3pm (the latest time we have encountered in 50 years of cruising) and we should go up to deck 12 for lunch. Waves, Aquamar, and the Terrace Grill were open and we decided to sit at an empty table. Wine service was slow (we consider it typical first day stuff) but we were happy with the various selections (I had a Sauvignon Blanc from NZ). DW and I were not very hungry (we had a big breakfast) so I enjoyed a small cubano sandwich and DW tried the so-so pizza. After lunch we sat in some pool deck loungers and then did some exploring. At first glance the ship is attractive and has an old ship feel with more contemporary furniture. We thought the deck loungers were very high quality and better then found on some luxury lines. The pool area was beautiful, but we did sense that there are not enough loungers (especially in the shade) for a busy day. Around 2pm I went down to deck 5 and waited a few minutes to speak with one of the concierges. I asked for a reservation (tonight) in Red Ginger and that was no problem as long as we wanted to share at 7pm (all good for us). We then learned that our 2nd port, Bermuda, has already been cancelled due to a lousy weather forecast. We had an excursion booked on Bermuda (had to use up our $1300 pp Simply More credits) which was now to be refunded. When we asked about booking an excursion at a future port we were told they they cannot access any tours (for our next two segments) until at least April 10. Not only can we not make a reservation, but we cannot even know what (if anything) is available. This policy truly sucks! Consider that a person who might be on 5 or 6 segments would not even have access the last segment once they were within a week of embarkation. But folks that might be boarding at a later segment would have access (as long as their embarkation was more than 7 days in the future). The policy really penalizes the folks who book longer cruises. I did try a glass of champagne and they are using Montaudon (the same Champagne used by Seabourn). Not my favorite sparkling wine, but certainly a reasonable selection. Our cabin is a normal balcony cabin (B2) and is immaculate. The interior is contemporary and attractive. The big negative is the lack of storage (a potential issue for folks on longer cruises). With all of our experience on dozens of different type ships, DW and I did manage to get everything in their proper place. O does have room for additional shelving, but I think they opted for design over substance. Our bathroom is quite impressive for a non-luxury cabin. There is lots of space, the shower very attractive and large, and (strangly) there is a lot of storage! In fact, we actually stored some of our clothes in the bathroom drawers. Our balcony is typical for a regular cabin and is furnished with two shares (both with removable cushions) and a small round table. I noticed that the balcony does have night lighting and its done in an attractive indirect way. I believe this segment is completely full with the demographics favoring we seniors. Hank

Funny thing about ships with decent Promenades. Most of the time we sit or walk on those decks we might run into a few dozen other passengers. But a few dozen, out of more than 1000, 2000, etc. really makes me wonder what happens to all the folks who claim to love Promenades. It seems like, these days, the typical cruiser will wait 15 minutes for an elevator to take them one deck, complain when they need to walk from one end of a ship to the other, etc. Hank

We did it with a very tiny increase during a sale

Sifracar used to deliver to the pier. But that was when they were the local Hertz franchise and the port was open to cars. Not sure if that is still allowed, You can contact them via their web site and ask. Hank

I also use front pocket, but than secure the pocket with a large safety pin. That simple precaution was suggested by a retired US Secret Service agent with whom we once cruised. Hank

Yes, If you ask a taxi, on the pier, to take you to Florence, they will generally be delighted. But, the drivers will normally suggest that you book them for the entire day (they will wait) for several hundred Euros. If you want a taxi, one way to Florence, it means they would need to return empty. While most drivers would do it, they are going to still charge you a few hundred Euros. And you would still need to find another taxi (for a few hundred more) to bring you back. It comes down to arranging to hire a pre-booked private car or gamble on a local taxi. Using the better tour company's for a full day hire is generally going to get you a nicer car and a driver who may speak some English. When you gamble on a local taxi you get what you get...which can be anything from a fantastic driver to something not as pleasant. What we have done, a few times, is simply rent a car (from Sifracar) and drive ourselves to Florence or other places (we enjoy going to San Gimignano). A rental car costs us less than half the price of a taxi and we are comfy driving in Italy (many folks are not up to this task). I no longer suggest rental cars since I figure that folks comfortable driving in Italy are already familiar with that option. Also keep in mind that driving in Italy means learning about Zona Traffico Limitatos (ZTLs) and the parking rules. Hank