PinonNoir

A 1er Chablis for $30 is a great deal! However, there is a good chance it will be over the hill at nearly 7 years old. The wine prices overall seem very good.

We arrived in Quito on January 9th, the day the ***** hit the fan. We ended up staying near the airport versus going into Colonial Quito that night. After our Galapagos cruise, we did stay in Colonial Quito for one night, before we headed to Mashpi Lodge. We didn't feel unsafe in any way, but it was a bit surreal to see the military presence in the city. I live-blogged from the trip if you are the least bit curious. Based on our experience, I think you are going to be fine in Quito. We did not stay in Guayaquil, just flew in and out on the same plane, so I can't comment on that city. Chris

If you can add Mashpi Lodge to the front or tail end of your trip, I highly recommend it. It's not cheap, but it was worth every penny and then some! Make sure you request Santiago as your guide...he was incredible! Chris

We just visited the Galapagos last month. We sailed with Quasar, and were quite happy with the experience. The lead Naturalist advised they know the itinerary well in advance, so that they don't go to spots too often or overlap with other guests. Quasar has been very easy to work with. I would just call them (either Paul or Diane will assist you). They have been to the Galapagos several times and know the area well. We did see the blue footed boobie mating dance several times, but I only got a little on video. I also live blogged from the yacht if you are curious (just a hobby, not a business). Let me know if you have any questions! Chris

Just a quick clarification. Kotor is actually in Montenegro, not Croatia. It is indeed beautiful, and the people are super friendly.

Agreed. Our Southampton to Iceland cruise this past July ended up with two back-to-back sea days when they canceled a port, and I frankly didn't know what to do with myself! I travel to see new parts of the world, not hang out in Baristas or walk around the pool 100 times. Nine days of nothing...and you are paying for it. I'd rather stay at my house. At least I have excellent access to Pinot Noir there!

Yep, they have shortened times in port on both of my last two cruises, one this past July, and one just this month. Interesting that they never add time to any port! They do however show up early from time to time (twice on our cruise this month), but for those planning their own excursions, that isn't helpful.

I think the overall number of people who immediately took advantage of the offered FCC freaked them out. They were looking at a nearly empty ship with a full crew, and scrambled to stop the hemorrhaging.

Who would have thought the California Department of Insurance would be so effective!?! BTW, I sent my contact there a glowing "thank you" note and told her to please forward it to her supervisor. I give a lot of grief to government employees, but this incident impressed the hell out of me!

The airfare issue is an important lesson. We have always purchased our own airfare after our first Oceania cruise in 2007. While we purchased our airfare for that cruise, another couple we traveled with used Oceania for airfare and arrived in Venice about 4 hours before the cruise departed. Their departure from Rome was about 5 hours after the cruise arrived, and they were scrambling to get to the airport on time from Citivavecchia. The last thing I want is "bookends of stress" on a cruise!

Agreed. We've been in nearby Boothbay Harbor and there were quite a few businesses closed while that maniac was still at large.

I wanted to give an update on the claim I filed with my credit card regarding the $2000+ I lost on my Faroe Islands tour this past July. The company Visa uses, eclaimsline.com, is run by Allianz Insurance. My initial claim was denied, with eclaimsline stating that the guide I hired was not a common carrier. I appealed based on info from the guide company, and was denied two more times before they stopped communicating with me entirely. Emails to various folks at Allianz insurance went unanswered. I then filed a claim with the California Department of Insurance, who surprisingly were on the case immediately. I sent them all of my info, and they filed a claim for me with Allianz. A few weeks later, a person higher up from Chubb Insurance (I guess they own Allianz?) again denied me, yet they ignored one of the emails I forwarded from Guide to Faroe Islands. When I asked why they ignored that email, the claims agent with the state of California also asked for clarification and indicated it was part of their file. They finally acknowledged that email, stating that Guide to Faroe Islands is indeed a "Common Carrier", and overturned their denial three days ago, and have sent me a check. It took three months of back and forth, but in the end it was worthwhile. Bottom line, don't mess with retired people who have time on their hands.

Can you post the initial offer they made, as well as the retraction? Curious.

Yep, we had a flight at 1155, so it was either relax on the ship, or wait at the airport. Being in Boston, the cruise terminal is literally just 10 minutes from the airport! That was weird!

Good idea! I had a hard time tracking our butler down the morning of.

On our recent cruise on Insignia, Baristas was still open at 0900 when we headed toward the gangway. Yes, there was a lot of money changing hands. When we arrived on the disembarkation deck the line was quite long, and people were joining from multiple directions. Rather than stand in that line we had a seat and waited it out. It was about 0915 when the line disappeared, and we walked off. As we sat there we saw a couple with their full sized luggage taking it off the ship, so if you want to take it off yourself in the morning it appears that isn't a problem. Nobody was keeping track of the color codes they give you for disembarkation, so those codes appear to be more of a "suggestion".

To be honest, it was originally a typo when I first joined the board, as I was going for PinotNoir. After a few posts I figured what the hell.

pinotlover, send me a note at pinot dot noir at Comcast dot net. I've gotta chat with you about wine. Chris

The only way to get that message across is to ask them, very directly, at disembarkation. While the bulk of us read Currents, there are plenty who will always be in the dark. My wife was a middle school teacher, and no matter how many times she reiterated something, there was always that dense 10% who were completely clueless. Let them pay the $300. Money may be the only way to wake them up.

One thing I didn't follow up on, I wore my jeans to every dinner on the ship. That's 4 nights in Toscana, 3 in Polo Grill, 2 in the GDR, and 2 in Terrace Cafe. Are my jeans "casual"? I have no idea. If Oceania ever decides to define the term I'll let you know.

I can confirm I did not hear piped in music in the common spaces. If it was there is was so low as to not be noticed.

That's interesting. If you watch a TV show called To Catch a Smuggler, there are several versions, but one of them focuses on New Zealand. They are HARD CORE when it comes to fruit! If you come through the airport with undeclared fruit it's an automatic $300 charge! No warnings, no second chances...pay the fine! I respect their strictness.

I don't know if this was the CD's fault or just Oceania policy. He would announce all of the days activities that were listed in Currents, so there was no need for him to repeat those. At the end of every announcement he would spend about 30 seconds advising people to stay in their staterooms if they felt sick and to call 00, and then a reminder to always use the hand sanitizer while walking around the ship. It got quite tedious. I would say there were at least 3-4 announcements a day, but then we were ashore in each port, so there might have been more.

Our cruise ends tomorrow, and I've got to say I've been quite impressed with how different the Insignia voyage has been versus our Riviera experience this past July. It might have something to do with being on a smaller ship or maybe just the people in charge holding staff to a higher standard, but it's back to what I remember from Oceania pre-covid, and what I actually expect Oceania to be. My major issues: Coffee remains poor in Terrace Cafe, from both the coffee machine and basic coffee they pour. We have basically given up on coffee everywhere except Baristas. However, while it's the best coffee on the ship, the Baristas coffee on Insignia is nowhere near as good as it was on Riviera. Coffee is super important to a lot of passengers, so this area needs some immediate attention. The face masks on the crew bugged the hell out of me, but once we entered US Waters they were allowed to take them off. Covid apparently knows where the border is, which is good to know. John Clelford talks too much, and the speakers are TOO LOUD! We have shown up early in some ports, and left early in others. This messed with my ability to plan shore excursions appropriately. If the crew knows we are going to be arriving early, maybe let the passengers know? In Saint John, New Brunswick, all passengers were told to be back by 9:30 PM (ship departure was 10:00 PM). We went to the local Irish pub for dinner, and walked back to the ship. When we walked in the terminal gate at 9:05 PM, the guard told us the ship had been waiting for us as they wanted to leave early. W T F? You can't change the departure time on passengers who have already left the ship for the day! Otherwise, I've gotta say, the food issues, when we had them, were minor. The staff has been excellent. Our butler Sanjay has been top notch, and the Maitre 'd at Polo Grill, Shanley, has been super accommodating with getting me the incredible Key Lime Pie! We will be disembarking tomorrow as very happy campers, so Oceania has done their job!

Moving this to the right place