Woodrowst

On 3/23/2024 at 4:07 PM, mwike said:

Seriously just a few hundred yards???  We're going in December and were certainly hoping for a bit more of a hiking aspect to the landings.

It depends on your definition of hiking but you will at most walk a mile or so at most landings.  It can be less. The things to see tend to cluster at and within a short walk of the water.  And the boots, while comfortable, aren’t really made for long walks.  You land on the Antarctic peninsular for the sensory experience (sight, sound, smell), not for aerobics.  Standing next to a penguin and watching it is a lot more fun than walking by it.  If what you want is to truly stretch your legs I believe there are boutique lines that will better serve you than Seabourn will.

45 minutes ago, MarciAnn said:

We are booked on the Venture for an Antarctic cruise in January 2025.  Do I need to make dinner reservations and book shore excursions (which I guess is just kayaking since I have no interest in the submarine) ahead of time?  As of now the site says dining reservations are not yet available and it shows no shore excursions except in Ushuaia.  When do these appear on the site?  Thanks in advance.

If you are interested in the kayaking I would book it in advance.  I waited until I boarded the Venture and was lucky to get one of the last remaining slots.  I thoroughly enjoyed the kayaking and felt it was worth every penny.

33 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

 That's part of the joy of cruising, get off the ship, walk around, and meet the locals where they shop.

 

 

I fully agree with MEFlowa. If shopping is your thing, check out authentic shops on land and get a bit of the culture with your shopping experience. Some pre-cruise googling can help locate authentic shops that are often within walking distance of the pier.

7 hours ago, Tsunami74 said:

 

 

The question is: for a first (although at our age, perhaps only) visit to Great Britain, would it be better to just go to the major cities either by plane or train - London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin - and take tours of city and surrounding countryside instead of visiting a different small port everyday.

 

 

 

I have traveled extensively to the UK.  It would be hard to imagine not spending any time in London on my first trip to England, Edinburgh on my first trip to Scotland, Dublin on my first trip to Ireland, or Belfast on my first trip to Northern Ireland. They are all amazing.   The good news is that each of these cities have wonderful day trips to smaller towns or rural areas so you can get the best of both worlds.  Next month my wife and I have an expedition cruise coming up that spends its time going around the lesser traveled outer Scottish islands.  But I would not do that as my first UK cruise. 

4 hours ago, grandma*knows*best said:

On the way back, you fly into EZE and then are on your own.

If you have booked air through Seabourn and have a night flight Seabourn will take you out to a nice restaurant for dinner and return you to EZE at about 5:00pm.

9 minutes ago, Isr45 said:

Booked a 30 day med cruise on Seabourn ending in Rome. Been meaning to try a Cunard grill suite and decided it was fate when I saw availability on the the day we leave Ovation.

 

We are now faced with practicalities. There are 5 ships in the Port of Rome that day ( including the ship we leave and the ship we board). 
 

I will look to stay on Ovation as late as possible - from cruises taken recently around 9.45 - 10am. Informed by Cunard we have priority boarding as a Q1 suite. We have lots of luggage - not possible to walk even if ship close by. Internet suggests taxis are not looking to do very short journeys.

 

Anyone familiar with Port of Rome?

Anyone changed ships in a different port and has tips?

 

Thanks for any help.

My suggestion would be turn a problem into an opportunity by booking a car/tour guide for the day.  Load the luggage in the car, enjoy a tour of Rome, have a nice authentic lunch in the city, and get dropped off for embarkation in the afternoon.  

3 hours ago, katiebeth said:

Good Morning!      I am seeking input/information on disembarkation in Barcelona.      We are on Oceania Sirena (London to Barcelona) cruise departing on May 3rd.       We arrive in Barcelona on May 15th at 7:00 am and disembarkation begins at 8:00 a.m.

 

My husband and myself will be traveling with our adult daughter.     She has a flight scheduled on the day of disembarkation from Barcelona to Atlanta departing at 11:30 am.      My husband and I will be flying from Barcelona to Mallorca early afternoon to spend 3 days.    We have visited Barcelona in the past (beautiful city) and have a wedding to attend in Mallora.

 

Obviously, the 11:30 am flight is not ideal but it is a non-stop flight and she used airline points for her fare so times were somewhat limited.    We have never flown out on the day of disembarkation but circumstances dictated it on this particular cruise.

 

I have read that it takes about 30 minutes to get from the port to the airport in Barcelona.    I am wondering about the airport itself and how long it normally takes to get thru immigration and security?    

 

I would appreciate any information for those who have knowledge/experience with the process.   

 

 Also, if anyone has recommendations for a reliable private transfer service from the port to the airport, that would be greatly appreciated!!

 

P.S.    My Travel Agent spoke with Oceania and they told her that the earliest time recommended for flying out of Barcelona is 11:00 am.

 

Thank  you in advance for your input.        Nancy

 

 

We were in a similar situation this past summer.  United had moved our flight up to 11:45am.  Everything went like clockwork and we made it with time to spare.  I am sure you realize that not everything always goes like clockwork.  The biggest problems are if the ship gets delayed in docking which can and does happen and the check in line at the airport - especially if your daughter is in economy.  We were in business class and the line was much shorter.  We let Oceania know about the early flight time and they let us disembark in the first group.  We left the ship at about 8:15am and our bags were available.  We had booked transfers with Oceania and the bus left about 8:40am.  If you can be one of the first off the ship a taxi or private company will probably save you time.   Yes, it is about a 30 minute ride to the Barcelona airport.  We got there about 9:15am.  It took us about 30 minutes to check in but again we were in business class.  I don’t know what the wait time would have been if we were in the main cabin.  Barcelona has a fast pass security lane and there was virtually no waiting.   I don’t know what the wait would have been through regular security.  I believe that anyone can buy a pass through the fast pass lane and your daughter should probably do that.  We got to the gate at about 10:30am.

Hope this helps.

David

2 hours ago, Harters said:

Just printed off the boarding pass for our forthcoming Vista cruise from Miami . It's given us an earliest boarding time of 1.30 - 2.00, which was a bit of a surprise as O's website gives 12.00 as the usual boarding time for Concierge Verandas (webpage may be outdated as it only mentions the older ships and nothing for Vista). Check out time from our hotel is 11.00 so my question is two-fold.

 

Firstly, is O flexible about boarding if we were to arrive early (say, coming straight from the hotel and arriving about 11.30)? And, secondly, if no flexibility about boarding, is there anywhere to get a coffee, snack and sit down at Terminal J while we wait till 1.30.

Consider doing what many experienced cruisers do - have a nice leisurely lunch on shore (perhaps authentic Cuban in Little Cuba near the ship) and then a nice leisurely boarding between 1:00pm and 2:00pm.  It sure beats waiting in a cruise terminal and then trying to get lunch at the same time everyone else is.  Just a thought.

David

18 hours ago, teamflames said:

 

Especially interested to know how many expeditions per day you get to do if conditions permit?

 

We were on the Venture in January.  We had seven days on the south side of the Drake passage.  Below is the number of landings/zodiac rides for each day:

Day 1: One zodiac ride.  It should be noted that under ordinary circumstances we might have been off the ship twice that day. But the ship spent time going further south than usual because we had the rare opportunity to see Emperor penguins.  
Day 2: One landing and one zodiac ride.

Day 3: One landing.

Day 4: Two landings.

Day 5: Two zodiac rides.

Day 6: One zodiac ride and the polar plunge.

Day 7:  Two landings.

Don’t judge by the number of landings vs zodiacs.  Some places were better seen by zodiac - especially those that had plentiful icebergs with lots of creatures on them.  Traveling on a zodiac among and between icebergs is an amazing visual and emotional experience.  

On 3/5/2024 at 5:27 PM, Tranquility Base said:

Which objective cruise reviewing sites do you refer to ? 

 

For examples see:

https://www.fodors.com/cruises/lines?active_tab=lines&styles=premium

Premium Cruise Lines (icruise.com)

https://www.farandwide.com/s/best-and-worst-cruise-line-rank-040222c2ca714bf8

20 hours ago, Astride said:

I am perfectly ok with people having different tastes whether it be caviar or cheese, champagne or red wine. What I find ridiculous is that, judging by the number of times I read posts about caviar & champagne on SB, you would think that a lot of people are motivated to embark on a SB cruise due to the offering of caviar & champagne. There are far better reasons to book a SB cruise & I find this obsession annoying.

You are doing it again.  You are saying that you can’t understand why anyone would have different reasons than you do for booking a cruise.  I apologize for repeating myself, but again, how sad 😔 

16 hours ago, Astride said:

I don't understand this obsession with caviar & champagne. Who cares? I'd much prefer a glass of fine red wine with quality cheese than a flute of cheap champagne with fish eggs. The only explanation I can come up with is that the combination has snob appeal.

So what you are saying is that you can’t understand why anyone would have different tastes in food (or maybe anything else) than you do. How sad for you😔 

On 7/6/2023 at 11:42 PM, Tranquility Base said:

I wouldn’t have thought it would be too difficult for someone on the ship to get the ETD info of other ships there on the day and share that with the passengers.

After all, isn’t it those little extra efforts which differentiate a Luxury line from many of the others.

 

That would be true if Oceania were a luxury line.  But it isn’t.  Oceania ads to the contrary, objective cruise reviewing sites list Oceania squarely in the premium category (i.e between mainstream and luxury).  If you sail on luxury lines such as Seabourn, Silversea, and Crystal you will experience the difference.

17 hours ago, mamaclark said:

Since booking I continue to monitor reviews for Oceania and I am staggered by the number of mediocre and downright bad reviews on the food.

I listen to a comedy radio station when I want to unwind and heard a joke that could be applied to the cruisecritic boards:

A group of cruisecritic posters were having lunch at a restaurant.  At the end of the meal the waiter asked them, “Was anything ok?”  I suspect this was funnier when it was told then it is in writing.

3 hours ago, shipsmail said:

We have booked a cruise on the S. Endeavor mid April. But we still cannot see, what hotel is included pre-cruise?

Any experiences, what Hotel Silversea is using?

Perhaps we are on the same Endeavor cruise:  Edinburgh to Portsmouth departing April 20?   SS is using two hotels for the pre-cruise night: the Sheraton and W.  It is curious that when you log into your account the  SS website only shows pictures of the hotels and does not name them.  But I did get an email from my TA about 10 days ago telling me that my wife and I had a room at the Sheraton.  You can ask your TA or call Silversea to find out whether you are booked at the Sheraton or the W.

There is a cruisecritic roll call for our cruise, so feel free to check it out.

David 

I would encourage you to book in advance.  I was on the Venture this summer and did not feel that I had enough information before boarding to make an informed decision about paying for a kayak trip.  They gave us a full lecture about the kayak adventure onboard and it became clear that this was a unique experience.  The problem was by that time almost all of the slots were taken.  I was lucky to grab one of the few remaining times.  I wish they had made a YouTube video that could be seen in advance similar to what was presented on the ship.  It was a great activity and I felt it was worth every penny.

22 hours ago, shepherd really said:

I'm on Marina right now, going from 90 degree heat, down to 31 degrees cold and back up to 90 degrees in a few days, all in temperature controlled comfort.  I also have good vision and can see what the ship looks like, so these observations and claims all come down to, for me;

 

Who am I going to believe, them or my lying eyes?

Why do you feel the need to set up an us vs. them situation?  It can be both.  We experienced that this summer on the Nautica.  Our assigned cabin was unbearably hot and Oceania was nice enough to move us to another cabin.  The second one had working air conditioning and the temperatures were just fine.  Same ship same sailing.  If I had been forced to stay in the first cabin I would have rightfully complained that the cabin was unbearable.  If I had started out in the second cabin I would have said that I had no complaints.  Why can’t both be right?

22 minutes ago, EbonyJ said:

Hi everyone.  Looking for some advice for those of you who have booked flights via Seabourn.  

 

We will be disembarking Seabourn Quest in Montreal and our flight home is at 11pm.  Has anyone had experience of how Seabourn will handle this on the day?  E.g.  Do they use a day room at an airport hotel?  Would there be somewhere to store luggage?    

 

We are trying to work out if we should try and get an earlier flight or if we should make private arrangements to get to the airport and book a private excursion.  

 

Any suggestions or advice most welcome. 

We were in a similar situation in Buenos Aires coming back from the Venture in Antarctica.  Seabourn has chartered a plane from Ushuaia that landed in B.A. at 1:00pm.  Seabourn took those of us who had late night flights and had booked air through Seabourn out to dinner at a very nice restaurant.  They got us back to the airport at 5:00pm.  Of course I do not know if my situation applies to your Montreal disembarkation but it does show that in at least some situations Seabourn makes provisions for late departures for those who booked at through the cruise line.  To know for sure you may want to ask your TA to check with Seabourn.

23 hours ago, markandjie said:

 

If spa services are important to you then I would recommend pre-booking them. Worst case scenario you will have to change or cancel them, but at least you have the slot. The expedition team will also work with you to put you in a different color group if your original group conflicts with your appointment, assuming your appoint will not start or will conclude with enough time to make it work.

 

 

I definitely wasn't clear, as that's not my point at all. In fact it's the exact opposite. My issue is that the ship (specifically Hotel and F&B) IS on a specific schedule and they are not always sufficiently flexible (or perhaps do not appear to be) to accommodate expedition activities.

 

Case in point: we had a hosted dinner the same night as the polar plunge. Due to the impressive volume of passengers who took the leap the briefing for that evening was delayed. We attended the briefing and then when we arrived at dinner we learned the officers and some guests had been waiting for us (and others) for 30 minutes because they did not move back the group dinner time to accommodate the change in briefing time.

I guess my original statement still stands.  Things changed and you had to decide between the polar plunge and a hosted dinner.  That happens on expedition cruises.   I signed up for kayaking on the Venture and then they announced that morning that there would be a special champagne celebration on the zodiacs at the same time.   So I had to choose between the kayaking and the zodiac (I chose the kayak).  It was no big deal.  It would have been unrealistic and privileged of me to expect the ship to change the time of either activity so that I could do both.  So my point stands:  Expedition cruising requires the willingness to be flexible.

57 minutes ago, markandjie said:

This is one of my biggest frustrations with the Seabourn Ventures product...the ship operates on its own rhythm without much regard for the timing of Ventures activities. That means at times that you'll miss breakfast or lunch because of the timing of your zodiac ride, for example. Or that there's little advanced information on when you can/should book spa appointments to avoid conflicting with an excursion. Where they do accommodate and offer an earlier breakfast or later lunch it always feels like a last minute heroic adjustment rather than, you know, the thing they should have done in the first place. Hoping this changes, because otherwise it's a fantastic experience.

That is the nature of expedition cruising regardless of the cruise line.  If having everything on a specific schedule is important to you (and it is to many people), then expedition cruising may not be for you.

19 hours ago, CTCruiser76 said:

A little background, we are in our upper 40’s and have been loyal to Royal/Celebrity cruisers for a number of years, but based on recent cruise experiences, we are ‘looking around’ at other cruise lines for summer 2025.

We would like to go to Bermuda, but due to work obligations, we cannot go until June or after. While searching other lines, I found Oceania travels to Bermuda in July of 2025.

 

The O ship that travels to Bermuda is the Insignia. It holds around 670 passengers which seems VERY small from what we are used too. We are concerned that this ship will be very boring for us, even though we are not ‘party animals’ by any means. Also, the room sizes seem very small. We tend to spend a lot of time in our room/balcony reading and relaxing and the concierge class staterooms are around 200 sqft with a very small bathroom and shower.

 

We are considering a PH room, but its 3k more than the deal we can get on the Concierge level room. We are not sure if the room size justifies the 3k upcharge?

 

Current O line cruisers, can you help us decide if we should take a chance on this small ship and get out of our ‘comfort zone’?

 

Tell us why O and its small ship experience is superior to the larger mainstream cruise ships. 

 

Thanks!!

It is a quieter experience and that quietude is valued by those on board.  So if you value non-stop entertainment then an Oceania R class ship is not for you.  Here is my handy-dandy (absurdly reductionist) test:  Can you thoroughly enjoy sitting within 15 feet of and listening to a string quartet?  If the answer is no, that may also indicate that an Oceania R ship is not for you.  But if the answer is yes, why not give it a try? That is really the only way you are going to find out and it may expand your travel horizons. 

If I needed four cabins I would not book a cruise waitlisted.  I would pick a cruise where I had secured specific cabins.  Booking four cabins waitlist means you have to play the odds and so have to ask yourself:  Do you feel lucky?  I would not want that kind of anxiety and I would not want to have to deal with being told close to boarding that one or more of the cabins were not available.  Sure, you or your TA can call and get an idea of where you are on the list. But it is no guarantee since others with preferential status may sign up after you do (i.e. it is not necessarily first come, first served).  
 

In summary:  Why create this level of anxiety and uncertainty?  Since there are so many cruise lines and cruises out there, why not find one you like that has four cabins available at your price point?

23 hours ago, JPH814 said:

Regarding number 1: Yes, you can ask your steward once on board.  But on check in day the stewards are busy and have many duties to perform.  That is why Seabourn provides a very simple checklist on the website where you have to register before your cruise.  You can tell them what kind of liquor, wine, soft drinks whatever you prefer and it will be stocked before you arrival.  Do the crew and fellow passengers a favor and use this simple option

As with others I could never find this on the website when I took a cruise on the Venture last month.  My steward asked us what libations we wanted stocked during his first contact.  I asked for Jameson and felt a little guilty when he provided a 750 liter bottle. I just wanted a few drinks and there was no way I was going to drink anywhere near that much in 12 days.  I probably should have just ordered from one of the bars when I wanted a drink.

8 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

The South Island is more picturesque.

With the understanding that my three week tour did not go everywhere, I would agree that the South Island is more picturesque and I would spend most of my time there.  From my experience, the major reason I would go to the North Island is to visit Rotorua.  The Māori culture is more prevalent on the North island and Rotorua gives you a chance to have an immersive experience with this fascinating indigenous people.  Rotorua also has huge bubbling mud pits to see (and smell ☺️).  I would say Rotorua was a highlight of our NZ trip but I would also say that about every other place we visited.  What an incredible country.

PS:  As an older person, I appreciated that NZ has free public bathrooms everywhere.  There is never a problem finding one. They are well maintained, and some even sing to you!

5 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Very helpful.   The time of year may be the overriding factor for us and its good to hear the positive comments on #2.

 

Thanks Woodrowst, my initial thought was to do a land based trip to both Australia and New Zealand.  Its just too many stops and geographical distance for our taste.  Thats just our own perference.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

I certainly respect your decision.  Let me say just one more thing and then I will be quiet.  In terms of stops and geographic distance in a land tour of NZ:  New Zealand was the one and only place I did not mind driving between stops.  The scenery is so magnificent that I could spend two hours just staring outside the window.  I have never said that about any other place I have visited.