JoePDX

Hi All - We are learning to cook, clean and make our own beds. It is tough. 🙂 Here are the details on the private guides I used on this trip. All were excellent and I would use any of them again with no hesitation. I choose not to list the prices I negotiated as many of these tours were arranged while COVID was still impacting travel and prices were reflecting such. That said, any of these guides will provide you a better tour experience, with a small group (I try for 6-8 people), for a fraction of what Oceania is charging. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain - Tour included Mt. Teide and a walking tour of La Laguna. Lunch at a restaurant that only a guide could find. Name: Cristo Email: Touringcanarias@gmail.comPhone: +34 618449896 Website: www.touringcanarias.com Portimao, Portugal - Tour included visit to Cape St. Vincent (Land's End), Ponta da Piedade and Lagos. Name: Rosemary (Rosa) de Sa Email: info@precious-time.pt Phone: +351 917 217 778 Website: www.precious-time.pt Tangier, Morocco - Tour of the Medina, Kasbah, Drive through modern part of Tangier ending at the coast where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet. Had a driver. A guide who knows how to do things the opposite of the way the cruise ship tours - to beat the crowds. We had the Medina/Kasbah nearly to ourselves. There were three ships in port the day we were there. Achraf Abdeddaim Email: info@tangier-privateguide.com Phone: +212 6 68 90 75 39 Website: www.tangier-privateguide.com All three are on www.toursbylocals as well, but I am listing their personal company information instead. Joe

Just off Sirena. We had a flyer of these discounted cruises sent to our stateroom twice at turndown. There were some amazing deals on there. Unfortunately, we have our plans already tied down for the rest of 2023. It appears you have to call your agent to get the actual price - as these are not the prices I remember from the flyer on the O website. Wish I had kept the flyer with the actual prices.... Example - 20 night Singapore to Dubai and 20 night Dubai to Barcelona For a Deluxe Oceanview these two cruises were listed at around $3000 per person for each leg. Something I would have jumped on in a heartbeat if I had the vacation time (or I was retired).... Joe

Highly recommend 925 Nuevos Cubanos. Joe

Exciting! That trip or the reverse is on our bucket list. 😊 Joe

Hi @commanders - Always fun to arrange the excursions. And to meet people like both of you. Would you email me the group photos that you had taken. 😃 As for Big-O redemption - a couple polos, a t-shirt, luggage tag and a Claudine Pepin cookbook. We enjoyed Melilla too, I was able to get three pair of Adidas, so that may have been part of the luggage stuffing problem. 😂🤣😂 Joe

According to the person we talked to you just ask them. I am sure they may have a protocol to go through. Can be one or the whole cast. We probably would have done two at a time. Joe

Happy to share the name. It is Mur-de-Barrez, a medieval village that is a former holding of the Grimaldi family in Monaco. Located in the Aveyron region which is nearly unknown to North Americans. But stunningly beautiful. Market Day is every Thursday, year round. The hills of Aveyron. Our village is at about 950 meters above sea level. Joe

Reservation not invitation. 😂🤣😂

Hi @marne-c - I am glad you enjoyed the thread. I have a lot of fun putting it together. 😊 We will likely be on Celebrity Silhouette in April 2024 as we want to end in Amsterdam to spend time with a friend and then do a road trip down to our little French village. But you never know…. 😎 Just looked at your itinerary. A lovely mix. I have great guides to recommend for Tenerife and Portimao. Keep following this thread, I will post the details, but may not get to it until after we return to Portland on April 22. Joe

Hi @ToxM We agree fully. It is a happy little ship. 🥰 Joe

We just got off Sirena yesterday. I bought Rye Whiskey in two different ports and brought back on board with no questions whatsoever. Joe

Well, all good things must come to an end. An amazing 21 nights on Sirena. Sirena docked at the World Trade Center just about 7 am. One of the bonuses of our small ship. Signal flags were raised….always a special sight for me. Jeff and I boarded the R5 (now Nautica) at the World Trade Center in March 2001 for our first cruise and what we thought may be our only trip to Europe. Instead it sparked our lust for travel, and here 22 years later we have 50 plus countries on our visited list and now 192 days at sea. 64 more days at sea already booked for the future. We are thankful every day to be able to travel, see so many incredible places and meet such interesting people. Somehow our luggage required more stuffing, despite only meager purchases and our Big O winnings. But I made it fit and had them in the hallway just past 10 pm. Our two duffles are 19 years old and have circled the globe a few times. Final breakfast in Terrace Cafe, an excellent Sticky Bun, more goodbyes. We requested disembarkation at 8:15 am, they called our color at 8:05. We stepped off the ship, being a Aruba embarked passenger we had to go through immigration, which was no line and quick. Our luggage was the only ones in our color/number so easy to find, porter loaded it up and out to the curb. Our driver was there and we were on our way to the airport by 8:25 am to get our rental car. On the road by 9:30 to our little French Village where we will spend 10 nights. Dinner in honor of Jeff’s retirement at the home of our friends Laura and Aleksey. They were the trailblazers who prompted us to buy here as well. Our time on Sirena lived up to our expectations. Was it perfect….no, but pretty darn close. The crew was amazing. The food overall top notch, and they did finally get the Sticky Buns yummy. The production staff was really talented and so nice to get to know them. One thing we learned right before we disembarked. Guests are allowed to host the production team members for dinner in the GDR. Wish we had known sooner as we would have loved to do that. Some special memories: 1. Our trivia team on the first leg. We really enjoyed everyone and we really came together as a team. 2. Oceania Country Fair. Just a fun event for passengers and crew. 3. We were invited to dinner with Executive Concierge Juan Carlos and Food & Beverage Director Miahi in Red Ginger. A really enjoyable dinner and a lasting memory and new friends. 4. Lecturer on first leg photographer Benedict Brain. He 8moarted so much knowledge. I will never look at a potato again without wanting to photograph it, Www.Benedictbrain.com 5. Some really special crew…Rosa, Rosa, Itsak, Mani, Ivan, Geraldine. Mani in particular, We found him after only a few nights on board. After that he was requested every night (and also on GDR lunch days). He remembered what we liked. He also made suggestions…like that we could have sautéed spinach or asparagus every night. And of course all the great places we visited. Thanks for following along. Joe

Speaking of Delta. During COVID they dropped their change fees permanently for all tickets except basic economy. You pay the difference in ticket price (or get a e-credit if less) for any changes. I had a routing with a long layover in AMS and found a routing with a more agreeable layover, called and change was made, cost $30 per ticket or so for the fare difference. Previously this change would have been $200-$250 per ticket plus the difference in fare. I too am obsessive about our travel plans - so there are no surprises! And to travel as economically as possible. That is not to say cheap hotels… For us using Oceania air is never economical. Portland is not a gateway city for Oceania so once you add the $199 non gateway fee, plus the deviation fee I can always do better on my own, often saving $100s. And most important I am fully in charge. My planning regimen: 1. As soon as air routes are available, generally 330 days in advance, I start checking fares and routings. I use Kayak and Google Flights in addition to airline websites. We fly almost exclusively Delta, so I also check Air France and KLM for code shares. Kayak and Google Flights are good at finding these. I have found it is often less to fly on a KLM or Air France code share than on a Delta flight number, or a mix and match. And I still get my full Delta Skymiles benefits (I am Platinum). I do this to start understanding where fares are and the fluctuations. 2. I book once the fare gets to a level I like based on my research. I also book when the seat maps starts filling up the two person seating combos. Delta flys a lot of 767 and A330 planes which are a 2-X-2 seating configuration. So nice not to share a row with a stranger on a long flight. 3. Once booked I check reservations at least weekly for any flight changes or for any seating changes. Often flight changes result in seating changes that are not my optimal choice. I also check for upgrades. Have been able to get upgrades to Delta One for $500-$600 per person, although becoming rarer. 4. I do similar steps for Hotel and car rental. For hotels I will book a refundable reservation as a placeholder at the property I want. Then watch rates and when I know we are definitely going and the rate is good then I will book the non refundable option, which is usually less and cancel the refundable reservation. Booking directly with the Hotel may get you included breakfast, which can be expensive in Europe. But it is not always less on the hotels website, so check Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline, etc. too. 5. Car rental rates can be very volatile. We currently have a 10 day rental that we picked up in Barcelona yesterday. When I first booked it last fall I had a compact car reserved for around 1000€. Over time I moved us up to a small SUV and the final rate at about 460€. I use Hertz almost exclusively for its ties to Delta Skymiles. Most rental companies offer a prepaid option for less. Only do this if you know you are going….as generally it is non refundable or with a stiff penalty and no refund if you return the car early. I will do this at the last minute if the savings is significant. The prepaid option generally disappears a week to 10 days before the pick up date. Joe

I didn’t know of any. And no mention or rumors among the many people we have met onboard. Did see medical staff all suited up returning from disembarking a passenger in Lisbon. A couple days after Lisbon a few announcements about hand washing and using the Purell stations. Saw enhanced cleaning of the hallway and stairway rails. Also two bottles of Purell were left on the bed at turn down one night. But no regular reminders after that one day. Salt and pepper shakers remained on all tables in GDR and Terrace Cafe. Joe

Our last port of call was Ibiza, Spain. A quick shuttle into town and a wander about. Cute town with lots of shops and restaurants. After an hour and a half, headed back to the ship to get the packing done. A nice final meal in the Grand Dining Room with our favorite waiter Mani providing expert service. Many goodbyes to crew and guests. We are lucky to be able to travel and have such incredible experiences and meet so many interesting people. ❤️ Tomorrow we say goodbye to Sirena until the next time. By the evening we will be greeting our friends in our little French Village 🇫🇷 where we will stay for 10 nights before heading back home where I still have to work. Joe

Hi @DeanoNorthPerth A fiery orange. Orange is my favorite color. 😊 I wish you as a great a journey as we have had on Sirena. The crew is just wonderful. If you need anything Executive Concierge Juan Carlos Cortes is charming and helpful in every way. We had dinner with him last evening. Some special crew Mani in the GDR (we have requested his section nearly every night), sommeliers Geraldine and Rosa, Head waiter Ivan, Maitre D Maria in Red Ginger. And so many more. The production cast is very talented. We have thoroughly enjoyed all of their shows. And they are very visible around the ship - it has been nice to get to know them. Have a great time. Joe

Today we are in Melilla, Spain. Despite the concerns from the Captain about last nights voyage, it was really quite smooth. Winds where strong, but seas very agreeable. We passed by the Rock of Gibraltar while we were having dinner. The staff in Red Ginger brought me a birthday cake and regaled me with song. Very nice day. Melilla is a charming city of about 85,000. Largest concentration of modernist buildings in Spain outside of Barcelona. A protege of Gaudi moved here in 1909 and receives most of the credit. Lucked out finally….I got two new pair of Adidas and Jeff got one. The selection and prices of Adidas are so much better in Europe, but up to now I had been foiled. We depart at 3:00 pm for Ibiza, Spain arriving tomorrow at 1:00 pm. No more time changes! 🎉🎉🎉. Ibiza is also our last port before we disembark on Monday in Barcelona. What a trip it has been! 🇪🇸 🛳️⚓️

Currently on Sirena. Easter display was set up today. The ship has programming from EWTN including the Pope’s Easter Service available on TV. Joe

A Passover Seder was also held here on Sirena in Terrace Cafe. Was by reservation only.

Salaam alykum from Tangier, Morocco. We are sharing the port today with Zuiderdam and Silver Dawn. Since we left Aruba on March 20th we have seen Silver Dawn four times. We were about 30 minutes late docking due to port traffic. We explored the Medina and Casbah with a guide today. So much history. Since it is Ramadan the Medina was very quiet until after lunch when residents were out in the area making purchases for their late evening meal. A great lunch of tagine and cous cous for us. After exploring the Medina we headed to the coast to see where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean after it dumps out of the Strait of Gibraltar. Captain has informed us we will have a bumpy ride tonight with winds at 30+ mph and waves at 8.5 feet. We had similar last night as we crossed from Seville. Today is my last birthday of my 50’s. We will celebrate in Red Ginger. 😊🎉🛳️ Tomorrow is Melilla, Spain in Spanish Morocco. P.S. Great sticky buns again today. 🎉

This is Holy Week so each afternoon there are processions through the historic center. They draw lots and lots of people. As I made my way back toward the shuttle bus location this afternoon I kept running into processions. In the narrow streets you just can’t get through, so I just kept skirting in the general direction of where I needed to be. Added 30+ minutes to my walk, but I can’t say it wasn’t helpful having been on the ship for nearly three weeks. 😊 Photos below: Candle wax drips on the street from the processions. A procession about to start. A quick lunch for the food hall at El Corte Ingles. VIP seats near the Cathedral. Sirena departs at 8:00 pm tonight for the trip back down the river and then over to Tangier, Morocco. We turn our clocks back 2 hours tonight. I know we will lose them again! 😳 Joe

Correction in by post above…Azamara Onward, not Quest. Joe

A great start to the day. For the third day in a row, the Sticky Buns have been excellent! 😊🎉😊 Second day here in Seville. Taking shuttle into historic center and just wandering. Azamara Quest just arrived. The former R3 and R4 sisters reunited. 🛳️ Joe

Hey Robin - Thank you for sharing this. So nice to meet you - sorry we didn’t have a chance to say so long…. We both hope our paths will cross again! 😊 JnJ

I witnessed the same review of fresh produce coming on board Sirena while we were in Lisbon. the show is Mighty Cruise Shios. 😊🛳️⚓️ Joe