globevest

here's what i've learned traveling.....on ATW especially....i made Mr. Wonderful stop, we put our arms around each other and we just took in where we were.

 

I call it "having a moment" because sometimes we got caught up in trying to see everything, and forgot to just breathe and look around.

 

You could look at people's faces and see how stressed they were. Several couples smiled at us and then I explained....and they began to do the same.

 

So we've had moments at the top of part of the Great Wall, looking at the Taj, Angkor Wat, sailing along, etc.

 

To Joe and Jeff, getting off ship and going to Lyon and breathing.....well done!!!

cbb.....very good advice. Thank you. Barry

Yes, really. We've been regular vacationers there for 30 years. It's not just a matter of physical beauty, although the South Shore beaches such as Horseshoe Bay are comparable to the best beaches anywhere. The atmosphere on the island is relaxing, although admittedly not as much as it was years ago. There's a unique vibe mixture of old school British with Caribbean-type cultures.

I am with you. We are there in September.

IMO Great time of the year for your cruise. We have done the same on the reverse in Oct.. Venice is a lovely port. Enjoy

+1

An excellent cruise and Rome and Venice are great starting and finishing ports.

We have cruised on Summit each of the last three years. We choose Aqua class. We have cruised on Insignia twice and will be sailing on her again in August this year on a Bermuda/Canada cruise out of NY. We are in a PH3 as on previous cruises. We enjoy Celebrity but Oceania is our favorite cruise line.

Overall the food and ambience on Insignia is significantly better than Summit particularly comparing the Main Dining rooms and the Buffets. Specialty restaurants are normally very good on both lines however Celebrity charge an upfront fee (quite significant IMO), on Oceania no upfront extra fees.

We find 'life' is more relaxed on Oceania

Hope you enjoy your cruise whichever you choose.

Great deal. Good for you. Enjoy

Food. Very interesting. Thank you.

Thank you for your review. I enjoyed reading it.

We have had the same experience with the 50/60% full specialty restaurants. The one hour spread between dining times dictates the occupancy.

Noggins....thank you for posting. We are looking forward to Cuba.

Thank you for a well written and informative revie.

I so enjoyed his posts. RIP Don.

Thank you for posting. Will look for your full review. We are considering this cruise.

Good news. Thank you for posting.

+1

Also, don't forget the country club casual dress code and the great choices and quality of food (also included by OP) :D

Definitely. Without doubt.

Thank you for posting an interesting and comprehensive review. 'O' is a good fit for us for one of the reasons you identified.....I do not drink alcohol and my DW only a small amount. My drink before dinner is a virgin mary and not surprisingly is easily remembered in the restaurants and bars....lol

Every time I see that skyline it reminds me of the cruises we have taken from Miami sitting outside on the Terrace Café having lunch after checking in. I get all calm and happy just thinking about it.

Enjoy your cruise..we will be following along.

It has probably been 2 years since our last X cruise. Have been doing Royal lately just because of itineary, but I really don't like Royal for a number of reasons. Thus we are trying O next week. DH is planning on bringing a sport jacket, I'm not sure why, probably because were not flying so luggage space in not an issue. Will he "out of place" with a jacket?

I usually wear a jacket in the specialty restaurants. My experience is that about 40% of men wear jackets in European cruises in the specialties and less in the Caribbean.

I have seen very few jackets in the Terrace Café and a small number in the MDR. He will not be out of place anywhere if he does not wear a jacket.. Enjoy your cruise.

On Sunday I was told to leave, Great Cruise though.................

Here is the trick for getting out of being kicked off...

b2b2b2b2b.....:rolleyes:

Thank you for the review Paul...we are considering a Crystal cruise next year.

Any comments about the entertainment/shows? Thank you

Do you know if Aqua class can eat in main dining room on embarkation? sounds so much better than buffet!

We were on Summit Aqua in Dec and sorry no we were not allowed in the main dining room. We had a reasonable lunch at the Aqua Spa Café.

Forgot to mention...all non alcoholic drinks are included on Oceania.

Are drinks included on Oceania?

The normal published Oceania pricing includes air flights. You get a credit if you chose to arrange your own travel flights.

Drinks are not normally included but for some time now they have had a Special Offer on most cruises which includes internet plus a choice one of:- free shore excursions.... standard drinks package.....or an OBC of $300/$400 depending on the cruise. The Special Offer is a bit like the Perks packages that Celebrity offers....but Oceania provides the Special Offer at no charge.

Does anyone know where i find out who the captain will be on my upcoming cruise on the Summit February 27th... I was hoping it is Captain Kate but would like to see if there's a schedule or place to find this out. Thanks in advance.

Maryjo

My DW and I were on Summit 2 to 10th Dec 16. Captain Kate and her husband (who is a chief engineer with RCCL as mentioned above) left the Summit together on 10 Dec for vacation. We caught the same flight as they did from San Juan to Miami. I asked Captain Kate when she would be back on Summit and she said 'after 3 months leave". I don't know how precise she was in her comment but I interpreted it to be a mid March return.

Very informative review. Thank you for taking the time.

Just back from the holiday cruise...Just a real disappointment after the T/A when the food had been better in "Blu"!!! LuAnn

LuAnn sorry that Blu did not meet its usual standard. Connie and I did a Summit cruise in Dec and for the first time Blu did not meet our expectations....in our case it was not the food, it was the service. Four out of the seven days we were onboard we had to wait 30 to 45 minutes for a table. Very unusual and has never happened to us before. Other pax were making the same comment.

The waiting did not affect our overall enjoyment but it was a noticeable difference from our past experience.