Cape Hernlopen

I greatly enjoyed the HS ice cream offerings on Regatta and Insignia in 2023. My (personal) favorites were Regatta Royale, Meyer Lemon, Coffee (Costa Rican), and Chocolate Grenadine. When those flavors were offered, I had two scoops at lunch and the following day two scoops at the ice cream center near Waves Grill. I look forward to enjoying all the HS flavors on two upcoming cruises. Oceania do not mess with the HS ice cream! Joel Barry

Dear Susiesan: In November 2022 we cruised to Australia on Regatta beginning in Tahiti and visited two other "Tahitian" islands and then went on to Samoa and Figi. The staff, service and food were outstanding as were the port visits. We did snorkeling (own equipment) twice on our own and were generally pleased. In Tahiti we tendered into the ports except for Papeete. Since the cruise was during Covid we only had 195 passengers! Not a true comparison to your possible trips but some recent input on a sister ship. Joel Barry

Dear "K": On our last trip on Marina (February 2020) we never had to wait more than 5 mins. for a table for two in the 7:00 pm time frame in the MDR. We almost always were given a window location. No chaos whatsoever! We have two cruises booked on Marina for 2024 after the refurbishment. Joel Barry

Last summer we were on the Bangkok to Tokyo portion of the "around the world" cruise on Insignia. Overall the cruise and the port visits were excellent. The staff, food and service were exemplary. We did a combination of Oceania tours, independent tours and out and about on our own tours ( two very late 70's adventurers). We enjoyed all of our experiences. The Oceania tours were somewhat expensive but in some ports the only good option for our interests. Only in the port of Hiroshima did we suffer a shortened port visit and that was due to a mechanical problem the prior day that effected our departure by 3+ hours. We spent four days in Tokyo at the completion of the tour as well four days in Bangkok prior to the cruise. I highly recommend three or four days in Tokyo. Joel Barry

I have enjoyed your posts. We will be on Marina on the reverse cruise next December. The HS ice creams in general are very good. My personal favorites are Regatta Royale, Meyer Lemon and Coffee with White Chocolate Lavender, a close fourth. Have a safe trip home. Joel Barry

One night in Denali is not enough time. The train ride will be nice but you will arrive in the afternoon and leave the next morning. Joel Barry

I have been on two Oceania cruises that offered HS ice cream in the Terrace Cafe, Waves Grill area and often in the Main Dining and/or specialty restaurants. The ice cream is a premium product based on ingredients and butterfat content. Several of the flavors are outstanding while most others are good. Some flavor combinations are unusual but worth trying and may not been everyone's choice. I hope that Oceania continues to offer HS ice cream and adds additional flavors and perhaps even offer more than one flavor per day. Joel Barry

We were on Insignia in June 2023 and concur with the comments regarding the food, Head Chef, General Manager and Dottie, the CD. A special thanks to Lorenzo the Terrace Cafe Manager and head person in Polo Grill. He is the warmest and most caring person and always provides unequaled hospitality. His response is always " My pleasure". We were lucky to meet him on Regatta in early 2023 and then again on Insignia in June 2023. Joel Barry

Dear R17: We were on the Bangkok to Tokyo cruise in June 2023. Prior to the cruise several port times were reduced but nothing drastic (maximum of one hour). During the cruise we had only one port time reduced because of problem with "no power to the elevators". It took three plus hours to rectify the problem, but we made up some of the time in transit and only had a two-hour shorter stay in Hiroshima. Joel Barry

Pinotlover: Your sarcasm and "nasty" undertone are not appreciated. I have noticed your type of response on other occasions, and I surmise that you are pleased with your actions. Have a Happy New Year. Joel Barry

We usually book a veranda cabin. We have always been able to drop off our carry on bag and put our passports and valuables in our cabin safe by noon\ or shortly thereafter. We would always ask our room attendant and they always welcomed us. Joel Barry

Thank you to everyone who responded to my question. Joel Barry

We have not been on HAL since before Covid struck. We recently booked an Alaskan cruise plus three days in Denali. Previously we enjoyed the Mariner's Brunch during past voyages. Does HAL still offer the Brunch on a seaday and do they still provide the "ship tile" as a souvenir? Joel Barry

In response to your questions regarding Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kyoto tours I will give you my recent Oceania experience (June 2023). At the end of our tour we spent 3+ days in Tokyo without a private guide using taxis and the subway and visited every site on our list with ease. In Hiroshima we took the Oceania shuttle to the downtown drop-off and toured the Atomic Bomb sites, Hiroshima Castle and Hiroshima Art Museum. In Kyoto I highly recommend that you hire a private guide and visit the three or four sites of your choice. Remember that the Oceania ship will most probably dock in Kobe which is 90+ mins from Kyoto. As an added attraction if you spend two days in the area both Kobe and Osaka are wonderful destinations. Joel Barry

Dear U.K.V.: I wasn't questioning the veracity of your report but rather the inconsistent and sometimes contradictory statements from official Oceania sources. As the old rock and roll trope states: "believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see". Joel Barry

We were on Marina in Feb 2020 just before Covid struck and were pleased with the cruise and the ship. Our only complaint related to the bathroom design and layout (Veranda level). Based on our previous experience and the temptation of the proposed refit similar to Riveria we booked two cruises on Marina. The current reporting on "no change to the bathrooms" on veranda level leaves us feeling somewhat misled and taken advantage of! Let's hope that the reporting proves to be incorrect, however, hope is not a strategy! Joel Barry

I am very pleased to report that Oceania honored the "Black Friday" sale price on our Lima to Buenos Aires cruise (Dec 24-Jan 25) resulting in a $2400 savings. I know that there has been a great deal of negative comments regarding "customer service" from Oceania but I am a satisfied customer. FYI all of the "Black Friday" eligible cruises with pricing is available on the website. Joel Barry

We booked the Lima to Buenos Aires cruise on Marina (December 2024) while on board Insignia in June. Our B-4 is now listed at $1,000 pp less with availability. I will check with our TA tomorrow to see if Oceania will honor the reduction in price. I will follow up with a post on my experience. Joel Barry

Dear "T": We were in Nha Trang on Insignia in June 2023. The dock is close to town and there was as a free shuttle from Oceania. We took a taxi from the port to the Po Nagar Tower and Temple Complex. It was a wonderful experience with several artisans on site and quite areas for contemplation as well as the Temples.. We then took a taxi to the National Public Market and walked along a very attractive beach promenade in downtown. The people were friendly, and everyone was happy to accept U.S. dollars including for admissions at Po Nagar. It was a very enjoyable half day. It was very hot!

Dear CM: We sailed on the Regatta in May-June 2022 from Papeete to Darwin. We stayed in Papeete-Moorea for three days prior to the cruise. It was vey warm but still pleasant and we greatly enjoyed both our pre cruise and cruise. It was very hot all the way to Darwin but the service, crew, passengers sights/seadays were wonderful. It did not get "cool" and comfortable temperature/humidity wise until we reached Sydney (via plane). Joel Barry

Dear SPS: We were on the Regatta for 21 days Oct-Nov 2022 and ate in the polo Grill three times. My wife and I have a mixed marriage-- she only eats meat and chicken and I only eat fish as a protein. The sole and swordfish were excellent (lobster is also available) and she loved the chops and steak. The service and appetizers/desserts were excellent. Joel Barry

We sailed on Insignia May-June 2023 and we were pleased with the experience. This was our fifth Oceania cruise and we booked two more while on board. The service was excellent, food was very good especially in Toscana and Polo Grill. Breakfast and lunch in the Terrace Cafe and Waves was generally good with a few misses. Main dining room service was excellent but food was subpar on several occasions but was promptly replaced with numerous apologies. HS ice cream was superb! Entertainment was O. K. but not memorable except for the Geisha show which was fabulous. We did a mixture of ship tours, private tours and self-tours. The ship tours ranged from excellent to a waste of money. The only major negative was our loss of power while in port that required a 3+hour extended stay and reduced port time in our next stop by 3 hours. Overall we gave the cruise a B+ scoring. Joel Barry

Dear TM: There is not much to do on Ishigaki. We walked around the town and took a cab (hard to find one) to a small Shinto Shrine and walked along a beach. We were back on the ship for lunch! Joel Barry

Dear TM: We visited seven Japanese ports on our June tour from Bangkok to Tokyo (on Insignia) and never had any problems with Japanese immigration authorities. We stopped in Ishigaki on a Viking cruise in 2018 without any problems. There is not much to do or see in Ishigaki. Joel Barry

Dear KL: We were on the Rio to BA cruise on Marina in 2020 just prior to Covid shutdown. We enjoyed the cruise especially the service and dining experiences on Marina. Several of the port visits were very low key but still enjoyable. We have two additional cruises booked on Marina for 2024 with one in South America. We did not take the Iguazu Falls option but spent an extra three nights in BA during Carnival. Joel Barry