Please join us - Spain to the New World on a new ship - LIVE from Oceania Riviera

Just setting this up for a live thread as we get ready to go to Bilbao & Madrid (by land) before we arrive in Barcelona and board the Oceania Riviera to see more of Spain & cross the Atlantic for Miami.

As a bit of a background, we are Jacqui & Jose from Canada & have cruised a fair bit in our time. Our favourite line is HAL (5*) and we love the smaller ships so we thought Oceania would be a good fit.

This is our FIRST cruise on Oceania (why I said new ship in the title) and although we felt like ducks out of water, the kindness and patience of this board have given me the confidence to "swim".

Since Bilbao is a cruise port, if you like, I would be happy to post some pics and/or review of it (internet permitting) and even Madrid if it is of interest.

We are looking forward to arriving in Barcelona, meeting up with a number of our roll call & boarding O for the first time.

Many thanks to all of you who have been so helpful to us on our first O cruise. We really appreciate it :)

I have invited our roll call to join in on this live thread and I hope they do so it is not too subjective :)

Back to packing :)

Wishing all of you a fantastic trip and look forward to living it vicariously!

Just setting this up for a live thread as we get ready to go to Bilbao & Madrid (by land) before we arrive in Barcelona and board the Oceania Riviera to see more of Spain & cross the Atlantic for Miami.

 

As a bit of a background, we are Jacqui & Jose from Canada & have cruised a fair bit in our time. Our favourite line is HAL (5*) and we love the smaller ships so we thought Oceania would be a good fit.

 

This is our FIRST cruise on Oceania (why I said new ship in the title) and although we felt like ducks out of water, the kindness and patience of this board have given me the confidence to "swim".

 

Since Bilbao is a cruise port, if you like, I would be happy to post some pics and/or review of it (internet permitting) and even Madrid if it is of interest.

 

We are looking forward to arriving in Barcelona, meeting up with a number of our roll call & boarding O for the first time.

 

Many thanks to all of you who have been so helpful to us on our first O cruise. We really appreciate it :)

 

I have invited our roll call to join in on this live thread and I hope they do so it is not too subjective :)

 

Back to packing :)

Looking forward to your reports. Have a wonderful cruise!!!

Following along. yay!

Can't wait to read your reports! Happy cruising.

Looking forward to reading this when I get a chance over the next few weeks. We too are leaving for Spain (land trip) in a half hour...perhaps I'll stumble across some of the Riviera TA'ers in the next few weeks. We're mostly in Andalusia and ending with a bit of Madrid.

Have a great cruise!!!:)

Great, have a super and safe trip.

since we can't cruise for another year or so......it's always fun and enjoyable to read what others are doing. Looking forward to the pics!

Rick

Looking forward to reading this when I get a chance over the next few weeks. We too are leaving for Spain (land trip) in a half hour...perhaps I'll stumble across some of the Riviera TA'ers in the next few weeks. We're mostly in Andalusia and ending with a bit of Madrid.

 

Have a great cruise!!!:)

We are in Madrid from Nov. 13-16th.

LOVE Andalusia. Spain is no stranger to us :) But we haven't been to the North of Spain so the combination of a land trip and a cruise to get home seemed perfect.

Thanks so much for the invitation to tag along. I promise I won't take up much room in your suitcase!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Gerry

Thanks so much for the invitation to tag along. I promise I won't take up much room in your suitcase!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Gerry

LOL Gerry - there is NO room in my suitcases - sorry :p

Still laughing at that one :):D

Looking forward to your trip report since we are also first time Oceania cruisers going on the Riviera in June. Have a safe trip!:)

Just setting this up for a live thread as we get ready to go to Bilbao & Madrid (by land) before we arrive in Barcelona and board the Oceania Riviera to see more of Spain & cross the Atlantic for Miami.

 

As a bit of a background, we are Jacqui & Jose from Canada & have cruised a fair bit in our time. Our favourite line is HAL (5*) and we love the smaller ships so we thought Oceania would be a good fit.

 

This is our FIRST cruise on Oceania (why I said new ship in the title) and although we felt like ducks out of water, the kindness and patience of this board have given me the confidence to "swim".

 

Since Bilbao is a cruise port, if you like, I would be happy to post some pics and/or review of it (internet permitting) and even Madrid if it is of interest.

 

We are looking forward to arriving in Barcelona, meeting up with a number of our roll call & boarding O for the first time.

 

Many thanks to all of you who have been so helpful to us on our first O cruise. We really appreciate it :)

 

I have invited our roll call to join in on this live thread and I hope they do so it is not too subjective :)

 

Back to packing :)

Thanks so much for doing this. I have cruised twice on HAL and done two ta's on Oceania (the older smaller ships) so am interested in your comparison.

We have done a six week DIY land tour of Spain & Portugal so am also interested in your report from Bilbao, Madrid, and Barcelona. We will be in Barcelona again for three days in April after a ta.

Happy cruising, may your journey be smooth.

Bon Voyage! Can't wait to hear your live reports, although I'm boarding a HAL ship fpr the first time in several years- during the time you are on the TA. I read on one of the threads that the unlimited Internet for 7 days on HAL is $249.00. That makes Oceania price a bargain - when, occasionally, it is not an included benefit.

I'm subscribed.

Bon Voyage! Can't wait to hear your live reports, although I'm boarding a HAL ship fpr the first time in several years- during the time you are on the TA. I read on one of the threads that the unlimited Internet for 7 days on HAL is $249.00. That makes Oceania price a bargain - when, occasionally, it is not an included benefit.

I'm subscribed.

O prices by the minute or unlimited are much higher to us, but that is only my experience. What will be will ;) We paid $149 for 16 days (if memory serves) and an additional $30 for the remainder of the cruise. Some of our roll call members got the whole thing for the 16 day price. I still don't get how your price is that for a 7 day cruise. If it is, I would do the minute package since it is reasonable and you can copy and paste for emails or live threads if need be :)

I hope you have a great cruise and would like to THANK YOU for your help when I was daring to try a new cruise line and your words of encouragement. :)]

Smooth seas to you and may our seas be smooth ;)

Internet on O is a LOT more than on HAL, especially when you get to unlimited. What will be will ;) We paid $149 for 16 days (if memory serves) and an additional $30 for the remainder of the cruise. Some of our roll call members got the whole thing for the 16 day price. I still don't get how

 

I hope you have a great cruise and would like to THANK YOU for your help when I was daring to try a new cruise line and your words of encouragement. :)]

 

;)

That $149 was on the Westerdam last March I believe and as far as I can see, it still hasn't occurred on any of the other ships. Also HAL doesn't seem to offer discounts to Mariners either. Oceania offer 10 and 20% discounts in higher categories and to their equivalent of Mariner status They frequently have promotions with free Internet.

Smooth seas to you and may your ship leave on time - not like the current TA from Barcelona:D

Very interested in reading this thread. Although it will be awhile for us as 2of4 can't stay alone for a few more years.

Very interested in Bilbao since we will be cruising there next summer. Have a great time and I am looking forward to meeting you. We leave in a little over a week. :D

Wishing you Safe Travels across the pond and a fantastic cruise. I will be following along :)

I'll be reading along with the others.

Bon Voyage Jacqui!

Going on my first Oceania cruise in few weeks, I'm very interested to read your comments. Bon voyage Jacqui.

Have a safe trip and enjoy Madrid!!! see you aboard Best roger b

Have a safe trip and enjoy Madrid!!! see you aboard Best roger b

Looking forward to meeting you onboard Roger :)

and hoping you will post some experiences or comments here as well ;)

We will board the Riviera when she arrives in Miami on Dec. 2 for our first cruise ever, so we will be avidly reading about your experiences. We are interested in any subject about the ship!

Wishing you a very pleasant trip!

Mirjam

Kazu, wishing you smooth travels and a wonderful cruise! We also will be watching for your posts with great interest...we've also long sailed with HAL as we do love the Neptune Suites for the space and the Lounge/unlimited dry cleaning perks. Our last experience on Eurodam, however, pushed us to explore Oceania and we've booked our first cruise on Insignia next September. Realize this is a smaller ship than the one you'll be on, but will be particularly interested in your take of over-all comparisons. Oh, and evening dress as Oceania is expected to be more casual.

Enjoy every minute! And thanks for taking the time to post!

Kazu,

We too are looking forward to reading your "virgin" impressions of Oceania.

I hope the cruise will be as enjoyable as your HAL cruises.

Bon voyage.