Recent trip on Insignia Rio to BA

[tanny18]

Hi everyone, just got off this cruise and I'd agree with Ed -- a parallel universe cruise. I see now that she has amended some of her thoughts but let me say this to everyone who has sailed or intends to sail Oceania -- the crew is nice and pleasant and always smiling...I find that if you are nice and pleasant to them, they in turn will react. If you are not, don't expect anything more than good morning. We've sailed on O 7 times and have 4 more booked - we don't take a Vista Suite, an ordinary cabin in fine with us and I have never had a lack of space even when we spent 34 days on the Nautica last holiday season. Good packing and a sense for space works every time. As for food, of course some of us like some foods and others different ones. Rocky Road and Mint Chocolate. Yes, there were two salty soups that we had, enough said. As for the service, it couldn't have been any better. DH likes tomato juice before lunch and dinner. On New Year's Eve just after we sat down a tomato juice arrived without asking. When the very pleasant waitress came by we asked about it. She said she had waited on us early in the cruise and remembered!!!! Great service.

As for getting off the ship -- when you dock you can get off whenever you want - no waiting for ship's tours to go first. When tendering, you just get your ticket and in our case we had private tours scheduled and I asked at the Excursion Desk and we were told we could get off with the second tender. Just ask and ye shall get.

Captain Calandro is a very nice man...we sailed with him last year. However, I think he is a bit shy and doesn't make himself visible. He remembered us and whenever he saw us, he would come over and say hello.

The string quartet was as good as a quartet can be if you like that kind of music. The entertainment on Oceania has never been "great" but sometimes we get terrific. I know we don't sail O for the entertainment. We sail for the ambience, the ports, the people we meet.

As for the ports, if anyone wants to hear my end of it, write me at tanny5258@att.net and I will fill you in and give you the names of the wonderful private guides we had in Rio, BA, Santos (even tho everything was closed because it was Christmas Day), Montevideo and Punte Del Este.

All in all it was a very good cruise (except for some very rude, raucous, inconsiderate people who sailed --unlike most Oceania cruisers) with a lot of fun during Christmas and New Year's. Willie Aames has turned into a very capable CD and I'm sure he'll get better. After all Dottie Kulasa trained him and if anyone knows Dottie, they'll understand.

As has been said many times, there are ships for some and not for others. Oceania has a uniqueness about it that keeps bringing back more and more passengers. Arlene;)

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for the review, Caroldoll.

 

I did notice how many things you rated positively as well as the details that were not so good. I thought your reveiw was very helpful for people new to O.

[roothy123]

I suspect this captain is just shy, and/or isn't fluent in English. I'm shy and was once evaluated as "seeming disinterested" in a training session because I didn't open my mouth much! As an introvert, all I can say is that I don't care if the captain's invisible or not, as long as he/she gets the ship where it's supposed to go!

 

My best first officer story is this: We did a river cruise on Viking. For the most part the captain and his crew stayed in the wheelhouse. I screwed up and found myself with no battery charger, after taking a million pictures. I approached the first officer, who I had seen on deck early one morning, taking pictures with a good SLR. My German was limited, as was his English, but I managed to communicate my problem. He went out of his way to charge some batteries for me, and checked back with me several times during the cruise to make sure I was good to go. I was very grateful.

 

On to crime: I have a cousin who lives (temporarily) in Buenos Aires. She says it IS bad there, and she is coming back to the U.S. in a few months. She has not actually been mugged, but was once followed when she left a bank. She advised me to be very, very careful.

 

Thanks, guys for the port info. Tanny, I'll email you.

[LHT28]

Thanks for your insights. We are looking forward to our turn in Rio next week.

 

Paul

I see you share a hobby with my DH ..maybe you have chatted on air;)

 

Lyn

[LHT28]

Seems like he could be the same captain we had July 23-August 10. At least "our" captain was also Italian, and also pretty much invisible.

Mura

Our captain was Giulio Ressa...I did see him from time to time around the ship along with the GM.

[Mura]

Mura

Our captain was Giulio Ressa...I did see him from time to time around the ship along with the GM.

 

I didn't THINK it was the same name, Lyn. But I know that he avoided the captain's table and was reported to be stand-offish (I didn't ever see him so I'm not asserting that myself)!

 

The thing is, I do think it's part of the captain's job to be welcoming to passengers. At the same time, he shouldn't be stalked!

[TKS]

We were on Nautica the week before the pirate chase in 2008. At that time we also thought the Captain stand-offish the few times we saw him onboard. However, he certainly proved himself to be well trained, professional, and completely up to his job when he needed to be, didn't he?

 

Since then, I'm very happy when the Captains do their job. They have all our safety in their hands, which they take very seriously. Whether they are introverted or outgoing, they are just people, like each of us. Therefore, in this situation, I'll take competent and professional before gregarious any day!

 

Kay

[LHT28]

Mura

many Captains do not use the Captain's table every night, they have a few nights where they entertain guests

Then there is also the Captain's welcome party & the Past Guest party plus looking after the ship

They have to have specific number of hours off duty ...maritime law ( I think) ;)

 

I am just happy they get us safely from port to port:D

 

Lyn

[Mura]

It wasn't that, Lyn. I specifically asked a couple in a Vista on our cruise if they had been invited to a captain's table because WE were invited to one when we were in an OS or VS (on all two occasions!) and I hadn't seen any such when we were in the GDR, which was most nights. (Generally on our cruises we have seen at least one or two captain's tables even when we weren't invited to join in the festivities!)

 

They were not. They weren't invited to anything special, in fact.

 

I found it surprising and so did they, because they are always in a VS or OS.

 

On top of that, even though we were in an A3 on that cruise, we are used to being invited to a special dinner with some officer and some other guests (usually in Polo or Toscana) because we have sailed on O 6-7 times (always in a suite until this cruise), and those didn't happen either. We always enjoyed those interactions with the officers, even if they weren't the captain! In fact, they were more immediate because with the captain's table we were two of about a dozen people, and always on the far end ... whereas those dinners with an officer or two were more intimate.

 

Such is life. It didn't end my life and it didn't end theirs either, but I was surprised enough to ask them if they'd been invited to a dinner with ANY officer.

 

That's when THEY mentioned the lack of interaction with the captain ...

 

________________

 

I just looked at your post again ... we've seen a number of captain's tables on our various cruises but never one every night! That is why I asked our friends about it since I'd seen NONE. I was thinking I just might not have been there when they were held. Indeed, maybe we weren't ... but our experience has been that if you are in an OS or VS, you ARE invited to one.

 

True, they have their own lives and keeping the ship safe is far more important than giving me unlimited wines at dinner!

 

I don't think people book an OS or a VS just so they can have dinner with the captain! It was just surprising when NONE of the usual perks -- whether for frequent passengers or passengers in the highest status cabins -- occurred.

 

As to those cocktail parties -- well, we tend to avoid those!

[LHT28]

It wasn't that, Lyn. I specifically asked a couple in a Vista on our cruise if they had been invited to a captain's table because WE were invited to one when we were in an OS or VS (on all two occasions!) and I hadn't seen any such when we were in the GDR, which was most nights. (Generally on our cruises we have seen at least one or two captain's tables even when we weren't invited to join in the festivities!)

 

Sorry to go astray here

On several of our cruises.. guests in the suites have a special dinner prepared & served in the Patio area by the pool. we have never booked a suite so do not know how that works

On Oceania's blog page they have a picture of some of the guests with Mr Binder for the special dinner

http://www.oceaniacruisesblog.com/taste/2010/12/as-2010-draws-to-a-close-i-naturally-reflect-on-my-fondest-memories-of-the-past-year-thinking-back-over-2010-the-reunion-1.html

 

We were invited to dine with the Concierge on this past cruise but we were too tired after touring so we declined.

We never got another invite ;)

 

I do not know how they pick & choose who gets the invites

 

Lyn

[paulista1950]

from all I read and saw in movies, I can't see how somebody can compare it to Buzios, to where I go almost every year (I guess I don't have to say I love the place, right?).

 

I'm wondering where could the tender be which would give such a wrong impression of Buzios. I remember it being at the very street where all the wonderful cutting edge shops and best restaurants are.

Can the OP please tell me where she was let?:confused:

[stunnedinva]

Sorry to go astray here

On several of our cruises.. guests in the suites have a special dinner prepared & served in the Patio area by the pool. we have never booked a suite so do not know how that works

On Oceania's blog page they have a picture of some of the guests with Mr Binder for the special dinner

http://www.oceaniacruisesblog.com/taste/2010/12/as-2010-draws-to-a-close-i-naturally-reflect-on-my-fondest-memories-of-the-past-year-thinking-back-over-2010-the-reunion-1.html

 

We were invited to dine with the Concierge on this past cruise but we were too tired after touring so we declined.

We never got another invite ;)

 

I do not know how they pick & choose who gets the invites

 

Lyn

 

On our recent Insignia cruise, it was called Chef's Table, I believe, and the guests were those in OS and VS categories.

[orchestrapal]

On our recent Insignia cruise, it was called Chef's Table, I believe, and the guests were those in OS and VS categories.

That is correct and I believe they only do it on the longer cruises.:)

[StanandJim]

That is correct and I believe they only do it on the longer cruises.:)

 

14 days & up

[stunnedinva]

14 days & up

 

Ours was 12.

[StanandJim]

That is correct and I believe they only do it on the longer cruises.:)

 

We've seen those dinners happen on cruises as short as 12 days, but it certainly seems to be dependant on how port intensive the itinerary is.

 

That being said, the "Suite Dinners" normally don't have the Captain in attendance. Usually, the heads of the hotel and culinary depts. will be there.

 

Looking forward, however, I understand that Oceania Captains and/or their officers will be hosting tables more often than they have previously been known to. :D

[Oceanurse]

I'm with Lyn. I'm devastated to hear that Carlos is leaving!

 

He was SUCH an asset to O.

 

 

I sailed on the December 2010 TA Barcelona to Rio. We had a fantastic cruise. Carlos is beyond excellent- he will really be missed. He is every where all the time- I don't know how he does it.

 

This was our second Oceania cruise (2 more booked) and we loved it. The staff was wonderful and treated us like we were the only ones on the ship.

[Caroldoll]

think Buzios was going to be so nice..but we walked up that very block and I could tell I was sooo wrong. I think it is a cute, romantic place. We had a good time.

[jamesm]

We also were on the 12/21 Rio to BA Samba Serenade. As others have already said, it was a fabulous trip. A waiter we had previously in 2009 saw us in the GDR on the first evening and asked us to sit at one of his tables for the rest of the cruise - talk about service! We were sorry to hear from Carlos that he was leaving but maybe he wants a fresh challenge. There were some fairly large groups of sometimes loud people and that was the only real negative. Some of the ports were just so-so but admittedly there were lots of people going to the beaches each day. We had terrific guides lined up in Rio and in BA. The luggage problem mentioned previously is fairly common for any cruise ship in any port. I watched from our balcony as they loaded a very big truck with the steel luggage containers at the drop-off. The truck doesn't deliver to the ship until it is filled - a process which, depending upon the time of day, can take several hours. We thought the ship looked absolutely beautiful and agree that Willie Aames did a very nice job as CD. Can't wait to sail again!

[hondorner]

...Our only sad moment was hearing Carlos, the restaurant manager was leaving at the end of the cruise to go to Regent...

 

OH NO say it is not so :eek:

Carlos is one of Oceania best assets

 

...We were sorry to hear from Carlos that he was leaving but maybe he wants a fresh challenge...

Don't forget that Regent is Oceania's sister cruise line, and staff are rotating back and forth with great regularity. Both cruise lines are benefiting from the exchange, but in my opinion, Regent dining is not quite up to the standards of Oceania, and I'm sure Carlos is needed there. I have no doubt that he'll be back.

[Mura]

Carlos did indicate to us this summer that he is older than most of the dining staff and he's feeling his age in his bones. Perhaps it will be easier for him "over there".

[Paulchili]

. Both cruise lines are benefiting from the exchange, but in my opinion, Regent dining is not quite up to the standards of Oceania, and I'm sure Carlos is needed there. I have no doubt that he'll be back.

 

I can second that sentiment based on our recent Regent cruise - a first and last, mostly because of very poor service and staff attitude (relatively speaking). If they are indeed rotating, I personally do not want any of those Regent staff on any of my Oceania cruises (unless they are re-trained by Carlos first :))

[roothy123]

We got our travel docs (hard copy) a few days ago for our Feb. 19th Samba cruise. Willie Aames is CD, so I guess he will be a good one, from what you guys are saying. Captain is Luca Manzi, gen mgr Raffaele Cinque, Christopher Belen exec chef, and Diego Coletti concierge. There are 2 tender ports and the rest dock ports.

 

By any strange chance, did any of you recent travelers on Samba have a cabin stewardess named Nataliya? She was on our Caribbean cruise a year ago and was fabulous.

 

OK, the restaurant manager on that cruise mentioned that the holiday crowd was always an "interesting" one. I guess that was a polite way of saying "rowdy," judging from comments made by those who were on the 12/21 sailing! One big, long holiday party at sea, perhaps?!

[Caroldoll]

recognize any of the other names. I know the Executive Chef and the second Chef (tall and from France) both went to the Marina. You have Willie, so that's a good thing. You are lucky, you only have two tender ports. We had all tender ports but two, so you have a completely different itinerary.

 

I didn't have that room stewardess.

 

Actually I was surprised that so many of the staff were leaving. I guess they all felt that the Marina was a good careeer move for them. It is supposed to be lovely.

[Caroldoll]

a HUGE group on the ship. They were indeed VERY unusual and I don't want to say more. It was entertaining to say the least. They were all friends, and although they were from America they didn't converse much in English. Yep--unusual.