First time cruiser - opinions please

[Dbears]

I've been monitoring this board for a while and decided to pull the trigger and put a deposit down for a 10 day cruise in October 2014 to the Mediterranean (Barcelona to Venice) on Marina. We are staying in PH3 cabin 10014.

 

We used a TA and got a group rate and some shipboard credits. It's still a long time away but am very interested in your suggestions.

 

For background, I will be recently retired, aged 55 and my wife (dw?) will be 53. We cruised 25 years ago on our honeymoon to Alaska and then a couple of times for three day Carnival cruises in the Caribbean. We currently live in St Louis but will be moving to our beach house in Florida's panhandle next year. We are total cruise novices but the descriptions of Oceania seemed perfect to us. Most of our vacations have been beach oriented such as Hawaii, Aruba, etc. but I really wanted something different.

 

1. We would be very interested in attaching vacation time ahead or following the cruise, perhaps Florence. Any thoughts or suggestions? We've been to Paris before but nowhere else in Europe. Maybe two cities? Should we consider the time of the year in this suggestion? Do your TAs usually help with this or do you plan it yourself?

2. When should we start pulling those plans together and dealing with airlines? Should I expect to work through TA early on this and get the best I can do with O's airfares?

3. When do roll calls usually start? It's a very port intensive itinerary and am very interested in excursions?

4. Should we expect to plan excursions in every port or be flexible? Do many people skip some ports and stay on the ship?

5. My instinct is to prepay for many things and see how much I use them. This would include drinks and Internet. Do many of you prepay the Internet and share with spouse?

6. How do you use the butler? I see many like the service in your room. Do they stock the in room frig?

7. Given the group pricing, am I unlikely to get an offer for an upgrade cabin?

8. Should we plan on packing one large suitcase each or do many of you take more clothes on a10 day cruise plus perhaps another week on land? Given the season, we probably won't have too much pool time. Is the pool heated?

 

Again, it's early but I welcome your thoughts.

 

Mike

[LHT28]

 

1. We would be very interested in attaching vacation time ahead or following the cruise, perhaps Florence. Any thoughts or suggestions? We've been to Paris before but nowhere else in Europe. Maybe two cities? Should we consider the time of the year in this suggestion? Do your TAs usually help with this or do you plan it yourself?

I would include extra days in Venice, it is a personal choice whether to DIY or use a TA, I usually plan most pre & post trips myself

2. When should we start pulling those plans together and dealing with airlines? air routings usually come out 330 days prior ..if you are using Oceania airpackage you can do a deviation 270 days prior

I usually check this years schedule just to give me an idea of who goes where

If you are using Oceania air do a search for Deviations & how it works

Should I expect to work through TA early on this and get the best I can do with O's airfares? yes at 270 days start working on the deviation

 

3. When do roll calls usually start? usually when the itineraries start booking but if no one has started one you can start one @ http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=625

It's a very port intensive itinerary and am very interested in excursions?

I start looking at previous roll calls that have the same port or the ports of call forum here for recommend guises ..then book them early maybe 350 days prior if they are very popular

 

4. Should we expect to plan excursions in every port or be flexible? Do many people skip some ports and stay on the ship?

It depends on your stamina, we sometime will just DIY when we get to the port then we can come back earlier if we choose

5. My instinct is to prepay for many things and see how much I use them. This would include drinks and Internet. Do many of you prepay the Internet and share with spouse? personal choice...my DH does not bother with the internet

7. Given the group pricing, am I unlikely to get an offer for an upgrade cabin? you might still get an offer

 

8. Should we plan on packing one large suitcase each or do many of you take more clothes on a10 day cruise plus perhaps another week on land? Given the season, we probably won't have too much pool time. Is the pool heated?

 

Again, it's early but I welcome your thoughts.

 

Mike

#8 we take 1 suitcase each no matter how many days we travel

1 carry-on between us & 1 packed incase I shop ;)

 

Hope that helps a bit

I am sure you will gets lots of other answers

 

Lyn

[capecodder2]

Congratulations on the rest of your life! Great way to start out with Oceania. Lyn gave you great advice, I will just add a few things that popped into my mind. You do have a very busy cruise and not much down-time. I would pick out the ports I think I would find most interesting and do lots of research starting now. Some of them you can certainly do on your own (Dubrovnik for one) and you well may just want to take a day off at some port to relax. You might consider spending a few days in both Barcelona and Venice - beautiful cities - if you can. Venice if you can only do one. However, we always go to the departing port at least a day early to rest up from the flight. Like Lyn, we only take 1 24in suitcase each and a carry-on no matter how many days we are going to be away. You can do your own laundry on the ship or the ship will do it - small cost in the grand pricing of a cruise. I send mine out, Lyn likes to do her own - both work well. So, start your research and enjoy the planning as well as the doing. Good luck.

[Mura]

We usually spend a few days before and after the cruise in the beginning and ending port. It's easier than visiting a city that is farther off. Considering how marvelous Barcelona is, I would safe Florence for another trip. But if you use O's air, then we will have to have a deviation if you have 2-3 days in each city.

 

No requirement to use their air, however. You might do better finding your own flights, and if so you will receive a credit for not using the "free" air. Those credits aren't as large as they used to be, but they are still a factor in figuring out which is best.

 

Roll calls start when someone starts them. I've seen them start about a year in advance but I set up two roll calls for upcoming TAs a year and a half in advance. And they have been very active from the beginning.

 

If you get an internet package (whether a package of so many minutes or the $25/day package) you can share with your spouse. You just can't both be on at the same time. My husband is like Lyn's, so I just buy the time I think I might use.

 

Depending on the port and our exhaustion level we might just stay on board. Say it's a port we've seen a lot or weren't that impressed with (doesn't happen very often, I have to say), then we might well just take advantage of a less crowded ship. Usually, though, we at least walk around on our own if we haven't scheduled a tour. We do more private tours than ship's tours but that's a matter of personal preference. When it's a very port intensive cruise (our last two cruises only had one sea day on each), you may well want to take it easy on a day or two.

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

I agree with capecodder2 - both Barcelona and Venice are great cities and require more than one day to enjoy fully. It is most convenient to fly in a few days early to explore Barcelona (and get over jetlag) and then stay in Venice after the cruise. That way you avoid additional travel in Europe (by train or plane) and yet see 2 of the most beautiful cities.

Enjoy!

[CintiPam]

I agree with capecodder2 - both Barcelona and Venice are great cities and require more than one day to enjoy fully. It is most convenient to fly in a few days early to explore Barcelona (and get over jetlag) and then stay in Venice after the cruise. That way you avoid additional travel in Europe (by train or plane) and yet see 2 of the most beautiful cities.

Enjoy!

 

Yet again, I agree with Paulchili. It is easy to spend several days exploring Barcelona, which has a great old quarter (Bari Gothic), new modern town, museums (Miro for one)and wonderful Gaudi architecture. Venice also is a terrific place to spend some extra time, and it is easy to take day trips from there to Padua (with its great Scrovegni chapel of Giotto paintings) and Verona.

[wripro]

I hope you booked your cruise through a TA. I would certainly use his/her expertise to help you with the pre and post cruise stays.

[Dbears]

Great suggestions. Thanks to all.

 

We've never been to Venice or Barcelona so the suggestions sounds great. We used a TA we found on the Internet and she seems anxious to help. She forwarded some information about pre and post plans as well that I'll compare with Oceania's offer. Will any pre or post changes create an increase airfare charge? I can't even begin to understand the policy on that.

[LHT28]

Will any pre or post changes create an increase airfare charge? I can't even begin to understand the policy on that.

If you use Oceania air & fly in or out other than the cruise days then yes there is a fee

The deviation fee is $150 pp there may or may not be an upcharge

 

Having a TA that is well versed with Oceania & how things work is less stressful

 

You can also take the air credit & book your own air

 

Lyn

[JimandStan]

Great suggestions. Thanks to all.

 

We've never been to Venice or Barcelona so the suggestions sounds great. We used a TA we found on the Internet and she seems anxious to help. She forwarded some information about pre and post plans as well that I'll compare with Oceania's offer. Will any pre or post changes create an increase airfare charge? I can't even begin to understand the policy on that.

 

Be sure to have the Oceania Air policies explained to you in detail before making any decisions, because:

1) Knowing how the Fare Structure works can keep you from making a costly assumption.

2) You'll want to be certain that your Agent has a firm grasp of the process before continuing (sadly many don't).

 

That said, this is a brief overview:

 

The "included" (some say "Free") airfare consists of basic, economy class transportation to and from the Embarkation port. Passengers who don't live near a hub, may choose to pay a stipend to use a more local airport, but other than that, if you are willing to allow Oceania to control the scheduling, and are content to arrive and depart on Sailing day, then there are no additional costs.

 

Passengers may elect to change their date of travel and/or choose their own flights by paying a one time (non refundable) administrative fee of $150 per person.

 

If the "new" Airline arrangements cost more than what Oceania would have paid originally, then the passenger has the option of paying that difference, or choosing a less expensive flight.

 

No big mystery, and a fairly common sense approach, if you ask me

[grmmybtty]

On our first European cruise (transatlantic from Barcelona to Florida), we flew in to Barcelona 10 days before the cruise. We spent 6 days exploring Barcelona at a leisurely pace, visited Monserrat on a day trip, then took the train to Girona and enjoyed the medieval town and visited the Dali Museum in Figueres. After 2 days we returned to Barcelona and boarded the ship the next day. We were entirely over our jet lag at that point and ready to rest on the ship, especially since there were so many sea days ahead.

 

Last year we took our first Oceania cruise from Istanbul to Barcelona. We flew in to Istanbul 6 days ahead and again had time to explore the whole city at a leisurely pace before boarding the ship. Since we had spent considerable time in Barcelona, we only stayed overnight and flew out early the next morning. During the cruise we had planned a few excursions with others on our roll calls. No need for a tour unless we wanted to go some distance from the port, as we did in Livorno when we planned an excursion to the Chianti wine country. We took the train from Civitavecchia to Rome and walked around on our own. Many of the ports were small and easily walkable. Some ports had HOHO buses that we took to orient us to the town before walking on our own.

 

Unless I have worked intimately with my TA and know that we are on the same page, I am too much of a control freak to leave all the decisions up to her. I prefer to do the research myself rather than depending on the TA. After I make the plans, I may use the TA to make the reservations. Read about the port. Find out the interesting sights and their opening days and hours, check out transportation options. Tripadvisor and CC are excellent sources of information. There is a ports section farther down on the main menu. Rick Steves also has a book on Mediterranean ports which is very useful. It tells where the ship docks and how to get in to town, gives walking tours, describes sights, etc.

 

Good luck. I'm sure you will enjoy Oceania.

[Boreus]

As usual you get a lot of good common sense from these boards, but, as usual, there are always a few ways of looking at things. I could not agree more with the posts that suggest you spend pre- and post-cruise time in Barcelona and Venice. And I would be generous in allowing myself time in Barcelona (beware of the pickpockets) to get over jet lag.

 

In order to break even on the drinks packages you have to drink more than the average passenger. It is more convenient to prepay, but I suspect for most passengers prepaying is more costly than signing for your drinks and having them automatically charged to your credit card at the end of the cruise.

 

The Internet charges aboard ship are several times higher than what you would pay ashore. Some ports have free Internet in the Cruise terminals. Your cabin steward or butler will know the best places in each port. Using the Internet aboard is more convenient than bringing a laptop ashore, but I have had some interesting interactions with the local residents when I use their Internet cafes or other facilities. Even if you do not speak the language my experience has been that young people who deal with computers and the Internet have learned English and are eager to practice it. That was true even in St. Petersburg, Russia.

 

You are in for a great trip and a great time, and I think everyone will agree to that.

[wr2next]

As everyone has stated, both Barcelona and/or Venice are great choices to add days to. My wife and I have added days to both cities before or after a cruise. In Barcelona, we booked our own hotel and then took a cab to the ship. It was way cheaper than using the cruise option. Very easy. In Venice we did use the cruise option Oceania offered since it was cheaper (believe it or not). At the time they had 2 hotel options we could pick from and stayed at the Hilton Stucky which was wonderful and I strongly recommend. It did include transportation to the airport from the hotel but we did not use it since we had a flight at 6am. We took a water taxi at 4am to the airport. For me, it may have been a highlight. Cruising through canals in darkness was surreal. My wife however failed to see fun of it. She was afraid we were going to hit something. Anyway, both cites are great for extra days. If you have to pick one city or the other, for me, I'd pick Venice. But that's just me....

[cruiserfromohio]

You've gotten some great advise. I'd like to chime in about staying pre- or post cruise. Having done pre-cruise stays in both Venice and Barcelona, I can heartily recommend both cities.

 

If you can only do one, pick Venice. Yes it will cost you more to stay there tahn in Barcelona, but the Venice experience is not to be missed. Stay on the island and not on the mainland. Check your bags at the left bagage kisok in the Pl Romani and take a single carry on bag with you into Venice. Lugging bags over the bridges is killer. Don't stay in the cruise-line provided hotels. The cruise line will charge you roughly double what the hotel will charge you if you book directly with the the hotel, and there are plenty of chrming places to stay in Venice. You can walk all over Venice, no matter where you stay on the island.

 

Barcelona is great too. It will cost you less for the same lenght stay as Venice, but the atomshpere is completely different. The public transportations is excellent and very easy to navigate.

 

Hope this helps!

[Mura]

Great suggestions. Thanks to all.

 

We've never been to Venice or Barcelona so the suggestions sounds great. We used a TA we found on the Internet and she seems anxious to help. She forwarded some information about pre and post plans as well that I'll compare with Oceania's offer. Will any pre or post changes create an increase airfare charge? I can't even begin to understand the policy on that.

 

I'm probably making a mistake here since I haven't read all the posts, I'm just responding to yours.

 

First, if you take the cruise hotel option and fly in one day ahead, it can be cheaper than doing your own. But if you want to spend more time in either port city, and I would say that you should if you haven't been there before, then the hotel package prices are obscene.

 

I would say take a deviation (if you use O's fare) or book your own fare, depending on what your research shows. If you like, book the same hotel O is using. You'll save a LOT of money since O's packages are on a per person basis, not a per room basis. And that is a BIG difference.

 

O's hotels are usually 5 stars. If you are content with 3-4 star hotels, you can do even better.

 

If money is no object, take their plan. It's easier and they usually throw in transfers and perhaps even a city tour.

 

But we're tightwads who prefer to do it on our own ... we HAVE on occasion booked the O hotel. But usually we're looking for more modest accommodations.

 

It does depend on how you wish to travel.

 

I have to say, I prefer Barcelona to Venice ... but that's just me!

 

As to pre/post changes affecting the air fare -- no. The air fare is what it is. The credit for not using their air is what it is. Taking the pre/post package is something else.

 

(In Barcelona, if you are staying around Placa Catalunya, a cab to the port is inexpensive. Even to the airport, it's cheaper than what O charges for a transfer. )

 

I can't remember when we used an O transfer. They are SO expensive compared to what you can do. When we were in Rome and needed to get to Civitavecchia we used limo services that were incredibly cheap if you have 2-3 couples in one van. Sometimes, it is true, a lengthy transfer (such as Rome) can be cheaper/safer/easier than doing it on your own. If I were in Oman, I might use O's transfer ... assuming Oman has a port, of course!

 

Mura

[TERRIER1]

Considering you have the luxury of time then stay in both cities since they are lovely and offer so much. We came in 4 days early to Barcelona on two of our cruises and we love the city. There is so much to do.

 

We do not use a TA for choosing hotels. We prefer smaller boutique type hotels and do research on Tripadvisor. Our priority is ambiance and locale. We stay in the Eixample district in Bacelona which has great restaurants and is within walking distance to many of the sites and public transportation. We do lots of day trips on public transportation (i.e. Montserrat). The area is also quieter than staying on La Ramblas. We take a cab from the hotel to the ship on embarkation day.

 

We do not use the internet on the ship since it is slow and expensive. Every time I go by to computer center to get to Baristas the system seems to be down. We have an international travel phone for travel only and our Verizon phone works on the Oceania vessels for absolute emergencies.

 

As for the air: we have only used Oceania air one time out of the six we traveled with them. We live in New York and have access to several international airports. You need to compare what you can find on your own and the credit that O will give you. If you intend to come in or stay later than you need to add the deviation cost $150 pp plus any up charge O may tack on to the deviation cost. We have in the past been able to get a better deal on our own and with direct flights but this may have changed. Also, the transfers from O are highway robbery. We have had private brand new Mercedes sedans pick us up at the port to bring us to the airport after cruises for a fraction of the cost that O changes for a shuttle bus.

 

We travel with one suitcase each and a knapsack for our cameras and medicines and a beach type bag for my travel literature. The newer O ships have laundry facilities on each deck which makes doing laundry easy whereas the smaller R ships don't so it can be a hassle.

 

We didn't buy the drink package since we buy wine/spirits while in port to drink in our room. We have wine in the dining rooms so the package didn't make sense for us but may for you. We have only been on port intensive cruises so we are off the ship all day so have our drinks in cafes on land/beach.

 

We either do all the excursions on our own or hook up with other Cruise Critic roll call members for private excursions. This way you have smaller groups and go where you want to and don't have to wait around for the "person" who is always late.

 

You will have a great time. Enjoy.

[Dbears]

Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. It looks like Barcelona and Venice will be part of the plans. I'd love to hear your recommendations for hotels in both cities.

 

Has anybody cruised around these ports this time of year? I'm expecting weather in the 60s for the high. Should we skip the swimwear? Is the pool heated? Will we likely make less use of the balcony?

 

I won't get buyers' remorse but what are people's impression of cabin 10014. It seems further forward than I'd prefer but the pricing seemed attractive. I'll be sure my wife is equipped with the patch and her ginger pills.

 

I'll pop over and start a roll call and see if anybody else is as anxious as me.

 

Mike

[wr2next]

In Venice we stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky which was one of the hotels Oceania at offered. We loved it. Nice hotel and if you are a Hilton Honors member you get breakfast and rooms with and best views of the city. It is across the canal from the main part of the city but they have shuttles about every 10 minutes to a couple different locations. One thing I would recommend is that when you come into the port of Venice, get up early and get up on deck with your camera. That was a highlight. Best views of the city and since you are up high, the pictures are awesome. The starboard side is the best viewing...

 

Hotel info is:

 

http://www.molinostuckyhilton.com/?WT.srch=1