Just Completed First Cruise on Oceania

[lj77346]

Travelcat2 - I did not notice any iris scanners.

[SeagoingMom]

Thanks for the review, it's always nice to see someone that "gets it"

Gets what, exactly?

[LHT28]

Gets what, exactly?

 

If you "GOT IT" you would not need to ask :D

[SeagoingMom]

If you "GOT IT" you would not need to ask :D

Clearly. Which is why I did ask. Will you help this inferior species out and educate me?

[ORV]

Clearly. Which is why I did ask. Will you help this inferior species out and educate me?

 

Read the review again. The OP is exactly the type of cruiser that becomes a Oceania regular. They understand and appreciate the product that Oceania has. Many people don't and are expecting what some other lines have.

[pinotlover]

I, for one, have Global Entry, and like many, do have problems with it. The problem seems to revolve around the finger prints. It appears that many of the Agents taking the finger prints during the interview, were not very good at the job. Therefore, when the airport readers try to compare prints to the file set, I/we get denied with the big X. TSA told me I probably need to set an interview and request to be refingerprinted. :rolleyes: Trouble is, I'm two hours from the nearest interviewing station/office and it's a pain. My wife had the Agent next to mine and she never has problems. I've read articles that say this affects maybe 25% of those with GE! :eek: Finger prints, and all the smeared ink, does seem abit mid 20th Century now!

[silkman]

I, for one, have Global Entry, and like many, do have problems with it. The problem seems to revolve around the finger prints. It appears that many of the Agents taking the finger prints during the interview, were not very good at the job. Therefore, when the airport readers try to compare prints to the file set, I/we get denied with the big X. TSA told me I probably need to set an interview and request to be refingerprinted. :rolleyes: Trouble is, I'm two hours from the nearest interviewing station/office and it's a pain. My wife had the Agent next to mine and she never has problems. I've read articles that say this affects maybe 25% of those with GE! :eek: Finger prints, and all the smeared ink, does seem abit mid 20th Century now!

 

My wife also has had problems w/ global entry She was originally denied(no explanation given), and after several calls found that the reason was because of her fingerprints(or lack thereof). She is an avid knitter and her fingerprints are worn off. They did allow her to get global entry, but warned her that when using it , probably she would be flagged(which she was). Got the dreaded X.

However a security officer did allow her to pass.

[cruisingxpert]

Do you recall if they had iris scanners in addition to fingerprint machines? We have changed planes in Toronto but have not gone through customs. Vancouver does has iris scanners that seem to work dramatically better than fingerprint machines.

 

Thanks.

 

They do have iris scanners for the Nexus line when you arrive in Toronto but I don't know if they are only for Nexus or Global Entry as well. I've used the Iris scanner several times.

 

When I got my Nexus card a few years ago they did fingerprints as well as Iris scan.

[pinotlover]

TSA did not do an iris scan for my GE application, therefore, I couldn't use those scanners if they were present. They only did fingerprints. :(

[Paulchili]

My wife also has had problems w/ global entry She was originally denied(no explanation given), and after several calls found that the reason was because of her fingerprints(or lack thereof). She is an avid knitter and her fingerprints are worn off. They did allow her to get global entry, but warned her that when using it , probably she would be flagged(which she was). Got the dreaded X.

However a security officer did allow her to pass.

 

I get the X 90% of the time. It means very little as I am routinely and quickly passed by the officials - a minor inconvenience.

Using hand lotion just before using the scan may help to enhance your finger prints pattern better - try that next time.

The bottom line is that with the GE, even with the X, you get into the short GE line for both immigration and customs.

[pinotlover]

Paul;

 

I was told by TSA to try washing my hands and try to ensure nothing is on them, including lotion or hand disinfectants, before going through the line. The problem appears to exist in the file fingerprints with which the system checks.

 

Was also told to try wiping the glass with some cloth or tissue before doing my fingerprints. So far, all Xs!

[Paulchili]

Paul;

 

I was told by TSA to try washing my hands and try to ensure nothing is on them, including lotion or hand disinfectants, before going through the line. The problem appears to exist in the file fingerprints with which the system checks.

 

Was also told to try wiping the glass with some cloth or tissue before doing my fingerprints. So far, all Xs!

 

Well - then it would seem that you have nothing to lose by trying the lotion as the other things have not worked :D

[jody75]

I assume all your ports of call were within France, Italy and Spain. Did you have to pay the EU VAT on your onboard purchases ?

[lj77346]

jody75 - There was a 20% VAT on all on board purchases.

[san diego spartan]

Thank you so much for your info and review. This will be our 1st Oceania (Rivera) cruise this November. My husband wants to know what the sports channels are that we can see on board. ESPN? American espn or ????

 

thanks for any info?

[Paulchili]

Thank you so much for your info and review. This will be our 1st Oceania (Rivera) cruise this November. My husband wants to know what the sports channels are that we can see on board. ESPN? American espn or ????

 

thanks for any info?

 

Unfortunately, ESPN is the international version :( (as is Sky Sports - this one understandably so) - so get ready for cricket, rugby and soccer :D

[borntotravelbrit]

We are going on the 69 day cruise on Insignia in January from Miami to Bali. This will be the longest cruise we have ever taken. So we were wondering if it is necessary to take shore excursions in each port, or is there a free shuttle to downtown in every port? Oceania shows free shuttle service. With 37 ports of call that's a lot of shore excursions! We did find a website through Flight Centre that offers shore excursions to match our itinerary, in a lot of the ports for a lower price and in Canadian dollars rather than USD. They also guarantee they will fly you to the next port if they don't return in time for your sailing. They also have excursions in Honolulu and Auckland where the ship doesn't because they are embark/disembark ports as well.

So we wonder which ports would be better to "do it yourself" rather than do organized excursions?

[Paulchili]

We are going on the 69 day cruise on Insignia in January from Miami to Bali. This will be the longest cruise we have ever taken. So we were wondering if it is necessary to take shore excursions in each port, or is there a free shuttle to downtown in every port? Oceania shows free shuttle service. With 37 ports of call that's a lot of shore excursions! We did find a website through Flight Centre that offers shore excursions to match our itinerary, in a lot of the ports for a lower price and in Canadian dollars rather than USD. They also guarantee they will fly you to the next port if they don't return in time for your sailing. They also have excursions in Honolulu and Auckland where the ship doesn't because they are embark/disembark ports as well.

So we wonder which ports would be better to "do it yourself" rather than do organized excursions?

 

You may want to join your roll call where you might be able to join others on your cruise for shore excursions on private tours.

[borntotravelbrit]

At YVR they have terminals for ALL US citizens - with or without GE - that work much like a GE terminal. Just scan your passport and answer some questions - really great.

I wonder if they have the same thing at YYZ?

 

Trying to find my roll call. I did find one but it does not seem to be the main designated roll call, it says it is a sub forum. There are no postings under the main roll call, it says to contact the administrator.

[borntotravelbrit]

You may want to join your roll call where you might be able to join others on your cruise for shore excursions on private tours.

 

Trying to find my roll call. I did find one but it does not seem to be the main designated roll call, it says it is a sub forum. There are no postings under the main Oceania roll call forums, it says to contact the administrator.

[JimandStan]

Trying to find my roll call. I did find one but it does not seem to be the main designated roll call, it says it is a sub forum. There are no postings under the main Oceania roll call forums, it says to contact the administrator.

 

In order to find your Roll call, first click on this Link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=420

That will bring you to a list of all Oceania Roll Calls, segregated by ship.

 

Click on the line where it says "Your vessel, ROLL CALLS", and you will get to the master Roll Call list for that ship. Scroll down until you find your sailing date.

-Voila -you have found your roll call! :D

[Mura]

Borntotravel,

 

If this is any help to you, from the threads that were posted about the Round the World Cruise on Insignia earlier this year, many did a combination of DIY tours and ship's tours. I believe they DID have the advantage of free tours ...

 

If I were on a long cruise such as yours, however, I wouldn't consider only doing ship's tours. Then again, I would NEVER consider only doing ship's tours!

 

On our last cruise we took advantage of the oLife "free" tours (for us the surcharge was $300pp, it seems that for current tours it is rather more). We were very pleased with them. None were crowded and we had excellent guides, with one exception ... that was in Russia where the guide we had didn't speak great English. Imagine my shock when I heard her say that her "day job" was teaching English!

 

There will be ports where you may just want to walk around, ports where you want a private tour, and ports where a ship's tour will do the trick.

 

It looks like your cruise is the first part of the RTW cruise. You should look for THAT roll call, methinks.

 

Mura

[ellbon]

We are going on the 69 day cruise on Insignia in January from Miami to Bali. This will be the longest cruise we have ever taken. So we were wondering if it is necessary to take shore excursions in each port, or is there a free shuttle to downtown in every port? Oceania shows free shuttle service. With 37 ports of call that's a lot of shore excursions! We did find a website through Flight Centre that offers shore excursions to match our itinerary, in a lot of the ports for a lower price and in Canadian dollars rather than USD. They also guarantee they will fly you to the next port if they don't return in time for your sailing. They also have excursions in Honolulu and Auckland where the ship doesn't because they are embark/disembark ports as well.

So we wonder which ports would be better to "do it yourself" rather than do organized excursions?

Look at"toursbylocals" for some ports. More money but excellent guides. Singapore and baki I have used them.auckland you can walk to a few resturants and some shops. Not really sure what to see there as I was there during a festival and really. Enjoyed that. Also I believe there are a couple great museums there. Many of the ports I have been too. If you even posted some of your ports here I am sure many including myself can give you ideas. I love racing at B and N the travel books for ideas too.

[TERRIER1]

We are going on the 69 day cruise on Insignia in January from Miami to Bali. This will be the longest cruise we have ever taken. So we were wondering if it is necessary to take shore excursions in each port, or is there a free shuttle to downtown in every port? Oceania shows free shuttle service. With 37 ports of call that's a lot of shore excursions! We did find a website through Flight Centre that offers shore excursions to match our itinerary, in a lot of the ports for a lower price and in Canadian dollars rather than USD. They also guarantee they will fly you to the next port if they don't return in time for your sailing. They also have excursions in Honolulu and Auckland where the ship doesn't because they are embark/disembark ports as well.

So we wonder which ports would be better to "do it yourself" rather than do organized excursions?

 

 

In Auckland, we took the ferry to Waiheke Island. The ferry is right next to where the ship docks. You can do various island tours as well. I believe we used Fullers for the tour.

[avalong]

In Auckland, we took the ferry to Waiheke Island. The ferry is right next to where the ship docks. You can do various island tours as well. I believe we used Fullers for the tour.

 

And have lunch at the Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant. Wonderful food, views and ambiance.