Anyone returning from Miami-Manaus-Miami?

[KatBern]

We've booked a 28-day cruise, Miami-Manaus-Miami, on Regatta Nov. 06.

Would very much appreciate any comments from people who were on same cruise this year.

[esther e]

Hi

We just returned yesterday from this wonderful cruise. I have posted a few of my photos on www.community.webshots.com/user/estherwagner if you want to take a look.

 

The only downside of the cruise was at embarkation. It was a disaster and we were treated like cattle. For whatever reason--and there were many stories, none of them mattering--we were not able to board before about 5 PM. Sure, there were shuttles offered to take us to a "mall" which we weren't interested in doing. Finally at about 3 PM water and lemonade were brought from the ship. At about 4 PM sandwiches appeared. In my estimation, Oceania should have provided catered sandwiches and coffee at a much earlier hour. Some tempers flared. And we weren't even compensated with a complimentary drink or glass of wine.

 

After boarding, the atmosphere changed considerable. With such a beautiful ship, how could one hold a grude? The food is definitely the best on the seas, and my husband's to-be-let-out-pants are proof positive. In other posts there have been negative comments regarding entertainment. We found it to be very good, especially with the cruise team from the ship. What a talented group of people.

 

The Caribbean ports were perfect. Devil's Island was a special treat!!! And the Amazon was incredile. Such a big, muddy river!! Never did see or hear a mosquito though. I had a dumb accident early in the cruise so I missed out on a few Caribbean tours. Not a problem since we've been there many time before. I made sure to go on a couple in the Amazon though. One was the Meeting of the waters and motorized canoe trip to see giant waterlilies. And another was a boat cruise and piranah fishing. Both I highly recommend. Not at all impressed with Manaus. However, we did take shuttle to H. Stern for a bauble to ease my aches and pains! It worked!!! We rented a car in Barbados and did our own thing and in Virgin Gorda found a great little national park with huge bolders (just like the Baths) and a wonderful sandy beach.

 

One thing I must say to eveyone reading this: if you are applying for a visa, make sure you understand and read your visa carefully. People were put off at the first port because their visas weren't in order. Sorry, it is not Oceania's fault; they are not there to hold hands and make sure all is well. It is definitely up to each individual to understand your documentation, and if you have a question ask your travel agent!! Enough said.

 

Would we go back again? Probably not; not because we didn't enjoy it--we loved it--but it might lose some luster the second time around. The time went all too quicly for us and we never imagined the scenery to be as it was. My husband has flown over the Amazon many times, but this was something competely different. To sum it up in a few words, it was an incredible journey and not to be missed! Good luck and happy planning.

Esther

[LHT28]

Hi

We just returned yesterday from this wonderful cruise. I have posted a few of my photos on www.community.webshots.com/user/estherwagner if you want to take a look.

The link does not work Esther!:(

Glad you enjoyed your trip

 

Lyn

[esther e]

Lyn

Try it without the www and see what happens.

Esther

[SeaPeaInn]

We were on the cruise and very much enjoyed the cruise and meeting Esther and other cruise critic members. Everyone we talked to on the ship were quite happy with Oceania and the ship.

 

The boarding fiasco seems typical of all cruise lines who, when they have a problem, make sure you share it with them. Once on the ship it was quickly forgotten.

 

Special mention should go to a group "Black Tie" a family group of singers of classical and semi-classic music. They will be on the ship through January and those cruising next month are in for a treat.

[KatBern]

Thank you Esther & PN. I have some last minute shopping to do but I'll get back to you, Esther, with some questions if you don't mind.

[lizf]

Esther-

The ship flooded coming over from Lisbon to Miami. All the starboard rooms (at least on Deck 7) flooded. Since we were only half full, the passengers simply moved to the port side. However when things flood, a few days later they mold. So all the cabins molded and we suspect the toilets also overflowed from the stench we had for our entire trip on deck 7. We were in the back of the ship so we couldn't avoid it. It would hit us whenever we left our cabin and we had to scurry down the port side to get away from it. We asked what they were going to do and they said they had four crews of carpet cleaners scheduled to get on as soon as they got to Miami. We saw you all coming to the mall in Miami, as we were there awaiting our hotel rooms. Quite a circus I'm afraid. We had a similar experience when we boarded in Lisbon and of course no compensation nor even admissions were offered for any of the delays and inconveniences. You are lucky this was your only problem. We had many more. Of course Oceania always denied, denied, denied.

I was very glad I had switched our plans for booking to the Amazon next year from Oceania to Holland. I'll be anxious to hear about the stops and the Amazon. Liz

[esther e]

Liz

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! We did hear about bad weather and people moving from cabins, but never in as much detail as you stated. We also heard there was a surprise inspection from the Coast Guard. As I said, it didn't matter what stories were going around. People were hungry and tired!!! We were fine because we stayed over in Miami a day early and had a big breakfast, but those who didn't were not happy campers.

Esther

[esther e]

Thank you Esther & PN. I have some last minute shopping to do but I'll get back to you, Esther, with some questions if you don't m

ind.

 

Glad to answer any questions. I found teh right address for photos if you want to see them.

 

 

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/estherwagner

 

 

Esther

[lizf]

Thank you for the lovely photos. You really showed the Amazon to us. I am soooo anxious to see it now. I'm hoping April will be a good time, supposedly the water will be higher although I can't say what difference that would make.

I was glad to get to see a photo of you. Very pretty lady in a most pretty dress.

The ship photos were nice too. Wow! You had carvings? We had none of that. No gingerbread, no carvings, no displays. Nada. I suspect they must have changed the bakers in Miami too. All our cakes and pies were bone dry and some still frozen when we were served them. I hope your food was served hot. Ours was barely warmish. Just two totally different cruises obviously. I suspect they cut corners on us because ours was at a reduced rate.

Anyways, thanks for the peek into South America and meeting you. Liz

[JonconOH]

We just returned and the trip was wonderful. Granted there was a problem at embarkation, but the ship had water damage to the forward cabins and the coast guard had a surprise inspection. Since embarkation began at 3:00 p.m., and some people got to the pier at 11:00 a.m., what can you expect? We arrived at 1:00 p.m. and enjoyed meeting fellow passengers and greeting old friends. My motto is "go with the flow". You cannot change what cannot be changed. The rudeness and shouting did not help one bit! We are booking another Oceania now.

[esther e]

Thank you for the lovely photos. You really showed the Amazon to us. I am soooo anxious to see it now. I'm hoping April will be a good time, supposedly the water will be higher although I can't say what difference that would make.

I was glad to get to see a photo of you. Very pretty lady in a most pretty dress.

The ship photos were nice too. Wow! You had carvings? We had none of that. No gingerbread, no carvings, no displays. Nada. I suspect they must have changed the bakers in Miami too. All our cakes and pies were bone dry and some still frozen when we were served them. I hope your food was served hot. Ours was barely warmish. Just two totally different cruises obviously. I suspect they cut corners on us because ours was at a reduced rate.

Anyways, thanks for the peek into South America and meeting you. Liz[/quote

 

Ah, gee, you have me blushing!!! You are very kind.

[lizf]

I meant every word too.

[KatBern]

Esther,

Just saw your photos on Webshot, very nice. Glad you say that time went too quickly. Our longest cruise was 14 days, that was a little too short for me. Was wondering if 27 days could be a little too long!

1. Did you book your shore excursions onboard? Do you recommend to book & prepay them prior to the cruise?

2. Suitcase. I plan to pack enough clothes for 2 weeks. On a previous Princess cruise (with more than 2,000 pass.), I had to get up at 6 am to do my laundry. Machines were busy all day long. Did you have any problems?

3. Is it possible to buy a DVD of this cruise (not the ship) on Regatta? I still enjoy the video we bought on Regal Princess in 95.

Thanks for the info - Have a nice day.

Kathia

[Druke I]

Kathia

 

Reference laundry on Regatta: when we were on her, this past August, into the Baltic, laundry was closed and locked 10pm/8am.

 

It took several phone calls to the Purser's Desk one morning to get them to unlock it, at the appointed hour. Someone forgot, no big deal, although there were several customers waiting. Small, but efficient laundromat, with 4 stacked sets of washer/dryers, $3.00 per load, soap included, using tokens obtained from Purser.

[esther e]

Kathia

 

To answer your questions: the only tours we pre-booked and paid for were in Santarem, the Maica Lake and Nature Cruise and in Manaus, the Meeting of the Waters Cruise. It really wasn't necessary to pre-purchase but we really wanted to go on these two and I'm not a gambler!!! The other tours were readily available on the ship. Of course, if there's something you really want, book it asap when you board.

 

As far as laundry, I have very definite feelings about it. I do laundry at home, not on vacation. We sent it out every couple of days and it came back perfect. I passed the laundry room a couple of times going to my friend's cabin and it was filled with waiting people. Just not my scene.

 

As far as DVD's, I can't answer that. They might have them for sale on the ship, I just don't know.

 

If there is anything else I can answer, I'll be glad to. I'm sure other pax are on this board and will jump in also. Happy planning!!!

 

Esther

[desirod]

Hi Liz,

 

Good to meet you on the ship. The storm we had that evening was hurricane force winds plus rain. I thought the staff did a commendable job under the adverse circumstances. In Miami some of the paint had been peeled off the hull from the ocean.

 

There was indeed a full coast guard inspection and they ordered all of the passengers off. The terminal at first would not let Oceania serve food until late. The ship did suffer significant damage during the storm beyond the cabins flooding. The QE2 has been known to pop windows in bad weather.

 

I refused a balcony upgrade and had a midship porthole cabin on Deck 3 which was calm and serene the entire trip when by contrast a grand piano turned turtle in the Horizons Lounge. Bad weather is a risk of North Atlantic travel.

 

David

 

Esther-

The ship flooded coming over from Lisbon to Miami. All the starboard rooms (at least on Deck 7) flooded. Since we were only half full, the passengers simply moved to the port side. However when things flood, a few days later they mold. So all the cabins molded and we suspect the toilets also overflowed from the stench we had for our entire trip on deck 7. We were in the back of the ship so we couldn't avoid it. It would hit us whenever we left our cabin and we had to scurry down the port side to get away from it. We asked what they were going to do and they said they had four crews of carpet cleaners scheduled to get on as soon as they got to Miami. Liz

[Molliem]

We just finished this cruise and had a wonderful time. We booked private tours with substantial cost savings and this worked out well at all ports.

 

Please review need for Brazil visa and yellowfeaver shots. Brazil visa is required and should be obtained within 90 days of departure. You have 90 days to activate it from issue date otherwise it will be nullified. Do not obtain too far in advance. Check the Brazil email site for clarification. Once activated it is good for 5 years.

 

Yellowfeaver shot verification is required.

 

If you do not have these documents, you will be denied boarding access. This was a problem for a number of our cruisers. Suggest you look after yourself and control is important to ensure receipt on time. In Canada, we used a visa service which was excellent.

 

If you would like some further information on tour agencies we used, contact us at Molliem@shaw.ca and we would be happy to share our experience with you.

[TipToe]

We've booked a 28-day cruise, Miami-Manaus-Miami, on Regatta Nov. 06.

Would very much appreciate any comments from people who were on same cruise this year.

This was a great trip, the people you meet are the "Best" and there are no REAL complaints about the ship. It was lots of fun and we are ready to do it again. There are always little problems, but nothing you, can't get over real fast. You will enjoy yourselves. All the Best

[BEAV]

We just returned and the trip was wonderful. Granted there was a problem at embarkation, but the ship had water damage to the forward cabins and the coast guard had a surprise inspection.

 

If the ship had just come in from Lisbon that day, then that explains the Coast Guard inspection. Not a surprise at all. It's standard policy/procedure for ships returning to the U.S. from abroad to undergo such inspections.

 

Same thing happened to us in early November in Ft Lauderdale. Embarkation was delayed on a HAL cruise because the ship had just arrived from Rome that morning.

[Obie]

Thanks to all who posted here. We just booked this cruise and you've answered a lot of my questions.