First Oceania Cruise, Maybe Last Cruise

[buggins0402]

On 6/29/2019 at 5:39 PM, clo said:

We were slow learners I guess.  And language can be an issue.  For instance, SE Asia.  I can't imagine doing Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam on our own.  And our Turkey and Israel trips were awesome.  Although even then we started getting the picture.  The Turkey days were long and we were too tired to go out on our own.  Anyway we're hoping that O will give us some of the best of both worlds.

Actually SE Asia was an area where I didn’t think a cruise or guided tour fit the bill for us (looked at both).  It was easy to book flights between, arrange hotel pick ups and customize the time we spent in each area.  We only bought three excursions over three weeks. The rest of the time we hoofed it and immersed ourselves in the culture. The excursion we purchased for Angkor was about $150 for two days with a private guide and separate driver. 

[StanandJim]

3 hours ago, buggins0402 said:

The rest of the time we hoofed it and immersed ourselves in the culture.

That is the thing,  we are good for "cultural immersion"  for 10 to 12 hours per day, then we need a comfortable clean room with American style HVAC and access to good food in a safe atmosphere.

 

Cruises normally tick off most of these boxes for us, YMMV

 

[buggins0402]

6 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

That is the thing,  we are good for "cultural immersion"  for 10 to 12 hours per day, then we need a comfortable clean room with American style HVAC and access to good food in a safe atmosphere.

 

Cruises normally tick off most of these boxes for us, YMMV

 

LOL...Agree with the comfortable room with HVAC.  We did stick to high end hotels. I must have a decent fitness center.

[clo]

1 hour ago, StanandJim said:

we need a comfortable clean room with American style HVAC and access to good food in a safe atmosphere.

We stayed in accommodations just as you describe in various European and SE Asian locations.  

[StanandJim]

4 hours ago, clo said:

We stayed in accommodations just as you describe in various European and SE Asian locations.  

If you did then you were quite lucky as we never seem to be able to find them, even if we are  willing to sell the farm to rent them.

IMHO, neither Europeans nor Asians  know what quality air conditioning is, and they all dispense ice by the thimbleful

[clo]

8 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

If you did then you were quite lucky as

Turns out I really haven't been taking photos of our rooms 🙂 But they've been as wonderful as can be.  Here are two.

The first was in Greece, Paros perhaps.  And the second in Santiago, Chile.  What sites do you use for researching?

[CintiPam]

3 hours ago, StanandJim said:

If you did then you were quite lucky as we never seem to be able to find them, even if we are  willing to sell the farm to rent them.

IMHO, neither Europeans nor Asians  know what quality air conditioning ...

+1.  It indeed has been a lengthy project to find hotels with a/c for our upcoming September DIY automobile trip primarily to WWI battlefield sites in northern France (plus WWII’s Battle of the Bulge in which my father fought on the frontline) with additional stops in Trier and the Rhine River Gorge.  Not a problem in Paris and other major European cities but smaller towns like Amiens definitely still a major challenge. I work my way down the hotel lists on sister website TripAdvisor.  (Unlike Jim, however, I do try to keep within a bit of a budget; not looking to stay at The Four Seasons! ). Same thing for elevators BTW.

Edited July 3, 2019 by CintiPam

[Kingofcool1947]

On 6/29/2019 at 7:38 PM, Mura said:

Absolutely!  I was one who was reluctant to go to Israel. I was sure I'd be on the bus that blew up ... but I couldn't get over how wonderful it was.  Seeing three major religions in one small country was incredible.  And our brief time in Jordan and Egypt was also wonderful.

 

I wasn't trying to argue against an escorted tour!  But doing it the way we did was an incredible gift.

 

When we had a stop in Haifa on our November 2017 cruise we met Yafa for a late lunch, but of course on a cruise you don't have much time at a cruise port.

 

Mura

 

Did they take you into Palestine or visit the Gaza Strip?

Edited July 3, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[clo]

1 hour ago, CintiPam said:

hotels with a/c for our upcoming September

We were in Tuscany last year, flying out of Milan.  They had turned off the a/c for the season!  But there was a huge window.  I opened the door and got a breeze going.  I was a bit cranky 🙂

[CintiPam]

3 minutes ago, clo said:

We were in Tuscany last year, flying out of Milan.  They had turned off the a/c for the season!  But there was a huge window.  I opened the door and got a breeze going.  I was a bit cranky 🙂

I last was in Tuscany in January (and staying for a week at The Four Seasons in Florence on a special art-intensive tour; ironic considering my post #57 above written just one hour ago!).  

 

So no a/c issues then.  (Also a great time to visit with zero crowds; my thermal underwear was perfect for lengthy art in churches tours!)

[clo]

5 minutes ago, CintiPam said:

We were in Tuscany last year, flying out of Milan.

Oops, I didn't mention that this was probably late Sept/early Oct.  And I LOATHE heat 🙂

[CintiPam]

Weird that you are quoting your own post but it says it was written by me 

[Mura]

1 hour ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Did they take you into Palestine or visit the Gaza Strip?

Yafa arranged for a day visit to Bethlehem through a Christian Arab friend who owns a shop there.  He picked us up at the border and a young man guided us for our visit.  We had a problem returning because we hadn't brought our passports with us -- we did have our drivers' licenses -- and the Israeli guard wouldn't even talk to us.  In the end she suggested we go to a border crossing nearby where we had no problem.  But we saw first hand the hassles that Palestinians and Arabs go through on a daily basis.

 

We did NOT get to Gaza.  But this was 2006, if that is pertinent ... I'm not sure that it is.

 

Mura

[clo]

1 minute ago, Mura said:

1 hour ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Did they take you into Palestine or visit the Gaza Strip?

 

When we were there on an escorted trip, we traveled through the West Bank.  The only person who had his ID checked was a "brown" person.  No to Gaza.  It was one of the most wonderful trips we've ever done.

[kendon]

On 7/2/2019 at 10:37 PM, clo said:

When we were there on an escorted trip, we traveled through the West Bank.  The only person who had his ID checked was a "brown" person.  No to Gaza.  It was one of the most wonderful trips we've ever done.

Just returned from a three week land trip there.  Don't go to Gaza!   Gaza is run by Hamas  who stirs the pot every chance they get.  The West Bank is not to be missed.  So much to see.  The Palestinians in the West Bank, for the most part. are very peaceful people and extremely hospitable.  I spent a day in Aida refugee camp taking cooking lessons with amazing Palestinian women raising money for their special needs children.  I lived in Israel for one year and loved the experience.  Can't wait to go back.  Felt very safe.

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by kendon

[kendon]

On 6/29/2019 at 10:43 PM, clo said:

I've heard that Jordan especially is wonderful.  And friends have recently traveled in Egypt and loved it.

Jordan and it's people are AMAZING! 

[clo]

2 hours ago, kendon said:

Just returned from a three week land trip there.  Don't go to Gaza!   Gaza is run by Hamas  who stirs the pot every chance they get.  The West Bank is not to be missed.  So much to see.  The Palestinians in the West Bank, for the most part. are very peaceful people and extremely hospitable.  I spent a day in Aida refugee camp taking cooking lessons with amazing Palestinian women raising money for their special needs children.  I lived in Israel for one year and loved the experience.  Can't wait to go back.  Felt very safe.

 

We never felt uncomfortable one bit. It was an incredible,  bucket list trip.

[HokiePoq]

On 7/2/2019 at 10:34 PM, Mura said:

Yafa arranged for a day visit to Bethlehem through a Christian Arab friend who owns a shop there.  He picked us up at the border and a young man guided us for our visit.  We had a problem returning because we hadn't brought our passports with us -- we did have our drivers' licenses -- and the Israeli guard wouldn't even talk to us.  In the end she suggested we go to a border crossing nearby where we had no problem.  But we saw first hand the hassles that Palestinians and Arabs go through on a daily basis.

 

We did NOT get to Gaza.  But this was 2006, if that is pertinent ... I'm not sure that it is.

 

Mura

I don't think anyone goes to Gaza right now.   I arranged a land tour for my church in March.   They went to Bethlehem just as we had several years prior off a cruise ship.   I was ill and unable to go so we are returning in 2020 and hoping for the best.

[kitty9]

I've taken two, 30 day land tours in SE Asia, and now more than 100 cruises, and I can say that land tours just don't do it for me anymore.  Can't stand packing and unpacking 10 times, hassles to the bus and doing the whole airport routine.  It's just too exhausting.  We have done two 22 day cruises this year, both B2B, one in the Caribbean and one in the Med, and loved both of them.  No big hassles of packing constantly, only two long flights for the Med cruises, and no hotel stays with questionable food and really questionable air conditioning (I have asthma and hot and humid doesn't work for me).  

 

As for tours, we never, ever take the ship's tour options.  We'd rather have the on board credit and book our own tours so we can go when and where we want.  If you want to save money, hook up with others on your cruise and book small group tours with them.  You can get some of those tours very cheap.  

[Bootman4U]

I am so SOOOO tired of hearing people whining because they have decided for whatever reason that they don't want to be "special."  What the hell is "special" about somebody who decided to spend their money on a suite  on a cruise ship?  Does it make you feel better if you can denigrate those who spend their money in a different way than you do? 

[clo]

1 hour ago, Bootman4U said:

I am so SOOOO tired of hearing people whining because they have decided for whatever reason that they don't want to be "special."  What the hell is "special" about somebody who decided to spend their money on a suite  on a cruise ship?  Does it make you feel better if you can denigrate those who spend their money in a different way than you do? 

Were you replying to a particular post?  

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Bootman4U said:

I am so SOOOO tired of hearing people whining because they have decided for whatever reason that they don't want to be "special."  What the hell is "special" about somebody who decided to spend their money on a suite  on a cruise ship?  Does it make you feel better if you can denigrate those who spend their money in a different way than you do? 

 

3 minutes ago, clo said:

Were you replying to a particular post?  

I am also confused about Bootman’s post

[Mura]

As someone who has taken to booking suites later in our cruising careers (is cruising a career?), I too am wondering where Bootman came from.

 

We got spoiled when we upgraded once upon a time and decided we didn't want to go back ... but when we "downsized" after a spectacular offer by Oceania in 2016 (I think) we ended up not in our original PH but in a B1 and it stood up much better in our experience than in our memory!  But that downsize paid for a VS on our next cruise ...

 

Once you are in a top suite it IS hard to go back. But if you can't afford it, you do!

 

I have never met anyone on Oceania who judged others by the level of cabin they were occupying ... And I've never seen a crew member do so either.

 

Have I misunderstood?

 

Mura

 

[clo]

@Bootman4U we're looking forward to hearing from you.  Truly.  Color us confused.

[RJB]

On 7/8/2019 at 8:12 PM, Mura said:

As someone who has taken to booking suites later in our cruising careers (is cruising a career?), I too am wondering where Bootman came from.

 

We got spoiled when we upgraded once upon a time and decided we didn't want to go back ... but when we "downsized" after a spectacular offer by Oceania in 2016 (I think) we ended up not in our original PH but in a B1 and it stood up much better in our experience than in our memory!  But that downsize paid for a VS on our next cruise ...

 

Once you are in a top suite it IS hard to go back. But if you can't afford it, you do!

 

I have never met anyone on Oceania who judged others by the level of cabin they were occupying ... And I've never seen a crew member do so either.

 

Have I misunderstood?

 

Mura

 

No, Quite correct.   Does not seem to be a class system here.