Currently sailing Riviera. Boarded 9/14 in Istanbul…End 10/3 in Barcelona

[retiredcat]

Hi Joe

my wife and I will board in Rome.  Booked for the bocelli shore excursion in Livorno.  Looking forward to great food and making new friends.  This will be our second Oceania cruise.  We were on the riviera the 1st time also.  Thanks for the play by play.  Sounds like you are having a good time.  See you soon,

Greg and Jasmine 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 9/17/2022 at 7:26 AM, JoePDX said:

All is fine on Riviera.

 

Embarkation in Istanbul was a mess.  2 1/2 hours to get onboard with us arriving at 12 for our 12-12:30 boarding time.   New terminal is very nice but none of the taxi drivers seem to know how to get into the drop off area which is underground.   We got dropped off in the parking garage and had to navigate elevators.

 

1035 passengers on board.  Paul Baya is Cruise Director.   

 

Dined in Red Ginger first night.   They have the Miso Sea Bass.   Excellent meal.   Going again tonight.   Everyone I have talked to has raved about their meals there.

 

Had husband’s birthday celebration in Privee - Degustation Menu.   Fine service but a lot of food.   😊

 

La Reserve last night Bourgeois Menu.   Excellent in every way!   Doing the Odyssey Menu later in the cruise.
 

Happy to answer questions.

 

Joe

We had trouble in Istanbul too, back in May, when only a few ships had visited.  The taxi driver drove around in the basement having no signage, no people, no help in finding where to drop us.  Finally he found 3 guys to ask, but they were (I believe) Oceania crew members returning to the ship, and they told the taxi driver where the closest door was.  But it turned out to be the door for people returning to the ship who already had the world cards.  We had to trudge up the escalator with our luggage and then find where to go to check in -- not a pleasant or easy experience.  I texted the hotel about our experience, telling them to warn cab drivers going to Galataport that they'll need to figure out, or ask at the entrance to the garage, where to go to drop people off at the correct entrance. But once we found and got where we needed to be, the process was pretty normal, except for a rather unusual security process that I had not seen before.  But otherwise, the port's contractor or port agent employees or whoever checked us in fairly quickly.  And then there was a slog up those ramps to the ship.  Galataport was beautiful and clean, but yes, a mess.  And then when I tried to go back out of the port the same day, my card didn't work.  They had to call Oceania to verify.  And of course, as I kind of expected, it didn't work when I came back.  Hopefully in time they'll get a lot more experience and the whole process will go easier.  But we were the only ship that day, and a small one at that (Sirena, total 700 people or whatever), so who knows how they will do when 3 or 4 huge ships converge at the same time...

 

Anyway, enjoy your cruise.  Ours in May was fabulous, with one of those famous port-intensive itineraries.  And oh, it felt so good to be out on the seas again.....

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 9/17/2022 at 7:30 AM, JoePDX said:

Sailing into Volos, Greece.    We went to the monasteries at Meteroa.   Amazing!

I'm jealous.  The monasteries are on my bucket list.  You didn't go to Crete (Chania) or Paphos (Cyprus), did you?  I fell in love with those places in May - very nice surprise!

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 9/17/2022 at 9:44 AM, godfreyb said:

We had the same boarding experience in July.  No one knows where the terminal is and there is little signage outside or within the terminal as to where you should go.  There is a drive-in area but that is not signposted either.  Oceania, who arrive and depart from Istanbul frequently should really do something about that, we are old but still active, but it was a haul to get to where we were supposed to go and then had to go back some because the proof of vaccination area (not signposted) was halfway back from where we came in.

Well, in May it was a mess too. Galataport is nice and new, but not ready for prime time.  By May they had only had a few cruise ships since re-opening after the worst of Covid, and you could tell they weren't ready!  And you're right - no signage!

 

[Marmaduke]

On 9/23/2022 at 4:18 AM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Well, in May it was a mess too. Galataport is nice and new, but not ready for prime time.  By May they had only had a few cruise ships since re-opening after the worst of Covid, and you could tell they weren't ready!  And you're right - no signage!

 

Totally agree, we were there in early July for an overnight mid cruise stay.  It took ages to find our way out of the terminal to the street and on return we couldn't find where to get back into the terminal.  We ended up following another ships tour group through the maze of tunnels and security and it took 30 mins to get back to our ship.   Fortunately we have been to Istanbul serveral times because the new port complex has certainly put me off any future visits.

[ChadnKate]

On 9/17/2022 at 9:44 AM, godfreyb said:

We had the same boarding experience in July.  No one knows where the terminal is and there is little signage outside or within the terminal as to where you should go.  There is a drive-in area but that is not signposted either.  Oceania, who arrive and depart from Istanbul frequently should really do something about that, we are old but still active, but it was a haul to get to where we were supposed to go and then had to go back some because the proof of vaccination area (not signposted) was halfway back from where we came in.

We embarked the Sirena at the new Istanbul facility in May. If we weren't the very first ship to use the facility we were close to it. Physically its a magnificent facility, in a good location. But the process was a clusterf! I had looked at YouTubes and their website and understood how it was supposed to work. Our longtime Istanbul guide drove us there but couldn't figure out how to get to the internal drop-off point as we are a bit too old and had far too much luggage for our 6 week vacation to haul it from the street. I had to cajole him to drive into the ground level where no-one knew anything about anything. Finally got to where we should be then watched a couple of dog handlers line up several hundred suitcases and do a 20 minute walk around before clearing the bags to proceed. Remember we were all leaving Turkey, not arriving. In modern terms, the hardware was great but the software had bugs!

[chloemonkey]

Our biggest problem with the new port was the fact that we were late in getting released to go ashore and once we were - the floodgates opened and there were WAY too many people trying to get through the turnstyles by using their ship card.....

 

My card did not work and the agent near me just waived me through.  My husbands also did not work....and they pulled him out of line, took him to a security office....took his card and then another agent kept asking "where is your CARD???"  And my husband kept telling them that one of the other agents had already taken it.....since two of these personnel were toting rifle type guns....it was a bit disconcerting......on the way back all went well.  But the walk is really ridiculous for seniors or people with disabilities.....

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, chloemonkey said:

Our biggest problem with the new port was the fact that we were late in getting released to go ashore and once we were - the floodgates opened and there were WAY too many people trying to get through the turnstyles by using their ship card.....

 

My card did not work and the agent near me just waived me through.  My husbands also did not work....and they pulled him out of line, took him to a security office....took his card and then another agent kept asking "where is your CARD???"  And my husband kept telling them that one of the other agents had already taken it.....since two of these personnel were toting rifle type guns....it was a bit disconcerting......on the way back all went well.  But the walk is really ridiculous for seniors or people with disabilities.....

Wow, not so good…….

Edited September 25, 2022 by ronrick1943

[Aloha 1]

This is really unacceptable. O needs to provide some type of guide for navigating Galataport embarkation .

[pinotlover]

13 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

This is really unacceptable. O needs to provide some type of guide for navigating Galataport embarkation .

I believe where one needs to go depends upon where the port master puts the ship that day. When multiple ships are docked the location where an O ship docks can change daily. Best to check the exact ship location before leaving the hotel. 
 

Through the years we have often had to find the ship at any given port because of  changes made by the port master.

[susiesan]

Is the port so large that if multiple ships are there you can't see Oceania ships? Just look for the stack as you pull up in the cab and point your ship out to the driver. I've had to do this in multiple overseas ports the when embarking.

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

This is really unacceptable. O needs to provide some type of guide for navigating Galataport embarkation .

Maybe the port  needs to provide  better  directions for people embarking or disembarking  their terminal

 Most airports have signage to guide pax why  not cruise terminals

JMO

[pinotlover]

51 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Maybe the port  needs to provide  better  directions for people embarking or disembarking  their terminal

 Most airports have signage to guide pax why  not cruise terminals

JMO

In how many languages? I’ve been to the Province of Quebec and all the signs aren’t always in English! 😂 Fortunately through the years I’ve picked up enough French to manage. We’ve flown into multiple international airports where the signage was only in the native language.

 

For those wanting or needing Oceania to hold their hand and walk them to the ship, I believe they offer that convenience, albeit expensive. It’s there for anyone needing it. However, if you want to save the money and DIY, there may be pre planning necessary. 

[Aloha 1]

17 hours ago, susiesan said:

Is the port so large that if multiple ships are there you can't see Oceania ships? Just look for the stack as you pull up in the cab and point your ship out to the driver. I've had to do this in multiple overseas ports the when embarking.

It isn't a problem of seeing the ship, it's having your driver drop you at the right door apparently. My understanding is there's a half mile walk just to get from your drop off to registration.

[Marmaduke]

5 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

It isn't a problem of seeing the ship, it's having your driver drop you at the right door apparently. My understanding is there's a half mile walk just to get from your drop off to registration.

Correct, the drop off point is   underground, in fact the whole cruise terminal is underground and on several floors.  It takes ages to find your way though the warren of tunnels and up and down escalators.

[tubmon]

Hi Joe, we're on the next cruise out of Barcelona and could use some planning help. Are the staterooms equipped with USB charging ports? Is the basic included internet good enough to attend a Zoom call? Thanks for your help!

[notatubaplayer]

No charging ports in rooms.  Internet can be spotty.  I managed to make it mostly through a football game online but it was in the middle of the night.

 

We just had another port change.  Making a run for Marseille in some pretty strong headwinds.  Captain said it could be a bit of a rough night.

 

[LHT28]

37 minutes ago, notatubaplayer said:

No charging ports in rooms. 

 

I thought they installed them  next to the bed??

 

[JoePDX]

On 9/26/2022 at 8:04 PM, tubmon said:

Hi Joe, we're on the next cruise out of Barcelona and could use some planning help. Are the staterooms equipped with USB charging ports? Is the basic included internet good enough to attend a Zoom call? Thanks for your help!

No USB charging ports….  You will need a plug.   Suspect this will be rectified during the refit in November.

 

Joe

[JoePDX]

51 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I thought they installed them  next to the bed??

 

No USB by the desk or the bed.

 

Joe

[JoePDX]

Hi All -

 

Sorry been having too much fun to post.   
 

We missed Rhodes and Livorno due to weather.   ☹️ Also due to weather we are heading to Marseille tomorrow which was originally scheduled for 10/1. We should have been in Villefranche which was subbed for Monaco.    According to Captain, tendering in Villefranche would have been too dangerous with 3-6 foot sea rises.   We are supposed to go the Villefranche on 10/1.   We will arrive Marseille tomorrow at 11 and depart at 8pm.   There will be no ships tours…and limited shuttles so not sure what most will do.  We had a private tour for Marseille with another couple on the ship - he is trying to get it rescheduled to tomorrow.

 

My husband witnessed a passenger screaming at her Butler in the hallway about the changes…I know it  can be disappointing but really!!!  

 

Food has been very good to excellent.  Service really great..the crew are so amazing.

 

Some random things:

 

Olive oil cart presented in Toscana without asking.

 

The sticky buns have been so terrible I have had to try them every day.   
 

Red Ginger has been our favorite.

 

We have done all private tours.   I will post details of guides when I get home.   Some have been superb!

 

Riviera is in good shape.   I am sure you can n find wear and tear but nothing glaring.

 

Fabulous is on board for those who may have sailed with her.

 

A tip:   The virgin Pina Coladas at the pool bar are AMAZING!

 

Some amazing crew to mention:   Natalia, Barbara, Evo, Ronnie, Luzele, Byron, Ian.   And so many more.  We are pampered everywhere.

 

Joe

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LHT28]

50 minutes ago, JoePDX said:

My husband witnessed a passenger screaming at her Butler in the hallway about the changes…I know it  can be disappointing but really!!!  

 

 

That is terrible

They should be put off the ship on a sea day 🤔

 

Too bad about the port changes but looks like you will get there in the end

 

Sorry to hear the sticky buns are  so bad  😉

 

Enjoy the rest of the cruise

 

[jonthomas]

sounds just wonderful....enjoy to the last drop....

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, JoePDX said:

The sticky buns have been so terrible I have had to try them every day.   

Let us know which comes first:  (a) the sticky buns get better 😉; (b) you explode 🤣

[babysteps]

We loved Villefranche last fall - the restaurant upstairs at the tender dock is amazing! We did walk a block or two along the shore but that's as far as we made it lol