On Vista (August 18 - 30, 2023) British Isles

[Snaefell3]

43 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

...Our waiter asked us to check if it was cooked to our liking before leaving our table. Restaurant manager also came by and enquired about our satisfaction. The staff were very attentive and eager to please....

Perhaps there's a sign that reads "improve Ember's rep" as they leave the kitchen?  Good news in any event (looking forward to trying that bite-sized lobster roll).

[auldlassie]

Just back from Rome-Southampton on Vista, 24 nights.  We were a little concerned about our booked dinners in Ember having been told service was rather too fast. We had tables booked for 8pm, probably later than many other cruisers prefer, but that is when we like to eat dinner.  On both occasions we really enjoyed Ember. Fantastically tasty and tender bone in rib eyes, cooked medium to our perfection, lobster roll light and delicious, all other items ordered very good to excellent and served in generous proportions.  Service from staff very much on point and absolutely no rush whatsoever, table ours until closing. Highly enjoyable. 

[Hanoj]

Red Ginger: we ate there tonight for the first time. I’m not a Pan Asian enthusiast since avoiding soy allergens is more challenging with this cuisine type. But I submitted my request ahead of time as directed and had quite possibly our best ever meal at sea. I preselected items from the menu least likely to require adaptations by the chefs: caramelized tiger prawns, Asian greens with peanut dressing, and ribeye steak with a side of organic brown rice. The ribeye was cooked perfectly medium as I ordered and tasted delectable, if a bit thinly cut (supply or cost cutting issue?). 

[zteamtwo]

Hanoj--enjoy your posts.  Since you are on Vista now, do you think you would have time to ask someone on board (IT dept or guest services) if it is possible to pair a bluetooth wireless headset to the room TV so I could watch TV while wife is sleeping. We are on Vista on Jan 19 in Concierge. Thanks.

[Acrusa]

52 minutes ago, zteamtwo said:

Hanoj--enjoy your posts.  Since you are on Vista now, do you think you would have time to ask someone on board (IT dept or guest services) if it is possible to pair a bluetooth wireless headset to the room TV so I could watch TV while wife is sleeping. We are on Vista on Jan 19 in Concierge. Thanks.

Why not use the closed captions on the tv. Found it to be easy and sound proof LOL

[Mrs f.]

We ate in Ember last night. The food was quite good. Service was superb .The noise level was extremely high . We were seated near the kitchen. Constantly had to raise our voices to be heard by the other couple at our table 

[EJL2023]

14 minutes ago, Mrs f. said:

We ate in Ember last night. The food was quite good. Service was superb .The noise level was extremely high . We were seated near the kitchen. Constantly had to raise our voices to be heard by the other couple at our table 

We had the same experience. Food was great as was the service. We had the last center booth right at the kitchen which made for a noisy dinner.  

[Hanoj]

8 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

We had the same experience. Food was great as was the service. We had the last center booth right at the kitchen which made for a noisy dinner.  

We had a table for two at front and it was quieter in Ember than Red Ginger, mostly due to RG having more 6:30 guests. 

[EJL2023]

21 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

We had a table for two at front and it was quieter in Ember than Red Ginger, mostly due to RG having more 6:30 guests. 

As in most all restaurants there are quieter and noisier areas.  Just don’t always have a choice.  We actually had a rather noisy seat at Toscana also, but still enjoyed it. We were a party of three and not sure if that had a negative impact on our seating placement or not. 

[Hanoj]

We have called on three of four ports in Scotland (Edinburgh, Kirkwall, and Greenock/Glasgow but missed Stornoway) and Belfast, which we have greatly enjoyed, especially Kirkwall. 
 

Today we docked in Liverpool and have spent more time on the ship than ashore. We purposely didn’t book any ship or private excursions favoring exploring the city by foot (why do we use this idiom - gratefully my wife and I each used both our feet 🧐). We spent about 4 hours in the city but since we didn’t find somewhere we wanted to eat (I have food allergies which are easier to deal with on the ship) we headed back to the ship for a bite to eat planning to go back out but we (and dozens of other guests) were prevented from returning to the ship by the port authority for over 45 minutes as they gave priority to unloading a ferry. Why a cruise terminal would process a ferry sharing the facility with a cruise ship is beyond me (perhaps a strike or other interruption?). I mean ships have been docking here for centuries and this is the best they can do in modern times? Then the cruise terminal security had all Oceania guests remove belts, watches, etc. (everything metal) before going through the metal detector. This after we all showed our O World Cards that were carefully scrutinized (at least mine and my wife’s were). They even patted down an older man who was using two walking canes. This caused a backlog for which the young woman worker yelled to the rest of us to keep moving forward, oblivious to her coworker causing the disruption. It was chaos and the actions of port authority workers put pax at some risk of injury if their uncoordinated orders were heeded. Of course, it’s all about safety. 
 

Needless to say we weren’t ready to run through that gauntlet again. Great for local commerce, eh. 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Hanoj

[osandomir]

2 hours ago, Hanoj said:

We have called on three of four ports in Scotland (Edinburgh, Kirkwall, and Greenock/Glasgow but missed Stornoway) and Belfast, which we have greatly enjoyed, especially Kirkwall. 
 

Today we docked in Liverpool and have spent more time on the ship than ashore. We purposely didn’t book any ship or private excursions favoring exploring the city by foot (why do we use this idiom - gratefully my wife and I each used both our feet 🧐). We spent about 4 hours in the city but since we didn’t find somewhere we wanted to eat (I have food allergies which are easier to deal with on the ship) we headed back to the ship for a bite to eat planning to go back out but we (and dozens of other guests) were prevented from returning to the ship by the port authority for over 45 minutes as they gave priority to unloading a ferry. Why a cruise terminal would process a ferry sharing the facility with a cruise ship is beyond me (perhaps a strike or other interruption?). I mean ships have been docking here for centuries and this is the best they can do in modern times? Then the cruise terminal security had all Oceania guests remove belts, watches, etc. (everything metal) before going through the metal detector. This after we all showed our O World Cards that were carefully scrutinized (at least mine and my wife’s were). They even patted down an older man who was using two walking canes. This caused a backlog for which the young woman worker yelled to the rest of us to keep moving forward, oblivious to her coworker causing the disruption. It was chaos and the actions of port authority workers put pax at some risk of injury if their uncoordinated orders were heeded. Of course, it’s all about safety. 
 

Needless to say we weren’t ready to run through that gauntlet again. Great for local commerce, eh. 

We’ll be on the similar O cruise next April. You said that you liked your Belfast stop and other port calls particularly in Scotland. Can you please tell me what did you do in Belfast. Did you take a ship tour and was there any ship tour that you enjoyed there or in any other port.

 

Thanks.

[hubofhockey]

We had Liverpool as a stop on a BI itinerary and loved it, but of course it was a chance to do and see everything Beatles (did a private bespoke tour).  Enjoying your review @Hanoj .  Vista will be our first Oceania cruise and it’s more than a year away.  Hoping to see more videos on YouTube but right now those are mainly from travel agents.

[ChadnKate]

On 8/21/2023 at 11:40 AM, LHT28 said:

No one gets SM until Oct 1st

How about an extra Starling connection??

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, ChadnKate said:

How about an extra Starling connection??

Ask Oct 1st

 I am not holding my breath  for  that option

 We have cruise only   so AFAIK  it will be 1 account

[Hanoj]

16 hours ago, osandomir said:

We’ll be on the similar O cruise next April. You said that you liked your Belfast stop and other port calls particularly in Scotland. Can you please tell me what did you do in Belfast. Did you take a ship tour and was there any ship tour that you enjoyed there or in any other port.

 

Thanks.

The cruise terminal(D1)/Oceania provided a complimentary shuttle to and from downtown - Donegal Square West. This is a very convenient location for walking the downtown area. The first shuttle was scheduled to leave the terminal at 9:00 am but we wanted to get to town sooner, either by walking (3.4 miles which was permissible) or by taxi (8-10 GBP), but as we conversed with another couple before getting off the ship shortly after 8:00 am, they offered to drop us off near downtown on their way to Giant’s Causeway with their privately arranged tour. This was a serendipitous start to a great day.

 

After getting coffee and a pastry (Established Coffee which had a steady flow of local patrons and we enjoyed it) we shopped for about 90 minutes before taking the Hop On Hop Off tour (Belfast City Sightseeing https://belfastcitysightseeing.com/tour-prices/ ) around the city. Ours was live narrated by a tour guide and very informative. Cost was 20 GBP per person. 

 

The HOHO tour ended where we could catch the shuttle back to the ship for a quick lunch before our Oceania Aards Peninsula and Grey Abbey tour in the afternoon. However, after the shuttle was full we sat there while the driver awaited his replacement. We didn’t want to risk missing our tour so we walked one block ahead and caught a taxi to the ship. Fare was 8.6 GBP. We also had time for lunch in the Terrace Cafe before our excursion.

 

The afternoon tour was by a large coach with a total of 26 guests. There were two other buses doing the same tour. We drove in a counterclockwise direction across the peninsula en route to Grey Abbey where we stopped and toured the remains of the Cistercian Abbey for about 45 minutes.  Afterwards we drove along the coastline to Donaghadee for a stop at Pier 36, a quayside pub where the tour included an Irish Coffee. We decided not to wait since we spied a quaint looking coffee shop we decided to try called The Stormy Cup. 

 

As we were ordering the owner asked where we were from (Salem, Oregon) and he said he had lived in the Portland area for three years. We had a wonderful sponge cake/cream dessert and while we were waiting for our coffees a couple of pre-teenaged boys ordered tea. The owner was so impressed with these boys he didn’t charge them. We greatly enjoy these type of small world experiences. It’s a primary reason we like cruising and why making port calls and their durations are important to us. 

 

We had about an hour in Donaghadee, a quaint seaside village before returning to the ship along the northern coast of Aards Peninsula. This was a 4 hour O Life excursion we enjoyed. 

[SophieM]

On 8/26/2023 at 12:18 AM, osandomir said:

We’ll be on the similar O cruise next April. You said that you liked your Belfast stop and other port calls particularly in Scotland. Can you please tell me what did you do in Belfast. Did you take a ship tour and was there any ship tour that you enjoyed there or in any other port.

 

Thanks.

We have only done Belfast on a land tour, but we really enjoyed a “black cab” tour. There is also a big Titanic museum. 

[Hanoj]

Done too soon. 
 

We disembarked Vista this morning. We enjoyed our cruise and liked some things (especially the sports deck) better than on previous sailings with Viking, some things we were indifferent about, a few things we didn’t like. 
 

The primary realization for us is our travel preferences have changed since our previous cruise June 2019. Although we like having our hotel room float with us, we don’t anticipate cruising with Oceania or any line anytime soon. For example, Alaska is a destination we want to visit, but I will look into land (via air) based options before booking a cruise as our former default preference. 
 

 

[Harters]

27 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

we don’t anticipate cruising with Oceania or any line anytime soon.

I've been interested to follow the thread, as we're on Vista next year (for our third Oceania cruise). If not too much trouble, are you able to offer a very brief summary as to why you've decided not to cruise in at least the near future. By the way, your comment about the floating hotel room strikes a chord with me.

 

Have a trouble free flight home, not least a hope that you are unaffected by our air traffic control problems of recent days

 

John

Edited August 30, 2023 by Harters

[Hanoj]

16 minutes ago, Harters said:

I've been interested to follow the thread, as we're on Vista next year (for our third Oceania cruise). If not too much trouble, are you able to offer a very brief summary as to why you've decided not to cruise in at least the near future. By the way, your comment about the floating hotel room strikes a chord with me.

 

Have a trouble free flight home, not least a hope that you are unaffected by our air traffic control problems of recent days

 

John

Hi John. We were very satisfied with our veranda stateroom (8015 - a B3). Although a bit smaller than we would have preferred (we booked in early June)  we found a place for everything we packed (more than needed as I had hoped for warmer weather). The bathroom is very nice and comfortably spacious. 
 

The primary reason we are not excited to cruise soon is there’s much hurry up and waiting. Few things were as smooth and seamless as we remembered from our Viking cruises.  Tendering (4 made and 1 missed ports) was beset with delays, some of which were exacerbated by guests with mobility challenges. We did four O excursions (3 with O Life credit and one to get to Waterford) and have no interest in O excursions in future. So if sail with O I will be paying for excursions I don’t want and for alcohol I won’t consume. This is not a deal killer, it just means I will look more carefully at itineraries, especially since O is not always providing free shuttles to the featured port (e.g., Glasgow docking at Greenock) and durations were shortened.
 

Bottom line for us is we like doing things on our own schedule. This is more constrained on a cruise. Evening dining across all venues was later (6:30 pm) than we prefer with no service (except room service) from 4 pm to 6:30. 
 

I’m happy to answer specific questions. Our flight is scheduled for boarding in about an hour. 
 

Steve

[Harters]

All fair points, Steve. Thanks

 

Safe flight. 

[ToxM]

This does bring up a good point - shuttle buses used to pretty much guaranteed at each port - this isn’t always the case. Simply More should at the very least offer a HOHO or an on your own trip to major port stops in addition to their more curated tours. As it is I can see they seem to be offering more private vans etc - they should offer people the chance to make a small party for these maybe. 

 

Just ideas, but I know that I am not really into the vast majority of curated tours O offer. 

[LHT28]

Did they not have  afternoon tea with little sandwiches /cakes?

I thought  Barristas  had some offering all day  is this not case on Vista ?

[EJL2023]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Did they not have  afternoon tea with little sandwiches /cakes?

I thought  Barristas  had some offering all day  is this not case on Vista ?

Yes, the Barista on Vista has sandwiches and desserts all afternoon. And quite delicious I might add. 

[maxamize]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Did they not have  afternoon tea with little sandwiches /cakes?

I thought  Barristas  had some offering all day  is this not case on Vista ?

The new bakery next to Baristas has fabulous Madeleines, Sandwiches, Chouquettes, Brioche and eclairs 

 

, 

[LHT28]

Just now, maxamize said:

The new bakery next to Baristas has fabulous Madeleines, Sandwiches, Chouquettes, Brioche and eclairs 

 

, 

Well I guess the OP  did not  find them  or maybe was not to their tastes  if they could not find food after 4 pm until dinner time