Live-ish report.Vista, Trieste to Athens June 1-12 2024

[daydreamer62]

8 hours ago, Harters said:

We found Martini's to be consistently very cold. Too cold to sit and enjoy a drink or two. It was the only public room on the ship that was like that.

I haven't found it cold anywhere so maybe they have balanced the aircon better

[daydreamer62]

Last night we ate at the GDR. I ordered the beef carpaccio which was perfect. A very small serving which was all I needed. I followed that with herb crusted lamb rack. It was cooked medium rare as I requested. I cook lamb rack almost daily as part of my job and it's hard to beat. I can't day this one was better than mine but it obviously wasn't New Zealand lamb either. It was still great. It came with daphenois potato and ratatouille both if which were tasty. Then I finished with the souffle which was green apple . It was light and nice but not a wow dessert. 

All in all an excellent meal though 

We had found Baristas great for a light lunch yesterday. The bakery offerings were delightful.. light as air custard filled doughnuts quiche eclairs and lovely little filled rolls which is what I chose with a doughnut for a light lunch along with a good coffee

[ORV]

While I love the daily souffle offering I haven't seen the Green Apple. Just the thought of it kind of would make me wary. Interesting. 

 

Keep up the reporting. Nice to hear that you're enjoying the cruise. 

[Huib]

On our last cruise we sometimes went to the main dining room just to get the soufflé there after we had eaten in the Terrace Cafe. 

[daydreamer62]

Yesterday was our one and only sea day . It was a beautiful day. We spent the morning in the sun outside Baristas near the pool. We are lunch with our friends in the Terrace Cafe I would have been happy with a roll at Baristas! Yesterday morning there apparently was a moth infestation on the back deck of the Terrace ( could be total rumour but there were a lot of moths around and they did remove all the chairs from the deck and washed down the deck.) I bet that is not a common occurrence if it was true. 

Dinner was at Toscana. It was very good. I had the gorgonzola topped fillet mignon with the octopus carpaccio to start and the chocolate fondante for dessert. Everything was great. I don't think the steak was cooked quite as well as the one we had in Polo grill but it was still very good.  I tried the Albarino with the octopus and the Wente Cabernet Sauvignon with the steak . Good matches I think. 

Today we did the 3 ancient cities excursion. It was probably the best yet.  I would totally recommend it to anyone interested in Greek ancient history.Excellent guide and 3 different but impressive ruins.  Priene, Miletus (theatre) and The temple of Apollo at Didyma. Lunch which was included was better than expected with a big buffet of Turkish vegetarian specialties, then pan fried fish (less good and actually unnecessary as the appetisers were more than sufficient. 

[fdnycruiser]

On 6/6/2024 at 5:21 PM, Harters said:

We found Martini's to be consistently very cold. Too cold to sit and enjoy a drink or two. It was the only public room on the ship that was like that.

We live in Florida, and anyplace you go the AC is blasted on high,and feels like a meat locker. I guess we’re used to it.⛄️

[fdnycruiser]

On 6/6/2024 at 5:21 PM, Harters said:

We found Martini's to be consistently very cold. Too cold to sit and enjoy a drink or two. It was the only public room on the ship that was 

Edited June 8 by fdnycruiser
Double post. Sorry

[basor]

@daydreamer62 - was your 3 cities tour with O or a private tour? Assume this was from Izmir.

[daydreamer62]

10 hours ago, basor said:

@daydreamer62 - was your 3 cities tour with O or a private tour? Assume this was from Izmir.

It was through Oceania and it was from Kusadasi. We had already been to Ephesus several years ago. I can highly recommend the 3 ancient cities tour 

Edited June 9 by daydreamer62

[daydreamer62]

Last night's dinner was at Red Ginger. Our last if the specialities. It was excellent. I think just sitting below Polo grill for me but still pretty faultless. We eat a lot of Asian food but I thought this was as good as most of the restaurants we dine at. We had the shared appetisers of sushi and skewers. Then I chose the duck and watermelon salad. It was delicious but quite sweet for those who don't care for sweet . I didn't mind it though it wasn't remotely spicy (probably best not to call it a spicy salad as it obviously isn't but I don't think it needed to be spicy)

My main was the scallop trilogy.. perfectly cooked. I couldn't manage dessert .. 

 

[HilsTas]

3 minutes ago, daydreamer62 said:

Last night's dinner was at Red Ginger. Our last if the specialities. It was excellent. I think just sitting below Polo grill for me but still pretty faultless. We eat a lot of Asian food but I thought this was as good as most of the restaurants we dine at. We had the shared appetisers of sushi and skewers. Then I chose the duck and watermelon salad. It was delicious but quite sweet for those who don't care for sweet . I didn't mind it though it wasn't remotely spicy (probably best not to call it a spicy salad as it obviously isn't but I don't think it needed to be spicy)

My main was the scallop trilogy.. perfectly cooked. I couldn't manage dessert .. 

 

Thank you for your "live-ish" report DayDreamer62 - it has been a pleasure following your cruise. 😊

[aussietwo]

2 hours ago, HilsTas said:

Thank you for your "live-ish" report DayDreamer62 - it has been a pleasure following your cruise. 😊

Hilary I have been following it as well.   Nice to follow a positive thread.  Thx Lauren I feel you have a lot in common with us two from Down Under.
 Cheers Ros 🙂

[HilsTas]

1 hour ago, aussietwo said:

Hilary I have been following it as well.   Nice to follow a positive thread.  Thx Lauren I feel you have a lot in common with us two from Down Under.
 Cheers Ros 🙂

Absolutely Ros

Edited June 9 by HilsTas

[daydreamer62]

Yesterday we took the Meteora monasteries excursion from Volos. It was the longest excursion we had but worth every minute of the 2 hours each direction to see these incredible buildings perched on cliff tops. We had a great guide(again) I'll remind you that to date our poorest excursion was a private (expensive) excursion.  I would highly recommend this despite the warnings of steps out was actually fairly easy with under 200 taken very slowly as it was quite crowded (as everywhere has been) . It was extremely hot at 37c too but despite that it was as I said worth every minute. This is somewhere I never thought I would get to. 

The included lunch though wasn't so great . It certainly made us appreciate the food on the ship!! We did get a big jug of a delicious local Rosé though so it was bearable!!!

[goletans]

YES!!!!  Visiting Meteora is one of the best experiences we have ever had!

[daydreamer62]

The night before last we secured a second dinner at Red Ginger. The food was equally as good as the first, though we were seated near the staff plating and serving area which was very busy and so the restaurant lacked  bit of the atmosphere it had the night before . As a group of 6 were kind of make our own atmosphere anyway so it wasn't a loss.

Last night we ate with new friends at the Grand dining room. That was probably our weakest meal but still wasn't what I would call a bad meal. I had the salt crusted beetroot carpaccio and beef Wellington which was a little overdone (probably medium as opposed to medium rare .) our friends had the chicken Kiev which came out in a log shape.. quite unusual.. 

We had earlier done the passport to Greece cooking class. It was fun. Very undemanding and I didn't learn anything new but had a good time and would recommend the classes to others ( I am a cooking technology tutor for a job so it's interesting to see how others approach teaching) 

Before that we had done the highlights of Thessaloniki tour . It was ok but I think we could have done it via a hop on hop off bus type tour on our own  (though I never saw one while out in the city so they may not be very frequent) . In retrospect I would have preferred the Ancient Pella tour that goes to the tombs of Alexanda the greats parents which one of our friends did.

Edited June 11 by daydreamer62

[daydreamer62]

We have been off the ship now got several days . I can look back only with pleasure at our time onboard. 

In a final summary from the perspective of a first time Oceania cruiser I can say that though we didn't book another onboard, if an itinerary that was right had been available were definitely would have. 

The entire trip was delightful. 

None of the common negative topics here on Cruise Critic were experienced by us.

Our favourite meal was probably at Ember (in contrast to many others here who don't seem to rate it) .I liked the ambience of the restaurant with the. live kitchen and everyone if our party of 6 was impressed by the food.

Next would have been Red Ginger which we experienced twice and then Polo Grill. . There was nothing wrong with Toscana but the food at the others were highlights.

We are twice at Waves in the evening for Pizza which was great (as were the starters)

I only had one meal that was less than excellent and that was a beef Wellington at the GDR . It was not bad. We were eating quite late and it had probably been sitting for too long and wasn't quite to my preference of medium rare .. More of the medium level .. nothing to complain about .

I don't like buffet style eating but we did just about every breakfast and a few lunches at the Terrace Cafe and 1 dinner. It could be very busy depending on the day and time . The food was always good and consistent. 

We had no noise issues with the 3 cabins of our party of 6 

One midship deck 8, one aft deck 8 , one aft deck 11

We had no port changes at all to our itinerary.

There were some excursion changes and cancellations once onboard especially in busy ports where it appeared the supplier had capacity issues. However none affected me or my tours. We had booked more ship excursions than we normally would have to get the 25% discount. All the guides were good to excellent ( the one private excursion I booked was terrible.)

I got the premium drink package but my husband didn't. In retrospect I probably didn't need it though I made sure I got my money's worth..I probably drank more than I needed. 

My favourite bar was Founders. Loved the very different cocktails there. Some at other venues especially the waves  bar by the pool I found very sweet . ..

Horizons was busy with dancing every night we went there after dinner but with such a port heavy itinerary we weren't night owls on this cruise.

If I could find a criticism it either be of a few of the journey passengers who I occasionally heard speaking to staff and or complaining. (Often about trivial things and frequently misunderstandings because the passenger had not read documentation properly.  One woman spoke so rudely to a port worker complaining that there was no communication about the particular shuttle at this port when it had been in the currents the night before, on the morning show by the CD and over the intercom in the morning.

The tone used by others was appalling. I'd prefer not to cruise with those types again.

Nothing is perfect.. if I could improve something it would be the design of the ship. The elevators needed to go all the way to 4 in both aft and forward locations. (Very minor issue that might affected me when I was feeling lazy) The deck by the pool got very hot on bare feet on hot days. .

The included wines . This is a very subjective thing. I love wine but I didn't much care for either of the two Rosés, and didn't care for some of the whites,but I did enjoy several of the reds. I could always find something.. And having the premium drink package meant I could have a cocktail anyway..

We didn't go to any of the shows except for the comedian just once,so I can't comment on those.

So all in all my worries that had been prompted by some of the posts here on cruise critic were totally ungrounded. Maybe we were just lucky or maybe it's just that I don't go looking for something to complain about . 

[Vallesan]

@daydreamer62 so pleased you enjoyed your cruise overall. Unfortunately we can’t pick the people who are travelling on the same ship but we can choose to ‘avoid’ them! I don’t think you were ‘just lucky’ I think, as you said you ‘don’t go looking for something to complain about’. I guess it’s back to that old chestnut of ‘having realistic expectations’!

Thank you for your reports and thoughts they have been interesting. Happy cruising!

[ORV]

8 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

So all in all my worries that had been prompted by some of the posts here on cruise critic were totally ungrounded.

Thank you for your positive review. I think your statement I quoted here sums it up. I wish more people would read the positives that people post instead of the negatives. 

 

As you said you didn't go looking for something to complain about and obviously went to enjoy your vacation time. Life is too short to always be looking for the negatives. 

[cayman09]

Thank you for taking the time to keep all of us so well informed. I enjoyed reading such a positive tone without all of the nitpicking and complaining that seem to permeate these threads. So happy for you that you had a wonderful trip.

[Wynterwynd]

This was well worth reading; we are frequent Oceania cruisers and it was a pleasure to read positive (and detailed) input on the various dining venues and menus.  We have always been able to find something delicious to order…from breakfast in the GDR (eggs poached medium on avocado toast with hollandaise on top…my favorite) to surf and turf sandwich hold-the-bun at Waves Grill to most anything at dinner at GDR as long as dessert is the souffle (though the apple one is my least favorite).  I almost always have the lobster bisque (then sit and watch my ankles swell from the salt), lol.  

I don’t care for most of the wine choices, but usually order a cocktail (they make a good Manhattan and very good Sidecar).  

Looking forward to trying Embers, thanks for the tips on what you liked there.  I agree the Gorgonzola topped filet at Toscana is very good, but my go-to is the Dover sole filleted at the table.  Everything I’ve ever ordered at Polo Grill has been good.

Will try Baristas for a cocktail, I wasn’t aware that they had evening hours (or figured it was for coffee).  I love their madelines with morning coffee.

The only common ports our November cruise will have are Dubrovnik and Kotor but it sounds like walking on our own (as we planned) will be good.

Thank you again!

[Iamthesea]

On 6/5/2024 at 2:44 PM, daydreamer62 said:

I can't believe they're were no other poor reviews on this guy. He honestly was dreadful! But at least he got us to both places and back to Bari ( though not back to the ship,.. we walked back from the old town)

 

Several years ago, we took an excellent tour with Tours of Puglia. Hope this was not the company that you booked with!  Can you share the name?  

 

Loved reading your review!  Very similar to our last cruise to the Caribbean on the Vista.  We were also on Deck 8 and had very little, if any, noise from next door.  At least it did not bother us.  Took a cruise in May on HAL's newest ship and the stateroom to stateroom noise factor was very bothersome.  Not a T.V. thing.  It was hearing a woman's loud voice everyday.  Must be new ship builds!

[daydreamer62]

8 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

 

Several years ago, we took an excellent tour with Tours of Puglia. Hope this was not the company that you booked with!  Can you share the name?  

 

Loved reading your review!  Very similar to our last cruise to the Caribbean on the Vista.  We were also on Deck 8 and had very little, if any, noise from next door.  At least it did not bother us.  Took a cruise in May on HAL's newest ship and the stateroom to stateroom noise factor was very bothersome.  Not a T.V. thing.  It was hearing a woman's loud voice everyday.  Must be new ship builds!

The company was https://www.pugliatourguideservices.it/ ..avoid like the plague!!! It's quite odd he has so many 5 star reviews on Viator but the few 1 start reviews matched our experience exactly!! Also he replies to the poor reviews that we posted the review to the wrong company but it's HIS photo in the advertising and the same man in my photos!! .. There's no way to reply to his response on Viator to let people know!!

Edited June 19 by daydreamer62

[Iamthesea]

That's terrible!!!  I believe that you can report him to Viator.