Bangels Posted July 6 #1 Share Posted July 6 We are considering the above named cruise for February 2025 and would like to find more specific information about the types of lectures and lecturers offered on this cruise given that there are so many sea days. I don't expect it to be the intensity of an expedition cruise, but I would hope for knowledgeable experts in their field. When I called to ask about onboard activities and information on lectures I was given very little information and absolutely no interest in following up on my request. Has anyone here done this cruise and have any insights. Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted July 6 #2 Share Posted July 6 Some lecturers are very good, some ok, some poor. Chances are the contract for that cruise hasn’t been let to date. Two points: 1. The phone receptionist has no idea who that lecturer will be this far in advance 2. That same clerk would have zero personal knowledge of any of the lecturers ability. Even if he by chance did, they are trained to tell you they are all good. Your question isn’t a bad one, it’s just way ahead of schedule. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mauibabes Posted July 6 #3 Share Posted July 6 We did this cruise in January 2023, Antarctica Bays as well and it was wonderful. The Team of lecturers, 5 as I recall, were all University professors with 25+expeditions to Antarctica. We even got an invite to a private cocktail party with them, absolutely awesome. Your TA should be able to get more info for you if the lecturers have been selected. Go and enjoy. We also added the O Pre Tour to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires and would definitely do that one again. Not cheap but worth it since you fly up to the Falls, great hotels and food, etc. We had just been to Niagara Falls a few month earlier and Iguazu Falls is much more spectacular IMHO. Sorry to our Canadian and New Yorker O family members 😇🙏 Mauibabes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted July 6 #4 Share Posted July 6 Hawaiiandan was once a regular contributor here. I haven’t heard from him since he canceled the 2022 cruise we were supposed to both be on. He had once been one of the lecturers on a couple O cruises. After all the submittals required for the job, I believe he said it was 4-5 months pre cruise before he got his contract. Perhaps he’s reading and can reply. Maybe someone currently on board any of the ships can query a lecturer and see what the current drill is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shorton Posted July 6 #5 Share Posted July 6 2 hours ago, mauibabes said: We did this cruise in January 2023, Antarctica Bays as well and it was wonderful. The Team of lecturers, 5 as I recall, were all University professors with 25+expeditions to Antarctica. We even got an invite to a private cocktail party with them, absolutely awesome. Your TA should be able to get more info for you if the lecturers have been selected. Go and enjoy. We also added the O Pre Tour to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires and would definitely do that one again. Not cheap but worth it since you fly up to the Falls, great hotels and food, etc. We had just been to Niagara Falls a few month earlier and Iguazu Falls is much more spectacular IMHO. Sorry to our Canadian and New Yorker O family members 😇🙏 Mauibabes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shorton Posted July 6 #6 Share Posted July 6 We were on the same cruise as Mauibabes. Terrific! The lecturers were top-notch, especially with being on deck as we lied Antarctic waters. The lectures were very interesting. Lots of great slides and great historical stuff. Go and enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted July 7 #7 Share Posted July 7 Is your cruise one that goes to Antartica or just around the Horn? We just did one in Jan/Feb of this year and had 4 or 5 Antartica experts. Scientist, Photography, Naturalist, and a couple more. There were one or two lectures a day as well as constant commentary once we got to the Antarctic area. If a person has a chance and the inclination to go to this area, I would highly recommend it. Do make sure you know this is just a drive by, but it's still a great experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangels Posted July 7 Author #8 Share Posted July 7 I haven’t seen anything offered that included Antarctica itself. This appears to a a drive by only. We would also be interested in doing a pre-cruise trip to Iguazu Falls, but haven’t seen an offer for that either. We will be talking to our travel agent this week. I really appreciate everyone’s thoughtful responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted July 8 #9 Share Posted July 8 5 hours ago, Bangels said: I haven’t seen anything offered that included Antarctica itself. This appears to a a drive by only. We would also be interested in doing a pre-cruise trip to Iguazu Falls, but haven’t seen an offer for that either. We will be talking to our travel agent this week. I really appreciate everyone’s thoughtful responses. Those 'drive-by' are ships that carry more than (IIRC) 500 pax. So no Oceania's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted July 8 #10 Share Posted July 8 15 hours ago, Bangels said: I haven’t seen anything offered that included Antarctica itself. This appears to a a drive by only. We would also be interested in doing a pre-cruise trip to Iguazu Falls, but haven’t seen an offer for that either. We will be talking to our travel agent this week. I really appreciate everyone’s thoughtful responses. Check out “Land packages” or pre cruise stays for your cruise. The Iguazu Falls pre cruise trip was the best offering we’ve ever had with Oceania. Not to be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted July 8 #11 Share Posted July 8 3 hours ago, pinotlover said: Check out “Land packages” or pre cruise stays for your cruise. The Iguazu Falls pre cruise trip was the best offering we’ve ever had with Oceania. Not to be missed. We were there about 30 years ago on a DIY South America trip. We stayed on the Brazilian side. It was phenomenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torquer Posted July 8 #12 Share Posted July 8 We did this same cruise (but in the other direction) in Feb/Mar 2024. It was, by far, the best scenic cruising we have ever seen on any prior cruise. Antarctica is amazing. According to international regulations, even drive-by cruises are required to make it an educational experience. There were 4 lecturers on our Marina cruise covering interesting topics: Antarctica history (our's was the grandson of a member of Shakleton's original expedition), marine life, photography, and geology. We went to almost all of their lectures. When not giving talks, they had an area set up in the reception area you could stop by and ask questions. A couple tips. Bring a pair of excellent binoculars; we had a suite which included binoculars, but ours was better and often both of us were using them at the same time. Make sure you have a good camera with a long telephoto lens; we got amazing photos of penguins and whales from our balcony. A camera phone would just not cut it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted July 8 #13 Share Posted July 8 3 hours ago, Torquer said: Shakleton' On our little expedition trip we had several dinners that were based upon the nationality of certain captains. Shakleton was one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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