On Board Vista, July 23 - August 2, Turkish Ovation

[sistersbrothers]

2 hours ago, osandomir said:

Thank you for posting. It is not a matter if I trust your numbers or not. I still don’t understand how Oceania can accommodate 1200 passengers in the theater of that size especially when just one seating is available. Maybe it was a typo in the Oceania document that you’re referring to.

Well if you think it may be a typo in the Oceania Brochure you might have to wait until you are on board and count the seats one by one to convince yourself.

[lorimay]

Yesterday we were in Kusadasi. Several weeks ago they had changed the order of a couple of ports, which pushed back the arrival time to Kusadasi to 12:30pm. That meant our private tour of Ephesus was going to be in the heat of the afternoon. We had a quiet breakfast in the dining room which frankly wasn't very good. I had the swedish pancakes and they were very over cooked and dry. Service was very slow. 

 

We arrived in the port and docked next to the Celebrity Infinity, which coincidentally is our least favorite Celebrity ship. It's the one I won't even consider sailing on again. There was also a Cylesta (Greek line) ship in port but that was all.

 

We had booked the tour with Ephesus Shuttles (highly recommend) and our guide was waiting for us at the port  and walked us to our private van to begin the tour. Because of the heat, we went first to the mountain village of Sirince, which is a cute village but a little bit of a tourist trap. The streets are paved with rocks so it's a little bit difficult to walk. Lots of little shops selling soap, handicrafts, olive oil and mulberry juice and wine. We sat at a traditional cafe and had Turkish coffee and tea. Our guide pointed us to a nice shop because I wanted to buy some olive oil. I'm sure that we paid way too much for the olive oil and we also got a taste of the mulberry wine so we bought a bottle. It was very good and I don't even drink wine.

 

Next we went to the Temple of Artemis, which is only one remaining column, but we got a history of the area and an understanding of Ephesus through the centuries. We arrived at Ephesus and our guide decided we should do a loop of the lower area rather than walk from top to bottom because of the heat. It was pretty crowded but our guide was very knowledgeable and it was fascinating. We did the whole lower portion and had a great tour.

 

Unfortunately, because our time in Ephesus was shorter, the guide thought we might want to visit a "'village" where they make rugs (that's what he told us) and stop on the way back to the ship. He also suggested we see where ceramics are made. I nixed the ceramics, so we went to the "village" for rugs, which turned out to be a very upscale and modern rug showroom. First they showed us a demonstration of rug making and silk cocoon unwinding (fascinating), then we went to the showroom building and the sales push started. We were given drinks and a plate of food while several men unfurled carpets of all types and sizes in front of us. We kept telling them not to go to the trouble but they continued. Needless to say the rugs were incredible, with incredible prices. Once we said a firm no, the atmosphere got cold and we made a quick exit to the van. 

 

We were exhausted from the heat when we finally got back to the ship. We cleaned up and went to Terrace for dinner. We feel that Oceania has a real advantage over Regent with the casual dining option in the evening. I had a great meal of a ribeye steak from the grill, baked potato, and steamed vegetables plus a caprese salad. I think I enjoyed that steak more than the porcini crusted one I had in Embers the other night. It was cooked perfectly and was very good quality.

 

We were too tired to see the Martin Kaye "Elton" show, so we went back to the room and went to sleep early. 

 

We were supposed to be in Bozcaada, Turkey today, but the captain came on at 7:30 am and said that the weather was preventing us from tendering so we would skip Bozcaada and go directly to Istanbul, giving us a sea day. That means that of our five Simply More excursions for the $300 SM credit we had, we only actually went on one. Two were cancelled and  we chose not to go on the one in Antalya because of the heat. I'm not sure how I feel about Simply More program. We certainly didn't get good use out of the excursions. We don't drink much alcohol but it was convenient to have a beer or glass of wine at dinner a couple of times. 

 

We had complained about the regular thumping noise in the cabin yesterday and they sent an engineer who aparently adjusted something in the ceiling. It didn't work. It only happens when we move, so last night it was back again and pretty loud. This morning we asked our neighbors if they heard it and they said yes. We agreed it sounds like something from machinery in the back of the ship. We have decided that if we sail on Vista again, we will not be in the aft. Between the inconvenience of the elevator only going to deck 6 and the heavy vibration and thumping sound, I can't recommend the aft cabins, at least on deck 8.

[edgee]

13 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

The Vista cheerleaders shake their head in denial about claims regarding the sight lines and the lounge. Sacre blue, for it just cannot be, such a superior new brand-new ship, the only one worthy of sailing on until Allura arrives, must be near perfect. How can they pay so much more unless they get so much more? We'll stick to Riviera and save. 

Agree. We are currently on a 25 night Oceania Marina cruise. After two fairly recent cruises on Vista, we are enjoying this ship more. No noise transfer between cabins, better theatre design, and on Marina they have added one thing we liked a lot on Vista. That is Aquamor restaurant.

[Harters]

2 hours ago, lorimay said:

had the swedish pancakes

I've ordered these as I'd never previously heard of them and thought they might be something interesting. A bit disappointed to find they are just what I would know as normal pancakes.  

[MEFIowa]

5 hours ago, edgee said:

... We are currently on a 25-night Oceania Marina cruise. After two fairly recent cruises on Vista, we are enjoying this ship more....

We did our 20-night B2B on Riviera in the Med last Oct-Nov. We love the big "T" therapy pool in the forward spa deck, that is not on Marina. I'd enjoy it around 5-6 pm while wife was getting ready for dinner. Met a lot of interesting people in it. Too bad on our upcoming 22-nights on Sirena in the Baltic she doesn't have the big "T" pool.

[ORV]

I've never had the Swedish pancakes, they're not very good. 🤪

 

Lorimay, thanks for your review and insights. I would have to say, with all due respect, that I would have a hard time highly recommending a tour company that took me to a high pressure rug seller. We also had a private tour there and they didn't take us to any stores, just to Ephesus, with the Terrace Houses and back to the ship. 

[bbqoug]

8 minutes ago, ORV said:

Lorimay, thanks for your review and insights. I would have to say, with all due respect, that I would have a hard time highly recommending a tour company that took me to a high pressure rug seller. We also had a private tour there and they didn't take us to any stores, just to Ephesus, with the Terrace Houses and back to the ship. 

I agree. One of the last things I want on a tour is high pressure sales tactics. It would likely affect the tip I gave to the tour guide at the end.

[Tranquility Base]

11 hours ago, lorimay said:

I can't recommend the aft cabins, at least on deck 8.

Thanks for all your reports.

 

When you say 'aft' how far aft ?

Edited July 31 by Tranquility Base

[Yorkshirewanderers]

We are looking forward to joining the ship on Friday. We have arrived in Istanbul today having flown from the UK.  All the luggage was waiting for us at the baggage claim so we didn’t even have to wait for it but my word, what a huge airport Istanbul is.

 

We have a hotel with a view of the water and some of the key sights of Istanbul.  It is in Karakoy/Galata just one mile from Galataport so that should be good to see the main tourist hotspots tomorrow whilst avoiding the chaotic traffic getting to the ship on Friday morning.  Perhaps we will meet some of you on the next leg of the cruise.

[Iamthesea]

On 7/30/2024 at 2:55 AM, lorimay said:

The show last night really displayed the talent of the four singers in the production cast. It was called Music Triangle and was supposed to be about American music that came out of the area from New Orleans to Memphis to Nashville. Their voices and harmony were great. The music history was not very accurate and some of the song choices were very odd. And when they added in bluegrass, which wasn't developed anywhere near that area, they kind of lost us - but that doesn't take away from the great staging and performances.

 

We were pleasantly surprised with this show on our cruise last March.  Agree that the singers were good, especially the female singer that we had.  Another surprise was that our small hometown of Kingsport, TN, was mentioned in the commentary, as was Bristol, TN and VA.

I suggest that you read the following article about Bluegrass. LINK

 

[ORV]

1 hour ago, Iamthesea said:

 

We were pleasantly surprised with this show on our cruise last March.  Agree that the singers were good, especially the female singer that we had.  Another surprise was that our small hometown of Kingsport, TN, was mentioned in the commentary, as was Bristol, TN and VA.

I suggest that you read the following article about Bluegrass. LINK

 

I didn't click the link but I do think Bristol is the birthplace of Bluegrass. I'll go check the link now to see. 

[ORV]

20 minutes ago, ORV said:

I didn't click the link but I do think Bristol is the birthplace of Bluegrass. I'll go check the link now to see. 

I had that wrong, it's considered the birthplace of country music.

 

Bluegrass is the little town in KY where Bill Monroe is from, but, I guess it's not as simple as that. It's roots are England, Scotland, Italy, Ireland, Africa and I'm sure other places, that melded together in the Appalachian Mountains. I've always enjoyed the energy of it live, but not really something I'd sit around and listen to at home. 

[Vertygo]

7 hours ago, Yorkshirewanderers said:

We are looking forward to joining the ship on Friday. We have arrived in Istanbul today having flown from the UK.  All the luggage was waiting for us at the baggage claim so we didn’t even have to wait for it but my word, what a huge airport Istanbul is.

 

We have a hotel with a view of the water and some of the key sights of Istanbul.  It is in Karakoy/Galata just one mile from Galataport so that should be good to see the main tourist hotspots tomorrow whilst avoiding the chaotic traffic getting to the ship on Friday morning.  Perhaps we will meet some of you on the next leg of the cruise.

Greetings Yorkshirewanderers! We’re also boarding Friday, arrived Tues evening & also staying in the same area at Hotel DeCamondo Galata House, a wonderful Marriott Boutique hotel.

I was worried about my transfer through LHR, but took “only” 40 minutes from landing at T3 to get through security at T5. Fast track definitely helped & I actually had time to stop in the BA lounge.

We toured Sultanamet area yesterday with Ozge Okumus, a guide arranged through Viator, & will see more today, including a bit of a food tour on Asian side. She also freelances & I would highly recommend her.

Looking forward to Friday but trip is off to a great start!

[Harters]

10 hours ago, ORV said:

that melded together in the Appalachian Mountains

Before Monroe developed bluegrass as music to listen to, it was music to dance to. That earlier style is now known as "old time". A great place to hear live performances of both is the Rex Theater in Galax, VA. And , yes, customers are encouraged to get up and "flat foot" dance in front of the stage. We had a great evening there (and the town has a pretty good BBQ restaurant, so that was dinner sorted).  I'm something of a fan, having over 300 CDs of country, bluegrass and old time music. 

[Harters]

Another place near Galax is the Blue Ridge Music Center which has daily free afternoon performances by local bands - bluegrass and old time. For example,  today's show:

 

https://www.blueridgemusiccenter.org/concert-events/scott-freeman-willard-gayheart/

[Yorkshirewanderers]

10 hours ago, Vertygo said:

Greetings Yorkshirewanderers! We’re also boarding Friday, arrived Tues evening & also staying in the same area at Hotel DeCamondo Galata House, a wonderful Marriott Boutique hotel.

I was worried about my transfer through LHR, but took “only” 40 minutes from landing at T3 to get through security at T5. Fast track definitely helped & I actually had time to stop in the BA lounge.

We toured Sultanamet area yesterday with Ozge Okumus, a guide arranged through Viator, & will see more today, including a bit of a food tour on Asian side. She also freelances & I would highly recommend her.

Looking forward to Friday but trip is off to a great start!

Long flight for you across from the west coast.  We did the tourist stuff today but whilst we enjoyed looking around the tourist sights and going to the Grand Bazaar, we were surprised at how expensive Istanbul is for food and drink.

 

We have been to Turkey a lot and everywhere else is much much cheaper so let’s see what Kusadasi brings where we love the souk and the cafes and bars.  One has to do Istanbul but it is in some area even more expensive than London.  We will skip Ephesus when in Kusadasi because it will be way too hot and will stay local in the port because we have been before and like it.

 

We just want to get on the ship now and start the cruise.  We have done a number of the ports before on Riviera and love Santorini, Corfu and particularly Kotor which is wonderful.  We have also done Katakolon, visiting Olympia and the original games venue which is well worth a trip.  We arranged that with Shore Excursions which was better than the Oceania arranged trip on that occasion.

[tarhoosier]

4 hours ago, Harters said:

Another place near Galax is the Blue Ridge Music Center which has daily free afternoon performances by local bands - bluegrass and old time. For example,  today's show:

 

https://www.blueridgemusiccenter.org/concert-events/scott-freeman-willard-gayheart/

Galax, Virginia is named for the low growing, white flowering mountain plant which brightens the day for any mountain hiker.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galax

pronounced Gay-lacks

[Vertygo]

@Yorkshirewanderers-I hope to meet you once on Vista. I love your area of England.

Interesting that we’ve found food prices quite reasonable, sometimes quite a bit less than California. Of course, their inflation is extremely high & this is our 1st time here, so prices are bad compared to what you’ve previously experienced.

Today our guide took us to Suleman Mosque. We saw an O tour group arrive as we were leaving; someone complaining the guide needed to speak up 😆. We then wandered down through Spice Bazaar, then took a ferry to Kadikoy for a food tour. All in all a great way to start & hope the rest exceeds our expectations like this.

On board tomorrow!!

[Yorkshirewanderers]

A good tip that I should have posted earlier for people doing independent trips into the city is that if you get the tram up to the Grand Bazaar then having done a trip around there, if you walk back down hill following the tram line then you pass most of the key sights without risking getting lost.

 

If you want too use public transport, you need an Istabulkart which costs TKL 70 to start and then has to be charged up. One card can be used for up to 5 people but the fare on teams, buses, boats etc is only around TKL 18 per journey.

[lorimay]

20 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

 

We were pleasantly surprised with this show on our cruise last March.  Agree that the singers were good, especially the female singer that we had.  Another surprise was that our small hometown of Kingsport, TN, was mentioned in the commentary, as was Bristol, TN and VA.

I suggest that you read the following article about Bluegrass. LINK

 

What I meant and probably didn't say well, is that the show was supposedly about the music triangle from New Orleans to Mephis to Nashville - and Bristol, on the VA border, is not anywhere near that triangle. My point being that yes, bluegrass had a huge influence on country music and was the result of the Appalachian/Scots Irish traditional music, but it's a stretch to say that the Carter family developed the music in that triangle. They also forgot about Bill Monroe. But we really enjoyed the show even though it had a few lapses in the narrative. And that was really picky of me to put in my review.

[Harters]

10 minutes ago, lorimay said:

about the music triangle from New Orleans to Mephis to Nashville

This was actually our last but one road trip in the States. Nashville for country. Memphis for the Blues and rock and roll. New Orleans for jazz. We also visited Elvis' birthplace in Tupelo. And Lafayette, LA, for Cajun music (of which I'm also a fan). Listened to live music at all the stops. Great trip .

 

I agree that there were some lapses in the narrative but I enjoyed the show on board. 

Edited August 1 by Harters

[lorimay]

We spent today in Istanbul. Yesterday was a sea day because of our tender port of Bozcaada was canceled due to "bad conditions". I guess it was dangerous for the tenders, but the ship was as smooth as glass on our way to Istanbul. We ate outside on the back deck of the Terrace yesterday for breakfast, as the weather was much cooler and it was finally enjoyable. I love the covered deck on the Vista, a huge improvement for me over Marina and Riviera. We went to the libray (did I mention before that the library on the Vista is also a big improvement over the other ships?) and discovered a group of children playing games there. They were a little boisterous but not out of line. We truly have not had an issue with the children on the ship. 

 

Ate lunch at Waves and although I miss the surf and turf with steak, the wagyu patty was pretty darn good. Spent some time up in Horizons on the comfy chaise lounges, played trivia, cashed in our Big O points, and then went to the Grand Dining Room for dinner. I had an excellent meal mostly consisting of the Jacques' items on the menu. Service has been excellent in the GDR as it has been elsewhere.

 

The show last night was a production show with the singers and dancers. I can't remember the name of the show, but the singers did an outstanding job with only one song where they had a little trouble with the harmony. The dancers were excellent. Usually there's one or two that aren't up to the same level - but this cast is all strong. I don't know how they all fit on that tiny stage along with the band. I really feel this Vista Lounge is a fail on this ship. Finally, they had the crew come in, which is always very touching. They have really taken great care of us this week.

 

The only exception to the great service is Destinations. I gave them a "poor" on the survey. I understand that some things are out of their control. We had five excursions with SM and 3 of them were canceled. Yesterday, they canceled a bunch of excursions for today in Istanbul. It was a sea day, but they kept their regular hours and were closed from 11-4. They canceled the excursions right before 11, so there were several very angry people waiting at Destinations. One gentleman demanded to see the general manager, and he got someone to actually open it up again and take care of their issue. They are just generally not very helpful. Because of the cancellation of Bozcaada, we had over $129 in credit we could only use for excursions, but the Istanbul excursions had either been canceled or were full. So we lost that money (which was phantom SM dollars, but still). I'm not sure the SM excursion credit idea works in reality, although it sounds good in principle.

 

Today we had booked a Bosphorus cruise on our own. The company was Velena travel and we had a small group on a large yacht. We left the ship and went to the tram station. Waited in line for the ticket booth and a guy "helped" us by providing us with the refillable cards, but told us they had $10 euros worth of rides. Turns out they had four rides on each, so once again we got ripped off. The ticket machine screen had been damaged by the sun and was all in Turkish, so I guess we paid for convenience of him "helping" us. The tram system is very easy to navigate.

 

The boat tour was very good and they guide was great. It was very enjoyable and informative.

 

Got back on the tram and headed to the spice market, where I really over bought spices and turkish delight as presents for my family. I liked the spice market, but the grand bazaar was overwheming and we might have been in the wrong place because even as fakes, the quality of the merchandise was poor.

 

Back on the tram to Galataport and the ship. A word about Galataport - it is HUGE. It feels like you walk miles from the ship to the street and vice versa. I feel bad for the mobility challenged. There were no trams at all and no wheelchairs when we returned.

 

Back on the ship we ordered room service for the first time. Very quick service and although we just had club sandwiches, the food was good. They came and picked up the dishes within a minute of us calling for pickup. We ate in every restaurant except AquaMar on the ship.

 

Right before dinner we found our fantastic room steward and his assistant to thank them with a tip. I hope I see him again someday. He was really wonderful.

 

Last dinner tonight was a casual one in the Terrace. They had sushi (of course) plus Jacques' roast chicken, veal marsala, and several other dishes from the Grand Dining room. Another very good meal. In general, the service has been good there but the last few days they seem understaffed with long waits for water refills.

 

Tomorrow we get off and have a transfer arranged to our hotel right next to Hagia Sophia. We splurged on one night at a very nice hotel before do our journey in reverse - IST to Heathrow to JFK and then back to Florida. 

 

I will put my thoughts about the ship together and post those later. Overall, a fantastic cruise on a beautiful ship. Not perfect, but I can make some good comparisons between the Celebrity and Regent cruises we did in 2023.

 

[babysteps]

4 hours ago, Yorkshirewanderers said:

...

If you want too use public transport, you need an Istabulkart which costs TKL 70 to start and then has to be charged up. One card can be used for up to 5 people but the fare on teams, buses, boats etc is only around TKL 18 per journey.

 

2 hours ago, lorimay said:

...

We left the ship and went to the tram station. Waited in line for the ticket booth and a guy "helped" us by providing us with the refillable cards, but told us they had $10 euros worth of rides. Turns out they had four rides on each, so once again we got ripped off. The ticket machine screen had been damaged by the sun and was all in Turkish, so I guess we paid for convenience of him "helping" us. The tram system is very easy to navigate.

...

Apparently the machines are notorious for not quite working or being cash only and/or "helpers" taking advantage. New in the last 6 months or so: you can use any mastercard branded credit card to "tap and go" at the entry turnstiles (trams, metro, funiculars). Highly recommend this approach, worked great for us. Yes it's a bit more per ride this way - like $0.12usd more lol in June 2024 when we were there. Worth every penny! 

 

Also the tram stop by Galataport can be very crowded when ships are in port. If you're not using the ticket vending machine you can head for the far end of the platform and enter there, no lines or hassle the day we were there

[ChadnKate]

On 7/31/2024 at 1:29 AM, lorimay said:

Even at only 319 seats, the theater is never full. We noticed that on our other Oceania cruises. I think with the only show at 9:30, it’s just too late for a lot of people. On this cruise with so many kids, I think they go to bed early. On our other cruises, the ship was dead after 10pm. 

Agree that 9:30 is too late. We love Oceania and have been onboard about 275 nights over 17 cruises. Have seen only about 3 full shows. Not the quality but the wonderful food, wine, excursions and activities put us in bed too early for them. Also we’re 77. TRULY WISH that on sea days they were earlier!

[ChadnKate]

2 hours ago, babysteps said:

 

Apparently the machines are notorious for not quite working or being cash only and/or "helpers" taking advantage. New in the last 6 months or so: you can use any mastercard branded credit card to "tap and go" at the entry turnstiles (trams, metro, funiculars). Highly recommend this approach, worked great for us. Yes it's a bit more per ride this way - like $0.12usd more lol in June 2024 when we were there. Worth every penny! 

 

Also the tram stop by Galataport can be very crowded when ships are in port. If you're not using the ticket vending machine you can head for the far end of the platform and enter there, no lines or hassle the day we were there

Talk about confusion: we were on the Sirena and maybe the 3rd ship to use the new facility. No one knew where to arrive. The port security put all our bags on the ground and had two dogs wandering around them for at least 20 minutes before sending all of them onwards. Second time we were at the port it was far better, more lively, and one of the best facilities we’ve seen.