Questions about Insignia Valparaiso to Buenos Aires

[longduo]

We are sailing on the Insignia Jan.10 from Valparaiso to BA. This will be our first Oceania cruise tho' we have over 400 days at sea on other lines. We are looking forward to trying something new.

 

Dress for day: It will be hot in Valpo and BA. How soon will it start to get cold? Do we need mainly clothes for cold weather? Will we actually need winter jacket or will layers covered with waterproof jacket, hat and gloves suffice?

 

Dress for dinner: The Oceania DVD and brochures show most men wearing sport coats to dinner and the women quite dressed up. Is that the real story?

 

Shore excursions: They are not yet available to reserve online. Is 90 days in advance the standard for Oceania?

 

Embarkation: What time can you normally check in?

 

We would also appreciate any helpful hints or ideas from those who have done this cruise before (in either direction.)

 

Thanks!

 

Longduo

[digby]

We did this cruise a couple of years ago, and it was wonderful. We did go to Anarctica too on that trip, but it got quite cool rather quickly as we headed south along the Chilean coast.

 

No sport coat is needed on any night on board. I had one with me and never put it on even on Christmas or New Year's Eve. Resort CASUAL is the general rule every night.

[phlewt]

Dress for day - You probably won't need your heavy duty winter wear for this cruise. See our photos from our Dec 04 holiday cruise and you might get some idea as to what we wore at various locations.

 

Dress for dinner - As Digby notes, you will not be required to wear a dinner jacket. That said, it was my observation that most (but not all) of the men on the holiday cruise were wearing jacket and tie on New Year's Eve.

 

Shore excursions - Suggest you start a roll call for your sailing (if one isn't already started).

 

Embarkation - Depends on what class of cabin you booked. If you are in a suite or concierege class, I think the time will be 11AM.

[longduo]

Digby and phlewt,

 

Thanks so much for your helpful responses.

 

Alan and Val, we enjoyed your beautiful photos. They did indeed give us an idea of what to wear. Since your cruise also ended in Buenos Aires, did you fly out that day or stay for a while? We were just in BA last March so are flying out the day the ship docks. However we will probably be off the ship by

9 or 10 AM and our flight isn't until 10:35 PM. The shuttle from Oceania takes you directly from the port to the airport so we are not doing that as 12 hours is too long to just sit. Any suggestions as we will have all of our luggage with us.

 

Longduo

[digby]

You might check with the concierge of the hotel you stayed in last time to see if they would be willing to let you leave your luggage there for the day.

 

If not, I would try some of the other major hotels in BA.

[phlewt]

We stayed over in BA for a couple nights after our cruise. As I recall, the people who purchased transfers from Oceania were not taken directly to the airport. I remember seeing the buses around town during the day (they had the O card in the front window). So if you have Oceania transfers you might be able to put your luggage on the bus and spend much of the day wandering around BA. Check with your TA to see if my memory is correct (and if so, whether they are still doing this).

[longduo]

We stayed over in BA for a couple nights after our cruise. As I recall, the people who purchased transfers from Oceania were not taken directly to the airport. I remember seeing the buses around town during the day (they had the O card in the front window). So if you have Oceania transfers you might be able to put your luggage on the bus and spend much of the day wandering around BA. Check with your TA to see if my memory is correct (and if so, whether they are still doing this).

 

 

The person I spoke with at Oceania told me that their transfer would take you directly to the airport arriving about 10 AM because the buses would be needed to transport arriving passengers to the port. I'd think in a city the size of Buenos Aires yhey would have enough buses to do both. I did see that the Star Princess with 2600 passengers will be in port the same day.

 

We are currently looking into a van and driver from a tour company to pick the 4 of us up at the pier, take us to some places we have not already seen in BA, take us to lunch, etc. then finally drop us at the airport. The Oceania 1 way transfer in BA costs $75 a person so for $300 we hope to find a better option.

 

If anyone has done something similar, we would appreciate hearing about it.

 

Longduo