Just back South America BA to RIO

[ClaudiaF]

Just back last evening so still catching up.. but had to check in..would have from the ship but, those internet prices at 95 a minute and slow connection speed kept me off it.
The flight there ( arranged on our own) was terrific.. arrived in Buenos Aires and did take ( after all) ships pre-cruise Marriott.. which as it turned out is a gorgeous hotel located across from beautiful park and main pedistrian shopping street ( Florida, w/ all kinds of everything to buy-leather-shoes etc.) almost across the street . Room was available when we got there ( about noon) and we were upgraded, nice, to a junior suite ( which was a two room suite ,living room and bedroom. Included buffet breakfast too.
Buenos Aires is fabulous and would go back again to spend lots of time.. but as has been posted lots of crime ( lots of muggings/purse snatchings etc.) so one must be careful and leave the jewelry at home..
Ship as always was like going home.. alot of the same staff.. and ofcourse we always get "our cabin" OS- and it's so beautiful and had our favorite butler Carlos taking care of us! We were very impressed with the staff this trip, all were EXCEPTIONAL.. friendly helpful. Food was great although we did miss some of our favorites missing from the menus ;-)
Ruth mentioned the all new laundry room- well never saw it but did hear reviews from her " postcard senders "that it was great so I guess alot of folks like to do laundry and now they have a comfy place. ...like EF Hutton Oceania is listening LOL
It was such a blast to see all our YAHOO buddies from previous cruises and new Yahooers and CC buddies who we met at the party.. 46 of us.. and that was super fun.
Weather was sensational.. hot hot hot.. and humid, 100% which made for some really bad hair days- but I have a great tan to show for it..and that warm weather made for smooth sailing and balmy evenings.
Some of the ports were disappointing, as in NOTHING there- but it was a fun time to be in SA with carnival going on everywhere. Alot of places closed due to holidays- but in any event everyone seemed to be making their own music.
As usual the entertainment on the ship was not great although if not for Cera and Shanie and crew who sing there cute hearts out would have been really boring. And this team sort of Smothers brothers mentality were pretty funny.
Had to wait in port one day for 25 people who had no idea that they needed VISAs -so they were not allowed on the ship until they were received -lucky for them it was a quick visa turn around- but they must have missed a few days of their cruise ( not allowed on- and since we were on our way to Brazil couldn't leave until that was taken care of- so get your VISAS).
Spa services were super - pricey but super ( although you could get specials on port days- and frankly at some of those ports that might have been a better idea).

so much to write about- but not enough time now - but, will write more after unpacking ;-) if anyone has any q's just ask away.

[shoshona2]

Hi Claudia,

Welcome home, fellow Encino neighbor! Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise. Still can't believe that 25 people didn't have Visas for Brazil. Looking forward to meeting you in China.

Sheila

[ClaudiaF]

Small world Sheila - email me.
Claudiafr2001@yahoo.com

[HotlantaCruiser]

Have booked the same cruise for '06 during Carnival. Many quick questions:

Did you or anyone do the side trip to Iguazu Falls?

Did anyone participate in the Sambadrome (I've been told You can buy a spot in a samba parade)

I have read many things about expensive liquor prices (does it compare to RCCL or Celebrity), and can you still bring liquor on board?

Thanks

[spindrift]

We did the BA to Santiago in January and we had Carlos. Fantastic!!

One comment, why did so many end up without Visas? Shouldn't the line and the travel agents advise the passengers when booking? I heard that many contacted O to find out if they needed Visas to visit Iguazu Falls, and they were told that "they didn't know." We travel quite a bit, and I can assure you that we are told in plenty of time about the need for visas.

O is a great line. We hope to do your trip in the future. We are doing the Beijing to Hong Kong next year (God willing). Thanks for your report.

[ClaudiaF]

We did the BA to Santiago in January and we had Carlos. Fantastic!!

One comment, why did so many end up without Visas? Shouldn't the line and the travel agents advise the passengers when booking? I heard that many contacted O to find out if they needed Visas to visit Iguazu Falls, and they were told that "they didn't know." We travel quite a bit, and I can assure you that we are told in plenty of time about the need for visas.

O is a great line. We hope to do your trip in the future. We are doing the Beijing to Hong Kong next year (God willing). Thanks for your report.

Someone said that they just were not told by their TA they needed visas for Brazil.. who knows if that is true.. but in any event they had to obtain them before they were allowed on the ship ..luckily they were able to have it arranged quickly.
Yes, Carlos is terrific isn't he?
I also want very much to do the China trip.. will see how that goes.. so many plans ;-)

[whyme]

Have booked the same cruise for '06 during Carnival. Many quick questions:

Did you or anyone do the side trip to Iguazu Falls?

Did anyone participate in the Sambadrome (I've been told You can buy a spot in a samba parade)

I have read many things about expensive liquor prices (does it compare to RCCL or Celebrity), and can you still bring liquor on board?

Thanks
We did the falls Pre cruise. well worth the trip. Some people used a private tour operator,not sure how it worked out . This was our second trip on Oceania the food and service are excellant. I agree with Claudia the entertainment was very weak this trip. If you look at the posts and find Jon's review it tells all. In B/A we used "tangowithjudy" for sight seeing,Her and her husband did a fabulous job of giving you a feel of B/A and the local's spent 4 hours at a local tango club with her, and had a great time. most of the other ports before Rio and San Paulo were only Caribeanan style stops.We missed Carnival and the Samba parades that followeed by a few days

[whyme]

If you havce any questions .my e mail is whyme71842@aol.com

[whyme]

Have booked the same cruise for '06 during Carnival. Many quick questions:

Did you or anyone do the side trip to Iguazu Falls?

Did anyone participate in the Sambadrome (I've been told You can buy a spot in a samba parade)

I have read many things about expensive liquor prices (does it compare to RCCL or Celebrity), and can you still bring liquor on board?

Thanks
WE ALSO WERE ON THE FEB 1ST CRUISE AND DID THE FALLS PRE CRUISE,IT WORKED OUT VERY WELL ,ALOT TO DO IN A SHORT TIME,.SOME PEOPLE BOOKED FALLS INDIVIDUALLY ,THEY FELT THEY SAVED SOME MONEY,NOT SURE ... IN BEUNOS AIRES WE USED "TANGOWITH JUDY" AS OUR PRIVATE TOUR GUIDE.HER AND HUSBAND WERE GREAT , WNET TO LOCAL TANGO CLUB FOR AN EVENING.. THEY ARE A COUPLE FROM NEW YORK THAT MOVED TO B/A ,IN THAT THEY ARE ALSO TANGO INSTRUCTORS. THEY CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB..IF YOU LOOK UP JON'S REVIEW YOU CAN ALSO GET SOME NAMES FOR PRIVATE TOUR GUIDES FOR SAO PAULO AND RIO ,WE JOINED HIM ON THOSE TOURS AND THE GUIEDES WERE GREAT ALSO.. EVERYTHING BETWEEN B/A AND RIO WAS LIKE CLAUDIA SAID ,,NOTHING
WHYME71842@AOL.COM IF YOU NEED ANY OTHER ANSWERS

[A Knitter]

Hi. I read your review on the Insignia to S.A. Very happy that you were thrilled with the ship. Several questions. What did you think of the Mariott Hotel in B.A. and Santiago. Is the hotel close to the Avenida Alvear, a popular shopping district?. #2. Internet hook up. isn't there a port in the room and does it still cost .95 per minute and/or is the their a flat fee for the duration of the cruise?. Thanks in advance.

Maria.

[john2003]

Having just got back from the Tranatlantic on the Insignia, I should be able to help with the Internet question. I am pretty sure every cabin has a hookup but I think you pay a charge plus the normal connect fee. We did not take a laptop so I can't be certain.
Just a comment re the .95c per minute. I agree it is expensive although you can get it a bit cheaper by committing to a volume use up front. We didn't.

There are a couple of other options that may be of interest. First if you usethe ship email account it is a different price structure. Again we didn't.

What we did do was take advantage of their free offline use. They didn't charge for computer access as long as one did not connect. We found this very useful beyond playing Solitaire. I wrote the emails in Word, stored them for free in my folder and when I logged on to the Internet, I opened the document and cut and pasted into the email. Could also have attached it.
This will help if u want to send longer emails.

[ClaudiaF]

Hi. I read your review on the Insignia to S.A. Very happy that you were thrilled with the ship. Several questions. What did you think of the Mariott Hotel in B.A. and Santiago. Is the hotel close to the Avenida Alvear, a popular shopping district?. #2. Internet hook up. isn't there a port in the room and does it still cost .95 per minute and/or is the their a flat fee for the duration of the cruise?. Thanks in advance.

Maria.
The Marriott is a lovely hotel.. we really liked it and the location. It is within walking distance to great shopping esp. lots of leather factories.

[meow!]

ClaudiaF:
Please read my thread titled "nomination" which has been moved to the Silversea column. Thank you.

[spindrift]

We stayed at the Buenos Aires Marriott for our precruise trip sailing 1/3/05. Everything about the Marriott was wonderful. We ate there most of the time, and the food was great as well as the attentive staff. I don't do well with "late at night" eating, so we stopped by the restaurant New Year's Eve to see about service. They were all set up for the parties, and yet they encouraged us to come in and enjoy the buffet (8 p.m), which we did with some reluctance as we didn't want to interfere with their schedule. You would have thought they were waiting for us. Excellent!!!

We also stayed at the Santiago Marriott postcruise, and again, we could not have been more pleased. Both had excellent locations.

Oceania had check-in desks at both locations, and we received our rooms almost right away at both. I think it was all well handled.