Just off April 1 sailing of insignia - comments

[sparky-cruise]

The April 1 Barcelona to Istanbul sailing on the Insignia was great.

Great ship - understated elegance
Great food - well presented, good choices
Great ports -
Great staff - friendly and aiming to please
Very good entertainment - well handled by director
Excellent ship size - never crouded or in hurry
Open seating worked well - never had to wait

Small ding because we could not book, ahead of time with the ship on the internet, individual shore excursions. I just lined up private tours ahead of time for several cities.

Balcony steteroom could be just 8 incles wider, but minor complaint

Overall experience - Great.

Sparky

[Judyumcer@aol.com]

Thanks Sparky! I would like to hear more about your cruise. Did you have private guides at all the ports? We have a few booked. Not sure about some ports. We have been to most but not Turkey. Was the ship sold out? Do they offer a lunchtime buffet on the pool deck (like hamburgers & hot dogs on the grill)? Radisson did and we liked it alot. Did you do a post cruise in Istanbul? We will be there 5 additional days on our own &
with a private guide. Please tell us more about your experiences with Oceania and the ports. Thanx! Judy

[sfbear]

Just curious who is currently the Cruise Director on the Insignia.

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. We sailed South America over the holidays on the Insignia and will be doing an Alaska cruise on Princess - first sailing on Princess. I'm curious as to how they will compare, or if it is possible to compare such a large Princess Ship to the more intimate Insignia.

Rich

[Jancruz]

Current cruise director on the Insignia is Shani Rey

Jan:)
*************

[Jane110]

Judy,

I haven't been to Turkey so can't answer your itinerary questions, but can answer your question about lunch by the pool.

Yes, Oceania offers lunch daily by the pool. It's a grill with burgers and hotdogs and a different panini everyday. There is a small salad bar with vegetables, fruit and cold pasta salads. There's an ice cream cart with about 3 different flavors everyday. I'm not a big fan of burgers, but Oceania's are really great.

Sparkey,

Glad you had a great cruise.

Jane

[meow!]

Besides salad, hamburgers and hotdogs, you can get grilled halibut steak at the poolside grill on Oceania ships. We enjoyed that last April on the Regatta. In this particular aspect, it is better than the poolside grill on Silversea. When we were on the Silver Shadow last December, they only provided salad, hamburgers and hotdogs, we specifically asked for grilled halibut or any other fish, but were told that those were not available. However, some posters have reported grilled whole pigs on Silversea cruises at times, so I guess it varies with particular voyages!

[john2003]

I think it is more the fish of the day but I am sure there is fish every day. I think they had chicken sometimes as well. Agree the burgers were excellent.

[ClaudiaF]

Balcony steteroom could be just 8 incles wider, but minor complaint

Sparky

Okay it's killing me..8 inches more ? why?

[ClaudiaF]

Just curious who is currently the Cruise Director on the Insignia.

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. We sailed South America over the holidays on the Insignia and will be doing an Alaska cruise on Princess - first sailing on Princess. I'm curious as to how they will compare, or if it is possible to compare such a large Princess Ship to the more intimate Insignia.

Rich
Apples to oranges I am afraid ;-)

[ClaudiaF]

Thanks Sparky! I would like to hear more about your cruise. Did you have private guides at all the ports? We have a few booked. Not sure about some ports. We have been to most but not Turkey. Was the ship sold out? Do they offer a lunchtime buffet on the pool deck (like hamburgers & hot dogs on the grill)? Radisson did and we liked it alot. Did you do a post cruise in Istanbul? We will be there 5 additional days on our own &
with a private guide. Please tell us more about your experiences with Oceania and the ports. Thanx! Judy

We loved ,loved, Istanbul..great that you have a guide. There is so much to see and best with someone who can take you everywhere.

[Judyumcer@aol.com]

We have not been here before. This is a stop on our itinerary. What is there to see or do? Can anyone refresh me me on St. Angelo Castle in Rome? Is that the place surrounded by a moat in a park setting? What is in there; anything? We are still debating on taking a tour surrounding Rome and seeing the Pope's summer residence or going back to Rome. I know there must be much we haven't seen on our 3 visits there. Any recommendations? Has anyone had a penthouse suite on Oceania? We have a penthouse; cat II booked. Judy

[sparky-cruise]

To better navigate between the bed and mirrors especially at night

[aaannnthony]

Not to mention, but, that unbearably "tight" shower would also be 8 inches deeper, or, longer, if you wish!!

[phlewt]

Sparky,

Frank Delrio posted the following statement regarding wine a couple of months ago:


"Oh and PS, effective with the return of Regatta and Insignia to Europe this April, you will see 8 new wine additions to the wine list under $25 and a new House Wine by the glass (red, white, blush and sparkling) for $5."


Did you take advantage of the new wine offerings?

phlewt

[mike35]

We didn't try the new wine offerings, but we found some outstanding wines in the $28-$38 range. The maitr'd wine tasting was the best we have ever encountered on a cruise ship, and several days later they had a food and wine pairing seminar that was equally outstanding.

For those asking about Istanbul, we spent 4 days there, 3 with a wonderful tour guide (who also guided us around Ephesus - a TRUE treasure! We didn't use any ship tours - hired guides in Istanbul, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Santorini, Rhodes, and Athens.

Mike

[jgeffner]

Mike, please post the web addresses of the guides you hired and if you would use them again. Thanks!

[jgeffner]

MikeBrill please post the web addresses of the guides you hired and if you would use them again. Thanks!

[greygypsy]

Mike, we are also curious on your guides. Please ante up!! We are going later this year to same ports. Thanks!!

[aoco]

I was on the same cruise as Mike and we toured together. Nejat can be reached at nincodogan@yahoo.com. He is great...we spent 3 days with him. Tell him that Connie and Al say hi.

Connie

[mike35]

We definitely "second the motion" re Nejat - a truly amazing person with an awesome wealth of knowledge. He was also our guide in Ephesus, and we loved every minute of his touring! We booked with Nick in Rhodes -- nick-ax@rho.forthnet.gr His brother, Michael, met us, and he was terrific. He even took us to his home and presented us with a bottled of his "private reserve" olive oil that his family makes. Michael's e-mail address is axarlis-m@rho.forthnet.gr

We had a wonderful guide in Santorini -- Nick, a professional wedding photographer who speaks excellent English and knows all of the gorgeous nooks and crannies of this beautiful island. After the tour, he put all of his photos that he took of us onto a CD and gave us a copy! Quoted below are comments from another very happy group who used Nick:

"Our family of 3 usually use a private tour guide or a ship tour when visiting a foreign destination for the first time. During subsequent visits, we would not mind using taxis, hop on hop off buses or metros...For Santorini, we used Santoriniday tours (same as Markos Private tour) at www.santorinidaytours.com (http://www.santorinidaytours.com/). We selected this company over the others for a number of reasons.

Mrs. Anna (the manager) was always very prompt in replying to our e-mails and accommodating to our many requests (to visit specific hotels in Santorini based on our research on the sites/attractions of the Island; to have lunch at the beach; to watch Sunset at a specific cafe in Oia, to visit many different sites including Akrotiri, Pergo, Thira, Black Sand Beach, winery, Oia, etc....).

We were also able to request a specific tour guide (Mr. Nikos-a Greek native and owner of this tour guide company, since he happens to also be a professional photographer). Because of the efficiency of a private tour, we were able to visit all the sites listed on the 4 different tours offered by our ship, yet still had a pleasant and worry-free day. (We would have been able to visit only some of the sites even if we had taken a combination of 2 tours offered by our ship).

Mr. Nikos took us to the most picturesque sights and was happy to narrate on the history and culture of the island. His English was fluent as he had lived and done studies in the U.S. for over 20 years. Some of these places (next to the Boutonier winery) were places he usually takes photographs of weddings and anniversaries. One of these places included a hotel with the most breathtaking views of the volcano and of our ship...The gift we valued the most was the complementary CD of photos that we received at the end of the day (a total of over 200 digital photos of our family taken with many different sites of Santorini on the background). BTW, the cost for the full day tour (400 euros) was less than what we had usually paid for a private tour in Italy and France. It was therefore definitely worth it... We were able to cover all the breathtaking/historic sites of the island without having to spend the time figuring out the logistics/directions of where to go next...For us, time during vacation is extremely valuable time to relax and enjoy...You'll have a very memorable time in Santorini even if you only choose to visit a few sites..."

I hope this helps.

Mike

[ClaudiaF]

Mike,
Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise.
We have used Nick in Rhodes ( may have referred him to you?) glad you had a nice day with his brother.
The guide you mentioned in Santorini sounds incredible. Even though we have been there before -should we go back would certainly call upon that company.
Thanks for sharing.

[merryecho]

We did try the 'house wines' which were quite nice. The white was dry and crisp, the red a little on the light side for me but still a good table wine. I thought the sommeliers were terrific. They always started with a suggestion in a lower price range, then would make suggestions in the higher ranges if you asked. They never made you feel you were low class if you didn't want to order a 50$ bottle of wine every night.

[mike35]

You're more than welcome, Claudia.

Merryecho is right on point re the wines and someliers. I love Pinot Noir, but one evening the somelier suggested a New Zealand Shiraz that was incredibly good; I never would have ordered it without his suggestion. The wine assortment had something for everyone's taste and pocketbook.

Mike

[greygypsy]

Mike, thanks to you and the others for posting the info. We'll start checking these folks out! Jeff

[merryecho]

We also had a wonderful guide in Istanbul, levent smolza. His english was better than ours, and he had lived in our town of Portland for 6 months. I can't recommend him enough- he met us in Kusadasi and showed us Ephesus as well. He can be reached at leventsmolza.com

[A Knitter]

May I Ask What Cabin You Were In. Thanks In Advance

Maria

[whyme]

Mike, we are also curious on your guides. Please ante up!! We are going later this year to same ports. Thanks!!

Which cruise are you going on.. We are on SEpt 14th ...whyme71842@aol.com

[whyme]

The April 1 Barcelona to Istanbul sailing on the Insignia was great.

Great ship - understated elegance
Great food - well presented, good choices
Great ports -
Great staff - friendly and aiming to please
Very good entertainment - well handled by director
Excellent ship size - never crouded or in hurry
Open seating worked well - never had to wait

Small ding because we could not book, ahead of time with the ship on the internet, individual shore excursions. I just lined up private tours ahead of time for several cities.

Balcony steteroom could be just 8 incles wider, but minor complaint

Overall experience - Great.

Sparky

Sparky which guide did you use in Istanbul ??? whyme71842@aol.com

[lmsmink]

Just curious who is currently the Cruise Director on the Insignia.

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. We sailed South America over the holidays on the Insignia and will be doing an Alaska cruise on Princess - first sailing on Princess. I'm curious as to how they will compare, or if it is possible to compare such a large Princess Ship to the more intimate Insignia.

Rich
We are doing the Insignia in SA this Christmas. How was your trip. What did you do about shore excursions? With the ship? On your own? I'd like to start booking now, especially for private tour guides.............any info you could share would be greatly appreciated.................

[Leonid]

Aaannnthony - you're back! Have you been on SB since the crossing in August?We've decided to move back to Oceania because of the excessive smoking in the Constallation Lounge. I don't believe that SB will ever eliminate smoking to the degree that Oceania has.

Len