BeBeReader
August 5th, 2006, 06:46 AM
Back and jet-lagged from the Insignia cruise to the Baltics - July 24 to Aug. 3.
With Bruin Steve's caveats, and not intending to offend anyone, and with my own particular likes and dislikes and peculiarities, here are some thoughts.
What I loved:
The library was beautiful and I loved that it was there and I could borrow books -- after all BeBe Reader is my board name.
The balcony off of our room. Wonderful.
Room service -- I just enjoy the occasional luxury and it was easy and rapid, and oh so nice.
Breakfast in the Grand Dining Room -- great elegant service.
The sun deck on 11th deck. Quiet, private -- who needs a cabana when you have the open air.
The passengers I met through the CC board and traveled with.
The passengers in general. Almost no pretentiousness (but see below). We didn't hear any bragging about material things, comparing illnesses, etc. We met and saw a lot of well-behaved, polite, nice people.
The service was mostly very fine -- except for dinner in the Grand Dining Room on occasion. See below. Our cabin steward and his assistant were great - the room was always made up quickly, well, and unobtrusively.
The open seating.
The dress code.
The ship is beautiful and excellently maintained.
Our guest lecturer, Peter Guttman, who is a well-regarded travel photographer. His presentations for terrific.
The ease of embarkation and disembarkation.
The trip to Berlin - we rented a car with another couple.
And, of course, the itinerary, which was the reason for choosing this cruise.
The Food - Dining Experience: Plus and Minus
I did not think the food was gourmet. It was good, but not spectacular or memorable. No real complaints.
The fresh fruit and berries were excellent. The Caesar Salad in the Terrace was excellent.
The omelets and bacon in the Dining Room for breakfast were very well done.
The pastries, cakes, cookies were not the best -- rather mundane.
My favorite was the souffle served in the Dining Room one night - grand marnier souffle.
The Toscana was the only quite fine venue for dining, but we could not get more than one reservation there (on the first night), which made DH very upset. (We had a 6th floor veranda cabin and therefore second class citizens in this respect).
I wasn't particularly impressed with the Polo Club except for the shrimp cocktail. The rest was OK but not to die for by any means. I had lamb chops or rack of lamb (really chops), but they were only so-so.
Tea was very nice, but not a traditional High Tea, which I thought it might be.
Tapas food was plus and minus for me. I was glad for the sushi, tried it, but it was not really good and the variety wasn't there. The paella was good for the first time, but not so good the second or third. Sometimes the food looked gloppy. I kept looking for the escargot I heard about on this board but I could never find it. I'm not too crazy about buffet dining.
The ambiance of Tapas. Nicely informal when you didn't want to spend 2 hours in the Grand Dining Room waiting to be served with hundreds of other people. But Tapas could get rather frantic as well with people lining up a bit, sometimes coldish food.
The desserts at Tapas were better than those anywhere else.
Service at the Grand Dining Room for dinner: We didn't go very early. We probably got there between 7:30 and 8:00. Sometimes the service was excellent, and sometimes not very good at all -- in fact, indifferent. It would be one way or the other. The wine stewards were mediocre. The daily wine offering never changed throughout the entire trip.
Some passengers were more equal to others in the Grand Dining Room. One night, a couple came in and a table, much hoopla was made, and a table for 4 was cleared to a table for 2 for them. They got about 10 times as much attention as anyone else. The fawning and prancing around them was disgusting. Each of them pulled out a designer bib, one silver and one gold, and sported them throughout the meal. I have to admit that I thought it was a cool idea and asked them where they got the bibs - somewhere in California, where else?! The man said he had taken his bib off before dessert the night before and had ruined his $100 tie. My husband claims he responded to said gentleman that he had not paid enough for the tie -- but I didn't hear that.
What I did not like:
As noted above, some animals are more equal than others. I suppose we could have begged and pleaded for a second night at Toscana, but we asked twice and were turned down twice, and that was enough rejection. Somehow others in our category were able to get a second shot, but I don't know how.
The one ship tour we took in Gdansk (to Stutthof - the concentration camp and the city) - the guide was inadequate. When we were at the camp, a 15 year old Polish boy befriended me and translated signs for me that the guide obviously mistranslated when I asked him to. But I really can't blame Oceania for the fact that the guides in Gdansk are sub par.
The high price of the Internet.
The high price of the spa services, which I did not use for this reason. I get a massage at home for 50% less.
The fact that there were not more informational/educational lectures about the ports we saw or other topics.
The fact that there was no entertainment on board - i.e., folk dancers, singers, etc. - from the Baltics. I would have been happy to see a school or other amateur group perform rather than the amateurish performers hired by Oceania.
All in all: I think Oceania's cruise offers a high quality product, and I will heartily recommend this line to my friends. We had a great vacation.
This is all my jet-lagged mind can recall for now,
BeBe
With Bruin Steve's caveats, and not intending to offend anyone, and with my own particular likes and dislikes and peculiarities, here are some thoughts.
What I loved:
The library was beautiful and I loved that it was there and I could borrow books -- after all BeBe Reader is my board name.
The balcony off of our room. Wonderful.
Room service -- I just enjoy the occasional luxury and it was easy and rapid, and oh so nice.
Breakfast in the Grand Dining Room -- great elegant service.
The sun deck on 11th deck. Quiet, private -- who needs a cabana when you have the open air.
The passengers I met through the CC board and traveled with.
The passengers in general. Almost no pretentiousness (but see below). We didn't hear any bragging about material things, comparing illnesses, etc. We met and saw a lot of well-behaved, polite, nice people.
The service was mostly very fine -- except for dinner in the Grand Dining Room on occasion. See below. Our cabin steward and his assistant were great - the room was always made up quickly, well, and unobtrusively.
The open seating.
The dress code.
The ship is beautiful and excellently maintained.
Our guest lecturer, Peter Guttman, who is a well-regarded travel photographer. His presentations for terrific.
The ease of embarkation and disembarkation.
The trip to Berlin - we rented a car with another couple.
And, of course, the itinerary, which was the reason for choosing this cruise.
The Food - Dining Experience: Plus and Minus
I did not think the food was gourmet. It was good, but not spectacular or memorable. No real complaints.
The fresh fruit and berries were excellent. The Caesar Salad in the Terrace was excellent.
The omelets and bacon in the Dining Room for breakfast were very well done.
The pastries, cakes, cookies were not the best -- rather mundane.
My favorite was the souffle served in the Dining Room one night - grand marnier souffle.
The Toscana was the only quite fine venue for dining, but we could not get more than one reservation there (on the first night), which made DH very upset. (We had a 6th floor veranda cabin and therefore second class citizens in this respect).
I wasn't particularly impressed with the Polo Club except for the shrimp cocktail. The rest was OK but not to die for by any means. I had lamb chops or rack of lamb (really chops), but they were only so-so.
Tea was very nice, but not a traditional High Tea, which I thought it might be.
Tapas food was plus and minus for me. I was glad for the sushi, tried it, but it was not really good and the variety wasn't there. The paella was good for the first time, but not so good the second or third. Sometimes the food looked gloppy. I kept looking for the escargot I heard about on this board but I could never find it. I'm not too crazy about buffet dining.
The ambiance of Tapas. Nicely informal when you didn't want to spend 2 hours in the Grand Dining Room waiting to be served with hundreds of other people. But Tapas could get rather frantic as well with people lining up a bit, sometimes coldish food.
The desserts at Tapas were better than those anywhere else.
Service at the Grand Dining Room for dinner: We didn't go very early. We probably got there between 7:30 and 8:00. Sometimes the service was excellent, and sometimes not very good at all -- in fact, indifferent. It would be one way or the other. The wine stewards were mediocre. The daily wine offering never changed throughout the entire trip.
Some passengers were more equal to others in the Grand Dining Room. One night, a couple came in and a table, much hoopla was made, and a table for 4 was cleared to a table for 2 for them. They got about 10 times as much attention as anyone else. The fawning and prancing around them was disgusting. Each of them pulled out a designer bib, one silver and one gold, and sported them throughout the meal. I have to admit that I thought it was a cool idea and asked them where they got the bibs - somewhere in California, where else?! The man said he had taken his bib off before dessert the night before and had ruined his $100 tie. My husband claims he responded to said gentleman that he had not paid enough for the tie -- but I didn't hear that.
What I did not like:
As noted above, some animals are more equal than others. I suppose we could have begged and pleaded for a second night at Toscana, but we asked twice and were turned down twice, and that was enough rejection. Somehow others in our category were able to get a second shot, but I don't know how.
The one ship tour we took in Gdansk (to Stutthof - the concentration camp and the city) - the guide was inadequate. When we were at the camp, a 15 year old Polish boy befriended me and translated signs for me that the guide obviously mistranslated when I asked him to. But I really can't blame Oceania for the fact that the guides in Gdansk are sub par.
The high price of the Internet.
The high price of the spa services, which I did not use for this reason. I get a massage at home for 50% less.
The fact that there were not more informational/educational lectures about the ports we saw or other topics.
The fact that there was no entertainment on board - i.e., folk dancers, singers, etc. - from the Baltics. I would have been happy to see a school or other amateur group perform rather than the amateurish performers hired by Oceania.
All in all: I think Oceania's cruise offers a high quality product, and I will heartily recommend this line to my friends. We had a great vacation.
This is all my jet-lagged mind can recall for now,
BeBe