gbits

1 hour ago, roger b said:

Hi 

Santa cruse de Palma is an island in the Canary  Islands group  and is in the Atlantic ocean. 

 Unfortunately  this not Palma de Mallorca, so I can't help you 😢 

Roger 

Ugh, sorry, I put Palma de Cruz in the search and it took me here, I didnt even realize it took me to the wrong place!

We have a cruise stop on Casablanca on 9/30/24 and will be in port from 9am - 6pm.  Does anyone have a tour guide/company they would recommend for a tour of Rabat and Casablanca? 

Hello Roger B!  I see your favorite cruise line is Oceania - it is ours also!

We will be on Vista at the end of September and will stop in Santa Cruse de la Palma, a new port for us.  We are a group of 9.  What would your recommend for first timers to do?  Tour?  DIY? Would very much appreciate your advice so I can start planning. We are pretty much open to anything. 🙂 Thanks for any help you can provide!

Looking for some help with shore excursions for our September cruise on Vista (do not like cruise ship excursions). I tried the Ports board and not finding answers. We want to do whale watching in either Funchal or Tenerife ~ has anyone done this in either (or both) ports that could help us decide which place to do it in and/or have a company they would recommend?  Does anyone have a tour they would highly recommend for Casablanca? Open to any suggestions. Thanks!

On 1/5/2024 at 3:25 PM, BlueSkiesTX said:

We just returned from a cruise to the Canary Islands on the Celebrity Infinity. I wanted to recommend a tour given by Angela Tejera, owner of Lanzarote Experience Tours. We booked our tour through ToursByLocals. I did not know ahead of time that Angela owned the company. Her adult children are also tour guides for the company. We booked a private family tour similar to the group tour offered by the cruise ship. I had little to no expectations for this tour as I was not overly excited to visit Timanfaya Park or visit volcanoes in general. Timanfaya was incredible, however. I am pretty sure it's the closest I will ever come to stepping on what felt like another planet. I can see why movies are filmed here. Angela was able to navigate us through the hordes of tourists at the park. She told us stories of how she came here as a child and her mother cooked over the heat steaming up from the holes in the ground. The park rangers all knew her and seemed to like her. She gave us plenty of space on the tour (which I love) and time to get a quick coffee/snack in the cafe at the park as a family. We rode camels on the outskirts of the park. The camel drivers from Morocco were quite a hoot, guiding the camel caravan along by the sound of their voice. 

 

We went to another lookout point over the sea and were able to take some great photos and admire the beautiful natural landscape of Lanzarote. Since it was Christmas Eve, Angela told us about the traditions in Lanzarote and took us to a spot to show us the miniature villages that are created. In each of these minatures, a nativity is added. Each neighborhood does this tradition, recreating their own neighborhood with a nativity inside. We spotted them twice more on tour stops along the way. 

 

Our final stop was the winery. We were able to sample Canarian wine and see the unique way grapes are grown in this region. It was amazing to both see and hear how resourceful these people are! Angela knows the region well as her family has been here for generations. She was happy to answer questions along the way. She had a nice, clean and comfortable van.

 

Our private tour was $510 USD for a 5 hour tour for our party of 5. She was waiting for us 30 minutes ahead of time at the port. (We are always early). We were dropped off on time at the cruise port.

 

Here are the exact details from the Tours by Locals page. It was customizable though. We just chose to go the basic route. I think it's a great "Taste of Lanzarote" itinerary for first time visitors.

 

Pick up at the cruise terminal in Arrecife
Stop 1 - Los Hevideros
Stop 2 - El Golfo volcano
Stop 3 - Timanfaya National Park
Stop 4 - Camel park
Stop 5 - La Geria, the wine district
Return to the cruise ship

 

I wanted to review this tour as I could not find much on CC for this island. If we ever go back, I would not hesitate to contact Angela for recommendations on other parts of the island. She does not know I am writing this review. Happy travel planning! 

 

 

Thanks for the post. I found this tour thru a booking site and sent an email based on your recommendation. Hopefully they are available to take us this September!

On 7/10/2023 at 10:02 PM, sunfan03 said:

@gbits, thanks for reviewing Ophorus. I'm thinking of using them when we're in port in Le Verdon. They've suggested a visit to a chateau in Pauillac (about 1 hour drive from port) for wine-tasting...I'm not a connoisseur, but seems like the Pauillac wine would suit my palate. If you have other suggestions/thoughts, please let me know. 

The ship does not get to LeVerdon until 2pm and all aboard will be at 6:30. If there is an hour drive there and an hour drive back that only leaves you a vist of about 2 hours.  

I am still looking for one more couple for my Bordeaux tour of the Medoc area that will pick us up at the port in Bordeaux and drop us off at the port in Le Verdon.  It is full day and the cost is 300 euro for a couple plust tasting fees.  Please email me at gbits[@]optonline[.]net if you would like to fill that spot. 

On 5/11/2023 at 11:55 AM, Carol From California said:

I am organizing a "Meet and Greet" on an upcoming Oceania cruise. In the old days we used to contact Oceania prior to the cruise and they would tell us where we could have it and they would host it. Many of the ship officers and crew would attend. I was on a Regent cruise last month and I organized a "Meet and Greet". When I contacted Regent they said we could have it but would have to pay $9 pp. They also told us we could not have name tags. This was really surprising since on Regent all the food and alcohol is included, and why would they care if we have Cruise Critic name tags? We just went ahead and did it....but did not have name tags. Does anyone know if Oceania will host our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet on the August 4, 2023 Vista cruise? We have around 10 couples so far. Hoping someone from Oceania will read this.  

I organized the Meet & Greet for the Vista cruise leaving Trieste next Saturday. I emailed the groups department (groupsOCI@oceaniacruises.com) and they got it approved for me. They will provide a segregated area for the gathering (usually, but not always, in Horizons) with servers to take drink orders and a table for name tags (that I am making and bringing myself). I had to provide a list of attendees with their cabin numbers so they can send invitations to each persons stateroom. I asked if any officers could attend and was told it will depend on availability. Kiara was very helpful. Will let you know how it goes after next Saturday. We had 52 sign up.

1 minute ago, basor said:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2023-04/aquamar-ember-dinner-sample.pdf

 

I see several on this sample dinner menu....haven't seen a lunch menu yet.  Early reports have been very positive for Embers so taking that as a good sign as another option in dining.

I only see the crab cake as an appetizer. Is the cobb salad the kale & chicken salad? 

On 5/10/2023 at 8:17 PM, basor said:

Ember, a signature addition to Oceania's favorite dining options, is a dining room that will be open for lunch and dinner, serving American cuisine. Dishes will include braised short ribs on polenta, grilled swordfish with asparagus, crab cakes with spicy aioli and a Cobb salad with smoked chicken

I don't see the short ribs, swordfish or cobb salad ion the menu posted by the first poster ~ are these young to be specials?

On 5/5/2023 at 4:03 PM, Mrs f. said:

Last mention of Dublin shuttle was in 2017.

We dock at Dun Laoghaire on

On 5/5/2023 at 4:03 PM, Mrs f. said:

Last mention of Dublin shuttle was in 2017.

We dock at Dun Laoghaire on our Vista cruise.  Any shuttle updates?

our Vista cruise.  Any shuttle updates?

We docked there last September on Marina. You have to take the train to Dublin, no shuttle. The train station is walking distance from the port. We got off at whether Pearse or Tara stop, I can't remember which. I think it was a 20 minute ride. We bought the tickets right at the station from a machine.

On 2/3/2023 at 2:26 PM, MehlSchneider said:

Hi everyone!

I’ll be cruising on the Oceania Riveria, spending an overnight in Bordeaux, France.
Does anyone have any suggestions for excursions, other than what Oceania offers?
Any experience with tours or local guides?  Thanks much and Happy Cruising!

We were on the Oceania Marina last September that overnighted in Bordeaux. I used Ophorus for tours each day, one to the Dordogne and the Lescaux Caves and the other to St Emilion with wine tastings. I formed groups using my roll call and wound up with 4 vans of 6-8. Nancy was fabulous in helping me plan and all 4 guides were terrific.

We arrive in Venice 2 days pre-cruise and the second night is my husband’s birthday. Looking for a restaurant for dinner with a view or atmosphere and good food that won’t break the bank (200€ or under per couple) for 4 of us. TIA!

8 hours ago, MAVIP said:

DH and I did (in 2018) a tour of the Bay of Kotor - Perast, Morinj & Kotor including the island with the church dating from 1630 of the Lady of  the Rocks. A tour of about 8 hrs.  We had a very interesting day in beautiful surroundings. Kotor is World Heritage, but without any doubt you know that.

What company did you use if you recall?

9 hours ago, RTR 21-0 said:

1st time to Kotor in May and found a company that offers the following tours.  Which would you recommend for a 1st visit? 
 

1.  Perast & Kotor Shore - visit highlights of Boka Bay, Kotor old town and Perast with Our Lady of the Rocks Island. 

 

2.  Njegusi Village, Cetinje & Budva  with stops for views of Boka Bay.
 

3.  Kotor, Budva, Sveti Stefan, bay of Tivat and bay of Kotor. 
 

Thanks in advance. 

What company are you using for the tour?

On 11/28/2022 at 5:13 PM, CanuckCruizer said:

Hera is sold out for our dates.

Anyone have any recommendations or feedback on either of these hotels or areas?

 

Thanks,

Canuck

I asked my husband's family about Electra Metropolis.  They were not familiar with that hotel so couldnt get you any info on that one, sorry. 

Has anyone been to Kavala/Philippi and/or Rhodes and have a tour/guide they would recommend? Starting to do my research and not much out there so far.  Thanks for any help. 🙂

We have family that travels to Greece often and always stay at the Electra Palace.  They said its a great location and they love it!

Agree wholeheartedly. On our cruise this past September/October filled out the mid cruise survey. Planned to do the end of cruise survey as well but didn’t get to it before we disembarked. Once settled in at our hotel in Lisbon, I tried to access the link but it was already down. Was very disappointed that not even 24 hours later it was not available. Sent an email to customer service so I could recognize the crew members who deserved recognition. They should definitely give you the opportunity to fill it out for a least a week after the cruise ends-

10 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I would probably make sure the vendor knows that you're on an ocean-going cruise ship, and that indications are that you are likely to dock in Leixoes.

Thanks for the info. Our itinerary just says Oporto for that port. We have others that say one port and it docks someplace else (such as Cobh for Cork and Ljmuiden for Amsterdam) and this one does not so I am guessing we will dock in Porto proper. I am corresponding with someone on the ship and she cant even get the crew to tell her where right now, we have to wait until next week, like its top secret info lol. 

PORTO: Can anyone advise where the drop off point is for the Oceania shuttle in Porto?  Our tour guide is meeting us in town and I have no idea where to tell her to go and cant get any help from Oceania on this.  If you also know how long the shuttle ride is from the ship to the drop off point that would be very helpful as well. Thanks!

Our cruise will dock in Cobh on 10/3 from 8am ~ 6pm. Would like to visit Kinsale in the morning then back to Cobh for the Titanic Experience in the afternoon. Bus is out as it takes almost 2 hours each way. Not interested in renting a car (can’t imagine driving on the left side of the road lol). Are there taxi’s readily available in both places? Uber? Can anyone recommend a car service? TIA.

A little off topic but can any of the “in the know” posters give us a sense of whether Vista will debut as planned? We are on its 4th cruise and the time that air will open for us to book flights is almost here. I would hate to book and find out the cruise ship won’t be ready to sail….

On 3/29/2022 at 12:00 PM, VMax1700 said:

The port authorities try to keep smaller ships (<2500 pax) to Ringaskiddy, but there is no other vessel due on October 3rd, so it is probably just habit.

VMax can I get your opinion.  I am looking at a tour that goes to the Blarney Castle and Kinsale. Its an 8 hour tour.  Since we are not in the port of Cobh, I would really like to stop there to do the Titanic Experience.  Is it possible from Ringaskiddy to do all 3 places adequately in 8 hours?  I know "adequate" is a relative term but I guess what I am getting at is, is it enough to see what is most important - or do we need to choose 2 of the 3?

15 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

It would be the best solution for you.   There is absolutely nothing in the port area and the nearest village has one pub and a few houses.  Can you ask Oceania to confirm shuttles? I would expect that they may offer them.  It is strange that they are docking in Ringaskiddy as there is no cruise ship docking in Cobh on that day and Cobh is the prime location.  I intend to contact Port of Cork Authority to ask what they have planned for Ringaskiddy this year.

Yes, I will find out and report back.  I am sure its Ringaskiddy as it says it on my itinerary - why its that instead of Cobh, I have no idea...

27 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Ringaskiddy can be problematic for cruisers.  It is a deep water port and commercial container port and ferry port.  There is no cruise terminal and I have heard it reported that, pre covid, cruisers were not permitted to walk through the port area nor were taxis or private tours permitted into the port.  

It is a very isolated port area with very little public transport.  It is one port that may be worth taking a ship excursion or staying onboard.

When do you dock?  The earliest date that I see a listing for Ringaskiddy is June.

 

We are there October 3, 2022. Oceania usually provides free shuttles from the port to the city center. I hope that is the case with this port.