Considering Oceania - Amazon River

[nosnobunny]

We are strongly considering sailing Oceania next year taking either the Barbados-Manus or Rio de Janiero-Manus route. Previously we have sailed Carnival, RCI and Celebrity, the later being our preferred line. I don't know a lot about Oceania but have had my interested piqued by their emails. Any input or comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

Beth

[Druke I]

Haven't been on Oceania yet - but are booked for Regatta in Aug 05 into the Baltic.

 

We did the Amazon years ago on the Pacific Princess (old - the Love Boat), Manaus to Fort Lauderdale. That river is amazing, and the trip is well worth it, my opinion.

 

We were on the new Pacific Princess, sister to the Oceania ships, Nov 03, Tahiti to Sydney. Very nice ship, and about the right size for the Amazon, in my opinion.

[nosnobunny]

I've been watching Oceania for some time now and am impressed with their itineraries and smaller ships. To be honest, we're Caribbeaned out. :o A cruise up the Amazon River is one trip that ranks high on my DH's must-do list. We have only been to S America once and that was some time ago so it looks like now is the time to start doing some research. Thank you for your positive comments. Do you have any suggestions for shore excursions?

 

 

Beth

[yankeedollar]

We are booked March 15, 2006 for the Amazon River Cruise on Insignia. Usually don't book this far in advance, but the price was very good though a local Dallas radio station, KLUV. We have taken many of these trips and never been disappointed. I want to find which tours are the best.

[Liat]

From:

[Liat]

From: Phil Haggerty

See my reply to Yankeedollar posted above. My review will tell you a lot, and we thoroughly enjoyed Insignia and this cruise.

I will note that a biologist passenger we spent some time with was disappointed at the lack of wildlife observable from the ship or the shore excursions in te Amazon; but we were a little more successful that he. He did give us one clue. Sit outside early in the morning going up the Orinoco River in Venezuela. It was one of our best cruises, and the ship as well as its crew are delightful.

[ClaudiaF]

We are strongly considering sailing Oceania next year taking either the Barbados-Manus or Rio de Janiero-Manus route. Previously we have sailed Carnival, RCI and Celebrity, the later being our preferred line. I don't know a lot about Oceania but have had my interested piqued by their emails. Any input or comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

Beth

I just clicked on your martini and it mentioned the cruise and Miriam..

so tell her hi from me please..

Claudia

[Jane110]

Beth,

 

I've been on 2 Oceania cruises - the inaugural (Barcelona to Dover) and then again this Feb. from Buenos Aires to Rio.

 

Like any ship, there are positives and negatives and then there are things that simply don't match people's needs.

 

For us, Oceania is a great fit. The ships are gorgeous and look the way we like ships should look - woods, traditional - not Las Vegas on the sea. We like a ship with 600+ passengers and we like their itineraries. The cabins are smallish as are the bathrooms, however, they compensate for that with more than enough drawer space and lots of places in the bathroom for your "stuff". Also, they are pretty and airy looking - not those ugly print bedspreads that most ships have. The sheets and duvets are for sale, that's how popular and pretty they are. We book a regular sized cabin with balcony. There are larger cabins with balconies on the 8th deck and then of course there are suites. The food on Oceania is really excellent and the service is warm and friendly. Dining is all open seating, no resy's required unless you're going to one of the 2 specialty restaurants (Grill and italian). There is also an informal tapas restaurant near the pool which is also very good. There are no formal nights (thank goodness!) and everyone dresses upscale casual. Because Oceania is more expensive than most and doesn't have any facilities for children, you're going to find the clientele skewed a bit older. Though I wish there more pax in their 30's and 40's, Oceania seems to attract a well traveled and young at heart crowd - not ma and pa kettle. <g>

 

There's no problem bringing alcohol aboard to consume in your cabin and if you bring a bottle of wine to dinner, there's a hefty $20. corkage fee. They do offer some nice wines at fair prices though. We particularly liked a nice Shiraz for $33. + gratuity and I hear they've added a whole selection in the $25. range. Their bar drink prices are higher than on most ships and to be honest, we drink a lot less of them on Oceania because it annoys us. Personal quirk. They don't sell any bottles onboard, so bring your own if you like to have some in your cabin.

 

The entertainment on Oceania is just fine for us, but for people looking for the big ship experience with the "Big" shows, Oceania does not have them. They have a nice assortment of onboard singers and dancers and then bring on some special acts. It's much more lowkey than on other ships. One woman I met on our cruise was complaining that we were in Brazil in Feb. and Oceania didn't decorate the ship for Carnival, like RCCL did on one of her prior cruise. Well, Oceania isn't RCCL or Disneyland - they don't do themes. No singing waiters either....yippee!

 

They have a nice gym and spa and a casino that gets lively. Their internet connection is a ridiculous $.95 a minute, so we usually spend 20 minutes of our days in port in a cybercafe for about $2. an hour.

 

The port information is the biggest disappointment about Oceania. Their

"port information desk" should be renamed "tour booking desk". To be fair, we did chose itineraries that were virgin territory for them, but they do send a team out to scout out the port before going there. They could not provide very much about any of the towns and push you to take their very overpriced tours. I went to one of the port talks - knowing that they'd push their tour - but thought I'd get some good insight anyway. But things like money, tipping specialty foods, independant travelling were not even mentioned. If you tend to take the ships tours, then don't think about it. But if you prefer independant travel then do your research and don't rely on Oceania for info.

 

Jane

[nosnobunny]

I just clicked on your martini and it mentioned the cruise and Miriam..

so tell her hi from me please..

Claudia

 

 

Yes Miriam is indeed the host for our group cruise. I'm in fairly regular contact with her and will pass your message along.

 

Beth

[Liat]

Somehow my original message did not get posted. My wife and I completed a Manaus > Barbados cruise in March. My review is posted on http://www.cruisereviews.com and http://www.cruise-addicts.com. I sent it to this site, but it has not yet been posted. It is a lengthy review with a good deal of information, and should prove helpful.

[susiesan]

Pop over to the Celebrity boards and check this out. If the rumor is true Celebrity Xpediton is adding a third small 90 pax ship for this kind of trip. I am going on Xpedition to the Galapagos in December, and if I like it I may do the Amazon on a very small ship. if not, I'll consider Oceania after my 6/26/06 Insignia sailing (if I like the line after my 1st oceania cruise).

 

Susie

[lizf]

Phil Haggerty- Thank you for the time and effort you took in writing up your trip report to the Amazon basin. Both my husband and I read it and have vowed to go on our first Oceania cruise to Manaus for the 2006/2007 season if they repeat it. Already comitted for the coming season. We printed it out so we could refer to it again and again. Not too many go to this much effort for others so I really want you to know how very much we appreciate it. :) Liz

[Liat]

Thanks for your comment on my review. This kind of response is why I write them.

NOW - all you have to do is see if your time in Manaus coincides with an Opera performance! The NY Times had a story [May 9] on the Ring Cycle being done in the Manaus Opera house this past May, and the fact that one of the attendees had heard about it while on a cruise there.

Have a great cruise!

[tomko2]

Thank you Phil for such an informative and balanced review. My DH and I are considering an Amazon cruise and we lucked into your review on our first day of reseach.

Many thanks

Kathy