Another BCN-Rio Review 11-20/12-8

[A Knitter]

Marina review

 

I write this as I sit and wait to disembark from the Marina In Rio. Marina is still lovely and it was great see familiar faces with Officers and Crew. I mentioned earlier I upgraded to a PH3 as a anniversary surprise and now Paul says he is hooked for the space we had. We had cabin 10003 and there is a slight obstruction due to a very large spotlight in the event I slipped on the balcony and fell in the water. Other than that we were pleased however the refrigerators never get cold enough.

 

Our steward Joel and stewardess Karrol were wonderful and knew we turned in early so our cabin was always ready after an early dinner. Butler Ismail was great and always had fresh sliced cucumbers for my water during the day. He went above and beyond to please us. I love the crab salad served at the Terrace, he always had a small dish for me several times a week served with canapés. He made additional reservations for us at the specialty restaurants and also retrieved our passports at reception so we did not have to stand in line.

 

The ports of call were pleasant. We had a guide in Gibraltar and joined another couple in Recife to visit Olinda. In Salvador, there is a English speaking guide who finds out where you want to go and then gives you a driver who doesn't speak English. We lucked out by finding a English guide in the upper city who spent an hour with us explaining the city and churches which should not be missed.

 

Buzios was a great port walking distance to the shops and found a wonderful store that makes resin jewelry, frames, etc. Pricey but the handmade wearable art is worth it in my opinion.

 

Rio. We have a wonderful guide who speaks very good English. Unfortunately the weather here in Rio has been cloudy, some rain so he suggested We visit Petropolis, the Emperors summer residence an hour away and the weather was perfect. Niteroi was another great place to see Rio even though the weather was cloudy but a few clouds opened up and we could see the Christ Statute which turned out to be a great photo.

We are here for a few days and Monday looks like a great day to see Christ the Redeemer and other sites. We have our guide for duration of our stay here in Rio. His new car was a bonus. I had been to Rio many years back and used Pedro Novak then and reserved him over a year ago. Please email me if you have reserved him as you should be aware of a few things as I would not recommend him.

 

Since food is subjective to one's taste, I will only say we were pleased with everything except for service at the GDR. Service very slow but food made up for it.

We enjoyed all of the specialty restaurants and since I don't eat very much it was nice just to order certain entrees in our cabin.

 

Internet seemed to be a bit faster if purchasing the unlimited plan. Only complaint was when it was down for a bit and tried to call Oceania at sea, reception said the phone was consistently busy. Paul went to the Oceania at Sea only to discover he had unplugged the phone. The look on his face was priceless when mentioned.

 

Before crossing to Brazil, Customs came aboard to stamp for VAT purchases in Spain which I have not seen before. Usually, you go to them in the Terminal.

 

As always, we met nice people and not so nice people :)

 

All for now as the crowd to disembark has dissipated.

 

One final comment and disappointment since I wasn't able to post before disembarking.

 

When we arrived in Port yesterday, we were 1/2 mile from the Terminal. Taxis are not allowed so O provided shuttles. I knew this wasn't going to be an easy disembark and it wasn't. There were no ramps to roll carry on on luggage down (just the small ramp steps) and no one to assist until the crew saw a passenger struggling. Then they loaded you onto a shuttle bus with carry on luggage to be stored underneath, however as the bus drove away I saw that ours had not made it on so I yelled for the driver to stop which he complied so we could retrieve it. Once at the Terminal there was no one to assist you in getting off with hand luggage and Paul assisted several ladies with their bags so they could step off the shuttle safely. I realize that the Captain has no control in docking order position but after 7 O cruises and numerous on other lines, this was the worst disembarkation ever experienced. Maria

[no fuss travel]

Does Pedro's new car have air conditioning? Does he still do the favelo tours? How big is his new car? We used Pedro 2 years ago and had wonderful tours with him.

[A Knitter]

Does Pedro's new car have air conditioning? Does he still do the favelo tours? How big is his new car? We used Pedro 2 years ago and had wonderful tours with him.

 

I did not use Pedro this time and will be more than happy to explain why I would not recommend him if you care to email me.