Ocean princess venice to rome

[MMDown Under]

Yes, I am sorry to see her go from Princess as PCL was one of the few lines that had variety in their fleet, from 680 to 3600 passengers. The Pacific Princess is still around (for now) and I would happily sail on her.

 

Oceania is a great new home for the Ocean. Azamara would have benefitted from her too as the Quest is often booked up on charters and that leaves them with just the Journey to complete the itineraries.

 

Both those lines are on my future radar so I may get to sail on her again. Azamara is the most likely though with their overnight port stays and great reviews.

 

There will still be 8 R ships afloat and that is the main thing. I have only savored one so far. Small is beautiful!

 

Norris

 

Thank you so much for your wonderful, entertaining review, which is a priceless resource for anyone planning on cruising on Ocean Princess or Pacific Princess, as well as for first time cruisers to the Med.

 

Do you know the names and cruiselines for the 8 R ships? I know 5 -

2 Princess

2 Azamara

1 HAL

?

 

You have to love CC, as I didn't know where Ocean Princess was going. Sadly I won't be cruising on Oceania, as their prices to their Australian market, in Australian dollars, are a "fare guide only", subject to final payment in US$. Not a good deal for Aussies, with fluctuating currency.

Like you, Azamara appeals with its overnight port stops, which is great for places which come alight at night.

 

I hope you and your wife have a very happy Thanksgiving.

[Solar Yellow]

Thank you so much for your wonderful, entertaining review, which is a priceless resource for anyone planning on cruising on Ocean Princess or Pacific Princess, as well as for first time cruisers to the Med.

 

Do you know the names and cruiselines for the 8 R ships? I know 5 -

2 Princess

2 Azamara

1 HAL

?

 

You have to love CC, as I didn't know where Ocean Princess was going. Sadly I won't be cruising on Oceania, as their prices to their Australian market, in Australian dollars, are a "fare guide only", subject to final payment in US$. Not a good deal for Aussies, with fluctuating currency.

Like you, Azamara appeals with its overnight port stops, which is great for places which come alight at night.

 

I hope you and your wife have a very happy Thanksgiving.

 

Stole this from the Oceania boards. This list includes their original names, when they were built, and what they are now:

 

R1, 1998, currently Oceania Insignia

R2, 1998, currently Oceania Regatta

R3, 1999, currently Pacific Princess

R4, 1999, currently Ocean Princess, will become Oceania Sirena

R5, 2000, currently Oceania Nautica

R6, 2000, currently Azamara Journey

R7, 2000, currently Azamara Quest

R8, 2001, currently P&O Adonia (was Royal Princess for awhile)

[Bimmer09]

Norris, just dropping in to add my thanks and appreciation for a great review. We're just back from a week on the beautiful Regal, which we enjoyed very much. Your pictures, helpful tips and good humor made your review a highlight for me and brought back many memories of our own travels in Europe. Will definitely be looking forward to your Live from the Ruby in January.

 

Susan

 

Susan thanks for the compliments! When I was writing the "thing" I had no idea who would be reading and would continue reading (it is LONG). So feedback on here kept me going without cutting any corners.

 

My Ruby "thing" won't be live however. I am not a big fan of lives as they degenerate into people asking "can you check the doorknob on C616 and tell me if there's any rust on it?" or "can you see if Miguel is still the guy reminding people to use Purell in the HC" and lives have to be short as the writer is trying to fit in a cruise along the way and has slow internet to consider.

 

I like long reviews (as a writer and a reader too) with lots of photos and videos and that's what I'll be doing in February once they boot me off the Ruby.

 

While the ports are unlikely (LOL) to be as interesting as Venice or Rome they are colorful in the literal sense and I should be better at using the cameras by then.

 

I'll make it a fun read hopefully.

 

Norris

[MMDown Under]

Stole this from the Oceania boards. This list includes their original names, when they were built, and what they are now:

 

R1, 1998, currently Oceania Insignia

R2, 1998, currently Oceania Regatta

R3, 1999, currently Pacific Princess

R4, 1999, currently Ocean Princess, will become Oceania Sirena

R5, 2000, currently Oceania Nautica

R6, 2000, currently Azamara Journey

R7, 2000, currently Azamara Quest

R8, 2001, currently P&O Adonia (was Royal Princess for awhile)

 

Thanks. That is interesting, so Oceania will then have half of the 8. Maintenance wise, isn't there an economy of scale when you have a number of the same design ships?

[Bimmer09]

Stole this from the Oceania boards. This list includes their original names, when they were built, and what they are now:

 

R1, 1998, currently Oceania Insignia

R2, 1998, currently Oceania Regatta

R3, 1999, currently Pacific Princess

R4, 1999, currently Ocean Princess, will become Oceania Sirena

R5, 2000, currently Oceania Nautica

R6, 2000, currently Azamara Journey

R7, 2000, currently Azamara Quest

R8, 2001, currently P&O Adonia (was Royal Princess for awhile)

 

Thanks Solar Yellow for answering this. I see you have been on the Oceania boards-I've been visiting those for the past year but then I look at a lot of boards and find some great reviews there-even lines I would stay clear of, like MSC.

 

Hooray for the Internet, CC and youtube where you can get a better idea of a ship/line/destination before you buy your tickets. Information is power.

 

There's a link currently on the Azamara boards to a documentary program following Az Journey (R6) on a Far East voyage. Worth a look.

 

While I am still a Grand Class fan, having had a taste of the R ships on a port intensive voyage I am hoping to sail on one or more in the future.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thank you so much for your wonderful, entertaining review, which is a priceless resource for anyone planning on cruising on Ocean Princess or Pacific Princess, as well as for first time cruisers to the Med.

 

 

Like you, Azamara appeals with its overnight port stops, which is great for places which come alight at night.

 

I mentioned a TV documentary (called Mighty Cruise Ships) on a previous post but don't click on the first link you see-a following post corrects the link. It follows Az Journey on a 15 day trip from Singapore to Hong Kong via Vietnam and Thailand. 2 overnights in Bangkok....how does that sound?

 

Azamara only has two ships so they are really low on capacity and as we know the R ships are expensive to keep at sea. Ocean Princess was the most expensive ship we have sailed on on a per person per day basis. The only things in her plus column are the beautiful interiors and the lack of passengers and the high relaxation factor that those two things help to bring about. If you dislike crowds and lines and long walks to get from one end of the ship to the other then an R ship is the way to go. They are definitely worth experiencing once out of curiosity.

 

In our case we would look forward to sail on one again whether with Princess or Azamara or Oceania.

 

Thanks for the kind Thanksgiving Wishes! We have much to be thankful for as does everyone who has discovered and enjoyed cruising.

 

I'm glad you found my review entertaining and informative. It was fun writing it but even more fun living it!

 

Norris

[MMDown Under]

I mentioned a TV documentary (called Mighty Cruise Ships) on a previous post but don't click on the first link you see-a following post corrects the link. It follows Az Journey on a 15 day trip from Singapore to Hong Kong via Vietnam and Thailand. 2 overnights in Bangkok....how does that sound?

 

Norris

 

Sounds good. Yes, I have Azamara on my wish list, because of its overnight port stops, and, for SE Asia, because its ships go up river to Bangkok and Ho Chi Ming city, a most for me. 4 hour return plus bus rides from ports to cities have absolutely no attraction to me.

 

BTW We enjoyed sea days on both our cruises on Ocean Princess and were never bored. In Iceland, after a few consecutive ports of call, we were actually looking forward to some more sea days. My observations are that staffing makes a huge difference. On our cruise from Singapore to Sydney, the majority of staff were Indonesians - happy people, always with a smile on their faces. Nothing was too much trouble. On our cruise to Iceland, many staff were from Eastern Europe, so reserved, dour, no smiles, etc. - so totally different atmosphere on board.

[Bimmer09]

Sounds good. Yes, I have Azamara on my wish list, because of its overnight port stops, and, for SE Asia, because its ships go up river to Bangkok and Ho Chi Ming city, a most for me. 4 hour return plus bus rides from ports to cities have absolutely no attraction to me.

 

BTW We enjoyed sea days on both our cruises on Ocean Princess and were never bored. In Iceland, after a few consecutive ports of call, we were actually looking forward to some more sea days. My observations are that staffing makes a huge difference. On our cruise from Singapore to Sydney, the majority of staff were Indonesians - happy people, always with a smile on their faces. Nothing was too much trouble. On our cruise to Iceland, many staff were from Eastern Europe, so reserved, dour, no smiles, etc. - so totally different atmosphere on board.

 

We had a greater number of E Europeans on our sailing, as we did on the Caribbean Princess and I would say that your thumbnail sketch has some truth in it. The few Philippinos I came in contact with were more ready to engage and have fun, make jokes, chat. I didn't submit any You Made a Difference cards on this voyage but everyone did their job which is the first consideration, the few hiccups in service not spoiling the cruise.

 

The best crew interaction experience I've had to date was on the Diamond where there were a lot of outgoing Thailanders.

 

The one sea day we had on the Ocean was in good sunny weather but with a rolling sea in the afternoon and if you like to relax, take a swim, jump in the hot tub or read a book quietly then the Ocean is a fine place to do all that as there were always empty loungers and room in the pool and many quiet rooms to enjoy.

 

Did she handle well in the North Atlantic on your Iceland adventure?

Did you watch the Azamara documentary yet?

 

Norris

[MMDown Under]

 

The one sea day we had on the Ocean was in good sunny weather but with a rolling sea in the afternoon and if you like to relax, take a swim, jump in the hot tub or read a book quietly then the Ocean is a fine place to do all that as there were always empty loungers and room in the pool and many quiet rooms to enjoy.

 

Did she handle well in the North Atlantic on your Iceland adventure?

Did you watch the Azamara documentary yet?

 

Norris

 

We found the Ocean busy with activities on sea days. Plus, we used to take afternoon tea, served to the deck chairs, on sea days.

 

Yes. Whilst we didn't have really rough weather on either cruise, we had rough seas going from one port to another, on the western coast of Ireland.

 

No, I haven't, but I will.

[Jasperdo]

I am not a big fan of lives as they degenerate into people asking "can you check the doorknob on C616 and tell me if there's any rust on it?" or "can you see if Miguel is still the guy reminding people to use Purell in the HC" and lives have to be short as the writer is trying to fit in a cruise along the way and has slow internet to consider.

Very funny. This is why I've never been interested in doing a "Live".

[Bimmer09]

Very funny. This is why I've never been interested in doing a "Live".

 

Jasperdo I read "lives" or at least read a page or two until it deteriorates and the live reporter takes a back seat and gets lost among the endless requests for information that isn't vital.

 

I had 150 free internet minutes on my last cruise and when I left the ship 80 were unused. That wouldn't have happened if I did a live, that I know, but I don't know where I would have found the time to do one.

 

I salute those that embark on one though but I wouldn't join their ranks.

 

Norris

[ar1950]

Norris, I finally finished your review yesterday. Fantastic pictures and wonderful comments. It was nice to get such a "man-on-the-scene" (and woman, too, thanks Carol!) perspective of things in all of the ports and the ship. It looks like this type of destination has our names written on it.....someday! :cool:

 

Thanks again for the ride along!

[jlf1]

I much prefer the reviews after the fact.

 

 

The incessant questions about the Cruise Director and request for Princess Patters seems silly to me because things can change so much from one cruise to another.

 

Why people want someone on their cruise to say hello to a cruise member from their previous cruise is a mystery to me.

 

Like the crew members are really going to remember them. They meet so many people. How can they be expected to remember people from previous cruises except they think that they are more memorable than everyone else.

 

Judy

 

Sent from my A110 using Tapatalk

[MMDown Under]

We found the Ocean busy with activities on sea days. Plus, we used to take afternoon tea, served to the deck chairs, on sea days.

 

Yes. Whilst we didn't have really rough weather on either cruise, we had rough seas going from one port to another, on the western coast of Ireland.

 

No, I haven't, but I will.

 

 

Should be Iceland!

[lovelearnteach]

Norris,

 

I give you a standing ovation for your delightful review of your cruise :)!

 

Thank-you for all the time and effort spent, I personally felt transformed to Italy. Your photography skills are stunning! It was a privilege and an honor to have shared your vacation experience!

 

Thank-you Carol for your insights and contributions, and allowing us to piggyback on your vacation experience :).

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

I give you a standing ovation for your delightful review of your cruise :)!

 

Thank-you for all the time and effort spent, I personally felt transformed to Italy. Your photography skills are stunning! It was a privilege and an honor to have shared your vacation experience!

 

Thank-you Carol for your insights and contributions, and allowing us to piggyback on your vacation experience :).

 

Thank you Ken- so glad you enjoyed it!

 

It was the highlight of our short cruising history.

 

Back to Rome this September but alas not on the Ocean Princess.

 

Norris

[wobblybob74]

Norris,

 

Very warm thanks for yet another superb review/blog. We've visited Rome twice on our Med cruises but, like you, I've left both times wishing dearly that we could have stayed. I think a land vacation may be called for, perhaps combining four or five days in Rome with a week in a villa near Florence.

 

I've only had a snap-shot of Italian life as I've only visited whilst on a cruise but I agree with you 100% regarding the friendliness and charm of the vast majority of Italians. I tried to learn a bit of the language and it certainly seemed to be appreciated. It was lovely to be cheekily corrected and then treated like an old friend. Even at the busiest places in Rome (I'm thinking of the large restaurant/gelateria on the right as you look at St Paul's Square) the staff made time to chat and treat you as a human being, not just a Euro note. I have no doubt at all that we will be back.

 

Your posts have lifted a couple of dull and dreary UK afternoons immeasurably. I'm currently recovering from major ankle surgery so I can't really get about very easily. Being able to visit these beautiful places with you has cheered me up immensely.

 

Thank you, and warmest regards.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited March 10, 2015 by wobblybob74

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

Very warm thanks for yet another superb review/blog. We've visited Rome twice on our Med cruises but, like you, I've left both times wishing dearly that we could have stayed. I think a land vacation may be called for, perhaps combining four or five days in Rome with a week in a villa near Florence.

 

I've only had a snap-shot of Italian life as I've only visited whilst on a cruise but I agree with you 100% regarding the friendliness and charm of the vast majority of Italians. I tried to learn a bit of the language and it certainly seemed to be appreciated. It was lovely to be cheekily corrected and then treated like an old friend. Even at the busiest places in Rome (I'm thinking of the large restaurant/gelateria on the right as you look at St Paul's Square) the staff made time to chat and treat you as a human being, not just a Euro note. I have no doubt at all that we will be back.

 

Your posts have lifted a couple of dull and dreary UK afternoons immeasurably. I'm currently recovering from major ankle surgery so I can't really get about very easily. Being able to visit these beautiful places with you has cheered me up immensely.

 

Thank you, and warmest regards.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Bob, I'm glad you took the time to read my Ocean Princess review and thanks for the compliments. It was our favorite cruise so far because of the places we got to visit and the ship was beyond the norm and confirmed to us that we don't have to be on a huge ship to enjoy ourselves .

 

It inspired us to go back to Italy this year for another cruise starting in Rome.

 

I agree that making the effort to speak the native language in Italy brings a warm welcome. It's their country and they are proud of it and the language and so I feel we mustn't be the helpless or arrogant tourist who insists that they bend towards us.

 

Prior to the Ocean cruise I did a lot of review reading- CC, Trip Advisor, Rick Steves, Yelp etc and came across some that suggested that Italian waiters were dour, aloof, arrogant, anti-foreigner etc. In practice, beginning in Venice when we stepped out of the airport we used our tourist Italian and met warm welcomes everywhere we went. They could all speak English but that wasn't the point-they enjoyed hearing us at least trying to respect their culture. In Rome the same thing where between courses and customers the waiters would chat with us and bring us little treats from the menu at no charge.

 

This sort of warm interaction at every turn helped us to fall in love with Rome.

All it took was some Italian phrases, a smile and a positive attitude and we reaped the benefits.

 

We have taken many land vacations in Europe but never in Italy. We will see Florence for half a day in September, but I'd like to stay in somewhere like Lake Bellagio for a couple of days, visit Tuscany by car and end up with a few more days in Rome as I don't think we'll get tired of it quickly.

 

We had an amazing tour with Rome in Limo but it was 8 hours of go-go-go and Rome is one of those cities it pays to wander slowly through the back streets and Piazzas and stop and smell the roses and drink that coffee !!! while listening to some street musicians. No schedule-just ambling around soaking in that unique atmosphere.

 

We can't wait to go back!

 

We are visiting Palermo again this September on the Emerald. I will give it another chance. There are few excursions available but we may take one to at least get us out of the dock area. I am sure the countryside and small towns are delightful.

 

Best wishes for a speedy recovery from the ankle surgery.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[laughing husky]

When you first started this link, I said to self.....Have to do this....so thanks to you we are doing it in Oct.....on the Island....it was one of my favorite ships....I know it will be greatly changed, but for such a port intensive cruise......just being there will be wonderful. Can hardly wait....even though I have to....:( thanks for pushing me to make it happen....

[Bimmer09]

When you first started this link, I said to self.....Have to do this....so thanks to you we are doing it in Oct.....on the Island....it was one of my favorite ships....I know it will be greatly changed, but for such a port intensive cruise......just being there will be wonderful. Can hardly wait....even though I have to....:( thanks for pushing me to make it happen....

 

Wow- way to pull the trigger!

 

I'm glad you read the review and enjoyed the ports. It's hard to say no to Venice and Rome.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Norris

[gbolton]

Here is the video of the tender return to ship and then leaving Sorrento in our wake.

 

This would be our last night on the Ocean Princess.

 

 

Norris

 

Having such a hard time seeing pictures in this review - keeps on saying "photo no longer available". This the 4th review of yours I have thoroughly enjoyed in the last couple of weeks and no issues with your photos on any of the other reviews. Any idea what's going on?

[Bimmer09]

Having such a hard time seeing pictures in this review - keeps on saying "photo no longer available". This the 4th review of yours I have thoroughly enjoyed in the last couple of weeks and no issues with your photos on any of the other reviews. Any idea what's going on?

 

Thanks for letting me know. That's an annoyance-the photos are all still on Flickr with privacy set to Public and if you click on the logo that says no longer available it takes you to that photo on Flickr. This means you have to toggle between the text and the photo to see it which isn't ideal but at least you get to see the pic the text refers to if you keep both windows open.

 

I checked pages at random and found examples on pg 17.

 

The same photos are used in my blog and there is no issue there AFAIK.

 

Sorry I'm not tech enough to figure out how to fix it.

 

Has anyone else seen this happen in a review they wrote?

 

Norris

[gbolton]

Thank you for your quick response regarding the photos. I will look at them eventually in your blog, however I have now moved on to your January 2013 Caribbean cruise on Ruby Princess.

 

I do have a question for you. Obviously you have been big fans of "The Sanctuary", and procure your space as soon as you board. Do you feel the same way now that it is $40 per person a day? I only ask because last March we were on the Star Princess (15 days out of Los Angeles to Hawaii) and there was nobody up there when I was swimming in the Lotus Spa pool. I felt it was such a shame to have all that wasted space. And of course if it had been booked for the whole cruise for two people it would be $1200 total, which seems like an awful lot of money to me.

 

My husband and I have enjoyed quite a few cruises because I worked for an airline, but alas I am no longer working, so they will be few and far between now. However, I enjoy reading reviews and have enjoyed yours immensely. Thank you for all the time you have taken to write them. (I originally hail from Bournemouth, England but have lived in Canada since 1974).

[Bimmer09]

Thank you for your quick response regarding the photos. I will look at them eventually in your blog, however I have now moved on to your January 2013 Caribbean cruise on Ruby Princess.

 

I do have a question for you. Obviously you have been big fans of "The Sanctuary", and procure your space as soon as you board. Do you feel the same way now that it is $40 per person a day? I only ask because last March we were on the Star Princess (15 days out of Los Angeles to Hawaii) and there was nobody up there when I was swimming in the Lotus Spa pool. I felt it was such a shame to have all that wasted space. And of course if it had been booked for the whole cruise for two people it would be $1200 total, which seems like an awful lot of money to me.

.

 

Hi- I wrote to CC asking for help with the photos not being available but got no response.

 

It is better to see them on CC as they open up bigger and brighter than they do on my blog and I don't write so much detailed text on the blog.

So for now the best way to see them is to toggle back and forth-I use a Mac and that takes a millisecond between screens. As there are hundreds of photos of Rome on CC I would urge you to go back to the Ocean Princess review after the Ruby one. I haven't written the Rome part on the blog yet but the same photos will be there, just smaller and less vibrant to my eye.

 

The Sanctuary- $40 a day but you get it for $30 if you book for the week on day 1. I have never seen it busy except when in Glacier Bay on the Diamond.

Carol uses it more than I do as she loves the peace and quiet and service up there so it's worth the $30. We plan to book it on the Emerald in the Med in Sept.

On the Ruby in the Caribbean there was never more than a dozen people up there during my visits and it's so huge they were well spread out.

 

If curious you have to try the Sanctuary once-you can book just for a half day @ $20 and see if you like it.

 

Bournemouth is a beautiful town, by the way.

 

Thanks for reading the reviews!

 

Norris

[Matcodixon]

Norris, I was reading the Caribbean Princess review that Jimmy V posted and your signature caught my attention with two items together The Ocean Princess and Venice. I had to read your review and it turned out to be quite a task. I used one computer for Videos and another for the script and photos.

 

It seems we have much in common. I was born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan however have spent most of my life living in the Wine country of Northern CA. We do have some decent wine available here. (the best is only sold over the counter at the wineries) Beyond that there other things that we share a love of.

 

Boats ships, well almost anything that floats.

Venice and Rome are two of the most amazing places on earth and yes, everywhere you look is another photograph. I did not do video on our Grand Mediterranean cruise but did come home with 2700 photos

The Ocean Princess: Well it was called the Tahitian Princess when we were on it for a cruise of the Polynesian Islands They have since renamed it but I can see from your photos there have been very few other changes. As much as I love the larger ships, The small ones are special.

We try to avoid large crowds. We used private tours in Rome and Naples and often just go out on our own.

 

It was interesting to see the ports that were not on our Med Cruise. I can tell you that a couple of ports that were on our cruise and not on yours that were amazing were Istanbul (complete surprise how amazing and beautiful it was) Liverno (Florence and Pisa) And Monte Carlo. Like you, I would love to go back and spend more time in Venice! There is so much to see that a week would not cover it all. I would also like to see Malta.

 

Finally I would recommend the Polynesian Island cruise RT from Tahiti on the Pacific Princess. Not only are the islands beautiful, but few ships go there as most are too large to be accommodated. No large crowds. I think you would totally enjoy it.

 

Thanks for the memories. Dixon

 

ps I was surprised to see you mention me early in the review.. I have a great photo of Venice as my computer desktop. Also, I think you mentioned that you were a musician? I am as well.