Home again ! (3 Threads Merged)

[Jay23]

THOUGHTS ON AEGEAN ADVENTURES . RIVIERA 7th to 17th September 2015

 

We had a troublesome journey to Istanbul airport which culminated in our taking two hours after the plane touched down before we got into the arrivals hall and our booked taxi driver deciding we were not coming so went home!! To add to that the replacement taxi dropped us off in the wrong road and so we were two oldies abandoned in the dark. Some locals were very kind and helped us find our hotel. We had actually been driven right past it.

 

This is our second cruise with Oceania.

 

EMBARKATION…The next day we walked out to see if Riviera was tied up in the port, and of course she was. Things were looking better. We got a taxi ourselves at 10.30am. Just 10 minutes from the Port but a bit too far to walk with the cases; and just 10 euros Disorganised chaos there. The Turks are not great at managing large groups of people. Taxis not allowed on the dock side. Still feeling tense!!

TIP: When asked for Tickets, by the Port Officers, show your blue Oceania cruise guide. The “Conformation of booking” letter doesn't cut it! Also, we showed our passports to five different officials. However the checking in with the Oceania team was pretty quick, no lines, and we soon had had our photos taken and our Cruise Cards in our hands and were sitting at Waves bar with a couple of drinks and were happy bunnies at last……………

Lunch in the Terrace Cafe and at 1.00pm the Suite was ready.

 

THE SUITE….Our home for the next ten days was Penthouse Suite No.10033 right opposite the lifts and stairs. First time in a Suite. Ever. Very spacious, very comfortable very quiet. We had a walk in wardrobe with more hangers than you could shake a stick at. Proper hangers, not those things you can’t take off the rail. The safe is positioned in there at eye level; no grovelling in a dark low cupboard. The marble bathroom has a large vanity basin, cupboards either side with mirrored doors; shower cubicle with adjustable shower and “plate” type fixed shower unit; a bath with shower over and numerous splendid thick towels and, of course, bath robes. All good. The bed and bedding is super deluxe. We slept very well. No squeaks or rattles in the suite. The Butler……. ? What can I say. I wish I could have brought him home. I thought I would not know what to ask him to do, but I had no problem making use of his services. Just dial 02!!

 

THE FOOD….. The GDR let us down a couple of evenings on this cruise. Once we had a flakey Sommelier and so no wine until half way through the main course, and on another occasion the scallops were served cold. We should have sent them back but it was a table for eight and the service had been slow. To send back three dishes would have meant the other five guests would have been inconvenienced far too much. Both problems were mentioned to the Maitre D. Otherwise we were happy with this venue, and enjoyed the company of many fellow guests for five of our 10 evenings.

POLO GRILL. We had one Polo Grill meal in the suite, served course by course by the Butler. (BTW the Butler told us he preferred to serve course by course.) This was excellent. We also had a meal in the Polo Grill restaurant which was equally good and our two table companions were delightful. I had rack of lamb in the suite and surf and turf in the restaurant. Perfect service.

JACQUES. For me, this was the best dinner of all. Lobster thermidor; delicious and a table for six that gelled very well indeed. Lovely. Delightful service.

RED GINGER. Not my favourite sort of food. However I had the sea bass and was not disappointed. My DH was much more adventurous and declared it excellent. Charming service

TOSCANA Disappointing. I will say no more, Service OK.

TERRACE CAFE I think the food is good it suits me very well and I like it being served to me although you must be very firm about the portions! However it was much busier this time than I remember from the previous cruise and we repaired to the GDR for breakfast and lunch on several occasions. It is very peaceful in there and never busy,

WAVES Had lunch there just once. My DH loved his hamburger, but the lobster medallions was only OK.

 

More of this later if you can bear it :)

[kazu]

Great review and love the tips on the boarding as well. thank you :)

 

More? Did you say more? yes please :)

 

and Welcome home :)

[Jay23]

Kazu. More tomorrow.

[Cruzin Terri]

Thank you for your review. For a first-timer, who needs all the help she can get, this is great. I look forward to the rest of your review.

Terri

[LHT28]

thanks for sharing

[globevest]

Enjoying your review.

[Paulchili]

Good stuff - I can "bear" more, please :)

[wally_bushy]

I am willing to "bear" it

Edited September 19, 2015 by wally_bushy

[wripro]

And grin!!!!

[Queen of DaNile]

Great beginning to your review. Looking forward to reading more.

[nooosey]

The Terrace Cafe did seem busier than usual, I think the ship was full to capacity, I spoke to two couples who were asked if they would take compensation not to cruise due to overbooking!

[StanandJim]

The Terrace Cafe did seem busier than usual, I think the ship was full to capacity, I spoke to two couples who were asked if they would take compensation not to cruise due to overbooking!

 

The Economy in NYC is thundering upward. All of the really good restaurants are turning people away, even with a reservation! I've never seen so much money around.

[Jay23]

Sorry for the delay! Domestic chores took over the day.

 

PORTS First, we do not do tours. We get off the ship, walk round for a hour or so. Have a drink of something and get back on again. So sadly, I cannot offer in depth port reviews! Did that in a former (cruising) life.

 

The first port was supposed to be LESBOS, GREECE but you will know that this had to be cancelled. LESBOS was experiencing a double whammy. First an influx of illegal immigrants in need of food, water and nurturing which the island is clearly unable to give, and the loss of the visiting cruise ships and the income generated thereby, which is very much needed. All very tragic. We went to KAVALA instead. This was a very nice seaside resort so we went ashore for an hour or so. A good alternative. Thank you Oceania. Here was an impressive Aquaduct and my DH, being an engineer, was keen to walk up to it. How did they build these structures in Roman times without JCBs and huge cranes? It was rebuilt in the 16th century, apparently. A splendid feat of engineering. There is also a castle, but that was a step to far up!!!

 

KUSADASI,TURKEY. This of course is really for Ephesus. We visited Ephesus, some years ago. It is a really fascinating site. but, this time, after an abortive attempt to get on the internet in a cafe, we returned to a quiet lunch in the Terrace. Everyone had gone out. Plenty of space.

The rest of the time we spent on the Spa Terrace. Mmmmm. Nice.

 

RHODES, GREECE. This port is new to us. We really liked it. The old town is hiding behind a protective wall of grand proportions with several “gates” for pedestrians and motor scooters and delivery vans only. There is a small beach next to the dock where Riviera was moored and a wide board walk has been cantilevered out over the sand. Little lights are imbedded into the wood..which looked very pretty when darkness fell. Many of the local shops sold quality goods and I bought some sandals and my DH purchased a cotton shirt. It was very clean and attractive, as were all the Ports we visited. We enjoyed some drinks and returned to the ship with our purchases. As we were there till midnight, we left the ship again in the late afternoon and visited to the same cafe, sitting under the trees and eating baklava. This baklava was made with an apple filling. Delicious. More drinks. This time my DH downloaded his Daily Telegraph successfully. Great relief !!!

 

BODRUM, TURKEY There were a number of boat trips on offer. Two were on “Pirate Ships” sporting enormous, hideous carvings on their prows and pumping out loud music. Presumable alcohol also featured. There were many other pleasure cruisers all waiting for punters. After our little walk we returned to Riviera and watched all the boats leaving the harbour, full up with passengers and very loud! Our balcony afforded us a pleasant view of the many private yachts, moored up in the turquoise water and watched the little tenders ferrying their owners to and fro. Peaceful……once the pleasure boats had left.

It was 96F/36C on that day. ‘Nuf said.

 

AGHIOS NIKOLAOS, CRETE, GREECE. Busy seaside town. Once again a walk off the ship and you are there!.. There is a lake within the town, it is said that the ****s dumped tanks and ammo into the lake, in their retreat in WW2 and that the lake is “bottomless”. Of course there are cafes built around it now and it is a delightful resting place. This time we had a tour!! The Little Train did a trip round the town and up to a high view point. You know the sort of thing. A Toy train “engine” pulling open box carriages. It was very nice. Up the hill, the motor was in such a low gear, and pulled so hard, that I thought it would expire, but no! it reached the top and what a beautiful view we were presented with.. Back on the train and return to the dockside. It was a charming 70 minute ride. BTW it is pronounced A-yos, Nikolous.

 

SANTORINI GREECE Another day at home. Been to this island before. It is very pretty, but when I saw how the tenders bucked and danced across the caldera in the very strong wind, we decided it wasn't for us.(Well me!) I was surprised how windy it was as I would have expected it to be quite sheltered by the island all around. We were the only ship at anchor until 4.00pm when two more cruise ships arrived. The tenders were supplied by the Island authorities, no Life Boats for the guests of Oceania!! Now,……. Life Boats would have been very uncomfortable indeed.

 

MYKONOS, GREECE This time I braved the tender. Again a proper boat supplied by the port authority. We wondered through the maze of narrow streets, got completely lost, and found again!

Eventually we were having coffee in the edge of the sea cafe we sat in some 10 years ago. No, they didn't remember us !!!! Coffee and chocolate cake. So disappointed not to see the famous Pelican No. 2. Pelican No 1 died in an unfortunate accident with a motor vehicle; but we did see some fishermen preparing the catch for the market, and of course the windmills. Lovely resort is Mikonos, very busy, three ships in.

 

THESSALONIKI, GREECE Big industrial town. Second biggest time in Greece. Sea day for us. Apparently the shopping was very good. We got free wi fi in the terminal building. Look out for the crew on their lap tops and it will be free! More time on the spa terrace.

 

DARDANELLES, TURKEY Proper sea day. Last night. Cases packed. Friendly dinner in GDR. All a bit sad though.

 

I will post the disembarking notes later otherwise you will get fatigued. Judith

[Janet-]

Hi Judith

 

Thank you for posting.

 

What a stressful start to your holiday. I find that the older I get the more the journey to the start of the holiday bothers me, perhaps the solution is to have longer ones :D

 

I'm quite envious of your suite, we've not managed to aspire to that yet. Are you still in love with Oceania or has the 2 less than satisfactory dining experiences put you off. We had our second trip earlier this year to Alaska and although not as magical as our first Oceania cruise enjoyed every minute.

 

Can't wait for your next post

 

Janet

[Jay23]

No definitely not put off. I think we become more critical after the first foray. On the whole we are sure that Oceania suits us very well, TIP A table for 6 works much better than one for 8. On the latter size, conversation with everyone is difficult, and it seems to be harder work for the waiters. Just my opinion of course.

 

 

The first cruise gave us a free premium beverage package so we were not sure how much drinks cost. This time we bought the 7 bottle package. It worked pretty well, but we wonder if next time we will just buy our drinks per day.

 

I will certainly avoid Istanbul airport for future cruises if possible, but I notice that Riviera is starting/finishing there many times next summer. Judith

[Jay23]

LAST THOUGHTS ON AEGEAN ADVENTURES.

 

DISEMBARKATION . Istanbul. More Turkish chaos. Long queue for immigration. Four of us had booked a taxi for 9.20am. We all had breakfast in the GDR, by far the best place on disembarkation day. All quiet, all calm. We set off to leave Riviera at 9.00am. A mistake. There was a queue to get off the ship. Problems in Immigration we were told. Outside on the dock a long line had formed, and at 9.20 we were nowhere near a booth to show our passports. We had to queue jump as we were worried that our taxi would would not wait. Sure enough he wasn't there at 9.35am. Phone calls were made and we were assured that he was there somewhere. We eventually spotted him outside the port gate. We had been reluctant to go outside to find him, as we wouldn't be let back in. Finally, we set of in the taxi at 10.00am. Our driver was surely a Formula 1 competitor in a former life!!. At one red light he detoured into a bus park and out the other side, thus missing the traffic lights all together. An exciting trip.

TIP When docking in Istanbul give yourself plenty of time to leave the ship.

TIP.. If you book a private taxi at Istanbul, try to establish, in advance, whether the driver will be inside or outside the port gate. It will prevent much panicking even if you are only going to a hotel and not the airport..

 

At Istanbul airport Departures hall, you put all your baggage through the security X-ray machine before reaching the check-in desks. Don't forget to put the liquids into the suitcases here. You know, the ones you couldn't put in there while you were on board ship the night before. This X-ray procedure did not take too long but the lines for the check in were pretty extensive. After check in comes security X-rays for hand luggage (already checked twenty mins ago). More snaky queues. This involves removal of belts and showing of phones, iPads and liquids in see through bags etc. Then passport checks, again. We were in good time thanks to the racing taxi, so we had coffee and a newspaper download in Starbucks. Queue number four was for boarding. More passport showing. Queue number five was three yards further on, more passport showing, and boarding pass collection.

Flight left on time.. Three hours 40 minutes flight time. Arrival in Birmingham, UK on time. From wheels down to outside airport just 35 minutes. Home in an hour and a half which included calling into supermarket for essentials.

Beautiful ship. Lovely cruise. Wonderful weather. But no Butler at home!!!! Judith

 

(PS I entitled the second episode of these posts incorrectly as "More thoughts on Aegean Adventures." It should have been “Home again part 2” and it was not possible to edit. Sorry)

[kazu]

appreciate part 2 very much. As much as I like visiting Istanbul, I've avoided any cruise that starts or ends there so far. Thanks for your enlightening experience, I think I will follow that strategy;)

 

It sounds like a great time overall.

 

Thanks so much for sharing with us :)

[Toranut97]

Our solution to embarking in Istanbul has been to book a 3 night stay at the Sirkeci Konak Hotel in the Sultanhamet District. If you stay the three nights at his charming boutique hotel, they throw in a lovely dinner and will meet you at the airport. Very nice!

 

We did this twice and it was seamless. Lovely room overlooking Topkapi Gardens.

 

I am sure some other hotels have similar deals.

 

Thanks for your postings Judith. We have enjoyed them!

 

Donna

[Mura]

Actually, I thought your second title was better. "Home Again" didn't tell us in advance just what cruise you were discussing! And maybe you weren't even going to talk about a cruise! So for me Aegean Adventures should have been the title to begin with.

 

Not an overwhelming problem at all. I enjoyed reading your reports.

 

We flew out of Istanbul once and had the same zoo at the airport that you discussed. And leaving Regatta at the Istanbul port was MUCH easier than leaving Marina was ...

 

Mura

[Jay23]

I will bear that in mind Donna, but at the moment I have sworn never to start there again. !!!!! Famous last words. J

[Paulchili]

Thank you for the report. Glad you enjoyed the cruise overall.

Maybe arriving into Istanbul might be easier - we had no trouble last time with a pre-arranged transfer. It was very easy and quick - much easier than leaving from Istanbul.

[Jay23]

Very pleased this thread has been merged. I didn't really know how to manage it! J

[Jay23]

Regarding the shows on Oceania in the evenings, we enjoyed most of the ones we saw. The production shows were particularly good. Lighting and costumes were great. The CD was a bit over enthusiastic for our taste, but as the cruise progressed, the CD calmed down a bit. There was a conjurer, but he was quite as good as he thought he was. Generally though, we found the entertainment OK. Judith

[Jay23]

Thank you for the report. Glad you enjoyed the cruise overall.

Maybe arriving into Istanbul might be easier - we had no trouble last time with a pre-arranged transfer. It was very easy and quick - much easier than leaving from Istanbul.

 

Hi Paulchill. If you see my first post you will note that arriving in Istanbul was pretty traumatic too!!!!

[wally_bushy]

Our solution to embarking in Istanbul has been to book a 3 night stay at the Sirkeci Konak Hotel in the Sultanhamet District. If you stay the three nights at his charming boutique hotel, they throw in a lovely dinner and will meet you at the airport. Very nice!

 

We did this twice and it was seamless. Lovely room overlooking Topkapi Gardens.

 

I am sure some other hotels have similar deals.

 

Thanks for your postings Judith. We have enjoyed them!

 

Donna

 

Good to know

Thanks