Winelands and Wildlife

[BenMurphy]

Hi

 

we are looking at Oceania's amazing SA cruise with a "Winelands and Wildlife" add on I would dearly love to do a "safari" and we are both interested in Winelands.

My question is; If any of you have done this excursion ( Three days) is it possible for one of us to omit the wildlife part and possibly do something else?

 

I know that I could as my T/A,but I'm sure that I'll get a clearer answer from CC

 

Thanks in anticipation

Josie

[boerneDQ]

Josie, are you thinking of doing the cruise this year or in 2017? Rhonda and I are booked on it in 2017 and are doing the 3 night pre cruise wine lands and wildlife as well as the overland trip to Phinda for safari. We would love to see you and Brian again!

Charlotte

[MightyQuinn]

My question is; If any of you have done this excursion ( Three days) is it possible for one of us to omit the wildlife part and possibly do something else?

Absolutely ... you can take what you like and leave the rest. We took Winelands and Wildlife as a complimentary post-cruise extension to an Insignia voyage last December. We decided in advance to skip the game drive day since we'd been on safari in Africa many times and knew the outing to Aquila Game Reserve wouldn't appeal to us. So we alerted the guide to not expect us that day and stayed behind in Cape Town and did our own thing. I spoke with several O cruisers after they returned from the "safari" and there were mixed reactions. The rest of the Winelands and Wildlife program was excellent, especially the day trip to Franschhoek and Stellenbosch.

[potterhill]

And we did this on our Lisbon to Cape Town cruise in December. Some people had an outstanding day at the vineyards. Our tour was a total waste of time. Late departure. Terrible guide. Skipped stuff. Vineyard meal was soso. Wine was generally awful. Luck of the draw.

On the other hand, we enjoyed the game day. We have been on safari and still enjoyed it, much more than expected.

We skipped the first day and climbed Table Mountain with our daughter who joined us on the cruise. Strenuous but a grand day! She flew out that night to a new job in West Africa. Once again, we heard excellent reports and terrible reports about that days tours.

However it was a free tour for us and included a dinner and two lunches as well as accommodation.

I suspect some of the quality issues were due to O having so many passengers in one city at almost the same time. Marina, Insignia and I believe also a Regent ship or maybe it was Nautica. If I were home I could check the book. I'm sure someone will know. [emoji6]

 

Mo

 

 

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[Fam_Cruise]

Last year's Cape Town to Rio cruise I did the free 3-night pre-cruise Winelands and Wildlife tour and skipped both day tours and did my own thing. Free hotel and breakfast was what I was exactly looking for, as I would have booked the same for myself anyway as I'm doing for Lisbon this year (5-night pre-cruise).

Edited July 31, 2016 by Fam_Cruise
Corrected typo

[pieces of 8]

We too were on the December Lisbon to Cape Town trip and decided to forego the wine tours and pay for the tour of the safari park for a second day. We were so happy we went on our own and paid for it. We were able to see a mother rhino and her baby on our tour that were hiding on the day of the scheduled tour. We spoke to a few fellow passengers who were not impressed with the wine tours. It is also well worth a separate tour to Boulder Beach to see the penguins and to Cape Point for the experience, if interested. The hotels Oceania used were very nice and close to an upscale pier area, for those who don't mind a walk. There were several ships coming and going which threw off the scheduled access to the rooms times. Many people were quite upset but there were wiser ones who took it is stride and checked their bags with the concierge and went to the pier area instead of huffing and puffing about the rooms not being ready.

[ilovhywd]

We did this pre-cruise trip last year. The winelands tour visited 2 cute towns, but the winery itself was disappointing. Our friends on a different bus visited a great winery. Go figure! We skipped the nature park because we had done a real safari elsewhere. Instead we did 2 routes on the hop on hop off bus which were fantastic!

 

But the very best day was a tour to Boulder Beach and Cape Point as mentioned in the post above. We arranged that privately and we returned to the ship in plenty of time for departure.

[Queen of DaNile]

We're scheduled to do this next year so the DIY suggestions are very helpful. Sounds like skipping the wine tour might be the thing to do. Thanks for sharing the info.

[potterhill]

We're scheduled to do this next year so the DIY suggestions are very helpful. Sounds like skipping the wine tour might be the thing to do. Thanks for sharing the info.

 

 

It all depends which bus you are on!

 

Mo

[MightyQuinn]

We're scheduled to do this next year so the DIY suggestions are very helpful. Sounds like skipping the wine tour might be the thing to do. Thanks for sharing the info.

Don't skip out! Our wine tasting and picnic was at Grande Provence, which according to our SA guide, was the absolute best in Franschhoek. It was indeed very special. We started the day by self-touring the lovely estate and grounds before sitting down to an outdoor wine tasting and gourmet "picnic". It was all very elegant, kinda like an outdoor wedding. We tasted 6 award-winning wines which they continued to pour freely throughout our meal. We each were given a large wicker basket with charcuterie, artisan cheese, locally sourced condiments and fresh baked breads. Delicious. After eating, we explored the onsite art gallery and gift shop and bought some excellent pinotage. We thought our day at Grande Provence was the best part of our 3-nite excursion.

 

http://www.grandeprovence.co.za/the-estate/

[Queen of DaNile]

Don't skip out! Our wine tasting and picnic was at Grande Provence, which according to our SA guide, was the absolute best in Franschhoek. It was indeed very special. We started the day by self-touring the lovely estate and grounds before sitting down to an outdoor wine tasting and gourmet "picnic". It was all very elegant, kinda like an outdoor wedding. We tasted 6 award-winning wines which they continued to pour freely throughout our meal. We each were given a large wicker basket with charcuterie, artisan cheese, locally sourced condiments and fresh baked breads. Delicious. After eating, we explored the onsite art gallery and gift shop and bought some excellent pinotage. We thought our day at Grande Provence was the best part of our 3-nite excursion.

 

http://www.grandeprovence.co.za/the-estate/

 

Did you know in advance which winery you were going to?

[MightyQuinn]

Did you know in advance which winery you were going to?

We found out when we boarded the bus in Cape Town on the first day when the SA guide gave us an overview of what to expect for all 3 days. He was so excited we had been assigned to Grande Provence as it was his favorite estate. He said we were a "lucky" group and promised us a great day. Indeed it was. My advice would be to stick with the program until you know which wine estate you'll visit. If it's Grande Provence, don't miss it.

[BenMurphy]

Josie, are you thinking of doing the cruise this year or in 2017? Rhonda and I are booked on it in 2017 and are doing the 3 night pre cruise wine lands and wildlife as well as the overland trip to Phinda for safari. We would love to see you and Brian again!

Charlotte

it would be lovely to see you too.

we're still tossing ideas around at the moment.

 

Most of it is a trade of.....probably easier to buy a second hand car!

Josie xx

[BenMurphy]

Did you know in advance which winery you were going to?

 

Hi

It looks as if we would be best off booking our own wine tours

Thanks for the link

regards

josie