Live from Oceania Sirena (December 16th to January 20th)

[travelberlin]

A day at sea on board the Oceania Sirena...I have decided to do my laundry. It costs US 2 per maschine. So, if you are going to use also the dryer, it is US 4. We have done our laundry already a couple of times on this ship, since this is a long cruise and we prefer to travel light.

 

Today, I have lost a sock, either in the washing maschine or in the dryer. This is really a para normal phenomena! How often have I put two socks in the washing maschine and it only returns one... I wonder where all those socks are...

I wish you a good afternoon. Going for lunch now.

Ivi

[Sea42]

Again, great photos. I would love to go on an Amazon cruise. Hopefully, your pictures will help convince my husband!

[Paulchili]

A day at sea on board the Oceania Sirena...I have decided to do my laundry. It costs US 2 per maschine. So, if you are going to use also the dryer, it is US 4. We have done our laundry already a couple of times on this ship, since this is a long cruise and we prefer to travel light.

 

Today, I have lost a sock, either in the washing maschine or in the dryer. This is really a para normal phenomena! How often have I put two socks in the washing maschine and it only returns one... I wonder where all those socks are...

I wish you a good afternoon. Going for lunch now.

Ivi

 

Keep checking the laundry room and the reception desk. Hopefully the person who wound up with your sock will return it to one of those places. (speaking from experience :))

[Floridiana]

Great photos again Ivi we too found the place interesting, but were surprised that people chose to holiday there, much too humid and not a little depressing.

 

They come over from the mainland, mostly French people working for the European space program. You can see its tall white building from the island.

[grmmybtty]

Thank you Ivi for your wonderful descriptions and your very positive attitude. We will be doing a similar cruise on the Sirena next year around the same time, so your posts are very valuable to me. May I ask you what company you used for your tour in Manaus? I would very much like to book a similar tour.

 

 

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[travelberlin]

Keep checking the laundry room and the reception desk. Hopefully the person who wound up with your sock will return it to one of those places. (speaking from experience :))

Thanks for the advise. I went to the reception desk and sure there were some socks there. Not mine. But I have found my sock at the laundry room later in the afternoon.

I have noticed that some people just seem to forget their laundry in that room. Yesterday, there was a load sitting many hours in a basket...

Ivi

[travelberlin]

Again, great photos. I would love to go on an Amazon cruise. Hopefully, your pictures will help convince my husband!

Sea42, this itinerary is really nice. We took it because of the Amazon. Some friends thought that being on a big cruise ship, you do not experience much from the Amazon and told us so before our cruise.

But they were wrong. This is really how the Amazon river and other rivers around here look like. Most people live around the river. We have learned a lot and the places are all interesting. I hope you have the chance to do a similar cruise.

Ivi

[travelberlin]

Thank you Ivi for your wonderful descriptions and your very positive attitude. We will be doing a similar cruise on the Sirena next year around the same time, so your posts are very valuable to me. May I ask you what company you used for your tour in Manaus? I would very much like to book a similar tour.

 

 

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You are welcome Betty and thanks for your comments.

The company in Manaus is called Amazon Eco Adventures. Have a look at trip advisor. We were satisfied with them. They respond immediately to inquiries. First I have communicated with them per email and then per whatsapp.

Overall in the Amazon ports you can do things in your own. If you have questions I will be happy to help. Later, I will post some more posts on the Amazon ports, we have visited.

Ivi

[BlewWater]

travelberlin, thank you for your wonderful posts! They will undoubtedly help many people (including me) in planning their future cruising.

 

I have two questions that perhaps you could address: weather and water.

 

I assume you have had hot/humid days. Have you had any days or evenings on the cooler side? I'm just wondering if this is one of those cruises where one must pack for all extremes...hot, chilly, sunny, rainy.

 

Also, have you had mostly smooth sailing? Or have you encountered rough seas anywhere?

[Floridiana]

We did a similar cruise on the Regatta from Miami through the Caribbean to Manaus and back to Miami in November a few years ago. The ocean was calm everywhere and the weather was consistently warm. Miami was the coolest place. You can expect similar warm temperatures everywhere, but the ocean does its own thing. However, the Amazon always has calm waters.

[travelberlin]

travelberlin, thank you for your wonderful posts! They will undoubtedly help many people (including me) in planning their future cruising.

 

I have two questions that perhaps you could address: weather and water.

 

I assume you have had hot/humid days. Have you had any days or evenings on the cooler side? I'm just wondering if this is one of those cruises where one must pack for all extremes...hot, chilly, sunny, rainy.

 

Also, have you had mostly smooth sailing? Or have you encountered rough seas anywhere?

 

As Floridiana has written, the Amazon river was calm.

It has rained, it was hot, it was humid and many insects but calm waters.

Our cruise came from San Diego. There were a couple of rocky seas when leaving the Panama canal and on our way to Devil's Island. Nothing too strong.

 

The water temperature was every where, warm. This applies for the sea, river and swimming pool on the ship. A pleasure to swim...

Do not pack warm clothes. A pullover is always useful. A rain coat might be needed. Also on all ports you have the possibility of buying cotton or viscose blouses for about US 10.

Ivi

[travelberlin]

On our second day in Manaus we decided to explore the city on our own. We have liked Manaus. It was very easy to walk around. Many impressive structures which were build in a time in which the region was very rich because of rubber.

We have learned from our lecturer on board that rubber originated from the Amazon area and that seeds and plants were smuggled out of Brazil by an Englishman, who took it to London. From there the rubber plants were introduced in Malaysia and the Monopoly in the Amazon region ended.

As a matter of fact, rubber was the cause of a war between Brazil and Bolivia. Brazil occupied a Bolivian territory called Acre. Bolivia was not able to defend it, and this area now belongs to Brazil. Not easy for Bolivia with its neighbors… The country was invaded several times from all sides since it became independent from Spain in 1825. Unfortunately, we have lost all wars with exception of one against Peru. In 1825, Bolivia had a territory larger than 2 million square kilometers. Now the territory is just over 1 million square kilometers. That shows what an easy pray Bolivia was…

Our biggest loss was against Chile in the Pacific war. Chile marched into Bolivian territory. Peru (who by then, was our ally) and Bolivia had to go to war. Bolivia lost all his access to the Pacific Ocean, which is now in hands from Chile. Antofagasta, Tocopilla, Mejillones…were all Bolivian territory. Some of you have probably heard about those places or even been there. The Pacific war is the reason why Bolivia is a landlocked country now. No cruise ships there...

Back to Manaus, we have just walked in town admiring those buildings which show that once Manaus was one of the richest cities in the world. The most impressive is the Opera house (pictures will follow). We have tried to visit it, but it was Monday and officially the building is closed on Mondays. They have opened it only for tours organized by the ship. We did not know that in advance.

In Manaus we have enjoyed a nice caipirinha (a tasty Brazilian drink which I think is made with sugar cane alcohol, lemon, ice cubes and sugar). We visited the beautiful Cathedral. We have also done some shopping and I ended up buying a nice blouse with bird’s motives on it. Interesting to see that many of our fellow passengers are now wearing more colorful shirts, with parrots, tucans, coconut palms, etc.

In general we have enjoyed our stay in Manaus and also our interactions with the friendly Brazilians in that city. We did not feel unsafe although being a large city, probably has its share an criminality. We would not mind to come back.

In relation to our stay at the Sirena, we are still enjoying it. Not everything is perfect. The wines being offered are changing faster than we can realize and the food offerings seem to be repeating faster also. We were wondering over dinner if it is at all possible to expect that the same wines will be always available…probably not (and maybe that will be boring…). How about the food? How often are the offerings supposed to change? This is a 35 days cruise and it was sold as such, it is not a back to back. What is realistic to expect in terms of availability of wines and food alternatives for such long cruises?

We do not know the answers, but it is giving us something to think about since we are booked on a much longer cruise next year. Bye, bye and have a good sleep.

Ivi

 

[Paulchili]

I believe that the menu changes (repeats) every 14 days.

[grmmybtty]

Thank you for the information Ivi. I’m so glad you are enjoying the cruise. We’ve been on several long cruises with Oceania. We deal with the similar menus by trying new dishes and mixing up the venue by having dinner in the specialties, MDR and the Terrace.

 

 

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[Bodogbodog]

Some photos from Manaus

 

 

 

 

[travelberlin]

Today we had a lovely brunch at the GDR of the Oceania Sirena. A beautiful display of food and decorations. For sure a lot of work from many people!

 

We are in Fortaleza. For first timers, it is better to book a tour for this city. We have been here before and know the main turist places. We decided to take the shuttle bus, which seems to be offered by the city. Only two buses running in the early afternoon up to the Main market. In the evening the buses take you to a hotel next to a beach, in which there is also a market. The whole thing with the shuttle bus took a long time between waiting for the bus (30 minutes) and driving to the Market (45 minutes). And similar times to come back. Overall it was not a good idea.

 

Now after having a siesta, we are getting ready to go to our favorite restaurant on board: Red Ginger.

Have a good evening!

Ivi

[Marguerite-a-Ville]

Thank you for your wonderful, detail-filled posts, Ivi. We'll be on Sirena in late February...our first time on Oceania.

 

Are you able to obtain local currency for each country at the purser's desk?

[Mura]

I'm not Ivi but the answer is no. If you are in Euro-land, it's easy to go to an ATM. But that's often true about other currencies as well.

 

(Then again, in Norway, for example, we discovered that no one takes cash. it's credit cards all the way. More and more countries (even a number of NY^C small businesses) are going this route.)

 

On our first Renaissance cruise (Lisbon-Barcelona in October 1999) Reception DID have local currency available. But we haven't experienced that since. When the ships are visiting more than one country, it would be very difficult for them to have all that local currency available.

 

If you don't feel comfortable using ATMs (or if it isn't feasible for you) then I suggest getting local currency before you leave for the cruise.

 

It can depend on your itinerary ... You didn't specify which cruise but it looks like Sirena is in South America for much of February. When we were in Brazil a couple of years ago we just got local currency from ATMs.

 

Mura

[Marguerite-a-Ville]

Thank you for your response, Mura! We will be in South America, with three days pre-cruise in Lima, Cusco, & Machu Pichu. All of our excursions are booked and paid for so my main concern is the three days in Peru. No problem using the ATM's, but I think I'll order some Peru currency from the bank just to make sure we're not caught in some mass power outage without access to cash. ;-)

[Mura]

Margie, We did a pre-cruise Machu Picchu trip before our Lima-NYC venture in 2015. We had no problems getting Peruvian currency from ATMs. Most of our costs were pre-paid as well so this was just for extra meals, small purchases, etc. We loved it! I think you will enjoy Peru very much.

 

But making sure you have some currency on hand in advance is always a good idea. Sorry, we spent all of ours.

 

But I have some Norwegian kroner if you should use that ...Also 5 dollars Australian ...

 

Mura

[Floridiana]

Ivi,

I love your report! And thank you for the history lesson. I never knew about the various border wars between South American countries until we travelled there. Our Ecuadorian guide was still angry at the Peruvians for 'stealing' a piece of Amazon jungle.

 

In Manaus we expected pickpockets in the crowded market near the pier, but we didn't encounter any. When I took photos of market stalls, a young vendor of women's underwear smiled and indicated I should be more careful with my camera.

 

Do you know Santa Cruz de la Sierra?

[travelberlin]

Thank you for your wonderful, detail-filled posts, Ivi. We'll be on Sirena in late February...our first time on Oceania.

 

Are you able to obtain local currency for each country at the purser's desk?

You are very welcome Marguerite-a-Villa. As Mura said, on the ship you cannot get local currency. On this itinerary we have found that in every port up to Fortaleza you could pay in US dollars also. But for Brazil is better to have the local money, so we have got so on our first Brazilian port, which was Santarem. The ATM could only give us Reais 500 per day, which was less than US 200. In addition we have used an exchange house in Santarem.

In Lima, you will find ATMs everywhere. Try to find out how much is the daily limit. Be careful with Taxis. Try not to stop a taxi on the street. You rather have it ordered for you in advance. If you try to eat out, there are plenty of gourmet restaurants in Lima. Lima is considered the gastronomical capital from South America. If you have a chance try to have lunch at the Huaca Pucllana (with nice views of pre Inca ruins) or at the Astrid and Gaston restaurant. Have a look in internet if that would be something you like.

Ivi

[travelberlin]

Thank you for the information Ivi. I’m so glad you are enjoying the cruise. We’ve been on several long cruises with Oceania. We deal with the similar menus by trying new dishes and mixing up the venue by having dinner in the specialties, MDR and the Terrace.

 

 

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You are welcome Betty! We are following your method also concerning food. We just had lunch at the Terrace. I usually try to avoid sweets in order to not to put on too much weight, but I cannot resist Butter Pecan ice cream or a Cannoli. Today the Sirena offered Butter Pecan. Fortunately for my waist, they do not have it every day...

Ivi

[travelberlin]

Ivi,

I love your report! And thank you for the history lesson. I never knew about the various border wars between South American countries until we travelled there. Our Ecuadorian guide was still angry at the Peruvians for 'stealing' a piece of Amazon jungle.

 

In Manaus we expected pickpockets in the crowded market near the pier, but we didn't encounter any. When I took photos of market stalls, a young vendor of women's underwear smiled and indicated I should be more careful with my camera.

 

Do you know Santa Cruz de la Sierra?

Hi Floridiana, thanks that you like what I have written including the references to history. I know what you mean about the feeling from Ecuadorians in relation to Peru...

Fortunately we did not have any encounter in Manaus, in which we felt threatened. Glad to know people will remind you about it. This is in a way civil courage. It is not always common. In some places in Europe people will keep quiet in order not to have problems themselves.

I remember some years ago, we were cruising and one stop was Recife. My husband was not feeling well and we asked a vendor on the beach where was a pharmacy. He said about 800 meters away from the beach. My husband and I decided, that I would get the medicine, since I can communicate with the locals in portuñol (mixture between Spanish and Portugues). The street vendor said to leave all my belongings with my husband because it was not safe as soon you left the beach area. I run the whole way to the pharmacy... I felt uneasy but I was grateful that the street vendor warned me.

 

Yes I have been in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Is the second largest city in Bolivia.

Ivi

[TravelguruDanville]

Hi Ivi,

 

Enjoying your blog as we are leaving on Sirena in March retracing your steps from Buenos Aires to Miami

!

If you would be kind enough to post the tour company you used in Maneus and anywhere else, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Our CC roll call is not active at all so all of the Tours I have been booking have just been for the two of us which is getting really costly!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Cheers,