New to O, have some questions, appreciate any help

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Caesar and most other salads are made to order. A few complex salads are premodern and you just say how much you want. AND do leave room for any and all breads, which are out of this world.

 

Those aging salads are just terrific 

 

To riffatsea, we treat the "buffet" more like a regular "dining room".  No need to take a tray down one loooong cafeteria style line, getting several courses all at once.

And it's not a huge room, so it's very easy to get "something else", IF there is still "room" (ahem).

 

For example, if there is *freshly* sliced <meat of choice>, why let it sit on your plate while you eat soup and/or salad first, etc.

 

It's a very pleasant environment, and there are different "stations", so there is little queueing, and what there is doesn't take long.  One doesn't need to wait for someone to choose their salad before you can get on to something else.

 

The problem, if there is one, is that everything looks *so* good...

And it's very nice to have everything much more hygienic than regular buffets with shared service utensils.

(IF you need help, don't hesitate to ask anyone; if you look like you might need help, it's not unlikely that someone will offer to help you.)

 

GC

 

[NoWhiners]

10 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

And when you need a change of pace, headvri Waves near the pool and get the filet mignon/lobster tail sandwich

 

OMG, this is a real thing??? I feel my normal salad for lunch slipping away....

[GeezerCouple]

4 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

 

OMG, this is a real thing??? I feel my normal salad for lunch slipping away....

 

Not to worry.... just get it as a "hold the bread" type of "sandwich" (although that roll is really great, with some juices on it... but I digress...)

Oh, and of *course*, there is separate delicate little container of sauce for each!

 

The food is special, and so many choices... that was a real problem... should we get this, or that, or the other...!??

 

GC

[Flatbush Flyer]

18 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

 

OMG, this is a real thing??? I feel my normal salad for lunch slipping away....

OP: At Toscana, order Aragosta Fra Diavola.

[riffatsea]

I suppose I will just have to wait and see when we are on board. It is hard to picture someone else making me a salad to order while I wait -"We'll have some romaine and some radicchio and celery and tomatoes and maybe some avocado please".

I understand that in a restaurant salads are made to order in the kitchen but then you are waiting at your table for a server to bring it.

Funny that this is the only board where I have ever asked about lunch!

 

[LHT28]

59 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

While I'm back here I might as well continue and ask how salad is handled at the Terrace for lunch? Do you tell the staff what ingredients you want?

Are they already made and you just ask for a particular salad??

 

At the salad  station there are bowls of precut or sliced items

you ask for the lettuce or mixed greens  the just tell the server  what you want for the selection

olives, tomatoes cucumber , sliced ham, cheese, etc  then the dressing

it really is not hard

[LHT28]

46 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

 

OMG, this is a real thing??? I feel my normal salad for lunch slipping away....

You can view a sample Waves menu  on the O website

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/experience/dining/waves-grill/

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

You can view a sample Waves menu  on the O website

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/experience/dining/waves-grill/

 

Wow, that menu looks terrific. Glad we have a lot of sea days to try everything. 

 

I think I'll need to spend a lot of time walking laps and at the gym on this cruise!

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

OP: At Toscana, order Aragosta Fra Diavola.

 

No dinner menu available on Oceania site for this restaurant--what is this?  It sounds great!

 

And, BTW, is it just me or does the Oceania site seem a bit hard to get to load/show things? Yesterday I could never get decks above deck 5 to load for Insignia, and had a hard time getting the Home page to display. had to keep reloading to finally get it.

[StanandJim]

20 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

And, BTW, is it just me or does the Oceania site seem a bit hard to get to load/show things? Yesterday I could never get decks above deck 5 to load for Insignia, and had a hard time getting the Home page to display. had to keep reloading to finally get it.

With deck plan issues, I'd recommend https://www.cruisedeckplans.com , even their free version is miles ahead of any Cruise Line generated deck plan.  

Edited January 23, 2019 by StanandJim

[NoWhiners]

15 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

With deck plan issues, I'd recommend https://www.cruisedeckplans.com , even their free version is miles ahead of any Cruise Line generated deck plan.  

OK, I'll try that one. I've been using cruise.com or the CC deck plans. 

[boerneDQ]

3 hours ago, NoWhiners said:

 

Thank you so much for this info, answers my last big question ! I have read about issues people have had with uploading the picture, so I'll definitely start early and do mine before I do DH..

 

I also didn't know about the VAT, good to know. Does that apply to items bought in the ship shops?

Yes. It applies to anything purchased while in Brazilian waters.

[NoWhiners]

Just now, boerneDQ said:

Yes. It applies to anything purchased while in Brazilian waters.

 

Wow, that could make a difference. Thanks.

[babysteps]

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Maybe I'm overly cautious, but I'd rather carry $75+ bottles with me.

I hear you! 

 

Although we are much less cautious lol. 

 

Haven't heard of it being an issue, but doesn't mean it doesn't happen!  Other than the just-after-the-wall came down (which I believe was a customs issue, not pilfering), we haven't had bottles go missing by any baggage handlers/left luggage/shippers/etc etc.

[Straughn]

I am also new to Oceania with a Riviera cruise booked in Nov. This thread has been amazingly helpful. Thank you NoWhiners for the great questions and thanks to all who provided the informative answers.

[KatieBelle]

On 1/23/2019 at 5:59 PM, babysteps said:

I hear you! 

 

Although we are much less cautious lol. 

 

Haven't heard of it being an issue, but doesn't mean it doesn't happen!  Other than the just-after-the-wall came down (which I believe was a customs issue, not pilfering), we haven't had bottles go missing by any baggage handlers/left luggage/shippers/etc etc.

So just for my clarification:  babysteps, you leave your cases of wine with the porters at the pier?  flatbush flyer carries on his cases?  We want to purchase at least one, maybe 2 cases of wine in Rome.  Not particularly fond of the idea of carrying on 2 cases of wine.

 

Thanks,

Katie

[Mura]

I haven't brought on cases of wine (even though I've read here from a number of people who have) so I can't speak from personal experience as to whether it's safe to leave a case of wine with the pier porters.

 

OTOH, we've never lost anything and don't know why a case of wine would be different from your suitcase or carry-on.

 

To be clear, I've never brought on so much alcohol that I needed a separate case.  It's either 2 maybe 3 bottles of wine in my suitcase or in my carry-on.  I tend to be fussier about bringing my laptop bag to the room rather than leaving it to crew!  But it also seems to me that if your case of wine didn't make it to your room, you'd rise holy hell.

 

I think you'd be safe.

 

Mura

 

[Banti]

I’ll add my bit to the wine discussion. We are wine drinkers and will be embarking on our 10th Oceania cruise in March. Before the wine packages became part of O Life we always purchased the 7 bottle packages, getting two or three of the packages for longer cruises. While the value of the packages is quite good,

 the choice of wines is quite limited, and over the length of the longer cruises they would often run out of specific wines and substitute another wine for ones you had purchased. When you buy a 7 bottle package they don’t actually set aside your 7 bottles, they just take your wines as you request them from their cellar, and on some cruises they run out of some of the wines and have to substitute. We have witnessed some angry passengers who were not happy that “their wines”were not available. Since OLife we have always chosen the basic wine package as our free perk. You get unlimited wine and beer with lunch and dinner, but not at the bars. The wines are all by the glass, but the choice is very good. There are a total of about 30 wines, 3 sparkling, including a very good Prosecco and a French champagne, I think 11 reds, several of which are very good, at least to our tastes, 11 whites (my husband loves to start his dinner with a glass of Spanish Albariño), some roses, and port, which we have not tried. Please know that if you get the prestige package your choice of wines is exactly the same as with the basic package. The difference is that you also get spirits, and you can get drinks in the bars, not just at lunch and dinner. We have been very happy with the wine by the glass in the dining venues. The pours are generous and refills come as often as you want. We also take some wine on-board with us, usually 3 to 6 bottles in our suitcases, depending upon how long the cruise is, for drinking in our cabin. We also will buy wine onshore if we are in wine growing areas. There is no problem bringing wine back on-board the ship.

 

Also, we did the Amazon cruise in November 2015, and we never saw a single insect. We never needed insect repellent, didn’t take malaria meds, and were told by our tour guides that we would not see any mosquitos on any tours during the day as it was too hot. Also, November is the end of the season, the water levels are very low, and insect populations also low. The Amazon was one of our favourite cruises.

 

Betty

[Flatbush Flyer]

16 minutes ago, Banti said:

I’ll add my bit to the wine discussion. We are wine drinkers and will be embarking on our 10th Oceania cruise in March. Before the wine packages became part of O Life we always purchased the 7 bottle packages, getting two or three of the packages for longer cruises. While the value of the packages is quite good,

 the choice of wines is quite limited, and over the length of the longer cruises they would often run out of specific wines and substitute another wine for ones you had purchased. When you buy a 7 bottle package they don’t actually set aside your 7 bottles, they just take your wines as you request them from their cellar, and on some cruises they run out of some of the wines and have to substitute. We have witnessed some angry passengers who were not happy that “their wines”were not available. Since OLife we have always chosen the basic wine package as our free perk. You get unlimited wine and beer with lunch and dinner, but not at the bars. The wines are all by the glass, but the choice is very good. There are a total of about 30 wines, 3 sparkling, including a very good Prosecco and a French champagne, I think 11 reds, several of which are very good, at least to our tastes, 11 whites (my husband loves to start his dinner with a glass of Spanish Albariño), some roses, and port, which we have not tried. Please know that if you get the prestige package your choice of wines is exactly the same as with the basic package. The difference is that you also get spirits, and you can get drinks in the bars, not just at lunch and dinner. We have been very happy with the wine by the glass in the dining venues. The pours are generous and refills come as often as you want. We also take some wine on-board with us, usually 3 to 6 bottles in our suitcases, depending upon how long the cruise is, for drinking in our cabin. We also will buy wine onshore if we are in wine growing areas. There is no problem bringing wine back on-board the ship.

 

Also, we did the Amazon cruise in November 2015, and we never saw a single insect. We never needed insect repellent, didn’t take malaria meds, and were told by our tour guides that we would not see any mosquitos on any tours during the day as it was too hot. Also, November is the end of the season, the water levels are very low, and insect populations also low. The Amazon was one of our favourite cruises.

 

Betty

Must've missed this guy.

[babysteps]

14 hours ago, KatieBelle said:

So just for my clarification:  babysteps, you leave your cases of wine with the porters at the pier?

Yes 🙂

 

Once the wine arrives in our cabin, if a wine suitcase, we open and store it under the bed as a pull-out wine drawer.  If boxes that we intend to re-use (that is, we are planning on buying wine during the trip to bring home), we keep in our cabin. If boxes we do not intend to re-use, we let the stewards know they can take them away as trash/recyclables.

Edited January 26, 2019 by babysteps
and then what do we do with the boxes? :)

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, Banti said:

I’ll add my bit to the wine discussion.

 

This is a great description, thanks!

 

1 hour ago, Banti said:

Also, we did the Amazon cruise in November 2015, and we never saw a single insect.

 

I would love it if we didn't see any mosquitoes but I am not planning on that. We will be actually on the Amazon Dec 1-7, which might be close enough to the "rainy" season. Although the "dry" season seems very relative!

[Banti]

We were actually on the Amazon from Nov 12 to 18, in the height of the dry season. And I lied, one day we saw one large dead moth, but only one. We had heard that on the March cruises the open decks and balconies would be covered every morning in huge moths and other insects. The advantage of the spring sailings is that you can get further up the tributaries and canals on your tours, whereas we could only navigate the larger tributaries, even in small boats, as the smaller waterways were dry or too shallow. The disadvantage is the presence of insects. We too were told to keep our balcony doors closed, and to keep lights off so as not to attract insects, but it wasn’t necessary. We continued to use our balcony all along the Amazon.  Our captain did say it was the first Amazon cruise he had captained that did not have a problem with insects. Perhaps it was the timing, in mid November, as I think December is the official start of the wet season. Good luck with your cruise. The Amazon is fascinating. I hope you can get to swim with the pink dolphins, that was the highlight of our trip. And also the Opera House in Manaus.

[NoWhiners]

5 hours ago, Banti said:

We too were told to keep our balcony doors closed, and to keep lights off so as not to attract insects, but it wasn’t necessary. We continued to use our balcony all along the Amazon.  Our captain did say it was the first Amazon cruise he had captained that did not have a problem with insects.

 

We always sit on the balcony with the lights off--in the cabin too, except for a small one so we can find the door!  Was it the captain's first Amazon cruise???

 

I would love for us to have an unusual insect-free visit. But I am bringing repellent, just in case.

 

Thanks for your info. We are looking forward to this, I never thought we would actually get to go.

[Banti]

I don’t remember the captain’s name, but he was experienced and very chatty. He gave little lectures or lessons during each noontime broadcast, such as the difference between a nautical mile and a land mile, or nautical terms and traditions. He was so interesting that nearly everyone stopped to listen to his noon messages. He did say he had done previous Amazon cruises. Perhaps ours was a little earlier in the season than usual. I do know that the guides we had on both our day long tours, in Santarem and Manaus, told us that we would not see mosquitoes or other insects in the heat of the day, and it was very hot, and we didn’t see any insects.

[NoWhiners]

6 hours ago, Banti said:

Perhaps ours was a little earlier in the season than usual. I do know that the guides we had on both our day long tours, in Santarem and Manaus, told us that we would not see mosquitoes or other insects in the heat of the day, and it was very hot, and we didn’t see any insects.

 

I wonder where the mosquitoes go when it's hot? Maybe they are on to something?