Real-Time Preparation for My first Mediterranean Cruise

[Sthrngary]

Hello All:

 

Initial Cruise Details:

          Cruise Brand: Oceania Cruises

          Ship: Riviera

          Number of Times Cruised the Brand: First Timer On Oceania

          Date of Cruise: November 9-19, 2023 (10-Days)

          Area Cruising: Mediterranean including Greece, Turkey, Italy, and France. (See daily headings on attached Calendar)

          Cabin Level Selected: Penthouse Suite (PH3 or better)

          Age of Passengers: 63, 65, 70 and 75

 

Historical Overview:

In my 40-year career, over preparation was the KEY to success.  I was an internationally known professional speaker, educator, facilitator and developed curriculum for international clients.  Before doing a training program, especially one that I did not personally write, I would internalize the curriculum.  This allowed me to move through the training always going back to what had been previously covered (called a tie back) to support how everything worked together as on cohesive unit.  This also made me very much in demand because the intense preparation made me sounded like I wrote the training, I was presenting.  Then I had a stroke and lost some memory as well as some confidence.  I decided to retire. Retirement is NOT what one might think it to be.  For me after a life of daily focus on even the most minor of details, I was becoming bored.  Then came my obsession researching luxury items prior to purchase.  It started with VIP access to multi-day music festivals, high-end automated coffee machines, complete home automation and the list goes on.  It found its way to cruise vacations. 

 

Unlike many, cruising for me is ALL about the planning and strategy.  Where many just like to book the cruise and go on it with little or know strategy.  I want to know as much as I can prior to going on that cruise.  The more I know, the more I feel empowered, confident, and excited.  Again, not everyone feels or reacts the way I do.  As a matter of fact, my family laugh at me all the time.  I can’t even ask a question about their preferences when doing my planning.  They are only interested days before we even leave.  However, they now trust most of my decisions will be on-point.  Yet, I pay the price if I make one bad move.  You just can’t win with family.

 

I thought creating a topic stream, here on the Oceania Cruise CruiseCritic.com social media site, that forces on real-time preparation would have some interest.  Since I am doing all the work, anyway, why not share it.  All I ask is add value to the topic.  Making negative comments about that cruises don’t need this much planning is not really helpful or appreciated.  Instead, please just go to a topic you enjoy and add to it with the emphasis of helping other have a better vacation.  To each their own.

 

With that as my focus, here is my first installment.

 

NOTE: Before I begin, here is my most important RULE to remember.  Planning does not create a perfect cruise.  Nothing does.  Murphy’s Law was created with cruise in mind.  In addition, always have and create realistic expectations.  Reading other guest fabulous experiences can create a vision of your experience that ends up disappointing you.  Just stay grounded and under promise yourself to leave open the possibility of being pleasantly surprised. That was good advice from someone that did not follow it in the past, ME.

 

The Homemade Excel Vacation Calendar: (Attached as an editable Document)

 

Consider this Calendar a Page-At-A-Glance.  As I do something new in my planning, I add to the information on the calendar.  A couple of recent entries were a) I just booked a Mediterranean Cooking Class onboard for my wife and myself for the sea day. b) I added my flight which I booked myself.  The calendar is attached, and you can see it is color coding, times, days and entries.  By having this as a reference, it allows me to make decisions like port tours, specialty restaurant reservations, suggested dinner times, when the major production show happens.  The list goes on.

 

I know, many others do things similar to this approach.  Yet there are far more folks that will look at this calendar and ask themselves, “It this really necessary for our upcoming cruise?”  The answer is absolutely NOT.  It is a complete waste of time however it is a really fun hobby to me and keeps my mind active. Yet when you look at this crazy document and see something that interest you, it might stimulate you to take some sort of early action.  Who knows.  I hope this topic gives some pleasure in some why to other folks that want to live your cruise before it happens through over the top research. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

 

EDIT: Sorry how the Excel Downloads.  If you download it, make it all on one page on your computer.  

Cruise_Agenda_Nov_2023_Oceania_Riviera.xlsx

Edited March 31, 2023 by Sthrngary

[tropicalkerry2002]

You and I could take over the WORLD!!!!

 

[OhState1]

I make things like that and my husband ignores it.  He can’t deal with Excel.  Must be a word doc.  I’m stealing that as a template. 🙂

[Sthrngary]

27 minutes ago, OhState1 said:

I make things like that and my husband ignores it.  He can’t deal with Excel.  Must be a word doc.  I’m stealing that as a template. 🙂

@OhState1 I am honored you wish to steal my Excel.  My family also has no clue about Excel.  The history of this Calendar started a very long time ago.  Each Cruise, I use the last form as my Template for the new cruise.  

 

I have found that my family want this document only when they start asking questions about a week prior to the cruise.  Thing like, when are we leaving, what time is the flight. Where are we staying.  Then comes, can we change that reservation at which time I say the same thing on every cruise.  

 

"You had ever opportunity to be a part of the planning.  You just made fun of me.  So, NO we can't change the reservation at this late stage.  If you really want to change something, Call your congressmen."  

 

That usually takes care of that. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[ATXBecky]

I so love your planning. I love the "If you want to change something call your congressman" line.

There is nothing wrong with detailed planning as long as you can be flexible when Murphy's law acts up! We are on the Riviera 10/20/2023 and it is our first O cruise but not our first cruise.

 

 

Thanks for sharing.

[FANC6]

I am also the planner in our family and I get the same questions just before we leave so I appreciate your work and love the response!

I noticed you had a restaurant listed for your night in Athens. We will be in Athens before our cruise (but not until 2024😞. Could you please provide some info about the restaurant and why you chose it?

Thanks!😀

[ShopperfiendTO]

I'm not sure if you're looking for input, but there is no afternoon tea on embarkation day.

[Sthrngary]

7 minutes ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

I'm not sure if you're looking for input, but there is no afternoon tea on embarkation day.

@ShopperfiendTO I actually am looking for input so thank you. I have corrected my calendar.  Also and to clarify.  During a 10-day cruise, our group may possible join the Afternoon tea once or possible twice.  It was there as a place setter more than anything else. Thank you again.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Sthrngary]

15 minutes ago, FANC6 said:

I am also the planner in our family and I get the same questions just before we leave so I appreciate your work and love the response!

I noticed you had a restaurant listed for your night in Athens. We will be in Athens before our cruise (but not until 2024😞. Could you please provide some info about the restaurant and why you chose it?

Thanks!😀

@FANC6 Happy to assist.  Since we both have so much time prior to our cruises, every morning I research each port.  Athens, is our departure port.  We are coming in early the day before the cruise as is my normal approach.  Our friends wanted as much time in Greece as possible and as we do, love Greece Food.  On one of many YouTube.com video's of food in Greece, I found this little gem.  I have already gotten a reservation online with a confirmation.  This place gets booked up quickly. 

 

I am going to cut and paste my notes from my travel document below.  It has links to the videos so it might take CruiseCritic.com some time to approve the links.  You will notice I had two options for dinner.  I choose the more formal one which is option #2.  I hope it helps you in your question.  Below is my cut and paste. 

 

1)     Dinner Option #1: Authentic Greek food (Casual). Book your table at Geros Tou Moria: https://bit.ly/3zMqBpP 

The review’s recommendation is to simply let them feed you.  Get ready for a Greek feast.

2)    Dinner Option #2: Formal with a view.  Book your table at Orizontes Lycabettus:  https://bit.ly/3DPWgt1 .  Views to die for. To get there you must take the funicular to the top of the mountain. The funicular leave ever hour on the hour; cost about 7 euro’s round trip.  I made a reservation for four (3) the moment I saw this video.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[Sthrngary]

23 minutes ago, FANC6 said:

I am also the planner in our family and I get the same questions just before we leave so I appreciate your work and love the response!

I noticed you had a restaurant listed for your night in Athens. We will be in Athens before our cruise (but not until 2024😞. Could you please provide some info about the restaurant and why you chose it?

Thanks!😀

I did the reply you asked for.  Because it has links for a video, CruiseCritic.com has to approve it.  Give it a day or so.  I will make sure it is approve or sent you the information tomorrow in a cryptic way.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[mauibabes]

@Sthrngary

Are you sure you are not an Engineer 😇👍.  Your spreadsheet is a great start, have you added the week leading up to your flight and included packing instructions?  🤪 We made a similar cruise on Riviera in October/November 2021 and you will have a fabulous time on Riviera.  Our travel buddy uses Tripit PRO to track everything as well, especially flight info and perpetual changes.  I let him do it and I handle the Oceania specifics.  
Feel free to email and ask any questions, gerryesker@gmail.com

I see you have no Specialty restaurant booked on Embarkation Day, good move.  Now when you board, go straight to the Reservation Desk on Deck 5, you should have no problem picking up an extra Specialty reservation. If you can, grab one in Red Ginger as it is the hardest reservation to acquire.  You are in a PH so your Butler will be able to get additional reservations for you and your friends. You must try the Duck and Watermelon Salad, Miso Glazed Sea Bass, Teriyaki Beef, Rack of Lamb, and the beat goes on. Consider picking a few items for the table to share beyond your specific Entree. 
Enjoy,

Mauibabes

[See_More]

Your spreadsheet is wonderful. Did you know that Waves Grill, as well as being open in the morning and afternoon, becomes an amazing pizzeria from 6:30 to 9 pm. Pizza might not be to your taste but so far Riviera is the only Oceania ship with the special pizza oven.  Sometimes it makes a nice change and they have a choice of burrata salad.

[Sthrngary]

24 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

@Sthrngary

Are you sure you are not an Engineer 😇👍.  Your spreadsheet is a great start, have you added the week leading up to your flight and included packing instructions?  🤪 We made a similar cruise on Riviera in October/November 2021 and you will have a fabulous time on Riviera.  Our travel buddy uses Tripit PRO to track everything as well, especially flight info and perpetual changes.  I let him do it and I handle the Oceania specifics.  
Feel free to email and ask any questions, gerryesker@gmail.com

I see you have no Specialty restaurant booked on Embarkation Day, good move.  Now when you board, go straight to the Reservation Desk on Deck 5, you should have no problem picking up an extra Specialty reservation. If you can, grab one in Red Ginger as it is the hardest reservation to acquire.  You are in a PH so your Butler will be able to get additional reservations for you and your friends. You must try the Duck and Watermelon Salad, Miso Glazed Sea Bass, Teriyaki Beef, Rack of Lamb, and the beat goes on. Consider picking a few items for the table to share beyond your specific Entree. 
Enjoy,

Mauibabes

@mauibabes Like minds think the same.  I am going to cut a paste a section of my Travel Document and you will see how well we are thinking together.  You will also notice I choose the Polo Grill but I want to tell you why.  For my wife and my self, their would be NO QUESTION we would reserve "Red Ginger".  However we are going with another couple and to get them to go to Red Ginger even once would be a negotiation which I have already done.  

 

On another topic from your post, I am not an engineer but for what ever reason, early in my work life learned Lotus 123 which now the gold standard is Excel.  I have done Proformas and other complicated spreadsheets like a mortgage calculator for my adult child. Funny, when I created the Mortgage Calculator for my , she asked me what website I got it from.  I told her I made it.  Her response was, "Come on dad, really where did you get it from?"  No respect, no respect at all.  

 

Here is the cut and paste and thank you again for the great post. 

 

"I wrote a nice email to Oceania Cruises and 10 months before sailing with ONLY a refundable security deposit on file, I have my reservations completed and confirmed. It is surprising what a well written email can get you.  I purposefully did not book one of my four days for day one.  Instead, the rules are you CAN get additional days at space available, on a waitlist the day of.  I will be on the waitlist for the "Polo Steak House" the moment I get onboard for both couples. That is a strategy unique to Oceania Cruises.  Glad I did my due diligence."

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

 

[Sthrngary]

15 minutes ago, See_More said:

Your spreadsheet is wonderful. Did you know that Waves Grill, as well as being open in the morning and afternoon, becomes an amazing pizzeria from 6:30 to 9 pm. Pizza might not be to your taste but so far Riviera is the only Oceania ship with the special pizza oven.  Sometimes it makes a nice change and they have a choice of burrata salad.

@See_More Thank you so much for your suggestion.  I have read so many posts on how GREAT the pizza is on the ship.  I had no idea they had a special pizza oven.  Here is my issue because I want to honor your post. 

 

Our trip goes to several places in Italy (I call Italy the promised land for food).  As I have indicated, I am in the process of looking at the place to go for different Italian food items.  We only intent to have these items for lunch and pizza is on the top of our list.  In Sicily you have one type of pizza and in Naples you have a place that created the Margarita Pizza (Brandi).  So getting the Pizza on board for dinner will have to come second to getting it in "The Promised Land".

 

Thanks so much for the idea.  I appreciate your post. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[DENIE]

Love your spreadsheet.  We do something kind of like that for each cruise.  I also take a small 3-ring binder and create a tab for each day, including our itinerary.  At the very beginning, I keep the high level summary of the dates, ports, main tours, etc.  Also copies of our flight info, cruise boarding pass, etc.  Then under each tab for each day, I put copies of our tour info, tour tickets (if private 3rd party tour), specialty dining confirmations, cooking classes or other things like La Reserve reservations.  Kind of like 1 stop shopping!  

[Sthrngary]

7 minutes ago, DENIE said:

Love your spreadsheet.  We do something kind of like that for each cruise.  I also take a small 3-ring binder and create a tab for each day, including our itinerary.  At the very beginning, I keep the high level summary of the dates, ports, main tours, etc.  Also copies of our flight info, cruise boarding pass, etc.  Then under each tab for each day, I put copies of our tour info, tour tickets (if private 3rd party tour), specialty dining confirmations, cooking classes or other things like La Reserve reservations.  Kind of like 1 stop shopping!  

@DENIE Wow, and thank you for your post.  We seem to be kindred spirits. I am having a really hard time talking my group to consider La Reserve.  I absolutely love those kinds of experience.  I will work on them.  I can be very convincing.  Thank you so much for your post and making me feel like I am not the only one doing some of these things.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

I am having a really hard time talking my group to consider La Reserve.  I absolutely love those kinds of experience. 

You & your spouse could always do La Reserve & let your friends  decide to  eat  in another venue   that night 

JMO

 

[mauibabes]

FYI, if you are able to secure a Specialty ( Polo) reservation at the Reservation Desk after Check In, be advised that reservation does not count against your Specialty allocation, kind of a Freebie 🤪👍

Enjoy,

Mauibabes

[Sthrngary]

32 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

You & your spouse could always do La Reserve & let your friends  decide to  eat  in another venue   that night 

JMO

 

@LHT28 My wife would no go for it unfortunately.  Not her kind of evening either.  By the way, you have been most helpful from my first post here, thank you.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[Robroy]

Gary:

Congratulations on an amazing spreadsheet! I've never created anything like this before and have tried to keep everything on a notepad simply with highlights but this takes things to a whole new level! What some people fail to realize as you rightly point out is that a major part of the enjoyment of a cruise is the advance planning - trying to make sure all the bases are covered so you have maximum enjoyment. This is a terrific way to ensure this happens - again, cognizant of the fact that Mr. Murphy is lurking in the shadows and will no doubt make his presence known at some point.

 

We're taking our first O trip in May on a Pacific Coastal just as a quick getaway but have done the Med on Silversea before and absolutely loved Italy and the Amalfi coast. I'm quite jealous of the fabulous food that awaits you and your group.

Thanks for sharing your spreadsheet and I admire your whole approach to cruising. There are no bad cruise vacations  - just some are better than others!

 

Cheers,

Rob

[elmsliebev]

oh I do love a spreadsheet! I too started on Lotus123 back in the day. Loving this thread. 

[FANC6]

14 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@FANC6 Happy to assist.  Since we both have so much time prior to our cruises, every morning I research each port.  Athens, is our departure port.  We are coming in early the day before the cruise as is my normal approach.  Our friends wanted as much time in Greece as possible and as we do, love Greece Food.  On one of many YouTube.com video's of food in Greece, I found this little gem.  I have already gotten a reservation online with a confirmation.  This place gets booked up quickly. 

 

I am going to cut and paste my notes from my travel document below.  It has links to the videos so it might take CruiseCritic.com some time to approve the links.  You will notice I had two options for dinner.  I choose the more formal one which is option #2.  I hope it helps you in your question.  Below is my cut and paste. 

 

1)     Dinner Option #1: Authentic Greek food (Casual). Book your table at Geros Tou Moria: https://bit.ly/3zMqBpP 

The review’s recommendation is to simply let them feed you.  Get ready for a Greek feast.

2)    Dinner Option #2: Formal with a view.  Book your table at Orizontes Lycabettus:  https://bit.ly/3DPWgt1 .  Views to die for. To get there you must take the funicular to the top of the mountain. The funicular leave ever hour on the hour; cost about 7 euro’s round trip.  I made a reservation for four (3) the moment I saw this video.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you so much for this! This place looks amazing and I am definitely putting it on my list of must see and do! Enjoying local food is a big part of how we travel and some of our best travel memories are from going to places like this. Thanks again!

[Sthrngary]

22 minutes ago, FANC6 said:

Thank you so much for this! This place looks amazing and I am definitely putting it on my list of must see and do! Enjoying local food is a big part of how we travel and some of our best travel memories are from going to places like this. Thanks again!

@FANC6 I feel the same way with some exceptions.  My group choose Oceania for their reputation on dining on the ship.  Our experience has be awful to excellent dining on cruise ships.  While on the cruise, we will keep our dining options open to lunch in the ports.  Breakfast and Dinner will be on the ship.  Sea days will be cooking classes that you get to enjoy after words.  

 

This allows us to enjoy the value of the cruise and cuisine in the ports.  I only share this because this is part of this streams topic of planning our first Mediterranean cruise.  We have two Dinner opportunities at ports.  First Athens which applies to your question.  We get to the port a day early so that was a fun choice as you see on the post I responded to you with.  The second is Barcelona, Spain.  We are spending an extra day in Barcelona before traveling back.  We have not chose the hotel or the dinner place there yet.

 

I am glad Cruise critic allowed the YouTube links.  I hope it gives you some nice options.  Yes that Athens restaurant was something special.  I have Rack of Lamb on the mind. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[DENIE]

Great thread Gary, and I am loving the responses.  I forgot to mention in my earlier comment that I do work with Excel every day (I am not retired), so putting together a cruise itinerary is a pretty simple thing for me.  I do understand why some people don't like Excel, though.  

[MEFIowa]

Wife and I split the planning. I find the cruise, we talk about it, and I book it. Then I initially buy relevant tourist & guide books. I study them. Give her some details. We look over maps. She does all the airfare. Like the stealthy U-boat commander she monitors fares across her various sites. Then she strikes like a cobra when she finds the right fare. We plan out excursions. She contacts them and sets up the details. She does the trip insurance. I do any currency work. We got our Euros last year when the Euro was at 99 cents! Now about $1.09.