Oceania Cruises Reviews
Thursday 9th Feb 2012
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What an Amazon Adventure |
2 of 2 people found this review informative
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Reviewed By: Lane, Pinner on 28th Dec 2009
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| Cruise Line: Oceania Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Regatta |
Sailed:
November,
2008 |
| Destination:
South America
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Age: 56-65 |
| Cabin: Balcony |
Occasion: Annual/regular holiday |
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This was our second cruise with Oceania and like our first one was excellent. We upgraded to Concierge class a couple of months ago as we had been allocated a restricted vision balcony, but the tour company shared the cost with us and it was therefore, only £112. For that, we had a bottle of bubbley waiting for us, a DVD player, bath robes, upgraded toiletries etc. We like Oceania as there are no formal evenings and even though there is a dress code, it is smart casual. Unlike other lines, one does not pay extra for the two speciality restaurants, Toscana and Polo, where the food is superb. On board, cappuccinos are free (unlike other companies) and ice cream, milk shakes and smoothies were also free. And of course, the food in the main restaurant was excellent as was the service.
OK, how about the cruise itself? Well, we stopped in: St. Croix, St. Barts, Saint Lucia (great for watches), Port of Spain, Trinidad (a deviation from the advertised Tobago to take on fuel), Santarem (on the Amazon), Boca Da Valeria (where the villagers turned out), Manaus, Parintins, Devil's Island, Bridgetown Barbados, Roseau Dominica, Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda and finally Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos before finishing off in Miami where we started. Our favourite stops were funnily enough not on the Amazon but on Devil's Island (strictly speaking Île Royale) and Roseau. There were no tours on the former and one could walk around the island where there is an abundance of wild life such as monkeys, toucans and a strange little animals called agoutis. Of course, this group of three islands is famous as being the penal colony for France which only closed in the 1930s and upon which the film Papillon was based. You get an amazing insight into the kind of life that the prisoners must have led as ruins are all around and the small museum is quite explicit as to daily life.
Roseau was memorable as we took a tour through lush tropical landscape and saw Trafalgar Falls, The Emerald Pool and countless banana and other fruit plantations. The island is just like you would expect a Caribbean island to be - completely unspoilt where the people were warm and friendly, definitely a highlight.
Of course, the Amazon was very interesting and in Manaus, Regatta invited a local dance group to provide the evening entertainment and it was excellent. The port calls along the way varied from inspiring to not very interesting. But the guest lecturer, Don Klein, who played to packed houses every time, was superb as he brought the history, wild life and economy to life with each of his talks.
On the last day in Manaus, a Queen Bee decided to make herself at home in the pool's shower head and of course, within a very short space of time, the colony arrived much to the amusement of everyone.
Oceania only do this cruise once a year and over 25 days and nights, we travelled 6940 nautical miles. Virtually everything about it was superb (the exception being the entertainment, but as there were only 63 newbies on board out of around 750 passengers, most of us knew what we were in for). The staff, the food and the amenities were of the highest order and if you can spare 27/28 days (taking into account flights to and from Miami), this is a great cruise to take. Thank goodness we got back on Christmas Eve, just before the attempted bombing of a Delta flight as homecoming would not have been such a smooth process.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| | Entertainment |  |
| Duggy Brown did two shows, the last one only lasting 20 minutes. The first one was almost identical to the one that he did on our first Oceania cruise on Insignia. You certainly don't go with Oceania for the entertainment but to be fair, they do not have a theatre, but the food more than makes up. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| It was pretty rocky at Santarem and difficult to get the local boats for the trips alongside, but with no hassle, we were not charged even though some people waited and finally made the trip. We did a 4 wheel drive "safari" in Barbados but the best was the tour of Rosseau. | | Staff | |
| Nathalia, our cabin stewardess was superb but to be fair, everyone was excellent. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Port lecturer Don Klein was brilliant. | | Cabins | |
| | Overall Rating |  |
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