Hello Everyone!

My partner Hiro and I are booked on the Oceania "Regatta" 14-Day Eastern Mediterranean & Greek Isles April 23rd, 2006 in a Cat. A3 Concierge stateroom. Anyone have any experience with Oceania?

Some friends are going and so we thought we'd give it a go, even though we've been loyal to RSSC for the past few years. The prices are 2 for 1 including air, but we opted to take a $600 credit for the air since we always use Star Alliance mileage to upgrade to business or 1st.

The cruise starts in Istanbul, and ends in Venice with ports in Greece, Serbia, Croatia, and Italy.

I checked out the size of the staterooms, and it looks from my estimation that they are considerably smaller than those that we enjoyed on "Diamond" and "Song of Flower".

Any thoughts on the ship, food, wine, service, etc. would be most appreciated...

Cheers,

Eric

Claudia is our resident Oceania specialist. Hopefully she'll see this and chime in!

I can give you the name of a fabulous restaurant in Istanbul 'tho if you're overnighting.

Hi Suzanne,

Yes, a restaurant suggestion would be most welcome! We're staying at the Hyatt Regency (using points :p ), and our friends are at The Four Seasons(using cash :D ), but I love to get out of the hotel scene and go out on the town.

Cheers!

Eric

Eric,
I just got back from 14 days on the Regatta in Northern Europe/Baltics. I have been so busy at work I haven't had an opportunity to post but hope to post a comprehensive report by the end of the week.

I boarded early so I could preview all categories of staterooms and took quite a few notes. I am a RSSC loyalist, but must say I truly enjoyed Oceania.

In my opinion, concierge level is a must (even though I wasn't traveling at that level). The staterooms are definitely smaller (more like the Paul Gauguin) as well as the bathrooms only have a shower until you get to the Penthouse level.

If you want a comparable Radisson experience, you need to go to the Penthouse category. If the room and bathroom are not as important, than the standard stateroom is fine.

I thought the food was better than most cruise ships I have been on.

If you have any particular questions, please feel free to ask.

Mrs. Oceania onboard..
heard your call.

Deck 7 is all balconies.. they are the same as Radisson cabins ( 7th deck) but bathrooms are smaller and no walk in closets).
The ship you are taking is Regatta and she is BEAUTIFUL.
As are all of their soon to be 3 ships.. like an English country home.. stunning and elegant.
You have booked the BEST cruise .. I just looked to see and you are doing the best of the countries..
Can help you with drivers for many of the Greek islands , if you want to hire cars to pick you up at port for day tours.. and Istanbul ( if you want a private driver to take you to Kusadashi
( did I spell that right?) Venice and Dubrovnik you certainly can do on your own, easy.. but if you have any q's just post and I can, or my pals here can assist you.

Food is fabulous.. best for me is the Italian ( Toscana and the main dining room Grand)..
You need resys for the Italian ( Toscana) the Grill) which is no problem you just call or butler can do, and for Grand you just go when you want to during dinner hours. It's very casual and as elegant as you want to be with no dress codes ( although everyone knows about dressing for dinner ;-)).. in other words no formal nights, but guys sometimes, if they want wear jackets and ties ( as you wish) . You dine with whom you like and when.. as Radisson and Silverseas.
You are allowed to "bring" any booze on board for you personal use ( in cabin) if you bring bottle of wine or champagne ( that was not a gift from ship) to lunch or dinner , they will charge a $20.00 corkage ;-( but no problem bringing on whatever you want too.. so it all evens out.
Ask away at anything you want ...I love that line ( and my buddies here know it)..

Claudia,
Due to your recommendations I just completed my first Oceania cruise and I agree with your reviews. Thank you for opening a new window for me.

Dear Claudia & Susan,

Thanks to you both for your kind words!

Kusadasi is one of our ports of call on this cruise (day 4), and typically Hiro and I will either take a planned excursion from the ship or do a walk about on our own.

Istanbul is another thing however, and I'd love to have a referral for a good English speaking private driver guide to do a full day tour.

We're arriving two days prior to the ship's departure, staying at the Hyatt Regency, then of course the ship stays in Istanbul port for two days, so we get a total of four usable Istanbul days. Hope that's enough to get a good feeling for this exotic city.

I think a combo of a day of private guiding, then independant walk about (in other words SHOPPING!)and then some ship excursions are in our plans.

Since I own a manufacturing company in Los Angeles, being gone more than two weeks is a challenge. If I had one more week, I'd seriously consider taking the historic Orient Express train from Paris to Istanbul, timing it to arrive several days before departure. Now THAT would be fabulous! ;)

This is the first time for us to go to Turkey, Greece, or Serbia so we're truly jazzed. <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />

Cheers!

Eric

Susan--good to hear that you enjoyed Oceania! Question: I have read on CC that the shore excursions and "Destination Services" were not a strong point for Oceania. Did you find this to be true?

Looking forward to reading your review...

Susan B

Susan,
I thought the shore excursions were higher in cost than I had seen on other lines and I mentioned this in my comment card. I thought the actual excursions were fine, just pricey. I planned most of mine independently because I find it more enjoyable to be with a smaller group than a large bus.

Eric,
I have used a private guide in Kusadasi twice and find them to be excellent. This way you can understand more about Epheseus, ask questions, and in my opinion have a much better experience. It is a great destination. Their email and website are:
ekol@ekoltravel.com.
www.ekoltravel.com

Alan and I are seriously considering Oceania at some point. Can't wait to hear your review, Susan. Of course, Claudia has been a big fan of Oceania for some time now, which really says a lot.

Eric, I have two fantastic guides for Kusadasi and Istanbul. We toured with them last year and were very, very pleased.

Emek Evin - Kusadasi
emekevin@hotmail.com

Fatos Esra Ozal - Istanbul
fatos65@superonline.com
guidefatos@hotmail.com
Cell: 011-90-1-532-211-23-71

Please let them know that Denise has referred you and they will take very fine care of you!

Not to be missed - Ephesus in Kusadasi. AWESOME!

Eric,
If you have time while in Instanbul, try to go to the Spice Market. It is completely different than the Bazaar. Much smaller, interesting spices and other shops surrounding the market. When we were there, Chef Paul Prudehomme (sorry I probably 'butchered' that spelling) from New Orleans was shopping for some unique flavorings. This visit did offer a different experience.
Deanna

For Rhodes ( if you decide to hire someone wonderful for the day touring) call on Nick.
email direct:
nick-ax@rho.forthnet.gr

or his website
http://www.greecetravel.com/rhodes/privatetours/
for Istanbul besides all the other recomendations
( best to email all and see who you connect with )
guide and lecturer
NEJAT INCEDOGAN
his email
nincedogan@yahoo.com

and incase you need another message board( there is a board specifically at Yahoo for Oceania cruises if you may want to meet others on your cruise before hand ( to share private tours or whatever)..

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OceanaCruiser/messag
es


have fun!

missed the 'es '
at the end of that link so add it in

What an amazing trip you are going to have!! We did Istanbul to Venice (on RSSC) last October and it was a wonderful trip.

We used Ekol in Ephesus and enjoyed every moment. We were glad we did the private guide. After our basic touring, he took us to the museum there and it really helped me put everything in context.

On dining in Istanbul - get as many of Suzanne's suggestions as possible. :)

We went to one of the restaurants she recommended to us and it was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip.

If you are there for a few days, do try to get to the cisterns as well.

Kathy

Eric, in case you do an excursion and want to do Ephesus and/or House of the Virgin Mary (they're close together and easy to do both) we had a terrific guide who spoke perfect English , very punctual and such a nice guy. He even brought us gifts to typify Turkey. There were 6 of us and the cost for the entire day was only $30 per person (not including tip). It was so much better than doing the ship's excursion and much less $. He'll hand tailor to do what YOU WANT, all day, 1/2 day whatever.
Levent Solmaz
www.leventsolmaz.com

Thanks to you all for such wonderful tips and information!

Cheers,

Eric

IMHO a guide in Ephesus is an absolute must..Kusadasi is one big shopping mall where bargaining is a way of life..I love shopping there!!
I know Claudia (my good friend) is the resident Oceania specialist..but I hope she doesnt mind if I throw my 2 cents in..you will love the ships..

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Great picture Eric and Hiro.

Sorry about the tests...just getting the hang of this UBB Code thing!

Cheers!

Eric