Overall another very satisfying Oceania cruise on a beautiful new ship. They always manage to have a nice selection of cruise stops and the staff, as usual, was very friendly and helpful in most cases. We always recommend Oceania based on our previous experiences and this cruise was no exception. This was also a nice combination of ports offering a variety of ship based and independent tour opportunities.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Port at Trieste was easy to manage and Oceania staff did their best to process everyone quickly
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Overall food and drink were excellent. Ship was only on its 2nd voyage and staff has a few bugs to work out in the buffets, such as coming around to tables to refill water, coffee, and take additional soft drink or wine orders. Experience in the specialty restaurants was better in general, but some of them also exhibited some early cruise issues. Cookies served in the buffet, usually an Oceania tasty treat, did not seem up to par on this Oceania cruise. Afternoon scones did not disappoint.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Fitness center was well equipped although the treadmills were not properly connected to the ships TV system. Men's locker room was nice but there were some issues with self selecting combinations on the lockers working properly. Sauna was wonderful. Lots of activities such as shuffleboard, bocce, putting, corn hole and one pickleball court available. There is also a 1/10 mile walking track which offers some great views when you are in port.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Staff extremely friendly and responsive, but there did not seem to be the same number of staff around as experienced on previous Oceania cruises of the same size.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Beautiful new ship with wonderful facilities. Easy to get around via stairs or elevators. Layout is very good.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Wonderful cabin, very comfortable, good size with large walk in shower. Cabin was extremely well service by the staff.
Ship tip
Plan your tour and dining activities well in advance when reservations open. It was not easy to get dining reservations once on board. Specialty restaurants are very good and popular.
Used a cruise excursion which was good, but not a lot to see. There is a walled city near the cruise port (within walking distance) which had shops and places for lunch which was nice.
Bari is an interesting stop especially the older city part where women are making fresh pasta outside their homes. Tour guide on the excursion we selected was not very informative, but we found this to be an exception from the other cruise excursions we booked during this cruise
Wonderful stop with lots to see and do. We found a great local excursion (not part of the cruise offerings) with a great local tour guide including sightseeing and local food tastings
Not much to see in Kavala. There are ruins in Phillipe which were part of our ship excursion but given the other stops on this itinerary like Istanbul and Ephesus, this did not seem as impressive
So many interesting sights to see including the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. The ships excursions we had were excellent and a very knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide. On the second day, our tour including a nice boat ride on the Bospherus.
One of the more fascinating stops on the trip. We had a great locally booked tour with another outstanding tour guide who made every effort to avoid the large crowds around the popular attractions by staggering the visit timing. They also kept the schedule flexibly and made some interesting visit suggestions.
Wonderful stop with beautiful sites along the way. Had another great local excursion with a very personable and creative tour guide who suggested alternative stops and flexible scheduling to avoid too many crowds. She also suggested and arranged a lovely lunch for us in Lindos with amazing views and very good food.
Santorini was beautiful but extremely crowded. It's a tender boat stop instead of a dock, which always makes things a bit more complicated although the Vista crew did a great job to keep things moving. The excursion we took with the ship had some thrilling drives along the cliffs, but after some of the previous ports, it did not live up to expectations. Maybe it was due to being the last port in this overall great trip.
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