Oceana Review

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Wonders of the Ancients Cruise - Insignia

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Oceana
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flor11
10+ Cruises • Age 90s

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Sail Date: May 2011
Cabin: Suite with Balcony and Bath/Shower

It was our second Oceania cruise, having traveled with them to the Baltic and Russia a few years ago -- and loved it. We were especially looking forward to visiting Israel and Egypt, as well as Greek and Turkish ports --our first cruise in the Mediterranean Sea . When Egypt was canceled from our itinerary because of the political problems, a lot of passengers apparently called off their trip -- and we were offered a reasonably priced upgrade to a suite with butler service.Wow --we jumped at the chance.

It did not start out well. We had prepaid out transfer from the Rome Airport to the ship -- but our name was not on the list. We bullied our way onto the bus anyway, promising to pay if there had been an error -- they finally let us, but made us carry our own luggage. A few days later we received a note from the pursers office that there had been a regrettable computer error which accidentally dropped out names from the listing, and they would credit our account. It should have come as no surprise, Oceania's computer set up leaves much to be desired. Their web site places a cookie that prevents further interaction after your first visit -- others on the ship told of the same problem. We booked all our shore excursions from home -- none were on record when we got on ship.

Our suite was very beautiful --essentially similar to a balcony stateroom but larger. A bottle of Champagne and a box of chocolates greeted us. The butler arrived, introduced himself and advised of us of what services were available. Eventually the thrill of a butler wore off, he kept wanting to do things for us we didn't want or need, and we found the butler service somewhat intrusive since he felt free to come into the room uninvited (the doors are heavy --sometimes you don't hear the knock) -- and by the end of our voyage did everything we could to avoid him. Once was nice, I don't think we would want that service again.

Cabin Review

Suite with Balcony and Bath/Shower

Our suite was very beautiful --essentially similar to a balcony stateroom but larger. A bottle of Champagne and a box of chocolates greeted us. The butler arrived, introduced himself and advised of us of what services were available. Eventually the thrill of a butler wore off, he kept wanting to do things for us we didn't want or need, and we found the butler service somewhat intrusive since he felt free to come into the room uninvited (the doors are heavy --sometimes you don't hear the knock) -- and by the end of our voyage did everything we could to avoid him. Once was nice, I don't think we would want that service again.

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