Sirena Review

EXTREMELY BORING CRUISE!!

Review for South America Cruise on Sirena
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TravelguruDanville
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2018
Cabin: Concierge Level Veranda Stateroom

We have been on many Oceania cruises and loved them all. We selected this 33 day cruise that started in Buenos Aires and ended in Miami, primarily because my husband wanted to experience the Amazon.

The ship is almost exactly like the other three smaller Oceania ships and the staff were really attentive and friendly. I didn't feel that way with the Officers. When I completed my mid-cruise feedback form, I really expected to hear from someone as I was pretty specific with my concerns. Never heard.

My major issue with the ship...is really an Corporate/Operations Issue. They specially wrote in the cruise itinerary literature, and reconfirmed it when I called, that the itinerary would not stop in an endemic area that is experiencing Yellow Fever now. WRONG!!! According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) bulletins, we were visiting two ports that are considered Ground Zero for the recent rash of Yellow Fever in Brazil. Needless to say, based on their information, we chose not to take the vaccination and were pretty stressed when we were in these areas.

Cabin Review

Concierge Level Veranda Stateroom

Cabin A2

We usually stay on Deck 6 but were upgraded by our travel agent to the Concierge level. We are very happy we didn't pay anything extra for Deck 7. Other than getting 3 free laundry washings and being able to use the spa whirlpool, there were no additional benefits to upgrading. Room size is the same. Our cabin stewards were fabulous, but we would have had that on Deck 6 too, I think.

It appears that some of the "extras" that we have experienced before are no longer there. Not sure if that is a company-wide change or just a Sirena change.

Sorry for such a negative report!

Port Reviews

Buenos Aires

We had been before with the full blown tour so this time we just did our own thing. Favorite areas are La Boca and the Cemetery.

Rio de Janeiro

Rio is a fabulous city and we were there on Easter morning. We've been before so we visited the Christ the Redeemer again and went to the newest museum, Museum of the Future. Fabulous!!

Buzios

A vibrant village with shops (not opened because it was the day after Easter) and great water activities. We rented a speedboat and driver for an hour on the water. Great. Others went swimming.

Santarem

Hired an independent guide, Gill, who is a 3rd generation Amazon dweller. He is fun, interesting and full of information! A must if you ignore my review above and go on this cruise!

Antigua

We took a local van drive at the ship's recommendation. It was a waste of time. Better to stay near the port where there are interesting shops and restaurants. Other than the view from the top of the fort (which was really beautiful and great for pics) the rest of the tour was forgettable.

St. Barts

Very expensive shops to look at...that's about all. Very expensive to have a coffee and/or lunch there!

5 Helpful Votes
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