flaminkokid

Excellent suggestion. Thank you.

you're a troll. You wait under the bridge until you see a chance to say something unpleasant and unnecessary.

I've got the world's worst back. Oceania has been very good about trying to accommodate me in the past. But I'd love to give housekeeping a head's up. The pillowtop has to come off and whatever else can be done to make the mattress as firm as possible. We're on Sirena for three cruises--Jan. 14 to Feb. 16th and it's really important to me. Whatever they can do for me will go along way in making me a happy cruiser. Sleeping on the floor is not a great alternative. Looking forward to a month of sun, fabulous food and, hopefully, a hard bed.

We're back on board the Riviera. We each got a spa voucher for $150. The "special" today was $129 for a 50 minute massage. We called the spa. "Can we use the voucher for the $129.00 massage?" 'Yes but the 20% fee is not covered by the voucher and must be paid for separately." "ok." We know from experience it's a good idea to double check everything these folks tell you because the answer to any question can change depending on who you ask. My Guy goes to the spa for his massage and the manager tells him NO, you cannot use the voucher with the "special." It will be full price. He canceled both our appointments and let them have an earful. He came back to the cabin and they called to say, okay, you can get the $129 massage with the voucher plus 20%. Without the voucher there's no way I would patronize this spa. Trying hard not to look a gift horse in the mouth but this horse is determined to take a bit out of you one way or the other. The only way a business can survive with such abysmal service and exorbitant prices is if they have a captive audience. But maybe eventually Oceania will realize the spa is really an albatross.

oops. $418 for 90 minutes.

On another cruise someone told me she had a massage and I asked how much it cost. She said she didn't know. She was on vacation and she didn't care. Different strokes for different folks. We all expect inflated prices on a cruise ship but I'm never ever going to spend $418 for a 50 minutes massage. I tend to look before I leap. I suppose if they lose enough business they'll re-evaluate but that could take years. Too bad, I always looked forward to having a massage on a cruise.

No, but they canceled quite a few excursions leaving us with nonrefundable credit to spend. I didn't want to buy purses or perfume so we opted for the massage. But even with the credit it wasn't worth it. But they would actually have to force me into the spa before I'd get another massage on oceania. p.s. why so snippy?

I'm looking at a spa receipt in which the 20% came to $43.80. $16.20 was tip and $27.60 was service charge. I'll have to find something else to spend my shipboard credit on. One expects inflated prices on a cruise ship but I think they've gone a bridge too far. And the obfuscation is sooo irritating.

There is a "service fee" of 20% (increased from 18%) which presumably includes the gratuity.

My error. Thanks for spotting it so quickly.

Thank you ORV! I must have looked at that page 15 times and failed to see it. Gettin' old. Happy I could correct it quickly.

Canyon Ranch is no longer the spa on Oceania. It's now called "Aquamar." OneSpaWorld, which operates something like 80% of all cruise ship spas took over the franchise a couple of years ago. How is that working out? We took our 15th cruise on Riviera and we reached “gold” in the loyalty program and received two spa certificates worth $150 each. They say “Don’t look a gift horse in mouth.” You might find out it hasn’t got teeth. This was the first time I ever got a massage that left me more stressed when I left than when I arrived. We proceeded to see how we could get the biggest bang for the buck. This required numerous trips to the spa because prices aren’t published in any brochure or on the tv in the cabin. (There is a price list available at the spa desk if you know enough to ask for it. Trust me, no one is going to offer it up unsolicited.) Apparently they ascribe to the philosophy that if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. We did ask and we got lots of different answers about how we could use the spa credit. There is a different spa special advertised in the Currents every day and it actually includes the price! (There is also a verbal special on port days of either "free extra minutes" or "10 or 20% off" (but turns out only on their "signature services" which are indicated by a faint mandala symbol on the price sheet.) You know what they say about verbal contracts. Get out your calculator. I decided on a 75 minute Swedish massage (not one of their signature services so never 20% off) “regular $249 today only $219.” (A 12% discount.) Small print: “For your convenience, a 20% service charge will automatically be added to all services.” Well, if it’s for my convenience. . . That brought the total to $262.80—$3.50 a minute. Yes, you can use your spa credit for the special, No, you can’t use the spa credit for the special. Finally, we thought we had the definitive answer that we could use it. When I arrived at the spa I figured it would be good idea to verify but the bored girl at the desk told me to discuss it with the masseuse. There seemed to be an extraordinary reluctance to answer straight-forward questions. The masseuse came to fetch me and I told her I was getting “the special” and that I was using a certificate. After she escorted me to the massage room she told me that the special was not valid with the credit despite this having been verified numerous times prior. In other words, it would cost just about $420 or I could select an alternative. I said, “No. I want to cancel the appointment. I’ll get dressed and think about how I want to use the credit.” “No, no, I will tell my manager I forgot and you will get the special.” I strongly suspect this is standard operating procedure. Most people when faced with this situation will just accept being ripped off. You’re already vulnerable—sitting in a little dark room naked with only a bathrobe with someone who has been tutored in how to upsell you. I think they learned their techniques from time-share presentations. I’m probably the anomaly--I'm not susceptible. This is not in the category of payday loans in Arizona. Oceania is a semi-luxurious line and it ain’t cheap. If rich folks get clipped an extra 50 bucks it’s not got going to break the bank or anyone’s heart. Nevertheless. . . . I got the massage. It wasn’t so great. What did I expect? The poor girl was ticked off and unhappy and so was I. It wasn’t until I signed the bill that I discovered yet another exclusion. The spa credit does not include the service fee. The $48 was charged to shipboard credit. (They really keep this information close to vest). Forgive the painful details of this little foray into OneWorld Spa. Canyon Ranch is looking mighty good in retrospect.

Looks like Viking's policy on the "free air" haven't changed. It's a problem for us and why I haven't booked on Viking river cruises. We save up our ff miles so we can go business on long flights. We're in our seventies and still concerned about covid. You can't upgrade to business on Viking "free" air even if you were willing to pay the exorbitant prices to upgrade. The policy is rigid and that's unfortunate. The only river cruise we've taken was on Croisi which I wouldn't hesitate to give one star and one star only. I'd like to book Viking but . . .