HaveDogWillTravel

I had to try that out and found you are correct.

Well I was thinking, and that could be the problem lol, if there’s unlimited SD then maybe they wouldn’t need to script what you get each time. But I do get the logic @memoakpoints out of unlimited visits not unlimited food. But unlimited visits does mean you can go more than once a day. I haven’t seen any fine print (yet) that says one SD per day I try (as @Cruise Raiderdoes) to only order what I will eat. Adam and I lost 14% of our body weight this year and are so much healthier for it. I have not had to take my blood pressure meds since June. We can bend over AND breathe at the same time lol. We are strategizing how to enjoy the food yet maintain our success. Each having a salad and an ap then sharing a main & skipping desserts is kind of what we are thinking.

With the new premier now being unlimited SD I would hope we can order as many if any included item as we’d like during a meal. I’ll find out in January. But maybe someone can post their experience sooner.

It’s a 243% increase see post 202 please

It’s a 243% increase. See post 202 please

Thanks to all who replied with helpful information about in room specialty dining. We are on the Vista in the Med Oct 3rd for 10 days. Every day is a port day and every day has an activity or excursion planned. I’m already exhausted lol. I thought eating in would be nice so we could wind down early getting ready for a good night’s sleep. When I’m out and about I get pretty, I don’t know what the word is, but I become wide awake and can’t go to sleep easily. That would make those early mornings less comfortable. We are really looking forward to all the activities we have planned. I will be sure to talk to the butler and give plenty of notice.

Just a point of clarification. Percent increase is the difference divided by the original amount then multiplied by 100. In this case [($24-$7)/7]*100=243%. Please pardon my slight rounding error. I am a retired math professor and poor math is one of my pet peeves. No offense intended. This is why I’m not too popular at parties lol.

I have a question for those who have sailed in a PH and above. I’ve only sailed O once, in a B balcony cabin, but have sailings coming up in a PH. PH and above can get meals from any specialty served course by course in their cabin. Is this a benefit that is commonly used? Is there a disadvantage to this that I’m not seeing?

Oceania has 3 R class ships with about 650 passengers, 2 O class with about 1200 and 1 new class (I forget the name but the ship is called Vista) with 1200 as well. All SD is included and it is unlimited. However they handle it very differently from Princess. Everyone can make only one SD reservation in each of the SD restaurants prior to boarding. The reservation system opens up 75 days before sailing with top suites getting first crack at them. The system opens up on a cascading schedule from suites to insides. Loyalty status plays no part in this process, it’s strictly the category of cabin booked. The MDR is walk up and be seated for all. I’ve never had to wait for a table. But I’m pretty new to O so take that with a grain of salt. A good Oceania TA might be able to secure an extra SD reservation prior to boarding. Once onboard everyone can ask for as many SD reservations that they want and will get them based on availability. Sharing tables yields a better chance of more options. It can be challenging for those in the lower cabin categories to get early private tables for 2 but getting a shared table seems to work. Since everyone is restricted to only one per restaurant prior to boarding it seems to work out. I just looked at my Oct 3rd Med sailing and there are still private tables most evenings in most restaurants but at 8:00 or later. O doesn’t open dining rooms until 6:30. Same with shared tables though a few more 7:30 options are available. Full suites can get any meal from any restaurant (SD or MDR) served course by course by their butler in their cabin. I find that I can sail O in a Concierge Verandah or Penthouse full suite (depending on itinerary and dates) for the same money I was spending on full suites with a package on Princess. Princess offers value in their minis and balcony cabins but if I’m spending full suite money then it’s O or Windstar for me from now on. Way better bang for my buck. I think Princess should limit the number of Premier SD bookings to one per restaurant prior to boarding. And they should look at Oceania’s SD reservation system. It is really great. Select private or shared, select the SD rest & A calendar pops up with active buttons on all days with reservations available. Click the button and see the times. Fast and easy.

@didesThank you for doing this. If you see Ivan in the Suite lounge tell him Jacqueline and Adam said Hi and that it took a bit but we’ve finally unpacked everything from our Eclipse sailing with him. BTW Ivan is truly an amazing individual. I hope you have a great sailing.

One more or 2 more suggestions. Since you will have such limited time in Athens and Rome pay the premium to stay right in the historic centers nearest the sites you want to visit. Learn a few phrases in Turkish, Italian and Greek. Good morning, please, thank you, excuse me, where is the bathroom, how much is this…… I’ve found it is appreciated and they will not expect you to be fluent.

This is a great trip congratulations on making that leap. Check that you have a credit card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee. This can really add up. Good footwear is essential. Nothing ruins your day faster than aching feet. Another vote for Travelon theft resistant bags. We have the cross body small messenger bags and love them. Keep only a small amount of Turkish lira or Euros in your bag or zippered pocket. Small bills and coins for bathrooms and street venders are very handy. Use a CC for everything else. Carry only the essentials in your wallet. We use a small one that carries our licence, a CC and insurance card. Always take a picture of the port information on the boards before you leave it will have contact numbers if you have an emergency and need to contact the ship. Read the boards and the Patter for additional information about what to bring ashore or what not to. We always bring some Kind bars from home take off the ship. Sometimes we just don’t want to break from what we doing to eat in a restaurant. In ports with an early departure I always use a ship’s tour. For me the peace of mind is worth it. Mykanos is very walkable and we used a city bus to go to the beach Shirley Valentine was filmed on. Naples I vote for Pompeii and Herculaneum. Either independently or with a ships tour depending on how tight the timing is. In ports where there is a limited number of roads leading back to port (2 or fewer) I also use a ship’s tour. Accidents happen, roads close, detours happen again it’s my personal tolerance for stress. When we arrive early and leave late and there’s multiple trains, busses or roads leading back to port I do independent sightseeing. In Istanbul the lines to enter Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are very long. These are easy to do on your own and I highly recommend them. All tour guides in Greece will wear a lanyard with their credentials on it. They will be outside these major sites asking if you’d like a tour. What we discovered is that they had a position saved in line and so you would join the line with them. We felt they really added a lot to our visits to these 2 sites. They accepted Euros and Lira. Topkapi Palace is also right in this area and I loved this so much we visited it for 2 days. It was my favorite site in Istanbul. We had a guide for the first day but went on our own the second. In Rome if you do only one thing I’d have to vote for the Vatican and St Peter’s Bascilca. Taking an early entry (or late) tour of the Vatican is a good way to save a bit of time. Book one that includes the Bascilica and they will take you thru a door that connects to the Sistine chapel and this saves you a ton of time and walking. The general public cannot do this only the tours can. Check the tour description to make sure this is listed. Climb the Dome! In Athens if you can only do one thing I would vote for the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum. The museum has a free tour of the archeological dig under the museum that is very interesting. It’s free but you have to register for it on the museum website. For your embarkation/disembarkation ports Early is always better everywhere. We are out by 8:30 and have the sites to ourselves mostly until about 10:30 when the school groups show up. Around noonish the ships tours show up and everything becomes a zoo. By 1 we are headed to a restaurant for a nice lunch then a siesta in our hotel. Evening site seeing is also cooler and less crowded.

Thanks for coming back and answering.

Did you book that a while ago? When I clicked on that link the price I saw was 200 euros when I do a mock booking. The page says it will be 100 euros but the quote keeps coming back as 200. And they seem to limit your luggage?

@ORVDid you do the scenic sailing through Prince Christian Sound when you went to Greenland? O doesn’t list it like WS does. I’m wondering if it’s something that O does but just doesn’t list.