the more ports the better

Post covid, we could show our gold and black room key at the stairs going down to the tender and walk right on. No escorting, just not needing a tender ticket.

Has it been officially announced?

Last month I attempted to book a boat excursion prior to sailing. I checked for several months including the day before sailing. Once onboard, many sold out excursions were available. Is this typical? Does O add excursions regularly those who have not booked in advance?

Actually, I do, once we were on a last minute Western Caribbean sailing on Riveria. (Perk of living in FL) We passed by Costa Maya and sailed in circles while the another similar sized ship ship docked. Reason was rough seas but it was pretty calm the entire sailing. The next day, the same ship was with us tendered in Belize City. We all managed to tender there. Made no sense.

I have been on several O cruises where we sailed past a port where other ships were docked. We were also supposed to dock and not tender. Very frustrating! However….. last month, we were supposed to dock in Rhodes but the island had several large fires. I fully expected a sea day but O managed to substitute Marmaris which ended up being a great day. I was surprised but pleasantly so! I would have loved Rhodes but Marmaris was a good runner up. Also, cruising accounts for about one third of one percent of all carbon emissions. Slowing down won’t make much of a difference. Airlines account for about 3% of carbon emissions and about 500,000 people fly each day. About 650,000 people sail on cruise ships each day. With 650,000 people on cruise ships at any given time that means a lot less cars on the road, dishwashers and washing machines being run, light being turned on and off and heat turned up or air being turned down among other things. I’m not saying cruise ships do not account for any carbon footprint but everything needs to be taken into account and looked at in the grand scheme of thing.

Can the certificates be used for the same person or one for each passenger and/or the same service?

I have to use my United card the get all the miles. I think it’s half if I do not use my United card. I have a Chase co-branded card. I’m assuming that any United mileage plus co-branded card would work.

My TA gives 4 times United miles for balcony and below and 8 times for suites. That $20,000 cruise would get me 160,000 miles, enough for a round trip business class flight to Europe. All TA’s have their own perks.

I was on Nautica two weeks ago and two women were in the dining room next to us FaceTimeing another women. They basically yelled into their phone all through dinner sometimes standing and doing a panarama with the camera. I would have preferred terrible music over that!! It was utterly ridiculous. I said something to a waiter but they did not know what to do so they just ignored it.

Like many posters, we have Allianz annual. If you renew the policy each year prior to expiration, there are no issues with preexisting conditions. I may be wrong on that though. Can someone with more experience give their opinion.

We had 2 days in Petra and Wadi Rum while during our 4 days in Amman. We used Classic Wadi Rum Tours classicwadirum@gmail.com. They were excellent. They picked us up at the airport, sorted our visas, and picked us up and dropped us off every day. They do cruise ship tours from Aqaba. Out Petra guide was fantastic and we had several hours to wander the site after the tour. I highly recommend!

It was very very hot so people were returning early and sitting by the pool. We were talking to another group by the pool for 20 minutes or so and someone removed our towels and bags from our chairs. Getting a chair was not easy. Also, the actual pool is quite small and it was very crowded. Again, it was very hot so quite a few people were cooling off in the pool.

The tour was described as “Santorini by private boat”. It was a catamaran. Very nice. Large inside plus outside seating area and deck area. Both a men’s and women’s bathroom which were as clean as the bathrooms on the ship. Soft drinks plus beer and wine included. I believe we had five or six couples on board. We sailed around the caldera and stopped at a few scenic areas for pictures. Then we stopped for a swim and the crew prepared an excellent lunch. The O description did not say anything about lunch so that was a bonus. The entire excursion was lovely. Regarding Firá and Oia, there is an art gallery about a 10 minute walk down the caldera path from Firá which we love but we will not be going back until they get their transportation figured out. We also love Oia but again not worth the frustration of getting back to the ship. The path from Firá to Oia along the caldera is our favorite hike in Greece but again, not worth the chaos of figuring out how to get back to the port. Santorini has the ability to allow tenders to return from the ferry port where people can take a taxi to but they refuse to allow tenders to return anywhere but the cruise port tender docks. Tenders drop off at the ferry port in the mornings for land tours but they refuse to allow tenders to pick up to return to the ship. Makes no sense!

Off Nautica a week ago, 14 days in the Med. First time on an R ship. Have sailed many times on Marina and Riveria. Overall impressions are that O ships are just a step up in most every department. Also, the space to passenger ratio seemed much lower on the Nautica. O ships have 400 more passengers but much more space and they seem less crowded. Everything on Nautica was a little tight. We stayed precruise at the Grand Bretagne which we booked on our own. It was also the O precruise hotel. It was lovely. Many passengers on our sailing stayed there. We met some great new friends so that makes up for a lot of the downside to the R ships. The roll call was almost non existent but our fellow passengers were very social and we all had a great time. Obviously, we missed Jacques and Red Ginger, but also Baristas, Trivia in Piano Bar, Terrace was much more crowded, pool much much more crowded. Crew was a bit surly compared to O ships although stateroom attendant was fantastic as usual. The rooms cannot compare. We had a PH and the room was small and the bathroom was tiny. We had about a third less space for the same cost as the PH on O ships. Night and day although, I did like the full wall of floor to ceiling windows in the room. Tendering was hectic as usual but in Mykonos, all O excursions were in the afternoon so we went down to the lounge get tender tickets and upon asking when the next tender would be she said maybe 5 minutes or maybe an hour. Crazy! I want down to the tender area and asked, she said 5 minute which it was. Santorini was a nightmare, no fault of O’s. We went out on a Catamaran in the morning returning to the tender dock. We went up into town after that as we had four hours until the last tender. Big mistake. The line to come down on the cable car was 2 hours and hundreds of people walked the donkey trail. There were people slipping and falling constantly. Unfortunately, there is no way to get back to the old port except for the cable car or the donkey trail which is treacherous. I would recommend doing a water activity and avoiding going into town altogether if there are more than two ships in port. The infrastructure just cannot handle that many people. We even tried to find a boat from Oia but they are not permitted to drop off at the old port where the ships tender. You can only take land transportation back to Firá then down on the cable car or donkey trail. All in all, it was an enjoyable sailing but unless there is an absolute cannot miss itinerary on an R ship, I doubt I will sail on one again. The value is just not there compared to the O ships.

Also, Istanbul is a great city to spend a day, and the airport lounge and shopping is fantastic

If you have the ticket number and the Turkish air locator number, just go on the Turkish air website, enter the Turkish locator number, then it will ask for the ticket number to register the flight, enter the ticket number you received from United for each person and once the the ticket number is in their system, you will be able to choose seats. The fact that it is a UA booked flight makes it all the easier. If you open the reservation on the United app and scroll to the bottom of the page then click on “email a receipt”, that receipt will have the ticket number for the entire flight. I apologize, I did not realize that the flight was booked through United or I would have let you know this from the get go! It’s fairly straightforward.

Your turkish air confirmation number is on you O reservation. You can call O and use it to get your ticket numbers. Then you can go on the Turkish air website and get your seat assignments. You need the actual ticket number in addition to your confirmation number. You and your spouse will each have a unique ticket number. Once you have the ticket numbers entered under the confirmation number, you can go ahead and choose your seats. If your TA is unfamiliar with the TA website’s ticket number requirement, that could be your problem.

I am with you. No ship excursions. The new SM program is just wasted money for me. I’ll book a small group catamaran excursion with O on islands like Santorini or Mykonos as they are a set number of people based on the size of the boat whether private or through O and it’s a fun to meet fellow passengers. Sometimes if they have an “on your own” I’ll use their transport if the price is comparable and the timing works out. Other than that, I avoid O excursions so we are paying simply more for no benefit. I tried an O excursion last week as transportation was an issue and it made me realize again why we never book them. It was herding cats with so much wasted time.

Lynn, you can download the Surfshark VPN app. I think it’s $70 or so per year. Any VPN will do. It take a few seconds to download then you can tap on the city you want to show as your home. In Ontario, you can tap on Chicago and the O website will show pricing as if you are in Chicago. Then you can gauge whether the exchange rate is comparable to the bank rate. I use this when we are out of the country and I need to look at US websites. Actually, I keep it on always for privacy but that is another story.

Anything after 11:30 is not a problem with a private transfer. It takes 50 minutes to get to the airport. FCO is really efficient too. Security has the new system where 4 people load their bins at the same time. Also, the immigration line for the US is much shorter than the Asia, Africa and Middle East lines. Getting to the gates is a maze though. It takes about 20 minutes. I had a 12:55 flight out of Rome three days ago coming off Nautica. I tried to book a transfer the week before and couldn’t find one as they were all full. We ended up on an O transfer which took forever to leave the port. We all sat on the bus waiting for a couple who never did show up and we pulled out at 10:00. We still waited in the airport lounge for an hour before the flight. You can easily be on a private transfer at 8:30 and at the airport by 9:30. The shared transfers on viator are reasonable. We have also used Rome Limo and Sorrento Limousine in the past. Both are good. I wouldn’t use O again.

Yes, that is the same tour in Santorini. It is done very well. We had six couples and everyone had a great time. O does not advertise that lunch is included but it is and it is also very good! They pick up and drop off at the old port so it is the last of the O excursions to leave. All the bus tours go first as they go to the new port. The boat is spotless and has two bathrooms and plenty of space. if you like to hike and can swing the path of the gods it is fantastic. Otherworldly. There is a company who will pick you up in Sorrento, bring you to Bomerano to start, pick you in up in Nocelle after the hike, then take you to LaTagliata for lunch, then drop you back in Sorrento. They take 6 people for 350.00 or 8 people for 370.00. https://www.positanotaxi.net/en/hiking-path-of-the-gods. We were happy with them. Otherwise, if you do not like to hike, the ferry to Positano is easy. You can get a taxi up to LaTagliata for lunch, it is spectacular. You can taxi or walk down 1500 steps to Positano, shop around then catch the ferry back to Sorrento. It’s challenging but a nice 30 to 40 minute walk. This is the view from the restaurant, it is fabulous. Don’t discount Sorrento either. If you want to see the Amalfi coast drive, there is a “City Sightseeing” Big Red Bus that goes from the Sorrento train station to Positano and on to Amalfi then loops back. It wasn’t running in Sept after COVID but it may start up again. The SITA busses are last resort but they get you where you need to go. In Sorrento, there is a second port on the other side of town with great seafood restaurants. Bagli delfino is very good. Also, o Parrucchiano is an experience. Enjoy, it certainly is my favorite place! All in all though, the ferries are the fastest and most reliable mode of transport.

Sorrento is simple for tendering. Just go to the lounge early and get tickets. O usually mixes some independent travelers with tour tenders so you will be off soon. The O tenders hold a lot of people. We vacation at the Grand Vittoria in Sorrento every year. The ferry to Positano in September is at 9:15 9:30 10:30 11:00 and is 40 minutes. To Capri it runs every 20 minutes or so and takes 20 or 30 minutes depending on the ferry. naplesbayferries.com is fantastic. They have the schedules for all the ferry companies. I sometimes book on the website a few hours beforehand if it’s crowded and I think the ferry I want may sell out. Or I pick up return tickets. When you buy tickets online, you still have to go to the counter of the corresponding ferry company to pick up your tickets. They scan the QR code on your phone and give you paper tickets. They cannot scan the QR on the ferry. Just remember some of the ticket offices are across the street from the main ticket area in Sorrento and Positano.

In Santorini the ships tours bus and mini bus trips go first so independents have to wait until all the ships tours are finished. This is because all the tenders are run by the Santorini port. The bus tours go to the new port and the tenders go there first. Once all the people on vehicle tours are finished at the new port, the tenders switch to the old port where independent travelers and boat tour passengers are let off. Independents are not permitted to go to the new port. Also, keep in mind that all passengers regardless of where they started have to finish in Fira and either take the cable car or walk the donkey trail. Last week the cable car wait to come down was 2 hours and several passengers walked the donkey trail. It is steep and slippery. Many many people of all ages from several different ships slipped and were hurt. It was crazy. We had a great day on a boat. The crew made us a fabulous lunch, we swam and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Then we made the mistake of going up into town mid afternoon. No wait on the way up but a zoo once we were there. I would advise avoiding it unless there are only one or two ships in port.

We are on the same sailing. I am booking a private tour with Overlord. They can take 4 couples. You are welcome to join us. We also plan to book a private tour visit Mont St Michel in St Malo. I believe Overlord does this too but I plan to check other options.

I always have annual insurance so no worries there. I do have 10 or so sailings booked with O so I hope all is well. Back to my original question. Does anyone remember how long the Riveria refurb was? This break is less than three weeks and I just can’t remember at all how long Riveria took. My TA books only O so she is poking around. If she finds anything out, I’ll post for sure.