kjbacon

And I should clarify that this was at the back end of Covid, not the beginning.

Our experience was at the tail end of Covid and not the beginning. I’m not sure that Oceania or Regent are playing the long game.

A couple years ago, we were booked on a Viking Ocean cruise that had a drastic itinerary change due to Covid. They graciously offered full refunds, not just FCC’s, for those of us who were not interested in the changed itinerary.

A couple years ago, we were booked on a Viking Ocean cruise that had a drastic itinerary change due to Covid. They graciously offered full refunds, not just FCC’s, for those of us who were not interested in the changed itinerary.

We are on a similar itinerary next year and have been following. This entire situation is heartbreaking and feels very personal to me, given my heritage and with family living in Israel. The thread is long so apologies if I’ve missed the answer to my two questions: Aren’t any of you being affected on this sailing using a travel agent? If you choose to sail, you get 25% fcc but if you cancelled, you lose everything?

Our favorite cruise line is regent, followed by a close second in Oceania. Our absolute least favorite is Seabourn. Oceania does a very good job across the board and the food is excellent with plenty of variety. Their larger ships are gorgeous. Seabourn failed on almost all counts. We have a 10 day FCC that we will be using next year but we did consider not using it and that says a lot. The food is only fair with limited variety. I could go on and on, lol, but you get my point. Oceania, hands down!

We did a 6 week cruise last year and were quite disappointed with the food and so bored with the repetition. The absurdly and sometimes incorrectly written menus were the only source of imagination or inspiration. We are really hoping for improvements when we give them a second chance next year.

Regent’s 3 older ships are smaller than their 3 newer ships, which hold about 750 passengers. Regent is our favorite line and our first choice. We love the all inclusive pricing structure and the top quality of everything throughout. As for food, Regent’s specialty restaurants are almost as good as O and their MDR is better with more flexibility. Oceania’s newer and larger ships are a solid second choice for us.

I saw that too and my understanding is that an all female team in Pacific Rim was a must and not a try. @fudge safe travels to you and thanks again for taking us along with you.

Wow, definitely worse than our experience in their specialties!! We just didn’t like them very much. And thank you for the lamb dish recommendation at Toscana. Sounds delicious and will try it on our ‘24 Vista.

Having sailed both lines and currently having reservations on both lines in 2024, there’s no comparison between the two in regard to food and specialty restaurants. Oceania is excellent across the board in terms of cuisine and Viking is just ok. Our good friends, who we met years ago on a Viking cruise, love Viking but primarily because of the spa and certainly not the food. They don’t even go the specialties when on board.

Yes, the Oceania Nautica has left port in Israel safely. We are booked on a similar itinerary next year and in general are heartbroken by the entire situation.

@DrKoob or those of you that might know about the views from Red Ginger on Vista please. From the pictures on the website, it looks like there’s lots of windows in Polo Grill and Toscana but maybe not so in Red Ginger … yes, no? Thank you!

More beautiful pictures! The burrata looks delicious.

We will be on Vista in about a year so your live report is appreciated, thank you. Our fave lines are Regent first and then Oceania, but we also enjoy other lines, Viking for one. If I could though, cabin comparisons on cruise ships should consider more than price per inch or the size of the sofa. Factor in the superior food at more venues and Oceania is a far better buy than Viking every time. Hoping your weather holds up and I look forward to more pictures and commentary.

They are open but generally with their standard menu. The festive menu in compass rose two years ago prompted us to cancel our reservation in chartreuse in favor of roast goose with chestnut stuffing and the trimmings. It was a memorable meal, toasted with a glass or two of wine, shared with our new friends that we call friends to this day @Mudhen @loriva

Great pictures! The osso bucco looks delicious.

Love those monkeys!!

Enjoying your live from posts! Thanks for taking us along. The northeast is beautiful this time of year and I’m glad your weather is cooperating.

@RachelG really enjoying your commentary, thank you! What are the changes you saw on the Sette Mari menu?

The addition of pictures has made your already enjoyable thread even better! Good luck with the rough seas you’re heading into. When the seas get rough enough that the captain warns you ahead, we have found that multiple brandy Alexanders can be most helpful.

There’s a saying that Iceland should be called Greenland and Greenland should be called Iceland; we found that to be true. We enjoyed both but found Greenland to be the more scenic and more untouched. Our zodiac tour through prince Christian sound was spectacular.

We tip well and we tip often because if we can afford to take a luxury cruise, we can afford to tip those who work so hard and sacrifice so much to treat us to that luxury.

Looking forward to traveling along with you, bon voyage!

Bon voyage! Also looking forward to following along with you.