Hambagahle

We have always taken the "upgrade" wine/drinks package and we get "BIB" on our cards. I asked what this meant and was told "Best In Bar". Anyway it covers everything we would like. We are taking this upgrade from Simply More for our next cruise - $30 per day pp.

So do we. Love the atmosphere, the mountain behind, the walls up the mountain - and we had a very decent cappucino there too. Living cheek by jowl with Roman ruins (architects here pray that a new building's excavation won't show any trace of them!) I suppose unless it is something like the colosseum in Pula they don't overwhelm me! Kotor is a lovey place. The islands are fun to visit too...and the Venetian architecture wonderful.

I asked my TA to send me my final invoice, showing the upgrade from the basic wine package, included in Simply More, plus the Excursion Credits etc etc. I have it on my computer. The upgrade was $30 pp/p day and the tips $23 pp per day. (We are in a Vista Suite...)

And here is a photo from Riviera when sailing into a misty Bay of Kotor. It is magic that place !

I asked that question of my TA and she confirmed it works like that. But check your fare basis. If you are on the "old" system and not on Simply More the upgrade is twice as much because you have to buy the wine package first and then upgrade from that. On Simply More it is $30 per day per person. So $60 for a couple. On the old package it is $69.95 per person per day.

Our 21 April cruise Valetta to Trieste should have gone to Istanbul and Kusadasi (both places I had been before) and now we visit Kotor, Heraklion and Santorini - all of which I have been to before. I am not unhappy with this decision because I did want to see Heraklion and Santorini again. I am sorry, very sorry, that we won't see Ephesus or Istanbul on this cruise but we can always fly there in a couple of hours and visit them (though I am not sure exactly how we would get to Kusadasi from Istanbul!). I was hoping Turkey would not fall victim to what is happening in Israel and Gaza but it has. A real shame. But the new ports suit me just fine. In fact if the ship were just to sail off and go around in circles for 10 days I would be fine with that too!! Oceania (and Regent) are great companies to sail with...

I agree. But that is not what I was saying. The beauty of that fjord (the southernmost fjord in Europe) is incredible. I have been to both Istanbul and Ephesus. The latter on a cruise as a sightseeing trip. The former - just ordinary tourists trying to learn about the city. WOW! Still there are far more lovely cities here in Switzerland (Bern for example). without the cacophony that is Istanbul. Still - I loved being there and would have loved to go back. It "ain't gonna happen" as the Americans would say.

We love this "perk" and have had many great meals in the suite. Our butlers have always brought us a full bottle of wine from the "By the glass" list. It is a great way to "sneak" in extra meals at Red Ginger for example!

Value of hindsight but we have fluorescent "sleeves" that wrap around the handles of our suitcases. They make it easier to spot our bags when we collect them after getting off a ship but also help stop someone else confusing the bag with theirs.

The sail in to the Bay of Kotor has to be one of the most lovely things to experience in the world. We have been there several times (always by ship) and if there is a slight mist it is even more lovely.

I got that too - and am not at all surprised. Sort of a "CYA" (American term) for Oceania. I am sorry to miss Kusadasi and Istanbul. But having been to Heraklion and Santorini before (many times to heraklion because we used to spend summer holidays in Elouda) I can say there are a lot of things in both ports that are worth seeing.

I have never seen that. Normally the bed(s) we have had have been the typical 80x200 beds and if you want a "king size" bed the two are put together to form one bed. They are made in Italy and in fact are just like the ones we have at home...maybe even more comfortable.

Presumably you will have to pay for the upgrade so why not get your Travel Agent to do it now? Oceania won't give upgrades for free...and if you see something that is open that you like, grab it before boarding in fact as soon as you can.

For the iPad, iPhone and the Mac the USB cables all plug into a plug that goes into the wall socket. So I suppose I have two options - one is to use the European 3 pin socket since my 2 pin plugs will fit into that or to just plug the USB cable directly into the USB plug in the suite ? A third option is for me to bring a couple of the Swiss/American plugs I have here at home and then connect via those using the US sockets. This is all very helpful and I thank you!!

VERY helpful! Merci!! I have an iPhone 12 with a lightening connector. AND a Swiss plug on the end of that. I know some USBs are larger than that. And since almost all the computers, phones etc will charge anywhere between 100v and 240v I have not had a problem charging that phone (and I did take it to the US in 2020). My computer is a Mac and the USB plug is wider... But I like the advice to "just use the one that fits" !

"European plug with three prongs in a row" - is in fact an Italian plug. Our Swiss two prong plugs will work in this socket but I don't think the French 3 prong ones will. Anyway I have the opposite problem. All my plugs are Swiss. I plan to bring some adaptors Swiss to USA that I used to use in Florida so I can increase the number of sockets I can use. But being a little technologically challenged I don't see what good a USB plug is to me AND I don't know the difference between a USB C and a normal USB!! Would appreciate being told that!

I have been to Casblanca several times (and to Marrakesh too) mostly for my work but once on a Riviera TA cruise. We took the excursion to Rabat which I highly recommend. The Moroccans have reasonably tight police control and since much of their economy depends on tourism they do not want to hit the headlines with a terrorist attack. I always have felt safe in Morocco. I have friends who own property there and they feel safe too. But if necessary and if things don't look good Oceania will cancel the port. They do not want to put their passengers' lives in danger AND they don't want to risk that huge chunk of investment which is a cruise ship!

Glad to hear the comment about Toscana...we hated it (ate there twice on two separate cruises and once was with the GM and even then didn't enjoy the meal). I detested the "olive oil show" as well. So - I suppose we are prepared to give it another go when we are on Vista. And at worst if we still really dislike it we can leave and have dinner at the Terrace Café or in the suite.

AHH. French butter. We love it so much we go to France to get ours. Swiss butter is nothing in comparison! And when we go to get butter (1 hour drive to either Evian or Chamonix from here) we have lunch!! (I think I might be running low on butter right now and will have to check...)

I HATE strawberry jam (my mother smashed aspirins up in it to give me!) My husband loves it...anyway - he gets the scones and I get the finger sandwiches. YUM! And he just said yesterday that he was dreaming about the tea in Horizons!

You need to look at Currents - the daily goings-on newspaper you get on your bed at night. it gives the times of tea. Usually at 1600 in Horizons. And WELL worth going to.

I doubt that made a huge difference nor would it be different from one day to another. You mention the Vatican museum - we had a private tour there that started 90 minutes before the public were allowed in. By the time we got to the Sistine Chapel we could barely move...and that was a while ago, pre-Covid. I have been to Rome maybe 10 or more times and it is almost always crowded.

We were on Riviera some years ago in an Oceania suite on deck 12. Once you went through the door things were really really quiet - except if you were walking by the Culinary centre and a class was about to start with people lining up to get in. After that started - nothing. We liked the Ocdania suite a lot.

It is European school holiday time...that might account for the crowds. And then there is the pent up demand that Covid created... We have the same situation here in Switzerland and have had all summer.

Too bad you didn't try a supermarket. They are usually open in Italy on Sundays and sell wine.