Flatbush Flyer

Unless I’ve missed something after all these years, my understanding has always been that you have zero experience in commercial marine operations. In any case, are you advocating for a fuel surcharge to meet your “need for speed” to head to a port where the port captain has already shortened your berth time (for whatever reason)?

And if you use your SM $ to book enough OE ones to qualify for the added 25% discount you’ll never see more that 10 people on the tour.

Sounds like you picked some wrong O excursions. It’s easy to avoid those “panoramic” bus ones.

You’re laboring under a very false assumption. No ship’s master (nor the company itself) wants to alter the original itinerary. Changing and even eliminating ports can be a very expensive undertaking. And, when there are added costs, I can’t remember ever having seen a surcharge to passengers. Many contracted port related expenses associated with the original itinerary (from tugs to tours) may not be partially/totally refundable. Adding sea days incurs additional F&B and other related hotel costs to handle the increased passenger load. There can also be unforeseen MarOps costs in added navigational planning and implementation. And let’s not forget that many of the shortened stays in a port are a decision made by the port.

Hi Deano. I trust all is well with you. I wish I had an informed answer for you (but I don’t). My best guess is, once onboard, the place to start would be with the Purser in Guest Services though the O Club Ambassador might work as well. But, in my experience, you might not find the O Club Ambassador on duty on Embarkation Day. If possible, let us know what you find out. And enjoy your cruise!

No. At the bottom of the actual tour ticket (if it is/was part of the O Life YWYW package), it clearly states that you cannot cancel a YWYW tour once onboard. Perhaps you’re confusing which tix said what or you didn’t read the whole note on the ticket. But, I know for sure that my original statement is absolutely correct about the policy that YWYW tours cannot be canceled once onboard (having purchased - several hundred YWYW tours within the last 12 months). That said, it may be that you were given an exception for some reason considered valid.

Tours that were purchased with the YWYW discount (now the SM discount) cannot be cancelled by the passenger once onboard.

What you’re missing is a look at your credit card statement which will show the O’s debit price charged to it (usually as deposit, final payment and optional purchases) regardless of whether you book direct or via a TA (at least in the USA). Unless it’s a conditioned fare reduction approved by O (i.e., BoB, “quiet” sale, group fare, etc.) you, as a TA customer, are paying the same fare available to folks who book direct with O. The fare is the fare except in your own accounting. Any direct TA “cash rebates” are paid from the TA’s own resources (often representing a share of the commission paid to that TA). Refundable SBC from a TA likewise may come direct from a TA’s own internal resources or from OCAPP (which is pass through incentive funding from O via the TA or its TA consortium).

Cups? If not wine glasses, how would wine steward know it’s wine. In addition, check your onboard account, you may see the “corkage” charge if the bottles were noted at embarkation.

From your first citation: Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard; with the exception of embarkation day when each guest (of legal drinking age) is permitted to bring onboard one (1) 750 ml bottle of wine (which are subject to a corkage fee) per guest. Looks like it’s a flat charge per personal bottle no matter where you drink all or part of it. FWIW: There are cruise lines with far more generous allowances. For example, Oceania allows you to bring onboard as much of any kind of legal alcohol you want. However, spirits must remain in the cabin (O will supply all available mixers you require at no charge) and, if you remove personal wine from your cabin (bottle or glass) for consumption in a dining or other public venue, there is a $25 per bottle “corkage” charge (again, it has nothing to do with any crew member opening a bottle. Rather these “corkage” charges are primarily to compensate the cruise line for glassware usage, hotel staff (if needed) and lost revenue from BYOB).

Mozio.com is a search engine for worldwide transfers.

The term “corkage” (as applied in a land restaurant) is different than on a cruise ship. On most ships with a “corkage” charge, that charge (having nothing to do with removal of a cork) is a fee for ANY bottle of your personal wine (whole bottle or just a self poured glass) removed from the cabin. Doing what you suggest (leave the bottle in the cabin and carry its content around in a glass) is a violation of most cruise lines’ alcohol policy. If you don’t believe that, look up the booze restrictions in your cruise’s T&Cs and/or Ticket Contract. You may also see the restrictions in the ship’s online FAQs and occasional reminders in the daily info sheet provided to all guests.

In a sense, you are describing what I have long referred to as the “net daily rate” which is sll anticipated cruise costs “home door to home door” including are required and optionally desired costs (yes, that includes airfare no matter how you book it). Divide that total by the number of cruise days and you have the “net daily rate.” It was that first comparison (years ago) between mass market and premium cruise lines that produced my “Aha” experience that led to switching to a far better “premium” product (small ships, great space and crew ratios, no crowds and no “nickel diming”, etc). Do the math folks (and add the quality quotient to your bottom lines).

There’s the cruise line’s published price and there’s the TA’s “bottom line” net price after subtracting the $ value of whatever else it can add to the deal. For example, 1) Group rate savings 2) Pass through (to customers) booking incentive funds from the cruiseline or the TA’s consortium 3) TA commission sharing as cash rebate or Refundable SBC 4) Cruiseline fare discount to TA with preferred status. (Quiet Sales) 5) Current published cruise line sales 6) Cruise line fare discount for passenger loyalty status. 7) Cruise line fare discount for multi-segment cruises. Best strategy (at least for premium/luxury lines): Book onboard and/or during cruise line sale (for their perks/guarantees). Then transfer to the right TA for their added perks.

Depends on the airline and which one of its planes. Look on the airline website for dimensions and weight restrictions.

Though, in retrospect, I could have better positioned “like you” to earlier in the sentence, please know that what I was trying to say was OP was like others (in general) wanting to “move up” (AND many Celebrity folks want to move up too).

Really depends on the airline. Many international carriers have size AND weight limits. Overhead bins on all airlines vary as well. United has changed some of its overheads to allow vertical rather than flat loading. So width of bag becomes almost as important as height. Most airlines have max dimensions/weight posted on their website.

OP: FWIW, since many Celebrity regulars, like you, eventually decide that they want something better, why not consider “skipping the middle step” and move directly to a premium/luxury line. And if you do start looking in that direction, don’t make the rookie mistake of only comparing cabin fares. Take the time to do the math in as close as you can get to a bottom line “apples to apples” comparison by considering all the extra cost options you’d want/need on a mass market line like Celebrity (e.g., internet, specialty dining, airfare, booze, excursions, gratuities, etc.) which may be included at no extra charge in the premium/luxury cruise industry segments. And then, also consider what you don’t get on the premium/luxury lines: thousands of passengers, mediocre food, nickel/diming for every little thing… the list goes on….. Our preferred premium/luxury line is Oceania and over the years we have found that many of O’s newest regulars came from what might be considered the upper end of the mass market cruise segment, i.e., Celebrity, HAL, Princess, Viking. And, after 1-2 O cruises, stayed with O. Do look at all your options..

Not showing when you want and for a couple only? Or are you saying that every hour of every day sharing a table is not available? i’m betting it’s not the latter and there is some availability though not your preference. That said, I suggest you grab what you can and head to the reservation desk on embark day since they do hold some spots available for folks who didn’t prebook. There you can trade reservations.

Same “NEXT” interior remodeling as was already done on Riviera.

You “hope” it will not be a rotating menu. Not sure what is the usual rotation for your chosen line. But, whatever it is, you’ll still be looking at relatively mediocre quality. This can be an issue for folks used to short cruises when they get repeat menus in a long cruise and keep getting disappointed.

Most importantly, congratulations on breaking out of your mold. The first big difference about cruises that are 3 weeks vs 1 week is that you’ll come to realize that those previous trips were just a “boat ride.” IMO, the next big difference is that, hopefully, your cruising expectations will become more fine tuned - especially when it comes to the quality of the shipboard experience - specifically the food, service and sleep experience. That said, the somewhat two edged sword of your new adventure is that A) you’ll probably come away wanting more (and more) exotic destinations with a better quality cruise experience and B) you may find that mass market lines no longer meet your needs. Yes, you may very well find that you’ll be seriously curious about doing what many Princess, HAL and Celebrity regulars eventually do: 1) Move from the mass market to the premium/luxury lines. 2) Trade in the Caribbean for the far more interesting/enjoyable Polynesia. 3) Start increasing your cruise lengths to a month or more. Don’t worry though. As Martha Stewart always says: “It’s a good thing.”😎

So…. How about being patient since the situation is still quite fluid. Yours is not the only cruise affected by current unrest and other issues. All you can do at this point is decide to bail out and face any $ penalty consequences OR trust that O will make the REASONABLY best decisions on everything from additional itinerary changes to some sort of compensation (despite their not having to do anything. And, if things don’t work out the way YOU want, your decision about whether to do a future O cruise will be further informed.

It certainly is a fact. While the included ports are important (perhaps the MOST important element of a cruise) for some folks, the reality remains that it also represents your daily room and board and the quality of that part of your purchase. That FACT is why there are multiple segments in the cruise industry with each one offering similar itineraries though at sometimes significantly different price points. If you are unaware or don’t care at all that O is a fine balance of often unusual itineraries AND a stellar offering of amenities, food and service, it probably isn’t a good cruiseline choice for you. As for not ever having had pre-cruise changed/cancelled ports, welcome to the contemporary world of cruising (regardless of which cruiseline you use).

If you read your Ticket Contract and the O T&Cs you’ll find that making your deposit accepted the agreement that O is only responsible for getting you from embarkation to disembarkation with allowance for any itinerary changes that keep you, the crew and the ship safe. I’m sure that you’ll agree that O has made itinerary changes necessary for your safety. And, even if you don’t agree, it really doesn’t matter in the bigger picture of the situation. O has done its best to substitute safe and reasonable ports and is not charging you anything extra for the added port expenses it will incur. Remember too that many of your fellow passengers have done all the original and substitute ports many times. Whether you like it or not, a cruise is more than just the ports. And, finally, you have no idea what Onis going to eventually do (if anything) in terms of compensation for your situation. We had three Covid era affected O cruises ranging from one with numerous port changes and a totally different final destination to another completely cancelled to one more with a negotiated replacement cruise. Bottom line is that O was more than generous in fare compensation, bonus SBC and other $ adjustments. Finally, like me, you should know that the “poop can hit the fan” anytime. That’s why any savvy traveler always prepares him/herself for the worst possible scenario.