Flatbush Flyer

Just what he needs - a guess. 😳

You are SOL. But, keep checking the cabin availability while the sale continues.

That’s the country’s requirement, which may be irrelevant if a state ( or equivalent) or a port city keeps its requirement. Perfect example is Australia (no test) vs New South Wales (test). On our recent cruise, there were many folks surprised with a pier-side test charge who had either not looked at the local requirement or, in a few instances, disregarded the knowledge that NSW did require it because they didn’t realize SYD is in NSW.

When he sent you your invoice, there were other documents attached as well, including one called shore excursions.pdf. If not there, call and ask for one. Also, do buy excursions from the O Rep and not online (cart is very glitchy). And when you do buy them, make sure the rep sends you another pdf called “pre-purchased shore excursions,” which will show all the math associated with O Life, YWYW and/or Passport. This is a very important document should you encounter O tour cancellations once onboard. Again, search here for my detailed posts about these items. PS: Hopefully you transferred your booking from the O Rep to an O savvy TA within the 30 day window from initial booking. The right TA can add much to your deal (e.g., 5-10% of the commissionable fare as a rebate or as refundable SBC. That’s a “chunk of change” in your pocket.

Basically, yes. Search here on CC for my very detailed posts about how to best mix O Life tours option and the YWYW discount offer. On your “shore excursions.pdf” (received with your O invoice or, for the latest version, call O - since it’s updated on occasion) and on your web account’s (for this cruise) tour shopping cart, you’ll find out how many total tours (per person) are required for the YWYW 25% discount on any paid tours. What’s good about this is that your O Life tour selections count for the YWYW minimum tour requirement on your cruise. With the up-to-$199/tour O Life limit for allowable O Life tours (no OS, OE, etc tours) being twice the base value of the $100/tour you get (e.g., $800 SBC or 8 tours in O Life), this O Life option usually works out best for most folks (while taking the SBC option is worthless since you paid for it in your O life fare - dollar for dollar) There’s also the tours “Passport” option, which is also discussed in my detailed previous posts. In most instances, it’s not as good a deal as YWYW most of the time (but, it sometimes can work). BTW, some O itineraries don’t have YWYW OR Passport options. If your TA didn’t explain all this to you, get a new “O savvy” TA.

Not all countries celebrate Mother’s Day and those that do (about 50) don’t all do it on the same day.

Sea days; Changeover days (for continuing passengers); Select ports; Occasional brunches.

I only mentioned it because it truly is the best sale I’ve seen in a decade (and I doubt we will see it again for a very long time). Enjoy your cruises.

As the guy who started this thread and, on behalf of all who have posted accurate info (as the situation has unfolded, you’re welcome.

While I know from your past posts that you’ve not often considered premium lines, you may want to look at Oceania ASAP. There is a limited time “extraordinary savings” sale with price drops on MANY of the remaining 2023 cruises that still have cabin availability. Some of the temporary price drops are 40%+\- as O is intent on a full return to normal before the end of this year. But, you’d have to move very quickly as this “best I’ve ever seen” O sale has also caused many with existing bookings to rebook and the cabin availability is quickly disappearing. I recently did a rebook for the sale and it was worth a $3k price adjust on a 3 week cruise. BTW, if you’re not on their mailing list, which would’ve gotten you a brochure with the huge savings prices, you’ll have to call O or your TA to get the sale prices. No gimmicks here. Rather, it’s the “real deal.” But, be prepared to be on hold for quite some time when you call O.

I suggest that you have a wine steward notate the bottle (or the receipt) before you remove it from the dining or other public venue. After all, yesterday’s receipt could be for any previously opened bottle.

Despite its CYA “6 bottle limit” statement, O has never enforced it. Bring onboard as much wine/booze as you want (at embarkation or in ports enroute). To keep it that way, just follow the rules about personal booze consumption. That said, there are the occasional cheapskates who insist on pouring wine in their cabin and carrying it to meals or other public venues in order to avoid the $25 corkage. Really? How ridiculously petty. Fortunately, cabin glassware is different from the glass ware in the bars and, lately, Maitre d’s have been more vigilant about sensitively reminding offenders of the booze policies. In addition, you’ll see occasional policy reminders in the daily Currents, particularly when there’s more than a handful of these offenders. Also, as you look at various other policies and practices on O being discussed here on CC, you’ll find that many of the “O regulars” have strong opinions about some items whenever changes are proposed/introduced by Oceania. Since it’s beginning, O has been focused on a particular demographic (no, not just age) and M.O. that keeps the “regulars” coming back again and again. FWIW: Covid has tested the above premise as will O’s eventual need to cater to more than just accomplished/well traveled baby boomers. But, many of the traditionalists will not go along without complaining.

Wine stewards cruise the GDR, Specialties and Terrace. At Waves and Bars, just asked a bartender/server who will arrange for it to get to you wherever you are located.

And please DO NOT pour and take your personal wine out of your cabin to meals or other public venues. Bottles only and pay the $25 corkage. O will store and retrieve unfinished wine for you.

terms and conditions like great food? Choose O

O Life is whichever of the three options you select. Know, however, the the SBC option has zero value since you pay for it in the O Life cabin fare - dollar for dollar. The tours option allows you to double its base $100 per tour value by booking the most expensive of the allowable tours up to $199. The booze option is good for some folks - particularly if you want to then upgrade to unlimited booze for about $25/day/person extra. O’s non-refundable SBC can be used for all on board purchases (except future cruise deposit) and for gratuities coverage.

Howyadoin? Midwood HS & Brooklyn College (undergrad). Oceania can seem VERY complicated at first. But think of the difficulty you are now encountering as a kind of Admission Exam as you work your way up to “O Regular.” 😉

Availability right now is all that matters. Of course, if people cancel, there’ll again be cabin availability. But, you’d have to have a faster trigger finger than everyone else who is checking daily. I can’t remember a better O sale within the past decade.

On those cruises listed in the Extraordinary Savings Sale, only cabin categories with cabin availability qualify. Savings can be substantial.

One of the benefits of having been born in Brooklyn is that the first full sentence you learn to say as a young kid is “never pay retail.”

But then you had to eat Viking’s food.

That would be six per cabin. On O, the O Life allowable tours are basically all those under $200 pp. At the same time, there is the YWYW program, which provides a 25% discount on any paid tours if you meet the minimum number of tour purchases required for your cruise. And the “no extra cost” O Life tours you select count towards meeting that minimum. The benefit of this as opposed to mass market lines at one end and luxury lines at the other, is that you can custom design your own perks package before you cruise and avoid an “all or nothing” situation once onboard. BTW: if you have good O Club status level, the significant SBC perk can cut your tour costs down even further. On a longer cruise of a month +\-, this can save you $ thousands in ship tour costs while still providing you with all their conveniences (and, as we do, you can mix and match them with appropriate private tours from third parties).

Absolutely. Folks who just love their TA (and may be right to do so) to the exclusion of having one or more O contacts (if for no other reason than verifying info or otherwise having a Plan B in what are volatile times for the cruise industry) are shortsighted.

Don’t you mean your “former” TA?

Right now, you can set an O “call back” if there’s a long wait and you prefer to handle your current pressing business that way. I do know that this “ES” sale has backed up both customer calls and TA calls to O. Last Monday, the backup was 70 calls waiting when I sent an email to my O contact about a tour cancellation and got a response w/i 2-3 minutes. Just like the “right” TA, the “right” customer can get through to O when the situation requires it. Even with a great regular TA, it’s always good to have the ability to make a direct connection with key O staff in those departments that can quickly fix a FUBAR particularly if your TA is not readily available for a time-sensitive item or is running into some uncertainty with his/her own O contact(s). There is a lot of confusion and misinformation floating around this sale. So, caveat emptor.