Flatbush Flyer

Historically, the O airfare inclusion was originally not optional. The cruise price included the air whether you used it or not. In essence then, the price was the price. The difference today (started years ago) is that you have a choice to get a credit off the cruise fare if you do not want the “free” (I.e., “included” airfare).

FWIW: Trip Insurance Store gets many fine recommendations (as does InsureMyTrip). What has always (so far) had me choosing InsureMyTrip is that there search engine is far more sophisticated. Before I call the broker, I plug what are my initial preferences into the search engine to see if I’m in the same ball park as will be the brokerage agent.

One other item: if you’ve used any ship tours (O Life and/or otherwise), get your ShipBoard account print out at Destination Services since their version has the most detail about cancelled/replaced tour items. They can also provide a specific doc with all the math regarding your tours.

Yes - how old a ship is doesn’t mean much since, if nothing else, there are far more “ports” visited today than there were 25+ years ago.

Your post bolsters my caution above to always review your ShipBoard account prior to disembarkation.

Hardly weird. The O transfer is an incentive for booking the “expensive” (per person charge) O hotel via O’s “package” - not the other way around. Booking that hotel on your own (at a far less expensive price) still wouldn’t get you the O transfer Stay where you want and find a good transfer company for London to Southampton. We use Silver Fleet.

call InsureMyTrip. some policies require coverage for all costs while others require only for non-refundable expenses (e.g., only the first nite of a refundable hotel reservation). This is NOT the place to get the best insurance info. Call a broker - With InsureMyTrip and TripInsuranceStore et al., you pay nothing extra for their service.

A few specifics about Oceania’s ShipBoardCredit (SBC): It comes in four varieties, three of which you’ll see on your Oceania invoice and one that you may find on your TA’s invoice. On the O invoice (Amenities and Gifts section), you may see SBC noted as OCAPP (you can search here on CC for my, and others’, explanation of OCAPP), and, depending on O Club status, you may/should see O Club SBC and complimentary gratuities (plus other perks). You may also find SBC assigned by O as compensation (negotiated or otherwise) for a prior cruise issue and/or purchased outright as a gift (by you, a TA, et al.). The fourth source (which should not appear in the O invoice) is your TA’s own $ contribution (perhaps as a share of its commission) to your cruise enjoyment. It should be specified on your TA’s invoice as well as on a “gift card” you’ll find in your cabin on embarkation day. Note that this does not include any TA rebate $$$. Most importantly, there is a difference in SBC. Any complimentary SBC that appears on your Oceania invoice is non-refundable. Any SBC you find on your TA’s invoice (that is not OCAPP with the TA’s (or it’s consortium’s) name next to it, should be refundable. One truly good thing about O’s accounting is that, when shipboard purchases are made, non-refundable $$$ will always be tapped first. However, it is important to note that, should you make purchases pre-cruise (e.g., excursions, cooking classes, LaReserve) your bank of Oceania provided SBC will automatically be charged unless you indicate that you want to pay for the item with your credit card. As for what SBC can purchase once onboard, non-complimentary (O Club) gratuities are included as are bar and various service charges. The main exception excluding use of SBC is deposits on future cruises (or purchase of a Future Cruise Certificate. Since we are not casino users, I cannot comment of that (though I doubt you could change non-refundable SBC into cash). A final note: Always double check your ShipBoard account prior to disembarkation (there can be errors-particularly as regards bar charges). You can choose to have any unused refundable SBC given to you as cash on the final morning or, by default, returned to your credit card on file.

As regards celebratory events: The length of your “cruise” is not as important as the number of “segments” that start within it. You can have a three week single segment cruise and only have one Welcome invite and one O Club invite. If, however, your three weeks include two separate segments (new folks joining at some point), you’ll have another Welcome and another O Club event. Also, once you hit Platinum, you’ll get at least one officer dinner invite per cruise (though other such invites may happen before then for a variety of reasons). The new O Club level gets you one bottle of O Club wine per cabin plus individual hats/bags/pins. When you hit your milestone Platinum cruise, you get a bottle of Veuve Clicquot (yellow label).

The self-serves are free and include ocean-safe detergent. Please don’t bring your own detergent.

Depends on your cruise line’s policy. DW’s checked bag was once ID’ed for a search on Oceania due to something X-Rayed. She had to be present when the bag was to be opened. The questionable item was a hair curling iron which was okay to have.

Still - there’s no $20/year travel insurance that will cover medical and trip or medical alone. And, while some credit cards offer “trip insurance cancel/interrupt, the claim limits are usually woefully inadequate for a cruise and most will not waive PECs.

Often seen in the daily Currents:

The SBC is per cabin.

That sounds like their “medical only” policy rather than comprehensive (which includes trip cancel/interrupt)

Nationwide Travel Insurance? Like most other insurers, if you’re a Medicare geezer like me, figure at least 10% of the trip cost for a comprehensive policy.

From the official policy (just search “Oceania alcohol policy” and an official zendesk document appears that says: We ask that guests let us know they are bringing wine on-board so the ship can be advised. Guests are welcome to enjoy their wine in the comfort and privacy of their stateroom or suite, or, if they prefer, may enjoy their wine in one of the ship’s dining rooms. Any wine consumed in the dining room or a public area will be subject to a corkage fee of $25.00 per bottle. Note the inclusion of public areas which, of course, includes the bars.

OP: the $25 corkage is for any personal wine bottle taken out of your cabin and consumed (in part or in whole) in ANY public space dining or not. Unfinished bottles will be saved by wine stewards and retrieved as needed. Given O’s liberal booze policy, the $25 per bottle is a small price to pay.

Look at Oceania itineraries on their four “R Class” ships which only carry a max of 670 passengers. Even there two “larger” “O Class” ships have <1200 passengers.

Sounds like you’re ready to try Polynesia.

In general, your exclusions make sense - except that, for some antiquities/museums (e.g., the Coloseum in Rome and the Vatican Museum are best done with a good “cut the line” guide (who can also add so much to the experience). As for food, there are some ship tours that are in-depth food focused (including shopping/preparing/consuming local specialties) and, if done correctly (as may often be the case with cruise lines that are themselves food focused), they can be very unique and enjoyable.

As far as the flights go: Check ITA Matrix website for the widest variety of air routes (no tix sold). If United has reasonable routings (with any necessary connections provided by its Star Alliance partners), call United and verify that, if you need to cancel a flight with non-refundable tickets (far less expensive), you will be issued an FFC (Future Flight Credit) or ETC (Electronic Travel Certificate). Of course, there are restrictions like “use within a year.” But, if you’re going to replace your cancelled cruise within the time limits, you’re good to go. BTW Kasper: I doubt that you’ll find “the bird” in Greece. Last time I checked, my reliable sources suggest that it rests in a hidden corner of the Church of San Nicolò in Savoca, Sicily.👀 🤔😉🍕👍

Just this past summer, DW’s checked luggage was held up for onboard inspection - curling iron. But, she was allowed to keep it.

Agree. Insignia does ATW every year - six months with varying itineraries.

Most importantly, hold the helicopter ride (for glaciers, not as exciting as it sounds) until you take that trip to Kauai and want to see the NaPali Coast (which is the KING of helicopter sightseeing - see pix). Definitely do the float plane but make sure you do it in one of the few remaining Dehavilland Beavers before they’re all gone and make sure it includes at least an alpine lake “touch and go” (but preferably a landing as well). Skip the dogsled ride, you can do that in pretty much any State with snow. And set those savings aside for a flyover of the Nazca Lines In Peru see pic). As for tips, I know no one who has ever tipped a pilot (no matter how big or small the plane). And if that pilot feels slighted, that’s a discussion s/he should have with their boss.