Flatbush Flyer

OOPS! Fat finger. I thought I typed “I” in front of “visited.” Perhaps I just should’ve used a “-“ Of course, anyone with a basic understanding of geography would know that Masada is an excursion from a cruise ship as is Ephesus and Delphi (and Rome and Paris and a zillion other places that cruise lines questionably advertise to catch your eye. “Piraeus? Let’s just call it Athens.”). And, of course, some lines other than O do multi-segments which is why I suggested a TA and a “short list.” But, only a few do them with the option of multiple booking configurations that maximize perks for specific categories of repeat customers. That particular Oceania idiosyncrasy can save the savvy “regular” far more than “chump change.”

Actually applies directly to the question. The term O Life “choice” can be both which option or what within each option (e.g., the specific tours that qualified for the tours option or clarification of what is included in the basic booze package). M&Dcruisers said s/he looked at the “invoice.” Perhaps it’s a TA invoice and not the O invoice which would clearly state (in the Amenities Section) which O Life basic option (SBC, tours, booze) was selected. But, if s/he wants to know which tours they’ve selected were O Life “options” (and which others are paid) the excursions PDF I mentioned is where they need to look. AND, most importantly, with others reading these threads, certainly some of them will appreciate and benefit from knowing where specifically they can find the greater detail about the O life tour “choice” and “choiceS.”

Sure it may look “cheaper.” But, then on HAL (or even Viking) ships, you’re stuck with their food.😳 If all that matters to you is $, do a true “net daily rate” comparison - door to door - of all required and optionally preferred amenities (and don’t forget airfare or an air credit which lines like Oceania offers). That comparison may surprise you particularly if you then add the qualitative components of food, service and ambiance. Do your homework and you’ll most likely v find Oceania on your short list.

OP: find a highly regarded cruise specialist TA who will interview you regarding your travel experiences, preferences and expectations and recommend a short list of cruise lines/ships as well as itineraries that are within your means. We prefer Oceania, which fits our travel profile perfectly. The small ships (<700 or <1200 passengers with excellent crew and space ratios), “finest cuisine at sea” and flexible menu of included amenities supporting a wide range of multi-segment itineraries that crisscross the globe with numerous unusual stops come together at a value laden price. We’re currently on O’s Marina having combined four segments (total 47 days) that will move us across BCN-ATH-FCO-BCN-MIA. In a word- STELLAR.

Take the time to find a highly regarded cruise specialist TA who will interview you about your travel experiences, preferences and expectations and recommend a short list of cruise lines/ships that can deliver a great itinerary along with a stellar onboard experience. FWIW: we’re currently on a 47 day multi-segment Oceania cruise (BCN-ATH-FCO-BCN-MIA) visited Ephesus last week - as well as Masada and Delphi. And I expect we’ll visit many of the ports you’re thinking about. Except for the ocean crossing near the end, this is a very port-intensive trip. You may read here on CC that the ship doesn’t matter with port intensive itineraries. That’s NOT true. The ship is your home away from home and the quality of food, service and sleep experience matters tremendously. Add the capacity for multi-segment itinerary building and flexible amenities inclusiveness with value laden pricing and you’ll quickly understand why your TA will have Oceania on your short list.

Some O policies (like FCC deadlines) can have exceptions on a case-by-case basis. However, this 1.5 hr max “layover” tours rule is fairly “hard and fast” because there are multiple reasons why the earlier tour on the same day might be significantly “delayed.” Sure, there’s the possibility of a traffic snarl that has you returning from your earlier tour past your due time. But, more often than many might think, the delayed arrival of the ship in port will result in the delay of the start of the earlier tour. This just happened to us a few days ago in Istanbul where the ship occupying our assigned berth left late and our daytime tour was rescheduled to an hour later start. Fortunately, our evening tour was flexible enough to be purposefully delayed as well.

If you do the O Life tours selection over the phone with an O rep (or have your TA do it for you), you can request the “pre-purchased shore excursions” PDF that shows you all the math of O Life tours, YWYW discounted tours and the application of O provided SBC toward the balance due. This PDF is essential should an issue arise once onboard involving cancellation credits, substitute O Life selections, etc. And, once onboard, equally useful is the “screen print” of your excursions accounting which can be provided by Destination Services.

Register your cruise on the O website and then peruse the various topics and associated FAQs in your newly established “account” which will answer the above questions and far more (I.e., specialty restaurant reservations, excursion packages, booze upgrades, etc) Also, reading your Ticket Contract and T&Cs will cover many items as well. Finally, do a search here on the CC Oceania forums with specific keywords and you’ll get a list of fairly comprehensive threads that explain it all.

“Pre-booking” is nothing new. Many O regulars checkout the new crop of cruises during the “preview period” and then provide specific cruise/cabin/O Life preferences directly to the O reservation system via trusted O sales reps including onboard O Club Ambassadors and long serving phone reps (TAs have their own O reps but you can establish a similar connection if regularly booking direct). Can you or I book direct online at the exact opening date/time? Absolutely. But, I am convinced that the best of those O employees with direct access to the O reservation system have far greater “speed (and experience) of access” than is capable via a web interface. Our usual practice is to prebook (i.e., request a “hold” for a cruise we found in the preview period) from an onboard O Club Ambassador or our regular O phone rep) and then transfer it to our preferred TA during the 30 day transfer window. FWIW, that’s why we’re currently in one of the coveted four open corner extended B balconies on Marina for four consecutive segments.

Oceania ATW = 6 months

You’re confusing your terms: The published “cruise only” fare includes no O Life perk options. The “O Life” fare includes the O Life perk option of your choice plus economy air tix OR a DIY air credit (which you can opt for when you book). That said, as has been pointed out: choosing the O Life SBC perk is a $ wash with the fare paid. In most cases, the best O Life perk remains the allowable excursions which can have a value that is double the SBC perk. Also, O Life tour picks count toward your cruise’s minimum tour buy requirement for the 25% YWYW discount on any paid ones. IMO, the booze choice is only worthwhile if you upgrade it to the “prestige package” with mostly unlimited spirits ($20 pp/per day additional charge). But, even that only gets you mediocre wines on the wine-by-the-glass list.

No “power” needed. 1. Book Onboard (months prior to any future O holiday sale, which we know from experience will be coming). Of course, this would be harder if we’re talking about someone booking their first O cruise. However, it is possible to have a friend or family member do a “book onboard” for you 2. Transfer to TA during the allowable 30 day window). 3. When O sale happens, have TA exercise your original Book Onboard “lower price match guarantee” (if price is actually lower and there’s cabin availability). But, don’t forget to do the math on any changes in air/air credit $ and/or O Life perks.

On Marina now. The quartet will play on deck today for the afternoon arrival at Istanbul.

On Marina now. The quartet will play on deck today for the afternoon arrival at Istanbul.

Read your T&Cs and Ticket Contract.

FWIW: we’re onboard Marina now and are doing two simultaneous “extended journeys”: BCN-FCO and FCO-MIA. So, even though we only have one outbound SFO-FRA-BCN flight itinerary and one return MIA-SFO flight itinerary, we get air credit on each extended journey: That’s $900 per person total air credit for the outbound and $800 per person total air credit for the inbound. Taken together, that’s a $1700 per person air credit that would easily cover a multi-city coach fare. We take that credit and apply it to DIY bizclass tix on our preferred carrier and routing.

The Wine Bar (currently at the LaReserve space on Marina) on select nights is simply called “The Wine Bar.” Perhaps the “15th and Vine” names was from an earlier time when they were “testing” the concept (and names). As for what basic booze package wines-by-the-glass might be found on any menu other than the list found on many dining venue tables (including the Wine Bar menu I posted above), you’ll have to make that comparison once onboard.

Last night, we had an opportunity to check out the new Wine Bar evening now held occasionally in the La Reserve space on Marina and (I assume) Riviera. Hopefully, this will continue -particularly the “relatively” decent pricing - at least for some of the wines by the bottle. Among them (see the pic) was one of our favorite unassuming Sicilian whites: Donnafugata Anthìlia (Catarratto grapes). Back in California, it usually retails for just under $20. On the O Wine Bar menu, it’s $38. Yes, on a cruise ship - a wine markup of only 100%! In any case, the comp hors d’oeuvres are varied including charcuterie items and other small bites including scallops and lox. And, for those who want to try a flight of wines, there’s a reasonable selection of wines that are somewhat more attractive than what is found on the wine-by-the-glass menu. And the price for your choice of three servings is reasonable for the top group of wines (though the pricier group at the bottom of the menu is IMO quite the contrast. Note, however, that, since we no longer do the booze package, I can’t comment on how that translates for the Wine Bar (perhaps someone else will chime in). Bottom line: Worth a try.

“You get what you pay for.” (Well, sorta.) The problem with most mass market lines - particularly the “discount” ones - is that cheap cabin prices have little to do with “value” (or quality). In fact, by the time many mass market cruisers add things like beverages (pay for bottled water? Really?), decent food in the extra cost restaurants, booze, excursions, internet, gratuities, AIRFARE et al. (and don’t forget being bombarded by photogs, phony art auctions and “lectures” that are noting more than sales pitches), their final cost may far exceed what would’ve been the all (or mostly) inclusive fare on true premium lines (sorry folks, HAL, Princess and Celebrity may be among the best of the mass market but, they are not value laden “premium” contenders. Even the cruise lines admit it via their introduction of their “ship within a ship” options that can easily cost more than the real thing. If you want to avoid nickel-diming, thundering herds of thousands of passengers, prom nights, fast food for dinner, etc while adding true informative lectures by experts, daily live entertainment, outstanding crew and space ratios, exotic worldwide itineraries - in essence what mass market TV commercials suggest you’ll find (but don’t), you’re going to need to look at Premium (or even Luxury) cruise lines. Cheap and value are not the same thing.

The second display is the ONLY correct accounting of pre-purchased excursions. It is the “prepurchased shore excursions” PDF you can request be sent directly to you if you purchase the tours from an O rep on the phone (or via your TA if you have the TA do it- which I do not advise because even many “O seasoned” TAs haven’t got a clue about O Life strategies - particularly the tours). There is no way to display that PDF in your online account. In all honesty, the O website Cart and Account display for excursions is VERY glitchy. And the web item shown above could be mistaken for the display if you had chosen the “Passport” tours option (though the numbers are still incorrect). BTW, the PDF display above is for one person. The second person would have a similar listing on the PDF. I’m not sure if that web pic is for one or both people. Bottom line: That PDF rules for prepurchased tours. And once onboard, you can also request a “screen print” of what the Destination Services folks have whenever changes are made with cancellations/refunds etc (though posting of the changes do not occur immediately.

There’s no self-serve in Oceania food venues (pre-Covid, Covid, post-Covid). As with the quality of ingredients and preparation, food safety is paramount.

How is it difficult? Pick a line that offers pier-side testing -either at no cost or for a fee. Alternatively, get tested at your departure or arrival airport. OR purchase a home test and contact On-Point Testing for online proctoring of approved tests (proctoring reasonably priced at <$50). Still too stressed? Contact the concierge at your pre-cruise hotel and s/he will arrange a test for you.

Also, once someone includes you in their reservation (via having your booking number), only that person can delete you from that reservation. You can’t delete it from your account.

Sea days provide the most flexibility which is why they book full the fastest. Port days with the earliest departure are the next most popular. The least popular are forts and last nights of your cruise. Overnights in port are popular with some folks and unpopular with those who prefer to dine on land or do an O evening excursion.

THIS is exactly correct! And this is why it is so important to get a copy of the PrePurchased Shore Excursions PDF. It will show you which items would be next in line to be designated one of your O Life items if an original one is cancelled and/or replaced by an O life choice of higher cost (yet still <$200 retail).