ORV

27 minutes ago, WESTEAST said:

Confirms that Regatta is not part of O's fleet after last itinerary ending in Singapore on May 1st, 2026.

I don’t see any mention of Sirena either. 

23 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

@ORV 

 

Thanks for this info.  Tried it today, and SM drinks and shorex credit is showing under amenities, Oct, Nov, Dec 2024 sailings only.  Several that I checked were heavily WL or insides, some GTY lower cats.  Some higher categories however, were still available.

Also see post #40 that AMHuntFerry posted.

18 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

According to O's website, for cruises booked now for sailings this year, the offer is Your World Included, not Simply More.  

That is what it looks like, but if you continue with the booking it will show you that you are getting the Simply More Beverage package and excursion credits. 

They have totally confused this issue. I'm betting on my TA's information. 

14 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

When you check in just give one credit card and tell the front desk to charge everything for both of you as one.  All charges come in to the final bill, all credits are credited and final payment is made.  It was pretty simple.

I think they're referring to the Spa Credit for those Gold or higher

It depends on the Spa Manager, we've had them say yes and we've had them say no. Ask onboard. 

18 hours ago, Stockjock said:

1 insert w/my name only.  So far, she hasn't received anything.

I have one sheet with 4 inserts. You only have enough inserts for 1 bag?

Chances are if they are putting Sirena out to pasture then I probably won't ever cruise on it. I haven't cruised on it or Vista. But you never know. 

So my TA saw this thread and informed me that the answer to my question is that cruises booked during this period would get Simply More. Apologies to anyone I argued with about it. 

3 hours ago, Woofa said:

As we understood going in.  No problem sharing if that is the choice but we know from our first cruise we generally like eating later anyway.

Note on our roll call from others, they jumped on the same time and got 6:30 and 7:00 reservations for all restaurants when clicking they were willing to share.  

Now it all starts to get real with six weeks to go...

Exactly

Just got my documents also for a Dec cruise and there are two inserts with my name and two with my wife's name. Did you get 2 or 4 inserts? 

The problem with a drink package is that I drink too much. Oh wait, I drink too much either way. LOL. I kind of like the Simply More plan, I'm fine with the wine & beer at lunch and dinner and supplementing that with a drink in the room, Captain's Party, Repeaters Party, an upgraded wine when dining with officers or FCC, and an occasional 2 4 1 in Martinis at Happy Hour. 

5 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

If you can't get good coffee in the AM right, you're missing a key ingredient to breakfast

Well, not everyone drinks coffee, and I've enjoyed many breakfasts without it. So I will definitely not agree that it is a key ingredient to breakfast. But if you enjoy it more power to you. We have iced tea for our caffeine fix. We do drive the servers nuts constantly refilling our ice. 

Just an FWIW, I've tried coffee every time I'm in an area that has what is supposed to have great coffee. Jamaican Blue Mtn, Hawaiian Kona, Costa Rica, among others, just don't have the taste for it. I figure if I don't like it in these places then it's not for me. 

2 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

At least for Sirena, they weren't serving that crummy pizza near the middle of the TC buffet for lunch. That bland "Margherita" comes to mind from our 11/2022 cruise on Sirena. You got pizza at the small window on the port side, just aft of the last buffet station. They were making one pizza at a time. Was hot and fresh daily for lunch. Not open for dinner.

To the best of my knowledge all the other R ships have that area with the window, and I've seen pizza there as well as in the middle of the buffet.

3 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Though at lunch in the TC Sirena has pretty good pizza being made on the port side. A little window just forward of the last buffet station on that side. The person there made one type vegetarian and one type non-vegetarian pizza daily. Hot, fresh. You just hoped that when you went up there was still a slice or two of the one you wanted, otherwise you'd have to wait a few minutes for the next one to come out.

I'm wondering if they've changed the recipe and method of cooking them. Historically when I've tried the pizza in the Terrace it's been pretty lousy on pretty much any of the ships. Any improvement would be great. 

I’m pretty sure the fireplace is still in the library on the R ships. 

Yes, and basically that proves the point that there is more to do there than just visit the artificial village. 

1 minute ago, MEFIowa said:

They can have it. Was there off Riviera 12/2021 and there wasn't anything to do there, all fake, a tourist trap designed by the cruise industry in the late 1990s. The day-drinking party ship cruises to a silly "resort" or private beach aren't for us. We want real ports and excursions and experiences.

Yes, many of those are not for the Oceania demographic, BUT Celebrity is pushing their short cruises with the Perfect Day at Coco Cay. Believe it or not there is a huge market for those that just like to go hang out on the beach all day and drink and eat, ride zip lines and do water sports. Ever been to an All Inclusive, that's pretty much what they're all about.  Not for me, but still a HUGE market. The cruise lines are betting big on this, along with the monster ships that go there. The big 3 all have at least 2 or 3 of them each.  So, hang out on the ship or go to the fake islands. 

But, at Costa Maya at least you can take a tour to a couple of great Mayan ruins, Chaccohben or you can do as I am in Dec and put in some bus time and go to Kohunlich. I haven't been to the latter, but I have been to the former and enjoyed it. In Costa Maya you're not stuck there like you are on the private islands. But yes, the port area is just a manufactured tourist trap. 

6 minutes ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

Sirena also not part of the announcement of the 2026 voyage collection.

I caught that also. So it looks like Sirena will have a different future also. 

23 hours ago, DrHemlock said:

Love to know where those will be held....

I seem to remember when I first cruised on Insignia in 2009 there was some kind of fake fireplace in the Martinis area that have since been removed from the R Ships. Maybe I'm imaging that. Anyone else remember that?

4 hours ago, DrHemlock said:

Love to know where those will be held....

So I guess they're playing on the FDR theme. 

I've also really enjoyed "free" walking tours at least twice in Barcelona. You tip the guide at the end. It's usually a fairly small group and you get a chance to get some exercise and see Barcelona at ground level. I've also done the hop on hop off bus and really got a feel for just how large the Barcelona area is. 

Afternoons. 

2 hours ago, jackdeb said:

Hi Shorton we just came off the Sirena in Copenhagen. We did the scavenger hunt and found the EI Hobbit in the top right hand corner of the painting  across from the future cruise desk in  the upper hall. good luck!

That's amazing that you can remember that. 

Reading through this thread I'm reminded of many of Jan's traits that those of us that knew her enjoyed and appreciated. She was a legend and a wonder. I was fortunate enough to have met her and Stu on a hosted cruise about 7-8 years ago. I had to look that up as it seems longer. Since then we've been on another 3 or 4 cruises with them. Jan loved to host group dinners and parties, put together dinners in port, and just always be available to those in her group and as we've seen in posts on this thread, to others. We had a lot of fun on the cruises we were on with her & Stu. She related many wonderful stories about cruising, and some other things. It was also a lot of fun to watch the staff on board take care of her. 

Although it's sad to see the passing of those we care about, it's somehow comforting that she was able to celebrate her big birthday doing what she loved. I feel fortunate to have known her and to be able to spend my vacation time with her over the years. One of a kind really is an understatement. 

Condolences to all in the Fishbein family.  

12 minutes ago, goletans said:

I've heard about the bin end bottles. How does one inquire about these?

Ask someone selling drink packages. Look in the bundle of papers they give you on boarding day. Look in the Currents every day, especially the center insert. 

Also in our experience the room we were moving to had a priority to be "turned" immediately. This makes things much easier if you are staying on the ship for a bit or simply not getting off that day.