Irish1010

Sailing on the Escape for the first time.  Were in a Club Balcony room on Deck 9, midship above some of the dining areas.  How is this for noise and cooking 'aromas' drifting up?

I’m sailing on Sirena in September and love to play Trivia.  Does anyone know who the CD is/will be?

Not seen the current CD since boarding in Trois Rivieres.....conspicuous by his absence. His partner' date=' the Assistant CD seems to do all the work.....[/quote']

So, you are saying that John seems to me MIA and the assistant, Steven is doing the job? No explanation? We finished a Panama Canal cruise the end of April and both were highly visible and very busy!

On the Marina, yes, there are electrical outlets on both sides of the bed. Be aware, though, that they both have European plugs, so if you’re from the US you’ll need an adapter to em. There is another outlet on the desk and one under the television, both for US plugs.

We had a private tour arranged for 8am in Puntarenas with geotours. Several folks on our roll call were also interested in this tour and, I believe, had signed up for it. They were going to meet us at the pier in Puntarenas, but of course, this is not happening now. I have emailed the company, but it’s pretty late to expect to hear from them. Thought I’d check to see if anyone on our cruise has any insight into this.

**I just received an email response from geotours...they will meet us at Puerto Caldera as soon as the port authorities will allow them in to meet us!

1st time post...

 

Our 1st time cruise for 25th Anniversary on HollandAmerica's Eurodam May 12-20.

 

I've done a lot of research on this website for 1st time cruisers and elsewhere. However, after original thought of a Baltic cruise or riverboat I felt that an ALASKAN cruise would be relaxed and scenic with not so much walking.

 

Nevertheless, I didn't take into consideration so many excursions would be on small boats and airplanes, as my husband gets motion sickness. In addition, a good friend suggested we get a balcony cabin in the very back for better views. Now I'm wondering if this was a very bad idea for the motion sickness as well.

 

So my question to anyone is do you know of any excursions in Alaska in the town's if Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and in Victoria, Cananada that would have land excursions...not involving small boats, aircraft or major hiking. I'd really love to see whales but guess you can't do that from shore. We're really good with shuttle and/or buss type tours and even staying on the big ship an extra day if we have to. I was even wondering about waiting until we get to each port to see about an excursion if I knew if what to ask for?[emoji848]

 

 

 

ANY SUGGESTIONS and/or Help is greatly appreciated!![emoji4]

 

 

 

Jane

Lots of great ideas here. In Victoria, if your time is limited there is much to see just in and around the port area. Parliament buildings, and grounds as well as the Empress Hotel. It’s a look back into history. Very regal. Lovely afternoon tea if you’re in port long enough. It’s bookable (is that even a word?) online.

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To muddy the waters even further, we once attended a VERY EXPENSIVE political fundraiser

 

at a World renowned Hotel where the food was donated by a celebrity chef who was romantically involved with the Candidate.

 

 

 

You guessed it, the Lobster was tainted.

 

 

 

We were 6 depositions, four months and three lawyers into it before a realistic mentor, very well known to this Board, advised us to let it go.

 

 

 

Unless one lives in an Isolation Booth, it is just about impossible to prove the source of infection.

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We will be on the April 6 Panama Canal Cruise from LA to Miami. Any idea who he cruise director will be? With so many sea days it would make a difference

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Were booked on a ‘Grand Voyage’ in Oct/Nov, from Venice to Rome/Rome to Monte Carlo — it is also being sold as two separate cruises. My question is this: on the second leg (Rome to Monte Carlo) we will become Silver Level Club Members, which will generate more OBC as well as including gratuities. But, since these two legs are also a Grand Voyage, will we receive the Silver Level benefits? If Oceania treats this as one Grand Voyage Cruise, it would technically be #9 9 for us. But if they look at it as two legs, we hit #10 on the second. Anyone have experience with this?

They are two short cruises, listed separately in their brochure...one is 7 days, the other 8. On the web site it's listed both ways...separate cruises and as a 'grand voyage.' But deposits were paid as if for separate cruises.

Let's say you have 4 cruises completed, does this mean O will add $200 to our onboard account when we set sail on our 5th cruise since we will be at the Bronze level?

 

Going one step farther, if we are on a B2B cruise and the second leg of that cruise will be our 10th cruise, which moves us to Silver status, will they automatically put $400 OBC in our account as well as include free gratuities?

 

That would of course be great news if the answer was yes to both of those situations as we are planning a variety of O cruises the next 2-3 years!

I am in a similar situation. Next year I have booked a 'grand voyage' which is two cruises, back to back. The second leg will move me into the Gold level, so I hope I will receive the additional credit and gratuities. I am optimistic about this because the deposit for this cruise was double--$1500 each, instead of the $750 norm for one cruise. I would think that since they are charging deposits for two cruises, they would handle the club rewards in the same way.

Does anyone have experience with this?

We new to Oceania. We have travelled with Azamara for the last few years usually in a club continental suite. Friends have asked us to join them on the insignia this summer. They have booked an ocean view which is waitlisted.

Ocean views are only available in Guaranteed or waitlisted.

We understand what a Guaranteed cabin is but this is not something we would be keen to book but don't understand what waitlisted means. Could someone please explain.

 

Although we do not do everything together when we travel with theses friends we would want to eat together in the evening. If we book a different category of cabin would this make things difficult. By this I mean how does the dining/speciality dining work on Oceania? We are use to eating the majority of our meal in speciality restaurants however it is our friends 60th birthdays ( 2 days apart) and sharing the experience after 44 years of friendship is more important than space. We have been told the food is excellent by our friends in all Venues as they have been on one of the larger Oceania ships twice before.

We are looking for advice.

Our friends have not booked air with Oceania as this cruise is part of a 4 week trip to the states. We would only be joining them for the cruise.

Thank you.

You have heard correctly that the food on Oceania is superb. If you are unable to book a table at one of the specialty restaurants on your desired evening, I am confident that an evening meal in the Grand Dining Room would be equally wonderful. No reservations are required there; stateroom category is irrelevant. It is quite elegant and the food is beautiful. Notifying Oceania in advance of the occasion may help...we were presented with a lovely small cake on one birthday cruise.

I echo another poster's comment...booking a 'guaranteed' cabin will assure you of accommodation, but you will not be able to select your cabin ahead of time. You will get a cabin at that level or higher, guaranteed. Be aware, though, that some of the ocean view staterooms on Insignia are 'partially obscured' --by lifeboats-- and crew members may randomly appear in your window as they go about their work. It can be a little unnerving.

Overall, you can anticipate a stellar experience. Bon voyage!

I'll be sailing on my 6th Oceania cruise in March. Although I haven't sailed solo (yet) I've often been left to my own devices to meet people and find entertainment. On-board activities, especially on sea days are great ways to meet people. I've tried team trivia, where I asked the cruise director to help me find a group that needed a new member and found a new group of friends. The cruise critic roll calls are a great way to have a ready-to-go group when you get on board. In my experience, there are many shipboard activities, from no-host bridge, ping pong tournaments, bingo, to lectures and cooking demonstrations ... something to appeal to everyone. Oceania's Riviera and Marina have an artist's loft and artist -in-residence, with some sort of art lessons or activity and a culinary center where participants get hands on cooking experiences with cuisine from the local region. Participants are paired up, so joining solo is just an opportunity to meet someone. Even on a two week Atlantic crossing, I have never been bored or felt a lack of company. More often, I've struggled to fit everything into my day and still leave time to nap in the sun!

Are there any routes/ships that are more geared toward older travelers? I would hate to go to some kind of solo meetup and find myself in a crowd of young singles.

 

I wouldn't say I am shy, and I AM friendly, but I have never been fully able to get out of my high school head, where I was treated like the fat weird chick. I recently moved to a new state and it has helped that I HAVE to get out.

 

It also doesn't help that I have RBF (ask me if you don't know what that means) and when my face is at rest it doesn't look happy even if I am.

 

When my husband was alive, I always wanted to pal around with other couples on vacation, but he never wanted to, so we didn't. The one cruise we took, we ate at the buffet every night because we don't like to dress up.

 

I'm sort of thinking in terms of taking a very short cruise to start, maybe 3 days or so, just to see how I do, before committing to a week. I like the idea of hanging around in the library or other places on the ship rather than doing the bar thing, which I found depressing in my 20s and would find horrifying now.

I have sailed several times on Oceania with a retired colleague, but so far not solo. As a cruise line, they seem to appeal to an older crowd. There are lots of typical activities...trivia, ping pong, shuffleboard...to keep passengers occupied on days at sea. A library with comfy leather chairs, a coffee lounge, ample lounging by the pool provide lots of on board places to relax. They are beginning to offer more reasonable single supplements on some cruises.

I've sailed in the Mediterranean, around the British Isles, and one trains Atlantic crossing, all of which would be comfortable for solo cruisers, I think. Not so sure about the Caribbean.

The Oceania ships are smaller or mid-sized, which I think makes them more relaxing. My favorite cruise line, for sure!

Happy to hear your charter is going well. I, too, am booked on the Miami to Barcelona sailing on April 11th. I am looking forward to a relaxing vacation, enjoying a sunny lounge by the pool or curled up in my favorite corner. The library...this is the stuff from which dreams are made![emoji41]

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Thank you!

Does anyone know how to find out who our Cruise Director and our Artist in Residence will be on Riviera when we sail from Miami on April 11th?

What do they charge for chair?

If memory serves, we paid about $230 for a week long cruise round trip from Seattle. The chair was in the room when we arrived...and so was the bed! It had been left in the short entryway to our room, so we contacted housekeeping. They came promptly and removed one of the beds and arranged the chair in its place. Great service on all fronts!

I am surprised you have not had the chance to be greeted by the staff when returning back from excursions. On our previous Oceania cruises, this always happened in one port per cruise. It is always neat as the staff forms a double line that you walk through on your way back to the cruise terminal or to the ship itself. On the previous experiences there was music playing and everyone was in a festive mood. You were given a hot or cold towel to freshen up and also a juice or some other drink (non alcohol). The crew members are giving you high five or fist pumps as you go through the double line. It is even more enjoyable to stand on the cabin balcony and watch other passenger's faces as they get off the tour buses and see what is awaiting them.

We had a wonderful greeting in Rome when we returned to the ship after a long excursion.

I did get a reply from Oceaia's housekeeping folks, and we are approved for the lift chair from Care Vacations! They will remove one of the beds for us since my mother will sleep in the chair, so a little extra moving-around space is a bonus!

I finally received the info. I needed from Care Vacations. Now the ball is in Oceania's court. It sounds like IF Oceania will permit the Care Vacations agents to deliver and set up the chair, we're a 'GO'! Still hoping the Oceania folks will find a way to help us put this together. They've been pretty prompt about getting back to us. Fingers crossed!

We hope to take an Alaskan cruise this June on the Regatta, one of Oceania's smaller ships. We're attempting to get permission from Oceania to have Care Vacations provide a recliner/lift chair which my mother needs to use instead of sleeping in a bed. We are currently caught between the two agencies.. Oceania insists it must have the dimensions of the chair; Care Vacations insists the chair will fit through the stateroom door...it comes apart in two pieces, but the agent I spoke with did not have the measurements of the chair.

Has anyone had experience that might break this I,passé?

great information. Thank you!

Does anyone know of a cruise line/stateroom or suite category that has a recliner as part of its furnishings? I would like to take my mother on an Alaskan cruise, a dream of hers, but she can't sleep in a bed. She needs to have a recliner-type chair.