Brentwood Bay

Just got off Riviera last week (Singapore to Bangkok).  Late lunch time was pretty busy on occasion and no table was available in either the Terrace Cafe or Waves Grill (a lot of people on their phones).  On two occasions I ordered at Waves but told the order taker that I had no table.  He couldn't comprehend the situation.  I had to point to a corner of Waves where I could stand to await my order.  Reluctantly he took my order and when it was filled I had to step forward to retrieve it from a very confused waiter.  Somehow the food didn't taste as good in my cabin.

We have an apartment in the Lagos (law-GOOSH) Marina and have got to know the Algarve area of Portugal pretty well over the past 15 years.  Lagos is a wonderful town with pleasant people, scenery and atmosphere.  Very convenient wooden boardwalks have been recently completed to visit the spectacular cliffs (Ponta de Piedade aka Lighthouse Point) and Meia Praia (aka Middle Beach) which is a 5km long pristine sand beach.  Cabs are inexpensive and plentiful.  Portimao (15 minute drive to the east) is a pale comparison to Lagos.  Sagres (45 min to the west) is at the southwest corner of Portugal and also very scenic.  Lots of good restaurants for fish lovers.

For a day visit to Lisbon or Porto a short cab ride to the town centres would be advisable.  Just wander around and let the ambiance seep in.  If you enjoy port wine a visit to one or more cellars along the West Bank of the Douro River in Porto is really nice for a tour and tasting.

I also asked our TA to find out which port we would dock at.  Same answer. Port Hiep Phuoc.  this is apparently downriver from the city port.  We have booked a private Delta tour, I think it was with get your guide, and it is one hour shorter each way to drive so fine with us!  We have visited before too, and loved it all! We will be there Feb 7 as well!  We are disembarking in Bangkok and then going south to the islands until we get on again in Seoul!

Does anybody know who will be the artist on board?

Thank you very much cruiseej and alc 13 for the valuable information.  We will definitely move up to Deck 6 or above to accommodate the potential hull noise and deck visibility (my wife loves her deck time) issues.  A pre-cruise week in Chile seems to be in order to collect some nice local wines for the voyage.  We will not miss Formal nights....it will certainly reduce the packing requirements.  As will access to weekly laundry facilities.  Sounds like Seabourn will be a good fit for us.  Thanks again.

My wife and I have been cruising with Oceania for many years but have been put off by Oceania's new Simply More program and PR fumbles relating to recent  Middle East voyages.  We are itinerary-driven and enjoy fine food and wine.  To help us decide on a 38 day cruise from Chile to Australia (March/April 2025) I would appreciate some input from Seabourn patrons relating to the cruise line. 

1. We are looking at Cabins V1 501 and V2 801.  We are not bothered by rocking/rolling ship motion and don't use elevators.  Any comments about either of these cabins?

2. I actually enjoy doing laundry/ironing when aboard (at home...not so much).  Are the self-serve laundries normally accessible ie. not overly crowded or requiring lineups?

3. I read that The Restaurant (which I assume is the "premium" dining venue on board) must be reserved with one (1) reservation permitted per voyage.  For a 38 day cruise this seems pretty limited.  Is this correct?

4. My wife and I enjoy interesting and knowledgeable speakers.  Are the calibre and frequency of the speakers reasonable?

5. We would normally bring a few bottles of wine with us (probably from visited Chilean wineries) but would not likely upgrade to Premium Spirits on board.  Are the complimentary wines and beers on offer of reasonable quality?

6. We are not heavy users of the internet while traveling.  Is the available bandwidth satisfactory for dealing with limited emails (no streaming required)?

7. The Formal Attire requirement is understood to be about once per week (5 occasions over 38 days?).  Is it possible to get away with a collared shirt and linen jacket without a tie?  Post-retirement my neck has become very adverse to wearing one.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

You go girl!!!

My wife and I were circumnavigating Australia on Regatta during New Years Eve  2019/20 (barely pre-Covid). The New Years celebration was wonderful...perhaps our most memorable!  The MDR meal had special touches but the Pool Deck party was fabulous.  The ship's band provided great music. Lots of dancing including a pop-up performance by fellow passengers coached by the ship's singers and dancers.  Party hats, streamers and noise-makers in abundance.  Both hot tubs had been drained and filled with ice and stocked with champagne free for all.  The deck was crowded and the mood was very festive.  The countdown to 2020 was recited by all, followed by hugs with friends and others in reach.  Things wound down a bit after midnight but the party continued until nearly 1 AM.  As we danced back to our cabin we knew we had experienced  a night we wouldn't soon forget!

I would have thought a "terrible" cold would prompted self-isolation in one's cabin, regardless of being Covid or not.  Regular visits to the sauna and steam room would surely help to pass the germs around.

Does anyone know who is currently the Artist-in-Residence on Marina?

Thank you

We were on the Nieuw Statendam during the Hurricane Earl event (which our Captain successfully dodged).  Our Cabin 5001 was adjacent to the bow access door.  That door was not locked but identified as "Crew Only".  We did see several crew members working or discretely having coffee on the bow deck but never passengers.

When the ship was underway the bow deck would have been too windy for pleasant viewing.  Our adjacent veranda was essentially unusable when underway.  

Just picked up my new passport yesterday for a September 7 cruise.  The turnaround time was 2 weeks/10 business days in Victoria.  Relatively smooth process.

Keep in mind that there may be other reasons for passport renewal.  My 10 year passport had 2 years left till expiry but no clear pages remaining.  For longer cruises there may be requirements for several clear pages for application of visas and entry stamps.  An upcoming (2023) Oceania cruise requires a minimum of 6 clear pages.  Oceania's Around the World cruise requires 10 clear passport pages.

We are embarking the Statendam on September 7 from Quebec City.  To meet the Covid testing requirements we have organized an antigen test for September 6.  The nurse/technician is coming to our hotel (Port Royal) room to administer/monitor the testing for us and friends.  The testing firm is called:

Equipe Medicale Quebec 

The testing cost is $90 Can per person.

Thanks Cruz Terri.  Good to have info from someone who has experienced the process.

We are also cruising the Mediterranean this Fall.  Our 54 day cruise on the Marina consists of four B2B segments so we will anticipat at least three Covid tests during the voyage.  What happens if my wife and/or I test positive on one of these occasions?  Are we quarantined individually/separately or escorted off the ship?

Quarantining would be a bummer but an extended balcony B3 would minimize the pain.  Leaving the ship would be BAD!

What compensation is Oceania offering for positive test results and resulting quarantine? 

My wife and I (doubled dosed and boosted) caught Covid a couple of months ago.  We self-quarantined at home after taking Antigen tests.  Very minor symptoms (slight throat soreness/tired).  I tested negative after 4 days.  My wife tested positive up to 8 days after the initial positive result.  How would that scenario affect the quarantining process?

That's the one.

Flatbush Flyer

We look forward to meeting with you at a "Meet and Greet" when onboard.  We've learned a lot over the years from you and many others on CC threads.

Face to face contact would be a treat.

Thanks again

Bruce 

ORV                                                                                                                        Checked with Oceania through our TA.  We are able to rebook the trip as six separate segments.  The six different cabins would be a bummer (may not be so bad if further cabins open up after full payment date).  However as an "Extended" voyage we have the option of Business Air and home to ship to home luggage transport as a reasonable rate.  After reading HawaiiDan's comments on airfare increases we have decided to stay with our original booking.

Thanks for everyone's comments.

Bruce

The multi-segment fare discount equals less than one-third of the value of the individual segment perks (SBC and Spa Credit totals).  As a matter of principle we will probably book as 6 B2B cruises.  The 5 cabin changes will give us a chance to really check out the range of Category B3 offerings.

By the way our current booking number ends with an "E" which may mean Extended Voyage?

Our TA (apparently well connected to Oceania) was told no additional SB or Spa credits for the single voyage option.

Just a further note on this topic.

My wife and I have booked an 82 day voyage from Abu Dhabi (Dec 29 2023) to Tokyo (Mar 20 2024).  We are Platinum with Oceania.  Reviewing the financial details between booking as a single voyage vs 6 individual segments we have discovered the following:

Comparison (PP)                                  Single Voyage (82 days)        6 Individual Segments      Difference

   Cruise Fare (No Air) US$                                 28913                                    29513                       -600 (2.0%)

   SBC                                                                         250                                        1250                    +1000

   Spa Credit                                                              150                                          900                      +750

   Cruise Credits                                                            7                                               6                           +1

The Cruise Only fare is discounted by 2% over the sum of the 6 segment fares (not 5% as discussed on this CC thread).  The Shipboard and Spa Credits are significantly less (by $1750) when booking as a single voyage.  The additional Cruise Credit doesn't mean much to us as we are Platinum level.

There doesn't seem to be much benefit in booking as a single long voyage.  I suppose avoiding 5 cabin changes is worth something (but we are considering it). 

Any thoughts?

claudiaYVR

We also live in Victoria and travel to Portugal frequently (where we have an apartment).  Our normal route is YVR to CDG Paris with Air France.  On certain days it is a direct flight though CDG is certainly not our favourite airport.  Then we fly on to Lisbon (also via Air France) from where we can travel easily throughout Portugal by air, train, bus or rental car.  Since you would be entering Portugal from France you should be fine.

You are right Flatbush.  We were docked well out of town as the Quay spot was occupied by a Princess vessel.  I don't think O was caught by surprise.  The Head Office policy was (and maybe still is) that less than 30 or so stranded passengers did (or does) not involve a significant number of passengers to warrant O to make any accommodation.  Indeed a bummer!

You are right Orv.  The terminal was in fact White Bay.   The ferry you mentioned had been recently closed for the season due to limited traffic.

The final docking/disembarkation after the Australian circumnavigation was also at the White Bay site and we were able to catch a quick cab.  The circumnavigation was a superb trip.  It included Christmas and New Years on board.  Both were memorable celebrations.  The New Years party on the pool deck was fantastic!  When on their game Oceania does a really fine job.

Just a note of caution.

Our last two Oceania cruises were in late 2019.  The first originated in San Francisco and ended in Sydney Australia.  The cruise was terrific and with a couple we had befriended we decided to visit Sydney for the day before returning to the Regatta for embarkation in the early evening to commence the Australian circumnavigation.

The Sydney port was well out of Sydney central and required a taxi or shuttle to navigate the busy (no sidewalk) road system.  We were told that the shuttles were for departing customers only.  The taxis were similarly dedicated to departing passengers only.  After waiting several hours we were finally able to flag down a taxi to take us into Sydney.

When we returned to the Regatta later that day we complained that as continuing passengers (total of 67 days for the two legs) we should have been provided with at least a shuttle rather than be expected to hang around the port for the day.  The Oceania rep told us several days later that head office has a policy that since only 12 of us (ie. continuing passengers) were in our position, Oceania would not accommodate our situation.  We were on our own.  We expected at least an apology.  Nada.  We're big Oceania fans (185 days/Gold level) but this did not sit well.

Totally agree with you Florida_gal_50.  This is serious folks and for everyone's protection.  If you don't have the intelligence or responsibility to travel safely,  please stay home.

We had a wonderful Christmas/New Years on the 2019/2020 circumnavigation of Australia aboard Regatta.  The ship was tastefully decorated with festive adornments (Christmas trees, Gingerbread Village, cards/messages on cabin doors etc).  The MDR hosted seasonal fare (turkey, ham, Christmas pudding etc) for Christmas Eve and Day.  There was a great evening party on the pool deck for New Year's Eve.  The hot tubs were drained and filled as giant ice buckets with complimentary "champagne".  The excellent house band played for several hours.  New Years paraphernalia (hats/masks/horns/whistles etc) were provided.  All in all a super party finally winding down after midnight.  We danced and danced under there stars.  Covid protocols will probably impact celebrations in the near term.