HaveDogWillTravel

Also WS gives a credit for B2B cruises, ours was about a 12% discount. They have free unlimited laundry on longer cruises ….16 days if I recall correctly…for all cabin levels regardless of packages. I like to pack light and this is very nice. Oceania gives you the next level loyalty benefits on the cruise you earn them but WS doesn’t let them kick in until the next cruise after you earn them. And O gives you the onboard booking bonuses for cruises you book 30 days before boarding. WS only gives those bonuses while on board and for (I think) 60 days after.

I quickly learned hanging around Jan is where the most fun is. She’s a hoot and always makes magic happen. But I do understand your comment if you have never sailed with her and didn’t know her style.

Very true. But I found that Princess, HAL or Celebrity will occasionally have an excellent itinerary that beats out (or at least matches) the itinerary on O, WS, Cunard and other lines doing the same thing at the same time. If its a very port intensive sailing then choosing a nice cabin on Princess for half the price or less is something I will absolutely do. I have a great cabin on a 2026 Northern Europe sailing for $143 pp/pday on the Sapphire. We are off the ship every single day so I’m okay with using this as a floating hotel and cheap transportation. This trip will have a month on land in the UK and 6 weeks on land in Northern Europe. We have a budget for the year and mixing it up like this really stretches it.

I can, although keep in mind I’ve only sailed once on each. Star Legend (French balcony) Istanbul to Athens October 2023 and Riviera RT Miami in an extended aft balcony March 2023. These cabins were similar in size and amenities as I booked both without any packages (when you weren’t required to have SM). Specialty dining was included on both lines. O had a wider variety of menu items but in my very subjective opinion I felt WS had overall better quality food. Both lines include specialty coffees, quality filtered water with reusable bottles and non alcoholic beverages. WS has destination experiences, ours was dinner in Ephesus with the Aegean string orchestra. Stunning. They also had a deck bbq with Santorini lit up like diamonds in the background. Stunning. O had nothing like this. WS had Woodford Reserve bourbon and Antiqua vermouth for my Manhattan ($17 including tip). Oceania had High 10 bourbon (really it was that or a $25 a shot one) and some awful cheap vermouth. Both lines let you bring on whatever alcohol you want. Which was a saving grace on O. The bottles of wines on WS were extremely reasonably priced and they had a great selection. O was more expensive and I found the offerings not as varied. Again my own very subjective viewpoint. WS has quality stemware in your cabin and throughout the ship. Oceania served me a martini in a margarita glass….not just one evening but again on a subsequent evening…that’s just wrong. Both lines had a couple of nights where the drinks were free and flowed. I have no real memory of the Captain or senior officers on O. I had coffee most mornings with the Captain on WS. The HGM, Maitre D’hotel, executive chef and other officers were always out and about every day on WS. They actively engaged us. They always made sure we were having everything we wanted and needed. I have no complaints about the officers on O but I also have no fond memories of them or really any memory of them at all. I can still recall the faces and fun, interesting conversations with the WS officers. I have 10 days in the Med & 19 days in the Caribbean booked on Vista and 7 days in the Med & 17 days in the South Pacific booked on WS. I am currently comparing Greenland/ Iceland sailings in August & Sept 2025 on Star Pride, AZ Quest and Oceania Insignia. Comparing cabins WS wins hands down. Pride is a smaller ship than Insignia or Quest but all of its cabins (except the very few suites) are the exact same 277 sq ft. They all have a nice couch with two barrel chairs, coffee table, desk and chair. The bathrooms are large with a nice large walk in shower. The ship is so small getting to an outer deck is just so easy. The balcony rooms on the R ships are 216 sq ft with itty bitty bathrooms. I never use entertainment in my comparison as we don’t go and don’t care. In terms of price AZ was the highest and WS next highest and O ended up being just a hair less. But since I can still get SM there’s an edge over WS. But WS will refare as the price reduces or when the All In package is given free. I use price per person per day in my comparison. I thought WS would be the winner as these sailings are 32 days WS, 37 days AZ and 38 days O. And the thought of 216 sq ft and an itty bitty bathroom gives me great pause. But surprise, surprise it looks like O is winning. It is coming down to itinerary and that we were able to get 6090 on Insignia. The O itinerary is just more of everything we want on this trip. The aft facing cabin with the extra deep balcony is a big bonus.

The S9 has a coffee maker in the room. 🥳

Thanks for the link to your review. And thanks for writing it too. I’d read that two of the sails were torn and out of commission so I’m wondering if that happened after you sailed. Or maybe they have been repaired?

My husband has used this for the last 2 years. He likes it. I use mine sometimes. It works fine. The only accessory I had a medallion fall out of was the key fob Princess sells. It was while on shore in South America too. Not fun.

I haven’t sailed Coral but I have sailed Island and several grand class. The sanctuary was $20 half day, $40 full day and $30 a day if you booked the whole cruise. The Island had Cabanas and if I recall correctly they were $220 per day. On Glacier Bay day the per day rate was higher but I forget what I paid. I think it was $80 but not sure. I’d expect canal day to be more as well.

@Misty Morningthose are some great prices. Unfortunately we can’t sail in those forward porthole cabins due to Adam’s sensitivity to the motion at the front of the ship. The mid ship cabins are a little more. I saw that Dec Pride sailing as well but we’ve already got 27 days in the Caribbean booked for early 2025 so it just didn’t fit. I like to plan far in advance and I want to pick my cabin location. I’ve been happy with WS prices but I do always look for those bargains and try to fit them in when I can. We are doing that same itinerary, Mediterranean Island Mosaic. Did you like it? It looks nice and we’ve never sailed the Mediterranean before. We paid $327 if I subtract the All In. Right now online my BX cabin is $386 pp/day without All In. So I’m feeling good about it. I’m looking forward to earning those perks you have!

Yes this is true and it is not really predictable. Last October our Corinth Canal portion was cancelled pre cruise then it was added back in when they unexpectedly reopened the canal. I was very disappointed when they had to cancel it but after doing some research I realized this canal will open and close frequently based on the stability of the rock walls and WS cannot control that. I do think when they offer these itineraries they should heavily emphasize the uncertainty of getting through the canal. But having been fortunate enough to get through the canal I think they should continue to offer this and try to do it. It was simply stunning. I would rebook this itinerary in a heartbeat (after I get through my list of sailings).

In my very limited experience (one sailing Istanbul to Athens last fall) I also found the demographics of WS to be very different than our Princess, Cunard, Oceania and Celebrity sailings. It is one of the reasons we are excited to keep booking and sailing WS.

I have been watching WS pricing fairly closely for the last year (at least on sailings I am interested in and/or have already booked). I have a Med sailing on Wind Spirit this October, a Montreal to NYC next fall and a Twice the Tahiti Spring of 2026 booked. I am going to book an Iceland circumnavigation, a repositioning thru Greenland for 2025 and a circumnavigation of Ireland in 2026 while we are on board this October. It has been my experience that WS is very good about refaring however it is up to me to find the sale/promotion and ask for it. For example my mid ship deck one cabin on Wind Spirit was booked without the All in Package December 2023. It’s been refared 3 times. The first time it was a simple price reduction, second time it added All In for free, this last one resulted in $600 of OBC as they don’t give refunds after final payment. We are now paying $416 pp/day including All In. I consider anything between $400-$550 pp/day including All In a good value for the product, with the lower number associated with ocean views and the higher numbers associated with their French balconies (or more popular, in demand itineraries ) I am so happy with the motor yacht staterooms I don’t feel the need to book a suite. I’ll find out how I feel about the sailing ship cabins in a few weeks!

This morning I found (& booked) an S9 signature suite for just about $3650 for 2 people on a Jan 18 seven day western Caribbean sailing on Sun. That’s only $700 more than the ocean view cabin I had already booked with (new $90) premier package. For $50 pp/day more I felt that was a great deal.

If I’m not mistaken he was our CD on that March 2023 Riviera sailing to (almost) Bermuda. He had just recently joined O. He previously served on Princess. I’ve sailed with him several times on Princess and quite enjoyed him. But I heard (from Jan) he wasn’t that well received on Riviera due to what I was told was a “less than” performance during trivia. When I spoke with him he indicated that he was working out the cultural shift from P to O. I like Steve and I hope he’s doing well there.

Well that doesn’t seem right. I know they are within the boundaries of their fine print but really? Were they open to moving that money to another already booked sailing (if you had one) or to a new sailing? That’s a nontrivial change in itinerary.

Absolutely would choose her again. I sailed last year in April/May. These B4 cabins I stayed in are only available on Sspphire (maybe Diamond?) https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2934389-sapphire-diamond-d736737-review-with-photos/

Does anyone have a current photo of Godwin?

Thanks for this tip. I was looking at possible car rental agencies and see there’s a Smart Wheels location right next to the cruise pier for cruise ship passengers. Have you used this company? If not what company do you suggest? They have good ratings on Google. It seems they automatically charge for insurance but my Chase Sapphire card comes with this. I guess I need to figure out if Chase covers Curacao rentals.

My picture is missing the cilantro, jalapeño and raisin toppings.

Thanks. I didn’t know about that cut off date. I was pricing out the Sanctuary Collection cabins. Then I started looking at those OV on the lower deck with that window seat.I love being close to the water like that. Plus I love window seats! I booked one and am kinda, sorta, maybe? excited (😆) to try it. It’s only 7 days. I can do anything for 7 days.

Thanks for this information 😀

Yes my friend. There is. I really must thank you for turning me on to this. I had always seen it on the lunch menu but never ordered it until after I read your post about medical dragging (my words not yours lol) you away from your just delivered korma. You spoke so eloquently of it that I just had to order it next time I sailed. And you were 100% spot on. It is stunningly delicious. But I’ve learned that one must ask for ALL the toppings (must be at least 8 )and the mango chutney (just leave the jar….walk away…..don’t look back) Edit: ‘I’ve now read all the remaining posts. Idk why we’ve been so lucky in our ask. I haven’t sailed on Princess since disembarking Jan 4, 2024 (after 34 days) A lifetime ago in Princess Land. We are doing a short Thanksgiving cruise and wouldn’t ask on such a short sailing. Our next longish (16 days) Princess sailing isn’t until Jan 30 2025. I will lower my expectations for getting that special request I guess.

Hi there! I really hope you can get on board that June sailing. I’ll email you when we get back from this 11 day road trip in PNW & Canada (with a repositioning sail on the Tall Ship Lady Washington tomorrow from Anacortes to Seattle).

While Thor was wonderful in helping us with our pre trip planning, it was our experience that nothing was really set until we actually talked to Ivan. So please go with that in mind especially when it comes to asking for something (taking guests who haven’t paid for Reserve into reserve) that really is outside what should be expected even in a Sky suite. @Suite Susieechos my earlier sentiments. Your SEM will truly want to grant your every wish. Personally, I felt compelled to keep that list to requests that were very special (UBD for 12, private cocktail party with bartender, MDR dinners with friend en suite, a meeting with the florist to arrange for special flowers & cards to be delivered to my friends) but certainly within the realm of events they had done before and were able to accommodate. I asked for an easel so we could put up the 2 by 3 ft pad of paper I brought to play Pictionary with no expectations of getting it. And that turned out to an instant “No problem” from Ivan. BTW it was a ton of fun to have a bunch of friends out on the back (but it’s really forward lol) deck playing Pictionary. The one request I had that was outside of this was to have one serving of the Sabatini’s poached eggs over roasted potatoes delivered to the suite for an en suite breakfast with some friends (looking at you @Thrak ). It took him 3 days to get the approval & to arrange it. Then the night before it was scheduled I came down with a scratchy throat and cough. I did not know where that was going and seriously did not want to risk getting anyone ill before the eclipse so I cancelled it. Ivan was very understanding but I could tell he was terribly disappointed as he had gone to great lengths to make this happen. Taking guests into Reserve is an even bigger ask than my one plate of Sabatini’s eggs. Just sayin’. Enjoy every moment in your Sky Suite. It really is a special experience.

Also you have UBD included for the two of you. Pay the extra charge for your friends to join you for that if you want an extra special treat. I hosted 10 friends for UBD on that eclipse cruise. It was amazing!