englishteacher702

1 hour ago, EJL2023 said:

Honestly I get better results using google.  For example if you are wondering about the PH suite on Vista….try googling ‘cruise critic Oceania vista penthouse’. This manner seems to work best for me. Obviously not foolproof for all….also with regard to a specific ship search threads for that specific ship on here and then go through the pages. If not ship specific I’d recommend the google manner. Just what seems to work best for me. 

 

 

If you only want results from cruise critic, you can type site:cruisecritic.com search term.  This will work with any website as well.

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

@englishteacher702 It is a barista and yes it is very special.  Yes on the iced coffee and yes on the Sugar free syrups.

 

Oceania_Currents_11132023.pdf 5.49 MB · 63 downloads

I gave you a Oceania Current which is their daily news letter.  I was on the Riviera which is the sister ship to the Marina.  Check out the dining times.  I would avoid room service for breakfast. Not because it is bad just because it is so much nicer in the Grand Dinning room or other venues.  

Quick and painless.

 

No, small ship, 1200 guests.  Much more chill then you are used too.

 

Hit or miss.  I upgraded to the streaming service power.  Your call. 

 

For the most part yes.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Thank you so much for all your answers and the copy of the Currents.  It cannot get here fast enough.

You had me at Coke products.  My husband loves Fresca, but I never see that on cruises, but hopefully they have Coke Zero.  I am  Dr. Pepper Zero girl myself, but that is super rare.  Thanks for your help.

My husband and I have cruised many times, but we decided to treat ourselves with a nicer cruise for our anniversary.  I just have a bunch of random questions since we have never sailed on Oceania before.  Our cruise is on the Marina in July through Europe if that makes a difference.

1. Do I need to bring my reusable straw?  Other cruise lines are using edible ones, and they are absolutely terrible.

2. We are huge coffee drinkers, so super excited specialty coffee is included, but wondering if they also have iced coffee.  Also if they have sugar free syrups.

3. What is the earliest we can get breakfast?  Our Berlin port has our arrival at 6:00am with our excursion leaving at 6:30.  Would room service be our best option?

4. Is muster on your own or cattle call of the whole ship?

5. Any weird elevators?  Like having to have nuclear launch codes to use.

6. I know the wifi depends on a lot of factors, but has anyone used WhatsApp fairly reliably?  I just want to be able to communicate with my pet sitter.  I have no interest in using my phone otherwise.

7. Oceania has no app from what I've gathered.  Is the TV the only place where you get all info?  

Thanks in advance for all your help.  We can’t wait to give Oceania a try.

We used SAS transportation,  and it was $15 each way.  No issues and plenty of room for luggage. 

10 hours ago, wemjam said:

You do not have to get an extra set of keys to carry. Simply explain to them that two people are swapping rooms and they will REkey the necessary room keys.  We do this with our mom and dad all the time.  It does not mess up any incentives as those are based on the person, not the room.  

 

Note:  You will want to make sure when you set up the on boarding spending accounts that that is handled correctly.  You can give (or not) charging privilege's to people in your party across rooms as needed too.  So when you switch the rooms it all works out.  

 

Example my mom and I are in room together, and hubby and dad in the other.  When I set up my account I include hubby in the other room and exclude mom.  Then set up dads and include mom and exclude hubby.  So when they switch it is all good.

Awesome.  Thank you.  Our mothers will be on our credit card, so this should be an easy fix.

19 minutes ago, groundloop said:

That's a fairly common practice.  All you need to do is go to the guest services desk once on board and get spare key cards.

Does that mean we will have 2 sets of keys, or can they just reissue new cards?

My husband and I want to take our moms on a cruise, but they have never cruised before.  We have some offers that of course would make the rate cheaper.  Can we book each of us in a room for the discount, and then switch rooms and get new cards?  Is this a complete PITA?

Just got off the Horizon from an 8 day.  First time we didn't need a fan in our room because it was so cold.  I am always hot too.  Just like others, near the doors from Lido to outside were warm, but we were never sitting in one spot where we were hot.  Loved that ship.

Only remember the most annoying one, Dr. E.  That man LOVED the sound of his own voice and would ramble on and on incessantly.    Now we just got off the Horizon, and the CD Donkey was pleasant.  He didn't make a ton of unnecessary announcements, and he was also easy to tune out.  That's how I judge.

1 hour ago, Pyxie said:

Yes, we've used this along with many others with no issues. Another option is Onpoint Testing which charges $14.99 per person for a virtual appointment and you can use any at home test, including the free ones from the government.

I have seen people recommend this option, but has anyone used it and been successful?

Does anyone know if Discord works?

My husband and I have cruised 6 times on Carnival.  We enjoy it, but were thinking we should try a new line.  We are early 40's no kids. We like to chill, listen to music, do activities, and comedy, not into the Vegas type shows (we are from Vegas).  Obviously dining on other lines will be more upscale from Carnival, but not looking for anything too boujie.  I really think RCL is not for us since it seems to have so many activities for kids, and that's what we are trying to avoid. I would love to travel Virgin to be completely kid free, but their itineraries for the Caribbean aren't the best. 

Recommendations?  

LewLewBelle

Sorry you did not have a good time. My husband and I were on the same cruise and this was actually our favorite we have taken so far. I was worried Cookie was going to irritate me because I had heard he was just like Dr. E, but I found him to be really funny and was grateful he only got on the intercom to make real announcements, not to hear himself talk. One night my husband and I were in the Red Frog Pub waiting for trivia to start, and he came up right behind us and just started a conversation. He was the first CD I had ever talked to one on one and thought he was very approachable. But people love Dr. E, and he drove me insane last year, so it's a matter of preference.

Don't know if you got a chance to see any comedy, but Thomas Brown has to be one of the funniest comedians I have ever seen and not just on a cruise ship. If he pops on anyone's ship I highly recommend making a special effort to see him. He was not political, which was nice because I am on vacation and trying to get away from all that. We saw his PG and R rated shows and thought both were equally funny.

Had the best dessert ever this cruise. It had phyllo, caramel, and god knows what else, but it was SO amazing. Everyone near us who ordered it was in heaven.

We tried an all inclusive resort one year and hated it, so I know how it feels to be disappointed in a vacation. Hope you take another cruise and it meets your expectations.

When we stayed on the Inspiration, our room was fine; however, last year on the Magic our room was really warm. We had them give us a fan last year, but it was a huge box fan which even on low blew everything everywhere. This year we stopped at a Walmart before we got on the ship and bought this fan:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-9-Personal-3-Speed-Fan-Model-MBF-918-Black/48947418

Best $10 we spent. It was also small enough we managed to fit in in our luggage to bring home. Where it really gets warm for us is when we are getting ready for dinner With both showers going, then my hair dryer, the humidity kicks up, and we fall apart. We are from Vegas though where it is a wonderful 115 degree DRY heat LOL.

My rental was through Karib, but it looks like Crewsweeper had a problem with Nathan's. I have heard good thing about Grand Turk Adventures, but it's hard to say.

I would NOT have gotten into the cart if it was in the physical condition you described.

 

The woman who took your $ and gave you the cart, sounds suspiciously like Nathan's wife. Nathan being the owner , or previous owner, of another golf cart rental firm. the two times we rented from Nathan, she was a very rude, unpleasant woman, who seemed to hate being there.

 

Glad that you did make it back to the cruise port and thank you for sharing your story. Perhaps others will not experience a similar ordeal.

Thanks for sharing about Nathan's. I love cruising around in those golf carts, but it seems hard to find a reputable company out there. I should have inspected it before we left, but I let my guard down because of our great experience with them before. Looks like we will be getting a cab next time because I cannot go to Grand Turk without a visit to Governor's Beach. It is such a beautiful beach, and it definitely outweighed the negative.

English teacher?

Do they not each the proper use of paragraphs any more?

 

Impossible to read this long rant as written.

EatonDoolittle

Yes, we still "each" the proper use of paragraphs and irony:p. I probably should have thought about its format since I am an English teacher, but I am also a human who was angry. Sorry for hurting your eyes.

We rented from Karib's auto rental last year and it was great, so of course I wanted to go with them again. What a mistake. Boogie, who used to run this place, was no longer there, and now a VERY rude woman runs it. We rented on July 19th. When we checked in with her, she informed us we had to pay an additional $10 for gas, which went up from $6 last year. I understand things go up, but this is NOT listed on their website or the confirmation I received. I let it go, took our cart, and my husband and I went on our way. We stopped a few miles from the cruise port at Governor's Beach like we did last year. We spent about an hour at the beach and decided to go exploring more. Once a few miles down the road, my husband who was in the passenger's seat, said it was getting really hot, even with a wet towel down. We decided to turn around to go back to the rental shop just in case something was wrong. I turned down a road and put the cart into reverse, but it would not shift back to drive. We tried pushing it into gear, but nothing worked, so I had to call her to come pick us up. Boogie, the man we dealt with last year, pulls up to fix it. He looked at the cart, and said "she rented this one to you, this one should not be rented out". He could not get it to work, so he called the lady and she said there were no more carts. I told him I wanted my money back then and he told her that on the phone. He then hung up on her and took a socket wrench (which was in the cart the whole time) and hit something in the engine and finally got it to go back into drive. He told us not to put it in reverse again. This whole ordeal took an hour. Well we were scared to go anywhere then especially far form port, so we went back to the beach and spent the rest of the day there. Luckily we packed water and snacks because this beach has no amenities. We knew that going in, but we thought we would have the cart to go get stuff to bring back to the beach. We decided to take the cart back early because we were afraid it would not start. When we got there, we asked for some of our money back and gas because we hardly used any, definitely not $10 worth. She did not want to give it to us, but we started to get angry especially when she slipped and told my husband she had ordered a part for this cart. We stressed that it should not have been rented out doing what it was doing (the heating up on the passenger side got MUCH worse). She then told my husband that she saw us all over the island on this cart, so we did not deserve the gas money back, which is completely untrue. We showed her the full tank. She still refused to give us money back, so I left figuring I can dispute the deposit with my credit card company. Rent from inside the cruise port even if it is more expensive, or take a cab. The are all over the island and very friendly. When we were waiting while we were stranded, 4 or 5 taxis stopped and asked us if we needed help. This is your vacation, and you do not want to lose time getting stranded or spend time arguing with someone. I have pictures of the cart, but I can't get them to upload. But you would see bald tires, missing windshield and headlight, and a detached part on the tire.

Just got off the Magic today, and Cookie said he has another couple of weeks to cover for Malcolm.

A live band could not save that America Rocks show. If you are a die hard rocker, you will be disappointed. It's like Taylor Swift meets AC/DC. It's rock songs, but poppy. I know why they do it, but again, it was not for us. I've heard cover bands sing those songs better.

They also have a year's notice: 2019.

As a straight A student with a Master's in Education and a self-proclaimed geek, I can see the kid's perspective. Good luck to all of you!

I should drink more coffee before I respond :). Thanks

I am a teacher in a district that also changed start dates; however, we were given a years notice. I am shocked at how late they made this decision for the upcoming school year. I know many teachers who take vacations like the week before, so they must be scrambling too. I would definitely start with the admin at your child's school, and see if there is a way to deal with the absences. As someone already said, you are not going to be the only ones in this situation. I don't know how that school works, but I know I use Google Classroom for everything, so it is easy for my students who are absent to get their assignments and announcements, so if his teachers use an online management system, it will be easy for him to get some work done on the way there and way home. Just thought I would give my advice if you end up going. Good luck :)

Those little hair dryers are the worst! I have short thin hair and all it does it frizz it out. If you use a hair dryer to really style your hair, I definitely suggest bringing your own. I don't travel without mine ever.

Thanks on the cake answers. I knew you could order a cake once on board, but I think the decorations have to be pre-ordered. I will just call them to be sure. Just wanted to see if anyone had an experience with it.

As far as the comedy club goes, I swear that was the procedure. I know it sounds crazy, but that is what they made us do and it was really a hassle. It sounds like that is no longer the case, so that is good. Yes, it was the Carnival Magic I was on.