Robjame

Oh wow! I thought they were saying there was anti-gay sentiment expressed in the forums. Don’t want to be part of forums spewing that.

Went to Horizon last night and ordered my double Oban 14. They had run out. After some questioning, one of the fantastic bartenders phoned down to Casino bar and found a part bottle. Hope this isn’t a trend with the expensive pours on the drink package.

I have never seen these sentiments expressed on CC or any of the FB boards that I monitor. When asked to share a table we have never been asked for preferences for our table companions. ‘Could you explain more about the origin of these stories?

For clarification - I did not say it was a very good champagne but a very good STANDARD champagne not to be confused with blanc de Blanc, Blanc de noir, prestige de cuvée, much as I would describe well liquors, American mass beers, table wine. St Germain satisfies the general tastes and its prolific use on Oceania in mixed drinks. I would expect it is the quality I would find in Monoprix @ 20 Euros. De gustibus non est disputandum

It all depends on your level of wine appreciation (snobbery). Our consumption of wine at home falls in the $20 -$30 range. If you consider that plonk, then you may be unhappy with the wine by the glass choices. Retail wine prices hinge on more than just taste. Our observations; The St Germain champagne is very good, standard champagne for which we would pay 20 euros in France, 3 very good and popular wines by the glass that we order all the time. - Poesie Soave Italy white - Wente cab Sauv - California red - Villa Maria Sauv Blanc - New Zealand white ABC One more thing about the Prestige package - you get to call your brand of liquor. If you like Tito’s or Grey Goose for example, you will pay extra for those choices unless you have the package.

I have only one food photo at the moment - one of the focaccia appetizers:

There are two areas where the salads, burgers, waves grill are during the day. One makes an appetizer - focaccia and different varieties of burrata or mozzarella - caprese, burrata with arugula, burrata and balsamic, tuna. The other makes whole pizzas maybe 14 inch - made to order. Margherita, vegetarian, pepperoni, all with red sauce.They will do two types of toppings on one pie. Thin crust. ‘One dessert pizza with Nutella.

I ordered flowers which were in our room when we arrived. The cost was less than $50 and was ordered through our TA. It was described as a “medium arrangement” and was a lovely tropical selection.

Known as barbue in France. Halibut family. Sweet white fish and one of our favourites. Found in deep N. Atlantic waters

Not sure if this is currently the practise as the sommelier (bar worker) has to swipe your card, enter the drinks and file the receipt to get credit for the auto gratuity.

Distilled water if you use a CPAP machine. Champagne bucket with ice and champagne glasses for the bottle of Veuve we carry on board. Anything that would twist your tail in a knot if you did not have them - eg. Clock or vanity mirror.’

We have been on the Riviera for 34 days and the quality and execution has been for the most part excellent. The MDR has excelled with the couple of misses being at the specialty restaurants. Jacques Bouillabaisse and Toscana calamari both being very over salted to the point of being inedible. The Toscana maître d’ picked up on us not eating it and tasted and agreed. He said, “Chef must be in love” which I thought was a pretty good quip. These are execution problems. Others have shared their displeasure with the new Bouillabaisse recipe at Jacques. ‘Jacques - I ordered the brill (fish) but the waiter steered me away from it saying that no one has been happy with it. This is the proper way to handle it IMO and is what would happen at our favourite restaurant back home. ‘Toscana - ordered the Veal chop Milanese which is a favourite of mine, too. They had run out of this bone-in product and, unannounced, the chef replaced it with an over-cooked scallopini. This was the one unforgivable miss, IMO. Yes I spoke to the chef. Once again, the few misses are well within the acceptable range considering the number of meals we had onboard. How the waiter handles these is key. The food has been excellent.

Prices have gone up $2 - $3 a drink. For example cheapest red wine by the glass is now $14. Do some calculation as to what this means for you. 20% gratuity include with eIther beverage package. Any drink listed on the bar menus, anytime, is included in Prestige Package -wine and beer only at meals for House Select package. Price increase makes beverage package more of a bargain IMO. For example I am having a double Oban 14yr whiskey which costs $18x2=$36 + $7.20 (gratuity)= $43.20 if you pay without package. We prefer to go to a bar or drink in a restaurant. There are alternatives - drink in room, go to 2 for 1 specials or attend free drink parties for Oceania Club members or Captains party. These alternatives have their disadvantages for us. Up to you.

Yes we are until the end of the month

Exactly - thank you!

Destination services did add, “unless things change again.” Lol

Just returned from Destination Services and Honduras Anchored was a printing mistake on Shore Excursions - it was always docked they say and Belize has been a physical change back from anchored to docked. So all is well. We don’t do tendered.

Honduras and Belize. ‘Perhaps they are always tendered but they were not marked as such in the original booking. This change has happened since we are onboard.

We are presently on a cruise (Riviera) that has changed 2 of the 4 destinations from “docked” to “tendered”. We have not yet visited these ports. Is this normal? Is this a new part of Oceania’s dedication to “save the environment”? (i would not dare suggest it was the latest money-saving effort)

Norwegian cruise ship ran aground in Puerto Plata (port in question in this case as well) when strong winds blew her aground. The ships changed policies to prevent this happening again by restricting docking or leaving dock in winds greater than 25 knots. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60749404

It was a pain. I had to take the picture with my iPhone - could not get my iPad to do it. The person taking the picture had to move forward and backward to get it to fit in and even then it didn’t look like it was successful but the picture did take. Just my experience.

The new hours for the Specialty Dining starts January 24 so we don’t know. Best guess is no change for Terrace or MDR as this change is to accommodate the number of people having access to the specialty dining in 7 days.

As far as we know, it is Terminal J. We arrive at 6 am. The port with Wonder of the Seas was San Juan so no problem at Terminal J. Easy luggage drop off there and a 50 foot walk to the terminal.