Vallesan

Thank you! This just reinforces how much more we pay for the same cruises in the UK!!

I would disagree with seaventuregal if you are prone to seasickness. Living in the UK the weather is always unpredictable and the North Sea can be rough at anytime of the year. We sailed from Southhampton to the Norwegian Fjords last June and had wonderful calm seas, in August it was very stormy! There are good seasickness remedies so maybe take the PH with good medication on hand … just in case! The Concierge cabin is close to the concierge lounge on deck 9.

- Can I upgrade the existing booking? We are in the 50% cancellation penalty window, so obviously we don't want to do that. You need to speak to your TA, if you booked through one, otherwise ring Oceania. The chances are as you are upgrading they will allow you to change without penalty they will just reprice the trip. As to your other questions ‘who knows’? It’s almost like asking “how long is a piece of string?” In my experience, and this is only my experience, when an offer comes up if it’s good I take it. Often offers are only there for a short time. Oceania also offers a best price guarantee so if the price decreases they will reprice at the lower price. PH v Concierge. Obviously the PH are considerably larger and will be refurbished which I’m assuming means lovely walk-in showers and of course a butler. The concierge cabins are smaller but still a reasonable size but will only have soft furnishing upgrades not bathrooms. This sounds like a ‘special’ cruise apart from it being your first. I would suggest that either cabin will be lovely but obviously the PH will be more special. Just one word of warning, if you like a sunny balcony, deck 11 has a huge overhang from the pool deck above so you may just be better on deck 10. We’ve sailed with Oceania 10 times with a few coming up and have never been disappointed. We sail PH2 or concierge depending on itinerary and price. I’d be happy to travel either. Once you leave your cabin everybody is treated the same irrespective of cabin grade. Enjoy!

No. The extended balconies are on deck 7 and are PH and A2. You can check out the deck plans by going to the Oceania website and clicking on ‘onboard experiences’.

Yes you’re right included gratuities is a new thing here. I’m not sure the reason is because ‘we like everything figured in the bill’. I think it’s possible that people were ‘adjusting’ their gratuities because, unlike in the USA, we are not a tipping nation! In saying that, we always paid our gratuities and tip on top. The staff work very hard to make our trip enjoyable so naturally we want to ‘thank’ them.

Does this sometimes just come down to ‘expectations’??? Sometimes people pay ‘much more’ money and ‘expect’ ‘the world’ when in fact they are only getting a slightly ‘more’ upgrade experience. Expectations are very difficult fulfill for each individual. My ‘cup of tea’ may not be yours !

That may be only in the US. In the UK we do get sales but not one immediately after the other. Things are different here for many reasons. We always pay far more than you do in in the US.

Do new sales in the US always come straight after a sale finishes?

Looks like Azamara is the best fit for you now. Enjoy!

Position v location?? LOL!

I think it’s 21 days before. If I remember correctly they send an email a few days before.

Yes visas can be a nightmare! I’m afraid it’s part of sailing to ‘far flung’ places! We missed Cambodia due to weather the first time we were due to visit and we’d not got visas so no issue as we were going to get them on board. We didn’t get them this time either because we were going to get them onboard, but of course didn’t need them in the end! I’m not sure how many of the “problems” being reported on these boards are either issues arising only with Oceania ships, or that they are always within the companies control. One thing that is for certain is that there are lots of people, on these boards, who are unhappy with the way Oceania handles these ‘situations’. I’m guessing, that unless exactly the same ‘ badly handled issue’ occurs to you on another line and it’s handled well, it’s difficult to compare one line to another. You just have to go with your own gut feeling. Nothing in life is ‘perfect’.

All the concierge cabins are the same size. The only difference between an A1 and A4 is price, not a huge difference, and position. Lots of people prefer concierge on deck 9 because it’s the same deck as the concierge lounge. Choices, choices!

Hopefully other people will add their experiences! PS thinking about it there are so few A1s on deck 11 you might not get one anyway! We do deck10 A1 normally.Never had a noise problem.

We should have been on that cruise but unfortunately had to cancel a week before. I’ve read such mixed reports, and having been to all but two of the ports before, I’m almost pleased we were unable to go. As far as Bintan is concerned believe me you missed nothing!

urlaub…so sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately your experience was not entirely Oceania’s fault. Handling of both passengers and baggage is down to the port authority. But Oceania could probably have been more understanding and helpful. We had an issue disembarking in Valletta, Malta and I wrote to Oceania. I got the impression that because the ships turn around so quickly once you disembark you are no longer a ‘passenger’ so they leave you on the dockside and just move on to the new passengers about to board and they are priority. I’m sure this is true of all cruise lines. In all fairness that’s probably the correct thing to do. I’m sure we would all hate to turn up to a new cruise and find we can’t board etc. because of problems from the previous cruise! Anyway if this incident, and the Marina, are the only things putting you off Oceania try another ship maybe?

WOW! That literally is only weeks away. It makes you wonder just what they are waiting for sometimes.

Depends on whether or not you like a sunny balcony. There is a large overhang from above. We’ve not been on deck 11 on the Riviera but have been on deck 8 below pool deck on the R ships. We have always been under the patio and not experienced any noise. Somebody else will probably have experience of being under the pool or restaurants.

I agree! There would appear to be only a ‘hair’s breadth’ of a chance that any cruise ships will be travelling through Suez/Red Sea in the near future or, in my estimation, only my estimation, even this year!

I think that’s probably the best idea. We haven’t cruised in Japan but did fly to Osaka and stayed in Kyoto for several days then took the bullet train to Tokyo and spent several days there. A few hours in port aren’t enough to really ‘see’ the country. Enjoy your trip!

Interesting! We sailed the Greek Islands, 14 nights, last September on the Encore and the GDR wasn’t open any day for breakfast. We really missed it. We much prefer the ‘serene’ atmosphere in the GDR to the ‘hustle and bustle’ of the Colonnade.

I was recently offered a ‘priority’ waitlist place at the cost of £300 which was refundable but decided to just take my chances without the priority status. I was offered a cabin within a week! I guess it will always be a bit of potluck. In the past I’ve kept a check on the grade/cabin I want if it’s not available at the time and when it has become available I ring my TA straight away and have managed to get the cabin I want. Probably pays to be vigilant rather than just ‘wait’ in a queue.

I really don’t think anything in the eastern Med can be ‘set in stone’ at the moment. I don’t believe the ‘random’ cancellation of some ports on some itineraries and not others is sinister. My guess, and it is just a guess, is that so many ships are scrambling to re-route and change itineraries so that there is no consistent pattern as to when/if a port will be changed. It’s possible that some of the later cruises are easier to change because, for instance, November in Greece is not peak season, so maybe it’s easier to find replacement ports then than possibly in June/July/ August. At the end of the day none of us actually ‘know’ the reasons so the best thing is to not book a cruise with a ‘bucket list’ destination in Eastern Meditteranean, in the near future.

Interesting! We knew one of the chefs on the Canberra in the ‘olden days’ of cruising and my OH went on a tour of the galley. He was on the Reina del Mar and the Canberra was docked next to him in Tenerife! I think you’re probably right. All the cruise websites seem to be at sixes and sevens at the moment. Looks like the Riviera is sailing to Asia at the end of this year via West Africa. Not quite sure the west coast of Africa will hold the same appeal as the Middle East: who knows. Seabourn and Silversea still have ‘Red Sea’ cruises on their websites but I’m sure they won’t be bookable. I guess all lines will be cautious about returning to the Red Sea until things have settled and are ‘proven’, if at all possible, to be settled before they return. Financially this winter must have been a nightmare for all cruise lines who cruise in Asia. We can all only hope for a speedy return to a new ‘normality’ in the region for all concerned.

I just saw this article about MSC cancelling 2024/25 winter Red Sea cruises. I wonder if other lines will follow suit? https://www.travelmole.com/news/msc-unveils-canary-islands-cruises/?otg=1&nidd=Y2xlaW5AYmx1ZXlvbmRlci5jby51aw==