tigerfan75

13 minutes ago, Aging Fast said:

We are currently on the Riviera in Ronne, Denmark.  I haven’t seen the reviews but after 9 days I have no complaints.  The food has been fantastic.  The professional entertainers have been great.  The in house performers lack a lot.  The in house band is amazing.  All in all it has been a great trip. 

+1. Was on the Riviera for two weeks in late July.  Also in a PH.  Had a great cruise to Iceland and Greenland.  The only issue was that many guests developed a cough by the end.  Good luck on your decision.

On 9/6/2023 at 8:15 PM, rxlowry said:

Just embarked Insignia now and found two KN95s in our room.  Is this standard for O?  We had them given to us on cruises in 2021-early 22 on other lines.  I read reports of low service on other sites and now wondering if there’s been some outbreaks.  It won’t dampen my cruise but I’m curious if they always give them.  So far it’s been great!

On Vista now.  No masks in rooms.  Very few being worn around the ship.  Coughing minimal.

Enjoy your Insignia cruise.

9 hours ago, basor said:

 

They have unscented toiletries available upon request..

The unscented brand has been Vanicream in our experience.

41 minutes ago, edgee said:

Just thought I would answer my own question about ease of booking dining reservations using a smart phone. Reservations window opened today for my November cruise. Was able to book them easily using my Android phone. Was worried because I am currently on a Celebrity ship on a sea day in the Eastern Med. Fortunately the ship has installed Starlink internet and it works great for callls, texting and internet...a different world from cruise ship internet of the past. Hopefully Oceania's Starlink will work as well.

On Vista now.  Starlink is night and day difference to the older system.

22 minutes ago, Queen of DaNile said:

We are not in a connecting cabin on Vista and can hear when our neighbors are talking or have their TV on. Not a problem but don't recall being able to hear noise in adjacent cabins on other ships.

Very interesting.  My wife and I have the same observation.  We are doing a B2B, and having been on the prior segment, we noticed it then, with different occupants, and now, again, on this segment.  Add to that, the noise from toilet flushes seems to be from staterooms well beyond just the adjacent ones.  Deck 9, Concierge.

7 minutes ago, stonepebble said:

Hi All! 

We are sailing on Nautica Aug 14-24, 2024.

We're within 1 year of sailing and the Shore Excursions have been released.

They are listed for every port on our itinerary except for Shannon, Ireland.

I'm pretty sure that is not a new port for O.

Anyone have any idea why there are none offered there?

Chris

In my experience, this is not uncommon.  A port may not have excursions ready for bookings for a variety of reasons in O’s back office.

For instance, 2024 ATW departing in January, just had Papeete added with excursions, only 5 months before our departure.  A later release of excursions for a port has occurred on our other sailings, too.

Just periodically check online, or request another excursion pdf whenever you get a new O Guest Statement to find when the excursions may be available.

2 hours ago, Rainbow3fe said:

Hi,

    I read that on the Vista the soap products are not from Bulgari. Someone ment Aqua di Palma. If it's correct, like feedback from people who have been on Vista. We enjoy Bvlgari, especially the soap. A different luxury brand should also be wonderful  

    Thanks 😎🌊

On Vista now in Concierge A2.

Products in our stateroom are Bulgari.

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

it should be on your Itinerary   a little anchor next to the port name

Yes, it SHOULD be.

On the Vista now for transatlantic to NYC.  Four ports now listed as anchor/tender ports that were not so previously noted…

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

The O class tenders  you are side to side  do not recall knee to knee

R ship tenders are more single row seating  as I recall

 

Some port local boats  are used

Belize City, Santorini  come to mind

The Vista tenders are short rows of benches back-to-back, resulting in tight knee-to-knee positions…

8 hours ago, auldlassie said:

My experiences in Ember - it was neither loud nor quick nor casual, not by any measure, and nothing like Waves or the other casual spots on the ship. I say that as my true experience and I do eat out a lot at high end dining and have done for...a long time (yes, I am getting on a bit now!). One man's meat.......

+1

21 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

The tours for our March cruise have come out.

We have a ton of OBCs coming our way, but not in the account yet and maybe not for a long time.

OBcs for Loyalty, NCL shares, TA, etc.

 

To book a tour now, we have to use our own funds. The OBCs we will receive later are then really wasted.

To wait till it all appears on the account, is risking the availability of the preferred tours.

 

Any ideas?

Others will correct me if I am wrong…

In my experience, I book excursions as soon as possible from the PDF, by calling into O and paying with my credit card.  At a later date, after the non refundable OBC shareholder, etc. may appear, I ask for my TA to contact O for another O Guest Statement invoice.  At every instance, the non refundable OBC is automatically applied to the excursions, and a refundable OBC shows on the account.  I usually take from the Purser at Reception the refundable OBC (what is left!) in cash the next-to-last day of the cruise, and keep my credit card points.  I suppose I could request my TA to have O refund by credit card, but I have not done that.

On 8/8/2023 at 8:20 PM, Jayne E said:

True, but haven’t seen one post stating they can’t wait to return to Ember. 

On Vista now.  As stated in another thread, we had a wonderful experience in Ember.  Working with Reservations for a return visit at a 6:30pm time…

22 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

“This is your captain. Due to the overwhelming success of the newly introduced Simply More marketing campaign (designed to drive away cruise only freeloaders), I announce our new port intensive program Missing More! (designed to drive away DIY and private tour freeloaders).”

 

Presently on Vista and we just missed Stornoway due to “sea swells and weather” making tendering unsafe. I’m not qualified to assess the veracity of this reason given, but I have no loss of sarcasm for expressing my disappointment. I saw the harbor pilot leave the ship after heading back out of the port after we had entered the port and stopped (though I don’t think anchors were dropped). The sea appeared calmer than both Newhaven (Edinburgh) and Kirkwall, also tendering ports. I’ve read numerous comments about concerns over dubious reasons communicated for missing ports on Oceania itineraries. If someone wishes to provide independent information supporting this instance, I’m open to giving O the benefit of the doubt, but this is our first O cruise and they now have the ignoble honor of achieving our first missed port in 40 days of cruising. 
 

Coupled with noting 6 hours of reduced port time (across 3 of 10 scheduled calls) per the itinerary published in Currents compared to when booking the cruise (June 2023), I won’t be visiting the O Ambassador about booking any future cruise while onboard.

Also on Vista now.  After a short sail from port the seas are rough, with heavy fog and rain.  Not a weather person, but probably a weather front, which should mean clear sky on the other side.  I am glad I am not on a tender during this.

Given what I see, I cannot fault the Captain for being on the side of my safety.

13 hours ago, TonicTraveler said:

Allura itineraries to be released Sept. 13.  2025 through part of 2027 itineraries for all ships to be released Oct. 4.

On Vista now.  OCA told me the same yesterday…but she told me Oct.4 was 2025 -2026.  Not long to find out!

2 hours ago, SellaVee said:

Another vote for White Zinfandel.

+1

Enjoyed Ember last night.  Excellent beef filet, cooked perfectly medium, with baked potato and corn on the cob.  Had a 6:30pm seating with shared table with another couple.  Absolutely no push/rush during meal.  We were there for 1hour 45 minutes.  I found ambiance quite pleasant,  YMMV.

17 hours ago, roberts2005 said:

Will be joining the next segment.  Thanks for posting.

 

Are people wearing masks?  Somewhat concerned about the increase in Covid cases worldwide..

 

No masks seen.

10 hours ago, babydrum said:

I'd like to know if Oceania Shore Excursions are worth the money.  With SM, we get $1800 of excursion credit, but I don't want to ruin my vacation using it on lousy tours.  I'm specifically interested in the Oceania Magnificent Petra tour if anyone can point me to a review.  Most of the cruise lines that I have used have reviews on the shore excursions page that I've found helpful in avoiding certain tours and for setting expectations. We are on a port intensive cruise so there are some ports that I would normally DIY where I might use the credit but any insight would be helpful.

We use Ship’s excursions quite often, especially when I do not want to do the detail evaluation of each port on a longer B2B2B sailings. Destination Services use local contractors, so it can be a GREAT experience in one port, and SO-SO in the next.  We also DIY if we know the port requires a more extensive exploration than O’s offerings.  Yes, the O excursions are expensive, but we generally find them well done.

1 hour ago, aussietwo said:

Thx.  If we also book for a friend not on the cruise do they get the same apart from the SBC?

From the info I have seen, “friends &family” enjoy the same benefits.  I will be booking for a 2025 family trip while on board in Sept.

Good Luck!

11 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

When can you actually purchase shore excursions? Is it 120 days prior? I’ve never purchased too far in advance before, but with SM I’m thinking perhaps best not to wait too long as they will be selling more. 

I have used my pdf to select the excursions and then called O to place my order at 360 days before sailing.  I am confident that 365 would work, too.

1 hour ago, Hambagahle said:

Absolutely they do.   However I would not want to join a ship for a segment of a RTW cruise unless it were the first one.  From what I read the RTW passengers get very "tight knit" and it can be awkward

for "short timers" on board.  But then maybe this is a smaller ship thing ?  

We have joined two different ATW cruises.  Enjoyed both immensely.  As a “segmenter” there were zero issues with fellow guests…

1 minute ago, Peter Lanky said:

PPG?

PPG = Pre Paid Gratuities

16 minutes ago, trickylibrarian said:

Just booked our first O cruise for November.  

The booking says "beverage package" select non alcoholic drinks.

Is that ice tea, coffee, etc or soft drinks too?

Also, is it correct that dinner in the dining rooms start at 7pm?  

Does food service start earlier in the buffet?

Thank you.

 

IIRC, the Dinner times begin at 6:30 p.m. for all venues.  Sometimes, if the ship is totally booked, and the cruise is a shorter one, then the Specialty Restaurants may occasionally allow 6:00 p.m. reservations.  Enjoy your cruise!

Here is an article (probably old news to some) that describes what may have been the lead-up to the development of Simply More...

How 'elite' advisors are shaping the direction of Oceania Cruises: Travel Weekly

I recall a very enjoyable afternoon with the County Fair event on a recent TA.  Each of the ship's departments had a booth on the Pool Deck with a competitive activity (ping pong ball throw into a cup, guess the native country of each senior officer, knot tying, etc.) which earned the participant chances in the lottery draw at the end of the Fair.  Lots of fun!