Harters

Indeed so. Our forthcoming cruise is Vista's TA. The "per day" cost is cheaper than the Vista cruise we'd been looking at for next year. And we're very much looking forward to all those sea days - it should be a real rest, once we've recovered from the flight to Miami.

That would be one way of phrasing it. Another way would be to say I've compared the costs of two specific holidays that we'd be interested in booking and reached conclusions.

This is where it becomes difficult to make straight comparisons between land based and cruise base. There is obviously a cost to the actual cruising. But, if I take the experience of my research that I've mentioned on an earlier thread, I know that the all inclusive resort costs about 50% of a similar length O cruise. The resort pretty much mirrors what I'd call the hotel experience onboard - the room, the speciality restaurants, good quality of food, the included booze, the entertainment, etc. So I would need to ask myself do I find it good value to spend the other 50% on travelling between the different ports. It will be for some but not for others.

There's no "may" about it.

I hadn't. My apologies for suggesting you hadnt referenced your claim Although all three of your referenced articles lean towards the the "value for money" case for land based holidays. Although I don't really need industry articles to tell me what I can see with my own eyes. As we've discussed on this and a number of other threads on the O forum, cruise prices have increased and standards have reduced - the "value for money" argument just doesnt seem to be there now. That's particularly the case the case at O's level in the market - I can still see a value for money argument for cruise lines further down the market, like P & O, Saga and Marella (none of which I'm interested in holidaying with). Of course, I'm referencing O's prices that are available to me in the UK, not the cheaper prices that are available to the American market.

I questioned that unsupported claim when you made it at post #203 and I question it again. I shared with you then the results of my own research indicating I could get an equivalent quality land based resort in Cyprus at something like 50% of an Oceania cruise. Happy to pass on the details of the resort - https://kanikahotels.com/olympic-lagoon-resorts-paphos/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=business&utm_campaign=GBP-OlympicLagoonResortsPaphos We've booked a 10 day holiday there in late September and are wondering what we might do with the five grand we've saved on taking another Oceania cruise.

We're shortly to cruise on Vista and I'm also anxious about the noise problem. I noticed the reports on the forum after we had made the final payment, so cancellation is not a sensible option and we'll keep our fingers crossed all will be OK. Had we been still at the stage where only a deposit had been paid, I think we would seriously have considered cancelling. Of course, the reports on Cruise Critic only come from a tiny minority of folk who have cruised on Vista so, statistically, I don't feel able to form an opinion as to whether the problem is down to the the ship's geography or whether it is down to how loud your neighbours speak or how loud (and at what times) they have their TV on. That said, there was one recent report from someone who did complain whilst onboard and was told by crew that the problem is widespread throughout the ship. I'll be interested to see what responses you get from anyone who has stayed near your cabin as ours is only a little way down the corridor. It is a worry and I agree noise from an adjacent cabin could easily disturb sleep and ruin a cruise. And that throws over ten grand down the pan.

The last time I chewed gum will have been about 25 years back. That was nicotine gum on one of the earlier occasions when I tried to give up smoking.

Maybe we'll come across each other, then. I had a very close shave a few years back in Louisiana. We were coming back to the hotel from the restaurant in a fairly rural area. And I confess the road layout was a little confusing. I knew I had to turn left but completely forgot that meant crossing the oncoming carriageway. I managed to stop just in time to miss the car by, literally a few inches. A couple of seconds more and we'd both have been write-offs and I doubt I'd be here today. Scary stuff which still vividly comes back to me. John

Is that the TA in a couple of weeks, Hank? Cadiz may be our only lunch ashore on this cruise. I note the market opens from midday on a Sunday and has a number of tapas stalls round the edge of the building so we'll probably snack there. As for driving, I suffered the ignominy of being stopped by the Park Police on the Blue Ridge Highway for speeding (40 on a stretch of the road with a 25 limit). No ticket but a severe telling off. The cop was reminding me that the low limit was for wildlife considerations. Just as he was reaching his "full officialdom", a deer bounded out across the road. Cop just looked at me and said "see what I mean, sir". I won't dwell on the recentish well publicised case of the American driving on the wrong side of the road here, with a disastrous outcome

Absolutely. We've done several such trips to America, rarely coming across other tourists. My job for today is to finalise our plans for a walk round the main sites in Cadiz. We'll have a nice day but it won't be even scratching the surface of the city before we have to get back on Vista.

My own recent research wouldnt support that claim. I've been looking at a high end all-inclusive resort in Cyprus. It's priced at about 50% of an Oceania cruise (Concierge cabin). It's a good comparison, with included speciality restaurants and all day booze. So I have to ask myself is the actual cruising between ports worth the other 50%. I'll let you know in the autumn when I've been to Cyprus.

I think much might depend on your past cruise experience and what you hope to enjoy on this one. We have an upcoming TA on Vista which we are really looking forward to. It will be our third cruise with O (previous on Marina and Nautica). I'm particularly looking forward to all those sea days when we can just relax - frankly, I find O's port intensive cruises to be tiring and I feel like I need another holiday to recover afterwards. But that's us - others enjoy visiting different places on an almost daily basis. If your past cruise experience is with the big, very lively, ships, I'd suggest that a TA may not be the best introduction to O, simply because you may find you're not that keen on O's ambiance but you're stuck with it for several days at sea, without a port break. Maybe a shorter cruise would be better. On the other hand, of course, you've already booked this cruise so must have had a solid inclination that it would appeal.

You should have no problem, in due course, in booking your "free/included" excursions online. The only issue we found is that the excursions we wanted took us a few pounds over the excursion credit. There doesnt appear to be an online method of making a card payment for this additional, so we had to phone Oceania.

We like to have a week's holiday somewhere in the British Isles each year. 2012 it was the Isle of Man. Took the car and travelled by the fast ferry (known to locals as the "vomit comet" for good reason). And , yep, did the mountain railway but there was some mist around so didnt get the great views of Britain and Ireland

Hats off, Snaefell. 😀 By the by, does your username suggest you have a connection with the Isle of Man? It's sometimes regarded as an honorary part of northwest England (and receives northwest local TV programmes from the BBC)

The small town of Mossley is about a 25 minute drive from home, on the eastern side of the metro area. It's where, in 1863, fish & chips were first definitely recorded as being sold together. This was by John Lees, who sold them from a wooden hut on Mossley market. The fish is traditionally cod or haddock (regional preferences apply - I live in a cod preferred area, although in much of the north it's haddock) but, with fish stocks not being secure (and expensive), coley is now an acceptable white fish substitute.

No, it's worse. Using sea bass for F & C is murdering my culinary heritage.

Made a very nice frittata for dinner last night - mushrooms, leeks and pancetta.

Trains between the two cities are frequent (about every 20 minutes) and take about 40 minutes. No need to pre-book. Pay by either cash or Visa/Mastercard (many places don't take Amex but I don't know whether that's the case with train tickets). Chester's a nice place for the day (it's a short drive from home). If the weather is good, have a walk round the city walls (originally Roman but extended and improved in medieval times)

We got a taxi from right outside the terminal building, where there were lots waiting. No need to consider a private transfer, IMO. I think your daughter should be fine, although it will be tight, so make sure you disembark (bringing your luggage with you) as soon as possible. Enjoy Mallorca - somewhere we've often holidayed (including last September) and we have family members who originate from the island.

The 1.30 - 2.00 was the earliest that was on the drop-down menu.

I've no idea what might be the case with American TAs. But there will be loads of other contributors who can advise on how it goes in your country.

Just printed off the boarding pass for our forthcoming Vista cruise from Miami . It's given us an earliest boarding time of 1.30 - 2.00, which was a bit of a surprise as O's website gives 12.00 as the usual boarding time for Concierge Verandas (webpage may be outdated as it only mentions the older ships and nothing for Vista). Check out time from our hotel is 11.00 so my question is two-fold. Firstly, is O flexible about boarding if we were to arrive early (say, coming straight from the hotel and arriving about 11.30)? And, secondly, if no flexibility about boarding, is there anywhere to get a coffee, snack and sit down at Terminal J while we wait till 1.30.

For several years in my career, I was the organisation's purchasing manager and that would have been my general philosophy. Cheapest is not always best. My partner was also a procurement manager for an oil company and often felt that the "best deal" wasnt the cheapest - saying that a project would "fail cheaply"