Mareblu

What’s replacing Illy, Flatbush? Hope it’s Lavazza🤞

Lyle should be back with us after a few more days.

Hi Les Wonderful news. Sounds like a perfect spot. A cruise on the Clyde would be just the ticket.

Truly, our Aus/NZ threads are the most rational of all. There are a couple of Oceania threads with childish sniping, continuing for pages, and some rather obsessive types repeating the same things. Oh well, Leigh, beats TV😂

I found it hysterical.

At the time, no, but it's a good suggestion for any similar future situations.

If you consider 7.00pm “late”, please don’t move to Spain.

That’s awful. It’s a delicate time for him now. If you’re reading this, Lyle, we’re thinking of you and Lynn.

Ours was Sept 2019. Were you on Orion? If so, and your cruise was after ours, then maybe they reduced the salt😂

Yes, we spoke to the CD (who was previously CD on a previous O Nautica cruise), reception, and our butler. Many others had also complained. You can guess the general response: “your concerns will be noted but no-one else has complained”, or as reception said, “there is no record of other complaints”. I think that angered me more than the below-par cuisine.

We have only sailed with Viking once, in 2019, just before Planet Covid. It was, like our Seabourn cruise I mentioned, a b2b, from Vancouver to Hong Kong. Wonderful itinerary, including Alaska, the Russian Far East, which is, sadly, no longer available to cruisers, and an extensive Japanese exploration. The vessel, Orion, was magnificent. We love the simplistic elegance and functionality of Scandinavian design, and the staff were wonderful. Our only problem, and it was a large problem, was the food. The cuisine was constantly over salted, and not at all well presented. I season all our food, so it wasn't that we don't like salt. Sometimes it was so salty, it was inedible. Five weeks of that cuisine was enough for us. We and every fellow passenger we chatted to had swollen feet. The only offerings I really enjoyed were the steak (really delicious) and the Alaskan king crab served every evening in the buffet. We're usually not buffet dwellers, preferring to sit down in the dining venues, but we soon found ourselves heading regularly to the buffet. Unlike Oceania, Seabourn, Cunard, Silversea, etc., the main dining room on Viking is not what I'd describe as elegant, so not especially enticing, even forgetting the food. It's more like a glorified cafe. It's such a shame, because there was so much we did like about Viking, but I can't see us returning.

Hi Julie, When we were last in Cornwall it was “Mohsel” from memory. Let’s not go to some of our local names😕

Colorado Springs?

It does indeed look like sections of the river between Aspen and Vail

I've just responded on another O thread that morphed to this very topic. In a nutshell, without a long-winded repeat of that post, we've missed a few ports with O over the years, all for what we considered valid reasons, and we were happy the Captain made what we considered wise choices in each instance: hurricane, strong storm, and the latest is a change to Turkish stops on our forthcoming Vista med cruise. The reason (reading between O's lines in the email) is unrest in the Middle East. Okay, Turkey is not that close to the awful conflict there, but there have been mass gatherings in Istanbul and the US and its allies (count us as Australians) are not friends of the month. We are happy to cruise for the destination, the experience, the ambience, and the excitement of exploring other cultures. We have fortunately travelled extensively in Turkey, so are happy to sail to wherever (more Greek Islands in this case). I know many fellow passengers on our roll call are not happy, but life goes on. I 'm not a cheerleader for Oceania. We've sailed with Seabourn (probably our favourite), Silversea, Cunard and NCL. But we do return often to O, which, despite not being perfect, offers a relaxing and enjoyable product. The furthest thing from our minds would be demanding a refund of port charges. I'm not even interested in how much they are in value.

It's interesting that of all the lines on which we've sailed, Oceania is the only one that has made itinerary changes over the years. This has never concerned us, as there haven't been many, and there was always, in our view, a valid reason for the Captain's decision. One was a hurricane (we say cyclone in Australia) that was raging in the North Sea after causing havoc in the US (it was widely reported on the news and clearly visible on weather radar), a similar situation (strong storm causing rough seas in the Bay of Biscay) and lately, a switch on our April 24 (next month) Med cruise on Vista. Santorini, Crete and Kotor have been substituted for Kusadasi and an overnight in Istanbul. Oceania has stated this is due to Middle East unrest. We are fortunate in that we have travelled extensively in Turkey, but I know this will be a disappointment for many, including our friends who are travelling with us. They are, however, looking forward to all the Greek Island stops, as they've never been there either. At the end of the day, we know changes may be made at any time, and we're happy to "go with the flow" (pun intended) and simply enjoy our cruising experience.

Yes, correct. When reservations for our PH1 opened, I made bookings online for my husband, myself, and our two friends who are in a Concierge stateroom. My TA had already checked with Oceania that this was possible. It simply meant that by the time our friends' window opened, they were already booked in the specialty restaurants. They are entitled to four bookings, and we are able to make eight. I made four bookings for two couples, and four for one couple (us). The one drawback for them, of course, is that they had company each time they dined in the specialties. They opted to do that, and were delighted I was able to make the reservations for them.

This is actually incorrect. When reservations open for higher level suites or staterooms, those guests may also make reservations for guests in other categories, providing they are sharing a table. We have just done this very thing for our forthcoming Vista cruise. We are in PH1, and our friends are in Concierge level. Each reservation we made for them used one of their allocated allowed bookings.

Yes, that's a valid point, and another reason we have enjoyed sailing Oceania since 2007. NCL's Haven is a similar product, in a fashion, to Queens Grill on Cunard. The bottom line is truly the bottom line: you pay an awful lot extra for special treatment, like most things in life. We have also sailed Seabourn and Silversea, and absolutely loved both. Probably our most enjoyable cruise was a Seabourn b2b a few years ago. After a month, I thought I'd need to be dragged off, but disembarked obediently. Our Silversea experience was a very close second. We had avoided Cunard for years for the very reasons you mention, but after enjoying our Queen Elizabeth voyage immensely last year, won't hesitate to book again if we enjoy the looming Queen Anne experience as much. I understand the point about Queen Anne's design, but wouldn't dream of commenting until I've personally sailed on her. For us, it's the destination, the experience, the service, and the ambience.

We'll be on Hlitner's Vista cruise, followed a few weeks later by a Cunard Queen Anne voyage around the British Isles. It will be truly interesting comparing two new vessels of different cruise lines. We've enjoyed many O cruises, but only one previous Cunard, in Queens Grill, just over a year ago. It was indeed a marvellous experience, and the dining in QG was exceptional. We did not enjoy the extra $ for everything outside the Grills Lounge, though, even coffee was charged, as was bottled water and everything else you could think of. Internet access also comes at a hefty price. Naturally, we expected to be charged for alcoholic beverages. Coffee, tea, chocolate, etc. was included in Grills Lounge, otherwise you signed for it. I really felt terrible for the folk in other levels of accommodation, when I realised that was the situation. The wonderful thing about an O cruise is that extras are covered. We have upgraded to the higher drinks package for the Vista cruise, as we have done before with O voyages, because we both enjoy the experience of not having to think about ordering and signing for pre and after dinner drinks. I know there's a valid argument (and a good one) for not needing to go to that extra expense, but when it's done, it's done. It's a nice feeling. We're looking forward to both cruises.

Dear Lynn and Lyle, Mario joins me in sending deepest condolences. You often mentioned your mum (we say mum here, like in England) so I know you were very close, and that's a special way to share a life. It seems from what you write today that your mum passed peacefully, and with you both by her side, she would have felt extremely loved. Our SIL's dad passed three weeks ago, after his mum only six months ago. Today he and our daughter are in Queensland for his cousin's funeral. He was only fifty, and passed in his sleep with no warning at all. We need to treasure every living day we share with our loved ones, and book that cruise when we can. Our warmest wishes, Linda and Mario

Posting here instead of writing to Lyle and Lynn, because we've all been following and commenting. Just spoke to Veronica, our knowledgeable and efficient Pharmacist. She confirms that Lynn will need a prescription issued here for insulin obtained here. A word of caution is that it will not be inexpensive, because as she is not an Australian citizen, the insulin will not be subsidised. She suggests that for economical reasons, bringing your own supply would be advantageous. I'll write to you separately, Lyle, with info on seeing our GP here.

Yes, Julie, that sounds sensible and reasonable. I’ll check with our local Pharmacist tomorrow morning. She’s very switched on, and I’m sure will know the necessary steps. I know our local GP would see Lynn too, if necessary, but as Lynn and Lyle are starting their journey in Sydney, they will need to know before they arrive, as you suggest.

Sorry, meant to answer this. Cameron House was guessed before I could reply. Of course, the answer is in the affirmative.

No, but it was once a grand manor house. Cruiser3775 has it.