Jim_Iain

That is one of the reason's for selecting the cruise. The number 1 reason was of course that it was Oceania and the second was that it was departing from the West Coast. Many don't realize it but we can fly to London in about the same time it takes to get to FLL with connections.

Thanks for making note. I was just discussing that with a friend of ours (Sue). I never sailed Azamara and when I pulled up the deck plans was amazed they are almost identical.

That's really nice of you Rich. Thanks for joining in.

I'm going to be ending this thread today and will be starting a Live Post shortly. It will be interesting how effective I will be without Starlink. My live posts are generally graphic intensive. If unable to upload pictures I will try to just go with text.

Interesting to hear. I think what increases our Costco prices higher than other areas is that due to the cost of living the Minimum Wage in Santa Clara County is $17.75 but Sunnyvale has raised theirs to $18.55. Currently California has a $16.00 minimum wage and Federal minimum is only 7.25 While it may seem high, one has to consider the medium Rental is $3,200 a month and the Medium home price is $1.6 Million.

CheckIn -- About 3 weeks prior to the cruise they open On-Line Check In. This can only be completed on their website. The process is as one would expect totally manual. You have to physically type in all passport information, names, addresses, emergency contacts etc. After finished you are able to select a checkin time. Their website indicates their Upper Suites get 11 AM checkin time which was the case when I checked in. At least one person on the Oceania Board claim that is old information and that now even upper suites have to fight for the first slots. Whether that is true or not I don't know as all times were available when I checked in.

Being just two days until departure thought I would compare the Pre-Planning and Check In process - A couple things are immediately apparent. As much as many of us complain about Celebrity App and Website it is far better than the experience I have had so far on Oceania. Oceania does not have an App and their website is very non-intuitive and lacking many needed features we have all become accustomed to. Part of Oceania's Current program "Simply More" include $600 OBC which can only be used for excursions. OK... I can live with that. I booked a couple excursions about 5 months ago. About 3 months ago they dropped a port and substituted a port. It took me 4 weeks and 3 phone calls to get the original excursion cancelled and refunded to my account. First time they said wait 3 week and it would automatically be cancelled and refunded. 3 weeks later I called again as they had not been cancelled. They cancelled it but the credit never showed on my account. I had to call back again to have the credit re-applied.

Now let's compare to the Royal Suite -

Now lets take a look at the Cabin - We chose the Vista Suite for this cruise

As I indicated before - the reason I chose Millennium for the comparison is they were built about same time and each went through a refurbishment in 2019. The big takeaway I noticed in this comparison is the Passenger to Crew Ratio - Regatta - 1.65 Millennium - 2.65 Theoretically this means one should receive more attentive service.

Yikes -- I go away for much of the day and am already fighting to get caught up. I do enjoy reading everyone comments and will continue once I do a couple posts.

Thanks John --- I always enjoy your participation on our reviews. A cruise would not be complete without you aboard.

Thanks for joining in. I really appreciate all those that follow and participate. I learn so much from other CC members

I think they are very much similar. They are both 30 Ton but slightly fewer Cabins.

Thanks Teri

Thanks --- will definitely do. I told Iain that if we pack for a Summer in San Francisco and add rain gear we should be ok. For those that don't know San Francisco, the worst time to visit is usually July and August due to the fog layer being pulled in. Temps run 50-65 F. I live in shorts during the summer so definitely will toss some in. I planned for the layered look. Temperatures will warm a bit as we head to Los Angeles. Here's the current forecast for Ketchican

Thanks --- it is going to be a learning experience and many like myself are looking out alternatives to Celebrity.

It's had a good life and actually was free. I had a different Samsonite that failed about 5 years ago. When I took it to the Authorized Samsonite Luggage Repair shop -- they said it couldn't be fixed and said..... why don't you just take that one. It came it for a different customer and they never came back.

Regatta is about 1/3 of the size Millennium - 30K Tons vs 91K Tons but about 1/4 the number of cabins 349 vs 1,109 on Millennium. With 2x per cabin this equates to 698 PAX on Regatta vs 2,218 on Millennium vs

Tom - Funny you say that. We initially booked a cruise on Vista for 2025 but wanted to try out the Oceania product in advance. The attractive part of this choice is we don't have to fly to the East Coast and back. Many on the Oceania board have warned us that the Regatta Class ships are the oldest and a totally different than the Vista Class ships -- That is the reason that I'm comparing it to Millennium Class ships. As you know better than I - there really is no comparison due to the difference in size of ships.

Thanks Linda - It is an interesting Itinerary - It could have also be combined with a Mexican Riviera but we had to get back so we could prep for our November Cruises... I guess it is officially a repositioning cruise for the end of the Alaska Season.

It is always nice to fly to Canada. Will have to pack for chilly and wet conditions. 49F / 9C to 59 / 15C and showers daily for the foreseeable future.

Thanks.... Had to start by buying a new suite case. We lost a wheel on one of our bags on the last cruise.

Thanks much. This should be a fun experience. It is a little scary stepping out of a 24 year comfort zone.

Many of us are also disappointed. When I give a gratuity I want to give it to the person who went above and beyond. The philosophy is based on premise that there is a number of behind the scenes non-customer facing staff that support them in providing you service.