AlexCherie

No no no ... you are sitting at the *top* of the stairs, and just behind the grill. LOL. Looking down.

Sorry poorly crafted. Yes, just behind The Terrace Cafe where they serve Lobster and Steak there is a staircase leading down one floor. If you need to arrive early to grab it - but it's literally the best seat in the house. Steps from the grill and desserts, looking down the staircase you see the wake of the ship. It's divine.

Soft leather chairs, hot coffee and biscuits, a good book, sunshine, quiet. What could be better? We didn't find this out until late in our cruise ... I went onboard salivating about dining at the wonderful restaurants. You know what? On any given night you can enjoy as much lobster, shrimp, steak and lamb as you can consume at the top of the stair case, looking out at the wake of the ship in the night air. Without worrying or thinking about your waiter. We won't ever forget that. A trip of a lifetime.

Every one is different, and at 65 my life expectancy is 83. That said, Mom was motoring around the house at 97 and died at 100. I tell my clients filet mignon tastes a whole lot better at 70 than it does at 90. I'm good with that as a standard. Front load every good time you have and don't leave anything on the table.

True enough. We considered swapping for another cruise and found that it didn't apply. I think you need to look for cruises with "Exceptional Saving" label. But confirm with the agent to be sure.

Take a break and leave a cabin for the rest of us.

I have considered that exact itinerary ... including the extension. Being a NYer, there's nothing SF or for that matter LA can show me regarding chaos I haven't seen. OTOH, I would never have imagined 20 years ago wanting to use an excursion in an American city for safety's sake. Shame.

I noticed a B2B set of cruises between Barcelona and Istanbul - I think an interior cabin was around $3000 for 20 days, plus the package. I'm not game for spending several days in Instanbul, but there were a lot of nice cruises with the deal attached. Surprised at the number of less expensive cabins still available. Maybe alarmed is a better word.

And despite the incredibly optimistic tenor of that post, we just now booked a Labor Day cruise out of NYC for Bermuda on the Big O. 🙂 I mean, drink package, cash, and a couple of excursions included? Gotta take that one.

Thank you for posting - it's re-assuring. Other cruise lines are not doing nearly as well - not nearly.

HAL- N/S just before COVID O - Just after COVID HAL - Spring, 2023 The changes have been remarkable. One of the things I notice is the moving delta between cost and product, and focus onboard. And I remarked to my wife that I'd never seen less emphasis on washing hands as we just experienced. And a disturbing trend forward: I don't recall seeing as many open cabins available this close to sailing on Oceania as I do now. Before COVID, every interior cabin was assigned for at least 18 months. Not anymore. I continue to believe at least one if not two operators will be bankrupt by Christmas. Imagine the news if some 80,000 American guests from various Carnival cruise ships were distributed to ports around the world - and most of them with fewer resources at hand than Crystal passengers at hand. Oh, the humanity.

It's expensive, but I'd fully recommend an Oceania cruise. I'm going back. Time is so precious right? I think at best I have a dozen great vacations left where I can really get around and enjoy myself. Maybe I've got 20 trips. When you look at it that way, that sailing becomes even more infuriating. Cheers, mate.

We've only just taken our maiden voyage on O, and there's a bunch of good advise from other posters. Some of my thoughts ... * Avoid dining in the specialty dining rooms on consecutive nights. Don't get me wrong - the food is wonderful. You might find your system overwhelmed, is all. * Spend some quality time in the library. * Exhale (a lot!0, and don't feel the need to hurry. Fewer guests really is a decompression you might not fully understand if you've done lots of mass affluent ships in the 3500 passenger class. But most of all ... The people are just phenomenal. It was one of the best parts of our trip, just chilling with other guests. We found a lot of joy in those conversations - I think you'll see a high level of O loyalty aboard. I found everything else I'd endured at sea to be a false economy. Enjoy!

Tell Lesley "Alex and Cherie say hi!" - we were on the NS from mid March to April 1. I know he is on his way home to disembark for awhile ... presuming he is still on board. Him and Martin were a good team. Drip Coffee to go, with a heated ceramic cup!

Honestly Cayman's tender process highlighted our Captain's skills. The waters were so rough, the tender process so difficult, that other ships in the area weren't able to disembark. Nieuw Statendam saw delays, but everyone made their connection and got on and off. But yeah, Cayman's never good.

We enjoyed the Veendam on a B2B in Canada/NE. Great itinerary, ship fit like a glove, MDR was fine. And perhaps most importantly, there was access to the Pinnacle DR - booked solid on NS. Part of this naturally is the new "Have Everything" promotion. It will always be in our top 5 experiences. (Didn't hurt that we got to do a 14 day NE cruise for a total of $700 for both of us. Not a misprint.) But the taste is so sour from that last trip ... it will take a lot. Put it this way, I'd rather spend $200 a night on a West Coast/Alaska trip on O and sleep inside than go back to HAL.

We sailed Nieuw Statendam in '19 and loved it - so much so that after sailing with Oceania in 2021 it stayed with us in our minds. Based on quality versus cost, it was a great experience. Just off a 14 day B2B in the Caribbean (March 18 - April 1, 2023). Full to the gills - not sure if that was the case in '19. But it was a horrible experience for me. Overflowing everywhere, everything a wait. MDR was a disaster, leaving you to eat at the buffet unless you were willing to sit and sit and sit. Food was not terrible, but it was after all a buffet. Like shoveling food into your mouth. Staff themselves were scurrying to find napkins to wash to have for each sitting. Desserts felt like they came from a high school cafeteria, complete with aluminum pie trays. Comedian Vince Acevedo packed the theater, to the extent it was consistently SRO and no available seats. (He was hilarious.) Both shows, and he performed on two nights each cruise. Not only will I never sail the Pinnacle class again, I'm done with HAL. Each his own, of course, but I loved the Vollendam, Eurodam and HAL generally before this.

Any feedback on cabins directly above the Main Stage - Deck 4? Is there a noise issue? I would think not, but better to ask.

Here is the thing - on both instances I was looking at, the cruise was offered either as a 14 day or 2, 7 day cruises. Now, you could have gotten outstanding offers on other cruises (January 7, for $129) but nothing approaching $64 for a 7 day cruise or $200 a W/Med cruise. Once I alerted them to the issue, within an hour the $200 trip was gone replaced at $867 or something. Pretty darned sure at this point they had human error and it had something to do with splitting a cruise into components or joining them together for larger trips. We'll never know of course. For sure, this much happened: HAL will win on my purchase. I did pay going rate on one cabin for 7 days, but I am also bringing onboard a bunch of people that have never sailed. And now look at how many people spent time at their website. Cheers and thanks to everyone for responding.

I spoke to HAL on the phone afterwards, told them about the price and within an hour the price was gone. However at the time, on the phone with a HAL representative they did not indicate anything about a casino offer or any attachments to the offer. I asked if that was a valid offer, if there were any strings attached and was told there wasn't. Just sayin'. From my vantage point, that price is gone.

Now look at the N/S sailings in Europe in April and May. Take two, 7 day cruises and spend $200 on each leg. That's screwed up. Oh by hte way, no Mariner discount on that one.

No - this has nothing at all to do with my status as a Mariner. You can either book a 14 day trip on the Nieuw Statendam to leave Barcelona and r/t back from April 22 to May 6 for $1566 ... OR You can book two individual cruises, in 7 day increments, and pay $200 for each of the two legs. $400 for 14 days on the N/S in Europe.

Can you find a cruise for Nieuw Statendam that departs Fort Lauderdale on March 11, 18, 25, or the 1st of April? Because I'm almost certain the ship is in port, every one of those days, and I don't see it.

Very interesting! I guess that's possible!!! Although ... I have to say, it that's true it's really, really bad marketing. There has been almost zero collateral material aimed at me, either on social media or in print or via email. By comparison, I'm bombarded by other luxe lines like Oceania and Regent (whom I've never sailed). I would think if you are going to target me, then you are going to make an effort instead of literally hiding the promotion.

Just a general note - Ummm ... NY? Sort of doubt it.