Sthrngary

@flgolf Yes. I did it on my 2025 cruise for my wife and myself. Just ask your travel agent. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Harters Whether you book or not, it always should be a personal experience. That said, I am booked on the Vista for October 2025 for a 10 day Mediterranean Cruise. I also read the comments on noise. I also read comments on there being no noise. To support my point, I read comments about some food choices that are bad. I also read some comments what were good about the same food choices. The kind of comments on Social Media is just the way it is. That said, I find it very helpful towards planning a future cruise on a brand or specific ship. If there is a potential chance that something will not be to my liking, knowing it upfront allows me to take certain liberties to avoid them. Not knowing is where the disappointment comes from in my life. Someone once said to me, "Will you be making your purchase decision on the entirety of the product or service. Or will you be making it on 2% that you might not like?" I am no Brand Fan for Oceania. I like the brands style for my age and itinerary. Not everything was fully to my liking but using the quote above, nothing especially on a cruise is ever perfect. FYI, a good deal on a cruise is only a good deal if you want the itinerary as a key factor. Just my two cents. Side Note: I am about to take my Adult Daughter to Europe for 10 days. Not a cruise. We are thinking about going to the UK. I have been on business many moons ago. I hope that comes to be. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@mbiggers I have a strategy if you and other are open to it. Let's start with why this happened. Did Oceania go out of their way to make this cancellation happen or was it outside their purview? This like other situation including Covid-19 and bad weather is not a Cruise Brand Caused issue. For my strategy to work, this is the reality. Where most folks have an issue is on the topic of courtesy to loyal guest in a situation that neither party can control. Now, with that in mind, here is what I would do. Write a letter, send it certified, to the four top executive of Oceania and the CEO of NCL. That is five letters saying the same thing just addressed to different people. In the letter explain without threating in any way your situation, how it makes you feel and what you feel would be a fair/reasonable resolution. The tone of the letter must be very professional. You have to acknowledge that Oceania Legally has no obligation other then to give you a full refund. You are just asking for a professional courtesy. Send out these letters ASAP. If you do not hear from them in four days, do it again. There is something about a Certified letter that seems to get movement much more often then email, phones or text. What many folks do is they threaten the brand. They say things like, "I will never cruise your line again". "I will get my lawyer involved." "Your brand is horrible and I will tell everyone I feel this way." Those types of attacks dissolve the potential positive effects of the professional business letter sent. If it sound like I am confident about my approach, I am. Yet every time I share this, I get heat from folks wanting just to vent. Venting does nothing for me. I want an accommodation so you get more with sugar. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@ToxM In reading your comment, I personally fully understand your feelings. I had never gone on a Europe Cruise before Oceania Cruises. The cruise was really great. Part of it was the excessive planning done prior but the main thing was we were with our best friends. People make the cruise whether guests or crew, people. The one thing I notices was on every port, I wish we had more time, I always felt just a bit stressed to get back to the ship, and we wished we could have had dinner in the port. Yet I always remembered I paid a premium to eat on the ship. Still the experience exceeded my expectations so much so, I booked another 10 day Mediterranean Oceania cruise for end of 2025. The older I get the more worried I get that my hips and legs will one day soon give out. My adult daughter has been on my case for a decade to go to Europe with me. So I used my only two regrets from my Oceania Cruise which was 1) Not enough time in the ports and 2) Eating all meals in the port city to make my decision. I am taking my daughter to 9 days in the Mediterranean at the end of April 2024, no cruise we fly, High-Speed bullet trains, small local plane between some cities, hotels where we want to be and some special dining choices without limiting ourselves. Not Vegas as you are doing but strategically focusing on what we think would make a great trip for us. This will be the first and most likely last time my Daughter will fly business class. She is so very excited. I let her choose every place we go, hotel we stay at, and attractions we will see. The moral of the story. We Mix and Match our vacations allowing us to have different experiences. Know the up/down side as best you can and avoid downsides if avoidable. Have a great plan yet stay flexible. Have realistic expectations. This non-cruise trip will allow me to be even better at planning my Oceania cruise in 2025, yet have a really nice time now with my daughter. Best of both worlds. Have a great time in Vegas. Crush the poker tables. Cruise and Vacation well and enjoy every moment.

@bassethounddog First I had this happened to you and everyone else on this cruise or any cruise affected. Did they offer you anything else besides a full refund. Like a percentage discount off your next cruise. Just wondering. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Tsunami74 I also am no spring chicken. Business Class to Europe in many ways is more important than the cruise itself sometimes. My comments about Regent are based on strictly my budget evaluations. Prior to taking any cruise especially on outside of the United States, I look at all brands. I compare the aspects/amenities each brand provides. I wish I could say this is an easy task but it is not. Your reference to RSSC providing business class airfare is one and it makes they quite unique. RSSC will always be a bucket list brand but so will Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection. The comparison of what is provided compared to other brands simply makes hard to justify. Tempting but hard. All that said, I seem to always be able to find great Business Class Air Options on my own based on my status with Delta which is lifetime Diamond. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you to everyone. I was about to book two staterooms on the Disney Wish for four day in the Concierge Suites. Then we changed course and book flights to Europe. We will not go to Disneyland Paris at the end of April. Thank you to everyone for your help. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@ak1004 We are on the same page. That is the reason I have passed on Regent Seven Seas, Ritz Carlton, and Crystal. When the value does not meet the price, I pass. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@ak1004 I agree with you in principle. I remember all me interaction with the Crystal Cruise line faithful. The one thing I give them back then was loyalty to the brand. Yet they complained all the time like they owned the brand. If anyone would say an unkind word it will be like a group of folks that would come at you verbally. That made me uneasy but I pushed through the feeling. Glad I did. That said, the age of the ship was and is not an issue. The personalized service by the crew was outstanding. The corporate office was a bit shaky though. People make the brand. People who care about the guest truly make the brand. I will give up a new ship for a great crew any day of the week. Cheer leaders for ANY brand really don't help the brand. They tend to create unrealistic expectations. A new guest cruises the brand and what they read and reality don't match. The folks that help a brand are those that say something like, "This was not great so you might want to avoid it. But this made up for it". My experience on Oceania was like that. Red Ginger was to me great over the top. My experience with the Polo Grill was underwhelming. So I cancelled my second reservation for Polo Grill and had it changed to Red Ginger. Everything can't be perfect but having realistic expectations makes the entire experience better. My next cruise will be on the Oceania Vista, will I go to the Polo Grill, you bet I will. People make the cruise and that is a big unknown. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@JGander My motto is "Realistic Expectations" on everything cruise related. I have found, the butlers on every NCL Ship have been grossly over worked with way to many Suites to work with. Some are better then others. Butlers in general are hit or miss on all cruise lines I have been on. Please also remember, Butlers on NCL do a certain set of duties and the rest is done by the Haven Concierge Desk. By splitting the duties where other cruise brands have the Butler doing everything, the NCL Butlers can have more suites. In theory anyway. If you have never had a butler, you will enjoy the nicety. If you have had one on a Luxury line, you will instantly notice the difference. The best approach is clear and transparent communication upfront on what is important to you and your elevated cruising experience. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@justhappy You are way over thinking this situation. Get to the ship and board first. Go directly to the Haven Concierge Desk. If there is a wait, there will be, wait. It goes fast. Explain what you want to do and that you were put on waitlist. I give you a 95% chance of getting your reservation for that first night. They always hold back reservations and if you are in the Haven, you will have priority. I am about to be controversial. That means I am about to give a very personal opinion. With that said, here it is. The butler will serve you from Ocean Blue in courses. Let him/her do their job. Second, skip that. It is NEVER as good having the food brought to your room, ever. Go to the restaurant. Have your first night at the Haven Restaurant and look for another night at Ocean Blue if the that night is not available. Just my humble opinion. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@benel204 Thank you for the shout out. Tell your butler and it will be done. Haven is the Haven regardless of where your Haven room is located. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

A little story. It makes me upset that some products do not make it easy to clearly know the value of their upper level offerings. This first came to my attention, 7 years ago when I had just retired. I wanted to spend my summer at music festivals. The first one was, a four day festival called, "The Hangout Music Festival". It was on the beach off the coast of Mexico. The young folks get the least expensive entry and stayed on the beach all day and night. The 40 somethings has a VIP entrance which gave them beer and wine, a pool and some shelter. Now 60 plus folks had something called, Super VIP. Pool, hot tubs, full complementary bar, catered food by real chefs, golf carts to the different venues and a lot more. The problem was, the folks that went to Super VIP were not the kind of folks that do reviews. So it was extremely hard to really get the to know what was part of the program especially because it was so expensive. I took the chance then wrote the very detailed review. I then did the same for the Bonnaroo Music Festival followed by the SeaBreeze Jazz Festival. I did the same detailed review of the top entry options. I was hooked and started to do it for high-end consumer products. Now I do it for my cruises. I know I am on a Disney CruiseCritic.com board. However, I wrote one of the most popular OP-ED's on CruiseCritic.com called, "The Secrets of the NCL Haven Luxury Experience.". Now, I will be going on a Disney Cruise on the Wish. We will be in a Concierge Stateroom. I will do a real time review and compare the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat and the Disney Concierge Level. I also promise to do a very detailed review. Just like every single cruise and product, not to many really detailed overviews of the Disney Concierge that I could find. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I was not recommending it. I was just establishing the food was GREAT. I don't remember that the difference in dress code was much different than Oceania. Country club casual. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I was recently on the Riviera and booked my friends in a Guarantee PH3. The suite was assigned 6 days before the cruise. I found it on my online account before anyone told me it was assigned. FYI, the state room was upgraded to a PH2. That does not always happen. I hope this helps you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

When making a brand decision, it is so very difficult. Especially when considering dining or food. Yet I too for the longest time was very interested in Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Reading the comments on Regent's blog, watching video's of high-end cruisers who spent a lot of time evaluating the food. What you really need is someone who actually went on both Oceania and Regent. I am NOT that person. However I can give you a different comparison. Oceania vs Crystal Cruises prior to the new owners. It is my understand from one of the most frequent Crystal Cruise whom is a good friend of mine, the food and Dining is even better today. Oceania Cruises was very good food for my group and me with a few fails. The Grand Dining room was better then most Main Dining Rooms on NCL, Royal and Celebrity. It was not as good as most specialty restaurants. Now I found Breakfast at the Grand Dining Room my favorite meal there. Where on Crystal, the Main Dining Room was a good or better then most Specialty Restaurants. The Suites only dining room on Celebrity Retreat and NCL Haven were always excellent to me knowing again all is relevant to ones tastes and experience. Base on everything I have read, viewed and heard; the Regent's food/dining is slightly better to being the same however the premium for the Regent Cruise is much higher due to the all inclusive nature. I have found out the the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection is crushing it on the food/dining category. Again, ultra-luxury vs. Premium Plus. You pay for the privilege. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you to everyone on this stream. I took the advice, and did my due diligence. For me and others, Disney is a odd choose. I love to cruise but tend to attempt to find a true value proposition. Usually in a VIP area of a ship like the NCL Haven or Celebrity Retreat. Disney simply does not compare favorably price and amenities wise to those other choices. As my Travel Agent says, Disney is the Gucci of Cruising. You might think that is a put down. It is the opposite. It makes me want to book it that much more. To see why other want to cruise the brand as adults so much. The Disney Magic (not the ship) if you will. So the question is, pay more for a Concierge Level Suite on Disney for four days for four adults or 10 days in on one of the other brands VIP areas. Is it worth the difference? My gut and research is telling me at age 66, this might be my last chance. So, after writing this comment on this post, I will be booking our Disney Cruise on the Wish in the Concierge Level. CruiseCritic.com for me is a place I can go, ask questions, learn from others and book a different cruise than what I am used too. Thanks for the help everyone. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@MEFIowa Your examples are very valid. I have literally watch you gain some unbelievable deals. Strategically you approach and quest for the best of local Wine/Spirits is a Graduate School venture and you do it the best I have ever scene. For those that have the same goal as you do, you are the "Yoda" of this approach. The force is strong with you. Many others goals are different. For them, they need an equally strong approach. For some but obviously not for all, the value is in a Penthouse or above. Their strategy starts there. Others myself included will ONLY do the Prestige Drink Package and still go searching for wine and spirits in the more interesting ports. We know that does not provide the best value. We just like it so we pay for it. There is an old saying I remember from my first job at 20. "If the value of the product or service exceeds the guest expectations by one penny; then and only then will the guest purchase." Reading into to that quote, only the guest can establish what value is to them and every guest is different. The deal outlined by @FredZiffle is something that really interest me but I can not leverage it. My wife will not allow more than one serious cruise for a maximum of 10 days every other year. So I see the value but will not take advantage of it. Value is relative but it is lots of funny being surprised if you are already booked on a cruise. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@mauibabes Wow, and thank you. I take my research and post seriously and hope those that read them, will receive some benefit. Posts like yours, make me feel good about investing the time because you are indeed a "Graduate Student in Oceania Cruises". Everything I attempt to learn about with regards to cruise brands tie back to "Four Day Music Festivals". Many years ago, I was on the road away from home for 48 weeks a year. I was home every week from late Friday Night to mid-day Sunday getting right back on a flight out. I would wave to my wife and friends in my pool drinking Long Island Ice Teas as I drove to the airport on Sunday. I did this for 3+ decades. One weekend at home over a wonderful Meat Loaf and Mashed Potato dinner, I had an acute stroke. That will wake you up to reality real quickly. BTW, I am fine now with a bit of memory loss over and above just being in my 60's. I was a professional musician from my early teens to going to college. Music was important to me. After the Stoke, I retired and created the "Summer of Music". It started with a four day music festival called "The Hangout Music Festival". It was located on the beach, off the gulf shore of Alabama. It's tickets went from Standard, VIP, to Super VIP. The young people did the standard staying on the beach with no real shelter for four days. The 30 somethings did the VIP that has some amentias, shelter and a pool on the beach. Then the 55+ crowd did the Super VIP. Shelter, full bar, catered food, hot tubs and everything that ever one else had. The problem was no reviews for Super VIP's, only marketing information and the price was really high. Hard to make a decision not knowing all the details and amenities. I did it anyway and then wrote the book on how to squeeze ever once of value from the "Super VIP ticket". I went for the next four years and bought my tickets last minute on Craigslist for sometimes half price. That was the origin of my approach I now use for cruising. I used the same approach for the Bonnaroo Music Festive (with Artist Wrist Band Access), Sea Breeze Jazz Festiva (VIP Access), and many more. Then I did the same approach for the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat and Crystal Cruises (Luxury Cruise Test Drive). When I choose Oceania Cruises, all that experience was leveraged. I share this to again thank you for your kind words. Also, to emphasize we as consumers need this kind of information to help us to make good business decisions. Marketing departments "Over Promise and Under Deliver". This cruise brand approach of Over Promise leads to some guest expecting perfection causing posted topics that start with, "I will never cruise that brand again!!" Oceania is obviously not perfect. Nor was the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat, or Crystal Cruises. However if you knew the good, bad and ugly prior to making the decision, you would have "Realistic Expectations" and your over all experience was much better. So I am on to the "Oceania Cruises Graduate School". Happy to pay the tuition and to be mentored by kind folks like you. Thanks again. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Shmoo here Thank you, doing it right now. Thanks again. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@SATaxman Boy did you open up Pandora's Box on the 7-10%, LMAO. That is on you. The bigger agencies offer this. What surprised me was, when I booked onboard, they asked if I wanted to book with my current Travel Agency. I said YES. It was automatic but I had to choose. AMX perks or Gratuities. Can't have both. I did the math and did the Gratuities. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I am 66, my wife is 64, Daughter is 32 and her partner is 30. I went on Disney when my children were very young. When you get to 66, you can't remember that far back. My cruise history is 44 years, 30+ cruises mostly on NCL in the Haven Area, Celebrity in the Retreat and Oceania in a Suite. I share this because I would prefer to book the "Concierge Level" on a Disney Ship. I do an enormous amount of due diligence prior to making any decisions especially one that would be as expensive as the "Concierge Level" on a Disney Ship. In my attempt to look up the "Concierge Level", all I could find is 3-4 days cruises and I prefer a 7 day cruise. I would like to go out of a port in the United States. Any support or assistance to help me find "Concierge Level" accommodations would be very much appreciate. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@ec6393 I have no idea. Ask Oceania. If you just booked it, have Travel Agent take over the booking. Sorry, I just don't know the exact answer. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@FetaCheese Hello friend. Let me say first, LOL. Yes, I paid every penny but I do understand your reference. On to your question. Allow me to explain below: 5% Off Fare for Booking It So Long In Advance: This benefit changed at the first of the year. That said, when I went from A4 to PH2, I got the 5% off as I would have if I booked it originally on the ship. I was thrilled. On-Board-Credit(OBC): It was $250.00 per stateroom. When I upgraded, it was still $250.00 per stateroom. Extra Money Off: They gave $400.00 off the fare on-board for booking an A4. It was $600.00 for a PH2. They honored the extra money off. $800.00 OBC for Excursions for SimplyMore: If you booked the same cruise today, it would be $600. Yet they honored $800.00. I was again thrilled. Changing to A Different Cruise: I have a one time exception if I want to book another different cruise on Oceania. Going from A4 to PH2 did not effect this in the future. The opinion is still there. Gratuities Complementary from my Travel Agent: My gratuities when up because it cost more when in a PH category due to the butler. No issue and I was credited for the PH gratuities. Now if Oceania has an upcoming sale, it many NOT be compatible with the deal I got. If that happens, the math will win. Hope this answers your questions. Thank you for asking. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I have a cruise already booked for the Oceania Vista, October 13, 2025, for 10-days in the Mediterranean. I booked it on my last cruise on the Oceania Riviera during our cruise on November 2023. Fun to watch how things happen, and although in life, there are NO guarantees, it seem on some level predictable. I am NO expert but it sure seems like the Oceania Sales happen in a certain way/pattern. We guest simply book a cruise, hang back and wait for a sale that might or might not happen. I personally have lots of time before my next cruise happens so this is a long-term study for me. What I Was Interested In Seeing: Similar Itinerary, Ship, Days and Time of the Year: I noticed, if I were doing a similar Itinerary, on the Vista, for 10 days in, a similar time period October 2024; I could save some money. This is important to me because I could assume, we all know what assuming means, that as my October 2025 cruise comes closer, a Oceania Sale could positively effect me. Ships and Fares: No secret here. I like Ocean Vessels like the Riviera, Marina and the Vista. All will have a few years on them before I cruised them or will cruise them. When ever a Cruise Brand has a brand new ship which the Vista was last year, the prices are always higher. Now, the Vista is higher the the gap is much less. The Riviera which I cruised after the Refurbishment was really lovely. The Marina will be Refurbished soon and I would expect the same quality. The Vista will go back for warranty work as I understand it after the cruise I am booked on in October 2025. The best deals NOW is the Riviera and Marina. SimplyMore Program: As most of us know already, the Exclusive Excursion On-Board-Credit (OBC) came down as of the first of the year. For my cruise we got, $800.00. The similar cruise for this year and in the future are currently $600.00. I can see in the future, fares staying the same and perks like OBC/OBC for Excursions becoming the playing card of choice for Oceania. I have not inside information but seems like that strategy cost the brand less then reducing fare. I hope I am wrong on this. Effect of Upgrading My Stateroom Early: I booked with some benefits while on my last cruise. I booked two Concierge (A4). At the time, my concern was my friends joining us for the second time and their budget. What I really wanted was a Penthouse (PH2). Recently I had my Cruise Travel Agent take me from a (A4) to a (PH2). I wanted to see if I lost my perks, amenities, and or discount for early booking now. I did not. I got the all. I was happy and impressed that it was a seamless process with my agent. For me, this is good information for the future. We will see if and when Oceania has some decent sales, this holds true in the future. My fingers are crossed. Timing Seems to be Everything: With my first sailing in November 2023, it seemed clear. If you booked a Mediterranean Cruise in November over October, you got a better fare. That made since to me because the weather is colder in November than October so October would be more desirable. Sales were better in November then October for my first cruise also. My issue this upcoming cruise was we like the Itinerary better in October. We will let the cards fall as they will. We have "Realistic Expectations". Effect on my Air Fare: I have already taken the Oceania Air off my booking. The reduction was $1,400.00 per person plus an addition $99.00 each way to leave from my Home Base, Birmingham, AL. That is a total of $1,598.00. As I did for my first cruise, so far, I shows I can book Fully Refundable Coach fairs on Delta Airlines for less then $1,598.00. I have four (4) very valuable Global Upgrade Certificates in waiting for when my airfares become available. My fares become available, 330 days before the return flight. I am now studying everything I can learn about how to upgrade my "Fully Refundable Coach Fare" to "Delta One Business Class" with those upgrade certificates. If you think cruise fares are confusing, air fare with upgrade certificates if far more unsettling. Wish me luck. PointGuy, I am reading everything you ever wrote on the subject. My Conclusion: Sale or NO sale. We would never have booked the cruise we did if the itinerary was not right or we could not afford the fare we booked at. If and when any sale happens or does not happen, we know the rules and can live with them. "Realistic Expectations" is my mantra. It applies to sales, food/dining, port cancelations, personalized service, bar service and everything else on any cruise with any brand. Just my two cents and I am sticking with it. "Cruise well and enjoy every moment."