Senior Citizen

On 7/12/2023 at 9:54 AM, SophieM said:

We were successful in moving one of our cruises over to the Summer Sale with very nice savings so, now, a new question. We have a second booked cruise, also in the Summer Sale. For this one, we have a “free” pre-cruise package. Have any of you been able to take advantage of the sale and keep your free land package?

We had a cruise booked with the “free” pre-cruise package.  The package is valued at $899 pp and our agent said we would have to pay that amount if we wanted to keep it when we rebooked.  Even if we paid for the pre-cruise package, our new booking would be $450 less than our “free” pre-cruise package deal.

On two recent Oceania cruises—different ships—we found the refrigerated plastic bottles of water in the gym replaced by a Vero water dispensing machine.  I’m sensitive to off tasting water and I don’t find the Vero water to have any taste at all.  The Vero water is also used in all the bars and dining venues.

To deal with the condensation issue with the aluminum bottles, I use an insulated bottle holder that has a strap so you can carry it like a purse/bag.  When you want a drink, you don’t have to shuffle through your purse or backpack.

1 minute ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Typical Mex fare; chicken enchiladas, arroz and frijoles! Muy rico! 🙂 

Pero, muy bueno?

Is Tracey Crab Shack really THAT good as some say?  We had king crab in Norway and it was very expensive but very good too.  It was $50 for a 4-6 inch piece (depending on the width) and a roll.

A two team kayak flipped during the Olympics!

Yes, thank you very much for posting!!

Here’s some positive news to report.  Singapore Airlines told me on March 26 that it would take 14-16 weeks for my business class ticket refund to be processed.  Then, I got an email last week saying it would be refunded in June.  Last night, the refund showed up in our credit card account.  So, keep the faith!!!

Also, if your flight was canceled by the airlines, then you are entitled to a full refund even if you purchased a non-refundable ticket.  You also don’t have to accept a voucher nor an alternate flight.  These are DOT rules for international flights from the US.  That’s what I quoted to Singapore Airlines because they were only offering vouchers in March.

26 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

When was the list compiled ?

 

I’m not sure.  It was dated as yesterday and was published on The Points Guy’s website today.  I’d post a link but I don’t know how to—so just go to the website and you’ll find it.

I’d think these timelines are estimates the cruise lines gave the person who did the research.  

For example, i was originally given 14-16 weeks as the wait time for my Singapore Airlines refund.  Then, I got an update that shortened that time.

According to The Points Guy...

Here’s a look at refund timelines for major lines catering to North Americans:

Azamara: 45 days

Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival has not issued an estimate for customers as to how long refunds will take to process.

Celebrity Cruises: 30 business days

Crystal Cruises: Up to 90 days

Holland America: Approximately 60 days

MSC Cruises: Did not respond to a request for information.

Norwegian Cruise Line: 90 days

Oceania Cruises: Up to 90 days

Princess Cruises: Up to 60 days

Regent Seven Seas Cruises: Up to 90 days

Royal Caribbean: 30 business days

Seabourn: Up to 60 days

Silversea: Up to 90 days

Windstar Cruises: Six to eight weeks

We were booked on three segments of the canceled Insignia May-July cruise from Singapore to San Francisco and received our refund within a few weeks last month before the cruise world got turned upside down.  Our 25 percent FCC came with a requirement to be used on a cruise embarking by December 31, 2020.  We applied all our FCC to a mid-August cruise because it seemed far enough away timewise from the virus outbreak but now it’s not seeming to be a wise decision.  Things are changing constantly.  Singapore Airlines said our refund for my business class air ticket (the other ticket was using miles) will take 14-16 weeks (July/August) and they recently updated that to be refunded in June.  With thousands and thousands of cancellations occurring and people working from home, it is no wonder that refunds are taking so long now.  I would think that supervisors have to review the work of those who are doing their calculations from home and that adds to the delay.

Thanks, Rosalyn.  Earlier this week I had seen that Singapore Airlines canceled a number of their flights.  However, they did not cancel the SFO flight we are on and I’m sure it is full now because they canceled the LAX flight for the same date.  Wish they would have kept the LAX flight and canceled ours so I could request a refund.  But, that’s not the case.

Congratulations on getting your tickets refunded.  I’m not expecting such a wonderful outcome with Singapore Airlines since we have never flown with them before and have zero clout.  People on a Singapore Airlines thread have said good luck to everyone in this position because their customer service is pretty bad in contrast to their great onboard experience.

So what’s happening to the Nautica after the passengers debark on March 4?  I don’t see an itinerary listed on Oceania’s website.

22 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

I know...  🙂  Should have used FF miles instead of a cheap business class fare.   Still have hope since all they have to do is make a change to the flight which grants automatic waiving of the change and refund. Will wait to the last minute to cancel as two can play the game of chicken  🙂

So is your “cheap” business class fare non-refundable, non-changeable?  That’s what I booked SFO to SIN on Singapore Airlines.  I purchased the ticket through Chase and they basically said se la vie when I told them my dilemma.  DH’s ticket is using miles so we’re not worried about that one.  We bought my ticket on June 9, 2019 so even if they allowed us to use it one year from date of purchase, we’re still in a dilemma.

 I think excited cruise traveler said she is using her FCC on a South Pacific cruise which is around May of this year—and she hopes to take a cruise from Singapore to Rome next year.

Pearl—I think that’s great that you got your money refunded and your FCC posted.  We haven’t received anything yet.  Was the 25 percent FCC based on a straightforward 25 percent of what you paid for the canceled cruise or was it based on some magical calculation that Oceania’s bookkeepers did?

YoHoHo—your post just reminds us that the Coronavirus is creating a wrinkle in travel plans throughout the world, not just in Asia.  So, in that regards, thank you for sharing your dilemma.

To clarify my post about Singapore Air—we’re hoping that Singapore does not get on the list of countries where you cannot fly from or transit through in order to catch up with your cruise.  We hope to use our business class tickets to fly to Singapore, stay in the airport and fly onwards to Australia with a new ticket which would be Singapore to Perth or Singapore to Sydney, depending on where the Insignia is starting the segment that was originally going to start in Singapore.  Not sure if Oceania will give us $300 towards the purchase of the ongoing flights from Singapore...

We’re also unclear on how the FCC works.  One FCC per future cruise booked or can more than one FCC be applied towards one future cruise booked.  

I just wish they would hurry up and let us know what the new cruise segments will be so we can make an intelligent decision.

We’re on the last 3 segments of the world cruise before it ends in SF for the SF-SF people.  We WERE on 3 segments.  Now we are in limbo.

We used miles for one business class ticket on Singapore Airlines and paid for one.  SF to Singapore.  SInce the ship is no longer going to Singapore, we called Chase to ask about trip protection offered by that card.  They said they do not cover trips impacted by the epidemics or pandemics.  Singapore Airlines canceled flights on the same day as ours from their other west coast gateways.  We think they are trying to fill up one plane to make the trip and SF is sort of positioned in the middle between LAX and Seattle where they have already canceled flights that were to go out on the same day as ours.

I have read online that Singapore Air will not refund or change our ticket because we didn’t pay for their extremely expensive refundable business class ticket.  Our only hope at this moment is that Singapore doesn’t have anymore incidents of the virus and we can use this ticket and fly to wherever the Insignia starts their new segment in Australia.  We’re pretty booked up for the rest of the year so this is the only way we can salvage the business class ticket and use the 25 percent FCC since it has to be used by December 31, 2020.  Guess we’d better dig out our snorkeling gear since the Insignia is going to reroute through the South Pacific...

Yes, in the Silver dining room, you can get things from their little buffet if you like or you can order some items a la carte or you can do both. 
 

The Windjammer hasn’t been really, really bad on this 7 day cruise.  People said that’s because the Chinese are  from HK for the most part and not mainland China. We were told there are over 700 Australians onboard, followed by Russians.  Not sure how many Americans or Canadians.

The dining room head came by our table this morning in the Windjammer and asked why we haven’t eaten at our assigned My Time Dining table.  😱 How did she find us among 5,000 guests??  She was pleasant and said they just wanted to know if they could help us in any way.  We’ve eaten in the Windjammer a couple of times cuz we like Chinese food!

its hot and humid in the Philippines.  I would expect similar weather in Vietnam.

We are currently on the Spectrum and the Music Hall on deck 4 is the Diamond Club all day with a specialty coffee machine, snacks and Diamond drinks and appetizers from 5 to 8 pm.  
 

The Golden dining room is a la carte.  The Silver dining room is buffet but in the evenings they have an appetizer and main course menu.  This menu is the same nightly and changed for the first time in 6 months last night.  They said they might use the old menu for the first half of future cruises and then switch over to the new menu.  Personally, I like the old menu.

If not staying in a Silver suite, you must be Diamond Plus to access the Silver Lounge and Dining Room.  I’ll recheck tonight and if they’ve opened it up to Diamond, I’ll correct this post.

Diamond Plus does not give you access to the Gold Dining Room.  You have to be in a Gold Suite.   I think Grand Suites and Owners Suites also give you access. There is a Diamond Lounge on deck 4 in the Music Hall.  There is no Concierge Lounge.

if you haven’t made your final payment yet, you can still change to a balcony.  We did that for our current cruise because we are on a B2B2B.  We are in a Grand Suite on our next cruise and a Golden Junior Suite on our third cruise.  Just wanted to experience the differences.

There is no Coastal Kitchen on this ship.  If you are in a Silver Suite or are a Diamond Plus member, you can have B/L/D in the Silver Dining Room on Deck 14 next to the Solarium which you also have access to.  There is a private elevator from the suites to the Silver Dining Room.

We just got off a B2B on the Insignia.  No free flights included with your free cruise.  Hats and bags on your milestone cruises.  $150 spa credits pp with the new spa company.

We’re going on a B2B in the Caribbean on Insignia in October.  We were originally going to Cuba for 2 days in each of 3 ports.  When that was nixed our whole itinerary, including Key West, changed.  But, it has changed many times since that original change and Key West is back in its originally scheduled date and time.  This is so strange for an Oceania cruise.  We’ve never experienced anything like this before so I have no idea what is happening.  I had to call Oceania yesterday to ask them to take an excursion off my online account because that port was canceled over a month ago—yet, I was still being “charged” for this excursion (my OBC was being charged).  None of this is typical operating procedure for Oceania.

Regarding getting off the ship in Russian ports—we were in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and the Solovetsky Islands in July.  There were 3 private excursion groups (about 40 people in total).  We got off first in all three ports.  Nautica’s excursions met in the lounge and left after the private groups.  So I guess there is no definitive answer to who leaves the ship first in Russian ports.

On 9/18/2019 at 6:13 PM, Go-Bucks! said:

 

Well....yes, they're both identical except the type of window. I preferred the larger window in the C2, but not enough to pay much more for it. The deck 4 location is pretty convenient but those halls are pretty busy and noisy. But I had a HORRIBLE  location in the C2...was cabin 4021, right by the forward elevator, had the gangway door right under it and it had a connecting door to the next room...I could hear everything the next door people said (and they weren't talking loudly) and their TV!!  Worst room ever!

 

Deck 3 is VERY quiet! But on embarkation morning there was alot of noise while they started unloading luggage and loading other stuff. I would book this cabin category again in a heartbeat. Only drawback is that it's tricky to get to some places because there is no access to the front stairs/elevators. But I caught on quick.

Thanks for reminding me about connecting doors.  We’ve been in two cabins that had connecting doors.  One was in a C and one was in a Vista Suite.  Both times we could hear talking and the tv.  We were surprised to have a connecting door in the bedroom of the Vista Suite on the Nautica.  One of the first mornings, the couple next door had their tv on and were arguing loudly.  We ended up sitting next to them at lunch on a ship’s excursion the same day.  When I said we were their neighbors and could hear them, they were a bit mortified.  I only told them we could hear them because they asked.  Never heard another peep coming from their cabin.

We met a couple who were on deck 3 because those were the only cabins left.  They said they were pleasantly surprised with the room and would book it again.  So thanks for the affirmation.

How was that porthole cabin on deck 3?  Could you hear more operational noises or was it just like being in C2 except for the size of the window?

Such beautiful pictures!  Bob and Betsy — you look so happy!  Thanks for sharing your special day with all of us!!

Wishing you a long life together.  Hope we see you on the 2020 Tokyo to SF cruise!

Frances and Rafael

Congratulations to Bob and Betsy!  What a journey this has been!!!  Getting married on the ship is perfect!  Best wishes for a long, healthy and happy life together!!!!

Hope to see you again on a future cruise!

Frances and Rafael