AMHuntFerry

Yep...very nice intro to cruising.

Oceania's new tag line, "make your cruise as inclusive as you want it to be and leave the rest of the passengers to their own devices" (showing why I went into the sciences instead of business 😉 an why puns make me sad)

I've only been to RG twice when on Riviera (Dec 2021), and I had to emphasize that "YES I really do want it spicy" and they bumped it up a notch but it was still what I would term subtle (i.e., not even a hint of a tear in my eye). My mother on the other hand would have been coughing and unable to eat it. So, if a dish is hot-spicy and you like hot, be pushy...the chilis are in the kitchen and just have to make their way to your plate/bowl.

Oops, I forgot...bring your own wine bottle(s) to dinner and pay a one time corkage fee per bottle. They will store unfinished bottles and bring it to any restaurant on request.

We are early/mid-50s but enjoy meeting people of all ages. We tried Riviera in the Caribbean in December 2021 in a concierge veranda and were surprised at how much we enjoyed hanging out on the ship (never cruised before, just using the ship to sleep and move port to port). O is very low-key and having conversations with other passengers is a huge part of the journey. The cruises out of Miami may run a bit older since Florida is a retirement destination and there are lot of people who are there for the ship, not the ports (I was surprised to find out some people never left the ship!). If you grew up in a multi-generational family/neighborhood or helped host your parents' parties (or something similar), you'll enjoy the other passengers. Answered already, but I can't help myself 😉 Bring as much wine, beer, cider, and hard alcohol as you can consume in your cabin. You can even have a small party with munchies in a PH if you use the veranda. Some people bring a case of their favorite then buy more at ports as desired. If you are picky about your liquor O can be hit or miss (e.g., I usually drink cider, but O's is not to my liking so I drink cocktails...there is usually something decent to choose from🙂 ). As LHT28 said, just buy the all-day drink package if you want the all-inclusive feel. The non- or light-drinkers really appreciate that O has this as an option. Already answered I think...no upcharge. See the FAQ above for how many you automatically get. PH can also get room service from any restaurant (when they are open) served by their butler. The butler may be able to get you more, but don't discount the GDR, Terrace, and Waves...they are way better than you probably expect. Lots of channels. We watched movies...mostly classic since that's our thing, but there were recent releases available too. I can't remember what else though, but there was a variety similar to a subscription package (cable/satellite/Sling).

I hope it was clear that I meant a genuine "thanks", not a sarcastic "thanks". I do appreciate constructive criticism and I think you will have valuable insights for people who may not be pleased with the Oceania experience. As someone who claimed that I would never be caught dead on a cruise ship unless there was a darn good reason (e.g., a family reunion), I was a little shocked how much I liked hanging out on an O ship (we only meant for it to be a "moving hotel" to get us to the ports). So, it's almost always a good choice to go outside your comfort zone, try new things, and occasionally be pleasantly surprised by the unexpected. 🙂 I look forward to your review and hope you have some fun future travels!

The smaller ships have just steam rooms and whirlpools at the spa; are you talking about a dry heat room? The larger ships have additional amenities such as the heated lounges...listed in the individual ship description for others considering O. DCGuy64: BTW, thanks for recognizing that O wasn't a good fit for your wishes without bashing the line; I hope others will realize that their priorities are not everybody's and that it is OK to have different tastes.

I think Nautica was in Japan...one of the higher cost/day itineraries.

If you are interested in booking, I would use a TA. There are often extra perks (OBC, prepaid grats, etc.) available through TA that are not available when booking directly. Plus, it never takes my TA more than 30 seconds (I've watched a few times recently) to talk to a real person.

but it is limited to available cabins, so if the cabin category in a particular advertised itinerary has sold all of its "sale cabins" then it won't be available any more.

It's exactly the same except that the sofa turns into a bed.

Yes they have it on Regatta...the one with both cream and sugar. On Riviera they also have the one with just sugar. Now if they would just make one with cream and no sugar...yum!!

Cancel and rebook at the lower price if your TA isn't being fast enough (or book with someone else then cancel)? My TA always gets resolution in less than a day.

Being from Eagle, Idaho at one time meant you were laid back, genuine, and incredibly kind and polite. It was a town with no stop light (just blinky red one way, blinky yellow the other). I got lost the last time I drove through. Nuff said.

Would you be willing to post screenshots of the online prices and the invoice prices so we can understand better? I understand if you don't want to post the invoice (too personal?). My bottom line has always been what I expected...it sounds like yours is not so I'm curious.

The shorex choice is "worth more" but only if you want to take the shorex that qualify for OLife. Use my "N/A in the Ultimate column" rule of thumb to browse online...if you find 3 per person that you like and they total more than $300/person, then shorex is a better fiscal choice. The shorex pdf may have additional shorex not showing online (I've never experienced this, but FlatbushFlyer has and only fools argue with FF 😉 ).

Did you get your answer? I would take the $4000/cabin discount which let's you choose how it's spent. If you want the OLife shorex or drink package, go ahead and add regular OLife. That's me though. Here are the numbers to run for Ultimate O-Life...OLife shorex can get you shorex up to ~$200, but the $199 shorex are not common and they need to be something you actually want to do, so let's call that a $170/shorex value (6*$170=$1020); House drink package gets you wine and beer with lunch and dinner worth $40/person/day (11*$80=$880); You are paying $600 for Ultimate (or regular) OLife so the OBC is a wash. With Ultimate Olife you get added value (assuming these are things you'd buy anyway) of $1020+$880 = $1900/cabin...HALF of the $4000 savings. I would take that $4000. You can use it to buy regular Olife (and choose shorex or House drink package), or you can purchase higher cost shorex using the YWC 25% discount if you buy the minimum number (likely 4or5 per person for this itinerary...it's in your shorex pdf info), or purchase the higher-level drink package (or upgrade if you choose OLife drink pkg), or buy things not related to O....etc. Hope this gets you started on doing the math 🙂 Someone please check mine.

People vary rarely post the daily Currents...occasionally a snippet. The following topic is long, but it has most (all?) of the Currents from Riviera in January 2022 scattered throughout. Ignore the Covid-related info. Riviera is almost exactly the same as Marina and the general activities will be similar on most itineraries. While your trip will vary with itinerary, CD, etc., this should give you an idea of what to expect:

It's so annoying because I always check my links...didn't think of clicking elsewhere, ugh! At least the menu is now in at least 2 places so it won't be as hard to find (now I'm fooling myself 😅)

If you click on the top shaded portion of the post it goes to the correct post...anywhere else and you have to search...weird CC IT-thing when adding links (just inserting the link would be sufficient IMO but CC posts more). I'll try to remember to list the post number in the future now that I know.

Months later I have spotted chai latte in a Waves photo and remembered someone had asked! I can't promise it is good chai, but it seems to be there (look for the Waves breakfast menu):

I just remembered...Baristas on Marina and Riviera has a good spread for your non-omelet days, so Vista will likely have something similar. I was searching for the room service menu when I ran across the following photos of Baristas: Oh, and here is the elusive Waves breakfast menu (I can never find it when I'm looking):

What do you typically eat? We can be specific (at least with respect to existing ships) if you specify "smoothie" or "muffin" as opposed to "omelet".

If you want to look at pricing today, you can see many (all?? not gonna look) of the starting prices for each category on the Cruise Critic "search for a cruise" site; Choose either "balcony" or "Suite" for cabin category in the lefthand search menu; the cheapest price may only be visible in the "View All Prices" pull down menu (not the upper right). The site I use (can't post) also shows these prices. If you are on the Riviera cruises starting Nov 9 and Nov 19, they are both on sale. The balconies start at $1699 for Nov 9 and $1849 for Nov 19 (suites $2799 and $2999); cruise only price.

The airlines I fly have no change/cancel fees, just fare-difference charges. Just wait and see...if you are still unsure when final payment comes around, run the numbers and cancel if they don't come out to your liking. Fly somewhere nice with your flight credits and enjoy yourself. Vacations should not cause this much angst.