AMHuntFerry

O wifi stinks compared to land-based wifi. Sometimes it is good-ish (Zoom calls work, pix upload/download etc.) and other times it's slower than molasses (checking text email is like dial-up was) and other times it doesn't work at all. It exists, but don't depend on it. You can always access land-based wifi in ports just like you would on a land-based trip. Tethering - I believe people do it (but the downside is if the connection is slow, it will be even slower with a tether).

Hi Stephanie, I'll take a stab at a couple of your questions... Early boarding was pretty much eliminated during post-cruising start-up (and all of the testing, vaccination, health questionnaire processes). Hopefully this perk will return soon, but we're not there yet. Only benefit to being early is if you want to eat lunch on board at Terrace/Waves. There will be a latest time you can check in, but 2:30 to 3 sounds reasonable.

These same people would complain if traveling in bad weather caused them to be ill...can't satisfy some people. While I know talking to management about a consistent issue is the right thing to do, I can find it difficult. I'm more likely to go get myself a drink and watch the reaction of idle staff, especially if it's the first time service is poor (or if the staff is obviously not at fault (e.g., too many pax all at once)).

The closest I come to touching someone else's food is when I use tongs to grab way too many of those tasty little cakes at Baristas ☕

If you are in the US/Canada (other countries vary), you can purchase the cruise-only fare, then purchase a bev pkg later.

On a recent youtube video tour I saw both long (the standard) and short robes in one of the higher suites. By the way, there are also slippers. If the size isn't right, just ask your cabin steward.

O asks that passengers do not go to their cabin until the announcement is made that their cabin-category is ready. While some passengers do this and claim the staff doesn't care, they do. Suites will be available earlier than the other cabins. Lunch is served at the Terrace Cafe and at Waves. They are both quite nice and the mood is festive. If you are in an owner's suite you may have lunch served in your room. Have a fun cruise!

I think we are in agreement. Shepherd really was surprised that Vista would be stuck in the Caribbean, and I was suggesting that those itineraries are something the younger generations would be better able to do and that Vista has some new features that seem to be geared toward attracting them. I also had noticed that Riviera appears to be headed for the Alaska season after I saw that Regatta would be elsewhere in the summer of 2025. (and I also would love if SF was that home port!)

I had similar thoughts, but then as details about Vista emerged I started to wonder. The alterations such as Ember instead of Jacques and a focus on cocktails (Bloody Mary bars, mixologist classes, etc.) indicates that Vista is trying to appeal to GenX and below (~<60). While some in this age group are FI/retired or have large swaths of vacation time, I would guess that most can only manage the 7-10 day cruises. I could be completely off base. Now if I could just convince O to carry a decent cider...

There is a deadline that should be in the documents you received from your TA, or ask your TA. If no TA, call your O-rep and ask them what the deadline is. The short answer is, yes, you can opt out/in, but there is a deadline.

Your itinerary will state whether your route is the inside passage or outside passage.

Here's a link to the T&Cs with the details: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/legal/promotion-terms/ As a rule of thumb (but not always true), most things with a "N/A" in the Unlimited column are O-Life shorex.

Yes. I like the shows with singing/dancing, but I went to check out a solo singer (specialty, not one of the entertainment team) and stood in the back. After a couple of numbers I decided it was not for me. If you sit in the back (or in the hallway out of sight), I doubt the performer will notice.

For those interested, the OLife Ultimate sale is showing on the O-website now. I didn't get an email or paper catalog from them about it, but I can't remember if I've received either/both in the past.

There is a free shuttle into town that drops off at one of the cruise ship berths (2?). I think it is about 20 minutes one way. Be sure to know when the last shuttle leaves as it's something like 1.5 hours before departure.

Good to know. The lesson is "don't believe anything in writing and just ask (then ask again 😉 )."

There are promos that cannot be combined with the book on board discounts ($$ off cruise price and OBC). I think the 20th Anniversary sale is one example (at least that's what the terms said, but in practice? Who knows). It never hurts to ask though.

You can see exactly who is scheduled at each dock at https://claalaska.com/ The 2023 and 2024 schedules for each location are posted. You'll probably need the berth code and ship code docs at the top of the schedule page to make sense of the schedules. Oceania does not get fantastic spots unless they are somewhere small like Wrangell. Have fun!

I think I can reference the Cruise Critic site, so here goes. https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?cl=75&shipID=287&startDate=2023-09 Go to the Sept 13, 2023 cruise and look for the cheapest one (1899). This includes O-Life. They disappear and reappear daily.

Shockingly Google was no help at all. I'm sorry I can't help more. 😞

🤣🤪🙃Just for fun I checked again. Now the original cruise I saw is showing a dirt cheap price again. The D cabin (my probable choice) is 43% off O's cruise-only current price (or 48% off if O-Life is included in the sale price), so I was remembering ~40% correctly. Another fun fact...OLife Ultimate was co-listed with these flaky sales, but I'm guessing its one or the other (not both), but who knows.

I hope this is not breaking the rules since I am posting no identifying info. Here is what I am seeing on a site that is available to anyone (in the US and maybe Canada): The trick is that the OLife Ultimate is not advertised anywhere higher than when you go to choose your cabin. Only then does the option show (other options are things like 20th anniv. sale with OLife Choice or single supplment). As you can see, you have to call to get it, while all of the other choices can be booked directly online. My guess is that it may be consortium based, but I don't have a clue. I don't think it would hurt to have you TA call O and see if the deal can be arranged for you.

To be clear, this was not a sale that the average consumer would find appealing. It's more akin to a flash sale. It requires a degree of flexibility and spontaneity, and the desire to be a cruiser (i.e., not necessarily itinerary driven, although I liked the itineraries that were on sale this time). My normal travel methods do not require advance planning (making plane or other reservations 3 months ahead is considered planning-ahead for me). Now that I know these unadvertised offers are available via my TA (no special O-affiliation) and have asked my TA to keep me informed, I have another avenue to potentially get me some nice bang for my buck.

I think I answered your question in my lengthy post, but here's a quick answer. I believe what I was seeing is what I have seen others on CC call a "soft sale" (i.e., not advertised but available). I was comparing the sale price with the cruise-only price on O's website (the current price, not the brochure fare). However, my TA usually quotes the fare with O-Life included (but no air) which bumps the savings from 35% off cruise-only to 39% cruise with O-Life. I'm not sure if the sale price was cruise-only or cruise with O-Life since I didn't get a quote from her.

I'm always leery of posting TA-related info because I might run afoul of the CC rules, but here I go: Background (as requested): I never use TAs for travel (our normal methods of travel would make them very little if any money), but we decided to try the QM2 to England to avoid the west to east jetlag (haven't made that trip due to Covid and other unplanned interference). Googling for info brought me to CC, and it became obvious that using a TA would be beneficial when it comes to cruises. I prefer doing business locally so I contacted a local agency that is family-owned and has been around for decades. So far we have taken 2 inexpensive (by O-standards) cruises and have one booked, so we've spent less than $10k total. I know more about the booking vagaries with O that my TA (i.e., neither she nor the agency have any "pull" with O). 40% deal: I was looking up something (can't remember what now, probably just day dreaming) with my TA (plus O's site and another site where I can check cabin number availability easily). While at my TA I noticed the O-Life Ultimate sale with some itineraries; the sale showed up on the other site too (but not O's site). I narrowed my search to the ship and months that I was interested in and notice a dirt-cheap fare for a cruise we would take if we didn't already have land-based plans elsewhere. By dirt cheap I mean that the B2 cabin ("y") was 35% less than the cruise-only fare ("x") showing on O's (and the other sites I check) site (i.e., (x-y)/x=0.35), so I overestimated the savings in my earlier post (sorry, it had been a few days, and I didn't calculate the actual percentage until just now). Although, my TA usually only has the cruise with O-Life posted, so the savings would be more...I assumed the sale was cruise only for the above calculation. Now the fun part...I saw the deal, but a couple days later it was gone. However, there were two other cruises within my search parameters that were dirt cheap. They were perfect for a quick, fun trip with a friend so I contacted my TA about getting a quote. The next day they were gone, but another trip (not good timing for us) was dirt cheap. It has been up for a few days. I'm not sure I answered all of the questions, but that's what happened. No one is forcing anyone to use a TA, but don't make claims about saving money while at the same time dismissing a valid way to save money. Using a TA does not directly cost the consumer any money; the cost is indirect and shared by all consumers whether they use a TA or not, so yes, I'll take my TA's prepaid gratuities and other offers when they are available.