MEFIowa

No, I have pizza experience. Every Friday and on Riviera. I do NOT pay to cruise on O to eat mere pizza. And I'm NOT paying hundreds of dollars a day as a couple to DROP something like Jacques to tell my friends afterwards, "I ate at a glorified Applebee's". Tell me, what does Aquamar bring to the experience that I'm not already truly enjoying at the TC daily? We love the buffet. All the choices. And IIRC, you can't even get the Mahi-Mahi on Vista at Waves in the afternoon. I forget if something else was dropped from that menu, too. What is "clarifying" is how easy it is for cheerleaders to accept a decline in a product and make excuses for it. I prefer a tablecloth and a place setting that isn't suitable for crayons!

I ate the evening pizza at Wave's on Riviera 11/2023. Oh boy, the joy. Pizza. Like we can have every Friday night in America. I have NO desire to pay more and get less on Vista. Even on the Extraordinary Saving Sale from 2023, we're paying $350-400 per day per couple. So, do I want "Ember", a glorified Applebee's? No! And I'm not seeing anything wowing me about Aquamar, either. Cost cutting moves for O. The "pay more, get less" program for Vista, for those who want to be on new ships at any price.

Though have you read the cognitive dissonance groupthink of the Vista Cheerleaders and Ember, a glorified Applebee's! And the praise for the on-board "Pizza Hut". (I enjoyed a pizza on Riviera in Nov 2023, but that isn't what I'm looking for when it comes to fine dining or interesting cuisine when a couple is paying say $350-500 per couple per day.) Now all they need is a Denny's, a Burger King, and a DQ to complete the culinary triumph of modern American "cuisine"? 😞

The BAGS are ONLY for concierge (A) cabins and UP. NOT for G-B cabins.

Have you made your reservations? IF NOT, you'll find that if you're in a G-B cabin you won't likely get anything before 8 PM and most likely not before 8:30, unless your ship isn't full. The A and higher cabins get to make their reservations long before the lower-level cabins. You're left with the scraps. Experienced this 1st hand on an Oct-Nov 2023 B2B cruise on Riviera. Started with 10 nights in an A3 and finished with 10 nights in a B3. We could get 6:30-8 pm reservations in the A3. We got an 8, 8:30 and two 9 pm's for our B3. On board O asked us if we could change our horrible 9 pm times for 8:30 times, and I saw why. We and 2 or 3 other couples were the only people who showed up at or after 8:30. And by the time we're mid-way thru our meal, the place is emptying out fast. It was all but empty by 9:30. (I suspect the 9 pm is really a "fake" time, that they don't want you to accept, hoping you'll just not try to reserve a table that late. But if you do, they'll try to seat you at 8:30.) The above is ONLY about tables for 2. We did NOT try to share a table.

Plus you'll get ONE FREE night of drinking, the Captain's Party. There are Repeater Party and, sometimes, Newbie Party. So could be a 2nd free night, too.

And REMEMBER, you can bring on board ALL the beer, hard liquor and wine you want at embarkation and in the ports. Drink any beer and hard liquor in your cabin/veranda and know there is a $25 corkage fee to drink your own wine in their restaurants.

My luggage has to fit the airlines' requirements. I suspect trunks are best left to trees, elephants, and swimmers.

Pascha in the East is May 5th in 2024. (The Jewish Passover runs April 22-30, 2024.)

Though WHEN did you originally book it? The 2024 cruises could be booked rather early in 2022. And was it on sale? There were some great sales in 2023!

You must be upset that O had 6 major and 2 minor sales across all 12 months of 2023. AND as O is obsessed with sales and a need to publicize them. One just ended (Mar 31). That had started after the one before it had just ended (Feb 29). How much easier it would be for everyone if there just wasn't that O obsession with sales? But then some just choose not to play that sales game and just book and forget?

And sitting next to a person... - droning on about their premium drinks package (drink in hand, day drinking to near drunkeness) or - those who yap and yap about their high-level cabin with their butler and executive lounge or - those saying, "Too bad you didn't spend the extra $400 for the special meal we had last night in La Reserve" or "That $200 for the wine & cheese pairing" (or whatever it is, including premium spirit tasting). Gotta dislike all that money flaunting?

O had 6 major sales in 2023 and 2 minor ones. That pretty much covered all 12 months of 2023. Which, for 2023, would be "all the time". Whether your individual cruise ever went on sale or not was up to O. I do love the QUALIFIER: "reasonable price". Whatever that is. I've found that SALES can make prices quite "reasonable". If we see an itinerary that we like, we'll book it and track every future sale after the initial booking. So far, four out of our six booked since 1/2021 (4 already taken) went on sale. I'm still watching to see if the final two do sometime this year. We sail Aug-Sept on 22-night Baltic B2B on Sirena.

Since O tends to raise prices globally at the beginning of the new quarter, esp. Jan 1 and July 1, not too surprising if they raised prices on April 1st, the start of the new quarter.

You're not alone, though I love watching for sales Doesn't look like O is doing anything sales-wise in April other than the "pre-cruise hotel offer". Thankfully we're only about 150 days out from 22 nights on Sirena in the Baltic, Aug-Sept (12 nights London to Stockholm and then the 10-nights B2B Stockholm to Copenhagen), plus 3 nights prior in London and 3 night after in Copenhagen. We can't wait!

Glad you enjoyed the pun. Intended.

Displacement hardly matters, for non-combat ships. For cruise ships, more a function of: 1. Number of passengers. 2. Number of crew, esp. those providing services to passengers. 3. Size of cabin (including bathroom space!). 4. Size of public spaces (including hallway width). 5. Size of swimming pool. 6. Number of eating places. 7, Number, location and size of public restrooms. 8, Number and location of elevators. The smaller R-class ships built for 650 passengers. Our time on Sirena (11/2022) she had about 630. Which I think is near the new max, since she has solo rooms that reduced max passengers. The POOL on the R-ships tiny, more for walking than any actual swimming. And ONLY 2 specialty restaurants. You want heaven? We had that on the much larger O-class ship Riveria 12/2021 in the W. Caribbean. Only 719 passengers and 790 crew. We were treated like gods. Room to spare everywhere.

For women, dress sandals are fine. Esp. if you have a dress. For men, just need decent pants, shirt with collar, no tie, socks, and shoes. I see it more as business casual attire than country club, but either works, I guess. Just more people go to offices than country clubs.

For Waitlisted, think "I'm on a waiting list for a particular type cabin". You can PAY a deposit and get on a "real" waitlist, where you'll have a number showing your place in the queue. Or not, and take your chances, as it will clear those who paid a deposit first. There is NO guarantee that you'll cruise from a Waitlist. Whether you paid a deposit or not. If your cabin type doesn't come available, you won't cruise. Then for Guaranteed, think "I've paid a deposit and O guarantees that "I'll get on that cabin level or higher". BUT you may find out a week or two in advance and you have little or no choice on the cabin type or location. You'll be cruising, and your price will be at the Guaranteed cabin rate, but you took your chances as to where on the ship and in what type cabin.

Just remember that you can bring on ALL the beer, hard liquor and wine you want at embarkation and at any ports. Have some fun trying to find something interesting in a local grocery store, liquor store or wine ship. I had a blast finding wonderful inexpensive Greek, Serbian and Spanish brandy in the Med on Riviera 10-11/2023. And all the different inexpensive beers! (Just drink you own beer and hard liquor in your cabin/on your veranda. Though you can pay a $25 corkage fee to drink your own wine in their restaurants.) And make sure to take advantage of the Captain's Party and, if there is one, any Newbies Party. That is up to two nights of free booze!

Pulled out my CURRENTS for our recent 2023 B2B on Riviera in the Med: 10/30-11/9 1:45-4 pm Social Bridge & Mah-Jongg Play / non-hosted Polo Grill (14) 11/9-11/19 1:45-4 pm Social Bridge & Mah-Jongg Play / non-hosted Polo Grill (14) Looks this way for every day except embarkation.

Have you gone to O's web site and checked out the DECK PLANS for Vista and the CABIN DESCRIPTIONS with photographs/layout? Vista Cruise Ship Deck Plans | Oceania Cruises Luxury Cruise Suites & Staterooms Aboard Vista | Oceania Cruises

Our recent Triest to Athens and Athens to Barcelona B2B cruises on Riviera (10/30-11/19, 2023) were VERY port intensive. We had 5 lectures from the archeologist on each 10-night cruise. Also had 5 lectures on the E. Caribbean cruise on Sirena 11/2022.

That's a different topic, one involving generalities. I'm discussing specifics. BUT, yes IF (1) I like an itinerary and (2) I like the PRICE, I'll book. BUT we KNOW that the price changes all the time. I prefer to spend less, rather than more, for the same itinerary. Only a foolish or a rich person ignores O's constant and constantly changing sales.

And my pile of O brochures I've collected since 2021 is well over a foot high. Grower slower than it used to. But, for example, I have ALL of the 2023 brochures O sent us. Both pre- and post-SM. And all the sales pre- and post-SM. IIRC from a previous OP and thread I created abut sales in 2023, O had 6 "major" sales and 2 "minor" sales in 2023. The Extraordinary Saving Sale pre-SM was the truly BIG ONE of 2023. IIRC that was May. Before SM.