stephanie1968

No, I don't have a travel agent--I called Oceania directly. I may have fallen to pressure by putting down a deposit on my first call because he said there was very limited availability. I had not looked into the differences between rooms at the time. I don't know if there is even any other availability--I plan to call tomorrow with questions and investigate other options, but I wanted to get all my research done first.

Thank you! Is there a way for me to check availability on the web site without having to call?

Hello! My family (myself, husband 55, father 83 and daughter 16) are all going for our first cruise ever with Oceania in Aug to Alaska on the Regatta. I have found this forum to be super helpful, but even after hours of perusing I am still confused about a few things (especially the Olife packages). I appreciate any guidance on any of the following. I am planning to call our booking agent (we booked directly) later today and was hoping for some clarity before I call. Private excursions -- From my reading here, it seems like often a better deal to book the higher end excursions privately. 2 questions about that. First, if you book them yourself, how do you manage transportation to the town or starting point of the excursion? Are there Alaska-specific issues I should know about? Second, does anyone have comments on "must have" Alaska excursions? And how to go about researching them (obviously I can google around but wondering if there are specific sites or hints for finding good ones). Cabins -- we have booked 3 Concierge Veranda rooms, and have been given one "GTY" room with cabin unassigned, and A2 levels 6000 and 7084. My father and daughter are each getting their own rooms. Does anyone have any feedback on these rooms? I'm not sure what the "guaranteed" room means, and wondering if I should push to get a cabin assigned? I would like to get at least two of them close together because my daughter would like to be close to us. Concierge level -- I chose to pay for the concierge level mostly because I liked the idea of the spa deck, but now I am wondering if this will be useful on an Alaska cruise in August? Does anyone have pictures or comments on the spa deck of Regatta? My father is mobility impaired so will likely be staying on the ship for many of the port days while we will be out, so wondering if this would be a nice option for him? After reading here and looking at the excursion list, I don't think the "free" excursions in the Olife package are ones that are appealing to us, so I may see if I can downgrade if the spa deck is not that great. Early boarding -- why? From what I've read it seems that the early boarding is chaotic and you have to wait no matter what. What is the benefit of getting there early? Our boarding is at 1 and depart at 5--I thought arriving around 230 or 3 would suffice? Wifi -- I was shocked that there is only one log in per cabin allowed, and that you have to pay extra for streaming! That seems outrageous given the price point in these highly virtual times. Can anyone comment on the quality of the wifi? And I am wondering if it would be possible to tether from a mobile hotspot (if my husband logs in, can I use his phone as a hotspot? I am not usually one to try to skirt the rules, but 30 per day seems absurd!) Solo -- I have read the contract repeatedly and cannot wrap my head around how the Olife perks are given to a solo traveler? Does a solo traveler get 3 excursions and $300 OBC or 6/$600? thanks in advance for any help! We are super excited!