Snaefell3

For what it's worth, back in Mar '23, we were told we had to upload a picture, did, and at dockside they ignored any photos anyone uploaded and took new ones of their own.

Back in Mar '23 on the Regatta, it was a paper list, not a computer screen. There *are* folks that skilled, and a lot of them work for O. (Yeah, on Princess your Bluetooth LE medallion identifies you to the host station's tablet and your picture, loyalty status, and any food issues pop up automagically)

Lesser known fact about the mules (the little locomotives): ships use their own engines for propulsion; the mules merely keep the ships centered in the locks.

If it wasn't the one on the Concordia, it wasn't a "disaster".

I don't know about Insignia, but on the Regatta last March, the Spa Terrace (Deck 9 foredeck) was open to all -- the cardkey reader on the door from the gym was long gone.

It may vary by port, ship, and specific embarkation day, but in May '23, on the Regatta, in LA, we boarded at 11am and the top suites were individually escorted past where we were turned loose on the ship -- presumably to their already-ready cabins because the first cabins-ready announcement was for PH. Side note: If you ship your luggage, this whole lug-your-bags thing becomes trivial 😉

Also, Medicare (Part 'B') doesn't cover care outside the US, so it could be allowed but not covered, depending on what travel insurance you may have.

Lots of moving parts: • If using an equatorial (ie non-StarLink) satellite relay, what was your latitude? • How much bandwidth was O willing to buy? (the price varies by latitude) • Just which TCP/IP "ports" did the IT guy aboard that ship enable/disable? • How much bandwidth were other pax using at that exact moment?

Do the cops essentially lie about the speed limit if they don't pull over a car doing 38 in 35 zone? (and if they do, you know there is more to it than just "38" 😉)

Mystery solved! Thank you. and bon appétit!

Most likely depends upon what options got or did not get enabled when that particular ship's WiFi was last set up. As you said... NBD with tethering (Though I suspect tethering is like that 7th bottle of wine. 😉)

That one is the most plausible with folks with disclosed food allergies being flagged by room number as a final safety net. Has anyone seen a reaction to their room number after having alerted O to a food allergy?

Newbies here, with just 1 completed O cruise under our belts, but our experience is that if anyone is getting special treatment based upon cabin, it's uncommon. We were generally in the 6:30 cattle call, and folks got seated 2-top by 2-top, running down the windows, one table after another. (We normally eat at the uncivilized hour of 5pm, so yeah, 6:30 even if we'd been to Tea) Wild guess: Maybe O just wants to yell at folks who come back for a 2nd dinner? ::rimshot::

Free food vs extra cost food is a minor reason for us. Our major reason is that we run out of days before we run out of different lunches we want to try: 6 different ones in Waves alone, so Waves on Day #1 leaves just 5 more to shoehorn in somehow 😋.

Let's play a game of "why?" • Why not leave luggage in not-yet-ready cabins? - It slows down the stewards, delaying everyone's full access to their cabins. • Why "6 bottles" even if not normally enforced? - It gives leverage when needing to deal with ...Carnival refugees 😉 • Why prod people cutting all-aboard time closely? - For the same reason I get to embarkation ports a day early.

Perhaps I hear a guilty conscience? You've placed your room stewards between what you know is their employer's instructions and your demands -- perhaps politely phrased, but demands nonetheless. But, yes, may 2024 be better then 2023, 2022, 2021, or 2020 for all of us.

...or, perhaps, indicative of comparative TLC cabins receive before you are let in? 😉

MBA's answer: More short-term profit, and nevermind folks might go elsewhere for their next.

Spoilsport! 😜

In a court of law, irrelevant. But, IIRC, US courts are not "courts of law", but "courts of law and equity", and I'll let any lawyers around opine on whether the fact that O's maximum single supplement is +100% of double occupancy fare and that amount has already been paid could be the basis of a suit (though probably not one they'd take on contingency 😉 )

For what it's worth, I received an email confirmation from SpecialServices@OceaniaCruises.com for an excursion booked online this morning.

All true, but water is a problem easily fixed aboard or at least coped with. I'd be more worried about a ship not having enough extension cords, which is to say not at all.

Plan 'A': Via TA. Plan 'B': If no TA, via SpecialServices@oceaniacruises.com Plan 'C': Once aboard, your room steward/butler can make it right. PS: 20 years on CPAP tells me that if you don't let the water chamber run dry and dump the leftover water each day when refilling, two weeks on ship tap water isn't going to hurt the device.

Except when Miami's on EDT. Sorry, couldn't resist. 😜 ::runs and hides::

You can book at 12:00am Eastern Time that morning. There will be a delay until your web browser figures out that Oceania's computer in Florida has reached 12:00. Refreshing the webpage in your browser seems to help. On the Vista, all visits are included in your fare and you are guaranteed at least one visit to each of the four specialty restaurants (Toscana, Polo, Ember, and Red Ginger). Longer cruises/top suites get more. Once onboard, you (or your butler) can check at the the Restaurant Reservations Desk each day for a extra (and, yes, freebie) visit that evening.