Snaefell3

The 'R'-class was designed in the 1980s, and has some surprising limitations. One that comes to mind is that OceaniaNEXT promised "rainfall" showerheads, but then O found they could not plumb water through the deckheads. 1980s?!? Yeah, they *are* getting obsolescent. Methinks they'd have been gone during COVID, but O didn't want to drop to a 2-ship line.

There are other luggage shippers, too. I haven't used Luggage Forward since their courier failed to show up one disembarkation day in Seattle in 2018. (Yeah, that was a ...memorable trip home.) Indeed. Pack like it's actually going UPS -- because it is (or FedEx or DHL or even USPS). The "shippers" act as agents and organizers, sub-contracting the actual pickup, transportation, and delivery.

Translation: "No the OP did not want compensation, but he did want compensation".

Valid point, but to answer your question it made it past the design phase because the 'R'-class design predates the ADA.

Nope. More like "we actually read all 15 pages of Oceania's legally binding Ticket Contract and understood what we were getting into before paying our fares anyway".

Yep! "Berthing issues" makes a reasonable-sounding excuse until you think it through: If your ship leaves at 4pm instead of 5, do you really think there is really going to be a ship pulling in at 6pm? 🤦‍♂️

With butler service in your cabin or a longer cruise where you can easily get repeats, getting the loser in a "I don't want to choose between them" entrée from each of two restaurants puts as big a smile on our faces as one spiffy choice from each of four restaurants.

Until a ship transitions to polar-orbit satellite relay (Starlink), it's a matter of "Latitude, Latitude, Latitude!" and the Med is too far north to get broadband-quality relay from satellites in equatorial orbits. BTW, O's internet upgrade only unlocks "streaming" so you can watch video -- provided your ship's satellite relay isn't already overloaded.

First, my prayers for you and your husband. A thought for you... "Self-insure". Insurance companies hire buildings full of actuaries to calculate the cost of the risks to the last penny then charge that much plus a tidy (that's with a 'd', not an 'n' 😉 ) profit. You might wish to consider insuring only against risks that would be financially devastating (medevac, etc) rather than merely losing a cruise you can afford.

::eyes the headlines about the Makhachkala airport takeover in Dagestan:: Yep. '25? Who knows. I do hope "traveler" does become advisable again. 🤞 As it is, our next cruise is a risk-adverse "Colonial America & Bermuda".

I have not been on an 'O'-class ship, but I understand they have a proscenium stage and fixed, theater-type seating in their -uhm- theater. The 'R'-class ships are more cabaret-style, with a unraised stage mostly surrounded by the audience in movable armchairs around the edge. I even flinched once when a dancer did a twirl. 😉 Yeah, the 'R-'class, non-suite showers (and commodes) are cramped, but ...manageable.

• There is a practice called "slow steaming" that allows ships to reduce fuel consumption. • There is a practice called "fuel surcharge" that allows ships to recover increased fuel costs. Notice the price of petroleum-based fuels lately? Personally, I prefer option #1.

Nor do I. 🤔 The site does show Terminal J with Vista on 19 Nov, Sirena on 28 Nov, and Seven Seas Splendor on 4 Dec. If the Port of Miami hasn't processed Marina's paperwork yet, I'd keep a wary eye out in case Marina gets bit by "almost always". Off Topic: There's a note to Valiant Lady on 2 Dec: "PLEASE CHECK EVERY COUPLE OF HOURS TO MAKE SURE VESSEL IS TIGHT AGAINST ALL FENDERS, IF NOT...". I'd like to hear the backstory on that! 😉

Make that "almost always uses". Best to check https://wwwx.miamidade.gov/Apps/Seaport/dailydock/Default.aspx

Worst case, go to Waves for a "Surf & Turf sandwich, hold the Turf!" 😉

Since *you* have done it with *that* cable before... 🙂 Anyone else or you with a different cable? Read the cable's specs. 🙄 Bon voyage!

Ack! The "just use the one that fits" is only for USB/USB work, *NOT* for "Swiss"/110v plug-adapters! Be careful. The "Swiss" end of your cable is doing voltage-conversion magic, not just connecting different shaped metal. It's the charging cable that needs the "110v-240v" specification, but if you've used it before.... 🙂 I'm not Apple-fluent, but are you sure the "Swiss" plug (and voltage converter) on the end of your charging cable doesn't pull off, revealing a USB plug that in turn has been plugged into the "Swiss" part? That's the way my USA-configured Android smartphone came. Background: Smartphones and tablets kept getting thinner, so the smartphone-end of USB cables kept changing: 'B', 'mini', then 'micro'. Eventually, they added higher max amperage, plugs-in-either-side-up, etc, and called it "USB-C" with still another shape. Unlike ordinary wall plugs, if a USB fits? No worries.

Oops! Yeah, it works backwards (220v plug → 110v socket) *if* your gadget has "110v" in the voltage spec. Similar risk of damage if you misread the spec, though. The charging cables for all recent smartphones are USB cables. Some don't even come with a charging cable, claiming you must already have a pile of USB cables. My smartphone came with a USB cable and a 110v → USB adapter. I can skip the adapter, and plug the phone directly into O's USB outlet. There are only two different USB wall socket shapes, and it sounds like O provides both, so just use the one that fits. The Type 'C' has added features, the best of which is that it works plugged in right-side-up or upside-down.

If you have a brick or device rated "110v-220v" or "110v-240v", you can use a plug adapter to plug its 110v (Type 'A' or 'B'/North American) plug into a 220v (Type 'E' or 'F'/Continental Europe) socket safely. If the brick or device is designed for "110-220v" or "110-240v", it will be quite happy to run on O's 220v. Do triple-check the "220v" or "240v" in the specification or risk seeing the magic smoke. 😮 PS: "240v" means you can do the same thing in the UK with their 240v mains with the Type 'G' plugs that you won't see aboard O.

The solution for that is the inverse of why afternoon tea was invented in the first place: 19th Century upper-class English evening meal was around 8pm. Plenty of 2-tops aboard at 8pm, too 😉

And I'd suggest that "worldwide" includes *within* the US, too. 😳

After seven months? 😉 Though.. This is O, not Carnival: Why not just plan to ask for whichever you prefer?

Next cruise, I misdoubt that specialty reservations will be priority #1 on our fellow passengers' minds at 12:01 am. Reservations open for us on 1 Jan. 😉

Pre-COVID, the quietly understood bargain between cruisers and cruise lines was that if an issue was within the cruise line's control (breakdowns, groundings, fire), the cruise line would make the passenger whole (well, as whole as possible), but if it wasn't (weather, war, asteroid strike) then it was up to the passenger to have bought insurance. Then came COVID, and a huge exception to that bargain because cruise lines were terrified of folks with COVID hiding it at embarkation, leading to another Diamond Princess. I don't blame the OP for wondering about COVID-like compensation, but its clear that we are back to the pre-COVID bargain.

Sure there is... taking the cruise after all. 😉