Snaefell3

Yup. So even more so for NCLH than all the other lines that I was talking about.

Indeed. Your cash, your tune. I just suspect it'll take more cash, elsewhere, to get what we were used to getting. 😞

Yup, and that's just the extra for getting through the COVID shutdown. (NCLH = NCL + O + RSSC)

News Flash: NCLH, CCL, RCL, etc. spent 2 years with expenses and no revenue, subsisting off salvaged ships and massive borrowing. Where do y'all expect the cash to pay off COVID debt is going to come from? Not just Oceania/NCLH's $6,000,000,000, but all the other lines' debts, too? Some of it is going to come from suspended dividends, but no surprise if it comes out of value delivered to passengers, too. Decide cruising is no longer for you if you wish, but I'm going to have "realistic expectations" until the good times come again (they are, aren't they? 🙄).

You just had to go and be reasonable, didn't you? 😉

Interesting hypothesis: Vista's HVAC is reported to be much quieter, making noise from adjoining cabins more noticeable. 🤔 I'm considering packing a white-noise generator for my trip in 2 weeks.

Ouch! That sounds like a ship design/ship demographic mismatch. Yeah, I'd have taken my custom elsewhere, too.

...and the Maître d' wouldn't change you to late seating?!?

Hmmm... "Amazon River", and especially "Antarctica"? Might replacement A/C parts have been a tad difficult to source?

Uhh... No. You pay the same for the *cruise*. The extra you pay is the mandatory BATA insurance.

I've never eaten in the GDR the first night (I've always snagged an extra specialty visit earlier that day at the Dining Reservations Desk) By Day #2, all except the slow learners are ready for the dialog: O: Room number? G: 12345 O: Thank you ::nods to escort:: The line moves at about 10 tables/minute, and is long gone in 10 minutes.

Uhh... The Final Documents only quote where your ship is then currently scheduled to dock. Sometimes they change to the north side of Dodge Island, even just a few hours before actual docking. Much better to keep an eye on that website.

Plug in your boarding date https://wwwx.miamidade.gov/Apps/Seaport/dailydock/SSRSReportDock.aspx

One last worry: Are you sure your Oceania ship will be docking at Terminal 'J'? Vista, for example, is scheduled elsewhere on several Miami visits this March.

Long ago I learned to "combat load" our suitcases instead of "his" and "hers". It doesn't help when both bags are lost, but if only half your stuff is in each bag, it's easier to limp along when just one is lost.

🙂 That beats checking at the door into the 1st floor like on the north side of Dodge Island.

In the past, O has run a shuttle. This time? Ask your butler or the Purser's desk.

Methinks if it were still aboard, Oceania would know where your luggage was. Since your luggage undoubtedly made it down the gangway by now, Oceania no longer has any control over it. It was first in the control of the port and then, *maybe*, the Port Agent company Oceania hired. That's the way ports work. My bet would be on the port and it's longshoreman's operation. And ports everywhere are a local monopoly that simply doesn't care about missing luggage.

Gutten tag. I fear you'll find this with all cruise lines recently, but it *is* getting better. The reason is the two-year COVID shutdown. A lot of the folks who were experts on tours or whatever needed a paycheck, started a new career, and didn't come back. Their replacements simply do not have the same depth of experience yet. Secondly, the cruise lines that survived, survived with large debts and *are* cutting corners to get the debt paid of.

Data point: Vista's Mar 16th opened 1h15 early at 22:45pm the evening before the 21st day.

Can't say I have noticed O ever enforcing, either, but like Princess they do have you click on a time. Port of Miami itself, though? Yeah, "Let's see your boarding pass!" (But that seems to be mostly over on the north side of Dodge Island). I've recently posted --somewhere-- "O keeps enforcement of their rules in their back pocket to corral problem pax." Know of any other line that allows 6 bottles of alcohol for cabin consumption, and doesn't blink at a whole case?

Perhaps you are. • The "boarding by category" is O's version of "priority check-in". O is different only in that it runs 4 levels of line priority. The highest priority line is for the "Top Suites" and the Diamond loyalty level. • Like on Princess, you choose a boarding time online. Last cruise, boarding began at 11:00am with folks in all four boarding categories, and even the priority-less folks were boarded soon enough to be poolside, ordering a Lobster & Fillet sandwich by 11:30. • Where the categories do make a difference on embarkation day is how soon the cabins are open, so folks do have to lug their carry-on for different lengths of time. But if you have swimsuit in your carry-on, there are public changing rooms and you can even have a swim before your cabin opens.

Apparently *if* Oceania is using Terminal 'J', not so much. Only if your ship is docking on the north side of Dodge Island (Terminals 'A'- 'G'). ...and, yes, sometimes your ship will be on the north side -- occasionally scheduled there, but sometimes rerouted there at the last minute due to winds.

Pssst! I might decide earlier, but I'd never say "this is my last cruise" until my feet were safely back on dry land. 🛟

Ask them about the Ross Ice Shelf. Bigger than California (but not Texas 😉).