Snaefell3

32 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

FYI, NCLH has never paid a dividend since they went public in 2013, so that isn't a potential source of funds available for repayment debt accumulated during the COVID era.

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

1 hour ago, mamaclark said:

Thank you for your perspective, but this is their problem, not mine. I buy, they supply.

Indeed.  Your cash, your tune. 

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

10 minutes ago, clo said:

BILLION??????????? 

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? 🙄).

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

Issue resolution is an art form. 

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.

56 minutes ago, Harters said:

Correct. Not even with the "usual incentive" expressing our gratitude if he was able to do so. 

 

He added us to a list of folk wanting to change but said it would be dependent on others freeing up seats by wanting a swap to early sitting (which he didnt expect to happen). 

Ouch!  That sounds like a ship design/ship demographic mismatch.

Yeah, I'd have taken my custom elsewhere, too.

5 hours ago, Harters said:

Our last cruise with them had us allocated to the early sitting and that was the final straw.

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

On 2/26/2024 at 7:10 AM, urlaub said:

Last winter we were on Marina for nearly two months Amazon River and Antartica.

Hmmm...  "Amazon River", and especially "Antarctica"?

Might replacement A/C parts have been a tad difficult to source?

3 hours ago, Vallesan said:

Thank you! This just reinforces how much more we pay for the same cruises in the UK!!

Uhh...  No. 

You pay the same for the *cruise*. 

The extra you pay is the mandatory BATA insurance.

2 hours ago, kstrittm said:

In my mind, I'm picturing chaos at the typical 6:00 - 6:30 dining times.  Is the line horrifically long?

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.

2 minutes ago, ORV said:

Or even closer to your sail date just check your final documents. 

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.

4 minutes ago, airhose said:

Not sure at all!  Will have to wait and see.

Plug in your boarding date

https://wwwx.miamidade.gov/Apps/Seaport/dailydock/SSRSReportDock.aspx

22 minutes ago, airhose said:

Thank you for the replies.  It seems that we will be able to wait inside, until the B to G's are called for check-in!  And then we can have lunch and a glass of wine or 2 while we wait for our cabin.  Sounds good to me!

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.

7 minutes ago, Bob from Florida said:

SO's attitude significantly improved with the arrival of the missing bags.

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.

2 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

Terminal J just a month ago required the Boarding Pass prior to allowing you to go to the second floor for check in. 

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

32 minutes ago, don731 said:

So this sucks:  currently on Vista, advised we dock at terminal B tomorrow.  We departed out of J, and our cars are parked in garage J.  Is there a a port shuttle that goes around the loop?  It’s a long hoof!  

In the past, O has run a shuttle.

This time?  Ask your butler or the Purser's desk.

4 hours ago, urlaub said:

It was NOT an airline it was OCEANIA

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.

31 minutes ago, urlaub said:

We were on 25 Oceania cruises. The last cruises were so terrible that we will not come back.

Oceana shortens many port times. Some because of "technical problems" some " because of the climate footprint" ( nobody understand). They also have sind four or five years really bad trained excursion employees. They nearly know nothing. They are able to book a tour but if you need something to know they cannot help ( or they do not want ). The same on the different ships. Normally you get back the port taxes if they cancel one. But Oceania refuse to do this.

Be careful booking Oceania.

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.

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

With other cruise lines that have boarding times, we have yet to be on any cruise where it was enforced.

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?

42 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Color me confused.

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.

8 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

1. Arrival at your Terminal: Here you will wait!

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.

1 hour ago, shepherd really said:

Heading for Elephant Island.  If there are no actual elephants to see this will be my last Oceania cruise (sarcasm font needed).

 

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

1 hour ago, Howellmc said:

It really was unfathomable. When the on-board oceanographer estimated that A23-A was 750 times bigger than the huge one we went around yesterday, that just blew my mind.

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