QuestionEverything

Interesting the comments on the cross Canada train - The Canadian. It is fully booked, years in advance, by Europeans mostly. It is very, very expensive. Apparently the experience is not what is was - there is much tree growth along the route and the visibility of the landscape is quite diminished.

I have been sailing since 1989 across many lines and have seen most (with the exception of Norway coast) of what is worthwhile via a ship. Been there, done that. We adore land based trips; best trip ever was a Globus tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Next up, next June is a booked 23 day Great Britain tour via Globus followed by a return trip to New York on the QM2. Simply can not wait to go. Land trips, so much scenery, full day of events and places, eating local, authentic food, love it. Cruising is nice, but repetitive, confined, I feel very processed and have seen plenty of ocean. Add in the constant decline in the product offering, I am increasingly skeptical of the cruise product, regardless of the line. Was going to book another med cruise - but instead, we are doing a land based, train focused tour with great hotels, well regarded local restaurants and private guides who take us where we want to go. A real visit to the med, not a "day dump" as I call shore excursions. We have an open mind and will consider both a cruise and land based - but the winning choice is always the one which provides an in depth, local feeling experience.

Great comment and analysis of the post you refer to and your own comments. You are quite correct.

Greetings everyone: I have just booked my 3rd TA aboard the QM2 in June 2024! I note on the Booking Summary the inclusion of Cunard Care at CDN $216.78 pp. I did not agree to include this but it there. Q - is there any value to this Cunard Care? I do not want to cancel it if you experts believe it is worth it. I would appreciate your assessment. Thanks so much.

ORV, thanks I am sure they will indeed. Will be very interesting to speak with O regulars about their impressions of the O product offering these days. I will learn much indeed. Happy travels.

OP, thank you kindly for your review. It would seem that the product offering of O is not as premium as their marketing implies. I am on my first O cruise in August and will make a point of speaking with "regular" O customers to get their impressions of O today.

We do as well. The trains in Europe are the Best. We often do a personal tour with trains before a bus trip, then a personal tour after the bus trip to fly where ever we wish to depart from. Last August we did a car tour from Paris to Normandy, the D Day beaches (had a retired US Marine with us), Mt Saint Michele (OMG great) then to Le Have where we took a train back to Paris. I like cruising, but not as much anymore, since we have increased land travel - land travel is simply more rewarding experience wise.

Did a Normandy Beach tour last August, no cruise involved. We organized it ourselves. Used Overlord. Totally outstanding. They customized our wants. They bring a big map book to each beach and show the geography of the assault and show pictures of the key people involved. Made it personal. Highly recommend.

Thank you Hank. Excellent analysis and post. Acknowledge this is a cruise "groupie" site. But the reality is that it appears people are choosing to lessen cruising and move to other vacations on land. The "forced" pricing on O will impact some and not others. I am planning less cruises on any line. Suffice it to say that land based tours are outstanding as well as Magnificent driving trips in North America (and Europe). Cruising will compete with all other vacation options. We like cruising as well, but it is not the absolute that it once was. To each their own.

People will vote with their pocket book, and that is a Great thing. Cruising is nice, I have seen quite enough water though. So, consumers have the freedom to explore other vacation options and they can decide what they want.

Greetings! Costs are only one element of vacation decision making. Land trips are wonderful, we adore them. Increasingly we are adding much more variety to our travel; land trips more, a brand new super magnificent vehicle for driving trips around North America, and cruising is in there too. My point was not 100% about costs - it was about my and others impressions of cruising and how it fits into the post covid world of travel. Our impressions of cruising are not as favorable as it used to be.

Been cruising since 1989. Been on many lines. If, if, I cruise, O is no longer the go to. I am not paying for alcohol we do not drink, nor cruise ship shore excursions which are inferior to customized private tours, not interested in WiFi and we purchase 0 stuff on any ship. We sail for itinerary - so Cunard is always in consideration. The mass lines do not go to the locations we are interested in. However, a Big issue is this - cruising is definitely losing appeal to some people, so land travel trips are now our #1 priority. All our friends who travel extensively and cruised extensively......we all have our Trafalgar and Globus brochures front and center now. Just booked a Trafalger 23 day tour of England, Scotland, Wales, crossing to N and S Ireland. My interest in cruising has plummeted and I know I am not the only consumer who is reducing cruising. That is an issue for cruising - not so much the switching between lines.

You are not the only one. There are many travel options out there. We are doing the O Iceland/Greenland Nfld etc tour in August. We cancelled a O deep south in February as not interested in getting yellow fever and malaria shots as well as too many dubious islands. Cancelled before the 6 month requirement to get our deposit back. Replaced the $ budget with a 23 day Trafalgar Best of Great Britain tour including ferry to Ireland. Includes food in local restaurants etc. Did a Globus tour in 2019 to Germany, Austria, Switzerland that was simply outstanding. Seeing the local sites, eating local food, seeing local entertainment was very, very rewarding. We were taken care of so well by Globus. I had 0 complaints. The next voyage is on Hurtigruten along the Norway coast involving 2 Mighty trains. We will always consider cruising opportunities, however, the days of cruising first is gone for us.

Hi LHT28. We cancelled as not interested in all the cruise drama and the cruise downgrading. Not interested in cruises based on discussions with other numerous other friends who have recently cruised and discussion with my fellow golf marshals who recently returned from O, Celebrity and Regent, no one is happy. Simply More likely would not affect our Feb booking. We were up against the $ free cancellation time frame so we pulled the trigger. My agent is Very connected with O - they are swamped with cancellations. The Simply More appears to be turning consumers off. Hoping all your cruising goes well indeed!

I just cancelled a deep south O cruise in February. My well connected TA, O aware, and was on the Vista initial sailing.... the TA apologized for the delay as they are swamped with clients cancelling O. So, that is my comment on O. I will do my August cruise and nothing further unless I see a Consumer Focused O product offering in the future. Meanwhile I have just used the $ to book a Globus land tour.

I am awaiting my first and last O cruise this August. We are not interested in paying for alcohol which we do not use, shore excursions that we rarely use, OBC for stuff or services we never purchase on a ship. We do cruise only and customize which is a major reason we moved from Celebrity to Oceania like many others. So if the intelligence presented thus far here on CC is true, we will not patronize O again. It appears to me to be a money grab (positive for O) and a money saving as they degrade food and service levels (positive for O). I do not see any upside for me, the Customer.

Assume a downgraded ship board experience for many years.

We are a 1st time Oceania cruiser too, August as well. Never do any cruise lines air. Go a couple of days earlier to the port of departure and enjoy and relax. You control. The cruise lines put you on the most cheap, multi stop flights. With the useless Canadian $ we are paying 35% more than Americans and similar to EU passengers. Think carefully about travel out of Canada, it is expensive and requiring analysis to other options.

I am undertaking my first Oceania cruise this August. I am cruise only but got big $ OBC which I will use for shore excursions etc. We do not do alcohol nor purchase any items or services on any cruise. Any attempt by O to force me to pay for items I do not want will result in O being Cancelled. So, we are now looking at different cruise lines already. Also, I am in Canada. The useless Cdn $ makes cruising much more expensive than for Americans. So I again will not be purchasing items I do not want and then have to pay in Cdn $.

Greetings! I also love the S class, it is just the M class are smaller, more intimate, more connected to the sea. I have done the S class over the years and they are grand vessels. I will not patronize the E class ever. Without a forward viewing point that is comfortable, we will not book a ship. Everyone is different - our household prioritizes the sea and itineraries. You provided a great post! Kindest Regards.

The M class is a class of medium sized vessels that have a Promenade Deck. This is Huge. Outside access to see the ocean - like why would you cruise if not to see the ocean? I have had many beverages on the Promenade of the Connie, Infinity, Millie etc. A great place to avoid people, relax, watch the waves, observe the wildlife - But NO, can not have that right cruise lines, you have to "manage" the customers to extract more $. Right cruise lines? So you got rid of the Promenade, right cruise lines? Also, they have/used to have the Forward Lounge...not sure anymore. Q - how does one observe the Panama Canal transit without a forward viewing area? The ships today are inward looking, force you inwards to ensure you purchase drinks/stuff etc. This is the main objective of the cruise lines, $. Being on the ocean is not important any more. Hence we only book the M class and we have moved onwards to Oceania where the R ships have a small promenade and well of course, the QM2, the best ocean view ship. Hope this assists you.

The fact there is no forward viewing area for ALL passengers is a Key reason we will not patronize Celebrity, depending on the vessel of course. The beloved Connie is our favorite cruise ship of all time, followed by the QM2. The QM2 outdoor wings is THE most amazing cruise ship viewing feature on the seas today. I cruise to SEE the world. If I do not have a forward view, the ship is cancelled.

Celebrity is not a luxury/relaxed luxury line whatsoever. That is deliberate marketing lies. It is very simply the top end of the mass market segment and it is a class apartheid line like MSC. Celebrity originally was the Oceania of the day. Back in the 90's etc, Celebrity owned the premium segment by itself and it was equivalent to Oceania today. I enjoyed the Zenith, Century lounges where they served high tea and I mean high tea with great food. Fast forward to 2023. Celebrity is just another cruise line in the mass market segment. Celebrity has lost many previous customers like me, we have moved on to the premium lines - often at little or no more cost. Cruising customers have to keep track of all the changes to maximize your probability of receiving the product and service that was advertised and that you paid for. Serving tilapia fish, that is garbage fish. Shame Celebrity.

Hanoj, I appreciate your words "cloak for steep price increases". I suspect you are correct. For my household - steep prices increases mean the service provider is cancelled. I, like you, are 1st time Oceania customers and we are already suspicious, that is not good for Oceania or any other service provider. I will see if I like Oceania or not. Otherwise, onto other travel options.

I am taking my first Oceania voyage in August. I am not interested whatsoever in all in pricing. We do our own air, do not use alcohol and purchase 0 on any cruise. We are only interested in excursions, potentially. So al a cart pricing is acceptable to me. Suffice it to say, I will see how this cruise goes before booking another. If Oceania goes the way of only all in pricing, there not be another cruise. Oh and I repudiate the "free" marketing as it is a lie.