vlthom

I completely agree with you on this. The clothes are clean but they do not seem fresh. They have what I'd described as a metallic odor which I find off-putting. And so, we seldom use the free laundry service. When we use the self-serve laundry, we never have this issue. I've made comments about the laundry's odor in the mid-cruise comments but nothing has happened so we will continue with the self-service. It's quick and not that much trouble.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. It does indeed sound like you've found a great fit for you in sailing on O. I hope to run into you some time on a future cruise. Next up for us is a June/July sailing on Vista. That will be our 23rd O sailing and our first aboard Vista.

I've used Blacklane and have always been pleased with their service.

Generally speaking, if you can travel with less, you will find it much easier to deal with. That said, I typically pack a 26" rolling duffle and it's filled to the max. We do laundry as well. I usually feel that this bag, along with a small carry-on, are about as much as I can comfortably wrangle around myself.

Years back, O did some currency exchange, even buying back local currency (bills only) if one wound up with more than needed. But that seems to be one of those services that's gone away. I can't blame them; however, it was really nice that they did that. On our most recent cruise, they would not handle any currency other than U.S.

I ALWAYS bring and use my own hairdryer and never had any issue. I'm very particular about my hairdryer and feel that the provided ones are inadequate. From what I've read on these boards though, most feel that the provided ones are fine. You cannot use the outlet in the bathroom for hairdryers, whether it's the one provided or one that you bring onboard. I've never had any issue with using my own dryer with the outlets in the main part of the cabin (close to the mirror, of course).

Yes, you can always use the regular laundry service for which there is a per item fee. The fee amount is dependent upon the type of item. Turnaround it much faster than the 3-day complimentary service.

If it's not returned within 3 days, generally, it's because the cabin attendant has forgotten it. If you don't receive it within 3 days, ask the attendant (politely) and it's usually found and brought to the cabin.

We hang things to dry utilizing the clothes line in the shower. Generally, things will dry very quickly due to the ventilation in the bathroom. For us, it has worked very well.

You could wear your formal wear to any of the dining venues; however, you should be aware that Oceania is "country club casual" and you will rarely see other passengers dressed in formal wear. But if you enjoy doing so, by all means get dressed up. Others will appreciate it, I'm sure. I'd much rather see other passengers dressed up beyond the requirements of the dress code than those that push the limits in the other direction! Enjoy your cruise

There are hours when the self-serve laundry facilities are open for use. I don't recall what time they open in the morning, but they close at 10pm. And at least on our most recent cruise, the facility was locked up for the off-hours.

Yes

Don't wait until the very end. I did this on a recent cruise and had a sizeable refund coming to me. When I went to reception to get my cash, they only had small bills left and unless I wanted to haul a bag of money with me, it was unreasonable to cash out. They said that a credit would appear on my credit card; however, I've never had them actually provide a refund to my credit credit card. It has typically arrived via check a couple weeks later. On this most recent occasion, it was over 3 weeks before I received the check. But it did arrive without prompting.

I celebrated a birthday in November onboard Regatta. My husband checked ahead of time with the Executive Concierge who said that they'd already noted the occasion. That evening we ate in Toscana and I was presented with a small cake with a candle at the end of the meal. Waiters sang Happy Birthday. It was very nice and the cake was delicious. Later in the evening when we returned to our cabin, it was decorated with balloons and a banner saying, "Happy Birthday". We've also celebrated anniversaries onboard. These have typically gone unnoticed except on the occasion when my husband again talked to the Executive Concierge a day or two ahead of time and they presented us with a cake at the conclusion of our dinner. We ate in a specialty restaurant on those occasions. Oceania may not surprise one with a celebration if the occasion is not brought to their attention but they will certainly do something to mark an occasion if asked to do so.

We received a bottle of Veuve Cliquot for our 20th as well. We took it to a specialty -- no corkage was charged. We also tend to take the included bottle of Heidsieck Monopole to either the GDR or a specialty. We've never been charged a corkage in those instances either.

I believe that the last tender is typically an hour before the scheduled departure time.

Perhaps it's still available. They've always had some salad offerings available that are not mentioned on the menu.

It was a salmon patty as opposed to a piece of salmon. I do see that they are now offering sweet potato fries as a side.....finally.

It's no longer optional for bookings made after October of last year. You either have Simply More with airfare or not with airfare included, but everyone booking after last October will be on the Simply More plan. The new program includes beer, wine and champagne at mealtime and also provides a credit to be used towards excursions but not other onboard expenses. With the implementation of this plan, prices went up across the board for the most part.

We were recently in a PH cabin on Regatta and I was surprised to find that a blue light was on in the bathroom at night. We had no control over this -- no switch to operate, but it was nice that this feature exists because it meant that no one needed to switch on the bathroom light during the night if they needed to use the facilities, particularly since the switch is located outside the door.

We were in 8049, which was a great cabin aside from the problem with the temperature.

On recent (Oct 4-Dec 22) Regatta sailing, we found the climate control onboard the ship to be lacking. Temperatures were quite variable. We were sailing in high temps and high humidity but the ship's system did not seem capable of handling it. Our cabin was on deck 8 and was miserable for a very lengthy stretch of the cruise. Forget about the in-room thermostat controlling anything. There was no relationship to its settings and the temperatures in our cabin. We were instructed to keep the curtains closed in the cabin, which we did. It helped and the moment we'd open the drapes, the cabin got noticeably hotter. We wound up feeling as if we were sailing in an inside cabin at the price of a PH. We had the drapes closed from Okinawa to South Australia. I requested that they see if they could do anything to fix the situation but nothing ever really changed. I was told that "everyone is complaining" as if that was an answer to the problem. Earlier, I'd asked them to look at it and was told "no one is complaining" and thus my concern was invalid. I wound up frustrated with "Guest Services" to say the least. I do believe that our cabin was negatively impacted by the heat due to its location -- which was only a door away from the elevator area. Heat and humidity were pouring down the stairs from deck 9 where the Terrace and Waves are located. And guests were coming in/out of the pool deck area, heating things up. That said, I'd sailed on Regatta numerous times previously and never felt this problem to this degree. Some parts of the ship (like the lounge in particular) felt like they were refrigerated. Other areas (especially the fitness center and spa) were extraordinarily hot and only usable to the most heat-tolerant guests. The GDR varied but was usually okay. Same with the specialties on 10. Lots of people were complaining about the temperatures in their cabins. As for the refrigeration unit up top, that was brought on board during our cruise. We were told that there was a problem with the "refrigeration system" onboard when we reached Vancouver which in turn caused a full day's delay there. The captain told us that 2 spare units were brought onboard because we were sailing into a remote area (Alaska and then over to Japan) and would not have access to spare parts, if needed.

Yes, definitely lots of variables that are impactful. My point was that it's possible in the right circumstances.

We recently got off a 77-day voyage aboard Regatta. Both DH and I used zoom to connect with others on numerous occasions during the trip. There were times that it worked great and other times less so but it was certainly usable. DH was able to participate in work meetings which was important and the quality was sufficient for this purpose. I used it to zoom with a group that I zoom with regularly and out of the 5 times that I used it, one was a complete bust. On the other occasions it was at least adequate.