vlthom

I am glad to see this particular thread. We have been regulars sailing on O since 2011 and have always felt that the cookies were horrible. They usually look good but that's where their appeal ends. Foolishly, we keep trying them with the hope that they've somehow improved. They never do. We enjoy O and the majority of the cuisine onboard but the inferiority of the cookies has always perplexed us. The pastries and many other baked goods are wonderful. Cookies are typically an easy thing to bake so why can't O make a decent one? As another poster stated, it's likely because the base for the cookies is a mix -- and a bad one at that. I'd rather that they stop offering the bad cookies than to continue putting them out for us to try. We are foolish enough to be tricked into trying them because they look good. 🤪 And I do agree that Viking's cookies are good -- but otherwise, their food isn't up to snuff.

I had the same issue when attempting to book shore excursions online last week. After multiple failed attempts over the course of the full week, like you, I resorted to calling O and having a rep do the booking for me. My guess is that there was a system problem of some sort but the O rep had no difficulty making the bookings for me.

It's been a year since I've been on board any Oceania vessels but have an upcoming cruise next month so I will see then whether or not the "drink of the day" is a thing of the past. It wasn't typically the type of drink that I'd order so I won't feel a great loss if it's gone.

Aside from Happy Hour, there's usually a "drink of the day" which is sold at a reduced price. The daily drink changes each day. As DH does not drink and I don't drink enough to make one of the drink packages make sense, I do take advantage of the 2-for-1 happy hour. I've never had them bring both drinks at the same time, though. They've always brought one and then waited until I was ready for the second one. As long as I placed the order prior to the end of HH, I could take my time and the second drink would be brought when I was ready for it.

Though I know that this is the wrong forum for it, can you share the one for Viking that you came across?

This offer does not seem to be available for my Gold card

I support efforts to protect public health and do my part, accordingly; however, the head scratcher here is why there's a need for the mandatory testing for re-entry to the U.S. when FLYING home. The tests are not required when re-entering the U.S. via car, ship or what-have-you, as if COVID can only hitch a ride on an airplane. We all know that's not the case. So, the policy doesn't seem well thought out.

Depending upon who your healthcare provider is, you might get reimbursed for the cost of your test. We needed rapid PCR tests for entry into French Polynesia in March. They required a test within 24 hours of boarding our flight. The only local option that I could find charged $200 per person -- obscene, in my opinion but it was necessary. I submitted a request for reimbursement from my provider (Kaiser) and they paid for the tests without question. I had a check within a week.