PhD-iva

Thanks so much for this. I think I am now less curious about sailing on Cunard.. 

If you get a chance, pls come back and let us know how things went.

Enjoy your cruise!

10 hours ago, baybridge said:

Please anyone with real experience not just links on the internet.  Cruise coming up in a couple of months. We will start in Alaska and end up in Canada.  One of the group has a serious felony from 20 years ago.  He has read the information available but "tested" it by driving into Canada last year. He was not turned away at the border.  When does Canada check for this, before we board in Alaska? Or as we are getting into Canadian waters?  I tried to talk some sense into the man but he isn't worried.  I assume Regent won't help or refund if he is denied boarding.  So anyone know anyone who was denied boarding for their records in the States.  Yes I read Regent FAQ's on subject. 

 

New account so to protect identity of the guest

I hope you will be able to get some information and direction on your issue. It’s very good to proactively Try to figure this out in advance. Myself, I have no experience in this area, but just a thought. What if you called or visited the nearest Canadian consulate or embassy here in the states to ask them?

Enjoy your cruise!

On 4/13/2024 at 2:03 PM, Pcardad said:

Correct and correct. I think, if any goes, it will be Navigator and they will reuse the name for a new ship. We will know for sure when the rest of 2026 cruises are announced.

Does anyone have a feel for when the rest of the 2026 schedules will be released? THX!

3 hours ago, edgee said:

OP's opening sentence says he checked airline site.

He said the “flight itself still exists”, not that his booking is still there….

26 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

……that is changing with many now coming from Celebrity and wanting to make changes to O, like louder music, etc. 

🤨

45 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

Its not that they dont  know, it is that they dont want to. They also know that no one will take them to task on it , legally. If we are committed to the line, then we back off once they give us something, even though that something is nothing compared to what it says in writing. 

 

It is all about promising something, they have no intention of giving you. Very shady practices but as long as they can get away with it, it continues. Hate to speak that way about our line of choice, but it is what it is. 

I guess what you’re telling me is that the other cruiselines are worse. 🤯

On 5/2/2024 at 10:12 AM, pinotlover said:

If in a rush, I’d advise against either venue. Otherwise , order a drink, particularly coffee and/or juice, have them at the table. Place your napkin in your seat, then get your food.

 

A commonly recognized etiquette is napkin etiquette, which many ignore.

 

1. Your napkin goes on your lap, just like waiters place it there.

 

2. If you depart your chair temporarily, the napkin goes on your seat. Never put a used napkin on your table.

 

3. If you have finished your meal, leaving your napkin on the table indicates to the staff, upon your departure, you have finished your meal.

 

Long and short, if one haphazardly leaves their napkin on the table to go after more food, you should well expect a cleared table upon return. Leaving it on your chair means you’re coming back.

Thx for the “ edicute” lesson. Me needs sum!i

On 5/2/2024 at 2:27 PM, Lolotte said:

Strange I just called Oceania and was told they are not available yet

 

Then that’s your answer.

When they call you, let them know that you don’t want/appreciate the calls. I think they will update your account and stop calling.

On 5/2/2024 at 4:09 PM, ronrick1943 said:

It's possible that if Sweden is your final stop and your flight is non-stop-they may have it at duty free shop----or something better at the higher price you might enjoy.

I also like this suggestion. You would purchase the alcohol in the duty-free shop in the airport of your last connection before arriving in Stockholm.

I have been told that the Nordic countries have very high taxes on alcohol, so it might be a good idea to avoid buying your preferred drink in Stockholm before boarding.

Enjoy your cruise!

On 5/2/2024 at 1:48 PM, jonthomas said:

We made final pay a week ago, for an Alaska cruise that is now part of the sale.

Also the price has come down 400pp.

O will only give us 200pp non refundable obc, even though we booked on board with best price guarantee. 

Doesn't seem fair, but thems the breaks.

This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about the car rental reservation. They knew how to take the reservation, they just didn’t know how to HOLD the reservation.

In this case, Oceania knows how to promise the Best price guarantee, O just doesn’t know how to COMPLY with a best price guarantee.

Country Fairs can be lotsa fun! Here’s a video with the cutest Sirena entertainment staff hosting a “slot machine” game. 

O organizes get togethers for solo travelers. Maybe on first night? Look in Currents for the meeting time/place. After an (either) hosted/unhosted per-dinner get together, solos can agree to eat together if they so wish. 
You’ll have lots of offers to eat together as a group. Enjoy your cruise!

Let’s see - on Sirena our part-time social hostess was one of the performers. We got to meet and dine with several of the performers. A wonderful experience!

On 4/19/2024 at 10:09 PM, GeorgeCharlie said:

We were in Lima the fall of 2022 and would strongly recommend you consider taking the ship supplied shuttle to the airport.

 

The port used by cruise ships is located in Callao (14km west of Lima) and is a industrial port, which has large transport trucks operating 24 hours per day. This means most taxi and tour buses are not allowed into the port area.

 

The immediate area round the docks is known to be very dangerous. If you are taking a private arranged transportation, you will most likely be picked up at the port gates, which are fair distance from where the ship docks. We had to take a ship supplied shuttle just to get to the gates. When they drop you off at the gates, you are essentially in a large slum area!!

I agree with the advice in this post absolutely. About 18 months ago I disembarked from a cruise ship and was being picked up by a private tour guide. All passengers not using cruise transfers had to take the cruise ship provided bus from the cruise dock to a staging area outside of the port gates. This area is so dangerous that the lima tourist police had a three person presence there, although this was during the day. I’m not sure if it’s a 24 hour police presence or not.

In the past, cruise ship tourists would debark and be left in this staging area. Thieves would drive by on a motorbike or in a car and rip their suitcases/bags out of their hands and drive off. I was accompanied by experienced male residents, so I felt safe (along w the police presence).

2 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

But there is spare money to order new ships…….plus past is the past regarding that. 

There is no “spare” money. New ship builds are business investments that must earn a return for investors! 

I am also interested in this. I tried to paste a link to get yourguide.com with information about a hop on hop off in Oslo. Something is goofy with my Internet today, or something, so I’m not able to paste a hotlink here for you.

I will be following your thread, so thanks for this.

I booked my Japan excursions today, the day they opened, for my Tokyo - Vancouver Riviera cruise on 25 April 2025. Might end up rescheduling Japan to a future year if my very expensive Cape Town to Doha on Regent in 2025 is a go.

I’m still trying to fill out my 18-day port intensive cruise in NW Europe this August w excursions using local providers. It’s a lot of work! Only doing 2 ship excursions on the more remote islands, as a safeguard.

On 4/14/2024 at 3:09 PM, organizedhome said:

Thank you for all the different perspectives; I’ll take the comments under advisement—but rest assured, we are delighted to be aboard.   

I appreciate your perspective and observations posted (on this non-private forum). They are helpful to others to evaluate onboard conditions, which are always subjective.
I hope that you are able to resolve your concerns and to enjoy the rest of your cruise.

I suspect some people need to be entertained (more than me….). I generally can make new friends on board, several different ones. So, I am likely changing it up by hanging with different groups at different times.

Sorry O isn’t for them…..

1 minute ago, Pcardad said:

You had a mandatory Covid test on the pier as a requirement to boarding?

I think you misunderstood the post. I think the post compares 2 difficult embarkations, one of which included a COVID test. JMO.

On 4/21/2024 at 7:44 PM, CardowMD said:

Not sure who K&B is, but I hope it’s not Nov 5 cruise.

I LOVE Boogie & Kashia! Great way to burn off some cals on the dance floor. Their party rocks!

7 hours ago, DrHemlock said:

It's a simple typo, probably caused by auto-fill, but I can't resist:

Brood Coffee is just the thing when you're having a bad day -- the more bitter, the better -- though perhaps less appreciated when it accompanies room service breakfast before the day has even begun.  Oh well...as Joe E. Brown said at the end of Some Like It Hot, "Nobody's perfect!"

HaHa! Must admit, not a typo - it was a “wine-o”!
I knew it looked off, but I was feeling no pain….until about 10 minutes later when the correct spelling hit me! OUCH!

On 4/19/2024 at 9:28 PM, WESTEAST said:

Adherence to dress code is gradually slipping - recently, did see passengers wearing sweatshirts with jeans in Speciality restaurants which is a real stretch of the so called 'country club casual' dress code. Not sure how one defines 'nice ones' as price tags can equate to ripped nice jeans. O's website reads "...... for evening dining, elegant casual resort wear is suggested. We request that casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps, sandals, or tennis shoes not be worn in the restaurants after 6 PM. Baseball caps may be worn in the Terrace Café after 6 PM." Realize this subject has been beaten to death on various forums but on recent cruises we've noticed that the elegant casual resort wear is heading in the wrong direction IMO and unfortunately, Oceania is not enforcing.

Sometimes luggage goes awry, in which case the maitre’d knows that pax don’t have much choice.

Hopefully this explains what you saw……..

5 minutes ago, REDSTRIPETYPE said:

THE BAD

Like most cruise  ships, the coffee was horrible.

I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your cruise enough to go on Oceania again.

I agree with you that the brood coffee is not good enough to drink. However, as compared to celebrity, there is no upcharge for any specialty coffee. Cappuccino, Café Americano, flat white, expresso, no upcharge!