cluso

Hi Charla, I have read all your most excellent reviews. We started going to Key West in the mid 80's due to work (military). It has changed immensely, but we have been on a lot of cruises that stopped there recently. A wonderful place to go for an hour is the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. It was so cool with butterflies landing on you and their plants were some of the most well-kept plants I have ever seen. It's not too expensive, and if you pick up a local tourist rag, there are good discounts for this. Their gift shop is great. Across the street on the water is the Seaside Cafe at the Mansion. Fun place with lots of options, even lobster pizza. We walked to these places. You can even have time to hit up your other bars. We are off to Oceania for the next few cruises. 😁

And...???

As experienced cruisers/sailors and having lived in Europe, the September through November time frame was our desire. We don't do pools, beaches, and shop for "stuff". We go for the experience. Less crowds/children, cooler weather but not too cool, and pretty much all was still open. Great photo ops and plenty of pleasant cafes for coffee, beer, wine, lunches. A way more chilled time to visit.

I guess I confused people. I know the Specialty Dining info. I just did not know if you could make reservations in advance for the main dining room. DH has a hearing issue (former fighter pilot for many, many years--pre-Tom Cruise) and hasn't explored h-aids yet. Big tabletops aren't in ours or anybody's favor.

No, just didn't know when we can make reservations for the main dining room (not Specialty), or if that is possible before we board...

First O cruise coming up soon. A-2 Cabin, so Specialty Dining Reservations are open 60 days out. We are on a 12-night Regatta cruise so 2 nights each in Polo and Toscana. So, can I make reservations for every night of the cruise at the 60 day point? The reason I ask is the invoice has a line --Specialty Dining Reservations--Open for reservations on: 16-July-24. I was just thinking Specialty, didn't even think about the normal dining room reservations...

That's pretty standard pricing among most cruise lines. Amidships more $$ within the same category.

We booked in June 2023 for September 2024 directly with O. This was before SM. As I recall, O lowered the fares, maybe to entice cruisers to SM. I was on the fence for a while. Anyway, we got the total fare reduction of $1800, SM drinks, and $300 pp excursions, for an A-2.

We took advantage of the Flash Sale to lower our fare for a September trip. On Saturday, when I talked to an O agent, it was sorted out as expected. We have not paid final yet. She said I would have to wait until Tuesday for a manger to review the numbers. After not receiving a new invoice by late afternoon today, I checked my reservation online. It had gone UP several thousand, same cabin. Of course, I immediately called O (on hold only 3 minutes). Turns out the "Revenue Dept" applied a different promotion. That's wild, same cabin for almost $2,000 more. I wonder what that promotion was...The Flash sale ends tomorrow. Our fare is now reduced as expected by $818. We had already reduced it earlier by $1800 when we changed to SM. Those numbers are per cabin, not PP. I do have the new invoice now. Time for some liquid refreshment. 🤪

I think I am figuring out these sales. I am on the same cruise in an A2. Earlier, I elected not to upgrade, but today I figured out I could possibly reduce our fare. I called O and she said she changed it. I won't get the new invoice until Tuesday after a manager comes back to review it. Saving $818. Thank you to everyone!

I looked at prices and cabins available. We have aft cabin 6090, which is supposed to be a good location, so we will keep it. I booked it last June. We have cruised Alaska before, so I thought the aft would be good for pictures, etc.

Relooking at the Terms, it appears all the promotions have that "NBOnly" phrase. So, how do people move up cabins or decrease original fare multiple times?

I saw the dreaded words in Terms "New bookings only", so I guess I can't upgrade to PH. I thought I had read that some people have done that. I have not paid final yet. It's our first Oceania cruise and I booked directly with O.

So are we. Ed lived there up north for 2'1/2 years before "us". He has so many stories from saving bear cubs to being in the back seat of an F-4 while refueling when the refueling boom broke his canopy. He survived with some facial frostbite. We cruised Alaska from Vancouver in 2012 on Celebrity Century in a Sky Suite. It was wonderful! We are ready for this next adventure.

Regatta, with only two Specialty restaurants.

I guess I am confused now. We were given 4 specialty reservations and can reserve 60 days prior to departure based on Concierge and cruise length. I assumed we could make all 4 reservations 60 days out???

I have never done this before either. We have 4 specialty options on 1 12-night cruise in Concierge. If I split the options 2 and 2, does it let me make 2 reservations at the first place, then 2 at the second?

Especially if people have balance or walking issues.

So how old are you? I am 70. A lot of us old and dated sailors love the older/smaller ships and where they take us. It's history. First cruise in 1971, Honolulu to LA on Matson Monterey. I remember LA being so dark--I thought it was fog, but it was air pollution. Fast forward to 1985 (H&W) and we cruised a short cruise on Chandris Amerikanis (pre-Celebrity) to Nassau. Then work intervened for many years. Anyway, we are Elite+ on Celebrity, have sailed many lines, have had motor/sailboats, have done many bare boats with the Moorings, and canal boats with Le Boat in Europe. I guess what I am saying, is that a lot of us experienced "old folks" have a greater appreciation for smaller/older boats/ships. It's in the eye of the beholder. We don't look for a new self-contained city at sea with all the adornments. Even though we live on the water, we are on boats/ships for the sea, sea view, sea experience, wind and the salt air. Okay, and some of the port stops. 😎 I am not arguing about your desires, which are fine for you. Just another idea... .

Why did you pay final so early?

Confusing. I booked us originally on 15 June 2023, then got a lower fare on 2 Jan 2024. We have an A-2 Aft for Sep '24 Alaska/Pacific Coast. There are 3 categories of Penthouses available. I do have a O Connoisseur agent now. I should probably talk to her. Any hints on the Penthouse cabins--location, etc?

No, this will be our first O cruise, so I booked directly with them by phone. We have been on 4 "R" ships before. The way it's written, it says "Upgrade Now". To me that kind of means already booked can upgrade. But, then the fine print.

I noticed today that O is having a 4 category upgrade sale on some of their cruises. It says in small print "For new bookings only". One of my booked cruises is in the sale--I booked directly with O. I thought I have read on this feed some people were able to upgrade a current reservation. Is that true? Just call O?

Oceania Insignia Oct 16-27, 2025, great leaf peeping. "Canadian Connoisseur" Montreal to Boston. Most ports are in Canada.

Yep, Capt Tasos is great, have cruised with him many times. Cruising out of one of the many Norwegian fjords, he stopped the Constellation and did multiple 360"s. He called it "Dancing with the Waterfalls" which were on both sides. Pretty cool. Unfortunately, E class is not our cup of tea, so don't know if we will see him again.