msn123

Hope you are posting this on the Roll Call. We would be very interested in joining you!

Have found, through the years, that is not an unusual kind of request in various parts of the world.

I am obviously irked as well. The 2018 cruise that we booked was booked on board in April of 2016 so there were no special promotions or discounts that would have negated the benefit.

When I posted on this thread I also sent a request for clarification to the shareholder benefit email address at Oceania and have not had the courtesy of a reply. Not happy.

Thank you Joe. Will get busy on our planning for next year very soon. Hope our trip will be equally incredible!

I seem to be caught in the same situation with a disappearing shareholder benefit offer. When they added the program to include Oceania, the info I received was a credit would be available for any cruise booked after January 1, 2016. I have the original documentation that states that. We booked three of them in 2016, including a long one in 2018 which sold out very quickly. While I received the credit for two of the ones booked in 2016, it now appears I will not be able to get the credit for the one book furthest out.

They then changed the rules and the current information says you are entitled to the credit for cruises booked after January 1, 2017. We jumped on one of the Cuba cruises as soon as those itineraries came out, so I will be getting the OBC on that cruise as it was booked in February 2017.

Any thoughts on their changing their policy and not honoring what they said we were entitled to? Good customer relations? I don't think so. I feel like we being penalized for making plans far in advance when we want to guarantee an itinerary we like.

We were there this past April. Weather was perfect. Highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center. Did the ship's tour and it was terrific. (And you know we usually like to do our own thing.)

You can use the hot tubs on the pool deck under the stars, but they put the net over the pool each evening.

Yes, there is perfume for sale on all the ships.

In addition to tips which we leave in addition to the gratuities, I always note by name those crew members who have given us excellent service on the comment cards at the end of the cruise. Supervisors and management read those comments and pass on the positive remarks and it does help performance reviews.

We are following your adventures closely. We have booked the Mumbai to Rome cruise next year and would love to have info on what is not to be missed as well as info on tours. Have a great cruise! Margie and Art

We will be on this cruise also. Check out the Roll Call for another way to connect. Here's to a great time!!

Excited that Oceania is doing a good trip to one of the places on our bucket list.

We booked on the December 1 sailing. Glad we jumped on it as cabins have filled fast!

I love that salad. My own easy version includes shredded cooked chicken, green onion, watermelon, cashews and Trader Joe's Ginger Soy Vinaigrette dressing with a dash of hot sauce.

Close enough when I need a fix!

We did the reverse of this tour a couple of years ago and I have a complete list of the tour companies that we used, contact info, and what we did. I was able to get others to join us via the roll call section. We had some amazing excursions.

If you would like to read all my notes, email me privately and I can send you the document. margnewman "at" aol "dot" com

You can always exchange a small amount of currency at the airport....a taxi will be much less expensive than Oceania's transfers.

I would also suggest you do an internet search of private or semi-private transfers from the airport to the port. We routinely do that in many cities....and usually you can prepay the transfers in advance via credit card.

If there is availability in your cabin category, Oceania will honor any price drops up to the day of sailing....at least that is what the ambassador told us when we booked a cruise while on Regatta last week. Check or have your TA check; you may get a refund or an on board credit. We have benefited from price drops in the past.

Sometimes we have had less than stellar experiences both boarding and disembarking, but remember that it is the port authority that controls the process, not Oceania.

The 80 minute hot stone massage is heavenly!!!!

This is more of an issue on the O-class ships rather than the R-class. We had a very long wait in the lounge at the first tender port on our recent Australia/NZ trip....an hour and a half wait. We were in touch with our guide so we just started late. This was aggravating but not critical.

The GM got so many complaints that they adjusted and began sending more independents in the first groups, but we all understood that their excursions always will have priority.

I am very careful to allow extra time in tender ports when I set up private excursions, always figure a way to contact the guides, and wouldn't consider an excursion that could possibly leave without me.

Hi Carol,

Greetings from the Tasman Sea! We had a gorgeous day in Melbourne and are on our way to Hobart at the moment. There is a little wave action this evening, but have certainly experienced much worse in various parts of the world. (A wild night in the Baltic comes to mind!)

As the Aussies say: "no worries"! And a lot can change in 10 days when you board.

We too have relied on Don's reasoned responses many times on CC and had the privilege of spending time with him and Betsy on a cruise in Alaska some years ago.

What beautiful memories the Horners made together....memories that will bring smiles when the tears of this tragedy are not so fresh.

Sending condolences. Margie and Art Newman

Adding good wishes for a Happy New Year and a safe and adventure-filled 180 days! Will be following posts and progress!

Art and Margie will be following your adventures, too. Have a great trip!!!

We were traveling with another couple and did a Tigre River Delta cruise with a private guide. It was an interesting day; our luggage was with us in the van; and we were dropped at the airport in plenty of time to have a bite to eat and to make our flight. The tour was about 6 hours and got us outside of the city. (Had been there before so did not want to do that touring.) Am sure you could set up something and go on the roll call for your cruise and find others who would join you.

If you want guide contact info, email me: margnewman "at" aol "dot" com

We are taking our 20th cruise with Oceania in February. I would guess that we have averaged closer to $5000 per person per cruise over the years rather than a $10k figure. We also have enjoyed the added value of the perks we have acquired along the way.

We would continue to book trips on Oceania even if there was no meaningful loyalty program; but I obviously like the program just the way it is!

Ask at the concierge desk. One was offered on our last cruise. Each captain can decide to offer or not. We were told to meet at a particular time and were escorted up to the bridge. the first officer gave us a tour and answered all of our questions. It was a day we were in port.