DrHemlock

10 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

YES!

One way international J (or the increasingly elusive F) tickets are a wonderful use of awards.  Awards can be terrific for round trip, too, but because international premium tickets are usually more than half the price of the round trip, it's perfect for using points, where there's no "one-way penalty".

Just to be perfectly clear:  Miles held in an airline FF membership program (e.g. AAdvantage or United Mileage Plus) are one thing, while "points" held in a bank or credit card program are of a different breed which varies from program to program.  

My post above to which GeezerCouple responded was based only on my experience with miles, not points.  Ever since Covid, FF miles have been refundable without fee on trips booked through American and United even if flights would involve travel on code-share OneWorld or StarAlliance carriers (and I hope they stay that way!).  Those two programs have worked for us very well for overseas travel to all sorts of destinations the past several years, so they suffice.  And, like GC above, I nearly always book two one-ways rather than RT since a different airline's return schedule or mileage cost might be more convenient (or cheaper) than the outbound flight.

But FlyerTalker is undoubtedly correct in pointing out that other FF and points programs may have different rules, so I should have been more specific by restricting my original post to AA, UA and their alliances.  Happy flying!

8 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

But, remember that the cost is in addition to the price you already paid for coach tickets in your cruise fare! You don’t get a credit for those coach tix when you buy the bizclass tix. So, you’re basically buying two tix per person.

Yet another reason for one to request the air allowance from O -- never lavish but usually reasonable -- then book Biz or even Econ tickets oneself whether with money (usually nonrefundable 😢) or those fabulous refundable FF miles.

Okay, yeah.....if you're sailing two segments and not disembarking in Tokyo, then that seems the best solution.  (Too bad American Express discontinued their poste restante service several years ago.  Now that was convenient.)  Good luck and have a great trip!

3 hours ago, rzjc46 said:

I will be gone over a month prior to election day.

Do you mean you'll be aboard Regatta for a month, having boarded in LA on 10/3?  Or that you'll be traveling otherwise and intend to meet and board Regatta in Tokyo on 10/29?  

If boarding on 10/3 in LA, then pinotlover's suggestion re pre-cruise hotel won't work because the ship only stops for one day in Tokyo; ergo, you won't have a hotel.  In that case, then Harters' suggestion of the port agent could work if you can clear it with them ahead of time.

OTOH, if you are planning to board the cruise in Tokyo on the 29th, then it's a matter of how early you plan to arrive in the city and whether you will stay in a hotel for one or more days before joining the ship.  If so, then pinotlover's suggestion becomes an excellent one.

Or will you board the cruise in LA and then disembark in Tokyo?  And, if so, do you plan to stay in a post-cruise hotel?  In that case, pinotlover's suggestion is still in the game.  

This would all be a lot easier if you would at least tell us your date of departure from Ohio, your initial boarding date/city, and whether you intend to to said one segment (LA-Tokyo or Tokyo-Singapore) or two (LA-Singapore).  Otherwise, we're all trying to help based upon speculation and guesswork.

18 hours ago, roothy123 said:

But now at least there's usually an announcement at the cocktail party for past passengers about how many nationalities are represented by the crew members. 

Hmmm....there was none such at the repeaters party on our recent Insignia cruise.  Too bad; we would have enjoyed knowing.  We do miss the name badges that included country of origin -- even though the lettering was usually too small to read from a respectful distance so there was that embarrassing moment of leaning in to peer at the person's chest.

You don't say where you'll be boarding Regatta.  If in LA on 10/3, then I see your dilemma: according to your Ohio voting schedule, early and absentee voting don't begin until October 8th so that would be impossible for you.  OTOH, if you'll be flying to Tokyo to pick up the ship there on 10/29, then you should be able to vote early at home before departing.  

If the former, then maybe try this if you know or can make contact with someone in Tokyo:  Request an absentee ballot at the earliest possible date; have whoever is picking up your mail at home forward the ballot via DHL or whoever to your contact in Tokyo to hold until you arrive on the 29th; go ashore and meet up with that person; fill out your ballot, seal it and have the person return it, again via DHL or whoever, to the appropriate Ohio absentee voting address.  (I know, I know .... rampant vote-by-mail fraud!!!).

Other than that, I don't see a solution but will look forward to other posters' ideas.

47 minutes ago, bob brown said:

Hey people!   Don't you realize that these pins are by far the most expensive jewelry I own?

(As in the fares paid to obtain them)....😁

True dat!

8 hours ago, ORV said:

it might mean something else than what I meant. I was referring to a practice by a poster here named Mike. 

Apparently, in a world possibly younger than ours, "Mikeys" refers to Mike's Hard beverages which feature a variety of fruity flavors to please every discerning teenage palate.  Good to know you and I are a bit more serious than that (not that there was ever a doubt). 😎

20 hours ago, ORV said:

In the late afternoon’s we also do a Mikey in the room. 

Ha ha....okay, you made me google "Mikey."  So, does O stock it or do you have to bring your own aboard? 

3 hours ago, ORV said:

except for that woman that’s always hijacking threads with personal nonsense. 

🤣🤣🤣

19 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

the brood coffee

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!"

Here's a different link than the one posted by KS&JW on previous page:  https://www.oceaniacruises.com/tropics-and-exotics-cruises?sfmc=EM_56805559.  It arrived as an email from Oceania on Wednesday morning, and it features a rather significant and frustrating editorial error.

Clicking on the link takes one to the page titled: "New 2025-2026 Tropics & Exotics Collection."  Scroll about halfway down the page to the section labeled: "New & Boutique Ports."  Click on the box within that section labeled: "Featured Ports."  An assortment of ten interesting photos and descriptions of ports (mostly new to us) is then revealed, beginning with Dravuni Island, Fiji.  Looks great, but here's the thing:

Every second port description is the same text verbatim as the one preceding it.  Thus, the description for Haikou, China, is exactly the same as for Dravuni Island, Fiji.  Photos are different but text is the same.  Ditto the descriptions for Alofi, Nieu and Kanazawa, Japan.  Ditto for Ko Kood, Thailand, and Toamasina, Madagascar.....and so forth right down the line.

When this email first arrived as a preview on April 10th, I immediately notified my well-connected TA (whom many of you know) that she needed to alert Oceania regarding this rather blatant slip-up so it could be corrected before the finalized brochure was released.  I never heard a word back from her other than that she had received my message.

As you can see, the erroneous copy was never corrected.  Either Oceania's editorial eyes don't recognize the problem, or they just don't care.  Pretty poor marketing, IMO.

I stand doubly-corrected.  Wrong about nonexistence of signature drinks for individual ships and wrong about the apparently now-discontinued Drink of the Day.  

That's what I get for always sitting at the bar and ordering the standard stuff I like without benefit of having checked the drinks menu.  Mea culpa!  

That said, all the Signature drinks on the menu above (including Big O) would be too fruity for my taste (not to mention too expensive if 2-4-1 does not apply), so no great loss.  YMMV, of course.

Signature or non-Signature.....Happy Happy Hour to all!  It's worth the price of admission.

Do you mean "signature" as in unique to that specific ship?  Not to our knowledge, and we've sailed all but the newest A-class ships.  

That said, there is usually a "cocktail of the day" with a slightly reduced price listed in Currents and available in all bars.  Sometimes it's good, sometimes less so, depending upon one's taste.

There's always the Big O Martini available in all bars on all ships all the time.  Never tried one myself because I like my martini with specific gin, dryness, etc., but Big O must be at least okay because it's been around since we started cruising with O, meaning somebody's ordering 'em!

1 hour ago, Zoey123 said:

is there wait staff or could we go to the bar in Red Ginger or the Tuscan Grill to grab a drink and sit in the Library?

There is no wait staff for drinks in the library because...well...it's a library: a contemplative place filled with books for browsing or reading (or sometimes napping) in a quiet environment.  Of course, you can grab drinks at one of the bars (e.g., Martinis) and take them to the library for pre-dinner socializing, and no one is likely to make an issue of it.  However, you likely will not be appreciated by your fellow passengers who might be visiting the library for the traditional reasons.  

Anyway, there's no need to go "all the way up to the lounge" when Martinis is positioned on a lower deck towards the rear of the ship.

13 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

You best check your itinerary as Rouen is inland and suspect you are docking at either Le Havre or Honfleur.

Well, shiver me timbers!  I'd have noted the same thing as WESTEAST above since Rouen is definitely inland and basically a river-cruise port.  But CruiseMapper's schedule for October (https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/rouen-port-3937?month=2024-10#schedule) shows Sirena docking in Rouen as the OP posted.  

Still, as others have written, a day trip from there to Paris is risky.  Besides, Rouen's a beautiful, atmospheric city with a cathedral as spectacular as you'll find anywhere.  I can even recommend a great place for lunch if you're so inclined.

11 hours ago, Rainbow3fe said:

Can't figure out where to find good private tours. Any suggestions would really be appreciated. 

Take a look at https://gowithguide.com/s?country=japan&t=tours&page=3.  We were on Insignia and had good luck with them.  Better than "Tours by Locals" (usually good but always expensive) in our opinion.

We always choose 7000 or 7001 when available, though we have also sailed in 6001 when the deck 7 cabins were already taken.

As you surmise, the "Captain's view" from the forward-facing cabins is worth the price of admission, regardless whether on deck 6 or deck 7.  Yes, there's more motion of the ocean than amidships and there can be some (or many) "kabooms" in vigorous seas.  But we're not bothered by that so, if you're not either, then you needn't worry.  After all, a lot of pax pay big bucks for the Vista suites immediately adjacent, so how bad can it be?

The theater is a different matter.  In 6001, we could definitely hear show rehearsals from below on afternoons in port or during calm sea days (i.e., nap time), as well as the shows themselves on relatively calm nights at sea.  OTOH, if the seas are rockin', then that drowns out (so to speak) the show noise from below.

On balance, it's not that big a deal and we'll still take 6000 or 6001 any time we can't get the cabins directly above.

Either deck, you're in a Concierge cabin so the window to make specialty reservations opens for you earlier than for most folks: a boon if you prefer two-top dining at specific times.  

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

While we have never been hungry, at any time, on an Oceania cruise, all those lining up so early must have different experiences.

Actually, yes.  Some of us not only have a 2-top reserved at 6:30, but we want to sit in a particular out-of-the-mainstream location (e.g., all the way aft and around the corner on R ships).  We're not the only ones who prefer not to be in the middle of foot traffic, etc., so we like to be among the very first in the door.  

Also, happy hour ends at 6:00 so we're finished with our drinks by 6:15.  Not gonna go back to the room, so why not head over to the specialty and join the starving souls outside the door?  We've been sitting -- and we're gonna be sitting some more -- so standing up for a few minutes gets the blood flowing again and lets some of the alcohol process before ordering a nice bottle of wine.  Besides, some of those souls are kinda nice to talk to.  

11 hours ago, chloemonkey said:

I DO wish that Polo still offered prime rib on the menu......

Gee, we're just off of Insignia where both the king's and queen's cut of prime rib were on the Polo menu as they have been for years.  In fact, I had the queen's on two occasions (rare, of course, as prime rib should be) and was a happy camper.  Is it maybe missing only on Vista as they seem to be taking O in new culinary directions?

19 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

For women, dress sandals are fine. Esp. if you have a dress.

It's not enough to have a dress; you must, in fact, be wearing it.  😎  

8 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

As to cruise ship excursions they are fine for folks who like being led by the hand along with 50 of their friends.  

Yes, and doesn't "Simply More" make them ever so much more desirable?  (Ugh....)  🤨

14 hours ago, fille_canadienne said:

what's different about Vista, shopping wise? 

Don't know.  I meant simply that we've cruised on all of O's ships except Vista so I couldn't comment on their shopping.  But you're right; it was not exactly clear.

Regional products?  Decidedly no.  Basically the same over-priced O-branded clothing, jewelry and watches on every one of our cruises aboard all ships except Vista.

I suspect it's because there already are "regional products" for sale on the dock or in the terminal of every stop along the way.  

OTOH, assuming you may be referring to the more artistic, less touristy types of regional products: that would require an O marketing specialist or department to seek them out, bring them aboard, price them accordingly and try to get them sold before hitting the next port.  Not likely in our lifetimes.

Firsthand experience multiple times aboard different R & O ships:  

Told by reception that it can be refunded the afternoon or evening before disembarkation.  It always worked as stated.  Could it have happened earlier?  Can't say; I had no reason to ask as the given answer was reasonable and convenient (for us).

I'd be wary of trying it on the morning of disembarkation because your shipboard account will have already been closed, IIRC.