DrHemlock

https://www.axios.com/scoop-white-house-overruled-cdc-cruise-ships-florida-91442136-1b8e-442e-a2a1-0b24e9a39fb6.html

Seconding Flatbush above.  FWIW, I'm 6'1" and 170.  The shower is okay (just...as long as you don't drop the soap) and the commode requires sitting slightly side-saddle, but it's all doable.  You will find it more difficult than I do.  Perhaps someone more your size will reply with a more accurate assessment.

In the end, the question is how much more are you willing/able to pay for a bigger, nicer bathroom?  The R-class (Insignia) penthouses are nice and so are their bathrooms. 

Yes, a free bottle of bubbly -- usually French; exact vintage varies -- waiting in an ice bucket when you move into your cabin.  If you don't drink it on embarkation day, they retrieve the ice bucket but leave the bottle which you can keep cold in your fridge or ask your room steward for another bucket of ice whenever you want.  You can also take the bottle to dinner with you in any venue; the sommeliers will open and pour without any fee or corkage charge.

7 hours ago, JVNYC said:

I’m certainly feeling less patriotic this year on July 4. Many selfish people all around this country with no clue. I’d rather be on vacation in Europe right now to be honest. A toast to their success with this virus. 

And the irony is their claim that we're selfish because we're trying to dictate, control their lives and ruin their freedom and happiness.  I'm rooting for Darwin....

Or book your own flights using frequent flyer miles.  You can cancel anytime -- even the day before your flight -- without penalty, and pay only a couple hundred dollars fee to reinstate your miles.  

N.B.: the preceding refers to AA and UA because I have experience with both.  Other airlines may vary, so do due diligence.  (Try saying that three times fast.)

Slightly off topic, but referencing the website linked above:  For those O cruisers who cut our sailing teeth 20 years ago on Renaissance and Radisson, that same website offers the former Radisson Diamond for sale.  $47.5 million takes 'er home.  "Honey, did you remember to buy lottery tickets?"

Oh man, we did love that ship -- thanks, Jan! -- three times, including a trans-Atlantic.  Captain Neil Broomhall would allow one or two pax onto the navigation wings next to the bridge every now and then, and would occasionally allow one of us to sound the horn upon departure from port.  Giuseppe Ginanneschi -- remember him? -- was the Cruise Director.  

For all its faults, Diamond remains our favorite ship.  (And Paul Gaugin is #2....not that it matters to anyone but us.)

pinotlover:  Totally.  

Like you, I've seen people wearing their masks doing some of the darnedest things where there is clearly no danger to anyone because there's no one else there.  Although, now that I think about it, if a person is, in fact, a carrier/spreader, then the more often and for the longer period of time he/she wears that mask when not needed, it becomes more and more contaminated, thereby reducing its effectiveness -- that's why they come with washing instructions.  So, unless one really enjoys doing laundry, it seems equally important not to wear the mask when it isn't necessary.  (JMO; not endorsed by Dr Fauci.)

Good one, ToxM!!!  There's a frequent poster on this board who likes to go on about deciding for himself how much risk he's willing to take, then acting upon it -- which, in his case, means no mask because he's willing to take the risk of getting COVID.

Well, sir, you may not be worried about the risk to yourself, but that's really not the issue, is it?  If you refuse to wear a mask in close quarters in public, then you are the risk.  Masks (except for the fancy ones we ordinary civilians can't obtain) don't really do much to protect you from others; their purpose is to protect others from you.  

Just like when the surgeon operates on your knee or shoulder: his/her mask isn't protection against your knee germs; they're protection against his/her germs getting into your open wound.  Is that so difficult to understand, and is consideration for the health of others such a disagreeable concept?

I repeat:  Good one, ToxM!!!

Oceania may need to change their advertising logo from "Your World. Your Way." to "Your World...Any Which Way We Can!"

Matt Damon told me you can grow potatoes on Mars.

1 hour ago, clo said:

I'm curious how you know all of this that present as facts. No links to reputable and verifiable citations?

Would you consider Reuters to be a reputable source regarding the links between obesity, diabetes and Corona susceptibility?  (If they're not reputable, then who is? Alex Jones?)  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-new-orleans/why-is-new-orleans-coronavirus-death-rate-seven-times-new-yorks-obesity-is-a-factor-idUSKBN21K1B0

The hotel portion of the ship always operates on local time wherever they are, including mid-ocean.  (Can't speak for the bridge which may operate on GMT.)  

Each time you cross into another time zone once underway, your cabin steward will leave a note on your bed at night (along with Currents and whatever else) informing you of the impending time change and recommending you set your clock/watch ahead or back one hour for the following day.  Easy peasy.  

Say...you've got nicer verandah furniture than ours!  Is that because you took the photo aboard one of the newly-refurbished ships, and we'll probably have the same next time?  Or is it because you were in a Vista Suite (based on what appears to be bow structure in the background) as opposed to our A2 cabin next door? 

If the former, we're looking forward to it next time.  If the latter...well...them's the breaks.

Yes, we were also in 6000 -- which may be the one bbwex refers to above -- on one cruise because 7000 and 7001 were already booked.  We could hear rehearsals in our cabin in the afternoon on sea days or when we returned to the ship by lunchtime.  It could make napping a bit difficult for this light sleeper, but it wasn't bad by any means.

On the other hand, being folks who enjoy happy hour at Horizons Lounge followed by a bottle of grape-based adult elixir with dinner -- and not being all that interested in O's entertainment offerings -- we were frequently off to dreamland by the time the evening's show began one floor below.  Never heard a sound.

So, Dan, are you saying that on, say, a Caribbean cruise headed from Miami to Cozumel with a prevailing east wind (i.e., blowing from the east), a savvy ship's officer will steer more or less toward Europe or Africa, leaving the Mexican coast ever farther behind? 

Our experience in forward-facing A2 cabin 7000 on multiple O itineraries, including the notoriously windy North Sea, Tasman Sea and around the bottom of South America, indicated that the wind in our faces varied from day-to-day, direction-to-direction depending upon that day's route and wind conditions.  Sometimes, we were clearly sailing with the wind and felt virtually no breeze while enjoying the Captain's view from our balcony directly below the bridge.  And yes, there were also times when we had to enjoy the view from behind the glass lest we become airborne.

That said, our furniture was never tied down on Insignia, Regatta or Nautica.  Forward-facing cabins have a solid, inward-angled wall with handrail on top instead of just bars with a handrail like cabins along the ship's sides.  Veranda chairs were folded and slid beneath that wall to be sheltered from the wind, and the small table fit under there, too.  No further action required.

Ken the Cruiser (above) makes a valid point about choosing the stern instead because it is more sheltered going in either direction vis-a-vis the wind.  But for those who prefer to see where you're headed as you watch it grow ever closer, it's the "pointy end" for sure.

We've stayed in both 8000 and 8002 on the opposite side of the ship.  If either of those is still available, here's why we think they're superior to 8001 and 8003.

The two you're considering are directly underneath the gym.  I've spent time in the gym and can imagine that the sound of exercise machines and various movement classes up there could travel down through the floor as people go whumpa-whumpa-whumpa with their feet or weights.  (N.B., I've no empirical evidence that this is the case.)  Suites on the even-numbered side are beneath the card room and internet room, which one would expect to be generally very quiet.  Our experience is that it's exactly that.

Also as ORV states above, the door at the front end of the odd-numbered corridor leads onto the bridge so you get officers frequently walking (and talking) back and forth as they enter and exit.  The corridor on the even-numbered side contains only officer/official guest staterooms, and it dead-ends into a solid wall.  No through traffic.

Either way, it's a terrific area to be in if you don't mind being close enough to the bow that there's a bit more motion than in the center of the ship.  You gotta figure there's even more motion for the folks on the bridge who are farther forward than you.  If you're reasonably good sailors, you won't have any problems.  And if you do...well...that's what ginger capsules, etc., are for.

Princeton123211 above has the right idea.  The four cabins he/she mentioned are category A2, meaning they are Concierge class (for what it's worth), forward-facing and not all that expensive.

For years, we've only booked 7000 or 7001 if they're available (or 6000 or 6001 if not) on every cruise except a trans-oceanic.  Facing forward in fjords or sailing under the Golden Gate or heading up the Amazon or any number of other places is simply the best (for us).  

Breezier than the sides or the stern?  Of course!  But we'd rather get our hair mussed than see only (A) half the view from port or starboard, or (B) where we've been as it recedes into the distance, along with the faint brown haze of the ship's exhaust.

That said, if these cabins aren't available or aren't something you'd enjoy, then the front windows in Horizons Lounge are a mighty nice place to see exactly what the Captain sees -- plus you can order a cocktail to enhance your experience.

Thanks for the info, StanandJim (post #21).  Gotta see if I can find that one.  Sounds great!

23 hours ago, StanandJim said:

Pinotlover, I would urge you to revisit the Mr. Belvedere film starring Clifton Webb.

You are getting dangerously close to becoming the Richard Haydn character.  

Okay, you made me look.

There are two Mr. Belvedere films starring Clifton Webb, according to IMDb and Wikipedia.  Richard Haydn isn't in either of them, and neither film is included in his bio.  Some other character, maybe?

Three important words in pinotlover's post above: "or attempting to."  

We were on the same August cruise.  Weather forced cancellation of the two planned Greenland stops because we couldn't safely sail around the southern tip of the island in order to reach those western shore ports.  A tiny town on the east coast was substituted, but it had little to offer other than a nice view and an energetic walkabout.

I've subsequently read about other ships not being able to make scheduled stops in Iceland, either, usually due to wind and rough seas -- and this in the summer!

The point, as often stated on this board, is that the best-laid itineraries can oft go awry in that part of the world, no matter the season.  It's important, therefore, not to have one's enjoyment (and sense of value received for money paid) be totally dependent upon specific port calls; it will only lead to disappointment.

We've now missed at least one port on each of our last four Oceania cruises.  It's a bummer, for sure, but...well...there's always the Horizons Lounge for drowning our sorrows.

+2 bob brown and Shawnino.  Somebody pull the plug on that microphone, please!

RJB makes a valid point above regarding the wealthy and powerful.  However, I would posit that even if the rules are only for "us peons" -- a group in which I include myself -- there are so many more of "us" than there are of "them" that if all the peons behave as if they care about the environment, then the effects of the rich who avoid or ignore the rules will be negligible.

Also, I feel the Al Gore/carbon emissions example is irrelevant to this discussion in which we're advocating (or lamenting) the push for less single-use throwaway packaging.  Both affect the environment, to be sure, but in significantly different ways so it's apples to oranges.

If we do want to talk about carbon, we might also look at the flights nearly all of us take in order to begin and end our cruises -- not to mention whatever the pollution is from ships fueled by burning bunker oil as Oceania's are.  Compare and contrast: Gore's private jet emissions while working to promote conservation vs. our passenger jet and ship emissions in an essentially unnecessary pursuit of pleasure.  Not that I plan to stop taking cruises!  Just making a point, and it's just my opinion.  

Thanks for the compliment.  Sure, you're welcome to share anything I write since, as far as I know, I'm anonymous on this board except for my "handle."

However, I would defend my version of the above sentence.  Just as with your fist analogy, it works best when the second clause is personal rather than general.  Yes, trashing the environment affects the entire planet, but too many folks believe that that's either fake news or wishy-washy generalization.  My point is, "Hey, buddy, I'm living here with my family; this is our 'house' and you're trashing it.  Don't make me call the cops."  

If people would simply adhere to the biblical principle of stewardship of the earth, we wouldn't need environmental laws.  

An excellent quote -- or at least aphorism -- clo, but your meaning is a but unclear in this context.  Are you saying, "Your right to trash the environment ends when I have to live with your trash?"  Or the opposite: "Your right to make laws regarding environmental protection ends when it affects my right to do whatever I want?"

Either way, you're entitled to your opinion and I'm only asking because of uncertainty regarding your meaning.  There are arguments on both sides, obviously.  That said, I do think -- referring back to edgee's SF comment -- that too many people start yelling "Tyranny" when all they're being asked to do is, e.g., use a paper straw instead of a plastic one.  An exaggeration, to be sure, but a symptom of the problem nonetheless.  

Further, I must respectfully disagree with edgee's statement that "...some want to control the lives of others for the sake of feeling self-righteous but not making any kind of significant difference."  Yes, there will always be a few self-righteous folks on either side of the aisle, but that ignores the far bigger problem.  When somebody says, "Well, it's only my one little plastic bottle.  What difference can it make?"  The answer is that it doesn't make any difference in and of itself.  The problem lies when billions of people make that same rationalization every single day.

Asking -- even requiring -- people to reduce the amount of garbage they produce or to drive a car with better fuel milage hardly constitutes "controlling'" their lives.  Refusing a medical procedure is controlling their lives; sending them off involuntarily to Vietnam is controlling their lives; luring them into debts they'll be paying off for decades is controlling their lives.

How did we ever manage to live before single-use plastic bottles?  I'm old enough to remember and, if they disappeared from the face of the earth tomorrow, my life would go on without a hiccup.  Naturally, YMMV.

Google "Great Pacific garbage patch" for an eye-opening look at the result of individuals thinking they don't make a difference.  Individuals, collectively over time, created the darn thing.  And the fact that it's there and probably will remain for millennia doesn't mean that we are therefore authorized to add to it.  The longest journey begins with a single step and, if Vero water is a step in the right direction, then I'll be happy to drink it.  

Considering the real estate prices in SF and the number of wealthy/powerful people who live there, maybe their "nanny state rules" aren't so "scary" after all.  Just good for the environment ..... especially now that China no longer accepts our one-use (or any-use) plastic refuse.  

Heaven forfend we shouldn't do exactly what we want to do for our personal convenience and comfort at all times with no regard for the health and safety of those around us -- including the flora and fauna.  Unfortunately, so many people subscribe to that mantra that we (and the Pacific Ocean) are awash in trash.  If "scary nanny state rules" are what it takes to effect change, then it's our own fault.  

There are too many of us to continue living in a throw-away world.  It was nice while it lasted, but it belongs in the dustbin of history.  JMO.