ackieboy

i have sailed with Celebrity many times.  I have a friend who is going on The Edge on 1/26/20 and she said that the information that she has says the ship departs 3 or 3:30pm.  Two questions.  First what is the best time to arrive at the port on embarkation day?  Second, does the the ship really depart that early?  I know from previous experience (not on the Edge, but on various M and S class ships, departure time is usually about 4:30p or 5p.  Any information you could provide would be most helpful so that I can advise my friend.  Happy New Year everyone!

We are sailing on the Marina, in August, and wondering what the best specialty restaurants are on the ship. We have never been on an Oceania cruise before.

My favorites, in no particular order, are Toscana, Polo and Jacques. But all the restaurants are wonderful! Enjoy!!

Are there computers on board the O ships that you can used to check in for your homeward flight, and is there any charge for printing your boarding passes?

When I was on Riviera last year there were computers that could be used to print your boarding passes and there was no charge

Hi,

My mom and I are sailing on the Riviera on April 11. We were looking at possibly doing a private shore excursion in Monte Carlo and were wondering if anyone on the sailing would be interested in joining us. If so, please reply to this thread as soon as possibly so that I can start to make the arrangements. Looking forward to meeting you and sharing a wonderful cruise!

Regards,

Dean

Hi,

We are departing on April 11, 2018 on the Riviera from Barcelona. We are arriving on April 8, as my nephew is studying in Barcelona and we are going to meet up with him for a a few days and explore the city. I currently have two hotel reservations, one at the Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos and one at the Cotton House. I know that they are both very good hotels, but I was wondering, for those of you who have been to Barcelona before, which one was in a better location and also, from which one is it easier to get to the port. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dean

Called Oceania and put in a custom air request for the DL nonstop. Waiting for their response. Thanks for the input and reconfirming my thoughts. Happy holidays and happy cruising!!!

Hi,

I am considering taking a roundtrip on Riviera on April 11, 2018. I would be arriving a few days early. However, on the return one of the flights I am considering is a 10 am departure back to JFK. Being an experienced cruiser, my gut tells me that this is too early. I was just wondering what others have experienced when disembarking from Oceania vessels in Barcelona and if it is possible to safely get to airport for a 10:00 am flight. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Happy Holidays!

Dean

I had a similar situation many years ago. I returned the check (actually it was a foreign draft) and asked they issue a credit to my credit card. That worked fine.

Thanks for the reply. If I might ask, did you send the check back to the bank that issued it and just specify which credit card to issue the credit to? Thanks again for the info and for helping me figure this out

I suspect that the problem is with a lack of knowledge at your local Bank, perhaps through lack of experience.

Unless a check is payable through an American Bank, one does not deposit an international check in the traditional manner.

 

It needs to be presented for collection by a Commercial Bank.

 

Fee's are involved, which will be higher if said Commercial Bank is not your Bank, so it may be that they were loathe to suggest this because of the small dollar amount.

Thanks for the heads up. Although I have traveled extensively, I have not had much experience with VAT refunds. I appreciate the info.

My mother and I traveled on the April 19, Sacred Sanctuaries cruise on the Riviera. During our three day stay in Haifa, we made several purchases. On returning to the ship on the evening of the second day in Israel, we stopped at the VAT redemption booth in the terminal. There was an extensive line, but we were prepared to wait it out. After standing on line for over an hour, a representative from the ship appeared and asked those of us in line for our VAT forms and said that the ship's staff would take care of submitting the paperwork for the refunds. Yesterday, we did receive our refund check for approximately $42.00 from Bank Hapoalim of Israel. When I brought it to my bank to cash the check, the bank refused to accept it as it had no routing number and was not issued by a U.S. bank. I also contacted Bank Hapoalim in the United States and they said that I had to contact the bank in Israel. I attempted to do this but the phone number listed on the check did not go to the bank. While I realize this was not a life altering sum of money, I was just wondering if anyone else has run across this situation and if so, how did you deal with it. I have already reached out to Oceania's customer service department for assistance. Thank you in advance for your suggestions. Happy Sailing everyone!

Dean

I waitlisted a cabin on a cruise on the Riviera for this past April and it cleared within a day without a deposit. Friends of ours wanted to go with us, so they waitlisted with a deposit and they got cleared within a few days, so I guess it just depends on how many people cancel or take upsell offers in the category that you are looking for.

Regards,

Dean

One thing I would love to see would be an increase in the number of disabled-accessible cabins. While there are more of them on Riviera and Marina than on the earlier ships, I think there should be at least two in each category.

Was on The Millennium 5/12-5/22 and three meals were served in Luminae each day if I recall correctly. However, they only had three rotating lunch menus. I hope this helps.

Regards,

Dean

Hi,

I was on the November 1 sailing of the Insignia, and I was waitlisted by Oceania reservations for an excursion in Grand Cayman. When we boarded, there was a note in our stateroom saying that the waitlist had cleared, along with tickets for the excursion. The excursion was originally billed at full price, but when I brought it to the attention of Destination Services onboard, an adjustment was made to reflect the multiple excursion discount. I hope this helps.

Regards,

Dean

Hi!

I am an avid cruiser, having done approximately 26 sailings on various lines. I will be doing my first Oceania cruise in November aboard the Insignia. I am taking my mom on this cruise and we were wondering if Oceania offers any kind of Luggage Valet service, like Celebrity and several of the other lines offer, where for a fee, they will check your luggage through to your final destination on the last day of the cruise. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Dean

Hi

It was still in operation when I sailed on Infinity last September. So unless they changed something since then, it is still there. I hope this helps.

Regards,

Dean

Several years ago, we bought some very brightly colored luggage tags in the luggage department of a local dept store. Works perfectly!

Regards,

Dean

I have sailed on Inifinity both before and after her Solsticization, and while I do like most of the changes, the one mistake I think they made was making the Reflections Lounge smaller to make room for the Fun Factory. Many evenings it was very difficult to find seating in Reflections, post-renovation, when there was a major event going on. Happy sailing!

Dean

Hi,

I booked a private guide through Viator for my port call in Bilbao, Spain this past September. We were on a 12 night Immersive Wine cruise on the Infinity and I booked a guide for the full day we were in Bilbao (we were actually docked there for a day and a half). The guide was terrific and I can honestly say that it was one of the high points of an amazing trip. I would be happy to answer any other questions you might have. Happy sailing and happy new year!

Regards,

Dean

I had an interesting experience regarding this subject on my Infinity cruise in September. I had originally booked in AQ but upgraded to a Sky Suite due to the fact that I require an accessible cabin and the powers that be at Celebrity did not have the forethought to retrofit any of the AQ cabins during the solsticization. By the way, on a previous cruise I was told by reservations, that Celebrity has a policy on the books whereby, if you require a handicapped accessible cabin and there is not one available in the category in which you are booked, they will upgrade you to the next higher category at no additional cost. Well when I booked my September 2013 cruise roundtrip from Harwich England, I made the reservationist aware of this (she had never heard of the policy). In checking with her supervisor, she found out that this policy only applies to sailing which begin and end at a U.S. port. This being the case, I was forced to upgrade to a Sky Suite (albeit at a very modest up charge). However, prior to upgrading I had already prepaid my gratuities. When I made it clear to reservations that I intended to eat in Blu for breakfast and dinner, they advised me that this should not present a problem and just to speak to the Maitre D' at Blu on embarkation. I did so and advised them of my situation. While we were given a gratuity slip a the end of each dinner, the amount of the 5.00 per person per day gratuity was reversed on our final statement.

Hi Everyone,

 

I truly do not wish to get into specifics, but there could be dozens of reasons why it makes sense for those who need wheelchair assistance to move ahead of the line. My Mom is in her 80's, requires wheelchair assistance, and would never do well if she had to wait an hour or more on a line. I hope you will respect my comment, without getting into further detail.

 

What upsets me about this discussion, is that able-bodied folks feel compelled to make an issue out of this. From someone who's been a sole caregiver of two elderly parents for 10 years (My Dad passed away last year), I suspect the complainers have no idea of all the things we lovingly do for them on a daily basis. With all due respect, there's no need to make it all about yourself. Please have some compassion for those who require assistance. Someday, you may live to require a wheelchair, and you will have a better understanding of what happens in everyday life.

 

Me ? When I see folks in a wheelchair, I always think to myself : "God Bless them, and it's wonderful for them to cruise". I suppose that's why I feel it's better to take a positive approach, not point fingers at others, and always be thankful for what you have.

 

Thanks for letting me vent.

Andy, thank you for your totally on point comments. As someone who has lived with a mobility issue my entire life, I can honestly say (and without a bit of bitterness or animosity), that unless you live with a disability day to day, you cannot fully understand or appreciate the challenges that people like myself face on a day to day basis. It galls me that there are people on this board who would actually question why there are special procedures in place for dealing with passengers with mobility issues. To those who believe that we are given "special treatment unnecessarily" I beg to differ and hope they never have to experience the difficulties faced by someone in a wheelchair, because I am sure they would not find it pleasant. Thanks for allowing me to rant, and happy cruising!!!

Hi,

Unless something has changed recently, suites do have access to Blu on a space available basis. I was on Infinity in mid-September and was in a Sky Suite and had most of our breakfasts and all of our dinners there. The key is not going at peak times or you might have to wait for a table, as first preference is given to those guests in Aqua-class. I hope this helps. Happy sailing!

Regards,

Dean

Savory Bites are little rolls with all kinds of seeds and things in them. Delicious!!

Has anyone else had issues cruising with someone with a disability on Disney? I just recently got off the Dream, and I was extremely upset with the disney crew and their serious lack of "accommodations".

Hi,

While I don't know the specifics of your situation, I can say that I am mobility impaired and have cruised with Disney three times. Each time, the level of service and courtesy I received was exemplary. I am a travel agent as well as someone who lives with a disability and while I agree that some aspects of cruise travel continue to present challenges to people with disabilities, the vast majority of the major cruise lines, and Disney in particular have made great strides in making cruising on of the most accessible forms of travel. Please do not let one bad experience turn you off to cruising. Here's wishing you happy travels and smooth sailing in the future .

Best Regards,

Dean

As both a physically challenged person and a travel agent, I have to put my two cents in on this one. When you attempt to book an accessible cabin, at no time are you asked about the nature of your disability. I know this because I have been closed out of booking an accessible cabin for myself (I walk with crutches and braces and can manage in a regular cabin, but the extra space and the larger shower with the built-in seat makes things much easier for me). I have also had friends/clients who needed an accessible cabin unable to get one due to the fact that they had been sold to able-bodied passengers. I also want to make it clear that in my experience, this problem is not unique to Celebrity, none of the cruise lines due a particularly good job of monitoring or policing who they put in the accessible cabins. And as for having able-bodied passengers move to another cabin if someone needs an accessible cabin, it simply does not happen. While the cruise lines have made great strides in making cruising possible for people with all types of physical challenges, they really do need to do a better job of controlling who they sell their accessible cabins to. Thanks for letting me rant.

Regards,

Dean