susiesan

With the current wine package, can you have your glass filled at dinner and then take it with you to drink later in your cabin?

I'd be curious to hear from anyone who did not have any port times reduced off their itinerary from the time they booked to the time they took the cruise.

As Oceania is always cutting hours from port times, do a comparison with Azamara. I suspect you will find AZ has much longer port times. Also be aware that the port times for O that show now are likely to be reduced after you have made the final payment. This is their new modus operundi.

Be prepared to have your first try at your claim being paid to be denied. That's how insurance companies operate. Then you will have to go to battle with them to get your legitimate claim paid no matter how accurate your documentation is. They always say "no" at first, hoping people will just give up and won't pursue their claim. Be firm, don't roll over and accept their outcome.

No, they are not currently taking temperatures. I boarded in Barcelona 10 days ago.

Is it enclosed or just completely covered?

I asked again at reception, now that the cruise is almost over. I got a call from engineering saying the poolside hot tubs on Sirena are the only ones in the fleet that have never had a button to push to turn them on. Supposedly the ship came this way when O got it from Princess. The captain can turn on the jacuzzi jets from the bridge and they are allegedly on all day. I told him they are not on, he insisted they are. I stopped arguing and said I've been using the hot tub outside the spa that does have a button to turn the jets on and off. Sigh.🙄

Another Sirena fact: it is the only R ship that the poolside hot tub jets have never had a button by them to turn them on. The jacuzzi jets have never actually worked, or so I was told by engineering when I asked about turning them on.

Someone onboard speculated that another passenger complained that the jets were too strong and knocked him over so management just turned them off.

Update to original post: it is now 3 days later and the hot tubs still are disabled. I have not received an explanation or response to my question as to why. I used the hot tub off of the spa and will continue to do so.

Yes, the food is fine. There is still a large variety to choose from. Most dinners have been at Terrace so we can dine outside. Last night in Grand Dining dinner took over 2 hours, and the water got lots of orders wrong. I'm not happy about the nonworking hot tub jets by the pool so I'll go use the jacuzzi by the spa. All excursions are private so I have no comment on them. We have a great fun trivia team and we are winning a lot of big O points. CD Peter is a hoot, he should have his own comedy show.

I just went up to the spa to check out the hot tub situation. The jets are working and I can use it. This rules chengkp75 theory invalid.

Don't you have to be in a concierge or suite cabin for access?

Pool deck. I don't have access to the spa deck. I'm waiting to hear from engineering for an explanation.

If that is the case then the hot tubs should just be removed completely. A big vat of still hot bathwater is just as likely to breed all sorts of nasty germs and bacteria. I don't see my gym or any other place that has air jets for their hot tubs disconnecting them. I don't know if the jets in the spa deck hot tub have also been turned off as I don't have access. So far, no one from engineering onboard has got back to me with an answer.

After returning from walking at the Alhambra yesterday I grabbed a drink and was going to relax in the hot tub late afternoon. I discovered there are no buttons to turn on the jets. I asked a pool attendant how to turn on the jets, he said you can't. The hot tubs on Sirena are now just big outside bathtubs. I'm disappointed as this is my afternoon ritual, soak my sore back and feet while sipping a cocktail. If the hot tubs don't work they should just be removed. Do the other ships have usable hot tubs?

Yes, I did. Same company that O uses for more than half the price. I highly recommend them. We were told they do these trips to Granada all the time. Put together a group from your roll call and if 16 people sign on you go for free as the group starter.

I arranged a private tour for 17 from the roll call. It took 45 minutes on the bus from Motril to Granada. Alhambra was spectacular, not too crowded. We are the only ship in today.

When I booked this cruise the original time for Motril was 8:00 to 6:00pm. Earlier this year when O started lopping off an hour here and there to save the planet and fight climate change the new departure time is now 5:00pm, that's where the hour was lost.

BTW, Alicante was not a tender port, we were to dock. Today, Monday, we just now docked in Motril so we can go to Granada to visit the Alhambra. Doing my happy dance.

Just because your weather report shows rain at 9:00am doesn't mean it was raining. It was not. Our next stop is Motril/Granada tomorrow. As Oceania had already taken an hour away from that port it would have been nice to have it added back since we have plenty of time now to get there. They did not replace the missing hour. At the moment we are sitting off the coast of Spain hardly moving at all.

Boarded Sirena in Barcelona yesterday, Sept. 2, sailed at 6:00pm for a 10 day cruise to the Canary Islands. Our first port call was Alicante at 10:00 today Sept. 3. At 8:00 the captain announced we wouldn't be stopping due to winds and rough seas. I saw the pilot boat along side and it didn't look that rough to me. We were supposed to dock not tender in. Now today is a sea day with very little to do except eat and drink. It wouldn't be an Oceania cruise without at least one cancelled port😉😎

If you are not a smoker you will not enjoy Star Clipper cruises. They cater to mostly European passengers and allow smoking everywhere on the outside decks. You can't get away from it. I've cruised with them once and will not again due to their smoking policy.

This is how I book O cruises in Europe: I find a cruise I'm interested in that sails a year or more in the future. I have my TA get me a price and if it's good I reserve it and put down the deposit. I only fly TATL to these cruises with award tickets in business class, and those seats are not available until a minimum of 11 months before. I can't deal with coach on a long flight and I won't pay for business class. Once I'm able to make air arrangements I go for the scarce J award seats. If I can't get them then I will cancel the cruise within the no penalty or admin fee phase. I have been lucky so far with Europe cruises that I have been able to J award tickets but its getting very very difficult to find them at a reasonable rate these days, especially with UA where I have most of my miles. I did have to cancel an O cruise for business reasons in 2022. I cancelled 4 months before the cruise and got all of my money back and there was no admin fee deducted.

Celebrity lets you choose between a refundable and non refundable deposit price. The TA I sometimes use waives the non refundable charge and books only refundable deposits.