sunlover12

The "seven bottle deal" really does seem to be mostly "clearance" poor sellers. There's two or three decent "by the glass" wines in the other alcohol packages (s.g., Shramsberg Mirabelle).

We usually get the Prestige Package but also bring at least a half dozen excellent Northern California wines (estate selections direct from wineries) whose retail prices make the corkage fee somewhat insignificant. The really high end better wines onboard have outlandish prices that make the BYOB option a better way to go.

Everyone has their own tastes, but we enjoyed the 7-bottle package. We were recently on a 16-day Regatta cruise and found each of the 7 bottles that we purchased to be very good. If they were clearance poor sellers, they were still very good. It was a nice selection of both red and white from various regions. Northern California, Italy, Australia, New Zealand. We did the math and found that we saved a little with the package rather than buying by the bottle.

TA can give you better priceses (some times only if they have a group rate) and will ALLWAYS give you OBC. as long as they are good you can get the same as with Royal and unlike royal they have contacts to get the TRUE answer when you call. Also if say your agent is closed and you need to do something you can get a supervisor at royal to override and make changes directly with out dealing with your agent. I have done it years ago on a sat night for a cruise that was leaving the next day

I've done a couple of cruises using a TA and some without. Honestly, I have not found a big advantage of using one. I've NEVER gotten an OBC when using a TA and the price of the cruise was the same as booking it directly. The only perk I've ever gotten from a TA is a bottle of champagne and a welcome reception. I think the one advantage of having a TA is if there are any issues or problems. I've now done enough cruises where I'd just prefer to book it directly with the cruise line.

Have contributed to several similar threads over the years; I am usually in the minority.

 

I appreciate all the people who say they travel with carry on only; however, as a person who flies frequently I wish the airlines would enforce their own rules. Anymore so many people carry on a couple of bags (obviously over legal limits), tote bags, backpacks, etc. Flying on small commuter jets usually requires me to gate check my carry on anyway; not the same as having to "full check" but still checked.

 

Also, cannot handle only having 3 oz. sunscreen, bug spray, etc., and with no car not always possible to buy at destination.

 

Not suggesting people on this thread are over stuffing overheads, but it does happen. Personally travel with a checked suitcase and no carry on other than a large purse/tote for valuables.

These are my feelings exactly. I also check my luggage and only carry on a large purse that goes under the seat in front of me. I never put anything in the overhead. I joke that if everyone were like me, the boarding process would be so much smoother. Our airline status allows us free checked luggage but even if we didn't have it, I'd still pay the fee. It's just so much easier to check your luggage. Then you have all the clothes and everything you want for your vacation. I'm in awe of everyone who can stuff everything into a carry-on for a week(s) long vacation. I wouldn't know how to have my favorite toiletries and make-up in 3 oz sizes. That's too much work.

I have to admit that one of my biggest pet-peeves about fellow travelers is all the carry-on luggage on the plane. Even with the constant on-board announcements that you are allowed one piece of luggage in the overhead, people ignore it. I really wish the airlines would enforce it.

Our last RC cruise was on on Independence of the Seas in May 2015. I found the menu in the MDR monotonous and very limited. I don't eat a lot of red meat as I prefer mostly seafood. The only seafood items on the menu were shrimp and salmon. We had to go to the specialty restaurants to get a more diverse menu. We are planning another RC cruise next year and really hope that the MDR menu has improved.

To clarify, I did not say, nor did I wish to imply, that the CDs are not as friendly on O as on other lines. I said that they are less visible, because they do not appear (as far as I know) in the evening shows/performances. I'm not criticizing the crew/officers on O or praising the Azamara model. I'm just pointing out that there appear to be different job descriptions for CDs on different cruise lines.

 

Sorry I brought it up! :(

I was on Regatta in April/May and the cruise director was visible in ALL evening shows. He made the introductions and even sang a couple of songs. The cruise directors on Oceania do more than host Trivia as some posters suggested.

An enthusiastic plus 1

 

Cruising is not a democracy

You get what you pay for

Those who may wait to board (because they arrived too early or in some cases decided intentionally to try to avoid the very clear boarding rules) Know fully what they paid for and didn't pay for

 

It is no different from those who try sneak into the executive lounge in a hotel when they haven't paid for the privilege or haven't earned the status through thousands of dollars in paid stays

 

It is not a class system because ANYONe can have these benefits if they CHOOSE to pay for them.

Bitob, I agree with you completely. Those passengers who pay more should receive more benefits. We do not stay in suites and we are fully aware that the suite passengers are allowed to embark earlier than us. As it should be. On our last cruise we arrived at the terminal 30 minutes before our boarding time and we waited until they called concierge staterooms.

It is no different than what the airlines do. If you are in First Class or at an elite airline status, you are allowed to board before everyone else. Anyone can choose to buy a First Class ticket.

I also like how there are no special lines on the ship for suite level. No class system. Definitely sets Oceania apart from the mass market lines. Although in addition to being able to book more reservations in the specialty restaurants as mentioned, concierge level give you 500 minutes of free internet. A nice little perk.

If you don't know what non casual jeans are, how do you know people weren't wearing them? Lol!

 

I understand that some folk have not actually come across non casual/smart jeans. If so, why comment?

The term is ambiguous. The point I am trying to make is that I did not see anyone in any type of denim in any restaurant for dinner. Lighten up!

This subject has been discussed over and over. FWIW, I only wanted to mention that I just got off a Regatta 16-day cruise and did not see anyone in the GDR or specialty restaurants for dinner in any type of jeans. Including non-casual, whatever that is. Lunch and breakfast are more casual in the GDR and shorts and jeans are fine in the Terrace Cafe and Waves Grill.

One advantage of a smaller ship over a larger one is that you may get a more desirable berthing spot in port. The example that comes to mind for me is St. Petersburg. We were there several years ago on the Regatta. The ship was docked very close to the city. Easy walking. A larger ship would not have been allowed to dock there. There were larger ships much further back, not walkable into town.

As wine lovers we carry wine with us almost everywhere and if we happen to wind up in wine country on our cruise, we usually return with wine as well. Our upcoming cruise will start in Cape Town with a visit to the wine lands and end in Buenos Aires where we will visit Mendoza for a few days while we are there.

 

About a year ago, I found this built for purpose wine suitcase. https://vingardevalise.com/ I bought one. Tried it out on a few trips and then bought another. They both will be going with us on our upcoming trip. One will be full of wine for our trip. The other full of breakables, liquids, and assorted odds and ends that we will consume on the trip.

 

I have learned over the years that shipping back wine from abroad is expensive. It can take a long time and sometimes it gets hung up in customs. We prefer to have our wine with us going and coming. This particular case is discrete and has insulating qualities which help to protect our wine in transit. The drawback, you have to check the cases both directions which is why we often fill the bottle pockets with odds and ends on the outbound and of course wine bottles on the return. Even if I had to pay to check the suitcase, it would cost me less than shipping a case home.

 

The case isn't for everyone but it works very well for us.

 

Michael

Thanks for the information on the wine suitcase. I did not know about it and will be ordering one as it will be put to good use! We bring back a lot of wine when we travel from CA and have always used a box with styrofoam inserts that holds 12 bottles. We also put a few bottles in our checked luggage wrapped in bubble wrap. We've never had any bottles break doing this but the box is a hassle. We tie rope around it to make it easier to carry but TSA always opens the box and does not re-tie it. The wine suitcase will eliminate the hassle of rope and packing tape.

A couple posters mentioned that they wouldn't trust a box with styrofoam inserts. I disagree with that - we have checked as luggage with the airlines MANY boxes of wine and nothing has broken. We've even used the same boxes over and over. These boxes are very secure and you do not have to worry about anything breaking. However, the wine suitcase makes it easier to carry.

We don't recommend packing liquor in checked luggage as we have known a couple of bottles to break. However we have friends who put a bottle in their luggage, well wrapped, and have had no problem.

As to carry ons, just remember the airline rules about liquids in carry ons. We always try and book a flight through London, with extra time, if we are going to a Europe cruise so we can buy at Heathrow. Many airports now have duty free before you go through customs at the end of your flight.

Do a little research and you can get plenty of good info.

FWIW, we've packed many bottles of wine in our checked luggage and have not had any problems. We use bubble wrap and make sure there are plenty of clothes surrounding the bottle so it doesn't jostle around. We travel to California regularly and always bring our favorite wines home in our checked luggage. Dozens of bottles over the years and have never had any break. I wouldn't bother with any special bottle protectors. Just my personal opinion.

I was on a 7-night cruise on Independence of the Seas in May and don't remember any seafood on the menu in the MDR other than shrimp and salmon. No white fish or lobster. I paid close attention to the menu and did not see lobster or fisherman's platter. I would have ordered if it was offered.

We did eat at the 2 specialty restaurants - Giovanni's Table and Chops Grille and both had very good white fish. This had been our first cruise on Royal Caribbean in 4 years and I was disappointed in the menu selection in the MDR. I remember lobster on previous RC cruises. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt - maybe lobster was offered in the MDR at least one of the 2 nights we ate in the specialty restaurants.

Ohhh...right, I totally forgot about the 45-day window for the regular specialty restaurants. DOH! I'm not in the window for that yet. :o It's all coming back to me now. I'll be patient. :)

 

Regarding La Reserve...yes I'm aware what it is, and I can't wait! I did a similar dining/wine pairing experience on Crystal called the Vintage Room, and it was one of the best nights on the cruise. After reading the three available La Reserve menus on our cruise we want to splurge and do the Connoisseur menu, which has some incredible wines on the list that I am dying to try. Just knowing the cost of a few of those wines by the bottle, it sounds like a great value!

 

Anyway, I'm disappointed that we have to pay upfront, but I suppose that's how they ensure that people don't cancel at the last minute, given that they have to pre-plan for the food/wine needs. So I'm okay with it. I'll go ahead and book and pay for myself and Sandy, and she can pay me back.

 

As for shore excursions...that one still has me baffled. I've never been on any cruise line that expects you to pre-pay shore excursions...I've always paid for them through my shipboard account at the end of the cruise. If that's what we have to do, then I may need to have a pow-wow with my friends to figure out how to do this. Ugh. Does anyone else find this pre-paying for shore excursions to be annoying?

I've been on Royal Caribbean and they also require a pre-payment for shore excursions. I'd be interested in knowing which cruise lines don't require this. You may be okay just booking onboard but if it's an excursion you really want to do and not miss out, I'd just go ahead and book it in advance.

Have a great cruise with your friends. You will love Oceania.

Reading all the posts about cutting port times is leaving me a little concerned. I'm on a Panama Canal cruise next year and the port times in some of the places is already short. There are 2 ports in particular I'm really looking forward to and those are Cartagena and Cabo. We've never been to either. We'll be in Cartagena 7am-1pm and Cabo 8am-2pm. If they cut those even further I will be upset. I've looked at one of the mass cruise lines to the Panama Canal and they have much longer port times. However I do love Oceania and do not want to travel to the Panama Canal on the mass cruise lines.

I probably would be willing to trade other things for a little more shore time, as LHT28 suggests. I don't drink soda so I'd definitely be okay with charging for it. Apologies to the soda lovers out there :-) Not sure if I'd be okay with charging for specialty dining. This is where Oceania stands above many other cruise lines. We don't need lobster every night so that would be a logical place to cut costs. Regarding the brochure mailings, they must be sent to select or random people because we don't get them. Well, maybe one or two in the past 7 years. I don't recall ever opting out of it either.

So if they are looking for more profits by cutting shore time what would you trade if they have to cut something ???

 

My suggestions

1)charge for specialty dining...those that like to dine several nights on the cruise would surely pay $$

 

2)Charge for sodas (again)

 

3) cut back on the lobster ..maybe 1-2 nights on a 10 day cruise

 

4) stop sending out so many SALE brochures (that would save $$$$$)

:D

 

good luck on your next trip with Oceania, I don't wish our experience that we had too any one!!!

 

For the pen comment , you have hundreds of people trying to check in and filling out health forms , for the price of pens an entire box should be giving out to speed up a process of filling out forms , just saying.

I have been on all the middle class boats with Royal and I have always found a chair , just like Oceania we found a chair , the food was just as equal on both companies also .

I do believe that Oceania $299.95 for a 90 minute massage compared to Royal Caribbean of $189.95 for 90 minute was a better value.

 

I am not here to argue about this as Oceania customer service has no one that will talk too you over the phone .

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The actual price in Oceania's spa might be higher but it is a better value. The experience and service is so much better. For the most part, Royal Caribbean is a nice cruise line but I definitely wouldn't return to their spa.

As long as we're comparing food between the two lines, I'll add another comment about that. I am not a big red meat eater- I'll have it occasionally but my preference is white fish. Royal Caribbean does not have it in their MDR. They only have salmon and shrimp. They usually have a couple of red meat selections on the menu every night but never white fish. You have to go to a specialty restaurant for it and there is an extra charge to do that. As I recall, Oceania had white fish and lobster on their menu every night in the Grand Dining Room.

Mercer01,

We've had very different experiences. Sorry to hear you don't like Oceania. You raved about Royal Caribbean, which happens to be the only other cruise line I've been on besides Oceania. RC is nice but they are megaships and if you don't mind spending your vacation with 3000+ people, then you're fine. I happen to like the smaller ships of Oceania. On sea days on RC, good luck trying to find a chair to sit on outside whereas on Oceania it's not a problem.

You didn't mention the spa but I just wanted to share my experience with the 2 cruise lines. I am not a regular spa-goer at home but when I'm on a cruise I like to splurge with a pedicure or perhaps a facial. Royal Caribbean's spa is very mediocre and blah while Oceania's is top-level and a better value. RC's spa prices are not cheap and you get more for your money on Oceania.

Your comment about not enough pens…..seriously?

Kevnzworld,

I love the food on Oceania. I find the food at Terrace Buffet to be very good and I like that it isn't self service for sanitary reasons.

75 is an exaggeration for average age. I haven't been on Oceania in 3 years so maybe it's changed but I doubt it. I just turned 60 and I'll say I'm in the middle age range. We were in a Suite with butler service on the Riviera and found it to be outstanding. Our next Oceania cruise will be next year to the Panama Canal and my husband and I are very much looking forward to it.

Not having a photographer on board is one of the many things I love about Oceania. I love eating dinner in peace and not having an annoying photographer asking me to pose for a picture, which is what happens on the larger cruise lines. And the prices that they charge for those pictures is ridiculous! I also love the quality of the food and the whole dining experience on Oceania.