sunlover12

We've been on 3 cruises post-Covid. We both got Covid only one time and it was from the last cruise which was on a RC mega-ship in the Caribbean in January. We didn't do any shore excursions. The vast majority of passengers and crew were not wearing masks. Good chance it was from the elevators which is hard to avoid on a ship with 17 decks. Luckily it was a mild case with mostly just fatigue and no coughing or sneezing. The other 2 cruises were on O's R ships. On my upcoming Nautica cruise I will be wearing a mask when I am in the elevators. The R ships are easier to get around on without taking the elevator. I use the stairs often.

I've used Viator once (last year in Barcelona) and it wasn't good. One of the worst tours I've ever been on. They are an intermediary and you don't know what you're going to get. Their prices are good but cheaper doesn't mean better. I agree that you should book directly with the tour provider if possible. I know that I shouldn't judge based on one tour but this was my experience.

One thing to keep in mind when asking for a refund of a FCC, I believe you will have to pay back the credit you received on the cruise where you purchased the FCC.

Philadelphia

I didn't use expedited service. Mailed Priority mail and received my new passport in 7 weeks. This was in February-March of this year so it was before the big backlog they're having now. The website that shows application status was still showing "in process" so I was surprised when I received it in the mail as soon as I did.

I agree that’s a big jump but not all cruises’ prices went up that much. My 2024 11-day cruise in an PH2 increased $300/person. I don’t foresee O going back to the old pricing of cruise only. Included drinks and excursion credit is here to stay. The percentage of cruisers who post on CC is small so we can’t gauge what we read here. Most cruisers won’t have a problem with paying a little more for beer and wine with meals. Some won’t even notice the difference. Just My Opinion, of course.

It's because of the age of my MacBookPro. Safari is getting to be a problem.

I use united.com quite a bit and haven't had trouble. In recent months it no longer works using Safari so I use Google Chrome now. I believe that some 777 aircraft do not have premium economy. If the flight you are looking at has it, it will be listed as an option on the page that shows fares. Some of United's 777 aircraft only offer business, economy plus, and economy. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

A big reason is because they're going for a younger clientele who are more likely to drink. Younger than baby boomers. It's the trend in cruise travel and it's not going away. I was on a river cruise last year where all drinks (including cocktails), all the time (not just mealtime) were included. The cruise line surveyed their clients and that's what they wanted. I'm happy with the change. I'll get my money's worth on wine and now they won't have to swipe my card when I'm having my meal. JMO, of course.

The cruise I have booked for 2024 increased $400 per person. For reference, this is an 11-day cruise on Nautica in a PH2. All cabin categories are showing to be available. If I change to Simply More, I will take advantage of the wine with lunch and dinner and get my money's worth on that. Additionally I'll get a $400 credit on shore excursions. Seems like a pretty good deal for me however I understand the disappointment of those who don't drink or take the ship's shore excursions. As was mentioned, the increase in price is going to be related to the demand of the particular cruise. What I don't like about the marketing of Simply More is the use of the word "free". It's deceptive because we all know that nothing is "free".

The majority of the wine we have packed in our luggage has been returning home from California. Don't know yet if we'll still bring a bottle or 2 on cruises. We drink it in our cabin, not the dining room. It's not a hassle at all. I'm wondering if the wine that will be served at meals will be from any wine from the list that is served by the glass. Or will it just be a choice of whatever red or white they're serving that day. If so, the servers would walk around with the bottles which shouldn't be hard to keep up with demand.

We often travel with bottles of wine in our checked luggage. We’ll usually pack bubble wrap around it but sometimes just clothes. The key is to have enough items in the luggage so that they’re not moving around. We go to California 3 times a year and always bring wine home. We’ll also take a bottle or 2 of our favorite wine on the cruise. Been doing this for 15 years and have never had one bottle break.

They have to physically swipe your card in the machine. The process is more than just a matter of knowing your name and cabin number. I place my card on the table and have not found it to be awkward. YMMV

@Woofa Yes, the musical trivia in Martinis is fun. The trivia in the lounge is the one I avoid.

Yes, you can do that.

+1 I love trivia but I don't play it on Oceania. The intensity and competiveness of it doesn't make it fun at all.

Not everyone speaks English and that is okay. Simply point to what you want and they will gladly serve it to you. I’ve never had a problem with it.

No, I did not say that. I’m saying that lumping any group all together to the point of not wanting them onboard your cruise (as some people on this board have implied) is a gross and unfair generalization. Bad behavior can come from anywhere. Being part of one particular group has nothing to do with it.

I have no skin in the game but, IMO, the "Alumni Clubber" gets a bad rap. In most cases, undeservedly. They bring A LOT of revenue to Oceania and they're not going away. Like I have said before on this board, the alumni groups I have met onboard are courteous, friendly, and mature. I have never heard any of them nit-picking at little details nor saying they will not cruise Oceania again. That last Rivieria cruise sounds like an exception, not the norm. Some people like to complain and it has absolutely nothing to do with being part of a group . If you don't want to take a chance on alumni groups being onboard your Oceania cruise, then pick another cruise line.

Sorry to hear that but that has not been my experience at all. I've been on several Oceania cruises with alumni groups and they have been courteous, friendly and not loud. They are well-traveled and highly educated as are many of Oceania passengers. They will have a private reception in Horizons one evening but other than that they're not taking up the specialty restaurants because they are not allowed more reservations than anyone else. There is no way to know in advance if your next cruise will have alumni groups onboard but if it does happen, your experience is likely to be different.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/323-nautica-roll-calls/ You'll get a better response if you post this to your Roll Call. It looks like one has started for your cruise.

@meg1021 I completely agree. Oceania's handling of shore excursions onboard the ship can be frustrating. We once had an excursion cancelled and were never informed of it. We received the tickets in the excursion envelope and went to the meeting point near the pier at the designated time. No one ever showed up. When we got back to the ship we went to the DS desk and that's when they told us the excursion had been cancelled. What a waste of time. This was on Regatta's first sailing post-Covid and there were many new staff so that had a lot to do with it. Hopefully as more staff become better trained things will run more smoothly.

Other than not being able to fill the O ships on the South Pacific crossings as pinotlover explained, another reason is port restrictions. Bora Bora comes to mind. They don't allow more than 1200 cruise ship passengers in port per day. No other ship would be allowed if Vista or Riviera were there. Not likely that's going to happen. Windstar and Paul Gaugin are predominant in French Polynesia and their ships are even smaller than O's R ships.

Something to to think about if everyone will be getting a shore excursion credit with Simply More, is that there will be obviously more demand for them. I've been on O cruises with the O Life shore excursion option and haven't always been able to get my first choice. I've occasionally had to go with 2nd or 3rd choices. They sell out. O is going to have to find a way to increase capacity on the excursions that are in highest demand. I was on an all inclusive river cruise last year and had one port where we had 2 choices of excursions. One was fully booked and the other one we had no interest in. Didn't get our money's worth at that port. Just speculating, of course.

With the new pricing structure including beer and wine at lunch and dinner, I think this is to attract the generations younger than baby boomers. Statistics show that Gen X and Millenials are more likely to drink alcohol than baby boomers. I drink enough wine at mealtimes to probably make it worth it however I have to wait and see how much fares will increase. I do feel bad for people who don't drink because they'll be subsidizing those that do. Not sure how I feel yet about credit for shore excursions. I'll hold judgment until it all shakes out.