sunlover12

I am curious what this Simply More is all about but I'm willing to bet it will result in higher "cruise only" fares. There is no way we will get more without Oceania raising basic fares. I prefer a la carte pricing. Whenever a company changes its pricing structure it is almost always not in favor of the consumer. A good example of this is all the changes the airlines have made to their FF awards structure. It was never in favor of the consumer.

I'll be following this. Cruising on Harmony in January from Galveston. We fly United exclusively and they do not fly to Hobby. I had enough FF miles on United to get a first class round trip ticket to IAH so I'll just deal with whatever Royal's transfer is between IAH and the port.

May I ask why you missed Amalfi? My Nautica cruise in August is scheduled to go there.

We book a PH for only one reason and that is the extra space. We don't ask much of our butler. It's up to the passenger how much or little of their services you want to use. We'll usually ask for one breakfast in the cabin per cruise and most afternoons we'll ask for canapés. That's about it. We've never requested extra specialty restaurant reservations. The maitre d' at each restaurant is the correct person to talk to if you are requesting a certain table. We have also asked for ice at a certain time of the day which the butler directed us to call the stateroom attendant who did a great job each day and it only took one phone call.

@Eloise4Ever On a port intensive cruise, many passengers will want to retire to their cabins after dinner if they are going to be getting up early and going on a full-day excursion the next day. There wouldn't be enough business for the bars to stay open late. If the next day is a sea day, you'll find more passengers around the ship later. Looking at your itinerary, this is a port intensive cruise. Thanks for your review. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Thank you for that information. That's good to know. My Oceania invoice doesn't say OCAPP but it does say "Group Amenity Prepaid Gratuity". So, it's hard for me to know if it's coming from O or the TA. I just know that we don't have to pay it. 🙂

My TA gave us PPG on our upcoming August cruise. We're not at the O Club level yet to get this so it's a nice perk that we're very appreciative of. We're in a group with a few other couples - we were all given the PPG. Establishing a relationship with a good TA can give you valuable benefits and service.

Does anyone have any information on a Nice (Villefranche) shuttle?

Dinner time after 6:30 would likely be a good time to do laundry. I haven't tried that. I have gone on port days and found it very crowded. As I've said, I've given up on it and now use the ship's laundry service. I'm not going to do laundry when I should be enjoying a nice dinner. YMMV

The R class ships have one very small self service laundry room. I used to go in there but gave up because they were always crowded. If you’re in a suite, take advantage of the 3 free laundry bags. You’re on vacation and you probably don’t want to spend it in a tiny crowded laundry room where you may have to wait a long time before a washer and dryer are available.

@LHT28 Not sure why you have to single out alumni groups. 2 of my 6 Oceania cruises have been with alumni groups and they were gracious, intelligent and well-mannered. If that wasn’t your experience with them, it’s definitely not the norm. Bad behavior can come from any and all walks of life. I am fortunate to not have experienced it on any cruise I’ve been on.

I agree. We haven't chosen the O Life OBC but I understand why people like the convenience of it. I'd have no trouble spending it. We don't get pre-paid gratuities and that alone will almost reach the amount spent on O Life OBC. Add in a few drinks and maybe a small purchase in the gift shop and that OBC will be spent before you realize it.

I was told by Oceania that I couldn't upgrade to a PH. They said a concierge cabin was the highest I could upgrade to. It could be dependent on the particular cruise. This was several years ago and maybe things have changed. It's at least worth asking about.

My advice is to use as little cash as possible and use credit cards for everything that you can. The best exchange rate, by far, will be with your credit card. If the merchant asks you if you want it charged in local currency or US dollars, choose local currency. If you choose US dollars at point of sale, you will not get a favorable exchange rate. I've never converted US dollars to Euros onboard the ship but I wouldn't think the exchange rate will be favorable. You'll want to have a nominal amount of Euros for incidental purchases but that is all.

@Rosroz What you describe when going through US immigration is common in other countries as well. I’ve experienced surly immigration officers in Europe. It’s the nature of their job. JMO

There is a happy medium between complaining and not saying anything. As a paying customer it is okay to say something if there is a lapse in service or quality. It can be done discreetly and gently. A good manager will welcome comments because then they can work on it and make improvements. If nothing is said, the issues will continue for the next customers. If I have a legitimate concern or issue, I will say something discreetly. This doesn't just apply to cruising.

+1 My husband just achieved million mile status on United and we made sure to fly United whenever possible. Flying on the partner airlines gets you nothing toward status.

Sorry to hear of your experience. What you have described is not the norm, IMO. I've been on Regatta 3 times, the most recent being March 2022. The food and service were wonderful each time. Requesting that your ice bucket be filled every day and it wasn't is a service flaw. That shouldn't happen. You mentioned that the cheesecake was dry and tasteless. I am sorry to hear that. My experience is that Oceania's desserts are fabulous. I can't recall one bad dessert I've had. You also mentioned being on Royal Caribbean. I've sailed with them a few times and found their desserts to be truly awful. I couldn't eat them. I think so much depends on the staff on duty at the time of your cruise. Regarding the comment survey that you mentioned, unless things have recently changed, that can only be done while you are on the ship. It's too late once you disembark.

My husband and I mailed ours in the same envelope early February and got them in late March. 7 weeks. Not expedited. The online application status kept saying "In Process" and hadn't been updated so we were surprised when they showed up in the mail.

@Fam_Cruise To add to what you said about First Class being a dying breed, United does not specifically offer First Class but they do have 3 classes of seating on their long haul flights. I am guessing their Polaris Business class is similar to First Class on foreign carriers. Lie-flat seats and excellent meal service. United has a large fleet of Boeing 787s that fly to Europe and across the Pacific that offers the 3 classes of service. Their Polaris lounges at ORD and SFO are beautiful and second to none. Thank you for posting your extensive knowledge about airlines.

I agree about booking early if using miles. I just booked a domestic 1st class ticket for January and was pleasantly surprised how few miles were needed. Far fewer than I thought it was going to be. If buying with money, wait and see because it may go down. This has been my experience.

You will need to go to the lounge where the shore excursion staff will give you a number. You then get off the ship when your number is called.

We ordered a bottle of white wine in the MDR on Wonder. Someone poured our first glass, then set the bottle in an ice bucket off to the side, out of reach. No one ever came back to pour during the rest of the dinner. You either have to get their attention or get up and pour it yourself. A good waiter or wine steward would never let this happen. It was never clear to me whose duty it was to take the wine order. On some of the other cruise lines, the wine steward wears a different color vest. I agree with Jasukkie that drinks service in the MDR has a lot to be desired.

You have one year from date of purchase of FCC to choose a cruise. The selected cruise can commence outside of one year. Thus the choice of cruises will be vast. We've never been forced to take a cruise we didn't want just to use a FCC. Keep in mind that not all cruises qualify for the cabin upgrade sale or any sale. In fact many of them don't and when they do, there are limitations. I'm not going to choose a cruise just because I can get a cabin upgrade. As Woofa said, cost is not always the single biggest factor for some cruisers.

My upcoming August cruise was booked using a future cruise certificate. When we purchased it in March of last year we hadn't planned what our next cruise was going to be. As pinotlover explained, we don't want to book a placeholder cruise and tie up a cabin someone else may want. The OBC of the current cruise and reduced deposit on the next cruise is a very good benefit. We don't feel like we were "burned". Not all cruises are included in the ESS or cabin upgrade sale. My August cruise isn't included in any of these sales but I am getting the benefit of the future cruise certificate.