ak1004

I’m not sure about booking online, but when you book with a TA, they always put in on hod and you have around a week to pay the deposit. Also I believe all the cancellation policy terms are on the website as well.

It’s $150 pp up to 180 days. It’s all in your invoice.

So you never bothered to check the cancellation policy or simply look at your invoice, but now you are complaining that Oceania simply followed their policy, and will never sail on Oceania again? Makes perfect sense. btw this was not a fine print. It was right in your invoice, with specific dates.

How they were banned by NCL? Did they get a specific letter? Was any reason given?

I agree with you. That said, many lines have a huge disconnect between their customer service and on board experience. We had a very bad experience with Silversea air department - but it doesn't mean we will stop sailing on SS. Also, we don't have full information about what is happening. Many guests report only partial information. Some guests don't even bother to read their invoices and don't know what the cancellation policy is (some are not aware about the recent change of $150 cancellation penalty). So I would not trust 100% everything that you read.

Which cruise did you book if you don't mind?

Exactly our sentiment. The only issue is that for the price of PH on Azamara, I can book SB and get an all inclusive experience and larger cabin. PH prices on the R ships (both Azamara and Oceania) don't make sense to me.

I don't care about the line business model. I care about the value that I GET. After sailing on 12 different lines, we won't go back to Celebrity or other big ship. Sailing on small ships provides a completely different experience, and I won't compromise it just to punish a cruise line.

Same for us - but Azamara cabins and showers are below our comfort zone, and they cost about the same as cabins on Riviera/Marin/Vista.

In any case, if your actual booking was before Sep.1, you should get 100% of the deposit back for Nov.2024 cruise. If it was after Sep.1, it's $150 penalty, not the whole deposit. Check your reservation, it should be clearly mentioned there.

The new cancellation policy implies only $150 per person penalty, not the whole deposit non refundable. Something doesn't add up here.

They still should refund the difference because the deposit is $250 per person or $500 total. Happened to us a while ago, they refunded the deposit less OBC that we used.

This is true for all cruise lines. This is why we never book a cruise based on loyalty. Whoever provides the best combination of itinerary, price and ship experience gets our business. 12 different lines so far. Zero loyalty to any line.

Our FCC was about to expire mid September, we asked to extend it, they refused, so we cancelled and got a full refund. I'm not sure if this situation is different from what is described in the original post. If FCC was already applied, then I assume standard penalties apply, but you are also eligible to one change, which effectively means that you can cancel without penalty as long as you book another cruise (and all benefits apply to the new cruise).

Good to know, and agree, if it's around $15, it's very reasonable.

That's a very good advice - but my understanding is it's not free (unless certain level of suite and/or loyalty)? Any idea about the cost? Is it possible to just request a steamer?

Everyone is different. If it’s a TA flight of 7-8 hours you still wear a jacket the whole flight? Some flights become pretty hot. And not all airlines have an option to give the jacket to the crew to hang it. What happens when you arrive and it’s 30c outside? Still wear it? Those are completely honest questions. We will be on the Dawn in December sailing from Ft. Lauderdale. We started travelling with carry on only recently, and it will be our first time that I have to take a jacket. I hate jackets, but I intend to comply with the dress code despite considering it absurd, but also want to find a solution that is not too inconvenient. In May we will be on the Spirit from Venice, and will have the same issue, this time on TA flight.

We usually do up to 2 weeks.. 21 days might be a stretch, but still doable. Better than losing the luggage for sure.

How was I insulting men? Not to mention that I'm a man myself lol..

The trend today is travelling with carry on only. Yes, it's possible. One carry on and one personal item per passenger. One less thing to worry about. On our last river cruise, out of 88 guests at least 3-4 couples got their luggage lost. That's 10%. And when you travel with carry on only, a jacket is a major addition. Why this is so difficult for people to understand??

And the fact that they changed it on the Nova is probably a hint that most SS guests do want the change. So for men the only choices are tuxedo/suit or shorts and t-shirt? Nothing in between? Pretty amazing that dress code loyalists bring the shorts and t-shirt example every single time.

Yea.. I'm familiar with all the arguments.. "if you remove the dress code, people will start coming to dinner in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops". Guess what? Never seen people in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops or even jeans on Oceania. Country style casual, excellent ambiance. And there are people who still wear jackets and ties, and we live in piece with them and they live in piece with us.

The simple truth is that even SS itself started to realized how absurd and archaic the current dress code is and simplified it on the Nova. The issue is lack of symmetry. People who want to dress up can still do it even if the dress code was casual every day. The opposite is not true.

After reading all 130 posts, this is my understanding of how things work. On formal nights, if I go to Atlantide or Salt, I need a tie and a jacket. But I don't need a tie in La Terrazza, only jacket. And I don't need tie or jacket in The Grill and Spaccanapoli. But when I finish my meal in The Grill and Spaccanapoli and go back inside, I need to put back my jacket and tie (or only jacket?). La Dame always require jacket (but not tie). I don't eat Asian food, so don't have to remember about Kaiseki (what a relief). Silver Note only jacket (I think). On informal nights, it's pretty much the same, but I don't need a tie. And can have no jacket But then again, if I eat outside, don't need a jacket, but have to put it back when going back to the bars and the theater. When I reach my table, I can remove the jacket and put it on my chair. But have to wear it back when leaving or going to the washroom. Not sure about Silver Note (only jacket?). La Terrazza doesn't require a jacket (I think). On casual nights, no jacket anywhere, except for La Dame (this one I'm pretty sure about). But I wouldn't pay $160 on the Nova anyway, so one less to remember.. Could it be any more clear? Did I miss anything?

Agree with you 100% Hank. We are doing 10 night on SS next months at $325 USD per night, and next year in Europe for around $400 per night. A great value. But yes, those bargains are more and more difficult to find. And yes, those lines are more inclusive, but in terms of overall experience, we found O much closer to SS than to Celebrity. So to me, O is good enough in terms of value for money, but itinerary is the most important things. We found couple great itineraries with SB and SS in 2025, but they were at least 30-40% more expensive. As for air program - I cannot comment on SB yet, but we had mixed experience with SS air department. Their pricing for business class was great, and they gave us direct flights, but when we asked to fly 2 days earlier, they requested almost $1,000 USD extra per person.