ak1004

For what it's worth, I do appreciate your comments, don't question your motives and share your frustration. The main difference is that I believe that they didn't have a choice based on the information they had in real time (not hindsight). While I also would appreciate more transparency and better communication, I know it's not always possible. I agree that O management has a long way to go in terms of communication, but I accept it as a tradeoff for an excellent staff on board and excellent overall experience.

You also compared an inside cabin fare for one guest on Carnival with a total for two guests for PH on Oceania including "hotels, airfare, excursions, and onboard expenses".. lol.. I don't know how Carnival would treat its passengers in this situation.. I do know that after sailing on Carnival two times (first and last), I wouldn't go back even if they paid me. Oceania regulars know that daily activities was never among the strongest aspects of Oceania experience. Even on a first sea day (which was scheduled) the activities were very limited, so expecting them to put something on such short notice for an unexpected sea day is a bit unrealistic. People who want more activities should probably sail on Carnival (although I'm not sure many O guests would appreciate the type of activities they have on Carnival). After 4 cruises on Oceania, I just learned to accept its weaknesses as a tradeoff for their strengths.

Yes, there was no strike on those days. It's a fact. No disagreement here. But we don't have all the information that Oceania had. We cannot speculate about things we don't know. They had to assess the risk of docking in Lisbon. Maybe it was the wrong decision in hindsight, but the right decision based on the facts they had in real time. We don't know when the decision was made, it's all just speculation. I was very disappointed that we missed those two ports, but I cannot blame Oceania (or any other cruise line if it was another cruise line). We missed ports with many lines, including Silversea, Crystal, Azamara and others. It's easy to criticize, but without knowing all the facts, it's just speculation. And I'm asking you once again: what would be their interest to do it? As for people's reaction - yes, many were disappointed, but the futures cruises office was still the busiest place the whole cruise. Most people still appreciated the Oceania experience and realized that some things are just beyond the cruise line control.

@hankandteri thank you for sharing your impressions. When I read those conspiracy theories about cancelled ports, my first question is: why would they cancel ports and lie about the reasoning? They surely get a lot of angry guests, what is their benefit of doing this? Not to mention lost revenues from all the excursions (my estimate would be at least $100k). They have everything to lose and nothing to gain, so why would they do it?? Call me naïve, but in my opinion, no line would cancel ports unless they really have too. Their explanation was that they were concerned to be stuck in Lisbon and lose the rest of the ports. I'm sure they had more information than us and didn't make the announcement lightly. Going to Morocco or Gibraltar instead? Easier said than done. Many popular ports are booked 2 years in advance. And even if Morocco was available, I'm not sure it was possible in terms of distance. As a side note, comparing Carnival and Oceania is like comparing Mercedes and Fiat. Both will bring you from A to B, but this is where the similarity ends. Also, you mentioned the price on Carnival for inside cabin and compared it to Oceania PH.. not exactly apples to apples to say the least. But yes, obviously O will always be more expensive even for the similar category.

This is unfortunate. We didn't have many issues while on board Oceania, and most of them were pretty minor, but I got an impression that they are not very good in resolving issues or responding to complaints. It's almost like they are telling you "it is what it is, take it or leave it". And honestly, there are not too many alternatives, once we made the decision to sail on small ship. We are not going back to Celebrity/HAL etc. SS/SB/Regent are much more expensive most of the time, and based on the recent reviews, they are not necessarily better (this was our experience too on our recent SS cruise). The only viable alternative is Azamara, but their biggest drawdown is older ships and tiny cabins/showers (same as Oceania R ships). It looks like we are stuck with O, for better or worse, and for us, we still consider them a very good option, despite many shortcomings.

We were on the same cruise. I agree about CD Steve, he was invisible. And I agree about the crew, mostly fantastic. We stopped using the spa on cruise ships, mostly very overpriced and inconsistent experience. We were also disappointed with the excursions. All other aspects of our cruise were excellent. I was also wondering about the strikes. We were supposed to be in Portugal on May 25-26, and the strikes were on may 21-22 and May 29-30. The explanation provided was that those strikes can come on very short notice, and they were afraid to be stuck in Lisbon and lose the rest of the ports. I don't have a reason to believe that they didn't tell the truth about why those ports have been cancelled. I don't believe that any cruise line would cancel a port unless they really don't have a choice. Would they save some money by cancelling the ports? Yes, but they also lost a lot of revenues from shore excursions, and more importantly, had a lot of very angry customers. We heard a couple in the elevators saying that it was a disastrous cruise. I don't share that sentiment. I would be interested to hear OP thoughts.

Couldn't agree more.. I would book the smallest cabin on O over the largest suite on a mega ship.. but you cannot please everyone, some people just like to complaint about everything.

@Eloise4Ever Oceania has a lot to offer, but entertainment and activities are not among their strongest selling points. Personally we feel that on a port intensive cruise, those areas are really less important. We enjoy the food, the service, the lack of lines and crowds etc. btw, on our last SS cruise we felt that entertainment and activities are not any better. I'm curious which lines would you consider as substitute to O?

We were on the cruise prior to yours, I posted a review - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=700631 Our third time on the Riviera, had a great time despite some missed ports. The food and the service were excellent as usual, we noticed a slight improvement in the entertainment, but still not great. No surprises here, and the ship is still sleepy after 10pm. Excursions were the biggest disappointment for us, and we will try booking private tours on our next O cruise when possible.

Thank you very much for replying! @tulok we share the same sentiment about spending very little time in the cabin. My concern is not the window, but mostly the location, specifically, the potential level of noise. Someone mentioned that on lower deck you hear the noise from the kitchen and/or the engines. On the other hand, someone mentioned here that they were on the at the front on the second level (deluxe cabin) and they had "hellish noise from the engines at the front". So maybe we should stick with our cabin 106 which is in the middle of the cabins on the lower deck?

Hello everyone, We will be sailing on the Uniworld Empress in September. We booked the classic room (106) and just got an upgrade offer ($200 minimum pp for deluxe and $350 pp for French balcony). It's our first river cruise, so any advise would be appreciated. My understanding is that all of them are the same size, just different decks. Is going to a higher deck worth the difference? Are those amounts typical, or they might offer lower minimums as we get close to the sailing date? Right now they still have over 50% availability for deluxe cabins. Thank you!

We and our friends got a bottle of wine each as a gift from our TA. We don't drink so gave ours to our friends. They were able to drink it in all venues, and O actually didn't charge any corkage fee because "it was a gift and we don't charge for gifts". They put a sticker on the wine with the cabin number and you just mention it in any venue you dine in.

The review mentions "this ship is clearly in the upscale category and not true luxury". It also mentions "Vista doesn’t offer the personal, often fawning service you find on true luxury lines." As someone who sailed 4 times on O and one time on SS, we found them comparable. To me, the only major thing that was better on SS was the cabin (comparing veranda to veranda). In terms of service and food, we actually liked the food on O better (by a very small margin). Service was excellent on both, and I didn't find the service on SS any more personal. Passenger/crew ratios are comparable as well. It's true that SS is more inclusive, but for people who don't drink and like to do their own excursions, this is actually a disadvantage.

Well you can say the same about all ships. We are on the Riviera now. No issues with the staff. Very attentive and professional service. And there are some very bad reviews about Riviera.

We were on the Regatta last September. We had an amazing time. The food and the service were excellent. I have a hard time believing that things have changed that much in 9 months, Maybe a matter of expectations? Cannot really please everybody..

We are currently on our third post Covid O cruise, and I did not notice any significant changes. Food and service is as good as ever. I really don’t understand those negative reviews. In fact, on our cruise on SS last December food and service were comparable to O, despite SS being considered an ultra luxury line.

Same for us on the Riviera. What dates you were scheduled to be in Lisbon and Oporto? I find it a bit strange because the strike was on May 21-22 and our dates were May 25-26.

We are currently on the Riviera. Service and food are outstanding. Didn't notice any change from previous sailings. Our friends who are Celebrity refugees are very impressed too.

Our TA provides around 10% rebate, on SS it could be even more.

And they also waive flight deviation fee if you book hotel with them right?

How much they charge for this hotel?

SS is using Monaco Grand Canal for their pre cruise package. Anyone familiar with this hotel? Also is it significantly more expensive to book hotel via SS than independently? My understanding is that if you book d2d and a hotel with them then transfers to/from the hotel are included?

Never had any issues. Some excursions are sold out if you wait too long. Also slightly cheaper to book in advance. And you can cancel any time. Why not to book in advance?

Yes, I also would be disappointed seeing people in shorts and flip flops. But there is always a middle ground. Dressy pants and dressy shirt for men should be sufficient on most nights. And if they really want to have formal nights, then jacket on formal nights, tie optional. This is how it used to be on Crystal. I'm sure over time SS will adjust and go with the trend. Meanwhile just enjoy your cruise and don't overthink it!

I wouldn't worry too much. It's much less strict while on board than some of the members here suggest. And don't pay too much attention to what other people say. Also, I think it's very different on expedition cruises.