edgee

I am a heavy booker with my TA, yet friends have called and spoken to agent who answers the phone. Given exact great rebate and benefits as I get. Seems you refuse to listen to honest feedback that does not meet your narrative.

Yes and my agency which openly rebates and advertises it is a large Oceania producer.who hosted Oceania's president (just before he took the top job) in their offices located far from Miami in the Western U.S. Figure that one out.

I had an opposite experience where sale was only offered through my TA and a few others. Had a 7500 pp fare already booked reduced by 2500 pp through a sale not available direct. It was a Regent cruise, but I know Oceania offers similar deals on occasion. That is also the real world of sales!

Agency I use sends rebate check out 3 weeks before the cruise and amount is written on their invoice they send me immediately upon booking.

One TA you contacted and their treatment constitutes the "real world?". Seriously, in the real world there are TAs that DO give rebates and value amounting to 10% or more off the price of a cruise. Mine is totally up front and will give specifics to any potential customer who checks with them. They are one of the largest agencies out there and are very straightforward about it! Go ahead and pay 10% or more for your cruise if you wish, but many of us on CC will continue to contradict your inaccurate POV of the "real world."

I prefer Celebrity mainly because they are only non small ship cruise line with no smoking casinos. Also, if you are a blackjack player you may enjoy the fact that they have mainly hand shuffle at their bj tables.

Cannot mention them here, but many large on line cruise travel agencies have websites where available cabins on most any cruise are easily searchable by category and you will get flashing dots over every cabin available in category you are checking.

The seating being tiered is absolutely NOT any kind of advantage for the Vista theatre. Sight lines are horrific! The designer of that theatre as well as whoever chose soundproofing in walls between cabins should be sued for architectural malpractice!. If you spend enough time on Vista, as I did you will have an issue with noise between the cabins, The crew's feedback on volume of complaints during my nearly month on the ship was very convincing of that.

I know exactly what is there...I have been in that "forbidden" 😄 space.A few weeks ago while on Vista I was surveying locations for a possible future cruise cabin. I asked the stateroom attendant what was on the other side of the door in the hallway next to cabin 7001 on the port side. He opened the door and let me take a half step into the crew cabin corridor which runs sideways along the entire wall of cabin 7001. Told me the same situation exists adjacent to cabin 7000 on the port side of the ship. I would have no concerns about booking a cabin there unless you are worried about the crew hallway door opening and closing as crew comes and goes from their shifts. I would think that would not be a problem

Aquamor and a truly fantastic gorgeous spa deck are big positives for Vista. But otherwise Riviera and soon to be remodeled Marina are really equal with better theatre sight lines and without cabin walls that are ridiculously thin in terms of sound mitigation.

You are correct. I believe they no longer give half credit where one segment is significantly more expensive than the other.

I am elite plus on Celebrity and now Silver on Oceania. I appreciate the differences in the products. Oceania has a great product and is better than Celebrity in so many ways. You were very fortunate that you were not affected by noise from other cabins. Based on my discussion with crew, you will most likely experience the problem if you cruise enough on Vista. The noise issue is no joke and new Celebrity ships absolutely run circles around Vista in the area of sound moderation between cabins. That is the point I am raising here, not a damn thing to do with price or with other aspects of the cruise experience.

Agree. You have raised the apparent primary two causes. The third might be the very very quiet A/C system. Historically ships have a whooshing sound coming from heat or air-conditioning that serves as a sort of white noise. Vista's quiet A/C would normally be a good thing...but it's not providing any white noise means it does not help moderate the noise problem caused by poor sound insulation and TV speakers pointed at the walls.

You raise a good point, or at least a good question. Another interesting somewhat puzzling factor: I am embarking on a 14 night transatlantic on Regent Splendor, their second newest ship just prior to the new apparently sound problematic Grandeur. I asked on the Regent board, since the three most recent Regent ships are of the same class, whether I can expect noise issues on the Splendor. Was assured that the Splendor did not seem to have the "thin wall" problem, just the latest ship on the series...the Grandeur. I guess I will find out for myself in about 30 days.

Doubt it. IMHO it is the construction.

After my recent Vista cruise, I immediately boarded the new Celebrity Ascent. Was in their lowest level suite category...really just a large nice cabin with larger bathroom. Noise issues were non existent. No noise from neighbors and, although they play pleasant but slightly loud music in hallways, our cabin was silent the minute we closed the door. The silence was wonderful, especially contrasted with recent experience on Vista.

During recent two cruises on Vista I encountered the noise issue on both in deck 10 and deck 9 forward cabins. Had a few discussions with both reception desk staff and concierge in Concierge Lounge. Was offered a move to another cabin, but they said they could not guarantee the problem would not be the same in another cabin, as the problem is similar throughout the ship. I told them I really liked Vista and if I choose to sail on her again is there any location I could pick where the problem would be less. I also asked about going with a PH level, as cabins are bigger, thus beds are a little farther from neighbor's TV. Was told that, based on their experience with complaints, going with a PH would not solve my problem, same issue throughout the ship.

Absolutely should be a "no fly zone" for some folks...for others it is less of a problem. Also the issue of luck plays a part as to how noisy your neighbors are and whether they like to watch tv.

Main problem for us after 27 nights in two different Concierge cabins on Vista was significant noise from TV playing late at night from adjacent cabin. Tried white noise app on phone and opening balcony door to hear sound of ocean. Helped only slightly. Neighbor was cooperative and kept volume very low, but still insisted on playing TV. Bottom line: We could sleep when his TV was off; had trouble when TV was on even at low volume. So he usually turned it off about 11:30 p.m. and back on at 7. So my neighbor in effect decided when I could sleep and when i could not. That is not an acceptable situation. Unfortunately I am seeing on Regent thread that their new Grandeur, built in the same ship yard has the same problem. Really a shame.

That is a secondary question. The problem exists on the ship. The reason is an interesting discussion, but relevant point is do you want to cruise on a ship where there is a significant noise problem between the cabins? Oceania is offering a product/ship which has that problem, big time, for many people. Some do not mind. Vista is a beautiful ship. If you are either lucky enough to have very quiet neighbors or the noise doesn't bother you, there is much to enjoy. Does not work for me.

Wondering about how American's new policy not allowing tickets bought through unaffiliated (whatever that means) travel agents to earn Aadvantage miles will affect mileage earning for folks using cruise line air arrangements. One would presume that cruise lines have a contract with airlines on which they book passengers, but not sure if this new policy affects mileage earning for them.

Sad but true. Confirmed to me by senior crew on Vista in conversation 3 weeks ago. Good news is they are adding the new Aquamor restaurant like on Vista. Great breakfast/lunch option.

It is a step up in many ways but paper thin walls are a huge problem. Noise from neighbor TV's and conversations was a pervasive problem on both our fairly long cruises over the past 3 months. Highly recommend considering this major issue before booking Vista and probably Allura. What a shame!

We just did Oceania's newest ship (for 11 nights in Concierge level) the Vista and immediately transferred from Miami to Port Everglades for a week in a Sky Suite on the Ascent. We enjoyed both. Nice that butlers have returned to Sky Suites on Celebrity...they are correcting the mistake of removing them. Luminae, even with its limited menu, was better than Oceania's Grand Dining Room, although Oceania's specialty restaurants with no surcharge meet or exceed Celebrity's in quality. Of course Oceania's Terrace Cafe (their version of a buffet) is outstanding. Entertainment pretty good on both ships. Sadly, will not sail on Oceania's new Vista again due to extremely thin walls. I could only sleep when my neighbor's TV was off, and he was cooperative, keeping his volume very low. Such a contrast to much more solidly built Ascent where noise from neighbors or even hallway noise was not a problem at all. We have done 15 cruises on Celebrity and 10 on Oceania...will continue to enjoy both, but will avoid Oceania's thin walled new ships.

Oh yes. On some cruises twice a day. Sort of a blood sport...very competitive in the quest for Big O points which are cashed in for Oceania logo cheap cheap merchandise. 🤔