edgee

Easy to make restaurant reservations. Just phone Oceania. You won't have one minute past midnight first chance but, depending on cabin category can likely get a good chance for preferred times by calling the morning after reservations open.

We booked Vista cruise we are on prior to SM then converted to SM primarily thinking it was worth it to get 2nd wi fi. Well, we were mislead because everyone got 2 wifi s beginning in Oct. Then SM still turned out to be slightly better for us when we did the math, so not a big deal. Due to a change in ports, one of our shore excursions was cancelled and we booked one in the new port. Neither shore excursion desk nor pursar could give us accurate info regarding what shipboard credit we had that is restricted to shore excursions under SM and what amount can be used for everything on the ship. They told me they are getting a new system soon that will address this problem. We do know from info I received by calling O prior to our cruise that we are using nearly all of our SM shore excursion credit, so I am not really upset by our particular situation, but could be a big problem in other situations, especially when multiple ports are cancelled and others substituted. Simply More did not really simplify things IMHO.

I have "perfect" record in 4 evenings on the ship no one has taken my card for wine. A couple of times they have looked at my card that has code "BIA" which staff confirmed to me shows I have beer and wine pkg. Not sure if code is same for my Simply More Beer and Wine "package" vs someone who got it under OLife.

Had dinner in Terrace on Vista last night. I have basic Simply More included wine and beer at dinner. Told them that. They glanced at my card. Poured my chosen wine. Gave me a refill. Never took my card.

Thx for clarification. I always put my cruise ship tags on the morning of embarkation so that there is much less concern they will tear off during pre cruise travel on plane. Also,since I never use cruise line air or pre cruise hotel provided by cruise line, I want zero chance that a "helpful" worker arranging cruise line transportation to the hotel or ship will take my bag off of the luggage carousel thinking my bag/I am part of a cruise line group transfer. In other words, when I travel I want no label on my bags either my own or the cruise line's indicating I am going on a cruise, except right before embarking the ship.

May ask what is the reason you would not use the tags the cruise line asks you to use? We are on Vista now and used ours with no difficulties. Crew is used to reading the format of the tags and they seem to adhere fairly well. We did receive enough that we double tagged each of our bags. The Oceania format highlights the cabin number well. Your format mixes the cabin number with information such as your home address which has nothing to do with the purpose of the tags...helping the crew identify upon a quick glance when sorting luggage which elevator to send the bag to. IMHO if every passenger adopted their own format it would make the crew's job on a very busy day much harder.

Consumer advocate Chris Elliott (elliott.org) reports he is handling multiple complaints in regard to Oceania Middle East cruises and so far has gotten one of them resolved with a FCC.

I embarked Vista yesterday for 16 night LA Miami cruise. Will also be on your Jan. 31 cruise. Can confirm that everyone gets 2 included wi fi 's but if you want to stream. anything...even a 5 second FB video you will have to pay ten bucks a day extra per hookup. Even then the streaming is not always reliable. Much worse Starlink than what I experienced on two previous Celebrity cruise ships that have Starlink. Otherwise, the ship is gorgeous and so far things are great! Couple of immediately noticed positives compared to O class ships: Grand Dining Room is beautiful and efficient. Love the design of multiple chandeliers with lower ceiling and dining areas divided rather than feeling you ate in one big room. Smoking areas near pool and Horizons have doors...no smoke drifting toward Waves..yeah. One downside is lack of convenient drawer space in regular cabins...although bathroom storage design is great.

Always book through a TA. Find one that offers rebates. With approx. 10% of cruise price rebate we get back from our TA, we see no reason to pay higher price by booking directly.

You make a valid point that is generally applicable to cruise vacations. However this horrible war presents the cruise industry and guests with an unprecedented situation. Some cruise lines have chosen to step up and go beyond just their contractual obligations. Oceania has not. And reniging on authorized verbal promises to make things right goes beyond acceptable corporate behavior. Their behavior is NOT ok.

I have a significant number of cruise nights booked on O in the next 12 months. I believe we will have some great cruising experiences. However, will forgo opportunity for onboard bookings to get future cruise discounts. Not sure I want to do business long term with a company that operates with such a mean spirited, inconsiderate corporate culture. This is a grotesque example, and even worse is the situation involved with the Riviera cruise through the Red Sea where O is reniging on promises to allow canceling with FCC. This is not the way a customer focused service company should behave. Something is very wrong with these people.

Outrageous!. We are on your cruise. Hope you make it!

I completely agree!

Thank you for saying what many of are probably thinking when we see input from certain posters. As others have noted, CC message boards should not be used as personal blogs.

I agree that it is likely just rhetoric, but rhetoric helps inflame tensions and thus leads to a less safe environment for travelers.

News of the last 24 hours regarding threats by Turkey to enter the war against Israel and Israel recalling its Ambassador from Turkey, raise the level of concern about travel there IMHO.

Excursions are often not listed for itineraries that are farther out in the schedule. We are cruising Miami to Barcelona in March of next year and have a large choice of included excursions.

Julie is one of my favorite Oceania CDs because she keeps announcements to minimum. Has to make more than I would like due to Oceania policies. However, when I thanked her for keeping announcements to a minimum, she told me that she feels guests are intelligent enough to read in Currents what's going on. They do not need to have full activity list read back to them! I so agree with her and appreciate that attitude.

Nope, won't be Dottie. I am a listener to her husband, Tom Drake the comedian's podcast. She (they) embark Insignia in Montreal on Monday and will stay on through part of the World Cruise disembarking in Australia in February.

Thanks for you feedback. What are criteria for me to know which power strips are approved and which are not?

Lyn, heading to CA in a few days for 16 night Vista Trans Canal cruise. How was the availability of North American 110 volt electrical plugs and/or plugs to charge your phone. We, usually cruise with a European 220v adaptor to give us more charging options in our cabin. Wondering if that is necessary on a new ship like Vista?

Thank you. For cruise ships looks like zero U.S. sports except for a few NBA basketball games. Ugh.

While you offer constructive advice, what you have yet to experience, but soon will probably find out (unfortunately), is that Oceania seems to "specialize" in crappy disembarkations. Not sure why, but I have always found O's disembarkations stressful, tough and almost nasty. Same for its corporate cousin, Regent. Pushing, shoving, luggage blocking narrow corridors near the disembarkation point...you name it. My experiences on Celebrity, HAL Crystal and Cunard over the past 5 years have always been more pleasant. I cannot pinpoint the reason why...perhaps layout of the ships, otherwise pleasant guests who turn into entitled monsters on disembarkation day..not sure. With discussion of this subject, I am feeling pleased that for the four Oceania and Regent cruises we have booked in the next 12 months, we will not be flying the day of disembarkation. That is indeed a big stress reliever. However, unlike some of us retirees, many guests do not have the luxury of a schedule which permits them to avoid it.

Also, because Regent includes shore excursions there are really two "rush hours" for each of their cruises..the one year or 10 month (depending on frequent cruiser status and cabin) in advance 8p.m. opening to book excursions plus the 8 p.m. opening date for making dining reservations.

Regent just changed to the 8:00 p.m. time instead of midnight a few months ago so the variation has nothing to do with history of shared computer system. In a way, Regent customers are going last compared to Oceania. An O guest can make reservations at 12:01 a.m. A Regent guest whose reservation window opens up the same day must wait 20 hours later before making reservations. Regent supposedly feels the 8: p.m. hour is a more civilized time compared to many folks having to stay up so late.