1985rz1

If you decide to post political messages, or attack and disparage other posters, or get into personal arguments with other posters, the moderator might shut it down 😉

Once started, it has a life of its own.

Not necessarily. Our TA is a cruise specialist who books only the cruise. We do our own pre- and post-cruise arrangements and book our own flights. She doesn't make a fortune on our bookings but is very responsive and generous with PPG (through her consortium) and with SBC or rebates from her commissions. And she has our back when issues appear.

A $200 discount on the cruise, if you've cruise within the past year; $100. if you've cruised between 1 and 2 years ago.

Not quite: The size of a PH stateroom on an O-Ship is 114 sq ft larger than a Concierge Veranda stateroom, and the balcony is 34 sq ft larger. On an R-ship. the PH stateroom is 99 sq ft larger than a Concierge Veranda and the balcony is 7 sq ft Larger. (actual difference may vary by 1 or 2 sq ft, depending on the source.) The PH on an O-ship gets one more advance restaurant reservation at each specialty than a Concierge Veranda on an 18-day or longer cruise. They are the same on an R-ship. On both ships, a PH can make dinner reservations 75 days in advance, while the Concierge Veranda 60 days in advance. Course-by-course dining from the GDR and the specialties can be served in a PH stateroom, and not in Concierge level staterooms. So if any of these differences are important to the guest, there is more to a PH than just a Butler.

It is so much easier to second guess decisions when you don’t know all the facts or have any idea what facts go into the decision making.

Good point. Double meanings, such as TA . 🤔

Some folks see only Black and White, and some folks think that TA perks can only be gotten if one books very expensive staterooms frequently, in spite of others' experiences to the contrary, based on one interaction with one or two duds of a TA who refused to book the stripped down fare. There are good ones out there who care about their clients, regardless on how much they spend, even if they may be limited on their perks they can offer. They still get a commission. If some one does not see the value in using a good TA, then, he/she can chose not to use one, but he/she should stop trying to argue that there is no value to others unless they pay thousands and thousands of dollars annually for their booking . It is simply not true. And it's not one or the other. We benefit from doing our own research, booking our own flights, and using a TA for the cruise (which is all she does).

A is the designation for the Concierge Veranda, as in A-1 through A-4.

I think this is a clear distinction of where apps may be most useful and where they are not.

The one we used on another line had marginal value. Cute and interesting, but nowhere essential. If one needs a digital portal, the TV in the room is more than sufficient. But that's just us as we don't want to have our lives tied to a phone.

Although I find some cruise apps, useful, I would prefer if lines would use the $$$ to continue to bringing the other experiences up to pre-covid level and reduce their the enormous debt that they accrued due to the Covid shut down. Targeted financial decisions are important, especially on non-mass market lines. Just give them time.

It is open to all guests for a fee. Concierge and above have the fee waived.

Just a few threads below, there is one of many threads about this issue. Page down to the topic "Alcohol Question." Posted Wednesday at 11:13 AM 1. The 6-bottle limit is not enforced unless you misbehave. 2. It's NOT OK to walk around with wine from your personal stash. It is for consumption in your stateroom only. 3. You are not limited to 1 bottle of gin, or any other spirits.. 4. You can take these items onboard at any port, if the country doesn't forbid it.

We are destined to disagree on this because our approach is to review itineraries early (because we're very selective about our stateroom) and if there is something that catches our interest, we get a quote. I guess we are focused more on itinerary than on price (within bounds 🙂). BTW, I thought your very balanced review of your Iceland/Greenland/Canada was excellent. Thanks.

I also understand your reluctance to call your TA or O (I never call O directly and their agents are frequently clueless). I don't remember if you're in the US or UK, so that could be a difference. I don't find it a clubby attitude, because, if I call it's because it's a serious consideration on our part, and I want to get an accurate pricing, including the perks she can provide. She remembers our preferences, allergies and requests...and our birthdays an anniversary. She neither urges me to or urges me not to complete the booking, as she thinks it's my money so it's my decision without an external pressure, but she will provide me with the information I want, no strings attached. She doesn't mind us mulling over possibilities, and she always does a booking hold to give us time to decide. We have declined many times, once we see the price and have a week to investigate more thoroughly. There is no attempt to manage our decisions. We feel we're in control and feel she works for us. She is also loyal as was evidenced when Azamara changed over to a new website and screwed up the client portal totally. She hung in there when it was nearly impossible to get anyone at Azamara on the phone, and got our reservation re-instated properly including our loyalty accounts. She was clearly frustrated with Azamara, but she said that was her job...to book and run interference for her clients. So it's a system that works for us, but it doesn't work for everyone.

TA dependent. I will call my TA to get pricing, which then includes the perks that she is able to provide. That way I have a full picture of the cost. As for special sale, I admit that she doesn't often call me about them in advance, since she many clients and she can't track every booking. But when I asked her to price out my 3 OLife bookings to see if SM made sense, she called me withing hours to tell me one qualified for the Summer Sale, which saved me $7,500. The other two did not make sense. so I kept them as OLife. Still she always reminds me about upcoming restaurant and excursion bookings, and sends me the pdf of excursions as soon as it's available. Then she will book excursions for me if I ask to make sure I get the right pricing. She does the same of other lines for me too.

Free gratuities are usually given as a perk from the TA, most likely through the TA's consortium. Call your TA and ask. Oceania connected TAs (not Oceania reps, if you book direct) typically give this.

Yep, a TA thing through its consortium.

What do you want to know? What experiences are you looking for, and what is important to you on a cruise?

Not always (my experience). Usually you can get 6 months if you already have another cruise on the books,

The baseline payment schedule is 12 months. If you have an existing booking, you can ask for 6 months if you are booking a second (my experience). Sometimes, the ask is refused (my experience).

1. The 6-bottle limit is not enforced unless you misbehave. 2. It's NOT OK to walk around with wine from your personal stash. It is for consumption in your stateroom only. See post #12, above. 3. You are not limited to 1 bottle of gin, or any other spirits.. 4. You can take these items onboard at any port, if the country doesn't forbid it.

Yes, and no. It's a subtle difference, but the online fares may be considered correct in the sense they are the "normal," non-sale price, and O wants the client to call either O or the TA to find out the sale price.

It really comes down to O's reserved right to ban and hold alcohol vs O's decision to not exercise that right, as long as folks behave in a responsible manner.