1985rz1

What we don't know are the legal restrictions that a port authority in a foreign country imposes on the ship's crew and what they can do and cannot do. It may be that the crew could have addressed the situation or it may be they had limitations imposed on them that prevented them from acting. We don't know the whole story from both sides (or the 3 sides, pax, Oceania, Port Authority) and probably never will. While I have sympathy with the pax, I would not not rush to the conclusion it's entirely O's fault without knowing the full situation.

And now Oceania is changing it again to include gratuities, but eliminating included wine by thr glass and beer with meals and the excursion credit.

Good decision.

Not a problem. It happens.

Not sure what post you're responding to, but I agree with your comment.

How would the ship be responsible for the illness? But yes, this is what trip insurance is for.

I agree. And i one uses a TA, that TA can't possibly check all his/her clients bookings daily. Pax need to share that responsibility.

Yes, but you could have pointed that out without being so snarky.

Two accounts per stateroom is now normal.

The discussion has been about the Viking Ocean ships. We haven’t been on an Ocean ship, but we've been on two cruises on Viking Expedition ships, where the main dining room is the World Cafe and the specialties were the Restaurant and Manfedi's. Has anyone done both types of ships and can doing a comparision of the restaurant options on the two types of ships? We have an Ocean cruise next March and we're trying prepare our expectations.

Meals in the WC? Does one flush down the leftovers? (Sorry as much as I tried, I couldn't resist)

All non-alcoholic beverages are still included as are the specialty restaurants. It's only the basic beer and wine at meals package and excursion credits that are being eliminated.

You can't double dip. One of you can book a table with the others...there is an option to add the other couple...but it will count against the other couple's allotment. Whoever does the booking will need the other couple's booking number.

Maitre'ds ae not supposed to accept such advance tips for tables. Many of us consider a bribe.

Not my problem. It's a corporate decision. Just saying that O says the staff are not looking for tips over and above the gratuity.

Although I have mixed feelings about the change, I do like the statement included in the Announcement: "I'm delighted that we are adding in gratuities for all guests, as our dedicated onboard team is working for guests' smiles – not their tip."

Depends on your stateroom category. Without a butler it's $18 per day per person. With a butler (PH and above) it's $23 pd pp. Your statement from O specifies the gratuities in the fine print under "Pricing Details."

I've never heard that happening on O or AZ, the lines I mostly cruise..

Many cruises on many lines are segments of larger itineraries. It's a common occurrence for longer cruises, as most folks opt for specific segments. And even those cruises which are not specifically as part of a longer cruise have continuing guests doing two or more as back to back. The concerns you expressed are not really issues

Unfortunately, no one is allowed to answer your question on this board.

At present, Internet upgrades on R ships only allow streaming services and do not include more bandwidth or speed. Once Starlink is fully operational, I would expect the basic speed to increase.

@SATaxman I should have added "or buy addition insurance (without the pre-existing condition waiver) if final payment has not been made. It is becoming more difficult to use this strategy since cruise lines are extending the final payment date out further.

It's a bit of a roulette wheel. If you think you have to claim the full amount on all cruises, yes, it's insufficient. But if you think that if you have to cancel a cruise within the penalty period, then unless the trips are very close together, you have time to cancel the others with minimum penalty. That's the risk factor involved. And usually, unless you are a big time spender, between the maximum Allianz allowance and credit card coverage (depending on which credit card) any single trip can be mostly covered if not fully covered. On the other hand with cruise prices rising, the rule may become nearly covered. But to us, the real important part is the medical/evacuation/repatriation coverage, and for Allianz, the maximum coverage is per trip, not per year.

I think your TA has it backwards, or maybe an old deck plan. The large verandas were changed from B to A. Call O directly to find out for sure.

The specialties are included for only Club Continent Suites ( the equivalent of Oceania’s PH staterooms) and above.