CintiPam

Where on Oceania ships are lounge chairs with pullover shades? (Am I actually that forgetful since my last cruise in March 2020?)

We really enjoyed our introduction to Humphry Slocombe ice cream on our last Riviera cruise which debarked 3/11/20. Looking forward to all these yummy new additions when we sail in January! 

3 hours ago, ORV said:

So I'm still trying to figure out what the topic heading is supposed to say. 

I assumed it was about Dining Tables but I certainly was way wrong!

On 10/30/2021 at 1:38 AM, Petoonya said:

I'm far from a fan of PG but it's just been refurbished and probably pretty spiffy. But their whole cruise atmosphere to me is a bit forced and hokey- bleah.

 

I've done Wind Spirit four times however and a HUGE fan, last the 18 day Twice the Tahiti. Repeating that again next August COVID permitting. There is nothing like experiencing French Polynesia with the breeze in your face, the water so close you can nearly touch it and the wind billowing in the sails. 148 passengers- ahhhhh. This winter, Nov-March, you can sail the all new Star Breeze, only 300 passengers. The 11 day Tuamotu cruise is the ideal way to experience all that FP has to offer- Bora Bora, Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Rangiroa,  Fakarava and Tahaa. The more intimate in experiencing the heaven that FP is, the better. Regatta is pretty damn nice in FP, but if you want true Tahiti, it's Windstar.

 

 

Lovely to see you back on this board, Petoonya. Hopefully when you are cruising next August, we will be on our first visit ever to Hawaii, a trip we first talked about four years ago but postponed due to other travel destinations we prioritized.

Thanks for the advice regarding the right ship to book for cruising FP. I just need to convince Legaleaglegreen that the FP experience is worth the long flight. Perhaps I need to check the flight times from Hawaii! 😉

12 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Very easy to figure out…. She goes for a glass of Chardonnay leaving me the entire bottle of Brunello! In my younger days it wouldn’t been a problem. On a foolish day now it mightn’t be a problem. However, most likely I savor a couple glasses, have the wine returned to the bottle, and off to storage where I might enjoy the remainder with the prime rib in the PG, with which it also pairs nicely.

 

Such events happen frequently. Great meals, great wines! 

True that after a cocktail (very occasionally even two) with my trivia team or shore excursion companions, I may not be willing to enjoy more than one glass of my spouse’s beloved Brunello. And also true that as he ages (which of course I do not!), he feels much much better the following morning if he has not imbibed five glasses at one dinner.

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If you happen not to finish a bottle at dinner, the wine stewards will store your bottle for future retrieval (just ask any wine steward in any venue).

I always have appreciated this storage option because I still prefer to eat rather than drink my vacation calories when onboard, in contrast to legaleaglegreen, who leads a much more balanced life.

6 hours ago, mcgilldj said:

We will be on the Jan 14 cruise. Are you also on this cruise?

Yes, our last cruise was another 14-night Caribbean one on Riviera, which disembarked in Miami on March 11, 2020. On March 12 I attended my first Zoom meeting! 

10 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Maybe they use the paddle tennis courts on deck 16 ??

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships/riviera/deck-plans/

I assumed so as well but paddle tennis still is being promoted on the same page that pickleball is.
 

Perhaps a “transforming court?” 😉 

I certainly will look for the pickleball court when I board Riviera in January 2022. As several have pointed out, you will be able to play while in port but it is often pretty breezy upstairs outside when underway.  

Well, I now see that both Marina and Riviera list pickle ball, as CLutj pointed out in post #7,  yet it does not appear on the deck plans of either ship. I wonder where on Decks 15 or 16 the court is to be found? 
 

Welcome to Oceania; I hope you enjoy your cruise.

Yes, certainly. Have your travel agent request that the cabin be made up for twin singles so that it can be taken care of before you board.

What courts on the R ships? I have played shuffleboard on Deck 11 of several R ships but have yet to discover any (tennis) courts on them.

Perhaps one could use the Paddle tennis court on Deck 16 of the O ships to play pickleball but no room on the R ships IMO.

My standard Waves Grill lunch order: Double surf, no turf, no bun, no fries, plus fresh (made-to-order ingredients) salad. Also, that way I have less guilt if I sometime later sample the “flavor of the day” Humphry Slocombe ice cream, recently added to Oceania, happily sampled on my March 2020 Caribbean cruise on Riviera and certainly not forgotten! 🍨

Spouse took his standard navy blue sports jacket on our first Oceania cruise (which also was our first cruise ever) in September 2008. He never has carried it with him for a cruise since that first one.
 

Note, however, that he always wears a long-sleeved shirt to dinner and never wears shorts anywhere (outside of our home’s backyard), preferring long pants for touring, whether in Europe or the Caribbean.

2 hours ago, Roccaforte said:

When we got to the last date when we could cancel without forfeiting administrative fees, we cancelled our January cruise.  Too many unknowns for us. Now I notice that our formerly heavily booked cruise has lots of available cabins in almost all categories.  If things change between now and the end of the year we’ll rebook on the same cruise. We’re vaccinated and will get a booster when available but too many port closings and the thought of having to wear a mask onboard was just too much.  

Is Oceania requiring masking onboard now? I naively assumed that with all onboard vaccinated that perhaps was not being implemented. I also confess that I have not been following the cruising business very closely because I did not book any cruises after our 3/11/20 return from our lovely Riviera Caribbean cruise. However, I hope to cruise again on Riviera in the Caribbean in mid-January and while I would be fine to mask in the corridors, elevators and entertainment venues I would not enjoy doing so while lounging in the shade of the pool deck.

1 hour ago, mauibabes said:

We would love to do some additional ATW segments in the future and it would be so great if Marina or Riviera or Vista or … became the vessel for 2025 or thereafter for an ATW. Now that would be a World Cruise!

Gerry

Agree with you 100%!

Will try again.

On 7/8/2021 at 1:04 PM, Laszlo said:

Luckily flying into FLL was $300 cheaper than MIA. I'm still wrapping my head around the price difference for airports being 30 miles apart Lol

Sure hope your plane tickets purchase means that my January 14 Caribbean cruise indeed will be RT Miami! 😉

On 7/8/2021 at 10:39 AM, ORV said:

Am I the only one here that received the Oceania Club circular? 

Just received today! Lots of lovely (new at least to me!) Vista information.

Itinerary is my priority for a Norway cruise. Oceania is my favorite cruise line but next year’s Norwegian itinerary does not travel far enough north to satisfy in any way my Norwegian travel goals, of which fjords is major one.
 

i was on the same Azamara cruise as Host Jazzbeau, every port in Norway (RT Amsterdam only non- Norway stop) all the way up to Northkapp and back, and it was an incomparable experience. (At that time the Oceania Norwegian itinerary included ports in Putinland so political traveler spouse would not even consider it.)

Following up on ORV’s comment above in post 2, the artwork is far superior on Riviera. Note that I speak from my vast expertise acquired as an unpaid docent for more than a dozen years at the Cincinnati Art Museum only 35 years after my excellent three university art history courses.😉 For those interested in exploring the art collection further, one can take a DIY tour of the art onboard using an electronic device you can borrow from Guest Services with an accompanying numbered map. I cannot recall if more recently this information can be downloaded onto your smartphone. Hopefully so.

Unfortunately, both Marina and Riviera share lovely but “too-low-to-the-floor” seating in the major common areas of Horizons and Martinis! 😁
 

On 7/2/2021 at 1:25 PM, KatieBelle said:

When I see these inquiries it brings back memories of Stan (StanandJim).  He would have us all informed with photos, deck plans and memes.  I do miss his posts.

Me, too, KatieBelle. Jim was such a cruise ship enthusiast who had so much cruising history from childhood as well as such love of Oceania. 

As you can see in my signature, I only have sailed on Oceania and Azamara, and since the 2011 debut of the first “O” ship, only have booked the fabulous Riviera and Marina (spouse loves the two extra specialty restaurants and bigger bathrooms) when taking Oceania cruises. We have met many interesting fellow passengers and delighted in many trivia contests with them on our team or against them!

However, our three Azamara cruises all have had fabulous port-intensive unusual itineraries, and the falloff in food quality was more than compensated for by these unique itineraries (plus our enjoyment of the White Nights deck party and Azamazing evening entertainment.)

Our first Azamara cruise only came about because we had to cancel an Oceania cruise when our only daughter chose to marry in late September so an early September Oceania cruise was inconceivable. So looking for October pickings to recuperate from all the planning we ended up cruising Barcelona to Rome with four stops in Sicily, Valletta and even Salerno (so we easily visited Paestum for the day.) 

And our most recent Azamara cruise RT Amsterdam with all Norwegian ports from an overnight in Bergen all the way to Nordkapp without any stops in “Putinland” (which political traveler husband has added to his no-travel list) was incredible, as fellow cruiser and fabulous tour organizer Host Jazzbeau can attest. 
 

I too have no idea what the effects of new ownership will have on Azamara but because I only began cruising in 2008, I still am very itinerary-driven.

Hopefully you will enjoy either cruise so basically IMO you are balancing a superior shipboard experience with a better itinerary. Whatever you decide to do, I know you will enjoy your cruise!

On 6/25/2021 at 8:41 PM, LGW59 said:

Thanks!  I will never skip the Brunello but will def try the Nor/Cal Oregon Pinot noir!

We have had both from the wine list onboard and enjoyed both immensely! 🍷

On 6/24/2021 at 6:46 PM, Flatbush Flyer said:

The benefit is that you will have some input and, if enough other “insightful” panelists agree with your take on stuff, you may see some fruitful outcomes.

So, join. And when O asks about new itinerary ideas, tell them your #1 priority is “circumnavigation of Sicily and the various islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea.”

You would have enjoyed my very first Azamara cruise in 2012, booked when I had to cancel an Oceania cruise because our only daughter decided to get married at the end of September, and no way I could cruise a few weeks prior to this auspicious occasion. Our post-wedding October Barcelona to Rome cruise had FOUR stops in Sicily (Palermo, Trapani, Agrigento, and Catania) plus Valletta and Salerno (so easy train to Paestum) then disembarking in Rome. (We previously had an Oceania port day in Naxos for Taormina.) I found out later that this fabulous itinerary partially was due to Azamara’s cancellation before we booked of two stops in North Africa.