CintiPam

I have read that the Barcelona tourism people really have promoted the homeport option in the last five years to get some of that major pre-and post-cruise tourist money. But I do not know precisely what incentives it has supplied to cruise companies. 

I agree that that the shore excursions are the best choice monetarily even though I never went on a single ship-sponsored excursion until Oceania started the O-Life excursion choice. I enjoyed setting up excursions with others I met on the roll calls for our cruises, and have made friends from around the world through those arrangements. 

In fact, I still bemoan the introduction of the excursion O-Life option because it has destroyed utterly the private excursion sharing opportunities that IMO were the main purpose of the Roll Call board for a cruise. I personally prefer a day spent with six others max to 30 others. And I still plan most days DIY. 
 

On the bright side, I have very much enjoyed all my O Life Caribbean excursions that involve sailing or snorkeling or both. And now I meet new friends primarily through playing trivia. 
 

You can change your mind about O Air at any time. We usually have it included until I have completed my own airfare research. Of course, I always fly in at least one day before the cruise sails, although at my spouse’s insistence, we have arrived in the morning on the day of all of our Miami departures, which I have found very nerve wracking.

1 hour ago, Carol28 said:

The cruise I'm looking at starts in Rome and ends in London.  Of course, it's probably Civitavecchia and Southampton.  Will the Olife transfers include transfers between city and port?

 

The transfers are between the airport and the port, not the city and the port. 
 

However, if you opt to purchase the ridiculously-priced hotel nights usually offered, in the past you also received those transfers, I believe, as part of those outrageous markups. I have no personal experience using that option.  

6 hours ago, StanandJim said:

It is also worth noting that April/May is a shoulder Season in the Med, so  the Marina Cruise may just fall  in High Season because historically the weather is better (warmer with less rain)  in May than April.

Anecdotally our spring Med cruise experiences concur with Jim’s analysis.  Our one Med cruise in April was a dreary rainy affair while our several May experiences, including 2017 and 2019, have had much better weather. 

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

no plans to cruise anytime soon  so I can wait for the big reveal 😉

 

Ditto! As the months with no cruising continue to accumulate, I sincerely hope that the cruise lines will be able to survive financially until cruising truly restarts.  

I do not know where you reside but where I do hospitals just this last week (and elsewhere just recently as well) started running low on space for virus patients. 
 

Do I really need to justify my feeling depressed about a change in wellness circumstances in the USA in the month of October or no cruising for the remainder of 2020?
 

10 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

I hear all of you....yes hard to let it go...we moved our deposit on this one to dec 2021...hope we get to sail then...

 

not sure about the comment about no hope this week especially....sounds political ...all will be well under control...unless people make a very stupid choice....then it will be hell....

I was referring to the enormous increase in COVID-19 cases setting daily new records in many (a majority?) of states just as we only are starting both being indoors so much more plus the holiday party season. 

I am part of a group of mostly Americans that tunes in every Sunday at 1 pm Eastern time to a 1-1/2 to two-hour Zoom webinar called Art Talks Florence taught live by two guides from Tuscany, including the organizing weekly host who is a terrific Florence guide. Although the sessions mostly are centered on Florence, this past Sunday we visited Pisa with a guide from Pisa.  
 

All sessions are free although the host includes a PayPal donation link in the weekly email and Facebook post regarding the week’s tour topic.  There never is any pressure for money. (A week ago the topic was the Ghiberti doors on the Baptistry in Florence; immediately prior it was the Duomo.)  Attendee numbers vary between 25 and 45.
 

If anyone has an interest, please contact me for the hosting guide’s Facebook information. Many of the excellent speakers are struggling enormously for any work whatsoever since March.

I just reread this thread in its entirety, over four months of hopes now definitively dashed. It is so difficult this week of all weeks to retain hope. 
 

Usually I stop reading the Oceania board once I return from my annual (on average) cruise, starting up again a month or so before my next cruise. We returned from our delightful Riviera cruise this year on March 11, and I decided to remain active to keep up my “cruising” spirits.
 

Funny how some small things really can get you down, like today’s Oceania announcement. I guess my presence here is part of an alternate reality dream simply to help me deal with the reality outside my door.  

7 hours ago, LHT28 said:

We did the canal trip on Regatta  twice  & were lucky to have  David  Mc Cullough  as the speaker

 3rd  trip on Marina...

Wow, how awesome to hear the author of “The Path between the Seas” on a Panama Canal cruise! 

10 hours ago, ORV said:

Since you were on one of the last Oceania cruises to sail would you find what you experienced at all similar to what you were just told? It wasn't for me when I I was on the Riviera in Dec. Or perhaps I'm just not discerning enough. 

 

I've got this bad habit of considering the source, and some, due to past posting history here,  I have no faith in. 

As I indicated in the immediately preceding post 26, I do not agree; I thought the food on our last cruise was very good indeed. (And I particularly enjoyed the addition of a daily Humphry Slocombe ice cream flavor.)

Regarding staying on topic, with the prospect of cruising once again seeming to be further and further away, I am happy simply to see others still willing to talk about cruising and Oceania. 

13 hours ago, ABoatNerd said:

CintiPam - the menu introduced in August 2018. A search will bring up many comments on the reduction in size, increase in repetition and use of lesser quality ingredients, particularly the meat items.

 

For me and the group I travel with, it was very obvious there was a food change. The Grand Dining Room, in particular, suffered from the downgrading. 

 

It was the before and immediately after the menu change that brought the clearest knowledge of the negative impacts. My dear friends did 4 Oceania in 2018 and they were startled at the difference. Enough change they said to not consider Oceania, which they have not, they moved to Crystal.

 

Hope this is of assistance.

Thanks very much for the explanation; I now understand your comment. 
 

IMO there was a period of several years (2015-2018?) during which the food offerings in the GDR became more homogenized, much blander, with a suppression of innovation/spice/variety in favor of beef and potatoes, particularly noticeable in the appetizers and entree offerings. I was very happy when Oceania returned to more what I term “innovative international” menu offerings in the last couple of years.

YMMV.

3 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

So your onboard in Genova? We had 3b2b2b2b cruises which we were starting 3/11 and got off 3/15 and had to fly home!😢 Miss Riviera so much! Please stay safe

and I pray you all get through this and back to a REAL CRUISING SOON! ....

Denise😊

I am from San Diego California! 
This is our sunset this evening from our house. 

Thanks for posting this lovely photo, Denise. I am very sorry to read how much Riviera cruise time you missed earlier this year.  We were so very fortunate to be disembarking Riviera on March 11 in Miami, flying home just when COVID-19 began to affect us here in Cincinnati.  
 

We arrived home on a Wednesday afternoon, and I had my very first Zoom meeting on Thursday.  I never even had heard of Zoom before then! 

13 hours ago, ABoatNerd said:

I am not interested in booking until I am certain of the safety factor, stability of ports and the on board product. Oceania's menu erosion makes me realize that with their debt level, there will be more product degradation going forward. Not going to pay more for less.

“Oceania’s menu erosion...”

Please elucidate to what you are referring. We average one cruise per year on Oceania, but only have sailed on the two “O” ships since Marina went into service in 2011. Our most recent was on Riviera disembarking March 11 in Miami.  I understand that food is a very subjective topic but I truly do not understand this reference.

10 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

You bet......Is Canada open yet ?     Heck drive the Alaska Hiway to Denali....    Visit canyon lands and grand canyon,   Drive route 66..  Gettysburg... Carlsbad Caverns....  Mt Rainier,  Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton... Black Hills,  Mesa Verde....... If you havent been..... now is the tims    

Hey, Dan, thanks for including Gettysburg in your list of locations! 😉

Rick, I love the title of your topic! Your enthusiasm for your cruise plans is delightful.

I just checked out the itinerary for your Riviera cruise from Istanbul in October 2021, and it is superb with many fascinating ports and lovely sail-ins and sailaways.

Best wishes for you and your wife’s continued recovery.

14 hours ago, ricka47 said:

I booked a cruise yesterday with air and we're getting the hotel.  Yes, it's expensive but it does include transfers from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the port in the morning as well as any deviation fees. 

 

We've been doing mostly easy Caribbean cruises where we just drive to the port.  So, for this one, we'll let them take care of us and then get more adventuresome next time by doing all of this on our own.

Any hotel in Istanbul is more than happy to arrange all your transfers, the airport is modern, the cruise port is very centrally located, and hotels are priced very reasonably there. I truly do not understand why you would spend your money in this manner.  Are you actually paying $695 per night for your hotel there? JMO
 

Enjoy this wonderful beautiful historic city! 

We have embarked twice in Istanbul on Oceania cruises, once on our very first cruise ever in 2008 (on Nautica) and once in 2014 on Riviera; it is one of my favorite cities with a very cosmopolitan mix of people. 
 

Both times we flew in early because Istanbul is such a fascinating city to explore, partly because of its historical importance to both  Christians as the “New Rome” from Constantine’s era (Byzantium/Constantinople) through the mid-15th century conquest by Muslim Turks. It also is physically beautiful due to the waters on which it is located.  

There are many lovely hotels with welcoming warm helpful staff in both the older historic Sultanahmet section south of the Golden Horn and the newer area north.  The cruise port is very centrally located as well near the mouth of the Golden Horn. With the rise of President Erdogan it is becoming less and less pluralistic unfortunately.  The difference we observed between our six-year visits was disturbing but the sightseeing still is superb.

3 hours ago, flaminkokid said:

I got an email from Oceania saying the December 20 cruise on the Riviera was canceled. I emailed my t.a. about refunds. She answered me back that the cruise was NOT (yet) canceled. I  sent a message on the Oceana site asking whether or not it's canceled, but they have not responded. It's been a couple of days. Doesn't look good, doesn't sound good, doesn't smell good. And btw the oceania email made no mention of a 20% bonus for taking the credit instead of the cash. But I don't care too much about that at the moment. I canceled our hotel and air for the trip. I haven't rebooked because I haven't heard back from Oceania. What do you think folks? What's your crystal ball say?

My crystal ball says no Oceania cruises in 2020 but I sincerely hope I am wrong.

36 minutes ago, samiam0403 said:

Was this the 13 December Riviera sailing? I was also booked on that one, but haven't received any notification it was cancelled! 

From what I have read just tonight on the  Oceania thread titled “Our cruise officially cancelled,” an email stating that several mid-December Oceania cruises had been cancelled was released prematurely by Oceania and rescinded as being issued in error. I am not certain if that means your sailing indeed is cancelled, not yet cancelled so officially still scheduled as of now or what! Hopefully GICNJC has the latest information.

I usually enjoy the ones relating to the history and major sights of ports I never previously have visited, particularly helpful if we are touring DIY.  For example, we never had been to Curacao, so I attended the enrichment lecture for that destination on our RT Miami Riviera February 26 - March 11 2020 Caribbean cruise.  I found it very helpful for touring the town of Williamstad on our own. Similarly in May 2019 on our Marina Western Mediterranean cruise, I enjoyed the one I attended regarding Ajaccio, Corsica, Napoleon’s birthplace. 

IMO the lecturers vary considerably in quality. 

In March 2020 it still did!

5 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This doesn't answer the question whether an Azamara ship is for sale, but it seems clear that none of them has been sold:  Azamara announced today that it is resuming cruising in Spring 2021 with all three ships.

Azamara Announcement 20201006.pdf 2.46 MB · 5 downloads

Hi, Jazzbeau, nice to see you here on the only cruise line board I follow this year.  Hope all is well with you and yours.  

1 hour ago, Mura said:

In fact, in MY opinion (and many others agree) the library on the "R" ships is superior to the library on the "O" ships.  It's really my favorite space on the "R" ships....

 

But the library on the "R" ships is really special ...

 

Mura

 

I agree that the library on the “R” ships is superior to the library on the “O” ships; also that it is my favorite space on the “R” ships.  I certainly spent a great deal of my leisure time there on my first three cruises when we were in those very small “E” cabins (barely-obstructed 6030 or 6033) with no veranda and nowhere to sit but on the bed.  
 

Regarding the OP’s question (now that I long have moved on/up to booking veranda cabins,) I personally do not believe that it is worth the extra money for the perks listed for the same physical space; I prefer to eat in the many excellent dining venues rather than in my cabin and the other perks add up to little for my Oceania sailing habits.

4 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Fauci and Redfield have been very clear. They do not take economic consequences into any of their deliberations. They are government employees they get their checks even if a world wide depression occurs.

 

Many here apparently likewise have no consideration for the plight of millions of Americans that must work to support their families. They believe they have theirs and want to be kept safe regardless of the consequences on others.

 

Hopefully, our leaders will attempt to balance both sides. 

Wow, there is so much to unpack in your post that I am speechless, and I sincerely hope I am misreading your intent. Therefore, I respond to your first paragraph only: Drs. Fauci and Redfield are doing their jobs and both could earn much more money if they chose to work in the private sector rather than in public service.  Dr. Fauci certainly would not have to have security for him and his family and put up with all the death threats he and his family still receive. I personally trust what he says regardless of the pressure he endures and cite the resignation of Dr. Amy Acton, public health director in my state of Ohio, for the price these intelligent caring public servants have paid for their efforts.