Paulchili

3 hours ago, SisterHavana said:

We did the Hermitage tour the next morning and had talked about doing another excursion that afternoon, but we were so wiped out after the Hermitage tour that we decided not to. (There's A LOT of walking, climbing stairs, etc. involved on that tour!) 

A leisurely cruise on the Neva gives one a chance to both rest and sightsee at the same time.

Some of the Palaces one sails by will give you an idea what life might have been like for this privileged group of nobility during the Czarist regime.

The church of "The spilled blood" is not to be missed.

2 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

I wish more people felt like you do so I would have a better chance of getting my favorite cabin😁 but the fact that O changed these cabins from a PH3 to a PH1  says you are probably in the minority.

Or could it be simply just a matter of demand and supply with only a couple of these PHs vs lots of "regular" ones?

7 hours ago, CintiPam said:

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.)

 

 

 

 

One of the craziest things I have experienced while cruising was when one of the Princess R ships (Ocean?) sunk the Norwegian tug boat while leaving a port in Norway (Nordkapp?).

The tug boat failed to disengage and we all watch in horror as she was pulled and sank in front of our eyes.

The 2 fellows from the tug jumped into the icy waters and swam ashore. Apparently they didn't even need to go to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia - tough folks.

The police came aboard our ship for a few hours' worth of investigations but we were cleared in the end.

On 7/2/2021 at 9:20 PM, cruisingxpert said:

7130 and 7135 have the very large wrap around balcony but the cabin is narrower than the other penthouses.

Significantly so IMO.

I'll take the larger cabin over larger balcony.

YMMV.

13 hours ago, WJBonds said:

One thing that Viking seems to excel at is their daily “high tea”.  A true extravagance.

Interesting.

IMO & IME nobody, including Cunard., does a better Afternoon Tea than O.

Just goes to show you - Chacun à son goût. 😀

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Trust me....  You definitely/absolutely/really don’t want 7108 or 7111 - never/ever/no-way-José. They are the two worst cabins on the ship. Tell everyone you know so that people will avoid booking them. As nice a guy as I am, I’ve even booked them as often as I can just to save other folks from making the biggest cabin selection error EVER. 😉

I've always thought of you as one of the good guys on these boards - this just confirms it 😀

35 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Is yours working? Mine is broken 😢

If it's been a while since your last visit there, I have 2 suggestions for you.

1) If you are there on a Monday, visit Hermitage with a group on Monday. The museum is closed to the public but open to private tours allowing you private access to the exhibits

2) There is a very interesting Faberge museum well worth visiting.

BTW - the Impressionists are no longer in the Hermitage. To see them you have to visit a separate museum.

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Not sure what you are packing but might  be good idea to reassess  your packing

 

We have done 30+ days with a 26" case each with temps from 30C to below 0C

JMO

Agree with this - mix & match 😀

29 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Sorry if it was covered somewhere, but till when can we use oLife if we booked cruise only?

 

The reason I'm asking is that for our December 18 nights cruise, final payment is on July 3 (unless they change it) and ideally, we want to pay as little as possible in case something goes wrong. So we would prefer to add the oLife (no air) later, when things become more clear.

You can add/change O Life up to 14 days prior to cruising.

No need to decide now.

6 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Oceania food is  a lot better IMO

😉

 

Plus 100 😀

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

just saying the President can only spend what Congress appropriated.

Is this something new? 😀

34 minutes ago, ByTheOcean said:

I am not saying whether I agree with the practice or not. Just that consumers should ensure they enter into purchases with their eyes wide open at all times.

Some years ago we met a very nice British couple who paid $60,000 as their final payment on a Silversea cruise.

The TA disappeared with their money (and I imagine with lots of money from others).

I wouldn't want to be the one who has to chase that money down

13 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Read some of the stories from UK  where their TA got the refund from the cruise lines & held the cash for many months up to over a year before giving the money back to the client

This.....

But I am talking about TAs (mostly UK & OZ) that collect final payment early and hold on to it until final payment is actually due by Oceania.

Last year’s refunds were a new & unique problem for everyone.

12 hours ago, Beagle5 said:

My TA said he suffered ‘death by 10,000 refunds’ last year, so I imagine they want to stay clear of the refund process in the future.

It may sound harsh but IMO they asked for it. TA has no business holding on to my money for several months. What if they go out of business in the mean time or just close their doors and leave with my money (it has happened before).

My money should go straight to Oceania. 

2 hours ago, khuselid said:

Hi Joe from somewhere nearby,

 

Our TA said they are holding to the 180 days for now because they are pretty certain the cruise is sailing. I will keep my eye out though. Our cruise planner still says 6/10.🤨

The date for your final payment is determined by OCEANIA and not your TA.

Dubrovnik & Split are great places to visit with a lot of history but tend to be very crowded in high season. We really enjoyed visiting islands of Hvar, Korcula and Krk.

Do you visit Montenegro? If so, do not miss the sailing into and out of Kotor.

In Slovenia we enjoyed visiting Lake Bled & Ljubljana,

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

FWIW, I have changed O Life SBC to Excursions with a call to O (IMO, no need for TA involvement). However, I can’t remember if I’ve ever done it after “final payment.”

I believe that you can do this up to 14 days before sailing. After that the O Life excursions cannot be cancelled (might be substituted for another excursion but not cancellable unless they are cancelled by O)

43 minutes ago, KS&JW said:

 

Not Paul, but Yank Sing is the traditional choice for good Dim Sum with pleasant atmosphere in SF.  Dragon Beaux is newer but also a good choice. 

Exactly right -those are my top 2 as well.

You obviously have an excellent taste for Dim Sum   😃

18 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Paul-  I don't want to hijack the thread, but if you're willing, could you email me your email address at blutz at npgcable dot com?  We'd like to pick your brain for potential Dim Sum restaurants in San Francisco for a possible 40th anniversary trip to the City.  -Barry

Will do in AM 😀

I hate to point this out but just maybe leaning an rubbing against the stones is what led to more curtailed access?

These days, even on those special access tours, you are not allowed to touch anything and if the group is larger they allow only so many people inside the circle at a time - a kind of “social distancing” from the stones is encouraged even before COVID 😀

1 hour ago, avalong said:

OK, I looked it up. I don't consider an hour and nine minute drive (71 miles) to be "close." ☺️

Especially now that you cannot get close to the stones except at special sunrise or sunset tours.

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

It's BS, you can't get a quote online, don't ask me why. You pick a cruise date, pick a cabin category then hit "Get A Quote" or something to that effect

Don’t bother with get a quote - just make a “dummy” booking online and stop before you have to make a deposit.

2 minutes ago, susiesan said:

Miriam sent me a screen shot of what she sees on her computer. I see the name, address, and phone number of the other Susie. Maybe I should give her a call   : )

Does that screen shot of the other Susie show her cruise history? If so, does it look like your history or is it different?

PS If your TA can reveal the other person’s “private” info like name, address & phone # she can certainly reveal her cruise history.

41 minutes ago, susiesan said:

I heard from Miriam yesterday, she wanted to verify my mailing address, which I had given her before. Apparently there is another O Club member with the same first and last name as mine who lives in Houston, TX. Maybe now my account will get straightened out. As of now it isn't, I'll give a day or so before I check back in.

All of this is sounding a little strange. There may be another person with the same name - there is another Bill Gates in AZ - but surely this other person doesn’t have the same O club number (which you have provided to both TAs).