PaulMCO

And you can do this anytime in advance. I have one on Regent for a 2025 that was posted in two days.

Did you ever think of doing some private tours. I know that Regent includes the tours, but private tours are so much better than the bus rides as they can be customized. We do a lot tours with Tours by Locals.

It is a lot of walking. Around the pump house and then around the drydock. We did it pre COVID and we were allowed to descend into the dry dock. Lots of steps as shown.

Where else can you vent about a Cruise Line's web site and have the Exec responsible say "would expect that to be updated in the next day."

Casablanca or Tangier to the south would also be options. Especially if you make making 1 stop from 2 missed.

beg to differ. Seabourn does, makes it a point an publicized it for each segment. Crystal did. I been on the bridge on Silversea many times. @hankandteri I hope you have a good travel agent with good relations within Oceania. I would write a concise letter on your experience and let them pass it to Miami. At least you feelings and frustration will be recorded. The aloofness of the officers and senior staff has gotten worse. The communications to passengers has always been an issue, including bordering on outright lying by Senior Officers. Obviously it continues. You are correct, Oceania could have found alternative ports, they do exist. What it takes to switch is lots of work by the Captain, Miami and other departments (like excursions). We were on Seabourn two weeks again and we had major weather forcing us to miss a stop at the Greek island of Ermoupolis. The Captain went on the horn to 6 other ports in both Greece and Turkey to see if one could take us, and they were successful -- no extra sea day. Further, the excursion department lined two excursions for those that desired to partake. How did I learn about all of the back story on this. It was over a 20 minute coffee with Captain Dave in Seabourn square. Could have Oceania found at least one port to deviate to?

Yes indeed - definitely gun shy on Crystal plus more importantly their itineraries provide no inspiration. Just saw the 2025/26 Regent release - same issue -- more cookie cutter. So we look at new ships (like Vista) and maybe some of the small port Seabourn cruises, or an in depth country cruise (Japan) on Regent. Why limit ones self to one cruise line.. It is fun to explore and see and fell new things.. "Cruise well and enjoy every moment".

Wow -- so how many hundreds of hours did you spend in your planning.. I am amazed when we land and the car driver is standing at the bag claim exit with a sign saying "PaulMCO" and the DW exclaims -- how did he know we are arriving at 830am.. LOL . It is the hundreds of hours planned. Some comments. Agree with you post on Air Fare. I have 4MM on UA and well over 2MM on the late Pan Am. Lifetime Marriott Titanium, Lifetime GS, Life Time UA Club, Lifetime Delta Sky Club etc... I begin a year out just to see what the trend is. It is getting tougher to use the miles on flights especially to Asia. As far as buying -- I first do my miles booking (they are refundable), then search throughout the year for best prices and make a decision from there. Sometimes the cruise line far is too good to even consider miles. Our upcoming Japan cruise on Regent, the biz credit was only $4200. Today a cheap RT is $6500. I did notice you do not have your shore excursions on your spread sheet. I generally put these into outlook so I can see them on my phone along with the descriptions. Pickups - I see you are going to use Uber. On arrival and also at the port we prefer Welcome Pickups. Again the sign, plus the help with the bags are key. They are also competitive. Excellent choice of hotels in Athens. Rooftop bar is amazing.

Consider the fact that she was to be refurbished in 2023 and then cancelled until 2024 is definitely intentional.

Yeah -- to Hank @Hlitner good decision to do a VISTA cruise. We are likely booking one also. Of course many of the responses saying "great food" were from other Oceania ships. Same with condition -- all of the other ships have been renovated. But when you have cabinets that do not close, doors that would not open or lock, a spa on your deck that likely has not worked post COVID -- well?? One of my reviews is one of those "bad" ones and we thought the food was sub par. Thought it was management's fault as Top Managers were totally invisible. Hopefully their contracts have run out. I think also food levels are down throughout the industry as our recent Seabourn cruise had similar issues with supply chain - especially fresh fruit and even Sake for the Sushi restaurant. But Oceania's intentional delay in refurbishing Marina until 2024 would certainly play into any desire to sail her again.

https://brochures.rssc.com/view/667807833/

Marriott right near the port. Easy walk to pike place too.

Free cruise for the reviewer. At least they state this. Give me a free cruise and I will write a great review...

Considering the King lives in Rabat, I would expect so. I lived in Rabat for a year (actually Tamara Plage), and I seldom went to Casa. Rabat is a beautiful city.

No ax to grind here especially since Regent is our new favorite line. SS has caviar and it is unlimited. It is of better quality and comes in an individual sealed glass container. Seabourn come from a tub and is dolloped out. We like both but SS is better IMHO. SS has butlers, Seabourn has none. For those that use the service it is a plus and no need to be in a big suite. SS includes excursions, Seabourn does not. Seabourn has a very limited room service menu, SS has an extensive menu. Silversea has more food venues on their big ships with more variety. Seabourn has Seabourn Square which is a great concept. Friendliness of crew and staff, plus interaction with officers -- much better on Seabourn Service -- hard to compare because the last two cruises have been mixed on Seabourn. We have yet to cruise post COVID on SS (we have one in Nov) Interesting itineraries -- both have some unique ones. It really depends on where you are going. Alaska is definitely Seabourn's niche. I hope they continue with it once Odyssey leaves the fleet. We like Seabourn's port intensive cruises in Greece and East Med. Expedition cruises -- SS still leads here, would love to do the ex-Crystal Endeavour. Done several SS Explorer cruises, they are among our favorites. Yeah Yeah Seabourn has Venture and will soon add Pursuit. But expedition cruises are about the staff. I do not view Quest, Odyssey, Cloud and Wind as expedition ships as they are TOO big. Flame suit is on. 🙂

For a cruise out of Yokohama, I would still make Tokyo your base. I do not like cookie cutter hotels so we like to stay in the Old Station Hotel. The porters will even come and meet your Narita Express train, or limo bus if you give them advance notice. The Tokyo station area is close to many sites and allows us to chill after a long flight. Then you have easy access via Tokyo Station to Yokohama on the Express train (under an hour) to catch your cruise. Did this in the past and likely again in 2024.

The The Royal Park Hotel Tokyo Haneda Airport Terminal 3 offers day rooms. Excellent choice if you come off a cruise and need to camp until an evening flight.

The Patio was open at 12:30 on Encore which we left on 21 May (3 weeks). The chicken was good. The salmon was excellent in the bento boxes. The service was outstanding a great team We did find dinner rather lacking. The sushi and sashimi was just "OK" . Rolls were good. The number of choices of fish was rather limited and for 1 week of 3 -- NO SAKE.

They had Global Entry, (last July) so that quickened the queue for Americans.

Maybe it is just me -- 🙂 But me and the better half thought the Oyster Farm was pretty lame. You taste a few free ones, but if you wanted to indulge $$$. The same oysters from the same farm were cheaper in town. The highlight is the various zodiac tours. Do not miss them.

They are having trouble even selling these Caribbean cruises. Just checked a few in Jan 2024, most the penthouses and residences are still open Considered a b2B and no issue finding multiple same cabin numbers. Considering 7 months to go, rather surprising.

As far as I am concerned Oceania and Regent are both the worst offenders of this marketing hype of free whatever. But they all play the game. At least these two include port taxes in the fares, while other like Crystal, Seabourn etc. do not On Regent they advertise a "free" hotel room, free 3 day land package. Again those free items are subject to a credit if you do not want them. Suggestion as many here know, Do your research, pick a cruise, then find a GOOD & KNOWLEDGEABLE TA who can navigate and advise on the free items...

Ask to speak to the General Manager. It deserves his attention since that type of behavior might move to other venues.

No King Crab last year on the ship. Last year the jackets were also blue (no choice).

And yes the 1/2 sized bottles provided on excursions DO leak. Ended up with normal plastic bottles and refilling them daily for the excursions