osandomir

I don’t think the officers participate. Though, I never questioned who was included in the pool. We always tip above for the good service provided.

Thank you all for your responses.

We’re on the cruise from Southampton. Will be staying in London for a couple of days. With the luggage we prefer a car and driver to get us to the ship. Last time we used car service to Southampton was pre - COVID. They seem to be out of business now. Anyone can share what company they used to arrange their transfer to the ship lately?

We’re on the cruise from Southampton. Will be staying in London for a couple of days. With the luggage we prefer a car and driver to get us to the ship. Last time we used car service to Southampton was pre - COVID. They seem to be out of business now. Anyone can share what company they used to arrange their transfer to the ship lately? Quote

I wasn’t talking about someone who brings wine to the restaurant. We do it ourselves sometimes. I just feel that it’s cheap to drink the wine in the cabin to avoid the corkage fee. But then maybe there are some who enjoy to have their drinks in their own company.

It was interesting to read your review. Your opinion is definitely valid. One thing that surprised me most of all is the “great sushi” in the Terrace cafe. We like sushi but find that they are hardly comparable even with the cheapest offerings we had anywhere on land.

I’d rather be engaged in the conversation about Subaru😀. Don’t want to complain with the details, but believe me it was much worse.

There’s no definite answer to what way is better - ship's tour vs private. Not just for different people but also for me personally. We used to participate in a lot of private tours, and while many of them were throughly enjoyable on several occasions our experience was so bad that we regretted joining that tours completely. And I’m not talking about the guides or program inclusions, it’s the fellow travellers who made it unbearable. For some different reasons we started to book more ship's tours lately and we found some of them to be better than others with many that were very good choices as well. And at least we never felt being so badly affected by the other people on the tour simply because of no need to be in so close contact with all of them. So I don’t think I would recommend anyone to do ship’s tour or private because it all based on personal needs and expectations.

Looks like Oceania is in the middle of the road for something more modern. In this case, I would think there were a lot more choices to bring the new cuisine on board as well.

I looked up the brochure briefly. Unfortunately, didn’t see any new itineraries interested to us. We have already been to most of the ports. I saw very few new ports with the exception of Japan, probably. It looks like Oceania took its course to make the line attractive to the new customers, rather than keeping those who’ve been sailing with them for a long time by offering new destinations and port of calls. We love cruising but definitely will start looking more at the land tours to the new places with the opportunity to spend more time at the destination.

Anyone on the SIRENA right now can comment on the GI/Noro situation on board? We’re sailing from Southampton on April 22. Hopefully, the ship has been cleared of the virus by now.

You definitely can book your excursions with the SM credit and beyond it before you board your cruise. I’d advise to do it as soon as possible because many people are booking their tours using the credit and there’s a possibility of the most popular tours being sold out.

My point of view is obviously different from yours. It’s not about frugality or who’s going to pay for the waste. I juts prefer not to contribute to it when it’s possible. And while this isn’t my main concern, you are right, the more of the food is wasted the more we all pay for the cruises because it’s “built” into the price.

While I understand your disappointment I personally wouldn’t think it would warrant a complete waste of the food that had been ordered. We always try to be very particular when ordering in any restaurant to avoid the situation like that.

Yes, as I remember now it did happen to us even more than once. Last time it was Oceania booked PE flight with a short connection in Frankfurt last year. But as you mentioned not everyone had made it before the flight departed after the delay.

A lot has changed since 2022. We often book an air with miles and I need to have the same amount of miles and even more now for international PE that I used to redeem for BZ class couple years ago.

Never say never… it doesn’t happen all the time but did happen to us. We were the only ones on the delayed connected flight and were allowed to board the plane even after the gates had been closed. Were flying in BZ class if that matters.

Some years ago on the Asian cruise it was arranged for local bank representatives to come on board so we could get local currency before going ashore. They also were there to exchange it back prior to departure. Though, it probably was before the credit cards started to be accepted everywhere.

Unfortunately this happened often on the group tour. If that I find it difficult to be patient and keep myself from reacting strongly against those people. We always appreciate when the tour guide constantly reminding everybody to stay on schedule.

Maybe we got lucky but we have never met that person on the Oceania ship. Though I wouldn’t be upset with the way how others spend their money.

It’s not like requesting a specific table. But we often asked to be seated with the particular server and almost always it was granted.

Your observations are all spot on. We’re on the cruise leaving from Tokyo in February, 2025. I already have our one way air to Osaka booked. We are also planning to spend 10 days in Japan pre-cruise on our own taking the bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo to board the ship. But unfortunately, a lot of people don’t feel comfortable to book anything themselves and leave it to the cruise line to make all the arrangements. And there’s also nothing wrong with that because everyone should do whatever suits them best.

I think that embarkation with the luggage in hand is not a best time for a glass of anything. When we started to cruise on Oceania I found the absence of the cheap sparkling wine greeting to be a class indicator in a good way. As for the late room access, we tend to board the ship later in the day which allows us to explore on land more, so normally we are able to avoid this problem altogether. Though, I understand that some people want to embark early to start their cruise vacation as soon as possible. Maybe a glass of champagne at that time is important for some too.

Oceania will be offering free pre-cruise hotel stays on select cruises. Book starting April 1st. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oceania-cruises-offers-free-pre-cruise-hotel-stay-on-a-range-of-sailings-in-2024-and-2025-302098868.html

Is it necessary to question the small details of every single statement? For me it’s not critical for the subject of this thread.